Update Nine

One Faith Day One Continued...

V: Connections

i: What Was God Doing?

In this time period of emperors and persecutions Christianity, a little known sect of Judaism, survived against all odds.  The blood of the martyrs truly was the seed of the church as over one and a half centuries Christianity began to grow and influence the world.  These first men in the line of theologians and leaders were influential in the setting up of Church order.  God was setting up the order of the Church to come.  Much was lost when the apostles died, but through the grace of God these apologists and Apostolic Fathers were raised up to lead the Church into the new era.  Mistakes were made and the world would feel the effects of these but the Church of this period persevered through the work of these men to come to us in this day.  By the end of this period the Church had successfully switched over from Apostolic leadership to leadership by their appointed Bishops.

i: How Does This Effect Us?

The repercussions of this time period stay with us to this day.  Without the efforts of these men there would be no Church.  They were the defenders of the faith who stood strong against persecution and oppression and held the fledgling body together.  Behind them they left the legacy that would lead to the modern Roman Catholic Church and unfortunately play into our many denominations.  Also unfortunately, their work against some heresies led to the silencing of miraculous gifts in the body that would lead to modern theologies of cessationism (the ceasing of miraculous spiritual gifts).  Modern interpretations of the early heresies have sprung up lately.  Montanism-like charismatic movements the world over proclaim new revelations, from recent Latin American movements to the American based Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons).  Another religion not commonly included is the new revelation religion of Islam, a new revelation given to Muhammad to correct the earlier Gospels and Torah.  Gnosticism, too, has been reborn in many New Age Christian sects and feminist groups who have taken the Apocryphal (literally hidden, unknown; the writings that were not included in the canon.) literature of the Gnostics and made it their own, most prevalently seen in the Da Vinci Code.  These ancient things have come back and truly have affected the course of our own history.  This history of our brothers and sisters long dead, yet truly alive, is the history of the very Church we are part of and make up an integral part of the life in the Church we live out.

VI: Further Reference

Everett Ferguson’s Church History v.1

Roger Olson’s The Story of Christian Theology

William C. Placher’s Readings in the History of Christian Theology v.1

Paul Spickard and Kevin Cragg’s A Global History of Christians

Update Eight

One Faith Day One Continued...

IV: Bridge to the Next Era

i: Irenaeus

Irenaeus, the bishop of Antioch, does not fall into either of the two categories, apologist or Apostolic Father.  In the period immediately following the death of the apostles those two categories upheld the truth of apostolic teachings but none were universally recognized as overall leaders of the Church.  Irenaeus, the first systematic theologian, began to take that authority up.  The disciple of Polycarp, who was the disciple of John, Irenaeus claimed special authority for himself as having a direct link back to the apostles.  This was the beginning of a stated apostolic succession (the form of leadership in the Roman Catholic Church).   Using this authority Irenaeus harshly combated the heresy of Gnosticism.  Their claim was one of special knowledge from Jesus.  Irenaeus claimed that if there had been any secret knowledge John would have known and passed it on to Polycarp who would have passed it on to himself.  This was effective and, with the combined wait of the witness of the bishops, would put down the threat of Gnosticism for many years.  To express his views Irenaeus wrote his Against Heresies, a massive work in which he studies and refutes twenty different heretical sects.  In this book Irenaeus sets down the first systematized theology.  His was the first theology of redemption, called recapitulation (literally receiving a new head), which made the claim that we are saved in the Church by Jesus becoming our new Adam and becoming our new head.  By that unity with us Christ kills sin and destroys its hold on us.  His theology and writing would sound the death knoll of Montanism and Gnosticism, both dying out in the beginning of the third century.  His theology also started trends that would affect all of the Church and begin the formation of the monolithic Roman church of the Middle Ages.

Update Seven

One Faith Day One Continued...

III: The Apologists

i: Intro

Internal heresies and instabilities were not the only dangers to the early Church.  As present and far more deadly in a material way were the powers of imperial Rome and the sharp tongues of the Greek inspired critics.  While not a constant threat, the empire would periodically issue declarations against the Christians, calling for persecution and suppression of the new religion that was decried as being atheist.  This upsetting of the balance of proper society made them targets of Roman officials of all levels even up to emperors as seen by Nero’s sick displays and Claudius’s anti-Christian views.  Following their example many of the Roman people and soldiers would likewise persecute the Christians.  The critics were men who did much the same job they do today, reviewing plays and literature.  The Roman critics took particular pleasure in tearing down Christian doctrine and inciting people against them.  A group of people was needed to intellectually defend the fledgling faith from so many diverse attacks.  These people would be the Apologist.

ii: Justin Martyr

Justin Martyr was one of the Church’s first apologists.  Along with this he was also the first professional academic of the Church and Christian Philosophy.  Justin had been a philosopher bouncing from one school to the next, never being satisfied in his search for the true doctrine.  Finally he landed in the Platonic school and felt he had found the true philosophy.  He stayed with this school of thought until a certain day when he was walking in his favorite secluded spot to think.  In the midst of the trees as he was pondering the universe a lowly old man came across his path.  A conversation ensued, Justin the great well-learned philosopher expecting to fix this man’s thought as the old man was deluded by Christian teaching.  By the end of it the old man had brought Justin to faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior.  From then on Justin went on to teach this new doctrine.  Christians were not legally able to gather at this time, or to teach their religion, but no good Roman could hold anything against someone teaching their philosophy.  Justin was able to open up a school teaching Christian philosophy and the ways of the faith.  From this school Justin would become the most important apologist of the Church, defending the Church from emperors and critics alike.  Three writings of his exist to this day.   The first was a letter written to the Emperor Antonius Pius on the event of Polycarp’s martyrdom.  This brave letter called the Emperor out to study the things he condemns and to judge by right reason what is correct and true.  Justin’s second writing was a letter addressed to the Roman senate containing much of the same material.  The last and most famous of his writings was his Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, a work that contains his autobiography and a fictional debate with a man name Trypho, supporting a philosophical basis of Christianity and its stand against that of Judaism.  In it Justin gives a justification for Christianity using the prophets of the Old Testament.  Justin was the man to come up with the idea that all truth is God’s truth, an idea he formed from his unique view of the Logos, or word of God, that being Christ in the world before His birth.  His Christology (study of Christ) was heavily influenced by this view of the Logos, God’s Word being so involved in the thoughts and truth of the world.  Justin would die the death of a Martyr in the 160s.  Tried and refusing to renounce Christ he was beheaded along with several of his students.

iii: Athenagoras

Athenagoras was philosopher and Christian who lived in Athens.  He is famous for his letter to the philosopher emperor Marcus Aurelius.  In this Plea for Christianity Athenagoras sought to show the emperor that the God he sought, a Stoic one, was very similar to the God of the Christians.  His attempt was to show through Greek philosophers that Christians were not Atheists.  In this work Athenagoras set down his doctrine of God.  This doctrine would set the stage for theologians even to this day.  This heavily Greek influenced view of God saw God as absolutely perfect in the Greek standard, utterly impassable (not affected by emotions) and incomprehensible (unable to be understood by man).  These views greatly depersonalized the God of the Hebrew bible and the apostolic writings yet they hold a grip on theology to this very day.  This God of Athenagoras came very close to being a deistic (totally removed) God common in Greek philosophy.  Athenagoras did much good thinking, however, and set the basics of our idea of the Trinity down, the earliest examples outside scriptures of this crucial belief. 

In explaining God as monotheistic Athenagoras went into depth of the one essence of the three persons of the Trinity.  Also contained within in his writings is an early call against abortion, using the anti-abortion stance of Christians as a point to refute claims of Christian cannibalism.  

iv: Theophilus

Theophilus was the bishop of Antioch, following in the footsteps of Ignatius two bishops before him.  He was not as influenced by the Greek philosophers in his writing than as the other apologists other apologist were in theirs.  His collection of writings consisted mainly of his refutation of his friend Autolycus’s comments against Christianity.  In these writings Theophilus steered Christian thinking away from Greek philosophy and its push for the aesity (total transcendence) of God.  He further developed the idea that the Logos was the word of God.  Most importantly he was the first Christian to uphold the doctrine of creation ex nihilo, or creation from nothing.  This went against the Greek views of an eternal universe and corrected the allegorical teachings of those before him.  This claim was that nothing exists that God did not bring into existence and that before His act of creation there was nothing but God, the view upheld universally by Christians to this day.

Update Six

One Faith Day One Continued...

II: The Apostolic Fathers

i: Intro

The Apostolic Fathers were the collection of men and writings that promoted the teaching of the apostles.  They are called the Apostolic Fathers because it is known or assumed that they or their authors were mentored by the apostles and therefore had an authority unmatched by any of that time period.  These people and documents were the guiding light of the early Church as there was no New Testament in its canonized (decided and universal) form to turn to.  The men in this category were the first theologians (studiers of God) and leaders in the Church to take up the mantle of special leadership not being apostles. The writings in this group were the first Christian literature ever written outside the scriptures and make up the foundations of later theological (the studying of God) thought. 

ii: Polycarp

Polycarp was one of the men who were Apostolic Fathers.  He had the clearest connection to the apostles, having studied at the feet of John.  It was to him that the early Church turned to settle disputes of the faith.  Polycarp was the bishop of Smyrna and is known for his connection to another Apostolic Father, Ignatius, and his letter to the Philippians.  His writings show the example of apostolic teaching in the Apostolic Fathers, his writings being saturated with what would become the New Testament.  He lived immersed in these apostolic teachings.  He would die the death of a martyr around the year 155 in his own city, a death recorded in The Martyrdom of Polycarp, an important work in the ‘cult of martyrs’ that would lead to the Sainthood system of the Roman Catholic Church.

iii: Clement

Clement was another of the men who were considered Apostolic Fathers.  He was the bishop Rome and is believed by some to have personally known Paul the apostle.  He is famous for his letters 1st Clement and 2nd Clement, the former possible being the oldest extant (existing) writing of the church aside from that which is in the New Testament.  His writings parallel closely Paul’s 1st and 2nd Corinthians, showing the Corinthians to be dealing with many of the same problems half a century later. 

iv: Ignatius

Ignatius was the bishop of Antioch around the turn of the first century.  The bishopric in such an important city of Christianity indicates that he was a high-ranking leader of the Church. The particular time period in which he was a bishop of so important a city has led many to believe that he must have known some of the apostles.  He is known for a group of letters he sent to Christians all over the Roman world while he was under guard on his way to his martyrdom in Rome.  This collection of seven letters exhorted Christians to follow in the belief of the apostles and to be obedient to the bishops.  One of these letters was written to encourage his fellow bishop Polycarp in Smyrna.  Another letter was written to Rome in an attempt to put down a conspiracy to free him.  Ignatius wrote to these Christian saying, “I implore you, do not be ‘unseasonably kind’ to me.  Let me be food for the wild beasts, through whom I can reach God.  I am God’s wheat, and I am being ground by the teeth of wild beast, that I might prove to be pure bread.”  Ignatius also said that “Christianity is greatest when it is hated by the world.”  These attitudes led him bravely to his death, one that he considered a gift, in a Roman amphitheatre at the hands of wild beast.  His work also contained the first upholding of the full divinity and full manhood of Christ, giving proof that this was the doctrine of the apostles.  His example of following his Lord to the death would inspire generations of Christians to do the same, even encouraging some to seek this death.  This example is so pertinent to this day and age as Christians in modernized society sell their souls and the souls of others to enjoy the muted pleasures of modern society while in third world countries more and more Christians face their ends in gruesome martyrdoms.  As so many across Europe and America wiled away their time last century as more Christians were killed for their faith than in any other century, the example of Ignatius would have been a good one to follow, serving God not with a risk of danger but a certainty of death and yet doing it willing and eagerly.

v: Shepherd of  Hermas

The best known and longest of the writings that make up the Apostolic Fathers, the Shepherd of Hermas nearly made it into the canon of scripture.  Throughout the centuries before the setting down of the canon this book was often include in lists of scripture and taken as scripture by many great leaders of Christianity, most notably Athanasius, the man who would centuries later set down the canon in his Easter Letter of 367, though he did leave it out of his final list which we still use to this day.  The book was heavily moralistic and even assured that there was one chance for forgiveness after baptism for those who fall away but no more.  The document lays out in length the practices of Christians in this era, and set down the standards for practice of worship.  All of these teachings come in parable form from an angel who visited ‘Hermas’, a fictional character, as a shepherd and gave him the visions that make up the book.  It is written like many first/second century apocalyptic literature, similar to John’s Revelation and gave a picture into the early Christian mindset that was continually looking for the return of Christ to happen at any second, a helpful attitude to hold to this day.

vi: Dadache

The Didache, or the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, was an early document circulated through the Church though no one knows who wrote it.  The teachings in it are very moralistic, a common trait in the early Church.  It teaches Christians the way to act in society and gives instruction on how to perform the sacraments (baptism and Holy Communion).  Interestingly it gives a somewhat contradictory plan on testing but not testing prophets: 

But concerning the apostles and prophets, act according to the decree of the Gospel. Let every apostle who comes to you be received as the Lord. But he shall not remain more than one day; or two days, if there's a need. But if he remains three days, he is a false prophet. And when the apostle goes away, let him take nothing but bread until he lodges. If he asks for money, he is a false prophet. And every prophet who speaks in the Spirit you shall neither try nor judge; for every sin shall be forgiven, but this sin shall not be forgiven. But not every one who speaks in the Spirit is a prophet; but only if he holds the ways of the Lord. Therefore from their ways shall the false prophet and the prophet be known. And every prophet who orders a meal in the Spirit does not eat it, unless he is indeed a false prophet. And every prophet who teaches the truth, but does not do what he teaches, is a false prophet. And every prophet, proved true, working unto the mystery of the Church in the world, yet not teaching others to do what he himself does, shall not be judged among you, for with God he has his judgment; for so did also the ancient prophets. But whoever says in the Spirit, Give me money, or something else, you shall not listen to him. But if he tells you to give for others' sake who are in need, let no one judge him.

Despite the moralistic teachings and somewhat contradictory teaching, the Didache remained in use for many years and was referred to by many great Christian leaders in their writings throughout the early centuries.  Their references were all the evidence we had of the existence of the document until it was discovered in 1873.  Again, its teachings were far more moralistic than scripture and they went against what Paul had written in his letters, but the Didache and other early writings show us how early Christians were digesting the teachings of the Apostles without a set New Testament.  This moralistic teaching and obedient power structure was the Church of the early centuries, our forefathers and the ones who laid down one of the earliest layers in the foundations of this our God’s Church.

vii: Epistle of Barnabas

The Epistle of Barnabas was not written by Barnabas, being pseudopigraphal writing, but was considered an important document in the Church.  It is assumed that the author had known the apostle Apollos and that the letter was written some where between 70 and

135.  This writing shows the early influence of Greek philosophy on orthodox Christianity.  The letter is heavily allegorical, taking passages in the Old Testament and giving them far different meanings, such as making Moses’ admonition not to eat pig to mean that one should not associate with those who act like ‘swine.’  This followed closely in the Jewish tradition of Philo, a Jewish philosopher from around the time of Christ who allegorized the whole of the Old Testament in his attempt demonstrate harmony between the scriptures and Greek philosophy.  While the writer of the Epistle did not deny what was written in the Old Testament he did follow in the Christian tradition of that time to look for two or three meanings under the written text, a practice still used today in teaching scripture.  The Epistle of Barnabas was the first to lay down a Hermeneutic (way of interpretation) structure in Christian literature for reading scripture. 

Update Five

Here follows an overview of my Church History class.

One Faith Day One

The Ancient Church

I: The Beginning 

i: Overview of Acts

Witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the end of the Earth.

Birth of the Church at Pentecost.

Inclusion of Gentiles – Cornelius

Paul the apostle to the Gentiles

Paul at Rome

ii: Heresies in the Church

The Church exited but there were two major heresies threatening the Church in the first two centuries, Gnosticism and Montanism.  

Gnosticism was and is a belief that there exists secret knowledge (Gnosis meaning immediate experiential knowledge attained through acquaintance rather than factual or propositional knowledge) from Christ, which is required for salvation and is not taught by the Church.  While the sects of Gnostics were many, they held in common five major beliefs:

1: God is wholly transcendent and did not create matter.

2: Humans are sparks of the divine requiring release from flesh.

3: The Fall include the fall into matter, which has trapped humans.

4: Salvation is escape from matter through knowledge from an emanation of God.

5: Jesus was the vessel of the emanation, but did not suffer and die for sins.

The Gnostics differed greatly in their beliefs, as each group held onto a different hierarchy and mythology describing the many gods and redemptive paths necessary.  Irenaeus spoke mockingly of the Gnostics to show its errors in his work Against Heresies

Saying: 

There is a certain Proarche, royal, surpassing all thought, a power existing before every other substance, and extended into space in every direction. But along with it there exists a power which I term a Gourd; and along with this Gourd there exists a power which again I term Utter-Emptiness. This Gourd and Emptiness, since they are one, produced (and yet did not simply produce, so as to be apart from themselves) a fruit, everywhere visible, eatable, and delicious, which fruit-language calls a Cucumber. Along with this Cucumber exists a power of the same essence, which again I call a Melon. These powers, the Gourd, Utter-Emptiness, the Cucumber, and the Melon, brought forth the remaining multitude of the delirious melons of Valentinus. For if it is fitting that that language which is used respecting the universe be transformed to the primary Tetrad, and if any one may assign names at his pleasure, who shall prevent us from adopting these names, as being much more credible [than the others], as well as in general use, and understood by all?

Despite the complexities of their mythologies and the like, the Gnostics grew, for they inherited some of the appeal of the Mystery Religions, the ancient sects that pervaded the middle-east and northern Africa and even came to be a fad in Rome itself.  These held in common with the Gnostics that they proclaimed secret knowledge that only elite and elect peoples could attain, a good tool at expanding numbers.  Usually these Mystery Religions involved Egyptian deities and secret words for gaining entrance to heaven through spiritual gates, views similar to some Gnostic groups.  With this appeal and a small collection of pseudopigraphal (false named) writings some Gnostic ideas exist to this day in the form of New Age cults.

Montanism, the heresy of those from Montana, came to threaten the Church in the mid second century.  A man named Montanus devised this New Revelation, the name given to the heresy by its adherents.  He was a pagan priest who converted but began to teach that the revelation given by the apostles was not the end of revelation but that God would continue to give new revelation to update and correct earlier revelation.  He rightly called for revival in the Church, but to his condemnation he rejected the authority of apostolic writings and proclaimed himself to be specially appointed to be the “Mouthpiece of the Holy Spirit.”  This heresy eventually died out due to heavy pressure from the bishops. Unfortunately in their fear of Montanus and a Church with no order this pressure they applied also suppressed many forms of miraculous gifts and spiritual utterances, which would not reappear in force until the charismatic movements more than a millennium later.

iii: Death of John, End of an Era

Around the year 90 the apostle John died, leaving the world with no living direct connection to Jesus in His days of teaching.  Without any of the original apostles and without a set canon (scripture) the Church no longer had an assured authority to turn to combat the heresies that were growing throughout the Roman world.  An era had ended, no more could the Church turn to those who had walked with Jesus.  The Church in this new era was forced to look within itself for that authority to stand against the heretics.  In this dark time of persecution, as the return of Christ did not come yet, the Church turned to the Apostolic Fathers.  With no apostle to turn to, theology (the study of God) was born.