Kevin Stilley

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Preview of 100 Events We Will Cover In Church & Empires

  1. All history is His story.
  2. We must work to differentiate between civilization and Christianity.
  3. The past is a “foreign country.” – hermeneutics emic vs. etic
  4. Persecution of Christian during the reign of Domitian (81-96 A.D) came to forefront in Asia Minor where the imperial cult was centered.
  5. Persecution resulted in two significant literary productions: apologetics and martyrdom.
  6. Heresy promoted doctrinal systematization.
  7. Irenaeus important for representing orthodox reaction to heresy (Against Heresies).
  8. Tertullian’s writings tell us much about alternative understandings of Christianity.
  9. Origen produced the first systematic theology.
  10. Claims against Christians included obstinacy, disloyalty, atheism, cannibalism, incest.
  11. Philosophers such as Celsus, Galen, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius argued that Christians were “weaklings”, irrational, gullible, and fanatics.
  12. Persecution was sporadic but “always present as a possibility.”
  13. The early church fathers gave us a rich theological inheritance, but were not immune to error.
  14. Irenaeus – Trinitarian, fought Gnosticism, but also apostolic succession, emphasis upon tradition, priority of Roman bishop
  15. Perhaps the most influential second century apologist was Justin Martyr. Others included Tatian, Athenagorus, Thophilus and Minucius Felix.
  16. The Logos was prominent in apologetic literature (a) The Logos as the reason or wisdom of God, (b) the Logos as God’s spoken word, (c) the Logos as immanent in the world, (d) the Logos as the revealed word of God in the prophets, (e) the incarnate Jesus.
  17. Martyrdom literature took three forms, letters, passions, and acts.
  18. “Beginning with Constantine, the church entered imperial history in such a way that one cannot deal with the secular history of the fourth century without discussing the church and cannot deal with the religious history without considering the state.”
  19. Arius believed that, “Thee was when Christ was not” — that Jesus was the first and highest of God’s creations – a god.
  20. Arianism was addressed at the Council of Nicea, called by Constantine in 325.
  21. The council adopted the word homoousious to describe Christ’s relationship with the Father.
  22. The first four ecumenical councils were Nicea (325), Constantinople (381), Ephesus (431), Chalcedon (451).
  23. The fourth century dealt with the Trinitarian conflict. The fifth century with the Christological controversy.
  24. Apollonarianism = the belief that the divine Logos replaced the human soul/spirit of Jesus.
  25. Nestorianism = Christ exists as two natures, the man Jesus and the divine Son of God, or Logos, rather than as a unified person.
  26. Eutychianism = Monophysitism – only one nature of Christ, the human nature overcome by the divine nature.
  27. Ebionites – Denied the full deity of Christ (As the Christ, he functioned as God on earth)
  28. Docetism – Appeared to be a man
  29. Eutychianism – Human nature became absorbed into the God nature such that
  30. Monarchianism/Seballianism – Modalism
  31. Adoptionism – man in the beginning but adopted as the Son of God and became deity
  32. Kenoticsm – God became less God to become man, he set aside part of his deity
  33. We must watch out for language games – equivocation
  34. Constantine moves capital in 330
  35. The Eastern Empire becomes seat of power and wealth
  36. Roman bishop left as single most powerful person in the West
  37. By the end of the 4th century barbarians serious problem in the west (Visgoths, Huns, etc)
  38. After the sacking of Rome in 410, Christian views of society and history were put forth, including the most prominent which was Augustine’s City of God.
  39. Compare Augustine’s Two Cities with Genesis 4-5.
  40. Other important works of Augustine which we will discuss include his Confessions, and On the Trinity,
  41. Augustine – bridge between ancient world and Middle Ages
  42. Roman bishop won primacy over other bishops
  43. When imperial throne falls into the hands of the barbarians in 476 people look to the Roman bishop for political leadership as well as spiritual leadership
  44. Western civilization was created in medieval Europe (institutions, mentalities, struggles, books, etc.) No more Roman Lake.
  45. Spontaneous mission work in 4th & 5th centuries
  46. “Medieval history, from one point of view, is the story of the movement of the centre of gravity of civilization from one side of the Alps to the other.”
  47. “The movement of the centres of civilization from south to north and from east to west during the medieval centuries involved a change from the empires of Rome, Byzantium, and the Arabs, empires of vast geographical extent and great military power but which were relatively loosely controlled.”  Creation of new societies.
  48. Christians among the Britons by the end of the second century.
  49. When Roman missionaries came England in 6th century they found three distinct expressions of Christianity (1)Romano-British Christians in the South, (2) Irish Christians, and (3) Celtic Christianity.
  50. Boniface evangelizes Teutonic tribes occupying modern Germany
  51. In the East, political stability achieved through reducing taxes and trimming expenses. (common vision)
  52. Syriac speaking Christians took gospel to Persian where there was interest in medicine, philosophy, advanced education.
  53. Persians make peace treaty with Justinian in 532
  54. Justinian had eyes on Africa and Italy
  55. 539 Khosru declares War on “Rome”
  56. Bubonic plague, Slavs, Goths keep Eastern empire from “glory” – Justinian’s reign relentless, austere quality
  57. Persia becomes stronger than at any time since Darius I
  58. Time of weak leadership makes susceptible to be conquered.
  59. In the sixth century many Arabs had converted to Christianity, but most continued to worship tribal deities.
  60. Mohammad lived 570-632.
  61. Ten years = 65 raids or campaigns
  62. Eventually becomes powerful enough to take Mecca, destroys idols, establishes Islam
  63. Islam means “submission.”
  64. Muslim means “one who submits.”
  65. The century of Muslim expansion is traditionally dated as 632-732.
  66. By 650 his Muslims had overrun the Persian empire, taken Syria, Egypt, and Palestine
  67. Western empire makes gains in the North through evangelism.
  68. Missionary task included making sure converts would be loyal to the pope.
  69. Emperors in Constantinople thought the church should be subordinate to the ruler of the state.
  70. Pope seeks ally
  71. Frankish rulers
  72. Rulers of new empire were Teutons rather than Romans
  73. Franks had accepted the Roman culture
  74. Clovis (466-510) had unified the Franks and conquered most of what would be modern France
  75. Franks accepted Christianity in 496 and became bulwark of papal power in Western Europe
  76. Eastern Empire barely hold its own against Muslims
  77. 718 Eastern empire under Leo the Isaurian stops Muslim advance
  78. Charles Martel stopped the advance of Islam in Spain in 732.
  79. Muslims, influenced by Greek culture, set out to build a splendid Arabic civilization centered in Bagdad
  80. Eastern Influence Diminishes (North African church disappears, Egypt and Holy Land lost to Muslims, Roman bishop has been growing stronger and stronger)
  81. The Franks “snatched western Europe from decline and brought a brief cultural revival” when Charlemagne crowned as true successor to the Roman empire.
  82. Charlemagne had Augustine’s City of God read to him every night and it was his inspiration for a Frankish-Roman empire.
  83. Charlemagne saw “missions” as part of a military strategy.
  84. By the time of the new millennium (1000) almost all of Europe was “officially” Christian.
  85. Charlemagne was crowned by Pope Leo III on Christmas day of 800, but intentionally avoided having the Pope present when control was passed to his son (816).
  86. “The Constitution romana (824) spelled out relations of emperor and pope. The emperor had supreme jurisdiction, while the pope as a local ruler was to exercise ordinary judiciary and administrative power in his territories.  The pope was to be chosen by the Roman people without constraint.  The emperor was to confirm his election, and before his consecration he was to take an oath of loyalty to the emperor.  The pope had the right to crown and anoint the emperor.
  87. Henry III, German emperor, was the last emperor able to dominate the papacy. Deposed three rival popes and installed his own.
  88. Excommunication of Henry IV by Gregory VII in 1076.
  89. Pope Boniface VII: Unam Sanctum (1302)For when the Apostles say: ‘Behold, here are two swords’ [Lk 22:38] that is to say, in the Church, since the Apostles were speaking, the Lord did not reply that there were too many, but sufficient. Certainly the one who denies that the temporal sword is in the power of Peter has not listened well to the word of the Lord commanding: ‘Put up thy sword into thy scabbard’ [Mt 26:52]. Both, therefore, are in the power of the Church, that is to say, the spiritual and the material sword, but the former is to be administered _for_ the Church but the latter by the Church; the former in the hands of the priest; the latter by the hands of kings and soldiers, but at the will and sufferance of the priest.
  90. Erastians –
  91. Calvin –
  92. Luther –
  93. Anabaptists –
  94. What Does the Bible Say? Deut 17:8ff
  95. 1 Samuel 13
  96. 2 Chronicles 26:16-21
  97. Luke 20:22ff
  98. First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
  99. Aristocracy = weakness, meritocracy = strength
  100. Six things that lead to cultural change: war, politics, religion, migration, economics, education.

 

 

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Define your terms, please.

Allow me to share with you the story of an old fashioned lady, quite delicate and elegant, especially in her language.

She and her husband were planning a vacation so she wrote to a campground for reservations. She wanted to make sure it was fully equipped, but didn’t know how to ask about the toilet facilities. She didn’t want to write ‘toilet’ in her letter. After much deliberation she though of the old fashioned term ‘bathroom commode’ but when she read the letter she had written she was still uncomfortable with the straightforward language. So she rewrote the letter and abbreviated bathroom commode to B.C. “Does the campground have it’s own B.C.?” she wrote.

Well, the campground owner wasn’t old fashioned at all and when he got the letter he couldn’t figure out what she was talking about. The B.C. business really stumped him. After worrying about it for awhile he showed the letter to some of the campers. Many of the campers were Baptists, and they were certain that the lady must be inquiring about the location of the local Baptist Church. So, the campground owner sat down and wrote the following reply.

Dear Madam,

I regret very much the delay in answering your letter, but I now take the pleasure of informing you that the B.C. is located six miles north of the campground. It is capable of seating 250 people at one time. I will admit that it is quite a distance away, if your in the habit of going regularly. But no doubt you will be pleased to know that a great number of people take their lunches and make a day of it.
They usually arrive early and stay late. The last time my wife and I went was 6 years ago, and it was so crowded that we had to stand up the whole time. Right now there is a supper planned to raise money for more seats. It will be held in the basement of the B.C. I would like to say tht it pains me that I am not able to attend regularly, but it is not for the lack of desire on my part. As we grow older, it seems to be more of an effort, particularly in cold weather.
If you decide to come down to the campgrounds, perhaps I could go with you the first time, sit with you, and introduce you to all the folks.
Remember that this is a friendly community.

If two parties are using the same terms in different ways what do you have? Confusion.

Medieval scholastics had a Latin phrase that was almost a motto for them. “When there is confusion, make a distinction.”

How many of you have read the dialogues of Plato? What is the first thing that Socrates always did in his effort to arrive at understanding?  – He forced those involved in the discussion to define their terms.  “What is justice?  Don’t give me examples of justice, define it.”

How many of you have been involved in dialogue with other faiths?  Do they use the same theological vocabulary as you? Yes. Does it mean the same thing? Probably not.

As a religious leader, guarding your flock, you must make sure that you have defined your faith for them and that your flock understands the language games that are played in the theological marketplace of ideas.

Are you a follower of Jesus Christ?  Really?  What does that mean?

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The Inquisition Was A Good Thing

“The Inquisition was a good thing.”

That is the sentence with which I usually open my lecture on The Inquisition(s) in my medieval history class. The sentence is intended to shock my students and to get them to lean in to the topic. Do I really believe that The Inquisition was a good thing? Well, let me explain . . .

We almost always discuss The Inquisition as a whole but there was not a single all-encompassing Inquisition; there were many inquisitions. The four major inquisitions are generally categorized as (1) the Medieval Inquisition [1184–1230s], (2) the Spanish Inquisition [1478–1834], (3) the Portuguese Inquisition [1536–1821], and (4) the Roman Inquisition [1542 – c. 1860]. However, even this breakdown is far too general and does not adequately represent the great diversity of approach during 600 years of the Catholic church’s inquiry into heresy.

When I tell my students that The Inquisition was a good thing, I hasten to explain that The Inquisition must be vehemently condemned. Anonymous accusations, terror, cruelty, torture and death are not something of which we approve. My opening statement is intended to get my medieval history students to look past the blood stained garments to see the men and women involved. Who were they? How did this begin? Why?

During much of the medieval period less than 1% of the European populace could read. In this environment heresy was everywhere. In a world in which church and state had been fused, civil rulers believed that orthodoxy was much more than an issue of personal salvation or an in-house theological controversy; they believed that orthodoxy was an issue of state (national) security. Civil rulers were convinced that they were obligated to preserve social order by ferreting out theological error and dispatching it. However, most civil rulers were in no manner qualified to examine those accused of heresy and to determine whether or not they were genuine heretics. Most civil rulers were clueless when it came to matters of faith and doctrine, so how were they to render judgment on the theology of others? Civil rulers, recognizing their own ignorance, often took what they considered to be the safest approach; to avoid the risk of setting free a heretic they simply executed everyone who was accused. Others opted for a more discriminating approach; they resorted to trial by ordeal. In trial by ordeal a person was subjected to some kind of horrendous experience and then innocence or guilt was determined based upon the outcome. For instance, an accused individual might be forced to use his bare hand to grab a pebble from the bottom of a pot of boiling water after which his innocence or guilt was determined by how well his skin healed. Other individuals were forced to walk across red-hot plowshares or to carry a red-hot iron to see if they came through it without being burned, or to be submerged in water to see if they would be drowned.

Inquisition was birthed out of this historical setting. Innocent people were being executed because a personal enemy accused them of heresy and the civil ruler did not have the wisdom to be able to properly examine them and establish the truth. Innocent people were suffering horribly when forced to endure trial by ordeal. Inquisition was initiated as a humane alternative to the violence and cruelty being suffered by the accused. If the civil ruler was not adequate for the task of inquiring into the theology of the accused then who was? Theologians. Inquisition allowed those who were more theologically informed to inquire into the theology of the accused and to determine if they really were heretical in their beliefs. Many of those who actually were heretical in belief had strayed simply because they didn’t know any better. A good inquisitor could show the errant person his mistake, teach him the truth, and send him on his way. It was all very humane compared to the alternatives that were in vogue.

So, in some very minimal way, when very strictly limited and defined, it is probably true that “The Inquisition was a good thing.”

Lest I be misunderstood, let me say once again that I completely, utterly, vehemently condemn the inquisitions in almost all of their many manifestations. Even though some such inquiries were initially good intentioned, I am fundamentally opposed to an understanding of the church-state relationship in which such investigations would even take place. But, I will continue to use this opening line for my lecture because it facilitates two things, it forces my students to examine the historical development of the inquisitions, and it also shows how something that is initiated for the purpose of preserving life and defending truth can very quickly devolve into something of unspeakable horror. A warning for us today.

“Unless I am convinced by proofs from Scriptures or by plain and clear reasons and arguments, I can and will not retract, for it is neither safe nor wise to do anything against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.” (Martin Luther before the Diet of Worms)

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Orthodoxy and Heresy – Select Quotes

Orthodoxy does not have a history. It is true eternally. Heresy has a history, having arisen at particular times through particular teachers.
~ Eusebius of Caesarea

The age of the martyrs has a powerful attraction even to the casual reader; the age of the heresies leaves him bewildered and distressed. Yet the agents in both were discharging an equally necessary function. Both were upholding the truth of the gospel; the one against the power of the world, the other against the wisdom of the world. The martyrs had this advantage, that the force of their testimony was concentrated in one supreme moment, was expressed in one heroic act, which commands universal sympathy. The controversialists had to live through a protracted struggle and are judged by their utterances, and all their human weaknesses which the conflict remorselessly revealed.
~ Mandell Creighton, quoted by B. B. Warfield in  Selected Shorter Writings, vol. 2, page 214

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RELATED

Orthodoxy & Heresy in the Early Church

Christianity & Pagan Systems of Thought

The Pursuit of God

100 Most Important Events In Church History

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The Christian Identity Movement

Watchman Fellowship recommends the following resources on the Christian Identity movement;

Cults, New Religious Movements, and Your Family, by Richard Abanes

Damaged Disciples, by Ron and Vicki Burks

American Militias, by Richard Abanes

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The Brethren / The Jim Roberts Group

Watchman Fellowship recommends the following resources on The Brethren / The Jim Roberts Group;

From Dean’s List To Dumpsters, by Jim Guerra

The Forgotten Trinity, by James R. White

Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity, by Gregory A. Boyd

Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, by Johnson and Van Vonderen

Out of the Cults and into the Church, by Janice Hutchinson

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Boston Church of Christ / International Church of Christ

Watchman Fellowship recommends the following resources on the Boston Church of Christ / International Church of Christ;

What Does The Boston Movement Teach?, by Jerry Jones (Watchman Fellowship adds this warning: this book provides outstanding information on the Boston Church Movement’s history and doctrine but also teaches baptismal regeneration)

Churches That Abuse, by Ronald Enroth

Cult Proofing Your Kids, by Paul Martin

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Astrology

Watchman Fellowship recommends the following resources on the Astrology;

Astrology: Do The Heavens Rule Our Destiny?, by John Ankerberg and John Weldon

New Age Encyclopedia, by J. Gordon Melton

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