It sometimes surprises me to find Christian history and theology in unusual places. My son gave me Bill Bryson’s book AT HOME, and there on page thirteen the author goes into quite a bit about Anglican clergyman in the year 1851. He says there were 17,621 Anglican clergymen at the time. A country rector would …
18.5.1 The Ministry of Anglican Clergy in 19th Century England Read More »
On this site we have many articles about how the original Christians believed and acted. We also have articles on the many doctrinal disputes that divide the many Christian churches and denominations today. But how does the Christian on the street decide how to go to a church? Is all the doctrine on these pages …
21.1.1 How Americans Pick Churches in the Early 21st Century Read More »
Continuing with the pattern that we saw in Clement’s epistle there are again no Scripture references to New Testament epistles in either the long or short versions of the epistles by Ignatius deemed to be genuine. In fact, there are no Scripture references at all in the short versions. In the long versions, as we …
01.2.5 Ignatius Epistles Still only Call Old Testament Scripture Read More »
In the epistle of Ignatius to the Romans, chapter 11 is called “Chap. XI. — Avoid the Deadly Errors of the Docetae” But it is in chapter 7, Let Us Stand Aloof from Such Heretics, of The Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans that Ignatius is known for his harsh criticism of sects that did …
01.2.4 Ignatius – the First Apologist of the Early Church Fathers Read More »
Eusebius is recognized as the father of Christian Church history. Living from about 260 – 339A.D he was the first to undertake the task of recording the growth of Christianity from a small Jewish sect in Jerusalem to a preeminent religion in the then known world. As he is the only person whose writings have …
The epistles of Ignatius, most probably written on his path to martyrdom, sound in a lot of ways like the epistles of Paul. He opens with loving greetings, he gives praise to the believers he writes to. He has a theme in his writings of calling for unity. And this call for unity is centered …
Martyrdom is not new when we come to Ignatius, but he brings an element heretofore unseen. First, there are numerous records of martyrs around the Bible. In Acts chapter 7 we see Stephen as the first Christian martyr. It is a glorious, inspiring record: Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the …
01.2.3 Ignatius Promotes Choosing to be a Martyr as a Means of Attaining Christ Read More »
Ignatius, a.d. 30-107, is a man who sat at the feet of the apostles. There is a claim that Ignatius as a very small child was held by Jesus and that is why he is named Theophorus which means “carried by God”.[1] Ignatius played an instrumental role both as the Bishop of Antioch, and a …
01.2.1 Ignatius as an Example of the Problems in Studying Early Church Writings Read More »
A Pentecostal movement broke out from some Anabaptist groups as they strove to live the fullness of all that was available in the New Testament. (See XVI.2.5 Anabaptism had its own Pentecostal Movement.) However the Pentecostal aspect was short-lived. While at least some of the spiritual manifestations looked legitimate, there was clearly some error also, …
I have met Christians who believe that the Pentecost revival on Azusa Street starting in 1906 was the first time there were spiritual signs and manifestations since the time of the Apostles. But it is erroneous to think that the Pentecostal movement of the early 20th century was the first time since the apostolic age …
15.2.5 Anabaptism had its own Pentecostal Movement Read More »
If the Anabaptists claimed that the reformers did not go far enough in restoring the Christian faith it can be just as well be argued that they made statements beyond what Scripture actually teaches also. Consider this teaching by Pilgram Marpeck (Marpeck was a very significant figure in the early development of the Anabaptists. A …
Melchior Rinck, 1493 –1545, challenged the Christian authorities at Wartburg, “the fact that you bring against me and all who are of the same face murder, robbery, prison, fire, water, sword and similar lying arguments, proves by your own work that your baptism is an anti-baptism and that you are indeed the Anti-Christ, of whom …
As persecution increased in Switzerland the brother and spread to the southeast, Arabia, and North and the South Germany. Dr Balthasar Hummeier, around Easter time, 1525, was a priest in the Waldshut area. “Upon accepting faith baptism as a visible sign of the restored Christian community, Hoffmeyer resigned as priest and immediately he was reelected …
In The Anabaptist View of the Church Franklin Littell wrote: “The important point to emphasize is that the real issue here was not the act of baptism, but rather a bitter and irreducible struggle between two mutually exclusive concepts of the church. Zwingli was finally committed to the state church; and the continuance of the …
Anyone who promotes Believer’s baptism, baptism by immersion involving someone who is mature enough to make a decision for Christ, is following, at least in part, the Anabaptist movement. The Anabaptists chose adult baptism as a central issue in their stand in the Christian faith. Historically speaking, as strong as some of the reforms in …
15.2 The Anabaptist Movement – The Beginning of Believer’s Baptism Read More »
Perhaps the most famous movement in the Christian Church is the Reformation. As powerful as it was, it is important to note that the emphasis of the Reformation movement was not to restore the church to the standards of the first century. Wordnet defines the reformation as “a religious movement of the 16th century that …
The largest Christian church doesn’t use the word “Christian”, rather it uses the word “Catholic”; the Roman Catholic Church. Catholic means “universal” or “everywhere” and so the meaning is that the Catholic church is the only true church and it is everywhere. This article looks at the significance and meaning of Catholicism, a movement that …
Jesus Christ was the most incredible man in history and the first movement of the Christian church has to start with him. Jesus was a man of impact, drawing crowds wherever he went. As the promised seed he walked with a plan which he declared was written in the book of Isaiah: The Spirit of …
00.0 The First Church Movement: Original, Primitive Christianity Read More »
Clement of Rome is significant in Christian history in a number of ways. As we have seen in previous articles his epistle, 1 Clement, was almost included in the canon of scripture we use and was included in some bibles for centuries. His writing not being included in our canon, Clement becomes the first early …
01.1.4 Clement’s Writing – The Start of Tradition as an Authority in Church Doctrine Read More »
The concern of the Epistle of 1 Clement is that some of the Corinthian Church presbyters have been replaced illegally. It speaks to the reality that divisions in the church have been around since the beginning. There are verses in Paul’s epistle that state that there were already divisions then (1Cor 3:3). Clement writes; It …
The early church Father Clement regularly quotes the Old Testament with variations of “it is written,” and quotes the Lord Jesus with the words like “the words of the Lord” [1] For example: …being especially mindful of the words of the Lord Jesus which He spake, teaching us meekness and long-suffering. For thus He spoke: …
One of the earliest Church fathers to leave writing(s), if not the earliest, is Clement of Rome. Clement was a leader in the subapostolic era and wrote 1 Clement anywhere from around 80AD to 100 AD, but 95-96 AD is commonly held. That means this document was written in the same period as the New …
The time of the apostles is the apostolic age. The period right after is called the subapostolic age. Actually, the period of the first few centuries of Christianity has several names including the “time of the apostolic fathers”, the “high patristic age” age, or just “the patristic age”. Names of these fathers include (but not …
One of the tenets of interpreting the New Testament is that making doctrine out of the Book of Acts is a slippery slope. That is because it is recognized that the Book of Acts is a historical record. It is an account of what happened, not necessarily what was supposed to happen. For example, on …
I have put a timeline page in the menu above. This timeline puts people, places and events in the articles on this website in chronological order. It is a work in progress. Watch for additions to the timeline as articles are added.