History of Christianity - Lesson 9

Universal Life Church

History of Christianity - Lesson 9

Don Noenoehitoe

1. Who were apologists and polemicists and how did they respectively approach their task of defending the Christian faith through writing?

What was the difference in approach between the Eastern and Western apologists?

Apologists derived their writings to confront the persecutions of the early Christians and false charges of atheism, cannibalism, incest, and antisocial behaviors that were made by their Roman counterparts and anti-christian writers such as Celsus, Galen and Lucian. The Apologist were determined  for the elevating of Christianity as superior to Judaism, pagan religion, and state worship polytheism .

With backgrounds deeply immersed in Greek philosophy, the apologists were writing as philosophers, not theologians. They emphasized that Christianity was the oldest religion and philosophy because the Pentateuch predated the Trojan Wars, and what truths that were in Greek philosophy were in fact borrowed from Christianity or Judaism. The apologists made much of the pure life, death, and resurrection of Christ, Christ's miracles, and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ which proved Christianity is the highest philosophy.

Unlike the apologists (as converts from paganism) who addressed the external threats of persecution from the Roman state, the polemicists (as ones with a Christian cultural background) addressed internal heresies that were threatening the internal peace, purity, and unity of the early Christian church.
Unlike the apologists, the polemicists heavily emphasized the New Testament as the source for their writings in condemning the false doctrines.

Eastern Apologists:
- Aristides of Athens, From A.D.140 - A.D.150, offered an apology to Emperor Antoninus Pius.
- Justin Martyr, (c. A.D. 100-A.D. 165), immersed in Stoicism and the philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, and Pythagoras, wrote his First Apology to Emperor Antoninus Pius, followed by the his Second Apology to the Roman Senate
- Tatian, (c. A.D. 110-c. A.D. 180), a student of Justin Martyr, wrote "Address to the Greeks" in which Tatian exposed the obscurity of paganism and the viability of  Christian antiquity that predated the Greek philosophies.
Tatian also wrote the Diatessaron, a "harmony" or synthesis of the four New Testament Gospels.
- Athenagoras," the Athenian, Philosopher, and Christian", a proto-orthodox Christian apologist.
Around A.D. 177 he wrote Supplication; the Embassy for the Christians, an apology to the Emperors Marcus Aurelius and his son Commodus.
- Theophilus of Antioch,  sometime after A.D. 180 wrote "Apology to Autolycus".
He relied heavily from the Old Testament and one of the earliest Christian work to use the word "Trinity",
(Greek: Trias) but instead inferring to the words "The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit," rather, Theophilus himself puts it as "God, his Word (Logos) and his Wisdom (Sophia)."

The eastern apologists defended the early church theology through Greek philosophy,


Western apologists:
- Tertullian (c. A.D. 160-A.D. 225) was the apologist of the Western Church, the founder of Latin Christianity and Western Theology. 
Immersed in Classic Greeks, he is perhaps the oldest Latin writer to use the term "Trinity," (Latin: trinitas).  Among his apologetic writings, the Apologeticus, addressed to the Roman magistrates.
- Minucius Felix, around 200AD wrote "Octavius", a dialogue on Christianity between the pagan Caecilius Natalis and the Christian Octavius Januarius.

The Western apologists were concerned more about the distinctions and finality of Christianity than the similarities with pagan religions and philosophies.




2. Who was the greatest apologist? Who was the greatest polemicist?

Justin Martyr (c. A.D. 100-A.D. 165) was the greatest apologist of the 2nd century A.D.
Born in a pagan family near the Biblical town of Shechem, he early on became a wandering philosopher on a quest for truth.

Irenaeus, born in Smyrna [modern-day Izmir, Turkey], he would be considered the greatest polemicist.
He was predisposed to Polycarp's preaching while the latter was bishop of Smyrna.
Irenaeus later went to Gaul [modern-day France] where he became bishop before A.D. 180.
He was a well-accomplished missionary bishop. However his greatest effort was his polemical writings condemning Gnosticism.
Written around A.D. 185, Adversus Haereses [Against Heresies] was an attempt to condemn Gnostic doctrines, especially on the system of Gnostic Valentinus.


3. What were the two polemical schools of Christian thought and what were their respective approaches to formulating Christian theology?

The Polemicists: The Alexandrian School
Around A.D. 185, was founded in Alexandria, a school of catechism to teach new pagan converts the doctrines of Christianity.
The first leader of this school was Pantaenus who was a convert from probably Stoicism.
Clement of Alexandria (c. A.D. 155-c. A.D. 215), who was steep in Hellenistic philosophy,  and later Origen (c. A.D. 185-A.D. 254) with writings emphasis of textual criticism of the Scriptures, were the leaders of this Catechetical school.
Rather than stressing a historical-grammatical Biblical hermeneutic, they came up with an allegorical hermeneutic - hidden, deeper spiritual meanings - that has arguably harmed Christianity ever since that time.
Clement proposed to unite the mysticism of Neoplatonism with the practical spirit of Christianity.
Nevertheless, Neoplatonism eventually succumbed to Christianity.


The Polemicists: The Carthaginian School
The Western/Latin mentality - with tendency to emphasize a grammatical and historical interpretation of the Gospels - was more concerned with practical issues involving church polity and doctrines relating to the church rather than speculative theology. This difference can be seen in contrasting the writings of Origen with the writings of Tertullian and Cyprian (c. A.D. 200-c. A.D. 258) of North Africa, who wrote  De Unitate Catholicae Ecclesiae.  

History of Christianity - Lesson 8

Universal Life Church

History of Christianity - Lesson 8

Don Noenoehitoe

1. What were the roots of these heresies at this time?

Heresies were rooted in:

Jewish legalism; believed the Jewish law was the highest expression of God's will

Greek philosophy:
Gnosticism; originated with Simon Magus, to use human wisdom to to discern God's ways.
Manicheanism; founded by Manichaeus, deeply rooted to Zoroastrianism, orientalist and dualist doctrines.
Neoplatonism; emphasized on spiritual  essence of humanity and metaphysical mysticism as part of the eternal divine.
 

2. Why was Gnosticism in particular such a great danger to Christian doctrine?

Gnosticism is a danger to the Early Christian church because it rejected the sacramental ordinances of baptism and Eucharist.
It rejected the God of the Old Testament and accepted a God of Love revealed in Jesus; Gnostic dualism,  it fueled anti-Semitic schism within the Christian church, it rejected the reality of the humanity, sacrificial death, and bodily resurrection of Christ.

3. How did the existence of these heresies help the Christian church in the long run?

Existence of the heresies fueled the need for early writings of the Apostles and Church Fathers to defend the authority of the Scriptures, which in turn helped stabilize church doctrines and administrations; raised the prominence of the Roman Bishop.
The church developed creeds as tests for orthodoxy, which ultimately lead to the canonical texts and sacred writings  to condemn these heresies.

Re: History of Christianity - Lesson 7

Universal Life Church

History of Christianity - Lesson 7

Don Noenoehitoe

1. What were the factors that caused Christians to be persecuted by the Roman state?

Political:
When Christianity became separated from Judaism, the Romans populist viewed the Christians as a threat  within the Empire.
By refusing the required affirmations and exercises to mark the greatness of the Emperor and the imperial state, the early Christians were deemed as a political
adversary that challenge the very existence and welfare of the Roman Empire.

Religious:
The early Christians had no idols and very little symbols of worship, unlike their counterparts, the Romans, who were used to symbolic manifestations of their gods and goddesses (mechanical and external practices). These whole spiritual and internal way of worships by the Christians were mistakenly viewed as Atheism, therefore, a threat to the Romans.   Furthermore, the "Kiss of Peace", the observance of Eucharist, and secret meetings held  by the Christians led the Romans to accuse them of incest, cannibalism, and unnatural practices.

Social:
Christianity treated persons with equality (Colossians 3:11). Unlike Paganism, which maintains the social aristocratic systems of the Romans elites,
the early Christians readily accepted the masses of the undesirables, lower classes and slaves, thus viewed as a potential adversary to incite the masses to rebel against the state.

Economic:

The opposition the Apostle Paul received from the artisans of Ephesus showed that they were only concerned about their ability to make money (Acts 19:27). Christianity was perceived by many in the Roman Empire as a threat to their ability to gain wealth.
Hampered by plague, famine, and civil unrest, the Romans blamed the early Christians for economic instability.

2. Why is A.D. 250 a pivotal point in the persecution of Christians by the Roman state?

Decius reigned at a time when the empire was suffering natural disaster, internal and external threats to its tranquility. 
Because of their fast growth, the Christians were singled out as a peculiar threat to the imperial state.
Decius issued a decree in A.D. 250 demanding all to offer an annual sacrifice to the Roman gods and goddesses and the genius of the emperor,
and in return would receive a certificate called a libellus. Consequently, the early Christian church would experienced an immense persecutions with great severity during this period.

3. When was the persecution of Christians the worst? When did the persecution end and why? How did the persecutions affect the Christian church?

The first imperial edicts by Diocletian mandating the persecution of Christians happened in March A.D. 303. He commanded that Christian meetings to stop, churches destroyed, church officers thrown out, and the scriptures burned. Christians were punished by seizure of property, exile, imprisonment , or execution by the sword or wild animals. The more fortunate Christians were sent to the Roman labor camps where they were worked to death.

Persecution waned when Diocletian abdicated in A.D. 305.  Galerius issued an edict in A.D. 311 that tolerated Christianity as long as the Christians did not threaten the peace of the empire. Persecution did not stop completely until Licinius and Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313.
Theodosius I, the last Roman Emperor to rule over both eastern and western part of the Empire, also issued decrees in favor of the Christians,
and  in 380 AD effectively made Christianity the official state church of the Roman empire.

The Christian church survived despite heavy persecution by the Roman state. The Church grew rapidly throughout the Roman Empire, notably in Asia Minor,  Alexandria - Egypt, the Latins of Western empire and Carthage - North Africa.  Throughout the history of the Christian church, persecutions brought about changes within the church.Christians today can and ought to learn valuable lessons on how to relate to the early Christians who stood up faithfully for Christ in the face of state-sponsored persecutions and paid for their ultimate loyalty to Christ with their lives.

History of Christianity - Lesson 6

Universal Life Church

History of Christianity - Lesson 6

Don Noenoehitoe

1. Why did the early Christian church need to develop a system of governance?

By choosing the Apostles who were to become the leaders of the nascent Church, Christ Himself had laid the foundations for governing the Church.
With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles - facing the exponential growth of the nascent Church -  democratically formed, organized and headed the early Christian Church's formation and organization, e.g. the new office holders were chosen by the people and ordained by the Apostles.
An organized entity has to have some way to govern itself.  As it grows and maturates, that entity's leadership has to devolve its functions and delegate to others  in order to operate and govern the Church effectively.  An orderly liturgy to guide public worship (1 Corinthians 14:40) is another reasonable by product of the Christian church as an organized entity.  The Christian believer is part of both a scriptural organism and an organized entity.


2. What were the two branches of church offices called and what were their respective functions?

Church offices could be separated into two branches.
The first branch would be the charismatic offices (Greek: charisma, means "gift").
These office holders were chosen by Christ and given special spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12-14; Ephesians 4:11-12). They primarily gave inspirations.
The second branch would be the administrative offices. These office holders functioned  primarily as administrators. 
After the Apostles died, the elders assumed many of the spiritual responsibilities. The holders of administrative offices in the church were chosen by the congregation after prayer for the leading of the Holy Spirit and appointed by the Apostles.


3. How did the early church order its public worship? How did the early church relate to pagan Roman society?

The Apostles were concerned about having an orderly form of worship. The Apostle Paul exhorted the church at Corinth to worship in an orderly and dignified manner (1 Corinthians 14:40). Christ had already revealed what true worship is when He proclaimed that because God was Spirit, true worship was spiritual (John 4:24).

The early Church did not have an organized welfare mechanism, rather, each individual Church took on that responsibility.
Slavery was not prohibited, but the early Church views soon undermined slavery as to remind the Christian master and slave are both brethren in Christ.
This too was shown in Paul's diplomatic letter to Philemon.

The church demanded separation from the pagan practices of Roman society, but it did not forbid harmless mingling with their pagan neighbors in social situations. The Apostle Paul made provision for such social interaction as long as it did not compromise Christian principles (1 Corinthians 5:10; 10:20-33). Paul forcefully demanded total separation from any practice that was related to Pagan idolatry and immorality. These principles prevented early Christians from going to pagan theaters, stadiums, games, or temples.

The early church had both rich and poor, noble and non-noble. It was the strongest in the cities, stretched from Spain to India.
The early church's purity of life, love, and courage in the face of persecution had a tremendous impact on the surrounding pagan society.
It is no big surprise that just three centuries after Christ that the Roman emperor Constantine, having embraced the early church and became a Christian,
gave an official recognition to Christianity and personally called and presided over the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.