A History of Christianity

1. A History of Christianity An Introductory Survey (image idea: cover of textbook)

2. 1: Jesus and the World into Which He was Born • Volatile world of Palestine • Religious and political powder keg • Greek/Hellenistic culture • Greek philosophy prominent including Platonism, Epicureanism, Stoicism, and Cynicism. • Old religions and mystery religions were popular [image idea: Map 127 from Holman Charts, Maps, Reconstructions]

3. Jesus and His first followers were Jewish • Core concepts of Judaism laid groundwork for Christianity. • Jewish were separated by distances and belief differences • Government authorities sometimes left Jewish community alone, and sometimes acted with suspicion.

4. From your viewpoint What are meaningful, to you, elements of Jesus’ Life?********

5. 2: Growth, Persecution, and Defense • Why Christianity grew • Where Christianity grew • Features of early Christian worship • Contributions of the apostolic fathers • Persecution of Christians • Apologists defended from misrepresentation

6. [image idea: Map 132 from Holman Charts, Maps, Reconstructions]

7. Why Did Christianity Grow?(1 of 3) • Jesus Christ speaks to basic needs. • Offers hope to oppressed; Jesus had been oppressed. • Offers forgiveness from guilt • Future freedom from want/suffering

8. Why Did Christianity Grow?(2 of 3) • Offers a warm community atmosphere • Symbols clear to all. • Took Greek philosophy further. • Women found a home. [image idea: photograph of a baptism]

9. Why Did Christianity Grow?(3 of 3) • Christian love expressed • People stopped deserting one another during trouble • Followers accepted martyrdom • Paul's three missionary journeys

10. “The more we are hewn down … the more numerous do we become. The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians.” —Tertullian of Carthage, Second-century church father Respond to:

11. Christians were Persecuted • Perceived as heretics • James, brother of Jesus martyred • Suspicious of resurrection • Guilty by association with Jews • Refused to honor Roman gods • Refused to be class-oriented • Did not believe in killing • Rhetoric used to demonstrate truth

12. “The apologists’ … knowledge of both pagan religions and Christianity made them adept defenders of the faith” (see page 27)

13. In your arena: As a present day apologist — one who promotes accurate understanding of Jesus—what areas of love and knowledge qualify you?(see pages 26-29)*******

14. 3: Problems from Within • Five heresies • Two schisms Each led to clarifying what to believe and how to practice it

15. From your perspective Answer this: “I don’t need to learn doctrine; I just want to study the Bible.”********

16. While facing physical and intellectual persecution from without, these troubles arose from within the church • Salvation comes through knowledge. • An Old Testament and New Testament God • Salvation comes through freeing the light trapped inside • Tried to safeguard the unity of God • Practiced extremes of asceticism and ecstatic utterances.

17. Think about all the heresies we’ve discussed: What makes a heresy appealing? That is, no believer then or now would perceive they were practicing half-truths. So what pulls people in?

18. “For Augustine, the church itself was holy; its people were not.” (see page 40.)What then is the secret to obeying Christ in community?

19. 4: Christian Orthodoxy and the Ante-Nicene Fathers The second-century heretics forced the church to consider: • What is Jesus’ message? • Does any group have exclusive access to Christ’s message? • Is it legitimate for different groups to live out Christ’s message in different ways? Answering these questions is how orthodoxy arises. [image idea: the words “True, Correct, Trustworthy”]

20. Featured Church Leaders prior to the Council of Nicaea in 325 • Irenaeus of Lyons • Tertullian of Carthage • Cyprian of Carthage • The Alexandrians • Clement of Alexandria • Origen

21. A key teaching from each teacher • Jesus, fully man, reversed the effects of sin brought by Adam • Coined the terms original sin, sacrament, and merit • God as Father, church as mother. • Used the allegorical method to interpret Scripture • Believed philosophy prepared people to hear • God became comprehensible through Jesus, Logos

22. Meaningful to you What contributions of one (or more) ante-Nicene Fathers affect your faith and practice today?*******

23. 5: Worship in the Second and Third Centuries • To avoid the authorities, most second-and third-century Christians worshipped in small house churches. • The oldest known surviving house church, dating to 232, was found on the banks of the Euphrates River in Iraq.

24. What a house might have looked like: [image idea: Page 150 reconstruction from Holman Book of Charts Maps and Reconstructions (cutaway of a first century house…]

25. Worship liturgy in the Second and Third Centuries • In addition to flourishing personal devotional practices, Christians met together in house churches. • Worship liturgy celebrated new life and hope in Christ. • Worship was a time to commune with Jesus. • Services included prayer, praise, thanksgiving, supplication, biblical readings, and a sermon. • Services often concluded with the Eucharist.

26. “In spite of its illegal status, Christianity continued to spread. By the end of the third century, there may have been as many as five million Christians.” (see page 57)

27. (1 of 2) Holy Days observed by Christians in the Second and Third Centuries • Feast of Pascha to commemorate the resurrection of Christ • later known as Easter • Christian counterpart to Jewish Passover • Baptisms occurred primarily on this day • Lent • Began 40 days prior to Easter • Time of preparation marked by fasting and penitence

28. (2 of 2) Holy Days observed by Christians in the Second and Third Centuries • Advent • time of expectation and preparation for the nativity of Jesus • Celebrated at Christmas • Pentecost • Fifty days after Easter • Celebrated the descent of the Holy Spirit • Feasts in honor of martyrs • Other days added to liturgical calendar over the years

29. [image idea: Map 132 from Holman Bible Atlas: The Expansion of Christianity in the Second and Third Centuries]

30. Baptism in the Second and Third Centuries • Typically total immersion • To be performed in running water • Occurred only once or twice a year with the rest of the year spent in instruction and preparation • New believer made a statement of faith immediately prior to baptism • Variations occurred

31. The Lord’s Supper in the Second and Third Centuries • Central to Christian worship • Performed every Sunday as a reminder of Christ’s return • Mirrored Jewish Passover • Passover celebrated Jewish freedom from Egyptian bondage • Lord’s supper celebrated Christ’s deliverance of Christians from the bondage of sin and death • Originally accompanied by the Agape Feast, an entire meal surrounding the Lord’s Supper

32. Devotional Practices in the Second and Third Centuries • Pray three times a day, with other Christians across globe • Fasting was another regular and common devotional practice • Imitated Jesus’ forty-day fast • Goal was to check fleshly desires to express spirituality • Charity a third devotional practice • Demonstrated love by attending to the needs of others • Giving to the poor a part of reconciliation

33. From your perspective What 2nd to 3rd century worship element or holy day would you most like to see brought to today?*******

34. 6: Constantine and the Consolidation of Christianity • The Roman Empire was in decline • Taxes high and food scarce • Christians about to face most relentless persecution to date • Constantine became the unlikely champion who propelled the faith to unprecedented heights. [image idea: Artist rendering of Constantine; statue or painting]

35. Image idea: The Church of the Nativity as on page 217 of the Holman Bible Atlas.

36. From your perspective Should apostates—those who denied Christ to save their lives—be allowed back into the church once the persecution was/is over? *****

37. Fourth Century Influencers • Diocletian, • Constantine, • Eusebius, • Arius, • 250 Bishops at the Council of Nicea, • Paul of Thebes [Image Idea: Church of the Holy Sepulchre on page 235 of the Holman Bible Atlas]

38. More Fourth Century Influencers • Saint Antony, • Simon Stylites, • Pachomius, • Basil the Great, • Benedict of Nursia

39. Constantine’s Positives and Negatives • Legalized Christianity; facilitating its spread • Bishops could meet to set doctrine without fear • Christian morals began to affect society (e.g. end gladiatorial games) • Some became Christians to please the emperor • Clergy went from persecuted to persecutors (of heretics, unbelievers, Jews, all with power of state)

40. The Council of Nicaea • Homoousios= Jesus is divine; not made, • Set the date for Easter • Passed 20 canon laws • Set precedents for how church would operate • Church would pass canon law and state would enforce it • Councils would settle serious doctrinal questions • Creeds became the standard form of espousing the Christian faith

41. Why Monks Chose Solitary Life (1 of 2) • Some wanted to imitate Jesus and John who never married or owned many possessions; • Some, no longer persecuted, wanted to demonstrate dedication through denying themselves food, water, sleep, human contact, sexual pleasure; • Some focused on prayer and spiritual warfare;

42. Why Monks Chose Solitary Life (2 of 2) • Some sought to escape immorality, secularism, and laxity creeping into the church due to its closeness with the state. • Early monks saw deserts as the place to practice faith • Monks’ extreme gestures of piety made them the new church heroes.

43. Early rules of monastic life • Monk named Pachomiusset first rules including communal meals, group worship, shared work. • Benedict of Nursia established authority of influential Rule of Saint Benedict the abbot • Abbot, father of the monks, to be obeyed without question • Benedict stressed poverty, chastity, agricultural work, and a minimum of speaking.

44. 7: Fourth and Fifth Century Trinitarian and Christological Controversies • Arian controversy raged on • After Council of Constantinople theological debates shifted from trinity to Jesus Christ • homoousios(same substance) versus homoiousios(similar substance) • Differences in Alexandrian and Antiochene Christology [image idea: artist representation of three sided figure representing the Trinity]

45. Nicene position Defenders • Athanasius • Cappadocian Fathers: • Basil the Great, of Caesarea • Gregory of Nyssa • Gregory of Nazianzus

46. From your perspective The preaching of Gregory of Nazianzus against Arians was so successful they tried to kill him. What makes a truth worth dying for?***

47. Two Views of Christology Alexandrian Emphasized deity Antiochene Emphasized humanity

48. The Person and Nature of Christ • Nestorius said the humanity and divinity of Christ were not one entity but stood side by side. • Cyril taught that in Christ divinity and humanity united; before the incarnation the Logos existed without flesh. • Eutyches taught Christ was of one substance with the father but not with humanity.

49. 8: Theologians of the Fourth and Fifth Centuries • Led by Alexandrian and Antiochene bishops • Theological debates on Trinity and Christology • Theologians from other regions of Christendom attempted to enforce Nicene orthodoxy and to respond to pressing issues.

50. Pressing issues: • Proper relationship between church and state? • Should the church defer to state or state to church? • Was a person predestined to become a Christian? Does a person have a free will? • How should the New Testament be interpreted? • How should the church deal with heresy?