Church History Archives - Biblical Literacy

Lessons

Showing 1 - 12 of 30 Lessons

CH11 Science and Bible

Chapter 11 – Science the Bible and the Early Church Truth is God’s truth, whether it is found in math, science, or philosophy. Many of the early church leaders (Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus of Lyon) used their Greek logic (“science”) to defend the faith. Clement believed that God had providently provided the world with Socrates […]

10 years ago

W. Mark Lanier
CH01 Setting The Stage

Why study Church history? It is a study of Scripture and theology. Understanding the “canon,” or why we have the Scriptures we have we gain more understandings of the meanings because

10 years ago

W. Mark Lanier
CH12 Constantine and Council of Nicaea

Chapter 12 – Constantine and Council of Nicaea Constantine adopted Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire and he moved the Empire’s capital from Rome to Byzantium, which was renamed in his honor, Constantinople. Today we call it Istanbul. He was instrumental in organizing the Council of Nicaea and during that meeting, which […]

10 years ago

W. Mark Lanier
CH02 1 Clement

Clement was a Roman bishop who wrote to the church in Corinth around 95AD. He was the bishop over the house churches in Rome. He wrote to the church in Corinth because it was in turmoil again with problems similar to what Paul had covered in his earlier letter. He referenced numerous Old Testament passages […]

10 years ago

W. Mark Lanier
CH13 Athanasius, Ambrose and Arianism

Chapter 13 – Athanasius, Ambrose and Arianism The variety of issues discussed in the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) ranged from how to date Easter to whether to ordain eunuchs as priests, but everything was secondary to settling the Arian controversy. Arius taught that Jesus was made by God and was not divine on the […]

10 years ago

W. Mark Lanier
CH03 The Didache

The Didache is a book that contains very straightforward and simple instructions about life, closely akin to parts of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7). It speaks directly to how to live day-to-day as well as how to conduct core services as a church, or group of believers. It was used as a guide […]

10 years ago

W. Mark Lanier
CH14 St. Anthony

Church History: Chapter 14 – Saint Antony – A Desert Father The principal source for the life of St. Antony is the biography written by Athanasius. Born around 250 AD to parents that “were of good stock and well-to-do,” when his parents died (he was only 18-20), he chose to give all of his earthly […]

10 years ago

W. Mark Lanier
CH04 Martyrdom

Christian martyrdom was typically the end result of extreme persecution, which may have been rooted in three broad categories: Jewish persecution of the church – which was an extension of their hatred of Jesus; persecution that arose from local interests – where Christian moralities may have upset the local economy; and government sponsored persecution – […]

10 years ago

W. Mark Lanier
CH15 Augustine and Fall of Empire-Part 1

Church History: Chapter 15– Augustine and the Fall of the Roman Empire This is a study of Augustine and the fall of the Roman Empire but it also serves as a reminder that the Kingdom of God is the only enduring kingdom. As the Empire fell the Christian church was affected tremendously. Augustine was born […]

10 years ago

W. Mark Lanier
CH05 Martyrs: Ignatius and Polycarp

Ignatius of Antioch was the Bishop of the church at Antioch circa 110 AD. Typically Christians were charged with atheism because they would not worship Caesar as god and for this they were martyred. He wrote seven letters to the churches along his way from Antioch to Rome providing strong guidance in various Christian themes. […]

10 years ago

W. Mark Lanier
CH15 St. Augustine-Part 2

Church History: Chapter 15 Part 2– St. Augustine Augustine’s book, ‘Confessions’ could be considered an autobiography of sorts. This lesson focuses more the core principles of his theology. On good and evil, he says that only God is perfect. When God created us, He stated, it was “good” not perfect. God made good and when […]

10 years ago

W. Mark Lanier
CH06 Early Church Worship-Part 1

Many New Testament churches met in homes of the wealthy because these homes would have had enough room to accommodate the larger groups. The earliest official “church building” was a converted house in Dura-Europos, Syria, which is dated to have been converted around 250AD. Although there is not a record of how a typical service […]

10 years ago

W. Mark Lanier