bible college papers: heresies, leaders, and rapid church growth

Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
                                    – George Santayana

While it’s not likely that Santayana and I hold the same religious beliefs, his ideas about history do resonate with me. In my pursuit of my degree in Church Ministries from Global University, I am taking a history class called The Church: Pentecost to the Reformation. It is a really cool class that dives into what happened after the Apostles founded the church all the way up to the Protestant Reformation.

While many of you reading this right now may not be big history buffs, it’s still important to recognize that we must learn from our history. And in the church there are lots of issues that we experience today that many who have gone before us have already dealt with.

The essays and perspectives that I’m sharing here are part of an assignment that I’m doing for the class, and they are not intended to be complete, in-depth studies on the people and ideas that I am presenting. In this assignment I have the opportunity to share three short summaries:

• Six Prominent Heresies
• Seven Major Christian Leaders
• Rapid Growth of Christianity

I’d love to have some more in-depth discussions on some of these people and ideas, so please feel free to give these essays a look and let me know what other ideas and/or questions you have.

rapid growth of christianity [bible college papers]

 

Note: This essay is part of a series that I am doing for a class on church history. This part of the series is a summary of some of the reasons the early and medieval church experienced rapid growth.

Christianity seemed to defy the odds of a start-up religion… Not only did it survive in the early years, but it thrived! There are different reasons for this rapid growth of the church at different times through history.

The Early (Post-Apostolic) Church experienced a great deal of persecution. Typically persecution would snuff out any other false religion that lacked the substance it needed to keep loyal followers. But keeping followers was only one thing. It was something entirely different to turn that persecution into new converts. What made the Christians different was their response to the persecution that they received. Not only did they keep true to Christian teaching to do things like forgive and love even their enemies, but they also considered it an honor to be tortured and even martyred for their faith.

This atypical response to persecution seemed to draw a great deal of admiration for these martyrs and the religion that they took a stand for. This admiration translated into many new converts. This dedication to the faith and response by onlookers must have been quite widespread. Dr. George Park Fisher recognizes this in the writings of the early church fathers:

“The fathers in the second century describe in glowing terms, and not without rhetorical exaggeration, the rapid conquests of the Gospel. The number of converts in the reign of Hadrian must have been very large. Otherwise we cannot account for the enthusiastic language of Justin Martyr respecting the multitude of professing Christians. Tertullian writes in a similar strain. Irenaeus refers to Barbarians who have believed without having a knowledge of letters, through oral teaching merely.”

This rapid expansion continued from the early church period into the medieval period. Eventually the church became an accepted religion by the government which allowed the formerly persecuted Christian to come out of hiding. Emperor Theodosius then proclaimed Christianity the official state religion in 380. When these things happened, it created a favorable environment where people were able to share their faith with others without the fear of persecution. During this time Christians were able to evangelize to surrounding areas, and continued to experience great growth. In reference to this rapid extension of Christianity at the close of the early period, Dr. John F. Hurst states:

“Missionaries and church officers were sent out from Rome with authority to plant missions, build up literature, and indoctrinate the people in the truths of Christianity. In many instances these attempts failed, the missionaries were killed, and the old heathenism of the provinces triumphed over the young Christianity. But the tide of religious truth was too strong for final resistance.”

So whether favorable or unfavorable conditions existed, the early Christian church was able to thrive and experience great growth. There were many attacks against its credibility both externally (persecution) and internally (heresy), but the Truth and the defenders of the Truth prevailed time and time again throughout history. Today’s church has much to learn from those who have gone before us and laid a foundation that we can build on as we continue to spread the Gospel message, and I pray that Christians today strive to live a life worthy of the Call. As I think about not only the great leaders, but also the multitudes of Christians who risked it all for the sake of the Gospel, I cannot help but to think of the words of the writer of Hebrews when he states, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1, ESV).

seven major christian leaders [bible college papers]

Note: This essay is part of a series that I am doing for a class on church history. This part of the series is a summary of some of the great leaders of the early Christian church.

Throughout the time of the Early and Medieval Church there were many great leaders who had to deal with these heresies. These men left their mark by not only recognizing the false teachings as they arose, but also by using true Biblical doctrine to refute the heresies. Listed here are seven major Christian leaders who left a lasting impact on the church.

The impact of Ignatius is unquestionable. He was driven by a desire for both holy living and holy dying. Living during a time of great persecution by the Roman government, he was proud to die as a martyr for the faith. He was arrested for being a Christian, and some of his greatest work came while being transported to Rome for execution. Along the way he wrote letters to churches and people which give us a great picture of the types of things that the early church dealt with. His writings contributed to early church organization by identifying three levels of ministry: bishop, presbyter (elder), and deacon. Tradition states that Ignatius died by being eaten by lions in the Colosseum.

Polycarp was one of the recipients of a letter from Ignatius, and is also known for a letter that he wrote to the church in Philippi. But one of the most significant facts about Polycarp was that he was a disciple of the Apostle John. Well before any of the New Testament writings were canonized, Polycarp quoted New Testament writings about sixty times in his letter to the Philippians including more than thirty references to Paul’s writings. Polycarp urged early church leadership to take the position of a servant.

Trained as a professional philosopher, Justin Martyr eventually became the leading apologist of his day. As a pagan philosopher he was impressed by the lives and deaths of early Christians. After his own conversion he applied his skills by attempting to explain the superiority of Christianity. In doing so, he described some of the secret (due to persecution) practices of Christians. As a result, we have an idea of what the gatherings of the early church were like. Justin Martyr died during the persecution of Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

Tertullian was another great apologist. In his work he specifically argued against the combining of elements of Christianity with other beliefs, particularly Gnosticism and Docetism. His greatest accomplishment is in developing the doctrine of the trinity in response to the heresies that denied the divinity of Christ. He also spoke out strongly against the growing worldliness in the church, and called for a strict moral life and following the leading of the Holy Spirit. This eventually led him into the heresy of Montanism.

Eusebius is known as the “father of church history” because of the comprehensive historical works that he developed. He recorded a history of missions and persecutions, bishops, writings, martyrdoms, heresies, and much more. Most notably, some of the quotations that he captured are the only known surviving copies of important works that are long lost. His other major contribution came during the Council of Nicaea when he presented a creed that clarified the deity of Christ by stating that He was “begotten, not made, being of one essence with the Father.”

Because one of the major issues that led to heresy in the church was allegorical interpretation of the Scriptures, there was a need to define a proper method of explaining the meaning of the text. Theodore of Mopsuestia dealt with this issue by developing the grammatical-historical method of interpretation. This required the reader to consider the grammar and historical context of the Scriptures in order to determine their true meaning and application.

Much later during the Late Medieval Church, Gregory VII helped the office of pope achieve new levels of respect. First, before he became the pope himself, he helped create the method of selecting popes so that they were elected by the College of Cardinals rather than by secular rulers. Second, he further established theocratic rule of the church in his book Dictatus Papae, which clearly stated his position that the church is subject to God and not other human government leaders or establishments. Finally, he excommunicated Emperor Henry IV over a disagreement related to laymen appointing people to clergy positions. While his actions were not without backlash, he clearly established the authority of the church as not being subject to any other authority.

Many of the issues that the church is dealing with today are not new, and there is much that can be learned from how these early leaders dealt with the problems of their day. As Alister McGrath points out, “Anyone who thinks about the great questions of Christian theology soon discovers that many of them have already been addressed.” He continues, “There is always an element of looking over one’s shoulder to see how things were done in the past, and what answers were given.” McGrath also shares a great quote from Karl Barth about our position as it relates to learning from these early church leaders:

“With regard to theology, we cannot be in the in the church without taking responsibility as much for the theology of the past as for the theology of our own present day. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Luther, Schleiermacher and all the others are not dead but living. They still speak and demand a hearing as living voices, as surely as we know that they and we belong together in the church.”

six prominent heresies [bible college papers]

Note: This essay is part of a series that I am doing for a class on church history. This part of the series is a summary of some of the heresies that plagued the early Christian church.

As the church started to grow and spread into various cultures, practices that contradicted the teaching of Jesus and the Apostles began to infiltrate the church and lead people astray. During the time of the Apostolic and Early Medieval church, there are six prominent heresies that threatened authentic Christianity.

Ebionitism was a heresy that came from the early Jewish Christians who attempted to blend elements of their traditional Jewish roots with new elements of the Christian movement. They rejected the inclusion of anyone outside of Judaism, and that salvation came from keeping the Law. Because faith in Jesus was not needed for salvation, He was reduced to being a man who became the Messiah by keeping the Law.

Gnosticism is a philosophical heresy that states that people can achieve salvation through knowledge. One of the specific forms of Gnosticism is Marcionism. Using passages from Paul and Luke’s writings Marcion separated the Old and the New, even to the extreme position of claiming that the Old was evil. He also rejected New Testament writings that contradicted his view. His Bible only contained the writings that supported his own Docetic theology.

Another form of Gnosticism was Manichaenism. This heresy contained a combination of Christianity and Zoroastrianism (and other ancient Oriental religions). This form of Gnosticism taught the dualist perspective that light (God) is good and darkness (matter) is bad. Therefore salvation was achieved by releasing the spirit (divine light) from the body (material prison).

Montanism was a heresy that sprung from a protest in the church. Montanus was disturbed by a move away from reliance upon the Holy Spirit and more towards human organization. Montanus went so far as to refer to himself as the Paraclete (commonly identified as the Holy Spirit). This movement led to an elevation of spiritual gifts over the Scriptures.

Monarchianism was a theological heresy that denied the idea of the Trinity. While there were various forms of this belief, the basic idea was that God was one person (a monarchy). This ultimately diminished the deity of Jesus Christ. This theology is still manifest in cultic beliefs today, including Unitarianism.

Donatism was a church policy issue more than anything else. It developed out of a rejection of leaders who lacked moral/spiritual character. It was a protest movement that rejected the Catholic church and Roman influence. Its followers (mostly in Africa) followed strict spiritual guidelines and ascetic practices.

Regarding heresies Earl E. Cairnes states, “One would have thought that the decision at the Jerusalem Council to free the Gentiles from the ceremonial and ritualistic demands of the Jewish law as requirements for salvation would have been final.” However, it is obvious that the Truth was regularly attacked from philosophical, theological and ecclesiastical perspectives. Many of these heresies continue centuries later. Paul L. Maier states in his commentary on the work of Eusebius that, “In 1952, the debate raged over the new Revised Standard Version of the Bible, which translated Isaiah 7:14: ‘Behold, a young woman [rather than ‘virgin’ as in the KJV] shall conceive and bear a son…” This debate could be associated with a Monarchianism perspective that would claim that Jesus was born just like any other man. Because many of these heresies still exist in some form today, the modern church still has much to learn from how the early church dealt with these problems.

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