Ambassador College Notes and Course Outlines
Church History Directory
|
Introduction |
Glossary of Terms |
|
Lecture 1 |
The World Prepared for the Christian Church |
|
Lecture 2 |
Establishment of the New |
|
Lecture 3 |
The Growth of Christianity |
|
Lecture 4 |
Persecution / The Fall of |
|
Lecture 5 |
Gnosticism / Simon Magus / Cerinthus |
|
Lecture 6 |
Various Sects and Men - First Century |
|
Lecture 7 |
Polycrates, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement, Tertullian, and Origen |
|
Lecture 8 |
Eusebius, Constantine, the Council of Nicea |
|
Lecture 9 |
How Sunday Came to be Part of the Church |
|
Lecture 10 |
Laodecia / Arianism / Easter |
|
Lecture 11 |
Quarto-Decimens / Paulicians |
|
Lecture 12 |
Ambrose, Augustine, and Bogomils |
|
Lecture 13 |
The Church in the Wilderness: Albigenses / Patarines / Cathari |
|
Lecture 14 |
Peter de Bruys / Arnold / Henri |
|
Lecture 15 |
Waldensians |
|
Lecture 16 |
Waldensian Beliefs |
|
Lecture 17 |
The Catholic Church - Doctrines / History |
|
Lecture 18 |
The Catholic Church - History |
|
Lecture 19 |
The Catholic Church - Crusades |
|
Lecture 20 |
The History of Education |
|
Lecture 21 |
The Reformation |
|
Lecture 22 |
Lollards / Anabaptists / Sabbatarians |
|
Lecture 23 |
The Church in |
|
Lecture 24 |
History of the |
|
Lecture 25 |
The Philedelphia Era |
LECTURE 1
The World Prepared for the
Christian Church
I. Galatians 4:4 The fullness of
times
A. God had a schedule
B. World had to be prepared for God to send His Son
C. Why send Christ at the time He did?
1. Why not in Adam's day?
2. Why not Noah's time?
3. Why not have Him succeed David
4. Why wait?
II. Daniel's dream begins to
explain
A. God shows four world ruling empires
1.
2.
3.
4.
A. Atmosphere of World Ruling Empires
created by God - 600 B.C.
B. Babylon = head of gold
C. This was the first real Civilization
IV. The next empire was
A. Persians - very warlike and crude.
B. They spread world rule
C. They were the first to institute a real mail system
to keep control of the empire
D. They had a different approach to government
1. Cultural
pluralism
2. They thought that if they
let each culture keep
it's
particular forms of worship that all the gods
would be
pleased and they would be that much
more of a
greater empire for it
3. Cyrus made a decree that the Jews
could return to
their
homeland and worship as they wanted
4. This started the Diaspora
a. Many Jews
not return but went to other areas
b. They
spread to major commercial centers
c. Created a
need for Jews to preserve their culture
d. Built
synagogues that led to the dispersion of
God's law among the Gentiles
e. These in
place for Paul to travel to with gospel
V. The Greek Empire
A. Greeks - 330-30 B.C.
1. Brought in
culture, civilization, art, educational
system, and
language.
2. Infused world with desire to
learn.
3. Greek education system basis for
ours today
a. Greek
became the language of education
b. Greek was
the language gospel preserved in
4. Greek philosophy gave
civilization a sense of the
importance
of man and a humanitarian approach
5. They allowed the Jews to live and
prosper
6.
a. used by NT church, along with
and
7. Fell about 60 B.C. to Romans led
by Pompey.
VI. Romans
A. No new cultural developments - carried on with Greek
ideas.
B. Began to rise 100 years before Christ, solidified by
31 B.C. when brought the
eastern part into empire
C. Empire extended from
D. In building the empire they did, they contributed by vast
technological improvements.
1. They built roads to carry war
machines and armies
2. They also improved the mail
system greatly so Paul's
epistles
could travel fast
3. They developed a great seaway
system for trade and
troops that
would later be used by God's apostles
E. Government
1.
not
dictatorial.
2. They let kings rule under Roman
authority.
3. local
governments - permitted as long as allegiance
to
4. One third of the world population
under Roman rule.
F. Herodian family ruling
1. Herod the Great ruled in
G. Religions
1. Permitted all, though new
religions not allowed
under Roman
government.
2. Christianity viewed as sect of
Judaism
a. Sabbath
not changed.
b. Passover
and food laws observed.
c. Had peace
with Pontifex Maximus (Augustus Caesar).
d. Church
could take its message.
A. There was very little progress after this
1. 15OO's printing developed to set
the stage for the
protestant
reformation so there would be a climate
for God's
truth
2. Industrial Revolution - 1800's
a. Steam
engine made production and travel
increase enormously
b. World
never to be the same
3. Marconi invented radio
4. World shrunk in size
5. TV, mass communications, and
computers all happened
in the last
15O years
6. Without these the gospel could
not go out as
effectively
as it has
7. The world has been prepared for
God's work, and
Christ's
coming, today, just as it was for His first coming
VIII. Zenith of Roman Power - 46
B.C.-180 A.D.
A. Caesars of
1. Julius Caesar (46-44 B.C.)
2. Augustus Caesar**
(31-14 B.C.)
3. Tiberius (12-37 A.D.)
4. Caligula (37-41 A.D.)
5. Claudius (41-54 A.D.)
6. Nero (54-68 A.D.)
7. Galba (68-69 A.D.)
8. Otho, Vitelius (-69 A.D.)
9. Vespasian (69-79 A.D.)
10. Titus (79-81 A.D.)
11. Domitian (81-96 A.D.)
12. Hadrian (117-138 A.D.)
13. Marcus Aurelius (138-161 A.D.)
14. Antonius Pius (161-180 A.D.)
** Augustus was the Roman Caesar
who most established the
Empire, preparing it for Christianity.
LECTURE 2
Establishment
of the New Testament Church
I. Harnack - German church
historian
A Prime source used in this time frame. Called
father of Church history
1. Others quote heavily from
his work
B. Wrote late 1800's and early 1900's
C. Wrote book on the spread of Christianity
in the first 300 years
D. Strong German influence in study of theology
E. Gave 7 Reasons for "Christianity boom"
1. Diffusion of Judaism throughout empire
a. colonies
spread - dispersion (Diaspora)
b. Jews laid
the foundation so when Paul
went out there were communities in
place in all major cities
2. Hellenization
of the world (Greek culture)
a. Language
- communication
b.
The society became polytheistic
c. They
allowed God's religion to exist
3. Roman monarchy
- one world government
a.
This gave the empire one law
b. It united
people in thought and protected all
4. Communication
system
a.
travel/roads
b. postal
system
c.
trade/commerce
5. Humanitarian ideas
developed
a. Tolerant
attitude about religion
b. Generated
questions about man's importance and
purpose, questions Christianity could answer
c.
Christianity grew under guise of Judaism
6. Roman tolerance of religion
a. Church
was viewed as a sect of the Jews
b. It was
forbidden to have a new religion
c. This
proves that the Church had the
doctrines we have today
1. If it had X-mas, Sunday, or others then outlawed
2. All scholars agree that the early church was Jewish
3. Judaism had Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians,
Essenes, and Nazarenes, the church
7. Diffusion of Assyrian and Persian
religion
a. Persians
emphasized religion and allowed all
b. Greeks
carried on the concept of Polytheism
c. these
groups blended - Syncretism
1. System developed that was Greek, Jewish,
Babylonian, etc.
2. Into this, Simon Magus began to add Christianity
* * *
SIMON MAGUS
* He had the whole system to work with.
* He had background of mythology.
* He had the belief in after life
and the legends of Isis
and Osiris.
* None of the Apostles ever
included any other religions
into what they preached - Simon did.
* * *
SIMON WAS NOT THE FIRST POPE
* The Catholic Church took time to develop.
* What Simon did to blend Christian
concepts with
Pagan led to what finally became the Catholic Church.
* What came out of this was a
church that accepted the
name and the person of Jesus, yet held totally different
doctrines and preached a totally different message.
* Mr. Armstrong explained it as a
church that preached
about the person of Jesus but did not preach His
message.
LECTURE 3
The Growth of Christianity
I. First century history is very
unclear
A. Early extra-Biblical accounts are mostly speculation
and tradition
B. Early traditions of Christ show him preparing for the work
of the Church
C. What did He do from age 12 - 3O?
1. He may have been taken to
2. Possibly He went to
lost ten
tribes
II. Jesus gives a commission to
the disciples (Mt. 10:1-23)
A. Go to the lost sheep of the house of
1. From 700 B.C. after
Babylonians were in power the
ten
tribes did not return to the holy land with the Jews.
2.
this
took centuries.
B. Paul's commission
1. Paul's commission not
limited to Gentiles only
(Acts
2. Conversely, the apostles'
commission was limited to
the
house of
kings
C. Three Apostles shown in Biblical
history
1. Peter
who went to the Jews
2. Paul
who went to the Gentiles
3. John
who was to complete the first century
D. We just don't know about the others
E. We can't say with any real authority what took place
F. Many radical ideas exist that are highly unlikely
"The scanty and suspicious materials of ecclesiastical history seldom enable us to dispel the dark cloud that hangs over the first age of the church." (The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire, chapter 13, 7th Edition, p. 219)
IV. Jesse Hurlbut
"We name the last generation of the first century, from 68 to 1OO A.D., 'The Age of Shadows,' partly because the gloom of persecution was over the church; but more especially because of all periods in the history, it is the one about which we know the least....For fifty years after St. Paul's life a curtain hangs over the church, through which we strive vainly to look; and when at last it rises, about 12O A.D. with the writings of the earliest church-fathers, we find a church in many aspects very different from that in the days of St. Peter and St. Paul" (The Story Of The Christian Church, p. 41)
V. Why is this part of history
so clouded?
A. This is not Worldwide Church doctrine - this is fact
B. We are not the only ones who realize that the false
system grew and the true
church was submerged
C. Satan caused the false system to develop at this time
D. If it were not so clouded, all could see the deception
E. As it is, 85-95% of all Catholics and Protestants believe
that the Catholic church
is the remnant of the original
church started by Christ
VI. Gibbon wrote about the
reasons for Christianity's growth
A. Gibbon famous for chapters 15-2O on church history
B. Gibbon was agnostic not a Catholic historian
C. Dealt with Christian growth in the empire
D. He gives his points from a philosophical view
A. Zeal
1. Judaism had an inflexible
and intolerant zeal
2. They had few convert
because of their many dos
and
don'ts
3. Christianity seemed to be
more flexible
a.
Circumcision not required
b. No
sacrifices or rituals
4. Did not have to adopt
Jewish culture, but did adopt
holiness
B. Had a doctrine of future life
1. Culture of the time
thought man important and had
questions of what man's purpose was
2. Christianity had
answers to the questions
3. The teaching of
the
appeal
4. This evolved to
the doctrine of the immortal soul
C. Had a record of miracles performed
1.
Tongues
2. Dead raised
3. Healings
4. Prophecy
D. Had a high standard of morality
1. Gentile
world immoral
2. Many in
society suffered from this and saw the ultimate
fall that would result
3. This was a strong
attraction to Gentiles especially
women
4. The doctrine of
forgiveness of sin was important
5. People liked and
needed a way to remove guilt that
came from sin
E. Had unity in the church government
1. This is where
Gibbon goes astray
2. The Church
developed a government that took over
the world
3. The government could
and did wield great power
LECTURE 4
Persecution
/ Fall of
I. PERSECUTION BEGINS
A. At first the church flourished as a Jewish sect
1. Act 18:2, things tightened under
Claudius
a. Seutonius
records this persecution
b.
2. The Church felt some but not much
of this anti-semitism
B. Paul was in
II. NERO ASCENDS TO THE THRONE
A. Claudius reigned in Rome during most of the early church
B. Nero's mother got Claudius to kill his wife and marry her
C. Nero's mother got Claudius to adopt Nero as heir to
throne
D. Nero's mother poisoned Claudius
E. Nero ascended to the throne at age 16-17, about 58-59
A.D.
1. Paul in
Ceasarea in 2 year imprisonment now
2. Nero the teen-age paranoid
was the Ceasar Paul asked to
appear
before
F. By 59 A.D. Nero had his mother and step-brother
killed
G. Tradition says that the day Paul landed in
that Nero killed his mother
A. Frank C Bourne's, A History Of
The Romans, reveals
Nero's character:
"The crimes of Nero's reign were infamous and patent. They were the more dreadful because Nero himself was a physical and moral coward. His adoptive brother Britannicus was poisoned early in the reign because he might prove a rival. His mother's ambition and her disapproval of his unstatesman-like devotion to the arts and to his mistresses caused him to have her murdered in 59 A.D." (p. 393)
IV.
A. Acts 28:3O-31 Paul free to work and teach 2 years in his
hired house
B. Paul probably faced Nero in a minor ceremony since he
appealed to see him
V. WHY BOOK OF ACTS
A. No salutation at the end of the book
B. Possibly more was to have been added
C. Paul was freed and traveled for 7 more years
D. Romans 15:24, Paul intended to go to Spain
E. Traditions say that he went to Spain and Britain
F. Paul's later travels may be included in the book
G. Possibly God left the book open on purpose
1. The Acts of other different eras
may be added later
2. Possibly material or quotes from
events we will discuss in
this class
will go into a continuing book of Acts
VI.
A. 64 A.D. a monumental year for the church
B. Rome caught on fire
C. Nero 2O-3O miles away when it started
D. 1O of Rome's 14 precincts burned
E. The fire was a terrible tragedy:
Weigall writes in the book Nero:
"For six days the city blazed; and then, when the catastrophe was thought to be over, the flames broke out again and continued their destruction for three days more....During the blaze panic took hold of the citizens, and during the first days of the blaze the confusion was appalling. The screams of the women and children, the cries and shouts of the men were incessant; and the noise and smoke, the crashing of buildings, and the heat and glare of the leaping flames, bereft the people of their senses. Distractedly they ran to and fro, often finding themselves hemmed in when they had waited too long in helping the aged or infirm to escape, or in salvaging their goods. In the sudden panics and rushes which occurred as street after street was attacked, scores of people were trampled underfoot or suffocated; scores more were burnt to death as they attempted to rescue their friends or relations or to save their belongings; and it is said that many went mad and flung themselves into the flames which had destroyed all they loved or possessed, or they stood dumb and motionless while their retreat was cut off. To add to this confusion, thieves were soon at work, assaulting and robbing the householders who were carrying their treasures into the streets." (p. 28O)
A. Christians may have thought this was the end of the world
B. God's church probably knew
C. The church teaching was that the world was to end by fire
D. Rome knew the Christian teaching about the end
E. They also knew that Christians taught against the Roman
gods
F. The fact that Christians did not help put out the fire
helped move public sentiment against them.
Weigall relates the Christian sentiment over the fire
on pages 295-296 in his book, Nero:
"Also, it was reported that
during the blaze, when asked by their distracted fellowmen if, then they were
glad to see
VIII. NERO BEGAN A PERSECUTION
OF THE CHURCH AS A RESULT
A. Tacitus' account of the persecution is as follows:
"First were arraigned those who confessed, then on their information a vast multitude were convicted, not so much on the charge of arson as for their hatred of the human race. Their deaths were made more cruel by the mockery that accompanied them. Some were covered with the skins of wild beasts and torn to pieces by dogs; others perished on the cross (by crucifixion) or (others were burned) in the flames; and (yet) others again were (covered with tar and) were burnt after sunset as torches to light up the darkness... Nero himself granted his gardens for the show, and gave an exhibition in the circus, and dressed as a charioteer, ...drove his chariot himself" (Annals XV, 44, 6)
B. The
persecution was so bad that even the Romans felt pity
1. Tacitus continues:
'Thus, guilt and deserving the severest punishment as they were, they were yet pitied, as they seemed to be put to death, not for the benefit of the State, but to gratify the cruelty of an individual." (Annals XV, 44, 7)
2. Ramsey writes in The Church In The Roman Empire:
"...As Tacitus emphatically says, and as Pliny afterwards attests, the judgment of the mob on the origin of the fire was not permanently blinded: Nero was the real culprit and not these miserable victims." (p. 235)
IX. THE FALL OF
A. Two years later in 66 A.D. the Jews revolted
1. Caesar required them to worship
him as a god
2. Priests led a revolt
B. Nero sent his best general, Vespasian
C. Jews sent their best general, Joseph
1. Jews could not fend them off
2. Joseph captured
3. Joseph surrendered to him
D. Joseph told Vespasian that he had had a vision from God
and
that Vespasian would become
Ceasar
E. Vespasian gave Joseph a pension and he spent the rest of
his
life writing a history of the
Jewish people
F. Joseph took the Roman name "Flavius Josephus"
1. His works are Wars Of The Jews and Antiquities Of the
Jews.
2. Every serious Bible student
should have this work
G. In 68-69 Nero committed suicide.
1. Vespatian returned to
2. He left his son Titus in charge
of the armies
3. Titus finally took
H. Josephus tells of how the Jews were warned to flee in his
book, Wars Of The Jews:
"I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sun-setting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding cities. Moreover, at that feast which we call Pentecost, as the priests were going by night into the inner [court of the] temple, as their custom was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said that, in the first place, they felt a quaking, and heard a great noise, and after that they heard a sound as of a great multitude, saying, 'let us remove hence'" (Book. 6, ch.5, par. 3)
I. Only one
group of people understood this sign
a. Luke 21:2O-21 This
was a dual prophecy
b. The Christians fled
In The History of the Primitive Church, the author writes:
"Before the siege, the Christians left the city: 'By a prophecy which had been revealed to the leaders of the Church of Jerusalem, the faithful were admonished to leave the city before the war, and to go and live in a town in Perea named Pella; they accordingly withdrew there, and thus the metropolis of the Jews and all the land of Judea was completely abandoned by the saints.'" (p. 3O6)
J. It was difficult to flee at this time and to do so would require God's miraculous intervention. S.G.F. Brandon writes in The Fall Of Jerusalem and The Christian Church:
[The Christians would have had to] "...pass unmolested through a considerable tract of insurgent country, patrolled as it was undoubtedly at such a time by bands of nationalist troops..." [They would have to have] "...succeeded in eluding the attention of their zealous countrymen and traveled safely, with some proportion of their goods, through territory now held by the Romans and probably still carefully patrolled." (p. 171)
X. THE CHRISTIANS IN
A. Acts 24:5 - the term was first used because Jesus was
from
Nazareth
B. The Hebrew name for
branch or germ
C. Eventually the term came to mean a "despised
one"
D. These people existed until the late 4th century.
The
Encyclopedia Britannica 11th
edition describes these people
as:
"... an
obscure Jewish-Christian sect, existing at the time of Epiphanius (A.D. 37O) in
Coele-Syria,
* * *
The Roman Emperors
Zenith
of Roman power: 46 B.C. - 180 A.D.
|
Caesar |
Reign |
Comment |
|
Julius Caesar |
46-44 B.C. |
|
|
Augustus Caesar |
31-14 A.D. |
Prepared empire most for Christianity. Christ born in 4 B.C. |
|
Tiberius |
12-37 |
Christ crucified 31 A.D. |
|
Caligula |
37-41 |
|
|
Claudius |
41-54 |
|
|
Nero |
54-68 |
Persecuted Christians. Executed Paul. |
|
Galba |
68-69 |
|
|
Otho, Vitelus |
69 |
|
|
Vespasian |
69-79 |
Destroyed |
|
Titus |
79-81 |
|
|
Domitian |
81-96 |
Persecuted Christians in 96 A.D. |
|
Trajan |
96-117 |
Persecuted Christians |
|
Hadrian |
117-138 |
Persecuted Christians |
|
Marcus Aurelius |
138-161 |
Persecuted Christians |
|
Antonius Pius |
161-180 |
Persecuted Christians |
|
Decline
and fall of the |
||
|
Commodus |
180-182 |
|
|
Barrack Emperors |
182-284 |
Appointed by Army. Civil War |
|
Septimius Severus |
193-211 |
Persecution severe but not general |
|
Caracalla |
218-222 |
Tolerated Christianity |
|
Alexander Severus |
222-235 |
Favorable to Christianity |
|
Maximin |
235-238 |
Persecuted Christians |
|
Phillips |
244-249 |
Very Favorable to Christianity |
|
Decius |
249-251 |
Determined to exterminate Christiantiy |
|
Valerian |
253-260 |
Persecution more severe than Decius |
|
Galienus |
260-268 |
Favored Christianity |
|
Aurelian |
270-275 |
Persecuted Christianity |
|
Diocletian |
284-305 |
Last persecution, most severe |
|
|
306-337 |
Became a Christian |
|
Julian |
361-363 |
Sought to restore Paganism |
|
Jovian |
363-364 |
Restored Christianity |
|
Theodosius |
378-395 |
Made Christianity state religion |
|
Empire divided in East and West in 395 A.D. |
||
|
|
||
|
Justinian restored empire 554 A.D. |
||
|
Eastern empire fell in 1453 A.D. |
||
LECTURE 5
Gnosticism
/ Simon Magus / Cerinthus
I. GNOSTICISM:
A. Little is said about its
beginning
B. It was centered in
various concepts together (syncretism)
C. Gnosticism predates Christianity
1. It comes from the word
"gnosis" to know
2. It originated from the Grecian
times
3.
D. Gnosticism held a great variety of opinions:
1. Orientalism with Hellenism
2. Egyptianism and
Judaism
3. Blended the Pentateuch in
with the others
4. It was brought into Christianity
by Simon Magus and
Cerinthus
5. Eventually it developed into at
least 5O sects
II. DEFINITION OF TERMS:
A. Gnosis in the Greek = immediate knowledge of spiritual
truth
attainable by faith alone.
This was the basis.
B. Gnosticism = the thought and practice of various cults of
late
pre-Christian and early
Christian centuries distinguished by
the conviction that matter is
evil and emancipation comes
through gnosis
C. Dualism = Reality is two. Usually these realities
are
antithetical, as
spirit and matter, good and evil. Commonly,
the antithesis is
weighted so that one of the two is
considered more
important and more enduring than the
other.
D. Demiurge = a Gnostic subordinate deity who is the creator
of
the material world. God to
good to have created world!
E. Docetism = The thought that
Christ entered Jesus. Jesus was
not considered God and Christ never
really came in the flesh.
Christ was thought to have left
Jesus when He endured His
suffering.
F. Antinomianism = the law was done away. To get more grace,
we should sin the more.
G. Asceticism = The practicing of
strict self-denial as a measure
of personal and spiritual discipline
A. II Thess 2:7-1O, by 5O-52 A.D. the church was 2O yrs old
and the "...the mystery of
iniquity doth already work..."
1. This refers to Simon Magus or
Cerinthus at that time
2. It also is a type of the false
prophet at the end
B. Gal 1:7 by 53 A.D. another teaching at work
1. It was
(removing) them from the true gospel
2. A different
"Christianity" began to preach a gospel about
Christ
instead of what Christ taught
C. The whole book of Colossians was probably devoted to
dispelling the teachings this
movement
1.
world
created by a lesser, evil deity or an angel
2.
philosophy
sounded interesting to people
3. This could be dealing more with
Cerinthus who was more
ascetic in
his beliefs
4. This was in the 6O's and Paul was
in Prison at
D. I Tim 6:2O-21 "...oppositions of science..."
was gnostic
IV. THE GENERAL EPISTLES DEAL
WITH THIS ALSO:
A. By 62 A.D. Gnosticism was
affecting the Church
B. For this reason, most if not all of the N.T. books were
written
to combat various forms of their
teaching
C.
D. I John 4:1-3 Try the spirits, if say Christ not come in
flesh
then it is not of God
E. Jude 3-4 Certain men crept in unawares who turned the
grace
of God into lasciviousness
V. THERE WERE TWO
A. Simon Magus was the first
B. Read the hand out on Simon - test questions on this
C. He was born about the same time as Christ
D. Born in Samaria
E. Educated in Alexandria
F. Was a high priest in Samarian religion
G. Embraced Gnosticism because of Syncretism
H. Started preaching in mid 3O's went to Rome in mid 4O's
I. Blended pagan religion with Christianity
1. He even influenced people in the
Church
2. He was also a magician and worked
false miracles
J. Impressed people so much they made a statue of him on the
Tiber River.
1. Many dispute Justin's writings on
this
2. In the 15O's Justin Martyr wrote
"this statue was still
there."
VI. BELIEFS OF SIMON
A. God was very remote believed creation was by angelic
beings
B. Dualistic in beliefs
C. Emphasis on female gods and sexual promiscuity
D. Rejected Mosaic law
A. Married a prostitute and made her a goddess. The
Dictionary of Christian Biography, Literature, Sects and Doctrines by Smith and
Wace explains:
"Helen was a prostitute whom
he had redeemed at
B. This could
have been the beginnings of "Mary worship."
Together they made up a story that
she was the spirit of Helen
of
born
C. Many believed this story and were caught up in his
sensual
religion
VIII. SIMON'S DEATH
A. Stories vary, but there are two main ones
1. He tried to prove he was a god by
rising from the dead
Smith and
Wace relate:
"...Hippolytus'...relation is, that after the scene recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, Simon traveled to Rome and there encountered the Apostles, and that when he was deceiving many by his magic arts he was especially resisted by Peter. And when he was near being thoroughly exposed, he bid his disciple dig a trench and bury him, promising that he would rise again on the third day. They did as he bade them; but he never rose." (p. 684)
2. He tried to prove he was a god by flying "...to give the
emperor a crowning
proof of his magical skill, he had
attempted to fly
through the air, but that through the
efficacy of the
Apostle's prayers the demon who bore him
were compelled to
let him go, whereupon he perished
miserably." (p. 684)
3. He was given a heroic
burial in the famous Roman
cemetery, now
called the
Magus was Peter,
Werner Keller writes in his The Bible as
History:
"On the night of his death on the cross Peter's (Simon Magus') followers buried his body. As in the case of Jesus on the hill of Calvary it was wrapped in linen and secretly taken to a Pagan burial-ground on the Via Cornelia behind the stone structure of the arena. This Pagan cemetery lay on a knoll called Vaticanus: the Latin word 'vatis' means a 'prophet' or soothsayer.' In days gone by there had been a Etruscan oracle on this spot."
B. Justin Martyr
writes in The First Apology that Simon was
eventually honored as a god by a
statue. This is found in Saint
Justin Martyr by
"After the ascension of Christ
into Heaven, the demons produced certain men who claimed to be gods, who were
not only not molested by you, (the Romans) but even showered with honors. There
was a certain Simon, a Samaritan, from the village called Gitta, who in the
time of Emperor Claudius through the force of the demons working in him,
performed mighty acts of magic in your royal city of Rome and was reputed to be
a god. And as a god he was honored by you with a statue, which was erected (on
an island) in the
IX. THE OTHER MAJOR HERITIC WAS
CERINTHUS
A. He was educated in
B. He appeared in about 88 A.D.
C. He was contemporary with Simon
D. He resided in
E. John considered him a supreme enemy
The Encyclopedia Of Religion and Ethics recounts a meeting of John and Cerinthus:
"Irenaeus says, referring to Polycarp: 'And there are some who heard him say that John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe in Ephesus and seeing Cerinthus within, leapt out of the bath without bathing, but saying "Let us flee, lest the bath fall in while Cerinthus the enemy of the truth is within."'" (p. 318)
X. BASIC TEACHING OF CERINTHUS:
A. Irenaeus relates the most trustworthy information
about his teaching.
"A certain Cerinthus in Asia taught that the world was not made by the Supreme God, but by a certain power entirely separate and distinct from that authority which is above the universe, and ignorant of that God who is over all things. He submitted that Jesus was not born of a virgin (for this seemed to him impossible), but was the son of Joseph and Mary, born as all other men, yet excelling all mankind in righteousness, prudence, and wisdom. And that after His baptism there had descended on Him, from that authority which is above all things, Christ in the form of a dove; and that then He had announced the unknown Father and had worked miracles but that at the end Christ had flown back again from Jesus, and that Jesus suffered and rose again, but that Christ remained impassible, since He was a spiritual being." (I, XXVI, I)
B. Cerinthus had a perverted
teaching about the millennium. The
Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics states:
Cerinthus taught that angels had
shown him that "...after the resurrection the
C. His teaching influenced the
Ebionites:
Irenaeus connects Cerinthus with Carpocrates and the
Ebionites.
He says: "Those who are called Ebionites agree that the world was made by God; but their opinions with respect to the Lord are similar to those of Cerinthus and Carpocrates. They use the Gospel according to Matthew only, and repudiate the Apostle Paul, maintaining that he was an apostate from the Law." (I. XXVI. 2)
D. Some of these teachings affected the church.
XI. HOW DID GNOSTICISM EVER
ENTER THE CHURCH?
A. Barclay writes in his commentary, Letters Of John and Jude:
"By A.D. 1OO certain things had almost inevitably happened within the Church,...The thrill of the first days had, to some extent at least, passed away. In the first days of Christianity there was a glory and a splendour, but now Christianity had become a thing of habit... Many were now second or even third generation Christians ... the first thrill was gone and the flame of devotion had died to a flicker. Christianity involved an ethical demand. It demanded a new standard of moral purity, a new kindness, a new service, a new forgiveness --and it was difficult. And once the first thrill and enthusiasm were gone it became harder and harder to stand out against the world and to refuse to conform to the generally accepted standards and practices of the age." (p. 3-4)
B. These people
brought in Gnostic thought ignorantly.
Barclay Continues:
"The trouble which John (and others) sought to combat did not come from men out to destroy the Christian faith but from men who thought they were improving it. It come from men whose aim was to make Christianity intellectually respectable. They knew the intellectual tendencies and currents of the day and felt that the time had come for Christianity to come to terms with secular philosophy and contemporary thought. What then was this contemporary thought and philosophy with which the false prophets and mistaken teachers wished to align the Christian faith? Throughout the Greek world there was a tendency of thought to which the general name of Gnosticism is given." (p. 5)
XII. A MODERN
A. In the 7O's the liberal era
1. These men were not evil
2. They wanted to improve God's
Church
3. They wanted to popularize it to
make it intellectually
acceptable
B. We made the S.T.P. project
1. We just wanted to define the
doctrines of the
2. We wanted to make it palatable
3. It was not filled with heresy,
9O% ok.
a. It
watered down interracial marriage
b. It
watered down healing
c. It was
the start of a departure from God's truth
LECTURE 6
Various Sects
and Men - First Century
I. NAZARENES
A. These
existed from the 1st century through the 4th
B. There is no biblical account of them.
C. They fled to
D. Believed...
1. In both old and new testaments of the Bible.
2. In one
God and Christ was his son.
3. In the Sabbath.
4. Accepted
the Gentiles into their fellowship
Richard Watson writes of these in the Biblical and Theological Dictionary:
Nazarenes is "a name given to Christians in General, on account of Jesus Christ's being of the city of Nazareth; but was, in the second century, restrained to certain judaizing Christians, who blended Christianity and Judaism together. They held that Christ was born of a virgin, and was also in a certain manner united to the divine nature. They refused to abandon the ceremonies (not meaning rituals and sacrifices) prescribed by the law of Moses.
They rejected those additions that were made to the mosaic institutions by the Pharisees and doctors of the law, and admitted the Scriptures both of the Old and New Testament.
The fathers
frequently mentioned the Gospel of the Nazarenes, which differs nothing from
that of St. Matthew, but was afterward corrupted by the Ebionites. These
Nazarenes preserved this first Gospel in its primitive purity. Some of
them were still in being in the time of
The Ecclesiastical History of the Second and Third Centuries, by John Bishop records:
"There can indeed be little doubt that, after the promulgation of Adrian's edict, those Christians who had united the observance of the Mosaic ritual with the profession of the Gospel, fearful lest they should be confounded with the Jews, gradually abandoned the Jewish ceremonies -- so that, in the time of Tertullian, the number of Judaizing Christians had become extremely small. We are now speaking of those whom Mosheim calls Nazarenes. [A footnote says: that they, though retained the Mosaic rites, believed all the fundamental articles of the Christian faith. The Ebionites on the contrary, who also maintained the necessity of observing the ceremonial, rejected many essential doctrines of Christianity." (p. 474-475)
II. EBIONITES:
A. Time
period: Late 1st century through 3rd century.
B. General information:
1. Originally Jewish converts.
a. Two possibilities for their name:
b. Named after a man Ebion
c. Name means "poor" - could be that they were called
this because they were poor.
2. Predominately Jewish and did not
accept Gentiles
3. Probably not
part of true church. Could be termed
heretics.
4. Reject some NT teachings,
i.e. Paul.
5. Adhered to circumcision.
a. These could be traces of those who rejected Paul
b. Pos. these split off after the conference of Act 15
c. These may have ended like so many of the groups
that split off from us in this age; they have
similarities but are not really of us
d. They eventually were influenced by Gnostic beliefs
6. Believed God created the
world, accepted docetism.
7. Vegetarians
8. Practiced celibacy--this
led to them dying out.
9. Observed the Sabbath until
fourth century; after
observed
Sunday.
C. Strange Doctrine
1. Christ = an angel, 96 ft.
tall.
2. Holy Spirit = a woman 96
ft. tall.
The Britannica 11th edition explains:
"Irenaeus...sheds no light on the origin of the Ebionites, but says that while they admit the world to have been made by the true God (in contrast to the Demiurge of the Gnostics), they held Cerinthian views on the person of Christ, used only the Gospel of Matthew...and rejected Paul as an apostate from the Mosaic Law, ... the customs and ordinances to which, including circumcision, they steadily adhered...They kept both the Jewish Sabbath and the Christian Lord's day...(and) at the end of the 2nd century and the beginning of the 3rd, (these people) exchanged their simple Judaistic creed for a strange blend of Essenism and Christianity...It was claimed that Christ, as an angel 96 miles high accompanied by the Holy Spirit, as a female angel of same stature, had given the revelation to Elchasai in the 3rd year of Trajan." Edward Burton relates in Lectures upon the Ecclesiastical History of the First Three Centuries, "It may have been the success of
D. Mr. Dean
Blackwell feels that the Ebionites fulfill the
scripture in Revelation 2:2
which says: "...and how thou
canst not bear them which are
evil: and thou hast tried
them which say they are
apostles, and are not, and has
found them liars."
E. Later on, the Nazarenes lost the truth
1.
2. This was due to John's
preaching in this area
A. Note
handout
1. Nazarenes
and Ebionites in the East.
2. Gnostics in the West.
|
Nazarenes |
Ebionites |
|
|
Jewish |
|
OT and NT |
Rejected Paul |
|
Resurrection |
Circumcision |
|
One God / Christ son |
God / Docetism |
|
Sabbath |
--------- |
|
Possibly in church |
Probably not in church |
IV. WRITERS
A. Those
who wrote before the Nicean Council were called
Ante-Nicean
B. This was in 325 so, Ante-Nicean
is before this
C. Apostolic Fathers: Three key writers.
1. Justin Martyr -
100-167 A.D.
2. Irenaeus
- 130-200 A.D.
3. Eusebius -
264-339 A.D. Cath. historian assoc. w/
D. Roman Writers:
1. Seutonius -
biographer of the Caesars
2. Dio - historian;
covered
3. Pliny - lawyer;
acquitted Christians in
V. DOMITIAN - 81-96 A.D.
A.
General Information
1. He was one of the
sons of Vespasian
2. Attempted
to reform morals and religion in empire.
3. Some Christian
persecution.
4. Atheism - refusal to
worship Roman gods.
5. References from mid
90's refer to some Christian
influence.
6. Banished John to isle
of
7. Paranoid of
assassination.
a. Was assassinate in 90's A.D.
b. Killed in own bedroom
The Encyclopedia Britannica on Domitian states:
"Like
Augustus, he attempted a reformation of morals and religion. As chief pontiff
he inquired rigorously into the character of the vestal virgins, three of whom
were buried alive; he enforced the laws against adultery, mutilation, and the
grosser forms of immorality, and forbade the public acting of mimes...He passed
many sumptuary laws, and issued an edict forbidding the over-cultivation of
vines to the neglect of corn-growing...Domitian's military achievements were
insignificant...The revolt of Antonius Saturninus, the commander of the Roman
forces in Upper Germany (88 or 89) marks the turning-point in his reign...from
that moment Domitian's character changed. He got rid of all whom he disliked on
the charge of having taken part in the conspiracy, and no man of eminence was
safe against him. He was in constant fear of assassination and distrusted all
around him. During the last three years of his life his behavior was that of a
madman. He sentenced to death his own cousin and nephew by marriage, Flavius
Clemens, whose wife he banished for her supposed leaning towards...
Christianity... (finally)... He was stabbed in his
bedroom by a freedman of Clemens named Stephanus on
Tranquillas writes of him in The Lives of The Twelve Caesars:
"Domitian,
Vespasian's son was born in
The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religion explains how during Domitian's reign the Christians came to be criminals:
"Roman custom permitted a virtual... decision to be rendered against a whole group of persons who were believed to be banded together to commit crimes. No overt act needed thereafter to be proved against any individual member of the group in order to ensure his condemnation. The exact charges varied with local circumstances, but by the middle of the second century, the common charge came to be 'treason-atheism,' based on refusal to participate in the imperial cult." (pp. 91-96)
Benko adds in his book Early Church History:
"That Christians may have been a special object of Domitian's persecution is also attested by Tertullian: 'Domitian, too, a man Nero's type in cruelty, tried his hand at persecution: but as he had something human in him he soon put an end to what he had begun, even restoring again those whom he had banished." (p. 67)
Domitian's persecution was shorter than some but it was effective. His is called the second persecution, and Fox writes about it in his Book of Martyrs:
"The tyrants and organs of Satan were not content with death only, to bereave the life from the body. The kinds of death were divers, and no less horrible than divers. Whatsoever the cruelness of man's invention could devise for the punishment of man's body, was practiced against the Christians--stripes and scourgings, drawings, tearings, stonings, plates of iron laid unto them burning hot, deep dungeons, racks, strangling in prisons, the teeth of wild beasts, gridirons, gibbets and gallows, tossing upon the horns of bulls. Moreover, when they were thus killed, their bodies were laid in heaps, and dogs there left to keep them, that no man might come to bury them, neither would any prayer obtain them to be interred." (p. 18)
VI. THE APOSTLE JOHN CONFRONTED
DOMITIAN
A. It
was Domitian that banished John to Patmos
B. Tradition says he was set in boiling oil but was unharmed
C. One account shows him drinking poison before Domitian to
prove God's power.
The first appearance of the story
of John and the boiling oil is found in Tertullian's writings: Prescriptions
Against Heretics: From Early Latin Theology Greenslade.
He writes, speaking of
"How fortunate is that church upon which the apostles poured their whole teaching together with their blood, where Peter suffered like his Lord, where Paul was crowned with John's death, where the apostle John, after he had been immersed in boiling oil without harm, was banished to an island." (p. 57)
In The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Robers and Donaldson have collected writings that include the Acts of The Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian where there is an account of John facing Domitian:
"And the fame of the teaching of John was spread abroad in Rome; and it came to the ears of Domitian that there was a certain Hebrew in Ephesus, John by name, who spread a report about the seat of empire of the Romans, saying that it would quickly be rooted out, and that the kingdom of the Romans would be given over to another..."
"...and the king said to him: Art thou John, who said that my kingdom would speedily be uprooted, and that another king, Jesus, was going to reign instead of me? And John answered and said to him: Thou also shalt reign for many years given thee by God, and after thee very many others; and when the times of the things upon earth have been fulfilled, out of heaven shall come a King, eternal, true, Judge of living and dead, to whom every nation and tribe shall conform, through whom every earthly power and dominion shall be brought to nothing, and every mouth speaking great things shall be shut..."
"At this Domitian said to him: What is the proof of these things? I am not persuaded by words only...and immediately John asked for a deadly poison. And the king having ordered poison to be given to him, they brought it on the instant. John therefore having taken it, put it into a large cup, and filled it with water, and mixed it, and cried out with a loud voice, and said: In thy name, Jesus Christ, Son of God, I drink the cup which Thou wilt sweeten; and the poison in it do thou mingle with Thy Holy Spirit..."
"And when John stood, cheerful, and talked with them safe, Domitian was enraged against those who had given the poison, as having spared John."
John said "...let a trial be made, and thou shalt learn the power of the poison. Make some condemned criminal be brought from the prison. And when he had come, John put water into the cup, and swirled it round, and gave it with all the dregs to the condemned criminal. And he having taken it and drunk, immediately fell down and died." (Later after Domitian ordered the dead body thrown away), "...John going up to the dead body, ...and having taken him by the hand, he raised him up alive."
"And when all were glorifying God, and wondering at the faith of John, Domitian said to him: I have put forth a decree of the senate that all such persons should be summarily dealt with, without trial; but since I find from thee that they are innocent, and that their religion is rather beneficial, I banish thee to an island, that I may not seem myself to do away with my own decrees." (pp. 56O-562)
The New Testament Era by Reicke records:
"Since pre-Christian and apostolic times. The Jewish people was represented in all important regions of the Roman and Parthian empires...Including proselytes it numbered several millions and made up between six and nine percent of the total population of the Roman Empire." (p. 284)
VIII. TRAJAN - 98-117 A.D.
A.
General Information
1. Dealt
strictly.
Encyclopedia Britannica 11th edition states:
"Trajan...Roman emperor, was
born at Italica, in
When the
revolution of 96 came, and Nerva replaced the murdered Domitian, one of the
most important posts in the empire, that of consular legate of
The secret of Trajan's power lay in his close personal relations with the officers and men of the army and in the soldierly qualities which commanded their esteem... He possessed courage, justice and frankness. Having a good title to military distinction himself, he could afford, as the unwarlike emperors could not, to be generous to his officers.
The common soldiers, on the other hand, were fascinated by his personal prowess and his camaraderie. His features were firm and clearly cut; his figure was tall and soldierly. His hair was already grey before he came to the throne, though he was not more than forty-five years old... Probably he lost nothing of his popularity with the army by occasional indulgence in sensual pleasures. Yet every man felt and knew that no detail of military duty, however minute, escaped the emperor's eye, and that any relaxation of discipline would be punished rigorously, yet with unwavering justice...
In disciplinary matters no emperor since Augustus had been able to keep so strong a control over the troops. Pliny rightly praises Trajan as the lawgiver and the founder of discipline, and Vegetius classes Augustus, Trajan and Hadrian together as restorers of the morale of the army. (pp. 156-157)
2. During Trajan's time
there were many rumors
about Christians at his time that caused public
hatred
Tacitus' account is reproduced in
"He refers to the new religion as 'evil...hideous and shameful,' (and) noted for its 'hatred against mankind." (p. 7)
The article shows the public's beliefs about Christians:
"Minucius Felix describes what the public suspected went on in private Christian meetings: 'An infant covered with meal, that it may deceive the unwary, is placed before him who is to be stained with their rites: This infant is slain by the young pupil, who has been urged on as if to harmless blows on the surface of the meal, with dark and secret wounds. Thirstily--O Horror!--they lick up its blood; eagerly they divide its limbs." (p. 7)
Public opinion changed slowly as Christianity grew, but for some time leaders were unsure of how to deal with Christians:
"Many wanted Christianity stopped, yet it spread. Personal contact and example rather than elaborate missionary machinery illustrated the faith to the world. Justin Martyr says, 'Many changed their violent and tyrannical disposition, being overcome either by the constancy which they witnessed in the lives of their Christian neighbors, or by the extraordinary forbearance they have observed in their Christian fellow travelers when defrauded, and by the honesty of those believers with whom they have transacted business." (p. 8)
3. Letters from Pliny about Christians in the early
2nd century
written at this time show this period
of
uncertainty.
a. In the letter to Trajan Pliny asks how to deal
with the Christians
"...the method I have observe towards those who have been denounce to me as Christians, is this: (He says) I interrogated them whether they were Christians; if they confessed I repeated the question twice again, adding a threat of capital punishment; if they still persevered, I ordered them to be executed; for I was persuaded, that whatever the nature of their creed, a contumacious and inflexible obstinacy certainly deserved chastisement...I judged it so much the more necessary to extract the real truth, with the assistance of torture, from two female slaves, called deaconesses. But I could discover nothing but depraved and excessive superstition. I therefore thought it proper to adjourn all further proceedings in this affair, in order to consult you."
b. Trajan's reply is to not hunt Christians down
A History of the Christian Church fourth edition explains:
"There is no question in the emperor's mind that the Christians represent an unauthorized, and in principle dangerous, association. Nevertheless, he obviously does not believe that they constitute much of a problem in practice. He directs, therefore, that when caught they are to be punished (though if they recant their faith, they can be pardoned), but that they are not to be sought out actively...Trajan's successor, the emperor Hadrian, seems to have taken much the same attitude." (p. 51)
4. 2nd Jewish wars occurred during Trajan's reign
5. These
uprisings in Judaism - affecting Christians.
a. Romans destroyed
b. Christians forced out completely
IX. IGNATIUS - BISHOP OF
A. blamed for earthquake at that time
B. sentenced to lions den at
The Encyclopedia Britannica 11th edition explains:
"No one
connected with the history of the early Christian Church is more famous than
Ignatius, and yet among the leading churchmen of the time there is scarcely one
about whose career we know so little." Eusebius states that he "was
the second successor of Peter in the bishopric of
"Ignatius constantly contends for the recognition of the authority of the ministers of the church. 'Do nothing without the bishop and the presbyters'...'It is not lawful apart from the bishop either to baptize or hold a love-feast.' ...Differences of theological opinion were arising. Churches had a tendency to split up into sections. The age of the apostles had passed away and their successors did not inherit their authority. The unity of the churches was in danger. Ignatius was resisting this fatal tendency which threatened ruin to the faith. The only remedy for it in those days was to exalt the authority of the ministry and make it the center of church life." (p. 293-294)
Britannica also relates his attitude toward eventual death. In his epistle to the Romans Ignatius writes:
"I bid all men know that of my own free will I die for God, unless ye should hinder me...Let me be given to the wild beasts, for through them I can attain unto God. I am God's wheat, and I am ground by the wild beasts that I may be found the pure bread of Christ. Entice the wild beasts that they may become my sepulcher...; come fire and cross and grapplings with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, hacking of limbs, crushings of my whole body; only be it mine to attain unto Jesus Christ" Rom.4-5 Enc. B. 11 (p. 294)
X. POLYCARP - 69-156
A.
General Information
1. Born shortly before the fall of
2. Probably
member of the church.
3. Disciple
of Apostle John in
a. Trained by John to carry on the work
b. prepared by John after his release from exile
at
c. All the information we have of him is from catholic
sources and has their slant
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition: Polycarp was
". . .
bishop of
d. Polycarp born to members of the church
e. He was a
second generation Christian
4. Thought of as a Catholic by Roman
Catholic church.
5. Leader of the church in
a. The Church is now split east and west
b. He was called the bishop
c. This is not a bad term we don't use it because of its
association with Catholic
d.
"Christian" can mean any group at this time
e. Catholic
church is not a solidified body yet
The Encyclopedia Britannica 11th edition relates the Catholic writer, Irenaeus' account of Polycarp:
"I saw thee when I was still a boy in Lower Asia in company with Polycarp . . . I can even now point out the place where the blessed Polycarp used to sit when he discoursed, and describe his goings out and his comings in, his manner of life and his personal appearance and the discourses which he delivered to the people, how he used to speak of his intercourse with John and with the rest of those who had seen the Lord, and how he would relate their words. And everything that he had heard from them about the Lord, about his miracles and about his teaching, Polycarp used to tell us as one who had received it from those who had seen the Word of Life with their own eyes, and all this in perfect harmony with the Scriptures." (p. 21)
Burnett Streeter records the ordination of Polycarp in his work The Primitive Church:
"The passage to be cited is also relevant as evidence, it not of the primitive method of appointing a bishop, yet of that practiced in Asia, perhaps already in the second century. 'And on the Sabbath, when prayer had been made long time on bended knee (Polycarp), as was his custom, got up to read; and every eye was fixed upon him. Now the lesson was the Epistles of Paul to Timothy and to Titus, in which he says what manner of man a bishop ought to be. And he was so well fitted for the office that the hearers said one to another that he lacked none of those qualities which Paul requires in one who has the care of a church. When, then (after the reading, and the instruction of the bishops and the discourses of the presbyters), the deacons were sent to the laity to enquire whom they would have , they said with one accord, 'Let Polycarp be our pastor and teacher'. The whole priesthood then having assented, they appointed him, notwithstanding his earnest entreaties and his desire to decline.
Accordingly the
deacons led him up for ordination by the hands of the bishops according to
custom. And being placed in his chair by them, he moistened and anointed first
with tears of piety and humility the place where in the spirit he saw standing
the feet of Christ, who was present with him for the anointing to the priestly
office. For where the ministers are--the priests and Levites-- there in the
midst is also the High-priest arrayed in the great flowing robe. Then the company
present urged him, since this was the custom, to address them. For they said
that this work of teaching was the most important part of the communion (
6. Read through Rev. chapters 2 & 3.
7. Led church at least 50 years into
2nd century.
8. Constantly fought heresies.
9. Death, c. 156 A.D.
a. He was
about 86 years old
b. God seems
to have a pattern of using men who
become quite old.
The Encyclopedia Britannica 11th edition states that:
"Though
Polycarp must have been bishop of
All through his life Polycarp appears to have been an uncompromising opponent of heresy. We find him in his epistle (ch. vii) uttering a strong protest against certain false teachers (probably the followers of Cerinthus)... Polycarp lived to see the rise of the Marcionite and Valentinian sects and vigorously opposed them. Irenaeus tells us that on one occasion Marcion endeavoured to establish relations with him and accosted him with the words, 'Recognize us.' But Polycarp displayed the same uncompromising attitude which his master John had shown towards Cerinthus and answered, 'I recognize you as the first-born of Satan.'
The steady progress of the heretical movement in spite of all opposition was a cause of deep sorrow to Polycarp, so that in the last years of his life the words were constantly on his lips, 'Oh good God, to what times hast thou spared me, that I must suffer such things!'" (pp. 21-22)
B. Events
occurring at this time
1. Doctrine of
Easter beginning to be observed.
2. Maryology develops at this
time
3. Christ's resurrection on
Sunday develops during his work
4. Dichotomy between church's
at
in the East
- 150 A.D.
5. Confrontation between
Polycarp and Anicetus
a. Passover vs. Easter
1) Polycarp weak; gave in to certain things
2) parted friends
a). He was probably a Barnabas type
b). He was more a peace maker in the Church
3) maintained that Easter was pagan
The Encyclopedia Britannica 11th edition states:
"It is one of the most interesting and important events in the church history of the second century that Polycarp, shortly before his death, when he was considerably over eighty years old, undertook a journey to Rome in order to visit the bishop Anicetus.
Irenaeus, to
whom we are indebted for this information, gives as the reason for the journey
the fact the differences existed between
We learn further
that Anicetus as a mark of special honour allowed Polycarp to celebrate the
Eucharist in the church, and that many Marcionnites and Valentinians were
converted by him during his stay in
6. Lived a few years after confrontation.
7. Arrested in
8. Told to renounce his
religion.
9. Suffered martyr's death.
The History of the Church by Eusebius describes this:
"Three nights before his arrest, while at prayer he saw in a trance the pillow under his head burst into flames and burn to a cinder. He awoke at once and interpreted the vision to those present, opening the book of things to come and leaving his friends in no doubt that for Christ's sake he was to depart this life by fire. As the efforts of his pursuers went on relentlessly, the love and devotion of the brethren compelled him to move on to yet another farm. There he was soon overtaken: two of the farm servants were seized, and under torture one of them revealed Polycarp's quarters. Late in the evening they arrived and found him in bed upstairs. He might easily have moved to another house but he had refused, saying: 'God's will be done.' Indeed, when he heard that they had come, the account informs us, he came down and talked to them in the most cheerful and gentle manner, so that, never having seen him before, they could hardly believe their eyes when confronted with his advanced years and dignified confident bearing". Why they wondered, was there such anxiety to arrest an old man of this kind? He meanwhile ordered the table to be laid for them immediately, and invited them to eat as much as they liked, asking in return a single hour in which he could pray unmolested. Leave being given, he stood up and prayed, full of the grace of the Lord, to the amazement of those who were present and heard him pray, many of them indeed distressed now by the coming destruction of an old man so dignified and so godlike.
At last he ended his prayer... The hour for departure had come, so they set him on an ass and brought him to the city. The day was a Great Sabbath [Either Purim or the Passover Saturday]. He was met by Herod the chief of police and his father Nicetes, who after transferring him to their carriage sat beside him and tried persuasion. 'What harm is there in saying "Lord Caesar" and sacrificing? You will be safe then.' At first he made no answer, but when they persisted he replied: 'I have no intention of taking your advice.' Persuasion having failed they turned to threats, and put him down so hurriedly that in leaving the carriage he scraped his shin. But without even looking round, as if nothing happened, he set off happily and at a swinging pace for the stadium. There the noise was so deafening that many could not hear at all, but as Polycarp came into the arena a voice from heaven came to him: 'Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man.' No one saw the speaker, but many of our people heard the voice.
His introduction was followed by a tremendous roar as the news went round: 'Polycarp has been arrested!' At length, when he stepped forward, he was asked by the proconsul if he really was Polycarp. When he said yes, the proconsul urged him to deny the charge. 'Respect your years!' he exclaimed, adding similar appeals regularly make on such occasions: 'Swear by Caesar's fortune; change your attitude; say: "Away with the godless!"' But Polycarp, with his face set, looked at all the crowd in the stadium and waved his hand towards them, sighed, looked up to heaven, and cried: 'Away with the godless!' The governor pressed him further: 'Swear, and I will set you free: execrate Christ.' 'For eighty-six years,' replied Polycarp, 'I have been His servant, and He has never done me wrong: how can I blaspheme my King who saved me?' When the other persisted: 'Swear by Caesar's fortune,' Polycarp retorted: 'If you imagine that I will swear by Caesar's fortune, as you put it, pretending not to know who I am, I will tell you plainly, I am a Christian. If you wish to study the Christian doctrine, choose a day and you shall hear it.' The proconsul replied, 'Convince the people.' 'With you,' rejoined Polycarp, 'I think it proper to discuss these things; for we have been taught to render as their due to rulers and powers ordained by God such honour as casts no stain on us: to the people I do not feel it my duty to make any defense.' 'I have wild beasts,' said the proconsul. 'I shall throw you to them, if you don't change your attitude.' 'Call them,' replied the old man. 'We cannot change our attitude if it means a change from better to worse. But it is a splendid thing to change from cruelty to justice.' 'If you make light of the beasts,' retorted the governor, 'I'll have you destroyed by fire, unless you change your attitude.' Polycarp answered: 'The fire you threaten burns for a time and is soon extinguished: there is a fire you know nothing about -- the fire of the judgment to come and of eternal punishment, the fire reserved for the ungodly. but why do you hesitate? Do what you want.'
As he said this and much besides, he was filled with courage and joy, and his features were full of grace, so that not only did he not wilt in alarm at the things said to him, but on the contrary the proconsul was amazed, and sent the crier to stand in the middle of the arena and announce three times: 'Polycarp has confessed that he is a Christian.' At this announcement the whole mass of Smyrnaeans, Gentiles and Jews alike, boiled with anger and shouted at the tops of their voices: 'This fellow is the teacher of Asia, the father of the Christians, the destroyer of our gods, who teaches numbers of people not to sacrifice or even worship.' So saying, they loudly demanded that the Asiarch Philip should set a lion on Polycarp. He objected that this would be illegal, as he had closed the sports. Then a shout went up from every throat that Polycarp must be burnt alive. For...the vision which appeared to him about the pillow should be fulfilled:
The rest followed in less time than it takes to describe: the crowds rushed to collect logs and fagots from workshop and public baths, the Jews as usual joining in with more enthusiasm than anyone. When the pyre was ready, he took off all his outer garments, loosened his belt, and even ...his shoes. Even before his hair turned grey he had been honoured in every way because of his virtuous life. There was no hesitation now. The instruments prepared for the pyre were put round him, but when they were going to nail him too, he cried: 'Leave me as I am: He who enables me to endure the fire will enable me, even if you don't secure me with nails, to remain on the pyre without shrinking.' So they bound him without nailing him. He put his hands behind him and was bound like a noble ram presented from a great flock as a whole burnt offering acceptable to God Almighty. Then he prayed: 'O Father of Thy beloved and blessed Son, Jesus Christ, through whom we have come to know Thee, the God of angels and powers and all creation, and of the whole family of the righteous who live in Thy presence, I bless Thee for counting me worthy of this day and hour, that in the number of the martyrs I may partake of Christ's cup, to the resurrection of eternal life of both soul and body in the imperishability that is the gift of the Holy Ghost. Among them may I be received into Thy presence today, a rich and acceptable sacrifice as Thou has prepared it beforehand, foreshadowing it and fulfilling it, Thou God of truth that canst not lie. Therefore for every cause I praise Thee, I bless Thee, I glorify Thee, through the eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ Thy beloved Son, through whom and with whom in the Holy Ghost glory be to Thee, both now and in the ages to come. Amen.'
When he had
offered up the Amen and completed his prayer, the men in charge lit the fire,
and a great flame shot up. Then we saw a marvelous sight, we who were
privileged to see it and were spared to tell the others what happened. The fire
took the shape of a vaulted room like a ship's sail filled with wind, and made
a wall round the martyr's body, which was in the middle not like burning flesh
but like gold and silver refined in a furnace. Indeed, we were conscious of a
wonderful fragrance, like a breath of frankincense or some other costly spice.
At last, seeing that the body could not be consumed by the fire, the lawless
people summoned a confector [An official whose duty was to dispatch the victim]
to come forward and drive home his sword. When he did so there came out a
stream of blood that quenched the fire, so that the whole crowd was astonished
at the difference between the unbelievers and the elect. To the elect belonged
this man, the most wonderful apostolic and prophetic teacher of our time,
bishop of the Catholic Church in
But when the evil one, the enemy of the household of the righteous, saw the greatness of Polycarp's martyrdom and the blamelessness of his entire life, and how he had carried off a prize beyond gainsaying, in jealousy and envy he saw to it that not even his poor body should be taken away by us, though many longed to do this and to have communion with his holy flesh. So Nicetes, Herod's father and Alce's brother, was induced to request the governor not to give up the body 'lest they should abandon the Crucified and start worshiping this fellow.' These suggestions were made under persistent pressure from the Jews, who watched us when we were going to take him out of the fire, not realizing that we can never forsake Christ, who suffered for the salvation of those who are being saved in the entire world, or worship anyone else. For to Him, as the Son of God, we offer adoration; but to the martyrs, as disciples and imitators of the Lord, we give the love that they deserve for their unsurpassable devotion to their own King and Teacher: may it be our privilege to be their fellow-members and fellow-disciples
When the
centurion saw that the Jews were determined to make trouble, he brought him
into their midst in the usual way and burnt him. So later on we took up his
bones, more precious than stones of great price, more splendid than gold, and
laid them where it seemed right. Then, if it proves possible, we assemble
there, the Lord will allow us to celebrate with joy and gladness the birthday
of his martyrdom, both to the
Such was the
story of blessed Polycarp. Counting those from
Lecture 7
Polycrates/Justin Martyr/Iranaeus/Clemet of
Ch. Hist.
Tertullian/Origen at glance
BISHOPS
AT
|
Simon (Magus) |
40's |
|
Linus |
79 |
|
Cletus |
91 |
|
Clemet |
100 |
|
Anicetus |
168 |
|
Victor |
202 |
|
Silvester I |
335 |
|
Sixtus |
440 |
|
Leo I |
|
|
Simplicius |
|
|
Gregory I |
604 |
|
Ignatius |
110 |
|
Papius |
115 |
|
Justin Martyr |
167 |
|
Irenaeus |
200 |
|
Tertulian |
220 |
|
Origen |
254 |
|
Eusebius |
340 |
|
John Chrysostom |
407 |
|
Jerome |
430 |
|
Augustine |
430 |
|
Paul |
68 |
|
Peter |
68 |
|
James |
62 |
|
Polycarp |
156 |
|
Polycrates |
210 |
I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
A. Bishops in the East:
1. May have been in the true church.
2. Considered Catholic-by-Catholic church.
3. Possibly all students of John.
4. Resisted what was happening at
B. Apostolic fathers.
1. Probably not in the church.
2. Had contact with bishops in the East.
C. Sunday worship and Easter creeps in about the time of Justin Martyr.
II. IMPORTANT RULERS
A. Simeon -???-107 A.D.
1. Brother of Christ who succeeded James in
2. Prominent in the church with Jude.
3. Persecuted and finally killed by Trajan in 107 A.D.
From The History of the Church we read:
"...There is a firm tradition
that persecution broke out against us sporadically in one city at a time as a
result of popular risings. In the course of it Symeon, son of Clopas, the
second to be appointed Bishop of Jerusalem, as already stated, is known to have
ended his life by martyrdom... Some of these [heretics] charged Simon son of
Clopas with being a descendant of David and a Christian; as a result he
suffered martyrdom at the age of 120, when Trajan was emperor and Atticus
consular governor... And it would be reasonable to suggest that Symeon was an
eyewitness and ear witness of the Lord, having regard to the length of his life
and the reference in the gospel narrative to Mary, wife of the Clopas whose son
he was, as explained in an earlier section. The same historian tells us that
other descendants of one of the 'brothers' of the Saviour named Jude lived on
into the same reign, after bravely declaring their faith in Christ, as already
recorded, before Domitian himself. He writes: Consequently they came and
presided over every church, as being martyrs and members of the Lord's uncle,
the aforesaid Simon son of Clopas, was similarly informed against by the
heretical sects and brought up on the same charge before Atticus, the
provincial governor. Tortured for days on end, he bore a martyr's witness, so
that all, including the governor, were astounded that at the age of 120 he
could endure it; and he was ordered to be crucified."
B. Polycrates - 29O - 31O
1. General:
a. May have known John as bishop of
b. Lived about 100 years through
about 200 A.D.
2. Late in 2nd century went to
3. Led Bishops of
4. He was 8th in the line of 7 bishops
5. Possibly in true church.
John Ignatius Dollinger, in The First Age of Christianity and the Church, says:
"Polycrates was thirty-eight
years old when Polycarp died, about 167 A.D."
Henry Melvill Gwatkin, in Early Church History to A.D. 313, says:
"Polycrates was likely to have been a man of some rank in the world
because seven of his relatives had been bishops."
From The History of the Church we read:
"... All the Asian diocese
thought that in accordance with ancient tradition they ought to observe the
fourteenth day of the lunar month as the beginning of the Paschal festival --
the day on which the Jews had been commanded to sacrifice the lamb: on that
day, no matter which day of the week it might be, they must without fail bring
the fast to an end. But nowhere else in the world was it customary to arrange
their celebrations in that way:
In accordance with apostolic tradition, they preserved the view, which till
prevails, that it was improper to end the fast on any day other than that of
our Saviour's resurrection. "The Asian bishops who insisted that they must
observe the custom transmitted to them long ago were headed by Polycrates, who
in the letter which he wrote to Victor and the Roman church sets out in the
following terms the tradition that he had received:
We for our part keep the day scrupulously, without addition or subtraction. For
in Asia great luminaries sleep who shall rise again on the day of the Lord's
advent, when He is coming with glory from heaven and shall search out all His
saints -- such as Philip, one of the twelve apostles, who sleeps in Hierapolis
with two of his daughters, who remained unmarried to the end of their days,
while his other daughter lived in the Holy Spirit and rests in Ephesus. Again
there is John, who leant back on the Lord's breast, and who became a
sacrificing priest wearing the mitre, a martyr, and a teacher; he too sleeps in
C. Papius
1. He had contact with Polycarp
2. He was bishop in western
3. He suffered martyrdom
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, says:
"PAPIAS, of
D. Hadrian - 117-138 A.D.
1. Persecuted Christians, but in moderation. The 11th
edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica says:
"HADRIAN, Roman emperor A.D.
117-138 was born on the 24th of January A.D. 76, at Italica in Hispania Baetica
(according to others, at Rome).... On his father's death in 85 or 86 he was
placed under the guardianship of two fellow-countrymen.... About 95 he was
military tribune in lower
E. Clemet of
1. Late part of first century.
2. Bishop of
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, says:
"Clement I, generally known as Clement of Rome, or CLEMENS ROMANUS, was
one of the 'Apostolic Fathers,' and in the lists of bishops of Rome is given
the third or fourth place--Peter, Linus, (Anencletus), Clement. There is no
ground for identifying him with the Clement of Phil. IV. 3. He may have been a
freedman of T. Flavius Clemens, who was consul with his cousin, the Emperor
Domitian, in A.D. 95. A 9th-century traditions says he was martyred in the
Crimea in 102...Whilst being on our guard against reading later ideas into the
title 'bishop' as applied to Clement, there is no reason to doubt that he was
one of the chief personalities in the Christian community at Rome, where since
the time of Paul the separate house congregations had been united into one
church officered by presbyters and deacons."
3. Wrote a letter to the Corinthian church in the name of
the Catholic Church. In Eusebius' History of the Church, we read:
" Clement has left us one recognized epistle, long an
wonderful, which he composed in the name of the church at
4. At
death...
a. Made a
saint
b. Strange story - tossed in sea
with anchor around his neck - walls of the sea rolled back and the people saw a
shrine in the sea made for his body
F. Pliny -???-??? A.D.
1. Wrote a letter to Trajan (quoted).
a. Saw Christianity in 2nd century
growing and having an impact on the Empire The
Britannica, 11th edition, says:
"PLINY, THE YOUNGER. Latin
author of the LETTERS and the PANEGYRIC ON TRAJAN, was
the second son of Lucius Caecillius Cilo, by Plinia, the sister of the Elder
Pliny... It was probably in 104, and again in 106, that he was retained for the
defense of a governor of
G. Justin Martyr - 100-167 A.D.
1. Born about the time John dies.
a. Not of Christian birth
2. Educated in the Platonic philosophies.
From Vol.VI of The Fathers of the
Church, by
"Justin Martyr's conversion
took place around 130 A.D. apparently in the city of
Justin continued
3. Began to pick up writings of true
church.
5. Converted to Christianity (Catholicism) at age 30.
6. Taught
From L. W. Barnard's Justin Martyr--His Life and Thought, we read:
"...He retained his philosopher's cloak, the distinctive badge of the wandering professional teacher of philosophy, and went about from place to place discussing the truths of Christianity in hope of bringing educated pagans, as he himself had been brought, through philosophy to Christ."p. 21-22.
7. Known for his
writings - Three Major Works:
a. First Apology - refutes heresy
b. Second Apology - refutes heresy
c. Dialogue with Trypho - condemns
Judaism
From L. W. Barnard's Justin Martyr--His Life and Thought, we read:
"There is proof that he wrote three books and very likely that he wrote more. The FIRST APOLOGY and SECOND APOLOGY deal defending Christians from accusations made by Romans. The DIALOGUE WITH TRYPHO is basically a conversation Justin had with a Jew concerning different aspects of Christianity. "The FIRST APOLOGY was addressed to Emperor Antonius Pius around 10 A.D. This work of seventy-one chapters, Justin justifies Christians against three accusations: atheism, immorality, and disloyalty. The SECOND APOLOGY seems to be a continuation of the first. This piece deals with two objectives to Christians. They are: Why don't the kill themselves if they are so willing to accept martyrdom? And why doesn't God protect them? Justin answers the first by saying that God's creation is good and to kill themselves would prevent the gospel from be preached. The reply to the second question is those who have followed have always been persecuted. Christians use this as proof of their right religion. The DIALOGUE WITH TRYPHO talks of moral decency, Old Testament prophecies of Christ and conversion of Gentiles."pp. 12-21.
d. Believed in the resurrection and millennial reign.
e. Also showed that they knew Christ
the word of the Old Testament. From A.W.F.
Blunt's The Apologies of Justin Martyr, we read:
"The Logos proceeded from the
Father and His mission images had been to interpret the Father to man. Thus,
the Testament manifest at were given by the Logos." p. xxi
Justin Martyr continued
8. Condemned Simon Magus and Gnosticism.
9. Gives his view of human nature and angelic beings.
10. Believed doctrine of eternal punishment in hell-fire.
11. Christianity in 150's:
a. Sunday worship entering
b. Heavy influence of Catholic
thought
c. Mass taken in church services
d. Tithing no longer taken;
donations accepted
e. Evidence of Greek philosophy
12. Died a martyr's death at
H. Iranaeus - 130-200 A.D.
1. May have been a student of Polycarp and
Papius.
2. Had contact with Bishops at
3. Did not continue in the teachings of the East
4. Known chiefly for writings against
Gnosticism and Simon.
5. Not part of true church though had contact with members.
6. Pro-Easter.
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, says:
"Very little is known of his
early history. His childhood was spent in
Irenaeus continued
7. Famous work - Against Heresies.
8. Beginnings of "Mary" worship.
9. Against the development of
heresy, Gnosticism, and Simon Magus.
10. Beginning of Trinity Concept
The encyclopedia article continues:
"Only toward the end of the
second century was greater clarity introduced into the doctrine of God. Of
importance here was, first of all, Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons. In his doctrine
of God two basic features are evident. First, he spoke of God's inner being,
and, second, of his progressive self-disclosure in the history of salvation.
Sometimes Irenaeus emphasizes the unity of God so strongly that he does not
shrink from using expressions, which showed modalistic, as is Son and Spirit
were only appearances of the one God. In his PROOF OF THE APOSTOLIC PREACHING
he says, 'Thus God is shown to be one according to the essence of His being and
power' even though 'as the administrator of the economy of our redemption, He
is both Father and Son....' In this way Irenaeus hoped to avoid every
pluralistic expression with reference to God. He knew, of course, how to differentiate
between God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit... [But] In this way Irenaeus
developed the basic features of a doctrine of the Trinity. It is, in fact, the
most fully developed doctrine of the Trinity during the first and second
centuries. Its characteristic feature is that it does not begin with three
co-eternal persons, as does the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity in the fourth
century, but with the person of the Father who has with and beside himself his
Word and his Wisdom...."
I. Tertullian - 160-220 A.D.
1. From
2. Called "Father of Latin Christianity".
3. Roman lawyer.
4. Came into the church, but seems to have later blended
back into Gnosticism.
a. Had problems with Catholic
authority
b. Heavily influenced by Catholic
thought and Stoic philosophy - later blended back into Montaism (off-shoot of
Simon Magus), thus breaking from true church
c. Influenced by Plato
d. Development of asceticism,
monastic orders and
e. He is noted for solidifying the
trinity doctrine and fixing it in the church
5. A number of his writings available.
Tertullian
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, says:
TERTULLIAN (c. 155-c. 222), whose
full name was QUINTUS SEPTIMIUS FLORENS TERTULLIANUS, is the earliest and after
Augustine the greatest of the ancient church writers of the West... Tertullian
in fact created Christian Latin literature; one might almost say that that
literature sprang from him full-grown, alike in form and substance, as Athena
from the head of Zeus...His writings in tone and character are always alike
'rich in thought and destitute of form, passionate and hair-splitting, eloquent
and pithy in expression, energetic and condensed to the point of
obscurity...What he was he was with his whole being. Once a Christian, he was
determined to be so with all his soul, and to shake himself free of all half
measures and compromises with the world... he struggled for years to reconcile
things that were in themselves irreconcilable... It is easy to convict him of
having failed to control the glowing passion that was in him... Not only was he
master of the contents of the Bible: he also read carefully the works of
Hermas, Justin, Tatian, Miliades, Melito, Irenaeus, Proculus, Clement, as well
as many Gnostic treatises, the writings of Marcion in particular... His special
gift lay in the power to make what had been traditionally received impressive,
to give to it its proper form, and to gain for it new currency... It was his
desire to unite the enthusiasm of primitive Christianity with intelligent
thought, the original demands of the Gospel with every letter of the Scriptures
and with the practice of the Roman church, the sayings of the Paraclete with
the authority of the bishops, the law of the churches with the freedom of the
inspired...After having done battle with heathens, Jews, Marcionites, Gnostics,
Monarchians, and the Catholics, he died an old man, carrying with him to the
grave the last remains of primitive Christianity in the West, but at the same
time in conflict with himself. His activity as a Christian fall between 190 and
220, a period of very great moment in the history of the Catholic church; for
within it the struggle with Gnosticism was brought to a victorious close, the
New Testament established a firm footing within the churches, the 'apostolic'
rules which thenceforward regulated all the affairs of the church were called
into existence, and the ecclesiastical priesthood came to be developed."
pp. 661-663
Tertullian continued
From The Importance of Tertullian in the Development of Christian Dogma, by
James Morgan, we read:
'It is the right of every
individual,' says Tertullian, 'to choose his own religion. It is not a
religious act to force men into religion.'
Morgan, quoting Tertullian, says:
"God is great when little."
"Lie to be true."
"And the Son of God died; it is by all means to be believed, because it is
absurd."
"He was buried, and rose again; the fact is certain, because it is
impossible."
J. Origen - 185-254 A.D.
1. Catholic writer and scholar.
From Euripus' History of the Church, we read:
"When the flames of
persecution were fanned to great blaze and untold numbers were being wreathed
with martyrs' crowns, such a longing for martyrdom possessed the soul of
Origen, boy as he was, that his one ambition was to come to grips with danger
and charge headlong into the conflict...when the news that his father had been
arrested and imprisoned filled his whole being with a craving for
martyrdom...(but when his mother saw that he was more) determined than ever,
she hid all his clothing and compelled him to stay at home...This may serve as
the first evidence of Origen's boyish sagacity and the perfect sincerity of his
devotion to God. For already he had laid firm foundations for the understanding
of the Faith, trained, as he was from early childhood in the divine Scriptures.
He had toiled at these assiduously, his father insisting that in addition to
the normal curriculum he should pursue the study of Holy Writ with equal vigor.
He constantly urged him not to give any time to secular subjects till he had
steeped himself in religious studies, and every day required him to learn
passages by heart and repeat them aloud. This was not at all distasteful to the
boy: indeed, he gave himself up too completely to these tasks and, not content
to read the sacred words in their simple and natural sense, looked for
something more, and young as he was devoted himself to profounder
investigation; so that he worried his father with questions as to the meaning
and intention that underlay the inspired Scripture." pp. 240 241
Origen continued
2. Known as the "Founder of Biblical
Criticism".
3. Many works (6,000 attributed to him) - most learned of
church fathers.
a. We learn history of Catholic
Church from him
b. Embraced trinity, Easter, Sunday,
and Mary worship
c. Blended Christian thought with
thoughts of Plato
d. Ascetic nature
Eusebius' Church History says:
"For very many years he
persisted in this philosophic way of life, putting away from him all
inducements to youthful lusts, and at all times of the day disciplining himself
by performing strenuous tasks, while he devoted most of the night to the study
of Holy Scripture. He went to the limit in practicing a life given up to
philosophy; sometimes he trained himself by periods of fasting, sometimes by
restricting the hours of sleep, which he insisted on taking never in bed,
always on the floor. Above all, he felt that he must keep the gospel sayings of
the Saviour urging us not to carry two coats or wear shoes and never to be
worried by anxiety about the future. He displayed an enthusiasm beyond his
years, and patiently enduring cold and nakedness went to the furthest limit of
poverty, to the utter amazement of his pupils and the distress of the countless
friends, who begged him to share their possessions in recognition of the labors
that they saw him bestow on his religious teaching. Not once did his
determination weaken; it is said that for several years he went about on foot
without any shoes at all, and for a much longer period abstained from wine and
all else beyond the minimum of food, so that he ran the risk of upsetting and
even ruining his construction." p. 244
4. From
5. Tortured to death
From Eusebius' Church History, we read:
"About the same time, while
responsible for the instruction at
K. Sylvester I 335
1. He was the first real Pope
2. Constine became converted in his time
3. Persecutions end in his time - 313
4.
a. Eastern capital is
b. Western capital is Rome
L. Sixtus
1. He was concurrent with Augustine
2. The doctrine of the "Universal
Church Empire" Conceived.
3. The word Catholic was truly catholic
M. Leo I
1. Concept of the Bishop at
1. Bishop of Rome during its fall
LECTURE 8
Polycrates/Justin
Martyr/Iranaeus/Clemet of
Ch. Hist.
Tertullian/Origen at glance
BISHOPS AT
CATHOLIC CHURCH FATHERS
|
Simon (Magus) |
40's |
|
Linus |
79 |
|
Cletus |
91 |
|
Clemet |
100 |
|
Anicetus |
168 |
|
Victor |
202 |
|
Silvester I |
335 |
|
Sixtus |
440 |
|
Leo I |
|
|
Simplicius |
|
|
Gregory I |
604 |
|
Ignatius |
110 |
|
Papius |
115 |
|
Justin Martyr |
167 |
|
Irenaeus |
200 |
|
Tertulian |
220 |
|
Origen |
254 |
|
Eusebius |
340 |
|
John Chrysostom |
407 |
|
Jerome |
430 |
|
Augustine |
430 |
|
Paul |
68 |
|
Peter |
68 |
|
James |
62 |
|
Polycarp |
156 |
|
Polycrates |
210 |
I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
A. Bishops in the East:
1. May have been in the true church.
2. Considered Catholic-by-Catholic church.
3. Possibly all students of John.
4. Resisted what was happening at
B. Apostolic fathers.
1. Probably not in the church.
2. Had contact with bishops in the East.
C. Sunday worship and Easter creeps in about the time of Justin Martyr.
II. IMPORTANT RULERS
A. Simeon -???-107 A.D.
1. Brother of Christ who succeeded James in
2. Prominent in the church with Jude.
3. Persecuted and finally killed by Trajan in 107 A.D.
Lecture 8 Cont.
From The History of the Church we read:
"...There is a firm tradition that persecution broke out against us
sporadically in one city at a time as a result of popular risings. In the
course of it Symeon, son of Clopas, the second to be appointed Bishop of
Jerusalem, as already stated, is known to have ended his life by martyrdom...
Some of these [heretics] charged Simon son of Clopas with being a descendant of
David and a Christian; as a result he suffered martyrdom at the age of 120,
when Trajan was emperor and Atticus consular governor... And it would be
reasonable to suggest that Symeon was an eyewitness and ear witness of the
Lord, having regard to the length of his life and the reference in the gospel
narrative to Mary, wife of the Clopas whose son he was, as explained in an
earlier section. The same historian tells us that other descendants of one of
the 'brothers' of the Saviour named Jude lived on into the same reign, after
bravely declaring their faith in Christ, as already recorded, before Domitian
himself. He writes: Consequently they came and presided over every church, as
being martyrs and members of the Lord's uncle, the aforesaid Simon son of
Clopas, was similarly informed against by the heretical sects and brought up on
the same charge before Atticus, the provincial governor. Tortured for days on
end, he bore a martyr's witness, so that all, including the governor, were
astounded that at the age of 120 he could endure it; and he was ordered to be
crucified."
B. Polycrates - 29O - 31O
1. General:
a. May have known John as bishop of
b. Lived about 100 years through
about 200 A.D.
2. Late in 2nd century went to
3. Led Bishops of
4. He was 8th in the line of 7 bishops
5. Possibly in true church.
John Ignatius Dollinger, in The First Age of Christianity and the Church, says:
"Polycrates was thirty-eight years old when Polycarp died, about 167 A.D."
Henry Melvill Gwatkin, in Early Church History to A.D. 313, says:
"Polycrates was likely to have been a man of some rank in the world
because seven of his relatives had been bishops."
Lecture 8 cont.
From The History of the Church we read:
"... All the Asian diocese thought that in accordance with ancient
tradition they ought to observe the fourteenth day of the lunar month as the
beginning of the Paschal festival -- the day on which the Jews had been
commanded to sacrifice the lamb: on that day, no matter which day of the week
it might be, they must without fail bring the fast to an end. But nowhere else
in the world was it customary to arrange their celebrations in that way:
In accordance with apostolic tradition, they preserved the view, which till prevails,
that it was improper to end the fast on any day other than that of our
Saviour's resurrection. "The Asian bishops who insisted that they must
observe the custom transmitted to them long ago were headed by Polycrates, who
in the letter which he wrote to Victor and the Roman church sets out in the
following terms the tradition that he had received:
We for our part keep the day scrupulously, without addition or subtraction. For
in Asia great luminaries sleep who shall rise again on the day of the Lord's
advent, when He is coming with glory from heaven and shall search out all His
saints -- such as Philip, one of the twelve apostles, who sleeps in Hierapolis
with two of his daughters, who remained unmarried to the end of their days,
while his other daughter lived in the Holy Spirit and rests in Ephesus. Again
there is John, who leant back on the Lord's breast, and who became a
sacrificing priest wearing the mitre, a martyr, and a teacher; he too sleeps in
Lecture 8 cont.
C. Papius
1. He had contact with Polycarp
2. He was bishop in western
3. He suffered martyrdom
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, says:
"PAPIAS, of
D. Hadrian - 117-138 A.D.
1. Persecuted Christians, but in moderation. The 11th
edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica says:
"HADRIAN, Roman emperor A.D. 117-138 was born on the 24th of January A.D.
76, at Italica in Hispania Baetica (according to others, at Rome).... On his
father's death in 85 or 86 he was placed under the guardianship of two
fellow-countrymen.... About 95 he was military tribune in lower
Lecture 8 cont.
E. Clemet of
1. Late part of first century.
2. Bishop of
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, says:
"Clement I, generally known as Clement of Rome, or CLEMENS ROMANUS, was
one of the 'Apostolic Fathers,' and in the lists of bishops of Rome is given
the third or fourth place--Peter, Linus, (Anencletus), Clement. There is no
ground for identifying him with the Clement of Phil. IV. 3. He may have been a
freedman of T. Flavius Clemens, who was consul with his cousin, the Emperor
Domitian, in A.D. 95. A 9th-century traditions says he was martyred in the
Crimea in 102...Whilst being on our guard against reading later ideas into the
title 'bishop' as applied to Clement, there is no reason to doubt that he was
one of the chief personalities in the Christian community at Rome, where since
the time of Paul the separate house congregations had been united into one
church officered by presbyters and deacons."
3. Wrote a letter to the Corinthian church in the name of
the Catholic Church. In Eusebius' History of the Church, we read:
" Clement has left us one recognized epistle, long an wonderful, which he
composed in the name of the church at Rome and sent to the church at Coring,
where dissension had recently occurred. I have evidence that in many churches
this epistle was read aloud to the assembled worshippers in early days, as it
is in our own. That it was in Clements's time that the
dissension at
4. At
death...
a. Made a saint
b. Strange story - tossed in sea
with anchor around his neck - walls of the sea rolled back and the people saw a
shrine in the sea made for his body
Lecture 8 cont.
F. Pliny -???-??? A.D.
1. Wrote a letter to Trajan (quoted).
a. Saw Christianity in 2nd century
growing and having an impact on the Empire The
Britannica, 11th edition, says:
"PLINY, THE YOUNGER. Latin author of the LETTERS and the PANEGYRIC ON TRAJAN, was the second son of Lucius Caecillius Cilo, by
Plinia, the sister of the Elder Pliny... It was probably in 104, and again in
106, that he was retained for the defense of a governor of
G. Justin Martyr - 100-167 A.D.
1. Born about the time John dies.
a. Not of Christian birth
2. Educated in the Platonic philosophies.
From Vol.VI of The Fathers of the Church, by
"Justin Martyr's conversion took place around 130 A.D. apparently in the
city of
Lecture 8 cont.
Justin continued
3. Began to pick up writings of true
church.
5. Converted to Christianity (Catholicism) at age 30.
6. Taught
From L. W. Barnard's Justin Martyr--His Life and Thought, we read:
"...He retained his philosopher's cloak, the distinctive badge of the
wandering professional teacher of philosophy, and went about from place to
place discussing the truths of Christianity in hope of bringing educated
pagans, as he himself had been brought, through philosophy to Christ."p.
21-22.
7. Known for his writings - Three Major Works:
a. First Apology - refutes heresy
b. Second Apology - refutes heresy
c. Dialogue with Trypho - condemns
Judaism
From L. W. Barnard's Justin Martyr--His Life and Thought, we read:
"There is proof that he wrote three books and very likely that he wrote
more. The FIRST APOLOGY and SECOND APOLOGY deal defending Christians from
accusations made by Romans. The DIALOGUE WITH TRYPHO is basically a
conversation Justin had with a Jew concerning different aspects of
Christianity. "The FIRST APOLOGY was addressed to Emperor Antonius Pius
around 10 A.D. This work of seventy-one chapters, Justin justifies Christians
against three accusations: atheism, immorality, and disloyalty. The SECOND
APOLOGY seems to be a continuation of the first. This piece deals with two
objectives to Christians. They are: Why don't the kill themselves if they are
so willing to accept martyrdom? And why doesn't God protect them? Justin
answers the first by saying that God's creation is good and to kill themselves would prevent the gospel from be preached. The
reply to the second question is those who have followed have always been
persecuted. Christians use this as proof of their right religion. The DIALOGUE
WITH TRYPHO talks of moral decency, Old Testament prophecies of Christ and
conversion of Gentiles."pp. 12-21.
d. Believed in the resurrection and
millennial reign.
e. Also showed that they knew Christ
the word of the Old Testament. From A.W.F. Blunt's The Apologies of Justin
Martyr, we read:
"The Logos proceeded from the Father and His mission images had been to
interpret the Father to man. Thus, the Testament manifest at were given by the
Logos." p. xxi
Lecture 8 cont.
Justin Martyr continued
8. Condemned Simon Magus and Gnosticism.
9. Gives his view of human nature and angelic beings.
10. Believed doctrine of eternal punishment in hell-fire.
11. Christianity in 150's:
a. Sunday worship entering
b. Heavy influence of Catholic
thought
c. Mass taken in church services
d. Tithing no longer taken;
donations accepted
e. Evidence of Greek philosophy
12. Died a martyr's death at
H. Iranaeus - 130-200 A.D.
1. May have been a student of Polycarp and
Papius.
2. Had contact with Bishops at
3. Did not continue in the teachings of the East
4. Known chiefly for writings against
Gnosticism and Simon.
5. Not part of true church though had contact with members.
6. Pro-Easter.
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, says: "Very little is known of
his early history. His childhood was spent in
Lecture 8 cont.
Irenaeus continued
7. Famous work - Against Heresies.
8. Beginnings of "Mary" worship.
9. Against the development of
heresy, Gnosticism, and Simon Magus.
10. Beginning of Trinity Concept
The encyclopedia article continues:
"Only toward the end of the second century was greater clarity introduced
into the doctrine of God. Of importance here was, first of all, Irenaeus,
Bishop of Lyons. In his doctrine of God two basic features are evident. First,
he spoke of God's inner being, and, second, of his progressive self-disclosure
in the history of salvation. Sometimes Irenaeus emphasizes the unity of God so
strongly that he does not shrink from using expressions, which showed
modalistic, as is Son and Spirit were only appearances of the one God. In his
PROOF OF THE APOSTOLIC PREACHING he says, 'Thus God is shown to be one
according to the essence of His being and power' even though 'as the
administrator of the economy of our redemption, He is both Father and Son....'
In this way Irenaeus hoped to avoid every pluralistic expression with reference
to God. He knew, of course, how to differentiate between God the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit... [But] In this way Irenaeus developed the basic features of a
doctrine of the Trinity. It is, in fact, the most fully developed doctrine of
the Trinity during the first and second centuries. Its characteristic feature
is that it does not begin with three co-eternal persons, as does the orthodox
doctrine of the Trinity in the fourth century, but with the person of the
Father who has with and beside himself his Word and his Wisdom...."
I. Tertullian - 160-220 A.D.
1. From
2. Called "Father of Latin Christianity".
3. Roman lawyer.
4. Came into the church, but seems to have later blended
back into Gnosticism.
a. Had problems with Catholic
authority
b. Heavily influenced by Catholic
thought and Stoic philosophy - later blended back into Montaism (off-shoot of
Simon Magus), thus breaking from true church
c. Influenced by Plato
d. Development of asceticism,
monastic orders and
e. He is noted for solidifying the
trinity doctrine and fixing it in the church
5. A number of his writings available.
Lecture 8 cont.
Tertullian
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, says:
TERTULLIAN (c. 155-c. 222), whose full name was QUINTUS SEPTIMIUS FLORENS
TERTULLIANUS, is the earliest and after Augustine the greatest of the ancient
church writers of the West... Tertullian in fact created Christian Latin
literature; one might almost say that that literature sprang from him
full-grown, alike in form and substance, as Athena from the head of Zeus...His
writings in tone and character are always alike 'rich in thought and destitute
of form, passionate and hair-splitting, eloquent and pithy in expression,
energetic and condensed to the point of obscurity...What he was he was with his
whole being. Once a Christian, he was determined to be so with all his soul, and
to shake himself free of all half measures and compromises with the world... he
struggled for years to reconcile things that were in themselves
irreconcilable... It is easy to convict him of having failed to control the
glowing passion that was in him... Not only was he master of the contents of
the Bible: he also read carefully the works of Hermas, Justin, Tatian,
Miliades, Melito, Irenaeus, Proculus, Clement, as well as many Gnostic
treatises, the writings of Marcion in particular... His special gift lay in the
power to make what had been traditionally received impressive, to give to it
its proper form, and to gain for it new currency... It was his desire to unite
the enthusiasm of primitive Christianity with intelligent thought, the original
demands of the Gospel with every letter of the Scriptures and with the practice
of the Roman church, the sayings of the Paraclete with the authority of the
bishops, the law of the churches with the freedom of the inspired...After
having done battle with heathens, Jews, Marcionites, Gnostics, Monarchians, and
the Catholics, he died an old man, carrying with him to the grave the last
remains of primitive Christianity in the West, but at the same time in conflict
with himself. His activity as a Christian fall between 190 and 220, a period of
very great moment in the history of the Catholic church; for within it the
struggle with Gnosticism was brought to a victorious close, the New Testament
established a firm footing within the churches, the 'apostolic' rules which
thenceforward regulated all the affairs of the church were called into
existence, and the ecclesiastical priesthood came to be developed." pp.
661-663
Lecture 8 cont.
Tertullian continued
From The Importance of Tertullian in the Development of Christian Dogma, by
James Morgan, we read:
'It is the right of every individual,' says Tertullian, 'to choose his own
religion. It is not a religious act to force men into religion.'
Morgan, quoting Tertullian, says:
"God is great when little."
"Lie to be true."
"And the Son of God died; it is by all means to be believed, because it is
absurd."
"He was buried, and rose again; the fact is certain, because it is
impossible."
J. Origen - 185-254 A.D.
1. Catholic writer and scholar.
From Euripus' History of the Church, we read:
"When the flames of persecution were fanned to great blaze and untold
numbers were being wreathed with martyrs' crowns, such a longing for martyrdom
possessed the soul of Origen, boy as he was, that his one ambition was to come
to grips with danger and charge headlong into the conflict...when the news that
his father had been arrested and imprisoned filled his whole being with a
craving for martyrdom...(but when his mother saw that he was more) determined
than ever, she hid all his clothing and compelled him to stay at home...This
may serve as the first evidence of Origen's boyish sagacity and the perfect
sincerity of his devotion to God. For already he had laid firm foundations for
the understanding of the Faith, trained, as he was from early childhood in the
divine Scriptures. He had toiled at these assiduously, his father insisting
that in addition to the normal curriculum he should pursue the study of Holy
Writ with equal vigor. He constantly urged him not to give any time to secular
subjects till he had steeped himself in religious studies, and every day
required him to learn passages by heart and repeat them aloud. This was not at
all distasteful to the boy: indeed, he gave himself up too completely to these
tasks and, not content to read the sacred words in their simple and natural
sense, looked for something more, and young as he was devoted himself to
profounder investigation; so that he worried his father with questions as to
the meaning and intention that underlay the inspired Scripture." pp. 240
241
Lecture 8 cont.
Origen continued
2. Known as the "Founder of Biblical
Criticism".
3. Many works (6,000 attributed to him) - most learned of
church fathers.
a. We learn history of Catholic
Church from him
b. Embraced trinity, Easter, Sunday,
and Mary worship
c. Blended Christian thought with
thoughts of Plato
d. Ascetic nature
Eusebius' Church History says:
"For very many years he persisted in this philosophic way of life, putting
away from him all inducements to youthful lusts, and at all times of the day
disciplining himself by performing strenuous tasks, while he devoted most of
the night to the study of Holy Scripture. He went to the limit in practicing a
life given up to philosophy; sometimes he trained himself by periods of
fasting, sometimes by restricting the hours of sleep, which he insisted on
taking never in bed, always on the floor. Above all, he felt that he must keep
the gospel sayings of the Saviour urging us not to carry two coats or wear shoes
and never to be worried by anxiety about the future. He displayed an enthusiasm
beyond his years, and patiently enduring cold and nakedness went to the
furthest limit of poverty, to the utter amazement of his pupils and the
distress of the countless friends, who begged him to share their possessions in
recognition of the labors that they saw him bestow on his religious teaching.
Not once did his determination weaken; it is said that for several years he
went about on foot without any shoes at all, and for a much longer period
abstained from wine and all else beyond the minimum of food, so that he ran the
risk of upsetting and even ruining his construction." p. 244
4. From
5. Tortured to death
From Eusebius' Church History, we read:
"About the same time, while responsible for the instruction at
Lecture 8 cont.
K. Sylvester I 335
1. He was the first real Pope
2. Constine became converted in his time
3. Persecutions end in his time - 313
4.
a. Eastern capital is
b. Western capital is Rome
L. Sixtus
1. He was concurrent with Augustine
2. The doctrine of the "Universal
Church Empire" Conceived.
3. The word Catholic was truly catholic
M. Leo I
1. Concept of the Bishop at
1. Bishop of Rome during its fall
LECTURE 9
EUSEBIUS /
CONSTANTINE / COUNCIL OF NICEA
I. THE END OF THE EPHESIAN ERA[1]
A. Probably ends about
1OO-1O2 A.D.
B. Because of Polycarp's direct contact with John, some think that this era
should end with him
1. After Polycarp we enter the second era
2. Rev 2:8 describes it:
"I
know your works and tribulation, and poverty, but you are rich
(spiritually) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews (God's
people) and are not, (he
is a Jew who is one inwardly) but are of the synagogue of Satan."
C. The Diocletian persecution occurs during
this time
D. Rev 2:1O describes this:
"And you shall have tribulation ten days."
E. Ezek 4:6 a day for a yr. = 1O years
1. From the time of Nero there were 1O persecutions
2. One of these is referred to here from 3O3-313 A.D.
a. This was the 1Oth and final
persecution
b. It was against true Christians
and false
c. Eusebius provides us with the
best history of this time
II. EUSEBIUS - 264-340 A.D.
A. Which one?
1. Dozens listed in encyclopedia.
2. Eusebius of
B. Earliest Catholic historian - "Father of church history".
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica
11th edition:
"He believed that he was living at the beginning of a new age, and he felt
that it was a fitting time, when the old order of things was passing away, to
put on record for the benefit of posterity the great events which had occurred
during the generations that were past."
p. 954
C.
Early life:
1. Born 264 A.D. in
2. Family
- unknown.
3. Youth in city of
4. Baptized in
a.
b. He introduced
Alexandrian views at
D.
Education:
1.
Taught by Pam Philus.
2. Ingrained with Alexandrian approach.
3. Given surname Pam Phili.
E.
Ordained in
F.
Events:
1. 303 A.D. -
Diocletian became exiled.
2. 313 A.D. - ordained as the new Bishop of
Caesarea.
a.
Edict of
3. Had extreme admiration for
4. Dr. Arias was originator of the controversy,
which caused
5. 318 A.D. - Arian Controversy - dispute over
relationship with Christ to God.
a.
Taught Christ not
divine - Arius
b. Eusebius sympathized
with Arius
c. Dealt with at Council
of Nicea
6. Eusebius was active at Council of Nicea...
a.
Gave opening address
b. Leader
of semi-Arian party (moderate)
c. Accepted
doctrine of the council, condemning Arius
d. Still showed Arian
leanings
According to the the Encyclopedia Britannica,
11th edition:
"During this period [pre-Nicean Council] he took the side of Arius in the
dispute with Alexander of Alexandria, and accepted what he understood to be the
position of Arius and his supporters, who, as he supposed, taught both the divinity
and subordination of the Son. It was
natural that he should take this side, for in his traditional fear of
Sabelianism, in which he was one with the followers of Origen in general; he
found it difficult to approve the position of Alexander, who seemed to be doing
away altogether with the subordination of the Son. And, moreover, he believed
that Alexander was misrepresenting the teaching of Arius and doing him great
injustice. Meanwhile at the council of
Nicea he seems to have discovered that the Alexandrians were right in claiming
that Arius was carrying his subordinationnism so far as to deny all real
divinity to Christ. To this length Eusebius himself was unwilling to go, and so
convinced that he had misunderstood
Arius, and that the teaching of the latter was imperiling the historic belief
in the Divinity of Christ, he gave his support to the opposition, and voted for
the Nicene Creed, in which the teachings of Arians were repudiated." p.954
EUSEBIUS CONTINUED
7. 336 A.D. - dedicated the church of the Holy
Sepulcher.
8. 337 A.D. -
a. Was baptized shortly before death by Eusebius
9. Eusebius died -
c.339-340 A.D.
10. Regarded as one of the most learned of Fathers.
H.
Writings:
1. Life of
2. The Chronicle, History of
the World
3. Historia Ecclesiastica
a. History
of Christian church - events through 324 A.D.
b. No information on
council of Nicea
c. The
primary source of church history
d. Divided
into ten books
e. Many early heresies
described
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica,
Eusebius wrote:
"It is my purpose to write an account of the successions of the holy
Apostles as well as of the times which have elapsed from the day of our Saviour
to our own; to relate how many and important events are said to have occurred
in the history of the church: and to mention those who have governed and
presided over the church in the most prominent parishes, and those who in each
generation have proclaimed the divine word either orally or in writing. It is
my purpose also to give the names and number and times of those who through
love of innovation have run into the greatest errors, and proclaiming
themselves discoverers of knowledge, falsely so called, have like fierce wolves
unmercifully devastated the flock of Christ. It is my intention, moreover, to
recount the misfortunes which immediately came on the whole Jewish nation in
consequence of their plots against our Saviour, and to record the ways and
times in which the divine word has been attacked by the Gentiles, and to
describe the character of those who at various periods have contended for it in
the face of blood and tortures, as well as the confessions which have been made
in our own day, and the gracious and kindly succor which our Saviour has
accorded them all." p.954
f. References of note in Historia Ecclesiastica
1) Bk.2 ch.13 - Simon Magus
2)
Bk.2 ch.25 - Nero's persecution
3)
Bk.3 ch.26 - Menander, successor to Simon Magus
4)
Bk.3 ch.27 - Ebionites
5)
Bk.4 ch.14-15 - Polycarp
6) Bk.5 ch.23-25 - Polycrates and Passover
controversy
7) Bk.6 ch.6 - lists first 12 popes
A. Mother of
1.
2. Exiled and degraded for a while.
3.
The Encyclopedia Americana says:
"
4. She went to holy land - found "holy
sites" of the eternal.
a. These sites have been accepted today by the Roman Catholic Church
According to The Age of
Constantine:
"When she traveled through the East she gave large sums to the inhabitants
of individual cities, and additional
amounts personally to those who approached her. She
also distributed large sums to the soldiers: the poor, moreover, received money and clothing, and others were helped out of
imprisonment for debt, exile, and oppression of every sort. Obviously
The Age of Constantine shows how she finally
had high status:
"Perhaps the only decent relationship in the circle of this great
B.
Father had prominence:
1. Affinity to
Christianity.
2. May have granted help to Christians.
C. 306 A.D. - Constantine becomes emperor.
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th says:
"Constantine I known as 'The Great'... was born on the 27th of February,
probably in A.D. 288, at Naissus (the modern
D. 312 A.D. - Saw famous vision while on
military campaign.
1. Saw flaming cross.
2. Cross, traditional symbol of Christianity to
Roman Catholics.
3. Voice said, "In this sign conquer".
4. Engraved this sign into shields of army.
Quoting from the Plain Truth, July/Aug,
1983:
"Just before the battle of
E. 313 A.D. - Edict of
1. Granted religious freedom.
2. Equal rights to those in the church.
3. Christianity could grow.
The New International Dictionary of the
Christian Church says that:
"In 313 he and Licinius, soon to control the Eastern empire, decreed full
legal toleration for Christianity (Edict of Milan), and the church enjoyed
increasing favor - restitution of confiscated property, financial aid for
Catholics, clerical exemption from hereditary offices, civil jurisdiction for
bishops."P.255
And according to A Manual of Church History:
"He exempted the Christian clergy from military and municipal duties and
their property from taxation (313); abolished various pagan customs and
ordinances offensive to Christians (315); facilitated the emancipation of
Christian slaves (315); legalized bequests to Christian churches, a very
important measure (321); enjoined the civil observance of Sunday, though only
as the day of the Sun, and in connection with an ordinance requiring the
consultation of the soothsayer (321); contributed largely toward
the building of Christian
houses of worship; and
gave his sons a
Christian education." p.306
F.
Residence:
1. Resided in the East
-
2. Founded
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition,
says:
"In 326
G.
Baptism:
1. Not in his
lifetime, however, baptized on death bed
2. He was baptized by Eusebius - 377 A.D.
Wand writes of his conversion in the History
Of The Early Church:
"About
H. Controversy in
church arising - Alexandrian views.
1. God the father, Christ no his son.
2. Main reason for Council of Nicea.
I.
Called together Council of Nicea - Reasons.
1. Arian problem.
2. Quarto-decimen.
3. Sabbath controversy.
4. Establishes when Easter to be kept.
IV. COUNCIL OF NICEA - 325 A.D.
A. Recognized as first
official council of the church after one held in Acts 15. Lasted from May 20 or June 19 to
B.
Constantine calls all-important bishops together from the east and west.
1. Well over 300
bishops.
2. Representing the Roman Catholic Church.
According to the New Catholic Encyclopedia,
vol. X:
"The Council opened at
C. Gathered in Nicea.
D.
Motive for:
1. Saw diversities in
church developing.
2. Wouldn't tolerate religious controversy -
wanted them settled.
The New Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. X, says:
"Captivated by Christianity, Constantine wanted to give it the protection
of the state; for, in line with the old Roman idea, he regarded himself as
Pontifex Maximus of Christianity, 'bishop in matters external’ (Vita
Const. 4.24). As such, he thought it his task to
settle a controversy that was upsetting the politico religious unity of his Christian empire.... When another synod
in
NICEA CONTINUED
E. Subjects dealt with...
1. Aryanism.
2. Easter.
The Plain Truth Magazine says on page 21:
"The Council of Nicea confronts two major issues. It deals firstly with a dispute over the
relationship of Christ to God the Father. The dispute is called the Arian
controversy. Arius, a priest of
From the Letter of the Emperor to all those
not present at the Council (Found in Eusebius, Vita Const., Lib iii. 18-20.),
Constantine explains the reason for the change to Easter:
"When the question relative to the sacred festival of Easter arose, it was
universally thought that it would be convenient that all should keep the feast
on one day; for what could be more beautiful and more desirable, than to see
this festival, through which we receive the hope of immortality, celebrated by
all with one accord, and in the same manner?
It was declared to be particularly unworthy for this, the holiest of all
festivals, to follow the custom (the calculation) of the Jews, who have soiled
their hands with the most fearful of crimes, and whose minds were
blinded.... We ought not, therefore, to
have anything in common with the Jews, for the Savior has shown us another way;
our worship follows a more legitimate and more convenient course; and
consequently, in unanimously adopting this mode, we desire, dearest brethren,
to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jews, for it is truly
shameful for us to hear them boast that without their direction we could not
keep this feast. How can they be in the
right, they who, after the death of the Saviour, have no longer been led by
reason but by wild violence, as their delusion may urge them? They do not possess the truth in this Easter
question; for, in their blindness and repugnance to all improvements, they
frequently celebrate the Passover twice in one year. We could not imitate those who are openly in
error. How, then, could we follow these
Jews, who are most certainly blinded by error?
For to celebrate the Passover twice in one year is
totally in admissible. But even
if this were not so, it would still be your duty not to tarnish your soul by
communications with such wicked people. Our Saviour has left us only one
festival day of our redemption...Think then how unseemly it is that on the same
day some should be fasting whilst others are seated at a banquet; and that
after Easter, some should be rejoicing at feasts, whilst others are still
observing a strict fast. For this
reason, Divine Providence wills that this custom should be rectified and regulated in a uniform way;
and everyone, I hope, will agree upon this point. As, on the one hand, it is our duty not to have
anything in common with the murderers of our Lord; and as, on the other, the
custom now followed by the Churches of the West, of the South and of the North,
and by some of those of the East, is the most acceptable.... You should
consider not only that the number of churches in these provinces makes a
majority, but also that it is right we should have nothing in common with the
Jews. To sum up in few words: By the unanimous judgment of all, it has been
decided that the most holy festival of Easter should be everywhere celebrated
on one and the same day, and it is not seemly that in so holy a thing there
should be any division. As this is the
state of the case, accept joyfully the divine favour, and this truly divine
command; for all which takes place in assemblies of the bishops ought to be
regarded as proceeding from the will of God."
4 Other subjects discussed
According to the New Catholic Encyclopedia,
vol. X:
"... It is clear that the Nicene
Creed proclaims numerical identity of the Father's nature and the Son's. The
creed does no more than mention the Third Person, for the divinity of the
Spirit was not at issue... Nicea promulgated 220 disciplinary decrees... Canons 15 and 16 forbid bishops, priests, and
deacons to involve themselves in the affairs of another diocese or locality. Canon 4 orders that all the other bishops of the province appoint
bishops, and in case of difficulty, by at least three. The appointment
was to be ratified by the metropolitan bishop. Canon 5 declares that provincial
synods are to be held twice a year, presumably under the metropolitan, to examine
excommunications inflicted by bishops.... "Some canons have to do with the
dignity of the clergy: the ordination of eunuchs (c.1), of those insufficiently
tested since baptism or proved unworthy (c.2), of those who have denied the
faith in persecution (c.10),
and cohabitation of clerics with other than relatives or women beyond
suspicion (c.3).... A two fold criterion is set up for the
admission of heretics (c.19): those who have not erred on the doctrine of the
Trinity, such as the Novatians, are to be reconciled without repetition of
their Baptism; the followers of Paul of Samasata, however, are to be
rebaptized, since it is not clear that they confess the Trinity. Deacons are
warned (c.18) to give precedence to bishops and priests. On Sundays and the
days of Pentecost, the faithful are to stand for the liturgy, not kneel
(c.20)." p.433
THE NICENE CREED
1.
First exiling - excommunication from the church.
2. Anathema - putting away from Christ.
3. Is still recited in the Catholic
Church as well as by some Protestant bodies.
The following is found in the Acts of the
Ecumenical Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon, in the Epistle of Eusebius of
Caesarea to his own Church and elsewhere;
"We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible
and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten
of his Father, of the substance of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very
God of very God, begotten (gennezenta), not made, being of one substance
(homousios, consubstantialem) with the Father. By whom all things were made,
both which be in heaven and in earth. Who for us men and for our salvation came
down (from
heaven) and was incarnate and was made man. He suffered and the third day he
rose again, and ascended into heaven. And he shall come again to judge both the
quick and the dead. And (we believe) in the Holy Ghost. And whosoever shall say
that there was a time when the Son of God was not, or that before he was
begotten he was not, or that he was made of things that were not, or that he is
of a different substance of essence (from the Father) of that he is a creature,
or subject to change or conversion - all that so say, the Catholic an Apostolic
Church anathematizes them."
Wand states in The History of the
"It has often been pointed out that with the council of Nicea Christianity
had entered upon a new stage in its development. It was now officially linked
with Hellenic philosophy. Metaphysics had been brought in to assist religious
faith, and in an authoritative formula, it had been found necessary to employ a
terminology coined in paganism. This may be an exaggeration, but it is an
exaggeration of a truth." P. 159
LECTURE 10
HOW SUNDAY
WORSHIP CAME TO BE PART OF THE CHURCH
I. ORIGINS IN PAGANISM:
A. In days of Nimrod.
B. Shortly after the flood.
C. Paul dealt with it in the New Testament.
1. I Cor
8:1-5 - Sunday - day of the Lord (Baal's day)
a. Many
gods and lords
2.
Gal.
D.
According to Dies
"The year A.D. 70 marks the decisive break between Sabbath and
Sunday." p. 18
"
A. Began around time of
B. Sabbath keeping continued.
1. In West until 600
A.D. (
2. In East until 1000
A.D.
A. Sunday worship evolved into state religion.
B. His whole desire was unity -
accomplished this through the church.
A Critical History of the Sabbath and
Sunday, by A.H. Lewis, shows
how his conversion was feigned:
"Although Constantine (A.D. 306-337)
Professed conversion to Christianity, he was devoted to the Apollo of Greek and
Roman mythology, and would represent himself with symbols of the god of light
and poetry." p.138-139
"Two reasons why the Sabbath of the Lord was discarded and the day of sun
worshippers was adopted:
1) There was a strong desire to avoid being
identified with the Jews, whose bigotry and downfall had made them unpopular.
2) There was an equally strong desire to win the pagan sun worshippers and gain
their adherence to the church." p. 31
D.
1. Prohibits assembling of any other church.
2. Catholic church given permission to confiscate property
belonging to heretics.
"Victor Constantinus, Maximus Augustus, to the heretics.... Forasmuch,
then, as it is no longer possible to bear with your pernicious errors, we give
warning by this present statute that none of you henceforth presume to assemble
yourselves together. We have directed, accordingly, that you be
deprived of all the houses in which you are accustomed to hold your assemblies:
and our care in this respect extends so far as to forbid the holding of your
superstitious and senseless meetings, not in public merely, but in any private
house or place whatsoever.
"Let those of you, therefore, who are desirous of embracing the true and pure religion, take the far better course of entering the catholic Church, and uniting with it in holy fellowship, whereby you will be enabled to arrive at the knowledge of the truth. In any case, the delusions of your perverted understandings must entirely cease to mingle with and mar the felicity of our present times:"
E.
What early church writers had to say...
1. Eusebius describes enforcement of decree.
a.
"Lurking
places of heretics...to be had..."
"Thus were the lurking-places of the
heretics broken up by the emperor’s command, and the savage beasts they
harbored (I mean the chief authors of
their impious doctrines) driven to flight.... Accordingly,
numbers...acknowledged the Church as a mother from whom they had wandered long,
and to whom they now returned with joy and gladness. Thus the members of the entire body became
united, and compacted in one harmonious whole; and the one catholic
Church, at unity with itself, shone with full luster, while no heretical or
schismatic body anywhere continued to exist. And the credit of having achieved
this mighty work our Heaven-protected emperor alone, of all who had gone before
him, was able to attribute to himself."
b. Pressure was great
c. People forced back
into Catholic Church
2. Justin Martyr:
a. Describes how Sunday was kept.
"And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country
gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings
of the prophets are read, as long as time permits.... Then we all rise together and pray, and...bread and wine and water are brought."
b.
His justification for keeping Sunday:
"First day God wrought day in light....” They observe the day God began
his work.... "For He was crucified
on the day before that of Saturn; and on the day after that of Saturn, which is
the day of the sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught
them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your
consideration."
"The Sabbath is a temporary ordinance, derived from Moses, which God did
not intend to be kept literally, for He Himself does not stop controlling the
movement of the universe on that day. He imposed it solely on the Jews as a
mark to single them out for punishment they so well deserved for their
infidelities." text 23,3
3.
Tertullian - late 2nd century.
a.
Sunday a day of
"festivity"
b. Says pagans started,
they now continued
Tertullian, the father of Latin Christianity, never cites any scripture for his
beliefs. He claims tradition for the
customs of his day. Here is what he
wrote about Sunday:
"If, for these and other such rules, you insist upon having positive
Scripture injunction, you will find none. Tradition will be held forth to you
as the originator of them, custom as their strengthener, and faith, as their
preserver. That reason will support tradition, and custom, and faith, you will
either yourself perceive, or learn from some one who has."
F.
Doctrine concerning Sunday...
1. Friday was the crucifixion and Sunday was the
resurrection - commonly accepted as fact.
2. Sunday not kept in same manner as the sabbath.
3. Never regarded as commandment.
G. Edict of
1. First Sunday law.
a. Declares day of rest
and closure of business on Sunday
b. Day set aside for
fasting
2. Saturday could be kept, but people were
required to work
According to Codex Justinianus, lib. 3, tit. 12, 3;
translated in History of the Christian Church, by Schaff, Vol.
"On the venerable day of the sun let the magistrates and people residing
in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in
agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often
happens that another day is not so suitable for grain sowing or for vine
planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty
of heaven should be lost."
IV. Catholics continued side by side in Saturday / Sunday Observance.
1.
Took a long time to do away with the Sabbath.
2. Required to work on Sabbath -
observed as Sunday is today.
Cannon 19 of The Council of Laodicea says:
"The Gospels are to be read on the
Sabbath, with the other Scriptures (see Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, p.
133).
A.
Socrates - late 4th century.
1. Catholic historian.
2. Called Sunday, "the Lord's day" as a day
honoring the resurrection.
3. Reviews history of the early church.
In Bingham's Antiquities, we read what
Socrates says:
"Saturday and the Lord's day [were] the two great
festivals, on which they always held church assemblies. And Cassian takes
notice of the Egyptian churches, that among them the service of the Lord's Day
and the Sabbath was always the same."
B.
Gregory - shortly after the Council of Laodicea.
1. Said both Saturday
and Sunday were "sister."
"With what eyes can you behold the Lord's day, when you despise the Sabbath? Do you not perceive that they are sisters, and that in slighting the one, you affront the other?"
2. Problem not the day, but how it was kept.
C.
Augustine - 400 A.D.
1. Story of Jewish Sabbath transferred to
Sunday.
2. Sunday is taking pre-eminence.
"The holy doctors of the church have decreed that all the glory of the
Jewish Sabbath is transferred to it [Sunday].
Let us therefore keep the Lord’s day as the ancients were commanded to
do the Sabbath."
3. Modern religions admit basis unscriptural and are a result of the Roman Catholic Church.
From Cardinal Gibbon's Book, Faith of Our
Fathers, we read:
"A rule of Faith, or a competent guide to heaven, must be able to instruct
in all the truths necessary for
salvation. Now the Scriptures alone do not contain all the truths, which a
Christian is bound to believe, not do they explicitly enjoin all the duties,
which he is obliged to practice. Not to mention other examples, is not every
Christian obliged to sanctify Sunday, and to abstain on that day from
unnecessary servile work? Is not the observance of this law among the most
prominent of our sacred duties? But you may read the Bible from Genesis to
Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification
of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day
which we never sanctify." p. 89
Lecture 11
Quarto-Decimens/Paulicians
I. TERMS:
A. Quarto-Decimen:
1.
The controversy over whether or not Passover should be kept on
the 14th.
2. Had to do with the
Eastern church keeping Passover on the 14th and the
Western church keeping Easter.
3. The word means
fourteen.
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th
edition, says:
"There is no indication of the observance of the Easter
festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the apostolic
Fathers...The first Christians continued to observe the Jewish festivals,
though in a new spirit, as commemorations of events which those festivals had
foreshadowed. Thus the Passover, with a new conception added to it of Christ as
the true Paschal Lamb and the first fruits from the dead, continued to be
observed, and became the Christian Easter...Generally speaking, the Western
churches kept Easter on the first day of the week, while the Eastern churches
followed the Jewish rule, and kept Easter on the fourteenth day. St Polycarp,
the disciple of St John the Evangelist and bishop of Smyrna, visited Rome in
159 to confer with Anicetus, the bishop of that see, on the subject; and urged
the tradition, which he had received from the apostle, of observing the
fourteenth day... About forty years later (197) the question was discussed in a
very different spirit between Victor, bishop of
An article by Britannica entitled,
Christian Groups Which Have Followed Jewish Religious Observances, shows the
Christian understanding:
"...In the second century of our era there were many
churches in
The Britannica article brings out
an interesting point to show that it is the 14th day Christ died:
"So there was in the early Church a Christian
observance of Passover. However, it seems that there was a difference of
opinion as to what happened at Passover according to the Gospels. The general
opinion was that Jesus was crucified on this festival. But did he die on the fourteenth
day or on the fifteenth day of the first month? Were there
not only 'quartadecimans', but also 'quintadecimans?"
The Apostolic Community to
"The Quartodeciman minority remained faithful to their
previous practice throughout the whole of the 3rd century, and the Novatians in
B. Mithraism:
1.
Pagan Persian religion.
2. First century A.D.
3. Fades
out as oriental mystic religion of the East.
4. Involves sun
worship.
5. Appealing to the
soldiers.
6. Spread throughout
the empire.
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th
edition, says:
"MITHRAS, a Persian god of light, whose worship, the
latest one of importance to be brought from the Orient to Rome, spread
throughout the empire and became the greatest antagonist of
Christianity...Because light is accompanied by heat, he was the god of
vegetation and increase; he sent prosperity to the good, and annihilated the
bad; he was the god of armies and the champion of heroes; as the enemy of
darkness and of all evil spirits, he protected souls, accompanying them on the
way to paradise, and was thus a redeemer. Animals and birds were sacrificed and
libations poured to him, and prayers were addressed to him by devotees who had
purified themselves by ablution and repeated flagellation...Its popularity
remained unimpaired after the fall of
C.
Manichaeism
1. Founded in 2nd
century and existed though the 14th century.
2. Replaces
Mithraism.
3. Augustine fought
against it - 4OO's A.D.
4. Grew
to be very large.
5. Often connected
with Paulicians and Bogomils.
6. Austere practices.
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th
edition, says:
“Professor Franz Cumont has traced the progress of Mithraism
all over the
II. MAJOR EVENTS:
A. 378 A.D. - Title of 'Pontifex
Maximus' bestowed on bishop at
B. 476-554 A.D. - years
1. 476 A.D. -
defeated.
2. 554 A.D. -
restored.
3.
C. 5OO A.D. -
1. Bestowed papal states to Catholic church.
2. Church became
property owners.
D. 55O's A.D. - Justinian.
1. Council of
E. 6OO's A.D. - in East was a rising to power of the Arab kingdom.
1. Establishment of
Islamic religion.
2. Middle east not so
much Catholic.
The History of the Christian
Church, by George Fisher, reads:
"While the Christian world, as it has been the fashion
to call it, 'was thus sunk into an awful state of superstition--at a moment
when darkness seemed to cover the earth, and a gross darkness of the
people'--it is pleasing to contemplate a ray of celestial light darting across
the gloom. About the year 650, a new sect arose in the east, under the name of
Paulicians, which is justly entitled to our attention.
A.
Key of Truth
1. Important
manual by the
2. Translated by Fred
Conybeare.
3. Preservation of
writings of the Paulicians in the 800's A.D.
From George Fisher's History of the
Christian Church, we read:
“In this manuscript called Key of Truth, we find many of their beliefs.
Conybeare says he had at last
'...Understood who these Paulicians really were. All who had
‘written about them’ had been misled by their Calumnies (slanders). I now
realized (he said) that I had stumbled on the monument of a phase of the
Christian Church so old and so outworn, that the very
B.
Origin.
1. Predominate
Christian group that is non-Catholic.
2. Best guesses of
establishment begin in about 650 A.D.
3. Location: In
Newman explains how the earth
helped the woman in his book A Manual of Church History:
'It was the huge recess or circular dam formed by the Taurus
mountain range that furnished a comparatively secure abiding place for this
ancient form of Christianity.'" p. 201
Broodbent explains that the
Paulicians were the descendants of the original church in his book The Pilgrim
Church:
"The persecutions to which they were subjected, and the
systematic destruction of their literature, hide from us all but occasional
glimpses of their history, though what remains is sufficient to show that there
were in those wide regions of Asia Minor and Armenia, around Mount Ararat and
beyond the Euphrates, churches of baptized believers, disciples of the Lord
Jesus Christ, who kept the teachings of the apostles received from Christ and
contained in the scriptures, in an unbroken testimony from the
first." p. 43-44
3.
Location: In
4.
Possible founder:
a.
Wealthy, educated merchant
b. Given
gift of portion of N.T.
c. Found he
understood it differently from the traditional way
d. Began to preach -
movement grew rapidly
Edward Gibbon's The Decline and
Fall of the Roman Empire, says:
"In his humble dwelling of Mananeli, Constantine
entertained a deacon who returned from Syrian captivity and received the
inestimable fight of the New Testament, which was already concealed from the
vulgar, by the prudence of the Greek an perhaps of the gnostic clergy. These
books became the measure of his studies and these books of the New Testament
became the rule of his faith and the Catholics who dispute his interpretation,
acknowledge that his text was genuine and sincere. He attached himself with
peculiar devotion to
C.
Attempt to stamp movement out by Byzantine Emperor.
1. Sent Simeon to
destroy church
2. Church was told to
stone their own leader - Constantine.
3. They succumb &
D.
Simeon (man sent to destroy the church):
1.
Became church leader in the 68O's.
a. Replaced Constantine who he had killed
2. His name was later
changed to Titus.
3. No reason to
dispute this information.
From Gibbons Decline and Fall, we read
"So Simeon, like the apostle Paul embraced the doctrine
which he had been sent to persecute. He renounced his honors and fortunes and
acquired among the Paulicians the fame of a missionary and a martyr. They were
not ambitious of martyrdom, but in a calamitous period of 150 years, their
patience sustained whatever zeal could inflict, and power was insufficient to
eradicate the obstinate vegetation of fanaticism and reason. From the blood and
ashes of the first victims, a succession of teachers and congregations
repeatedly arose." pp. 57-63
E. Persecution and extinction of...
Their persecutors wrote of them:
"With how many lies your vanity has been entangled and
that your teachings maintain by certain venomous poisons, so that through you
the healthy are driven to disease and living to perpetual death. Haters of
truth, enemies of life, counselors of destruction, all things among you are
opposed to the truth... therefore, since it is no longer possible to bear this
plague of your utter destructiveness, by this law we order publicly that none
of you may dare to assemble hereafter. And besides, this is enter into the
Catholic Church and share in its holiness, through which you will be able to
also attain to the truth." p. 7
1. Later stamped out by Empress Theodora between 84O & 86O A.D.
2. Severely persecuted.
3. As many as 1OO,OOO martyred.
4.
Set stage to development of European church.
a.
Bogomils into
From the Encyclopedia of Religious
Knowledge, we read:
"The empress Theodora and the emperor Michael in 845
did oblige them to be converted or to quit the empire, upon which several of
them were put to death, and more retired among the Cericans, but they were
neither all exterminated nor banished. During these sad commotions, the
Paulicians toward the conclusion of this century spread abroad their doctrines
among the Bulgarians." p. 417-419
F. Thoughts on their doctrine...
From Conybeare’s The Key of Truth,
we read a confession of their teachings from one who has recanted:
They
1. Convinced me that
Christ is not God.
2. Made me blaspheme the cross, as being
nothing.
3. Told me that the baptism and body are
of the Armenians is false and that
4. We must rebaptize all of us on whose
foreheads the sacred oil of the
wild beast is laid;
5. The Mother of God is not believed to
be a virgin but to have lost her virginity;
6. We reject her intercession also;
7. Whatever saints there be they reject
their intercession;
8. They reject the mass and communion
and the confession but say to the Orthodox confess to your sticks and stones
and leave God alone;
9. Those who choose to communicate eat
the morsel and drink down the wine upon it, but do not admit the communion
(transubstantiation) of the mass;
10. They say that we are the only true
Christians on earth.
11. On our faces we make no sign of the
cross.
12. Genuflexions are false if made
superstitiously;
13. During (Roman) fasts, they eat;
14. The canon-lore of the holy
patriarchs they reject; and say that the councils of the patriarchs were false,
and that their canons were written by the devil.
1.
Condemned "blessed" virgin Mary -
didn't believe in Mary worship.
a.
Came to believe Gabriel fathered Christ
b. Believed Mary lost
her virginity
2. Refused to celebrate the Eucharist.
3. Refused the doctrine of Transubstantiation.
4.
Loathed the cross of Jesus Christ.
a.
Condemned use of the cross as a sign
b. Felt object of
Christ’s death shouldn’t be simulated
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th
edition, says:
"(1) Christ was thirty years old when he was baptized.
Therefore they baptized no one until he is thirty years of age.(2) Christ, after baptism, was not anointed with myrrh nor
with holy oil, therefore let them not be anointed with myrrh or holy oil. (3)
Christ was not baptized in a font, but in a river. Therefore, let them not be
baptized in a font. (4) Christ, when he was about to be baptized, did not
recite the creed of the 318 fathers of Nice, therefore shall they not make
profession of it. (5) Christ when about to be baptized,
was not first made to turn to the west and renounce the devil an blow upon him,
nor against to turn to the east and make a compact with God. For he was himself
true God. So let them not impose these
things on those to be baptized. (6)
Christ, after he had been baptized, did not partake of his own body. Nor let
them so partake or it. (7) Christ, after he was baptized, fasted 40 days and
only that; and for 120 years such was the tradition, which prevailed in the
Church. We, however, fast 50 days before Pascha. (8)
Christ did not hand down to us the teaching to celebrate the mystery of the
offering of bread in church, but in an ordinary house and sitting at a common
table. So then let them not offer the
sacrifice of bread in churches. (9) It
was after supper, when his disciples were sated, that Christ gave them to east
of his own body. Therefore let them first eat meats and be sated, and then let
them partake of the mysteries. (10) Christ, although he was crucified for us,
yet did not command us to adore the cross, as the Gospel testifies. Let them
therefore not adore the cross. (11) The
cross was of wood. Let them therefore
not adore a cross of gold or silver or bronze or stone. (12) Christ wore
neither humeral nor amice nor maniple nor stole nor chasuble. Therefore let
them not wear these garments. (13) Christ did not institute the prayers of the
liturgy or the Holy Epiphanies, and all the other prayers for every action and
every hour. Let them therefore not repeat them, nor be hallowed by such
prayers. (14) Christ did not lay hands on patriarchs and metropolitans and
bishops and presbyters and deacons and monks, nor ordain their several prayers.
Let them therefore not be ordained nor blessed with
these prayers. (15) Christ did not
enjoin the building of churches and the furnishing of holy tables, and their
anointing with myrrh and hallowing with a myriad of prayers. Let them not do it
either. (16) Christ did not fast on the fourth day of the week and on the
Paraskeve. Let them not fast either.
(17) Christ did not bid us pray toward the east. Neither shall they pray towards the east."
Beliefs continued
5. Didn't believe Peter was the only one given the keys to the kingdom (we believe Peter was given leadership responsibilities and leadership given to all 12 apostles in general).
6. Didn't believe the Pope was a representative of God.
7. Didn't believe in saints or the worship of them.
8.
Doctrine of Baptism:
a.
Condemned method of the Catholic church
b. Paulicians granted
baptism to those of full age (3O) after coming to realization of one's sins.
c.
Only way to become baptized - through study, prayer, faith,
repentance, and practice in living the right way of life.
From Albert Newman’s A Manual of
Church History, we read:
“For they taught; secondly, asked for faith; thirdly,
induced to repent; and after that, granted holy baptism to those who are of
full age, and in particular were cognizant of their original sin. Again ye, the
elect ones, must observe the utmost care that they receive before baptism instruction, both
of body and soul, as Paul saith: 'Practice thyself in godliness.' So must ye
without delay bring those who come unto faith, hope, love, and repentance, and
with extreme care and testing practice them, no matter who they be." p.
382-383
From Conybeare's Key of Truth, we
read:
"First, it is interesting to note that the Paulicians
adhered to the words of Acts 2:38 and other basic scriptures relating to real
Christian conversion: 'for membership in it (the Church) depended upon baptism,
voluntarily sought for, even with tears and supplication, by the faithful and
penitent adult. 'Continuing in another section:
'Now their repentance lay in turning from their
evil works and believing in Christ Jesus; in receiving the holy baptism of the
Spirit of the heavenly Father...’ The emphasis on deep repentance and faith,
the two conditions that must be met before baptism and the receipt of the Holy
Spirit...." p. xii & 73
9. Believed church was not a building, but a body of people.
1O. Believed gospel of the
From The Paulician Heresy, by Nina
G. Garsoian, we read:
"They also claimed each man could be accepted as the
Son of God, which caused much scandal
among the Orthodox Armenian ecclesiastics. Apparently this belief dated from
the earlier period." pp. 161-162
a. Dualism sometimes applied (evil body, good soul)
b. No evidence that they believed the concept that Satan was the god of this world
c. Kept commands
From Conybear's The Key of Truth,
we read:
"The Paulicians were also characterized by their
obedience to the Ten Commandments, which is necessary for a newly begotten
Christian's growth. 'How are we to define a
Christian? Thus -- one who know our Lord
Jesus Christ, what he is, and keeps his commandments.' p. 117
11.
Observed Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread.
a.
Kept Passover on the 14th of Nissan like the Jews
b. Called
"Agape" - Love Feasts
c. Manner -
observed as a meal
From Conybeare's The Key of Truth,
we read:
"The Sabbath was perhaps kept, and there were no
special Sunday observance... Wednesday and Friday were not kept as fast days.
(And) Of the modern Christmas and of the Annunciation, and of the other feasts
connected with the life of Jesus prior to his thirtieth year, this phase of the
Church knew nothing. The general impression which the study or it leaves on us
is that in it we have before us a form of Church not very remote from the
primitive Jewish Christianity of Palestine." p. 193
12. Evidence that they may have kept the Sabbath.
13. Did not accept the doctrine of the Trinity.
14. Had higher standard of conduct
Even their enemies noted their high
standard of conduct. The Key of Truth reveals the opinion of one enemy of the
Paulicians:
"Lozar particularly distinguishes the heresy of
Lecture 12
Ambrose/Augustine/Bogomils
I. AMBROSE - 34O-4OO A.D.
A.
Greatest Contribution - was instrumental in conversion of Augustine (the
greatest of all Catholic fathers).
B. Bridges the gap to solidify
Christianity in
C. Great fathers of Catholic church - became Bishop of Milan
D. Italian, Citizen of
F. Very successful orator.
According to the Encyclopedia
Britannica:
Saint Ambrose was "bishop of
The eloquence of Ambrose soon found ample scope in the dispute between the
Arians and the orthodox or Catholic party, whose cause the new bishop
espoused.... The increasing strength of the Arians proved a formidable task for
Ambrose. In 384 the young emperor and his mother Justina, along with a
considerable number of clergy and laity professing the Arian faith, requested
from the bishop the use of two churches, one in the city, the
other in the suburbs of
Although the court was displeased with the religious principles and conduct of
Ambrose, it respected his great political talents; and when necessity required,
his aid was solicited and generously granted.
And according to the book
When Theodosius became master of
I.
Ambrose was a teacher of Neo-Platonian thought.
1. This was
Complex philosophical doctrine of the 3rd century A.D.
2. It is
derived from the Dialogues of Plato
a. Holds that there is only one reality
b. Everything emanates from this great cause
c. Mind and soul come from it all else physical is lower on the
scale
d. To reach the good one must turn into oneself in
contemplation
e. He taught Augustine:
II. AUGUSTINE:
A. He was one of the 4 great
doctors of the Church
According to the Encyclopedia
Britannica, 11th edition:
"No single name has ever exercised such power over the Christian Church, and no one mind ever made so deep an impression upon
Christian thought.... The judgment of Catholics still proclaims the ideas of
Augustine as the only sound basis of philosophy."
B. He fused the religion of the NT
with Platonic teaching of the Greek philosophers
C. Background and Education:
1. Father
was pagan, mother was Christian.
2. From N.
3. Born
4. He was a
Canaanite
5. His name
was Aurelius Augustinus
6. His
mother's name was Monica
7. When she
was later canonized she became Saint Monica
8. The city
9. Educated at
10.
Brilliant orator - highly educated.
a. At first thought the Bible was full of contradictions
From The Confessions of St. Augustine, translated by J.G.
Pilkington, we read:
"I resolved, therefore, to direct my mind to the Holy Scriptures,
that I might see what they were. And behold, I perceive something not
comprehended by the proud, not disclosed to children, but lowly as you
approach, sublime as you advance, and veiled in mysteries; and I was not of the
number of those who could enter into it, or bend my neck to follow its steps.
For not as when now I speak did I feel when I turned towards those Scriptures,
but they appeared to me to be unworthy to be compared with the dignity of
Tully; for my inflated pride shunned their style, nor could the sharpness of my
wit pierce their inner meaning. Yet, truly, were they such as would develop in
little ones; but I scorned to be a little one, and, swollen with pride, I looked
upon myself as a great one." p. 47
b. Augustine was
Influence by Manichaeism
1. Featured Dualism
2. The elect were to become perfect and to do so they were to
live a very strict austere life with celibacy
c. Finally he found this religion too intellectually weak to answer his questions
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th
edition, says:
"His insatiable imagination drew congenial food from the fanciful
religious world of the Manichaeans, decked out as this was with the luxuriant
wealth of Oriental myth. His strongly
developed sense of a need of salvation
sought satisfaction in the contest of the two principles of Good and Evil, and found peace, at least for the moment, in
the conviction that the portions of light present in him would be freed from
the darkness in which they were immersed.
The ideal of chastity and self-restraint, which promised a foretaste of
union with God, amazed him, bound as he was in the fetter of sensuality and for
ever shaking at these feeters. But while
his moral force was not sufficient for the attainment of this ideal, gradually
everything else which Manichaeism seemed to offer him dissolved before his
criticism. Increasingly occupied with
the exact sciences, he learnt the incompatibility of the Manichaean astrology
with the facts." P. 9O7
11. Lived an immoral life, which started with an illegitimate child in his teens.
From The Confessions of St.
Augustine, we read:
"To
AUGUSTINE CONTINUED:
In another place Augustine explains
in The Confessions:
"Meanwhile my sins were being multiplied, and my mistress being torn form
my side as an impediment to my marriage, my heart, which clave to her, was
racked, and wounded, and bleeding. And she went back to
B.
Conversion.
1. Studied at
2. Converted as a result of meeting Ambrose.
3. Baptized on Easter - 387 A.D.
a. He used the term "born again" to refer to his
baptism
From The Confessions of St.
Augustine, we read:
"Thence, when the time had arrived at which I was to give my name, having
left the country, we returned to
The Confessions of St. Augustine
reveal that his change came after a religious experience:
"I was saying these things and weeping in the most bitter contrition of my
heart, when, lo, I heard the voice as of a boy or girl, I know not which,
coming from a neighbouring house, chanting, and oft repeating, "Take up
and read; take up and read." Immediately my countenance was changed, and I
began most earnestly to consider whether it was usual for children in any kind
of game to sing such words; nor could I remember ever to have heard the
like. So, restraining the torrent of my
tears, I rose up, interpreting it in no other way than as a command to me from
Heaven to open the book, and to read the first chapter I should light
upon. For I had heard of Antony, that,
accidentally coming in whilst the gospel was being read, he received the
admonition as if what was read were addressed to him, "Go, and sell that thou hast, and give
to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come and follow
me." And by such oracle was he
forthwith converted unto Thee. So quickly I returned to the place where Alypius
was sitting; for there had I put down the volume of the apostles, when I rose
thence. I grasped, opened, and in
silence read that paragraph on which my eyes first fell, --"Not in rioting
and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying;
but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to
fulfill the lust thereof." No
further would I read, nor did I need; for instantly, as the sentence ended, -
by a light, as it were, of security into my heart, -
all the gloom of doubt vanished away." P.186
4. Lived a celibate life in semi-seclusion to study.
- Thus the development of celibacy and monastic orders
C.
Doctrines:
1. Asceticism - life
of self-denial became part of the Roman Catholic Church.
2. Development of a deep sense of sinfulness -
thought man was different before the fall of Adam.
3. Pelagian Controversy with Augustine:
a.
Augustine felt babies were born in sin
b. Pelagius disagreed,
and was against uterine baptisms
4. Augustine's most
significant contribution:
a. Any
other use of sex other than for procreation was considered venial sin
b. All sexual desire
tainted by concupiscence
Mr. Armstrong, in The Missing Dimension In Sex, wrote this of Augustine:
"Augustine's conscience was wracked with guilt over his fornication and sex vices. He NEVER MARRIED. He largely influenced the establishment of priesthood celibacy. He was not without quantitative sex experience. But all that experience was motivated by concupiscence. He never experienced the GIVING of love in marriage. He knew NOTHING of its happy and blissful joys. All he knew, by experience, was inordinate, self-desire, followed by the conscience-stricken pangs of self-condemnation and guilt. Such men never experienced that clean, wholesome, LOVE of a pure wife, mingled with respect, admiration, high regard, esteem and honor. P.110
c. I Cor 7:1-5
God says we are marry to avoid fornication
d. Marriage is a command
(read in Moffatt)
Mr. Armstrong, in The Missing
Dimension In Sex, continues:
"Now read it with the false modesty stripped away, in the Moffatt
translation, "The husband must give the wife her conjugal dues, and the
wife in the same way must give the husband his..." And the word
"conjugal” means sexual or marital." p. 106
5. Concept that the church is the
a. His masterpiece was The City Of God
1. In it he combated the belief of the
Pagans that
2. Charlemagne loved to have this work read
to him
3. It showed the world was in two camps the
world and the City of
a. Feel they have control of the state
According to A History of THE END of the World, by Yuri Rubinshy and Ian Wiseman, Augustine explained that:
"The church now on earth is
both the
b. Justification of wars and crusades
c. Anything
done by the church is justifiable to get people to recant of heresy
D.
Augustine regarded as 2nd only to the Apostle Paul.
A.
Origin and Location:
1. The people of God
may have been among the Bogomils and the Paulicians.
2. Bogomils moved from
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th
edition, says:
"It is a complicated task to determine the true character and the tenets
of any ancient sect, considering that almost all the information that has
reached us has come from the opponents.... The Bogomils were without doubt the
connecting link between the so-called heretical sects of the East and those of
the West. They were, moreover, the most active agents in disseminating such
teachings in
B. Strong anti-Catholic movement.
C. Strange doctrine of dualism - good vs. evil.
D.
Origin of Name - 3 Theories:
1. Combination of two
Slavic words meaning "Lord have mercy".
2. Derivation of Bogomil - "beloved of God,
friends of God".
3. Named after man called Bogomilly.
According to the Encyclopedia of
Religion and Ethics, by James Hastings, M.A., D.D, vol. 2, Arthur Bunyan:
The origin of the name has been usually found in the frequent use by them of
the two Slavic words Bog milui, ‘Lord, has mercy.' A more likely explanation
derives it from Bogumil,
'Beloved of God,' in which case it may be taken to denote the
idea of a pious community analogous to the
(later) 'Friends of God' (q.v.) in
E.
Doctrines:
1. Rejected Mosaic
books of the Old Testament.
a.
Accepted Psalms,
Proverbs, and the four gospels
b. Accepted most of the
rest of the Bible
2. Anti-Trinitarian:
a.
Satan was firstborn, then Christ was created - Docetistic in
nature
b. Satan rebelled and
took other Angels with him, and became god of this world - named Satanel
3. Life created by Satan.
4. Most men have been deceived by Satan.
5. Christ conceived
by archangel Michael through Mary's ear.
6. Christ overcame Satan, and qualified to rule.
7. They were originally successors of the apostles.
8. Rejected Roman Catholic means of baptism.
9. Rejected Roman Catholic doctrine of
transubstantiation.
1O. Believed temples of
Catholic church to be houses of demons.
11. Didn't have to have spiritual place to
worship.
12. Believed in power to cast out demons.
13. Abhorred "Mary" worship - that to
idols.
Green’s Handbook of Church History says this about a community that called themselves Christian, they were..."praying people, who had in various ways attempted to solve the mystery of evil, and to counteract the temptations of the flesh by ascetic methods, without the aid of recognized religious methods and institutions. The Bogomils worshipped in private houses and in the open air. They were of two classes, the 'believers' and the 'perfect.' The latter, to cultivate the higher life, abstained from matrimony as well as from animal food and from fermented liquors. They were instructors of the young, visitors of the sick, but were all required to take a share of manual labour. Women as well as men might preach. Oaths were strictly forbidden, and all war was regarded as sinful. Their doctrinal opinions are set forth at large by Euthymius Zigabenus in his Panoplia, probably with substantial correctness, although again it must be remembered that it is an enemy who writes.
BOGOMILS CONTINUED:
In their system, the evil principle
appeared in Satanael, a Son of God, who had revolted through pride, and had
formed man, into whom God Himself infused the breath of life. Through man's material part, which, as the
work of Satanael, was wholly evil, human nature became depraved, until another
Son of God, the Logos, appeared for its redemption. The Incarnation was in
appearance only, and was crowned by the Resurrection, or manifestation of the
Logos, when Satanael was conquered and bound.
To be saved was to be made partakers of the Logos, the giver of the true
life. The Bogomils placed
F. Great persecution.
1. Martyrdom - 11OO-115O
A.D.
In his book Ecclesiastical History,
Mosheim writes:
"...The Bogomils...founder, one Basil, a monk,
when he could not be reclaimed, was burned alive at
2. A great deal succumb to the Catholic demands.
3. Some in
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th
edition says:
"These were noted heretics and were persecuted by the Greek Church with
fire and sword. The empress Theodora killed drowned or hanged no fewer than
100,000. In the 10th century the emperor John Cimices, himself of Armenian
origin, transplanted them in the neighborhood of Philippopolis, which
henceforth became the centre of a far-reaching propaganda.... The popes in
"The Bogomils
spread westwards, and settled first in
Lecture 13
Church in the Wilderness
Albigenses/Patarines/Cathari
I. OVERVIEW:
A. Names attached to anti-Catholic groups.
Nazarenes
Ebionites
Paulicians
Bogomils
Patarines
Bulgarians
Cathars
Albigenses
Passagi
Publicani
Waldensians
Petrobrusians|
Henricians
B.
Events during this time:
1. Period of the Dark
ages.
2. Catholic supremacy. Great
power, very corrupt.
3. Time of crusades - great persecution on these
groups.
II. CATHARS:
A.
Not part of the true church in general...
1. Called Bogomils, Patarines, Albigenses, etc.
From Heresy, Crusade, and
Inquisition in
"Between 1140 and 1160 a new dualist heresy spread from northern
B.
Beliefs:
1. Dualistic concept
like Bogomils.
From The Encyclopedia Britannica,
11th edition, we read:
"Cathari affirmed that the two principles were engaged in perpetual
warfare, that the earth was their battleground, and that man’s primary concern
must be to free himself from servitude to matter.
Because matter as evil, Christ could not have had a true human body, have died,
or have risen from the dead; because human procreation resulted in the union of
spirit with matter, marriage was essentially evil; and because sacred suicide,
called ENDURA, liberated man's spirit from matter, it was the highest act of
virtue. "The dualism of the Cathari was derived from the
2. Believed the Old Testament and much of the New Testament inspired by Satan.
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition,
says:
"Their tenets were as follows: -
The evil god, Satan, who inspired the malevolent parts of the Old Testament, is
god and lord of this world, of the things that are seen and are temporal, and
especially of the outward man which is decaying, of the earthen vessel, of the
body of death, of the flesh which takes us captive under the law of sin and
desire. This world is the only true purgatory and hell, being the antithesis of
the world eternal, of the inward man renewed day by day, of Christ's peace and
kingdom, which are not of this world. Men are the result of a primal war in
heaven, when hosts of angels incited by Satan or Lucifer to revolt were driven
out, and were imprisoned in terrestrial bodies, bodies spiritual and not
natural. These the angels souls left
behind in heaven, and they are buildings from God, houses not made with hands,
tunics eternal." p. 504
From the Encyclopedia of Religion
and Ethics, edited by
"Catharists rejected the Roman doctrine, maintaining that the soul, after death, entered forthwith into a state either of perfect happiness or of eternal suffering. Their abstention from all animal food included even milk and eggs, all matter being regarded as the creation of the Spirit of Evil, but especially that, which was the outcome of sexual propagation. Labour was justifiable so far as it served to sustain life....” p. 281
From Heresy, Crusade and
Inquisition in
"The personal life of the perfected Cathar was marked by constant prayer
and rigid asceticism. The Lord’s Prayer, normally repeated sixteen times in one
sequence, was said at stipulated times except in illness. Three days of every
week were devoted to fasting on bread and water and there were
3. They believed that Baptism was by spirit, not
by water.
4. Did not recognize
Catholic Church as originating from apostolic church.
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th
edition, says:
"In the East they were called Bogomils and Paulicians; in the West,
Patarenes, Tixerands, Bulgars, Concorricii, Albanenses, Albigeois, and in both,
Cathars and Manicheans." p. 504
A.
Very Anti-Catholic, however not God's people.
From McClintock and Strong's
Biblical Encyclopedia, we read:
"What these bodies held in common, and what made them equally the prey of
the inquisitor, was their unwavering belief in the corruption of the medieval
Church, especially as governed by the Roman pontiffs. By some writers their
origin is traced to the Paulicians or Bogomils, who, having withdrawn from
B. Beliefs:
From the Encyclopedia Britannica,
11th edition, we read:
"The heresy which had penetrated into these regions probably by trade routes, came originally from eastern Europe. The name of
Bulgarians was often applied to the Albigenses, and they always kept up intercourse
with the Bogomil sectaries of
Albigenses continued
1. Dualistic doctrine.
2. Looking for state
of perfection.
3. Denied marriage
and fleshly pleasures to ministry.
4. Expected all to eventually become part of the "Perfecti".
5. Fasted to the
death.
From The Pilgrim Church, by Broadbent,
we read:
“The name Albigenses does not appear until after the Council held at Lombers
near Albi about the middle of the twelfth century.... Among the people the brethren were most
frequently called 'Good Men', and there is general testimony to the fact that
their manner of life was a pattern to all, and especially that their simplicity
and piety were a contrast to the self-indulgence of the clergy.... Some among
the brethren devoted themselves entirely to traveling and ministering the Word,
and were called ‘the
Perfect,’ and, in accordance with the Lord's words in Matthew 19:21, 'If thou
wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou
shalt have reassure in heaven: and come and follow Me', they possessed nothing,
had no home, and literally acted upon this command.... The congregations of
believers who met apart from the Catholic Church were numerous and increasing.
They are often called Albigenses, a name taken from Albi, a district where
there were many of them, but this name was never used by them, nor of them until a later period. They had intimate connections with the
brethren -- whether called Waldenses, Poor Men of Lyons, Bogomils, or otherwise -- in the
surrounding countries, where churches spread among the various peoples."
p. 87-88
6. Trace themselves to Paulician movement.
From the Encyclopedia of Religion
and Ethics, we read:
"Gibbon argued ... that 'the persons called Albigenses, in the south of
C.
Crusades:
1. 1O98 A.D. - First
Crusade by Catholic Church.
2. Priests sent to various towns to bring out
heretics.
3. Horrible persecutions against anti-Catholics.
D.
Innocent
1. Brought about The
Inquisition.
2. Used any means possible to convert those not
in the Catholic Church.
The Encyclopedic Dictionary of
Religion says;
"By the beginning of the 13th century, the Albigenses had become a threat
to the very existence of the Church in
3. God's people flee into the wilderness - here
we pick up the Waldensians.
From the Encyclopedia of Religion
and Ethics, we read:
"In 1214, Innocent rescinded the prohibition to preach the Crusade, and in
the course of the year a hundred thousand ‘pilgrims’ poured into
McClintock and Strong's Biblical
Encyclopedia, says:
"With the exception of the charge of rejecting marriage, no allegation is
made against their morals by the better class of Roman writers. Their constancy
in suffering excited the wonder of their opponents. 'Tell me, Holy Father,’
says Evervinus to St. Bernard, relating the martyrdom of three of these
heretics, 'how is this?' They entered to the stake and bore the torment of the
fire, not only with patience, but also with joy and gladness. I wish your
explanation how these members of the devil could persist in their heresy with a
courage and constancy scarcely to be found in the most religious of the faith
of Christ?"
A.
Mixture of Judaism and Christianity.
1. Rejected Law of Moses.
2. Upheld
obligation of Old Testament with exception of sacrifices.
B. Condemned in 1184 as heretics.
We learn from the Encyclopedia of
Religious Knowledge, by Brown, article Pasaginians," that:
"A denomination which arose in the twelfth century, called the
circumcised. Mosheim says, 'the meaning of the term Pasaginian is unknown, but
they seem to have been a remnant of the Nazarenes.' They seem to have been a
remnant of the Nazarenes, and have distinguishing tenants: 1) that the
observance of the Law of Moses in everything except the offering of sacrifices
was obligatory upon Christians. 2) That Christ was no more than the first and
purest creature of God which was the doctrine of the semi-Arians."
V. PATARINES - 11TH CENTURY:
A.
Located in area of
B.
Beliefs:
1. Against Simony.
2. Refused sacraments.
C.
What happened to them..?
1. Suffered some martyrdom.
2. Ceased to exist at the end of the century -
later absorbed into the Catholic Church.
The Encyclopedic Dictionary of
Religion says that the Patarines were:
"...members of a movement at
From Blunt's Dictionary of Sects
and Heresies, we read:
"They observed the Law of Moses (except as to sacrifices) circumcision,
the Sabbath, distinction of clean and unclean foods all forming part of their
system and hence, they were also called, 'Circumcisi, circumcissi, or
circumsisi. The Pasagians appealed to the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments
in support of their doctrine... They gave the chief authority for their history
as Bonacursus, in the 1400's. From the same book, Paterini, an Italian name for
the Paulicians, migrated from
Lecture 14
Peter De Bruys / Arnold of Bresca / Henri the Deacon
I. PETER DE
BRUYS - EARLY 1100's A.D.
A. Maybe beginning of Thyatira Era
1. Active in
2. There are indications of remnants from
these eras still extant.
3.
B. First of Anti-Catholic movement.
1. Little
known about family background.
2.
Ecclesiastical priest.
3. Ministry
lasted 20 years.
4. Burned at
the stake in c.1125 - some say 1139
5. Followers
called Petrobrusians
6. Successors - Henri and Arnold.
C. Reference book: Dictionary of Sects and Hereseys
D. Located in
E. Peter the Venerable (historian)
only present source of information on Peter de Bruys.
1. He wrote
Contra Petrobrusans
2. In it he
called Peter:
"That wretched little man"
F. Catholic beliefs he was opposed
to:
1. Chanting (popular method of Catholic worship).
2. Fasting
(by Catholic definition, simply abstaining from red meats).
3. Perverted
monks and priests were put into prison.
G. Five doctrines as documented by
Peter the Venerable:
1. Baptized
only mature adults with understanding.
2. Idle
superstition to build churches.
3.
Abhorrence for crucifixes.
a. He is noted as saying:
"The cross should be hated as an instrument of torture"
b. While burning crosses at the town
of
4. Blood and
body of Christ not Eucharist (doctrine of transubstantiation refuted).
5.
Oblations, prayers, and good works of no use to the dead. Against
purgatory.
H. Petrobrusians:
1. Not strong evidence that they kept the Sabbath.
2. Believed one had to live and practice right way of life not
just perform the works.
The Dictionary of Sects and Heresies says:
"The sect of the
Petrobrusians, was the earliest of the anti-sacerdotal communities which the
profound discontent inspired by the tyranny of
A. Background:
1. Started
in
2. Hanged,
burned and ashes thrown in
3. Very
politically oriented - a political reformer.
B. His beliefs:
1. Believed
root of evil to be the wealth of RCChurch
2. Used Bible as source of authority vs. tradition.
3. All his
work occurred within the Roman church.
4. His
followers went into hiding later became known as Waldensians and Lombards.
From A History of the Christian Church, by Schaff, we read:
"During the
pontificates of Innocent II., Eugene
crying contrast with the actual condition of
things...(he) even went so far as to make poverty a condition of salvation for
priests and monks....
A. He was a Benedictine monk
B. Eloquent orator.
1. Some
priests turned the pulpit over to him.
2. Powerful
voice - converted many.
The Dictionary of Sects and Heresies says:
"He was of imposing stature, wore a cropped beard and flowing hair, went barefooted in winters, with a frame so robust as to endure with ease the utmost rigours of the climate, and a voice so powerful that his adversaries compared it to the roar of a legion of devils." p. 183
C. Fought two main areas:
1. Fought
Catholic church on its clergy not marrying.
2. Foe of
the clergy's lifestyle in general.
The Dictionary of Sects and Heresies says:
"Henry dwelt much on two points. Although a monk by education, and by profession and practice a rigid ascetic, he was emphatically the apostle of marriage and the uncompromising foe of the clergy." p. 183
D. Had universal Influence.
E. Some members of the church may have been present in his movement (not
conclusive).
F. His death:
1. His death
precedes
2. Died -
1149.
Schaff's History of the Christian Church says:
"Of Henry of Lausanne, Peter's
successor, we know more. He was a Benedictine monk, endowed with an unusual
gift of eloquence. His name is associated with
"The doctrine of transubstantiation
was distinctly renounced, and perhaps the Lord's Supper, on the ground that
Christ gave up his body on the night of the betrayal once for all. Peter not
only called upon the priests to marry, but according to Peter the Venerable, he
forced unwilling monks to take wives.... Peter argued that for nearly five
hundred years
IV. THESE THREE
A. They are proclaimed as
protestant before the reformation
B. They actually prepared the way for the greater work that was to come through
Peter Waldo.
Lecture 15
Waldensians Lucius
I. WALDENSIANS 117O'S - 15OO'S
A. In 1200's, Inquisition
began because of Waldensian movement.
B. Origin of name Waldensian:
1. Wald = French for forest; place where the people lived.
2. The man
Peter Waldo - the leader of the movement.
3. In
French, the church was referred to as the Vadois meaning "valley
dwellers".
4. Also
called - 'the poor men of Lyons'
a. Located in Lyons, France
b. Refers to vows of poverty
C. Church still extant today primarily in Northern Italy.
D. Leader Peter Waldo (
1. "Conversion" in 1170.
a. Broke away from Catholic teachings
b. Tried to work within confines of the church
c. Moved by knowledge of his sins
d. Death of close friend caused him to look into doctrine of
the immortal soul
e. Troubled by Simony, corruption and wealth in the Catholic
church
2. Large amount of information available. Bulk found in 1200 -
1300's.
3. Best
sources are:
a. Jones' Church history
b. J.P. Perrin's Historie the Waldenses and Albigenses
c. Comba's History of the Waldenses of Italy
4.
Controversy whether or not founder of Waldensians.
5. Waldo
earned his wealth from usury (as a merchant).
E. Conversion:
The account is told in Comba's History of the Waldenses
"One day, while in the company
of some of the leading citizens (of
a. Took vows of celibacy and poverty
b. Distributed wealth to his family and the poor
c. Remainder of monies spent on translating Bible into the
vernacular - language of the people
d. He only translated parts of the Bible into French, the
translation and printing of the entire bible in French was in 1535
Comba says:
"He brought to the study of the Scriptures that practical common sense which had guided him in his business transactions...The word of Christ was clear enough; for Waldo it was simply a question of furnishing a literal translation." P. 26O
"This citizen (of
"Detachment from the world, and zeal for the advancement of the kingdom of Christ according to the gospel, were the characteristics of the religious movement that was abetted by Pierre, the merchant of Lyons." p. 55
F. Concept on the Sabbath:
1. Appears most Waldensians did not keep it...
a. Sketchy evidence
b. Conclusions hard to reach
William Jones, in History of the Christian Church, says:
"Investigators made a report to Louis XII, King of France that they had visited all the parishes that they (Waldenses) dwelt and had inspected their place of worship and found no images nor signs of the ornaments belonging to the mass not any of the ceremonies of the Roman church.... On the contrary, they kept the Sabbath Day, observed the ordinance of baptism according to the primitive church, instructed their children in the articles of the Christian faith and the commandments of God." p. 260
Persecutions and Atrocities on the Vaudois, says:
"They observed the seventh day of the week according to the commandments, immersed for the believers baptism, and kept the Passover or the Lord's Day, once a year in the first month." p. 348-349
2. Reference:
Jones' Church History Refers to Waldensians as 'insabbati,' or 'inzabbati'.
a. Some say called this because they kept a 7th day Sabbath
b. Others say that "in" means against so these were
against sabbaths, or more likely against the Roman
Church festivals.
c. Others say term comes form 'Sabots,' meaning 'wooden
sandals'. (lean more toward this definition)
G. Had a coat of arms - indicates may have been part of true church.
1. Pictures
a candle with seven stars surrounding it.
2. May refer
to 7 candles in Revelation.
3.
4. "Lux
Lucet in Tenebris"- mg. a light shines in the darkness.
5. Published the 'Herald of Truth' magazine (similar to the
Plain Truth).
H. His work:
1. Tried to
work within the RCC
2. His
original aim was to reform the corruption of the clergy
a. Authorities disturbed by his lack of training
b. They also opposed non-Latin translation
Newman relates in his Manual of Church History:
"The Archbishop of Lyons forbade his preaching on the ground that he was a layman. Waldo replied: 'Judge you whether it be lawful before God to obey Him who has said, Go you into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.' Waldo said he could not be silent in a matter which concerned the salvation of his fellow-men...it is probable that Peter Waldo had been to some extent affected by the evangelical life developed in connection with the labors of Peter DeBruys and Henry of Lausanne, though there is no evidence that he entered into any relations with these." P.571
c.
He was banished from
d. He appealed to the Third Lateran Council for papal approval
e. Pope Alexander
f. He and his followers continued to preach
g. Waldo and his followers were expelled from
h. In 1184, Lucius
"Therefore we lay under perpetual anathema...those who falsely call themselves Poor men of Lyons...We include, in the same perpetual anathema, all who shall have presumed to preach, either publicly of privately, either being forbidden, or not sent, to not having the authority of the Apostolic See, of the bishop of the diocese; as likewise all those who are not afraid to hold or teach any opinions concerning the sacrament of the body and blood of out Lord Jesus Christ, baptism, the remission of sins, matrimony or any other sacraments of the church, differing from what the Holy Church of Rome doth preach and observe...And we likewise declare all entertainers and defenders of the said heretics, and those that have shewed any favor, or given countenance to them, thereby strengthening them in their heresy, whether they be called Comforted, Believers, or Perfect, or with whatever superstitious names they dignify themselves, to be liable to the same sentence. Whosoever shall be...convicted of these errors, he shall be immediately deprived of all prerogative of the church- orders, and so being divested of all office and benefice, be delivered up to the secular power to be punished according to demerit, unless immediately upon his being detected, he voluntarily returns to the truth of the Catholic faith, and submits publicly to adjure his errors...But those who after having abjured their errors, or cleared themselves upon examination...shall be found to have relapsed into their abjured heresy; we decree, that with out any further hearing they be forthwith delivered up to the secular power, and their goods confiscated to the use of the church..."
i. Humiliati joined the Waldenses at this time
j. Because of the scarcity of Bibles, large portions of the
scriptures were learned by heart
A. W. Mitchell, M.D., in his The Waldenses of Piedmont, says:
“Where copies of the Bible had, by
incessant seizures, become too few to supply the wants of each, societies of
young persons were formed, for the purpose of learning the scriptures by heart,
thus preserving it in their
Jones' Church History says:
"Jacobus de Riveria, who published a work entitled, 'Collectionos of the city of Toulouse,' and who, in his time, assisted in persecuting the Waldenses nevertheless acknowledges, that they were so well instructed in the Holy Scriptures, that he had seen peasants who could recite the book of Job verbatim, and others who could perfectly repeat all the New Testament....
"In the time of a great
persecution of the Waldenses of Merindol and
In Bompiani's A Short History of the Waldenses, we read:
"Long before the German
Reformation they were an evangelical people, loving the Bible above all things:
making translations of it into the vulgar tongue; spreading it abroad in
k. They had a college founded in the
l. Preachers went out two by two clad in a simple woolen robe,
barefoot of wearing sandals.
m. New preachers were to travel for years in the company of an
experienced man
n. The general superintendent of the Waldenses was usually
appointed for life.
o. The fruits of his work show he was an Apostle
p. Ministry were appointed and consecrated, at their annual
meetings usually held in
Monastier con't.
"To attain this
object, the church has pastors who direct it. Great care is exercised, so as
not to consecrate any to this office but true believers. In fact, the aspirants
to this important charge were required to give proof of their humility and
sincere desire to consecrate themselves to the work of the ministry. The
pastors, trained their successors: 'We give them lessons', they say in their
Discipline; 'we make them learn by heart the whole of St. Matthew and St. John,
and all the canonical Epistles, a good part of the writings of Solomon, of
David, and the prophets. And afterwards, if a good testimony is borne to their
character, they are admitted by the imposition of hands to the office of
preaching.' The right of consecrating them was vested in the pastors. 'Among
other powers which God has given his servants, he has given them power to
choose leaders (pastors) who may govern the people, and to appoint elders to
their offices, according to the diversity of their employments, in the unity of
Christ, as the apostle proves in his Epistle to Titus 5" p. 8
q. The movement spread rapidly to
A History of The Vaudois Church
says Waldo ended up in
"It was in
r. They published articles and small booklets copied by hand
s. They strongly opposed the Cathars who believed in war
Lecture 16
Waldensian Beliefs
I. WALDENSIANS:
A. Reference book: Gilly's
Vadois
1. Church not new group. Dated before the time of Waldo
a. Manuscript found pre-dating Waldo - 1100, using name Vaudois
b. Other manuscripts found with Waldensian sermons pre-dating
Waldo
From The Waldenses of Italy we read:
"We do not find anywhere in
the writing of the Old Testament that the light of truth and of holiness was at
any time completely extinguished. There have always been men who walked
faithfully in the paths of righteousness. Their number has been at times
reduced to a few; but has never been altogether lost. We believe that the same
has been the case from the time of Jesus Christ until now; and that it will be
so unto the end. For if the
"Indeed it cannot be doubted
that before the days of Valdo, Peter de Bruys and Henry condemned the error of
the Catholic church ... and sought to return to the
pure doctrine of the Holy Scriptures. Nor is it improbable that Peter sowed the
seeds of his doctrine in his native valley and left followers there ... It is
also likely enough that of the remaining disciples of Peter and Henry, many
joined the Valdenses in whom they found the same zeal for the doctrine of the
Bible and thus it probably came to pass that no trace of the Petrobrusians and
Henricians appear at any subsequent period." p. 28
“For want of a regular and well-continued history of the Waldenses, or Vaudois, it is a difficult matter to assign a certain date to the periods, in which some of their most eminent pastors flourished; more particularly as we lose sight of them, when they were obliged to fly from the heat of persecution, or when their records were destroyed by their adversaries. But nothing can be more true, or more important to the cause of truth than the fact, that for men, to whom the holy work of the Reformation is attributed, the same doctrines, which they preached, were already established, in their utmost purity, among this little community of mountaineers, who preserved, in their impregnable fastnesses, the faith, and very probably the exact discipline also, of the primitive church of Christ."
2. Waldo had
Bible translated into language of the laity. Led to catholic
forbidding laity from reading the Bible.
3. Noted
that their chief persecutors were Catholic
B. Waldo went up to
a. A book in
b. It shows
he went into
c. Churches
of the Molokans exist today possibly a result of contact with this phase of his
work
1. These originally kept Sabbath
2. In this country today they keep
Sunday but observe the Holy days and know what they mean
3. They know the origin of the Pagan
holidays
4. They also keep the food laws
d. Waldo
died in
C. The interim between the death of
Peter Waldo and the Reformation was 300 years. During this time the Waldensians
were absorbed into the Protestant reformation.
a. Voted to
become part of Calvin movement
b. At this
time their light went out altogether 16OO
D. The
Inquisitors discovered that the Waldensians were:
1. Against
Rome and Clergy.
2. Against Sacraments.
3. Against
Ecclesiastical customs.
II. ANTI-CATHOLIC DOCTRINES OF
THE WALDENSES;
A. They thought that the
Church was pure up to the time of Sylvester
Comba writes in The Waldenses of Italy:
"The
1. Threw off
authority of the Pope.
2. Exercised
right of lay members to preach.
3. Confession
could be made to anyone (indicating practice of confession).
From A Brief Sketch of the Waldenses, we read:
"The reading and knowledge of the Scriptures are equally free to both laity and clergy; that baptism and the Lord's Supper are the only sacraments of the New Testament Church; that in the Supper both elements are to be received by the people as well as by the priest; that the bread and wine are signs and symbols of Christ's body and blood, that the sacrifice of the mass is impious, to say prayers for the dead is downright folly; that Purgatory or any middle state of departed souls, is but an invention of men; that the church of Rome is the Apocalyptical whore of Babylon; that the pope has no lawful primacy over the Church, or any title to both civil and ecclesiastical authority; that vows of celibacy are an invention of men; that monkery is but a stinking carcass of devotion." p. 52
4. Refused to
tithe to Catholic Church.
5. Abolished
much of the ritual in Catholic Baptism.
6. Objected
to celibacy in the clergy.
7.
Deprecated unction. Last rites before death.
8. Opposed
prayers for those dead. A major doctrine of the Catholic church.
From History of the Christian Church, by William Jones, we read:
"They declare themselves to be
the apostles' successors, to have apostolical authority, and the keys of
binding and loosing. They hold the church of Rome to
be the whore of
10. Rejected
ecumenical hour of times to pray, felt prayers more effective when said in
secret.
11. Opposed
all customs not ordained in the scriptures.
12. Felt
pilgrimages were useless.
13. Objected
ecclesiastical funerals.
14.
Interpreted Sermon on the Mount to the strict letter, ie. Didn’t swear; bear
arms, etc.
Jones' History of the Christian Church, says:
“Reinfrius Saccho, whose name I
have had occasion more than once to mention, was for seventeen years of the
earlier part of his life, in some way or other connected with the Waldenses;
but he apostatized from their profession, entered the Catholic church, was
raised in it to the most dignified station of an inquisitor, and became one of
their most cruel persecutors.... and about the year 1250, published a catalogue
of the errors of the Waldenses.... 'Their first error,' says he,' is a contempt
of ecclesiastical power, and from thence they have been delivered up to Satan,
and by him cast headlong into innumerable errors, mixing the erroneous
doctrines of the heretics of old with their own inventions. And being cast out
of the Catholic church, they affirm that they alone
are the
Some of them hold it unlawful to kill brute animals, as fishes, or the like; but when they have a mind to eat them, they hang them over the fire or smoke till they die. Fleas and such sort of insects they shake off their clothes, or else dip their clothes in hot water, supposing them thus to be dead of themselves. Thus they cheat their own consciences in this and other observances. From whence we may see, that having forsaken truth, they deceive themselves with their own false notions. According to them there is no purgatory, and all that die, immediately pass either into heaven or hell. That therefore the prayers of the church for the dead are of no use, because those that are in heaven do not want them, nor can those that are in hell be relieved by them.... They hold, that the saints in heaven do not hear the prayers of the faithful, nor regard the honors which are done to them, because their bodies lie dead here beneath, and their spirits are at so great a distance from us in heaven, that they can neither hear our prayers nor see the honors which we pay them.... Hence they deride all the festivals, which we celebrate in honor of the saints, and all order instances of our veneration for them. Accordingly, wherever they can do it, they secretly work upon holy days, arguing, that since working is good, it cannot be evil to do that which is good on a holy day. They do not observe Lent, or other fasts of the church, alleging that God does not delight in the afflictions of his friends, as being able to save without them. Some heretics indeed inflict themselves with fasting, watchings, and the like, because without these they cannot obtain the reputation of being holy among the simple people, nor deceive them by their feigned hypocrisy.... They say it is sufficient for their salvation if they confess to God, and not to man.... No doubt there were shades of difference in sentiment among them on points of minor importance, even as there are among Christians in the present day; and it is very certain that the Catholic writers sometimes class under the general name of Waldenses or Albigenses, persons whose theological sentiments and religious practices were very opposite to those which were professed by the followers of Peter Waldo." p. 264267
Under the heading "Waldensians of Faith," in Jones' History of the Christian Church, we read:
“The Centuriators of Magdeburgh, in
their History of the Christian Church, under the twelfth century, recite from
an old manuscript the following epitome of the opinions of the Waldenses of
that age. In articles of faith the authority of the Holy Scriptures is the
highest; and for that reason it is the standard of judging; so that whatsoever
doth not agree with the word of God, is deservedly to be rejected and avoided.
The decrees of Fathers and Councils are (only) so far to be approved as they
agree with the word of God. The reading and knowledge of the Holy Scriptures is
open to, and is necessary for all men, the laity as well as the clergy; and
moreover the writings of the prophets and apostles are to be read rather than
the comments of men. The sacraments of the
"About the time of the Reformation, the Waldenses who resided in the South of France, and who of course were subjects of the French king, were persecuted with the most sanguinary severity.... In the year 1540, the parliament of Aix, the chief judicature of the Provence, passed a law, that 'they should all of them promiscuously be destroyed, that their houses should be puffed down, the town of Merindole be leveled with the ground, all the trees cut down, and the country adjacent converted into a desert....' The sentence nevertheless, was executed in all its rigor five years afterwards, as will be related in a future section. In the preceding year, however, (1544) as we are informed by Sleiden, in his history of the Reformation, p. 347.
The Waldenses, to remove the prejudices that were entertained against them, and to manifest their innocence, transmitted to the king, in writing, the following confession of their faith.
1. We believe that there is but one God, who is a Spirit--the Creator of all things--the Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all; who is to be worshipped in spirit and in truth--upon whom we are continually dependent, and to whom we ascribe praise for our life, food, raiment, health, sickness, prosperity, and adversity. We love him as the source of all goodness; and reverence him as that sublime being, who searches the reins and trieth the hearts of the children of men.
2. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son an image of the Father--that in Him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells, and that By Him alone we know the Father. He is our Mediator and advocate; nor is there any other name given under heaven by which we can be saved. In His name alone we call upon the Father, using no other prayers that those contained in the Holy Scriptures, or such as are in substance agreeable hereunto.
3. We believe in the Holy Spirit as the Comforter, proceeding from the Father, and from the Son; by whose inspiration we are taught to pray; being by Him renewed in the spirit of our minds; who creates us anew unto good works, and from whom we receive the knowledge of the truth.
4. We believe that there is one holy church, comprising the whole assembly of the elect and faithful, that have existed from the beginning of the world, or that shall be to the end thereof. Of this church the Lord Jesus Christ is the head--it is governed by his word and guided by the Holy Spirit. In the church it behooves all Christians to have fellowship. For her He (Christ) prays incessantly, and his prayer for it is most acceptable to God, without which indeed there could be no salvation.
5. We hold that the ministers of the church ought to be blameless both in life and doctrine; and if found otherwise, that they ought to be deposed from their office, and others substituted in their stead; and that no person ought to presume to take that honor unto himself but he who is called of God as was Aaron--that the duties of such are to feed the flock of God, not for filthy lucre’s sake, or as having dominion over God's heritage, but as being examples to the flock, in word, in conversation, in charity, in faith, and in chastity.
6. We acknowledge, that kings, princes, and Governors, are the appointed and established ministers of God, whom we are bound to obey (in all lawful and civil concerns.) For they bear the sword for the defense of the innocent, and the punishment of evildoers; for which reason we are bound to honor and pay them tribute. From this power and authority, no man can exempt himself, as is manifest from the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, who voluntarily paid tribute, not taking upon himself any jurisdiction of temporal power.
7. We believe that in the ordinance of baptism the water is the visible and external sign, which represents to us that which, by virtue of God's invisible operation is within us--namely, the renovation of our minds, and the mortification of our members through (the faith of) Jesus Christ. And by this ordinance we are received into the holy congregation of God's people previously professing and declaring our faith and change of life.
8. We hold that the Lord's supper is a commemoration of, and thanksgiving for, the benefits which we have received by his sufferings and death--and that it is to be received in faith and love--examining ourselves, that so we may eat of that bread and drink of that cup, as it is written in the Holy Scriptures.
9. We maintain that marriage was instituted of God--that it is holy and honorable, and ought to be forbidden to none, provided there be no obstacle from the divine word.
10. We contend, that all those in whom the fear of God dwells, will thereby be led to please him, and to abound with the good works (of the gospel) which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them--which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, sobriety, and the other good works enforced in the Holy Scriptures.
11. On the other hand, we confess that we consider it to be our duty to beware of false teachers, whose object is to divert the minds of men from the true worship of God, and to lead them to place their confidence in the creature, as well as to depart from the good works of the gospel, and to regard the inventions of men.
12. We take the Old and the New Testament for the rule of our life, and we agree with the general confession of faith contained in (what is usually termed) the apostles' creed." p. 278-9
A. They are the only
medieval sect to survive
B. Out of them come groups we will study later.
C. Reference book: Funk's Manuel of Church History.
1. See
beginnings of trade unions.
2.
Waldensians maintained guilds of craftsman.
D. Best reference book: Jones' Church History
1. Daily
life:
a. Orderly and biblically based
C.H. Strong, in A Brief Sketch of the Waldenses, says:
"In doctrine, the Waldenses insisted upon the foundation principle that the Word of God, independent of every other authority is to be recognized as the infallible and only rule of faith and practice.... So rigidly did they adhere to this principle that they were sometimes charged, by their Roman Catholic antagonists, with making a Pope of the Bible.... Their supreme reverence for the Bible, and their continual study of its pages, led them to a knowledge of Christian doctrine which every day became purer and more complete." p. 51-2
b. Noted for modesty in behavior and dress, both men and women
Strong says in his A Brief Sketch of the Waldenses:
"They are such scrupulous observers of honor and chastity, that their neighbors, though of a contrary faith, entrusted them with the care of their wives and daughters, to preserve them from the insolence of the soldiery." p. 71
c. Tradesmen, not businessmen and hard workers
From A Brief Sketch of the Waldenses, by Strong, we read:
"They had learned also from the Word to 'be diligent in business.' An idler was not tolerated among them. Says one of their prosecutors, 'They labor constantly.' Says another in describing the Vaudois, 'They never eat the bread of idleness, but labor with their own hands for their livelihood." p. 71
We read in Jones' Church History:
"An ancient inquisitor, to whose writings against the Waldenses, I had occasion to refer in a former section, thus describes them. 'These heretics are known by their manners and conversation, for they are orderly and modest in their behavior and deportment. They avoid all appearance of pride in their dress; they neither indulge in finery of attire, nor are they remarkable for being mean and ragged. They avoid commerce, that they may be free from deceit and falsehood. They get their livelihood by manual industry, as day laborers or mechanics; and their teachers are weavers or tailors. They are not anxious about amassing riches, but content themselves with the necessaries of life. They are chaste, temperate, and sober. They abstain from anger. Even when they work, they either learn or teach. In like manner also, their women are very modest, avoiding backbiting, foolish jesting, and levity of speech, especially abstaining from lies or swearing, not so much as making use of the common asseverations, 'in truth,' 'for certain,' or the like, because they regard these as oaths--contenting themselves with simply answering 'yes' or 'no.' Claudius Seisselius, archbishop of Turin, from whose Treatise against the Waldenses I have quoted largely in a former section, is pleased to say, that 'their heresy excepted, they generally live a purer life than other Christians. They never swear but by compulsion, and rarely take the name of God in vain. They fulfill their promises with punctuality; and, living for the most part in poverty, they profess to preserve the apostolic life and doctrine.... 'In their lives and morals they were perfect, irreprehensible, and without reproach among men, addicting themselves with all their might to observe the commands of God.' Lielenstenius, a Dominican, speaking of the Waldenses of Bohemis, 'I say that in morals and life they are good; true in words, unanimous in brotherly love; but their faith is incorrigible and vile, as I have shown in my Treatise.' Samuel de Cassini, a Franciscan friar, speaking of them in his 'Victoria Trionfale,' explicitly owns in what respect their faith was incorrigible in this that they denied the church of Rome to be the holy mother church, and would not obey her traditions.' Jacobus de Riberia, who published a work entitled, 'Collections of the city of Toulouse,' and who, in his time, assisted in persecuting the Waldenses, nevertheless acknowledges, that...they were so well instructed in the Holy Scriptures, that he had seen peasants who could recite the book of Job verbatim, and several others who could perfectly repeat all the New Testament....
In the time of a great persecution
of the Waldenses of Merindol and
d. On the average, they were more
highly educated than the common people
e. Obedient to established government, paid taxes.
f. Held annual synods in the fall, possibly Feast of Tabernacles
1. Conferences held in 1218 in
2. Ordained ministers then when necessary
A.W. Mitchell, M.D., in his The Waldenses of Piedmont, says:
"The consistory is composed of the pastor, the elders, and the deacons. The deacons have the care of the poor. The elders are first nominated by the congregation, and then elected bye the consistory. They are regularly installed, after sermon, in the church, and have a charge to watch over the spiritual interests of the flock, to aid the pastor, to reprove the erring, to exhort to the performance of duty; and two of them are appointed to represent the congregation in the higher ecclesiastical tribunal.... The Waldensian synod anciently met every year, in the month of September.... The synod is composed of all the ministers who are actual pastors or professors in their college, and of two elders from each parish.... They are ordained by the imposition of hands. Ministers committing gross sins are to be deposed." p. 373-4
g. Strong marriages and family ties
h. Did not observe pagan festival
C.H. Strong, in his A Brief Sketch of the Waldenses, says:
"They despised all ecclesiastical customs which are not read in the gospel; such as Candlemas, Palm Sunday, the reconcilement of penitents, the adoration of the Cross on Good Friday, the feast of Easter, and the festivals of Christmas and the saints." p. 82-3
i. They taught that there have always been men from the time of Christ down to the present who have been righteous
IV. THE INQUISTION:
1. 1000's were brought
before the inquisition, and tortured until they confessed or died.
a. Most of
what we know of their beliefs is written by their enemies
b. They were
infiltrated by the Franciscan and Domician orders
c. These
were founded expressly to counteract the Waldense's movement
d. Domician
comes from Dominicane = Lord's dogs
e. They were
to sniff out heretics and convert them back to the Catholic faith
2. Many fled into the wilderness.
3. We will discuss the inquisition in more detail in the next lectures
Lecture 17
The Catholic Church - Doctrines/History
I. DOCTRINE OF THE IMMORTAL SOUL:
Principle doctrine of the
Roman Catholic church that dominates their philosophy and thought.
Beatific Vision
Purgatory
|
Death |
Hell |
|
* |
* |
|
Limbus |
Limbus |
|
Infantium |
Patrium |
A. BEATIFIC VISION
1. Ultimate destiny of all souls.
2. Once
there, souls bask in the glory of the love of God.
From My Catholic Faith, we read:
"The greatest joy of heaven is the Beatific Vision. This is the sight of God face to face. This vision is called beatific, because it completely fills with joy those who possess it. They know and love God to their utmost capacity, and are known and loved by God in return. The Beatific Vision will satisfy completely and supremely all our desires. Having God, we shall never wish for anything else." p166
3. Only a few go directly to the
Beatific Vision.
4. No one in
the Old Testament went directly to the Beatific Vision.
B. PURGATORY
1. A form of Hell.
a. Souls in a state of punishment.
b. Status in Purgatory moving one closer to the Beatific Vision
can be accomplished only through the penance of loved ones still living on
earth.
Also in My Catholic Faith, we read;
“Purgatory is a middle state where souls destined for heaven are detained and purified. Souls in purgatory cannot help themselves, for their time for meriting is past. But they can be helped by the faithful on earth, by prayers and other good works....
Purgatory is a place of temporary punishment
for those who have died in venial sin, or who have not fully satisfied God's
justice for mortal sins already forgiven.... The souls in purgatory suffer from
a great longing to be united to God, and from other great pains...their chief
pain is the deprivation of the Beatific Vision, the vision of God in the glory
of heaven....
c. Doctrines of penance and confession come into play.
From The Riddle of Roman Catholicism, we read:
"Nowhere is the ambiguity of the Roman Catholic sacramental system more evident than in the sacrament of penance...classically defined as involving three steps. The first is contrition, which means, according to the Council of Trent, 'a sorrow of mind and a detestation for sin committed with the purpose of no sinning in the future.' One who feels this contrition is then obliged to go on to the second step, confession to a priest. In confession the penitent is to recite all his mortal sins.... Functioning as a judge, the priest inquires into any circumstances that might mitigate the offense. When he has heard the confession, the priest pronounces the forgiveness of sins in the formula of absolution: 'I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.' Then the priest prescribes the third step of the penance, the performance of certain acts of satisfaction." p. 120
Purgatory cont.
2. Possible to work up
status and eventually gets into the beatific vision.
3. Can only
go to if a good Catholic.
a. Concept that no one lived a life so righteous that they can
immediately go before the face of God
b. Believe all must pay a penalty for sins and all souls will
be reunited with their physical bodies in either hell or purgatory, and reap
the benefits of sins in their physical life
4. Rejected by all Protestants.
C. HELL
According to My Catholic Faith:
"Those are punished in hell who die in mortal sin; they are deprived of the vision of God and suffer dreadful torments, especially that of fire, for all eternity.... Not one single sinner is sent to hell except by his own fault. No one is sent to hell unless he has willfully, deliberately, and knowingly refused to obey the commands of God. We can truly say that the fetters of hell are of man's own fashioning.... They feel despair, remorse, envy, and hopelessness, because they know that they can never obtain the one thing needed for happiness: they can never see God.
The greater the value of what is lost, the greater is the pain of loss. But the sinners in hell have lost God, of infinite worth. Their pain of loss must be in proportion.
There is no love in hell the damned hate God, hate each other, and hate themselves. St. Chrysostom says 'Insupportable is the fire of hell -- who doth not know it? -- and its torments are awful; but if one were to heap a thousand hell-fires one on the other it would be nothing compared with the punishment of being excluded from the blessed glory of heaven, of being hated by Christ....
The pains of hell will last for all eternity. If the punishment of hell were temporary, many sinners might prefer to gratify their passions on earth, no matter at what cost and penalty in hell, if it were to have an end. The fear of hell should urge us to lead a good life.
It is the opinion of Doctors of the Church that no one in hell is punished as much as he deserves." p. 174-175
Hell cont.
1. Once in hell, can
never go anywhere else.
2. One
mortal sin not repented of can result in eternal punishment in hell.
3. Degrees
of punishment:
a. Lesser sinners are tortured less
b. Depends on how bad you were
4. Made up
of two compartments:
a. Limbus Patrium:
1) Where Old Testament penance went
2) Remained there until Christ paid the
penalty for their sins
3) I Pet 3:19 - Preached to the spirits in
prison is applied to Christ and the penance in Limbus Patrium
4) After the resurrection they were released
to enter the Beatific vision
5) No one now in this compartment
b. Limbus Infantium:
1) For unbaptized babies who have not
sinned, but all are born into original sin, and must be punished
2) Live in pain and agony for eternity
3) Reason for uterine baptisms and baptism
being so important
From The Riddle of Roman Catholicism, we read:
"The washing of baptism symbolizes the purification of the soul from the stain of sin, but it also effects such a purification. The act of washing, combined with the words 'I baptize you in the name of the Father and d of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,' actually confers divine grace upon the recipient, forgives his sins, and makes him a member of the church.... Once baptism has been administered, its effect cannot be obliterated: for it confers an 'indelible character' upon the person baptized, a divine seal to which the person may indeed prove unfaithful but which he cannot undo. More than any of the other sacraments, except perhaps extreme unction, baptism emphasizes the passive attitude of the recipient. Its efficacy does not depend upon the attitude of the recipient at all, but upon the promise of Christ and upon obedience to the command of Christ to use water and to recite the name of the Holy Trinity." p. 112
From this same book we read:
"The teaching of the Roman church about baptism takes the doctrine of 'es opere operato' so seriously that it is even willing to draw this conclusion from it: children who have been baptized by a Protestant minister in the name of the Holy Trinity are validly baptized and are therefore members of the catholic church.... Because the validity of the baptism does not depend on the minister, baptized Protestants who go over to Roman Catholicism are, as a general rule, not rebaptized." p. 113-114
"Holy water...came from pre-Christian sources, both Jewish and pagan.... Holy water is not primarily a reminder of baptism at all, but a means of warding off danger from the devil or from more terrestrial enemies. p. 113
II. HISTORY OF THE
A. Second Century:
1. (Mid
100's) Bishop at
2. Annecitus
tried to influence Polycarp to change Passover to Easter.
3. (c.200)
Victor I has confrontation with Polycrates over
Easter.
a. Victor's power grew
b. First to threaten excommunication to those who refused to worship
B. C.300's A.D.
1. (Early
300's) Sylvester I Bishop at
a. Christianity made state religion
b. Becomes institution of importance in world politics
2. Empire
divided into five areas:
a. *
b. *
c.
d.
e.
3. (c.395)
Empire officially divided into East and West.
a. Siricius (Bishop at
b. Bishop in the East (
HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH CONT.
C. 400's
1. Early
400's.
a. Innocent I called "Ruler of the church of God" and
he had authority to decide matters of the church
b. Augustine wrote [1][1]"City
of God"[1][1]
laying foundation for the Papacy
c. Church taking on image of the beast
2. (450) Leo
I - regarded by some as first pope.
a. Persuaded Attila the Hun not to burn
b. Forming of allegiances with Vandals and Ostrogoths, forming
three heads of Daniel 12
3. (c.476) FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
a. Popes free from civil authority
D. (c.554) RESTORATION of the Empire headed under Justinian.
E. (c.600) Gregory I -
FIRST
1.
Established complete authority over
2. Claim to
fame - conversion of
F. (c.750's) Empire is solidified in
1.
2. Later
confirmed by Charlemagne.
G. (800's)
1. Charlemagne crowned by Leo
a. Begins 1,000 year reign of "Holy Roman Reign"
b. Lasted until Napoleon
2. Mid to Late 800's:
a. Nicolas I - FIRST TO WEAR THE CROWN OF THE POPE.
b. Pseudo Isidonian Decrees
1) Manuscripts found from the 2nd and 3rd
centuries exalting the power of the papacy
2) Gave tremendous amount of power to papacy
in dark ages
3) Later found to be a hoax
The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, says:
“The PseudoIsidorian Decretals are certain fictitions letter ascribed to earlier popes, from Clement to Gregory the Great, incorporated in a ninth-century collection of canons purporting to have been made by 'Isidore Mercator'.... Seventy-five manuscripts of the Pseudo-Isidoriana are known, which differ widely one from another.... The Pseudo-Isidore took as the basis of his work the HISPANA GALLICA AUGUSTODUNENSIS, thus lessening the danger of detection, as collections of canons were commonly made by adding new matter to old, and his forgeries were less evident when incorporated with genuine material.... The falsity of the Pseudo-Isidore's fabrications is now admitted, being proved by incontestable internal evidence (e.g., anachronisms like the use of the Vulgate and the BREVIARIUM ALARICIANUM -- composed in 506 -- in the decretals of the older popes), by investigations concerning the sources and method of fabrication (see 3, below), and by the fact that Pseudo- Isidorian letters were unknown before 852. The fabrications of the Pseudo-Isidore are not expressed in his own language, but consist of sentences, phrases, and words taken from older writings, genuine and apocryphal, set together into a mosaic of about 10,000 pieces. The excerpts are freely altered and are sometimes given a sense directly opposite to the original, but by his method the Pseudo-Isidore sought to give his ninth-century product the stamp of antiquity. The labor involved was enormous. "The Pseudo-Isidore himself declares (in the first sentence of his preface) that his aim was to 'collect the canons, unite them in one volume, and make one of many' -- a laudable endeavor, but not a justification of forgeries and falsifications.... His main object was to emancipate the episcopacy, not only from the secular power, but also from the excessive influence of the metropolitans and the provincial synods; incidentally, as a means to this end...the papal power was to be exalted.... The harmonious cooperation between Church and Sate under Charlemagne had given way under his successors to an antagonism between the secular and spiritual authorities.... Between 818 and 835 several bishops were deposed, and others through fear fled from their sees.... Redress by secular legislation was hopeless after the division of the Empire in 843, and in their need the reformers grasped at falsification as a last resort.... the Pseudo-Isidore attempted to cast the highest ecclesiastical authority in the scale of reform.
"The Psuedo-Isidor's regard for the
bishops appears in the hyperboles he uses about them ('in the bishops you
should venerate God, and love them as your own souls'; you (bishops) are given
us as gods by God'). A charge may not be brought against a bishop by a layman
or an inferior cleric.... seventy-two witnesses are necessary to condemn a
bishop...(and) if by any chance the case goes against the bishop, the verdict
is not valid until confirmed by the pope...(also) The synod is made wholly
dependent on the pope. The papal power is exalted, but solely as a means to the
end desired, via: to protect the bishops against the political and
ecclesiastical parties of
"It is probable the Rothad carried the
decretals to
3. (c.869) Division of
Eastern Orthodox and Roman church.
a. Nicolas and Patriarch of Constantine excommunicate each
other
b. Official split between East and West
4. c.1054 -
Final separation of the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholic church.
Lecture 18
The Catholic Church - History
I. HISTORICAL EVENTS:
From The Popes and Their Church, by Joseph McCabe:
"Of all the fictions which still shelter from the storm of modern criticism under the leaky umbrella of 'Catholic Truth,' the legend of the divine foundation of the Papacy and the Papal system is quite the boldest and most romantic. No divine force, but a pitifully human series of forgeries and coercions, of pious frauds and truculent ambitions perpetrated in an age of deep ignorance, built up the Papal power, hierarchy, and creed." p. 3
A. 1870 - Infallibility of the Pope when he speaks Ex-Cathedra.
Taken from The Spirit of Catholicism, by Karl Adam:
"The Catholic sorrowfully recognizes that even the holders of the highest and most exalted office on earth can be children of their age and slaves of its conceptions, and that the Holy Spirit in governing the Church does not guard every act of the pope but is infallibly operative only when the pope speaks ex-cathedra, i.e. when basing himself on the sources of the faith and in the fullness of his power as Head of the Church and successor of St. Peter, he pronounces a decision in matters of faith or morals which embraces and binds the whole Church." p. 248
B. c.800-1000 Enter darkest age of
human history.
1. Called
"
2. Speaking
of Religious history and corruption.
C. c.900's "Rule of
Harlots".
1. Papacy
very corrupt for a period of 600 years. From 900-1500's, time
of the Reformation.
2. John XII
- One of the all time worst popes. Guilty of almost all
crimes.
From The Popes and Their Church, we read:
"Liutprand tells us how John, pressed by a rival, appealed to the Emperor Otto, and when Otto came to Rome the Romans brought up against their spiritual father a list of crimes which would, they said, 'make a comedian blush for shame'; and a comedian was the lowest thing they knew. The Romans were lenient, but they could not tolerate a Pope who committed murder, perjury, adultery, incest (with his two sisters), rape, and sacrilege. Before the synod convoked by Otto it was proved that John had 'turned the Lateran Palace into a brothel,' cut out the eyes of or castrated those who criticized him, raped girls and women who came to pray in St. Peter's, gambled, cursed, drunk to the devil.... There was, in brief, nothing that he had not done." p. 35
HISTORICAL EVENTS CONTINUED
3. Bonafax
a. Papacy referred to as "monsters of guild", and
"antichrists" by a bishop within the church
b. Almost all offices of priests and bishops were bough
4. John XIX - Went through ranks of the priesthood in one
day to become Pope.
5. Benedict
IX (1033-1039) - One of the worst Popes.
a. Bought office at 12 years of age
b. Committed horrible sins against church doctrine
D. Late 1,000's:
1. German
Emperors become predominate political force.
2. Pope
Gregory
a. Had control of papacy for several
years
b. Was later elected Pope in 1073
c. First to discourage reading of the Bible
d. Clergy among the wealthiest people of
E. c.1100 Urban II begins crusades
(1198).
1. Main
motive for crusades, to free
2. Primarily
against Albegenses.
F. 1160 Adrian IV - first and only English Pope.
G. 1200's Peak of Papal Power.
1. 1198-1216
- Innocent
a. Most powerful Pope, called himself "Vicar of God",
"Vicar of Christ," and "Supreme Power of the World"
b. Claimed right to depose kings and
princes
c. All things on earth subject to the
"Vicar of Christ"
2.
Penance and indulgences come into play.
3.
Indulgences, special services, granted instead of penance, (prayer after
confession).
From Developments of Roman Catholicism, we read:
"One of the most disastrous developments of Romanism, and one that has brought more shame and misery into its history than perhaps any other, is its doctrine of indulgences. That doctrine is that the Church has the power to grant to penitent due to them for their sins, and under temporal punishment is included the punishment being now endured in purgatory, or that will be endured there hereafter. The ground on which the doctrine is composed of the infinite merits of Christ and the works of supererogation done by the saints. These merits it can transfer to those who comply with the conditions which from time to time it lays down for the reception of the indulgences." p.68
HISTORY CONTINUED
a. Special services included killing a heretic or serving in the papal army
b. Note: dealing with illiterate people, those educated were in
the priesthood
c. Last act of Contrition - give all penance and indulgences to
relative in purgatory, condemn self to hell unless God grants benevolence
sending you to purgatory
4. Innocents declarations and doctrines:
a. Bible forbidden to be read in the Vernacular
From The Popes and Their Church, by Joseph McCabe, we read:
"You rub your eyes, or your ears, and you inquire further; and you discover the most ingenious system that was ever devised for keeping educated people uneducated. This is the system of 'Catholic Truth.' The Catholic must read his own literature (duly authorized by the bishop, whose beaver hat is stamped on the front page), and must not read any that differs from it. Catholics are safely kept within the compound of 'Catholic Truth,' and it will be understood that quaint doctrines may be imposed under such circumstances." p. 4
b. Brought state under total control of the church
c. All monarchs of Europe obeyed his will
d. Ordered two crusades
e. Decreed doctrines of Transubstantiation
f. Declared that once made pope, cannot be excommunicated
g. Declared doctrine of papal infallibility
h. Condemned Magna Carda - granting rights to the common man
i. Not as much more blood shed until the 1500's than at this
time
1) Ordered extermination of heretics
2) Massacred Albegenses
II. INQUISITION
A. Time frame: 1200's
1. Turned
heretics over to civil authorities to absolve themselves
from guilt.
a. There were 3 inquisitors to make it very legal
b. There were three basic tortures
c. The worst torture was fire
d. Oaths were taken by all to help the inquisitors
e. They used the Bible for justification
f. Killing became indiscriminate
g. Age did not matter
h. Many different methods were used for torture
i. For some the motive was money
j. Many took advantage of women during this time
2. Aimed at Albigenses.
3. No pope
has ever apologized for the Inquisition until Jn. Paul II who did mention it
while in
4. Boniface
VIII - (1294 - 1303)
a. "Unim Sanctum" - all subject to Roman pontiff
b. Dante called church "sewer of corruption"
c. Dante developed concept of hell
B. Time frame: 1300's:
1. Political
power shifts from
2. 70 years
- papal office moved to
Lecture 19
Catholic History / The Crusades
I. CRUSADES:
A. Reasons:
1. Expunged
heretics.
2. Regain
holy land.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 4, says:
"The Crusades were expeditions undertaken, in fulfillment of a solemn vow, to deliver the Holy Places from Mohammedan tyranny. The origin of the word may be traced to the cross-made of cloth and worn as a badge on the outer garment of those who took part in these enterprises.... The meaning of the word CRUSADE has been extended to include all wars undertaken in pursuance of a vow, and directed against infidels, i.e. against Mohammedans, pagans, heretics, or those under the ban of excommunication.... After pronouncing a solemn vow, each warrior received a cross from the hands of the pope or his legates, and was thenceforth considered a soldier of the Church. Crusaders were also granted Indulgences and temporal privileges, such as exemption from civil jurisdiction, inviolability of persons or lands, etc." p. 346
3. Gregory
James A. Brundage, in Holy Wars and Medieval Lawyers, says:
"By the eleventh century Christian
warriors who worried about the salvation of their souls could avail themselves
of another reassurance: under certain conditions they might march into battle
under a sacred banner.... The really radical change in papal policy toward
warfare occurred during the reign of that most warlike of pontiffs, Pope
Gregory
"Gregory seems to have entertained the
notion that those who died in battle on behalf of righteousness were
automatically and deservedly freed from their sins.... Gregory
B. Pope Urban II - 1200 A.D.
In The Genesis of the Crusades, H.E.J. Cowdrey writes:
"By the pontificate of Urban II Western churchmen had in principle embraced the concept of holy war and viewed warfare as a positive value in the Christian life."
1. Founder of the crusades Peter the hermit.
From The Papacy At It's Height, we read:
"...when the Pope, with the Eastern
ambassadors and the Hermit by his side, addressed assembled thousands from the
cathedral steps, the multitude responding to his impassioned appeal by the cry,
DIEU LE VEULT, 'It is the will of God!' The red cross
marked on the right shoulder was the badge, and was at once assumed by a great,
if undisciplined, army. The enthusiasm was contagious, and both banks of the
"Hence began the series of expeditions,
which, although they achieved no lasting successes in the East, nevertheless
changed the face of
2. Succeeded in freeing the holy land
(c.1099-1187).
3. Saladin
fought against Richard of England in Battle of Armageddon.
C. The first Crusade:
Also, from The Papacy At Its Height, we read:
"The First Crusade was anticipated by
the impatient zeal of the Hermit and his associate, Walter the Penniless, a
military adventurer. Before any regular warlike operations could be concerted,
these leaders started with an eager but undisciplined multitude of sixty
thousand men for
THE FIRST CRUSADE CONT.
"But in August 1096, the first regular
army began its march, under the leadership of Godfrey of Bouillon.... Eighty
thousand men reached
1. The battle for
In A History of the Expedition to
"When the machines were ready, namely
battering rams and SCROFAE, our men again prepared to attack the city. Among
those contrivances they put together was a tower made of short pieces of timber
because there was no large stuff in that area. Then some soldiers, climbed upon
the tower at a signal from the trumpet. The Saracens nevertheless set up a
defense against them.... they hurled small burning brands soaked in oil and
grease against the tower and the soldiers in it. Therefore many on both sides
met sudden death in this fighting.... The next day at the sound of the trumpets
they undertook the same task with still more vigor. As
a result they made a breach in the wall by battering it in one place with
rams.... Already one stone tower... was afire. This fire, gradually fed by the
wooden material in the tower, caused so much smoke and flame that none of the
city guards could remain there any longer. Soon therefore the Franks gloriously
entered the city at
2. "Christians" took spoil
A History of The Expedition To Jerusalem says:
"How astonishing it would have seemed to you to see our squires and footmen, after they had discovered the trickery of the Saracens, split open the bellies of those they had just slain in order to extract from the intestines the bezants which the Saracens had gulped down their loathsome throats while alive! For the same reason a few days later our men made a great heap of corpses and burned them to ashes in order to find more easily the above-mentioned gold...With drawn swords our men ran through the city Not sparing anyone, even those begging for mercy. The crowd fell as rotten apples fall from shaken branches and acorns from swaying oaks... The Saracens, seeing that our men were so fierce and that the city was already taken by them, fled precipitately to wherever they thought they might preserve their lives a little longer. But they were unable to hide anywhere and instead were slain in a death that was well deserved.
"Very few of the male sex were left alive. But a great many of the women were spared because they could always be used to turn the hand mills...I saw a great many of the Saracens who were killed there put in a pile and burned. The fetid odor of their bodies bothered us greatly. These wretches were burned for the sake of finding the bezants which some had swallowed and others had hidden in their mouths next to the gums, not wishing the Franks to get anything that belonged to them...Hence it sometimes happened when one of our men struck the neck of some Saracen with his fist that from ten to sixteen bezants would be ejected from the mouth. The women also shamelessly hid bezants within themselves that was wicked and which is more shameful for me to tell." p. 154-155
D. The second Crusade:
In The Papacy At Its Height we read:
"The Second Crusade (1147) was
occasioned by the recapture of
E. The third Crusade:
From The Papacy at Its Height we read:
"In 1187
F. The fourth Crusade: (c. early 1200's).
1. Started
by Innocent
The Papacy at its Height says:
"The Fourth Crusade (1202) was prompted
by Pope Innocent
2. Children became involved
The Papacy at its Height says:
"It was also in the time of
Innocent
3. Albigenses were attacked
In The Genesis of the Crusades, H. E. J. Cowdrey says:
"The decree of the third Lateran
Council assimilated those who took up the sword against heretics with Crusaders
who fought against the infidels in the
G. The fifth Crusade:
1.
2. Last time
under Christian control.
From he Papacy at its Height we read:
"The Fifth Crusade was also promoted by
Innocent
H. The sixth Crusade (c. 1227-1230).
1. Leaders
form a treaty with Sultans.
2. Pope
excommunicated.
The Papacy at its Height says:
"The Pope lost all patience, charged
the Emperor with having wantonly exposed his troops to pestilence, and
pronounced against him a sentence of excommunication. But Frederick continued
his preparations and, having rallied his forces, sailed once more from
Brindisi, in defiance of the papal command to remain in Italy until he had purged
his offence.... he...added yet further to his crimes by negotiating with the
Sultan and his followers instead of fighting them. At length a treaty was
concluded, which restored to the Emperor the whole of
I. The seventh Crusade:
The Papacy at its Height says:
"The compact made with Frederick II,
after being several times broken, was renewed in 1240, the expeditions from
J. The eighth Crusade:
The Papacy at its Height says:
"The Eighth and last (1270) was also
led by the King of France, who...with seen thousand men captured
K. The results of the crusades
From The Papacy at its Height:
"They certainly tended at first to the aggrandizement of the Papacy. Vast revenues flowed from many quarters into the coffers of the Church. Barons proceeding to the wars frequently bequeathed their property, in case they should fall in the enterprise, to the monastic or episcopal revenues. Greater still was the enhancement of the Church's spiritual power.... Plenary Indulgences, if not now for the first time introduced, were largely employed as motive for obedience to the Church's behests. The criminality of unbelief and heresy was more intensely felt in the campaign against the 'infidel' hosts. The word 'miscreant,' or unbeliever, gained currency as the synonym of all crime.
"On the other side of the question, it
might be urged that the effect of these wars was to roll back the tide of
Moslem invasion from
II. CATHOLIC HISTORY
A. Good reference book: [1][1]My Catholic Faith[1][1]
B. (1300's) Papacy in
1.
Corruption continues.
2. Papacy
brought into complete submission to the state.
C. Mid 1400's
1. Sixtus IV
(1471-1484) - carried out most bloody Inquisition.
2. Medici -
wealthy family of
a. Controlled much of the money of
b. Had controversy with Sixtus.
3. Spanish
Inquisition - Catholics stamped out heresy in
4. Innocent
VIII - 1492
a. Same time that
b. All out war on Waldenses.
c. Continued Spanish Inquisition.
D. 1500's
1. Leo X:
a. Archbishop at age 8.
b. Cardinal at age 13.
c. Went through 27 ranks of the ministry in 1 day.
d. Saw priesthood as merely a source of revenue.
e. Declared burning heretics a divine appointment from God.
f. Instituted granting of indulgences for money.
2. Alexander
VI.
a. Sex pervert - committed all forms of fornication.
b. Mistress' brother became the next pope.
3. Three
orders in Catholicism:
a. Francisan order
b. Dominican order: "Domni Canes" - dogs of the Lord
for smelling out heretics.
c. Jesuits: founded in
4. Martin
Luther - priest in the Catholic Church.
a. Saw corruption; felt he had to deal with it.
b. His 95 Theses led to the Protestant Reformation.
E. Modern Times
1. Clemet 11th (1700) - Papal Bull against reading the Bible.
The Bible was not the authority of the church anyway as the 'Riddle of Roman Catholicism' explains:
"The authority of Scripture is not the authority of a naked book, but the authority of a book in the process of being interpreted. Tradition is that by which Scripture is continually being interpreted... The Profession of Faith of Trent affirms...I likewise accept Holy Scripture according to that sense which our holy Mother Church has held and does hold, whose office it is to judge of the true meaning and interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures; I shall never accept nor interpret it otherwise than in accordance with the unanimous consent of the Fathers." p. 82
2. (1769) Jesuit order abolished by
infallible pope.
3. (1800's)
Jesuit order reformed by infallible pope.
a. Protestants had firm hold in
b. Leo 12th condemned all religious freedom.
c. (1820's) Leo 12th decreed that anyone separate from the
Catholic Church would not receive eternal life.
d. (1850's) Roman Catholic Church lost
e. (1929) Musolini re granted Papal state to the
f. (1870) Redefined right to "enforce" heresay.
1) Immaculate conception of Mary decreed.
The Riddle of Roman Catholicism says:
“In the Ave Maria the Virgin is addressed not only as 'Holy Mary,' but as 'mother of God.' Like the dogma of her perpetual virginity, this title is an inheritance from the fifth century, when its use occasioned a great theological controversy.... It seems to carry echoes from other places than the Bible and from other gods.... Historians of the ancient church have frequently pointed to the symbolic coincidence that the title 'mother of God' (Theotokos) should have been approved in 431 by a Christian council meeting in Ephesus, the city where the temple to the mother goddess has been so important to the business of the silversmiths.... The worship of the divine mother, which Christian monotheism had thrown out headlong through the front door, now crept back in through the back door.... P.132-133
Modern times (187O) continued:
2) Declared that Protestants have no form of Christian religion.
3) Doctrine of Infallibility.
4. 1900's:
a. (c.1900) Leo XIII
1) Declared Protestants are enemy.
2) Denounced Masonic order.
b. (1914) Denounced leaders of Reformation.
c. (1928) Pious 28th stated Catholic church
only true
d. (1962) Pope John 23rd held last ecumenical council.
1) Jews absolved as a nation.
2) Only Jews involved in Christ’s death are
actually guilty of it.
Lecture 20
The History of Education
I. HISTORY:
A. Plato (c.300's B.C.).
1. Lived in
2. Plato's name wasn't always Plato; His name literally means,
'broad shoulders'.
3. Established an academy.
a. Co-educational
b. Study methods: lecture, debate, and much
B. Dark Ages:
1.
Repression of Education.
2. Education
only within confines of the clergy.
C. Italy: Pre-Renaissance.
1. Called
"Seat of Learning."
2. Small
clusters called 'Universities'.
3. Teacher
called 'Master' - having mastered a subject.
4.
Universities were usually specialized into specific subjects.
5. Students
formed Universities:
a. Students in charge
b. They hired and fired the masters
c. Masters were poorly paid, and aided their income through
begging
d. Garment was designed (cap and gown) for begging
6. All
learning was in the Latin language.
7. National
clusters of their own nationality were called colleges in the confines of the
university.
8.
Universities made up of these small clusters - colleges.
D.
1. French
established for the first time a University in
a. Jealous of
b. Control now in hands of government instead of students.
c. About 7,000 students
d. Attracted best instructors and students
2. Sarbone -
Frenchman related to education.
a. He sponsored students in
b. Section of the University dedicated to him
3. Students
paid their way through school.
a. Through grants and aid
b. Got sponsors
4. Abilard;
a. Considered a heretic
b. St. Thomas Quinas was on of his greatest students
5. Revolt at University in
a. All
students expelled - had to go somewhere
b.
c. History disputes which 1st -
E. Early - mid 1500's.
1. Henry VIII.
a. Sought support from universities
b. All
c. Establishes New Church of England
2. Elizabeth
I.
a. Puritan college is established called “Emmanuel” by Sir
Walter
b. Queen against it persecutes
c. Later moved to
F. Early 1600's.
1. 132
Puritans go to
2. John
Harvard comes to
3. 1636 -
People saw need to establish school to train clergy.
a. School of religious learning was established outside of
Boston and was called "the College"
b. Harvard, at his death donated half his fortune to the
Colledge
c. Later changed name of the College to
Harvard.
4. Harvard
not first college in
a.
b. Also a
G. Thomas Jefferson
established the first secular university; the
Lecture 21
The Reformation Period
I. World prepares for religious
reform.
A. Gutenberg’s Bible -1450.
1. People
now educated in theology and philosophy.
2. Printing
press developed.
B. Britain developing into a world power (c.1588).
1. Break
from Catholicism.
2.
Protestant movement now able to exist.
3. Within
these groups exist members of the true church.
4. Discovery
of the
II. Major
Reformers of the Reformation Period.
A. John Wycliff
(1320-1384).
1. Reformer
within confines of the church for a while.
"Wyclif attacked the mendicant
friars, the system of monasticism, and eventually opposed the authority of the
pope in
2. Translated the Bible into English.
Fisher writes in The Reformation:
“The greatest service which he did the English people was his translation of the Bible, and his open defense of their right to read the Scriptures in their own tongue." P. 274
3. Foremost
scholar at
4. Believed
in commandment keeping.
Neander writes in General History of the Christian Religion:
"Wycliff clearly perceived the need to restore obedience to the Ten Commandments. He never employed the characteristic devices of the later reformers in evading this apostolic doctrine. The learned historian, Neander, describes this frank approach. He states that one of Wyclif's first works as a reformer 'was a detailed expositions of the Ten Commandments in which he contrasted the immoral life prevalent among all ranks, in his time, with what these commandments require...and that it was his design to counteract a tendency which showed greater concern for the opinions of men than the law of God. But at the same time we cannot fail to perceive an inclination to adopt in whole the Old Testament form of the law, which shows itself in his applying the law of the Sabbath to the Christian observance of Sunday.'" P.200
B. John Huss (1373-1415).
1. Student
at
2. Studied
works of Wycliffe.
3. Tried to
reform within Catholic church.
Fisher states:
"When he was appointed to investigate some of the alleged miracles of the church he ended up pronouncing them spurious and told his followers to quit looking of signs and wonders and to search the scriptures instead. At last, 'his impassioned condemnation of the iniquitous sale of indulgences called down upon him the papal excommunication." P.275
4. Condemned to be burned at the stake at the Council of Constance in 1415.
Hurbut explains in The Story of the Christian Church:
"...unfortunately, he later agreed to appear before the Council of Constance after having received a pledge of save conduct from the emperor. He defended his teachings as in accord with scripture, but he was condemned by the council and delivered over to the civil power for execution. This method was always used so as to preserve the ‘innocence' of the Roman church in such matters. The emperor's safe conduct pledge was broken upon the Catholic principle that 'faith was not to be kept with heretics.' The cruel sentence passed upon Huss was that he was to be burned at the stake." P.143
5. Laid the foundation for Sabbatarians.
C. *Martin Luther
1. General Information:
a. Thought to be third greatest man
ever to live, ranked with Christ and Paul
b. Several experiences helped shape Luther’s thinking
1). In his childhood he experienced severe
discipline by authority figures
The Book Here I Stand says:
"...a recent work by Roland Bainton: 'Luther is reported to have said -- My mother caned me for stealing a nut, until the blood came. Such strict discipline drove me to the monastery, although she meant it well.... My father once whipped me so that I ran away and felt ugly toward him until he was at pains to win me back. (At school) I was caned in a single morning fifteen times for nothing at all. I was required to decline and conjugate and hadn't learned my lesson.'" P. 17
Bainton writes in Here I Stand:
"There is just one respect in which Luther appears to have been different from other youths of his time, namely in that he was extraordinarily sensitive and subject to recurrent periods of exaltation and depression of spirit. This oscillation of mood plagued him throughout his life. He testified that it began in his youth and that the depressions had been acute in the six months prior to his entry into the monastery." P.20
3. Roman Catholic doctrine mad him feel a strong sense of guilt
Bainton continues:
"The explanation lies rather in the tensions which medieval religion deliberately induced, playing alternately upon fear and hope. Hell was stoked not because men lived in perpetual dread, but precisely because they did not, and in order to instill enough fear to drive them to the sacraments of the Church. If they were petrified with terror, purgatory was introduced by way of mitigation as an intermediate place where those not bad enough for hell nor good enough for heaven might make further expiation." P.21
4. He and his
companions were struck by lightening, and only Luther survived--he decided to
be a priest
c. Entered prominent university, received doctorate in Theology
1). His studies and religious exercises
failed to give him grace
2). Became disillusioned with the clergy of
the church in
A History of the Reformation relates:
"D'Aubigne relates 'One day
when he was officiating he found that the priests at an adjoining altar had
already repeated seven masses before he had finished one. 'Quick,
quick!' cried one of them, 'send our Lady back her Son,' making an impious
allusion to the transubstantiation of the bread into the body and blood of
Jesus Christ. At another time Luther had only just reached the Gospel, when the
priest at his side had already terminated the mass. 'Passa, passa!' cried the
latter to him, 'make haste! Have it done at once.' His astonishment was still
greater, when he found in the DIGNITARIES OF THE PAPACY what he had already
observed in the inferior clergy. He had hoped better things of them.' Returning
home, he pondered over the scenes of the pious pilgrims in
c. Tacked his 95 theses on the door of the church
d. (c.1529) was excommunicated; German nobility supported him
and protested the catholic decision to excommunicate him; granted Luther
sanctuary
e. Translated the Bible into German
f. He set the pace for the reformation
g. More nearly catholic than any other
reformer
2.
Doctrines he developed;
a. Kingdom of God not a literal return
1) Referred to as chiliasm
2) 1,000 year reign had occurred in the
church
3) Christ's return would be to do away with
the anti-christ
b. Book of Revelation, and I, II,
&
"Few services greater than this translation have ever been rendered to the development of the religious life of a nation. Nor, with all his deference to the Word of God, was Luther without his own canons of criticism. These were the relative clearness with which his interpretation of the work of Christ and the method of salvation by faith is taught. Judged by these standards, he felt that Hebrews, James, Jude, and Revelation were of inferior worth. Even in Scripture itself there were differences in value." (Walker, p. 349)
c. Wrestled with Catholic doctrines
1) Infant baptism, idols, trinitarianism
2) Concluded with catholic doctrines
d. Acknowledged Catholic church as the
Hausser quotes Luther:
"Luther said, 'if I am convicted of error, I shall willingly retract it, and not weaken the power and glory of the holy Roman Church.' We notice that Luther still regarded the Roman church as 'holy.'" P.22
Alzog's Universal History continues:
"As late as March 3, 1519, Luther wrote the Pope: 'Now, Most Holy Father, I protest before God and his creatures that it has never been my purpose, nor is it now, to do ought that might weaken or overthrow the authority of the Roman Church or that of your Holiness; nay, more, I confess that the power of this church is above all things; that nothing in heaven or on earth is to be set before it. Jesus alone, the Lord of all, excepted." (Alzog's Universal History p. 195)
1) Believed he was not separate, but was reforming it
2) Referred to his church as the '
e. Major doctrine: Law vs. Grace
1) Salvation by faith not by works only,
what you do has no bearing
Fisher continues:
"Fisher relates Luther's
feeling: 'Through the Gospel that righteousness is revealed which avails before
God -- by which He, out of grace and mere compassion, justifies us through
faith. 'Here I felt at once,' he says, 'that I was
wholly born again and that I had entered through open doors into
Bainton shows that Luther hater God as lawgiver:
“He wrote: 'I greatly longed to understand Paul's Epistle to the Romans and nothing stood in the way but that one expression, the justice of God, because I took it to mean that justice whereby God is just and deals justly in punishing the unjust. My situation was that, although an impeccable monk, I stood before God as a sinner troubled in conscience, and I had no confidence that my merit would assuage him. Therefore I did not love a just and angry God, but rather hated and murmured against him. Yet I clung to the dear Paul and had a great yearning to know what he meant.' (Bainton, p. 49)"
2) Jas 2:21-24 justified by works; Luther he wrote the book; called it an
"epistle of straw"
3) Rom 3:20 added word "alone" to
German text; not present in original Greek
f. Reasoning for infant baptism:
1) Baptize children into the faith of the
church
2) Philosophy, if a child can believe, they
can believe because infant baptism is right and valid
g. On predestination: God pre-determined who would be saved
D. Zwingli (1484-1581)
1. Same time period as Martin Luther.
2. No credit
for any reformation movement; though he paved the way for Calvinism.
3. Was a
humanist:
a. Concerned for the welfare of others
b. Humanism, a common leftist movement on the catholic church
c. In 1525 published a commentary on true and false religion
d. Once others left Catholic fold doctrinal views began to
differ
From R.C. Meredith's Protestant Reformation:
"'Although in most points he held the ordinary Protestant views, he differed from them in the doctrine of the Sacrament, as will hereafter be explained. He held to predestination as a philosophical tenet, but taught that Christ has redeemed the entire race. He considered original sin a disorder rather than a state involving guilt. He believed that the sages of antiquity were illuminated by the Divine Spirit, and in his catalogue of saints he placed Socrates, Seneca, the Catos, and even Hercules,' (The History of the Christian Church, by Fisher, p. 308)"
2. Other Protestants agreed with this
R.C. Meredith continues:
"Of course, many Protestant writers acclaim Zwingli for his 'broad' views on the heathen speculators. Hastie lauds Zwingli's view: 'With a breadth of thought and feeling rare in his age, he recognized a divine inspiration in the thoughts and lives of the nobler spirits of antiquity, such as Socrates, Plato and Seneca, and hoped even to meet with them in heaven' (Hastie, The Theology of the Reformed Church, p. 184)."
3.
Transubstantiation became a source of contention and debate between Zwingli and
Luther
4. Both
declared the other not Christian over this controversy
"Luther declared Zwingli and
his supporters to be no Christians, while Zwingli affirmed that Luther was
worse than the Roman champion, Eck. Zwingli's views, however, met the approval
not only of German-speaking
E. Calvin (1509-1564)
1. Second in reformation movement after Luther.
2. Developed
in
3.
Protestant religion formed; made into state religion; completely separate from
RCC
a. Wrote 1st systematic presentation of Christmas doctrine in
reformation
b. His work entitled Institutes of the Christian Religion
4. Became no better than catholic predecessors.
5. His
personality:
a. Extremely harsh, and severe person
b. Aesthetic in nature
c. Ruthless methods
d. Became more dictatorial than any catholic pope
1. He
stressed that men are to forsake all pleasure in this life
2. As a
result he punished people severely, for even trivial things
Schaff's History of the Christian Church Vol. VIII 490-492 Shows examples of Calvin's theocracy:
"Let us give a summary of the most striking cases of discipline. Several women, among them the wife of Ami Perrin, the captain-general, were imprisoned for dancing. Bonivard, the hero of political liberty, and a friend of Calvin, was cited before the Consistory because he had played at dice with Clement Marot, the poet, for a quart of wine. A man was banished from the city for three months because, on hearing an ass bray, he said jestingly: 'he prays a beautiful psalm.' A young man was punished because he gave his bride a book on housekeeping with the remark: 'This is the best Psalter.' A lady of Ferrar was expelled from the city for expressing sympathy with the Libertines, and abusing Calvin and the Consistory. Three men who had laughed during the sermon were imprisoned for three days. Another had to do public penance for neglecting to commune on Whitsunday. Three children were punished because they remained outside of the church during the sermon to eat cake...A person named Chapuis was imprisoned for four days because he persisted in calling his child Claude (a Roman Catholic saint) instead of Abraham, as the minister wished, and saying that he would sooner keep his son unbaptized for fifteen years. Bolsec, Gentilis, and Castellio were expelled from the Republic for heretical opinions. Men and women were burnt for witchcraft. Gruet was beheaded for sedition and atheism. Serverus was burnt for heresy and blasphemy. The last is the most flagrant case which, more that all others combined, has exposed the name of Calvin to abuse and execration; but it should be remembered that he wished to substitute the milder punishment of the sword for the stake, and in this point at least he was in advance of the public opinion and usual practice of his age' (Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol. VIII, p. 490--4920."
6. Five points
of Calvinism:
a. Man totally depraved
b. Unconditional predestination
c. Redemption granted to the elect
d. Grace irresistible
e. Once saved, always saved
"'Man's highest knowledge,
Calvin taught, is that of God and of himself. Enough comes by nature to leave
man without excuse, but adequate knowledge is given only in the Scriptures,
which the witness of the Spirit in the heart of the believing reader attests as
the very voice of God. The Scriptures teach that God is good, and the source of
all goodness everywhere. Obedience to God's will is man's primary duty. As
originally created, man was good and capable of obeying God's will, but he lost
goodness and power alike in Adam's fall, and is now, of himself, absolutely
incapable of goodness. Hence no work of man's can have any merit, and all men
are in a state of ruin meriting only damnation. From this helpless and hopeless
condition some men are undeservedly rescued through the work of Christ. Since
all good is of God, and man is unable to initiate or resist his conversion, it
follows that the reason some are saved and others are lost is the divine
choice-- election and reprobation. For a reason for that choice beyond the will
of God it is absurd to inquire, since God's will is an ultimate fact' (
Calvin explains his views about predestination:
“In the section on predestination in his 'Institutes of the Christian Religion,' Calvin dogmatically states: 'No one who wishes to be thought religious dares outright to deny predestination, by which God chooses some for the hope of life, and condemns others to eternal death.... By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he has decided in his own mind what he wishes to happen in the case of each individual. For all men are not created on an equal footing, but for some eternal life is pre- ordained, for others eternal damnation...' (Bettenson, Documents, p. 302)."
F. John Knox (1514-1572).
1. A
Calvinist in
2.
Established Scottish branch of Protestant reformation.
G. John Wesley (1703-1791).
1. Founded
Methodist church in
2. Took
major hold in
H. John Huss:
1. Attempted
reform, but remained within confines of the Catholic Church.
2. No
indication he was part of the true church.
3. Located
in
4. Put
strong emphasis on the Ten Commandments.
5. Made it
possible for other groups to exist - Sabbatarians.
Lecture 22
Lollards / Anabaptists / Sabbatarians
I. GROUPS WITHIN THE REFORMATION
PERIOD
A. Lollards.
1. Located
in
2. Word
origin:
a. Lollen - meaning to speak softly or to mumble
b. Later called Lollards
3.
Tended to memorize scriptures.
4. Remnant
of Waldenses.
The Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, by Brown says:
"Lollards: A Religious sect,
differing in many points from the church of Rome,
which arose in
The Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge says:
"Fuller, however, informs us
that in the reign of Edward
5. Not strong
evidence they were Sabbath keeping.
6. Walter -
1315:
a. Came to
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, says:
"The organization must have been strong in numbers, but only those who were seized for heresy are known by name, and it is only from the indictments of their accusers that their opinions can be gathered. The preachers were picturesque figures in long russet dress down to the heels, who, staff in hand, preached in the mother tongue to the people in churches and graveyards, in squares, streets and houses, in gardens, and pleasure grounds, and then talked privately with those who had been impressed." p.929
c. Probably a minister in the true
church
d. Many Lollards absorbed into Wycliffe movement
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, says:
"It is probable that the name was given to the followers of Wycliffe because they resembled those offshoots from the great Franciscan movement, which had disowned the pope's authority and set before themselves the ideal of Evangelical poverty." p. 929
e. Not too strong at first, but got stronger later
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, says:
"In the earlier stages of Lollardy, when the court and the clergy managed to bring Lollards before ecclesiastical tribunals backed by the civil power, the accused generally recanted and showed no disposition to endure martyrdom for their opinions. They became bolder in the beginning of the 15th century.... In 1410 John Badby, an artisan, was sent to the stake. His execution was memorable from the part taken in it by the Prince of Wales, who himself tried to reason the Lollard out of his convictions. But nothing said would make Badby confess that 'Christ sitting at supper did give to His disciples His living body to eat.'"P.930
f. Some of their doctrines
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, says:
“Thomas Bagley (a Lollard) was accused of declaring that if in the sacrament a priest made bread into God, he made a God that can be eaten by rats and mice; that the Pharisees of the day, the monks, and the nuns, and the friars and all other privileged persons recognized by the church were limbs of Satan; and that auricular confession to the priest was the will not of God but of the devil." p.931
"The opinions of the later
Lollards can best be gathered from the learned and unfortunate Pecock, who
wrote his elaborate REPRESSOR against the 'Bible-men," as he calls them.
He summed up their doctrines under eleven heads: they condemn the having and
using images in the churches, the going on pilgrimages to the memorial or
'mynde places' of the saints, the holding of landed possessions by the clergy,
the various ranks of the hierarchy, the framing of ecclesiastical laws and
ordinances by papal and episcopal authority, the institution of religious
orders, the costliness of ecclesiastical decorations, the ceremonies of the
mass and the sacraments, the taking of oaths and the maintaining that war and
capital punishment are lawful. When these points are compared with the Lollard
Conclusions of 1395, it is plain the Lollardy had not greatly altered its
opinions after fifty-five years of persecution." p. 931
g. Had a great impact on
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, says:
"Lollardy, which continued
down to the Reformation, did much to shape the movement in
B. ANABAPTISTS
In The Anabaptist Story, we read:
“Love of learning and admiration
for Erasmus characterized the young humanists.... The public break between
Zwingli and his erstwhile disciples came with evident finality at a fateful
disputation in January 1525. The council proclaimed Zwingli the victor and
denounced the radicals. The alternatives were quite clear. The little group
could conform, leave
"After his baptism at the hands of Grebel, Blaurock proceeded to baptize all the others present. The newly baptized then pledged themselves as true Disciples of Christ to live lives separated from the world and to teach the gospel and hold the faith.
"Anabaptism was born. With
this first baptism, the earliest church of the Swiss Brethren was constituted.
This was clearly the most revolutionary act of the Reformation. No other event
so completely symbolized the break with
1. Out of Waldensian movement.
In The Rise and Fall of the Anabaptists, we read:
"...from this occasion amidst this small circle we may fairly place the origin of the Anabaptist sect or party proper. Anabaptism was emphatically in the air; in other words, the spirit and general tendencies of what subsequently consolidated itself as the Anabaptist movement were dominant amongst certain orders of the population in widely distant centuries." .p 4
From The Anabaptist Story, we read:
"Ludwig Keller developed the theory that held the Anabaptists to be an outgrowth of the Waldenses, Bohemian Brethren, and other groups which he labeled, 'the old-evangelical brotherhoods.' This position is essentially that of Thomas M. Lindsay. Undoubtedly the Anabaptists had much in common with the Bohemian Brethren, the Waldenses, the evangelical humanists, the spiritual Franciscans, the medieval mystics, and other antipapal evangelical groups of medieval origin. Historically the connection is vague at best. That which is much more evident is the influence of the Scriptures upon those who were maliciously called Anabaptists. The Scriptures seem to have been far more determinative that the Waldenses, evangelical humanists, or spiritual Franciscans -- separately or all together. The witness which they established forms an indelible chapter in the living commentary of history upon the Scriptures." p. 16-17
2. Term given by catholics to anyone who believed in re-baptism.
One source explains:
"The lists of
3. Literally
means re-baptism.
4. Number of
people within this group translated the Bible into vernacular tongues.
5.
Doctrines:
a. Condemned oaths
b. No military service
From Anabaptism, we read:
"The nineteenth-century historians Urban Heberle and Ludwig Keller suggested that certain medieval heresies like those of the Waldensians and the Bohemian Brethren had influenced the radicals, and there are indeed striking resemblances between these heresies and Anabaptism. The Waldensians and Bohemian Brethren also emphasized the Scriptures as the exclusive authority, demanded retreat from the world, expressed doubts about infant baptism, refused to take oaths and render military service, censured the power and privileges of the clergy, and rejected church buildings. Although no direct influence on the Zurich group has yet been discovered, heretical ideas and even books may very well have circulated in the Swiss towns." p. 8
In The Rise and Fall of the Anabaptists, we read:
"The little
c. Obedience to civil government; but couldn't hold an office
d. Sinners excommunicated until repentant
e. Sketchy information on the Sabbath
From Anabaptism, by Closeu, we read:
"When the first Anabaptist
congregation formed a Zollikon during the week of January 22 to 29, 1525,
meetings were held daily...After the first ardor had passed, the Anabaptists
gathered for worship at regular intervals, whether once a week, once every two
weeks, once a month, or once every two or three months... Most meetings were
held on Saturday or Sunday, though sometimes meetings were also held on
weekdays. The Anabaptists in the area of Romrod in
Anabaptism continues:
"The Anabaptists not only
rejected the traditional feast days as Catholic inventions but also advanced
strange views concerning Sunday. Anabaptists in
C. SABBATARIANS (c. 1500-1600's)
1. Throughout Transylvanian region.
2. From
3.
Predominate leader - Andreas Eossi.
4. Called themselves "
5. Best
Reference, the Jewish Quarterly Review, July 1890, #4, vol. II, by I Abrahams
and C.G. Montefiore
a. Article reflects Jewish view of the Part Sabbath plays in
differentiating religions.
"The celebration of the Sabbath is as much a common religious institution, as one of the most obvious marks of distinction between Judaism and Christianity. On the one hand, the whole Christian world observes each seventh day as a hallowed day of rest, thus to some extent pointing from week to week in the most solemn and in the most general and public manner, to the origin of Christianity: on the other hand, it is just by means of this Sabbath celebration -- by ordaining that the Sabbath should be observed on a different day from that on which the people of Israel and the founders of Christianity themselves kept it -- that Christianity has set itself in conscious and intentional opposition to the first possessors and inheritors of this great institution. Thus what was a mark of uniformity became a mark of diversity, and the separate observance of the seventh day developed into the most effective cause of separation between the Christian community and the adherence of the Jewish faith." p. 405
b. Shows Russian Groups Sobotniki and Molokani
"As regards the RUSSIAN
Sabbath-observers, the so- called Sobotniki or Subbotniki, we have to depend
for an account of their origin and present condition, on a few extremely scanty
notices. They belong to the Russian sect, Molokani or Milk-drinkers, one of the
various sects that arose, during the sixteenth century, in those provinces of
Southern Russia which were at that time under the supremacy of the Polish
crown, all of which sects displayed a Judaizing tendency, a marked leaning
towards the Mosaic law. The Molokani, so runs the account given by a Russian
chronicler, observed the Sabbath and had their children circumcised. The
performance of Divine service, and the execution of other religious practices
they entrusted to the oldest and most learned men selected from their own
body.... Their worship consists of reading the Bible and singing the Psalms.
For purposes of public service they assemble in a dwelling-room, which they
call 'skool' (schkola). Persecuted in the government of
c. Origin: Andreas Eossi
"Andreas Eossi of
Szent-Erzsebet was a rich Szekely of noble birth, who owned three villages and
a great number of estates in the counties of Udvarhelyszek, Kukullo, and
Fehervar, and who belonged to the earliest adherents of Unitarianism in
d. Much of their teaching is found in hymnbook
"About 1600, there was compiled 'the old hymn-book of the Sabbatarians,' probably by Eossi himself. This book is the most important source whence acknowledged of the doctrines of the sect may be derived; it is the oldest monument of their literature, and contains paraphrases of the Psalms and other poetical passages of the Bible, metrical renderings of a few extracts from the Jewish prayer book.... Of the 110 poetical compositions, which are to be found in three manuscripts of this old Sabbatarian hymnbook, no less than 44 relate to the Sabbath, which, on account of the special regard in which its celebration was held, gave the sect the name they bear. Five songs belong to the New Moon, 11 to the Festival of Passover, 6 to the Feast of Weeks, 6 to Tabernacles, 3 to the New Year and 1 to the Day of Atonement."
"They did not celebrate Purim and Chanukah. But even the Mosaic Laws they did not observe in their entirety, for they kept the dietary laws only up to a certain limit, and circumcision not at all. The Sabbath played the most important part in their religions life...it brought the contrast between them and Christianity most prominently into view. They called the Sabbath celebration a 'spiritual marriage,' and adorned themselves for it in wedding attire. The Sabbath service consisted of prayers and hymns, introduced and concluded by the sermon or 'instruction.' One of the Sabbatical hymns mentions among the requisites of a proper observance of the Sabbath, 'study of the holy law, feeding the poor, moderation in living, cheerfulness of disposition'; in another it is said: 'Let man first hallow himself, then the Sabbath of the Lord.' Although the feast of the first of Tishri is not designated the New Year festival in the Pentateuch, yet they celebrated it as the 'New Year' with special emphasis, as particularly characteristic, that they maintained that, in adhering to these observances, they were following the example and teaching of Jesus. 'He who keeps not the Sabbath will have no portion in the inheritance of Christ'; they celebrated 'the Passover of Israel, according to the command of our Christ.' They bound up with the Passover festival (in accordance with the views which they entertained regarding the millennium) the hope of the future redemption which Jesus will bring, in order to build up his millennial kingdom." p.473-474
e. Taught Christ's mission to enable us to keep commands
"They regard Jesus as greater than Moses and the prophets; call him 'our Christ,' 'Lord Jesus,' 'King,' even 'the son of God'; the last, however, in the sense that all deserve to be called 'sons of God' who are free from sin. For the most part they reverence him as the Messiah, as the Deliverer proclaimed by the prophets. On the other hand, however, they accentuated his purely human nature, and laid stress on the belief that his mission had for its object not the destruction but the maintenance of the Law." p. 474
f. Thought of themselves as spiritual Jews
“The Sabbatarians frequently
declared that they joined themselves to
g. They were strongly anti-Catholic
"They declared the Christian festivals to be inventions of the popes, and even protested against the ringing of church bells. They regarded the Lord's Supper, not as a new institution of Jesus, but as an old Jewish custom. On the first night of Passover they ate unleavened bread, 'the bread of the Messiah,' calling to mind the Redeemer, who had appeared, and would one day come again." p. 475
D. SABBATH KEEPERS IN
1. Known as 7th Day Baptists throughout history.
2. Reference
books:
a. Dean Blackwells' thesis on The History of the True Church
b. Religious Denominations by Joseph Belcher, 1861
3. Sabbath
keepers begin to come out of hiding.
4. Many Sabbath
keepers in
5. (1600's) 11 Sabbatarian church's in
Lecture 23
The Church in
I. THE CHURCH IN
A. Though not the true
church, Baptists trace their history in a similar fashion.
1. Trace
through Anabaptists, Waldenses, Bogomils, Paulicians, and Nazarenes rather than
through the Council of Nicea.
2. Trace themselves back to the third century, and do not claim
apostolic succession.
3. Do not
practice church governmental structure. They believe in the total autonomy of
the local congregation.
4. They
become Baptists as we know them in the 1630's.
B. Events in the 1400's.
1. Advent of
printing.
2. Bible
translated into English and distributed to the common people.
3. Important
reform movement in
a. Calvinism - called Dutch
reformers
b.
C. Events in the 1500's.
1. Henry
VIII -
2. Elizabeth
I - Firmly establishes
D. Events in 1600's.
1. King
James - edition of the Bible in 1611, most commonly used version.
2. God's
church existed at this time in
a. Several began to advocate 7th day
Jones' Church History says:
"Chambers' Encyclopedia states
that in
b. In 1595 Nicholas Bound published his book
Joseph Belcher writes in The
Religious Denominations in the
"The Sabbath
controversy commenced in
c. In 1618 Traske spoke out and persecuted
Also from Joseph Belcher's The
Religious Denominations in the
"John Traske began to speak
and write in favor of the seventh day Sabbath about the time that the Book of
Sports for Sunday was published under the direction of the Archbishop of
Canterbury and King James I., in 1618. He took high ground as to the
sufficiency of the Scriptures to direct in religious services, and the duty of
the State to impose nothing contrary to the Word of God. For this he was
brought before the Star-Chamber, where a long discussion was held respecting
the Sabbath, in which Dr. Andrews, Bishop of Winchester, took a prominent part.
Traske was not turned from his opinion, but received a censure in the
Star-Chamber. Paggitt's Heresiography says that he 'Was sentenced, on account
of his being a Sabbatarian, to be set upon the Pillory at
d. In 1628 another book was written
Belcher continues:
"Theophilus Brabourne, a
learned minister of the Gospel in the Established Church, wrote a book, which
was printed at
e. Tandy propagated 7th day truth
Belcher continues:
"About this time we find
Philip Tandy promulgating the same doctrine concerning the Sabbath in the
northern part of
f. 1642 a book on the fourth commandment burned
Belcher continues:
“James Ockford was another early
advocate of the Sabbath in
g. 60 years later eleven churches existed
Belcher continues:
"Several causes combined to
prevent the early organization of Sabbatarian churches in
h. Dogger and Dodd show the activity in their book
3. Reference
books on Sabbath keeping churches:
a. History of 7th Day Baptists, best name to look under in
research
b. History of the 7th Day Church of God Richard Nichols
4. Most
famous Sabbatarian church existing at this time: the Millyard church.
Belcher describes the
"The
Jones Church History discusses this church:
"...John Trask and John James
were the founders of the
... speaks
of the church of which he is pastor, calling it the
5. Sabbath keeping gradually diminished
Belcher explains:
"...only three Sabbatarian
churches now remain in
II. THE CHURCH IN
A. Bodies of people seeking
religious freedom moved to the
1. People
moving to
2.
Sabbatarians were intermixed within these groups and came to
B. Puritans:
1. Came out of
T. Gregory, in Puritanism in the
"But the greatest service
which
X. People who resolved to follow
the purity of the Bible.
a. Beliefs
Neal's History of the Puritans says:
"We believe the word of God contained in the Old and New Testaments to be a perfect rule of faith and manners; that it ought to be read and known by all people; and that the authority of it exceeds all authority, not of the Pope only, but of the Church also, and of Councils, Fathers, men, and angels. We condemn as a tyrannous yoke whatsoever men have set up of their own invention, to make articles of faith, and the binding of men's consciences by their laws and institutions." p. 223
b. Name became term of derision
Ralph Barton Perry, in Puritanism and Democracy, says:
"Originally, 'Puritan' seems to have been a term of derision, applied rather loosely to people who expressed some dissatisfaction with the workings of the established Church. Because the scope of these objections was sometimes quite trivial, the term came to suggest an argumentative, stubborn frame of mind, a cheerless concern with technicalities. Elizabeth herself had complained that Puritans 'were over-bold with God Almighty, making too many subtle scannings of His blessed will, as lawyers do with human testaments.'" p. 37
c. Didn’t keep Christmas
d. Kept Sunday but called it Sabbath
Jones says:
"While one of the authors was
living in the city of St. Joseph, Missouri, during the winter of 1934, the
following editorial appeared in the St. Joseph, Mo., 'Daily Gazette,' during
the Christmas season, written by the editor, Mr. Hugh Sprague: 'Strange as it
may seem, in the early history of America there was an attempt at suppression
of Christmas spirit. The stern Puritans at
3. Puritanism
was the result of four major influences:
a. The reformation
b. Influence of the Bible, now available for the people to read
c. Growth of freedom beginning from the Magna Carta
d. Saw need to separate church and state
C. Sabbatarians.
1. Steven
Munford arrived in
a. Founded earliest recorded Sabbath keeping church c.1671
b. Location: outside of
Belcher writes:
"The Seventh-day in
c. Belcher documents some of these people's beliefs
"In 1685, Mr. Hubbard wrote to
Mr. Reeve, of
d. By 1854 there were several sabbath keeping churches
in
Belcher writes:
"For more than thirty years
after its organization, the
2. (1818) become
known as 7th Day Baptists.
3. Reason
for name change; didn't like to be called Sabbatarians.
4. (1840's)
they formed missionary assignments going all over the world.
5.
Established three small colleges located in
6.
Ultimately name changed to 7th Day Church of God.
7. Not much
spiritual growth. Gained new members through births.
D. Approximate
Church Eras (speculative, very hard to document).
1.
2. Thyatira - Waldensians
3.
a. Could
have come into being as early as the 1600's
b. By the 1900's are as the Bible describes them i.e. have
God's name, but are spiritually dead
Lecture 24
History of the
I. SABBITARIANS - THE 7TH
A. Sabbatarians traced
through 7-Day Baptists. They trace their origins back to John the Baptist.
B. Roger Williams.
1. Founder
of
a. Founded the basis of religious freedom
b. Haven for persecuted Christians
c. Smallest state in the union
2. Baptized by member of Steven Munford's 7th
C. Believe in Saturday resurrection (the early Sabbatarians).
D. A History of the
1. Not an
authoritative work, but a good reference.
2. Gives an
article of their beliefs - a statement of Doctrines written in 1705.
a. One God, one Christ, the holy spirit is a gift
b. Both OT and NT are of inspiration
c. The Ten Commandments are valid
d. Believe six principles in Heb 6 to be doctrine
e. The Lord's supper to administered and received in all
churches
f. Church’s should have officers - deacons etc.
g. Believers baptized by immersion
3. They did
not understand church government. Had a government of
democracy.
From A History of the
“One hundred and forty names were presented, and a box was prepared from which to draw the names according to the leadings of God, for these respective offices. As we approached the set time, it seemed we could feel the presence of God. The power of His presence through the world circle of prayer was keenly apparent, and hearts rejoiced in the hope and joy of his salvation.... Another short season of silent prayer was then called, and the names of the Seventy were chosen one by one.... Elder C. Sobers, New York City; Elder A.C. Turner, Mich.; Elder Echiavaria, Tex.; Elder Herbert Armstrong, Ore.; Elder A. Steede, Mich.; Elder J. W. Tarver, La...."
4. Confrontation
resulted in split from
5. (c.1842) Came to understanding of clean and unclean meats.
From A History of the
"Concerning the Passover, or
the Lord's Supper, in at least one assembly of the early Sabbatarians in West
Virginia, the following is illustrative: 'March 21, 1853, it was voted that
communion service be held once in twelve months 'on the fourteenth day of the
first Jewish month'; i.e., on the evening of the Passover.' --Idem, p. 201....
The diet of some of the early Sabbatarians in
6. 1800's.
a. 1830's - advent movement beginning in the Church
b. Adventists means second coming
c. Had a feeling second coming was about to occur
d. Called themselves
II. Seventh Day Adventists.
A. William Miller.
1. Converted
in the
2. Preached
world would come to an end in 1884.
3. Confused
the prophecy in Daniel concerning 2,300 days.
a. He dated those days a beginning in 457 B.C.
b. Believed Christ would return in 1844
c. When Christ didn't return, many were disillusioned and
confused
d. Concluded that Christ had entered
an inner sanctuary in heaven and had begun the Investigative Judgment.
B. (1860's) Incorporated as the 7th
Day Adventists.
1. There was
much controversy over this.
"Ridicule was heaped by the
White Party upon those who supported the name
C. James and Ellen G. White.
1. Part of
2. Formerly
Methodists.
3. Ellen G.
White wrote for the "Advent Review and Sabbath Herald" paper the
church published.
4. Believed
she was a prophetess.
"D.M. Canright, an early Seventh Day Adventist who was intimate with the Whites, left them in the 1880's because he saw the 'Elder and Mrs. White ran and ruled everything with an iron hand. Not a nomination to office, or a resolution, not an item of business was ever acted upon in business meetings till all had been first submitted to Elder White for his approval.... (and Mrs. White's) revelations always favored Elder White and herself. If any dared question their course, they soon received a scathing revelation (based on a vision) denouncing the wrath of God against them.' Canright painted a picture of a 'coldly legalistic' Seventh Day Adventist church governed by the fear of going against the 'divine testimonies' of its 'prophetess.'"
a. Some of her prophecies proved false
"Ellen G. White wrote in her Testimonies for the Church that 'At the General Conference at Battle Creek, May 27, 1856, I was shown in vision some things which concern the church generally...I was shown the company present at the Conference. Said the angel, 'Some food for worms, some subjects of the seven last plagues, some will be alive and remain upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus.' All of the people alive at that conference have died, presenting a serious question as to the authenticity of Mrs. White's visions."
b. Her writings have proven to be plagiarized
From Newsweek,
c. Some say visions were a force of epilepsy
An article in Christianity Today entitled "Was Ellen White Merely an Epileptic?", by Rodney Clapp, says the following:
"White's writings have been
the source of heavy controversy since Adventist minister Walter Rea claimed
that she plagiarized several other writers. In addition to the plagiarism
question, Evangelica presents three other arguments that, if true, would topple
White from the prophetic throne where Adventists placed her. The most
fascinating of those arguments is made by Delbert Hodder, a pediatrician and
active Adventist. Hodder notes that the supposed 'supernatural nature' of the
many visions White had during her lifetime are regarded as proof she was a
prophet. But Hodder speculates the visions had no supernatural cause. A form of
epilepsy called partial-complex seizures may have been responsible instead....
Similarities between seizures and White's visions include: *Eyes that are open
and often turned up. Historical accounts report White's eyes 'rolled up' during
visions. *Words or phrases that are repeated monotonously. White is
characterized as repeating 'light,' 'dark,' 'glory,' and 'glory to God' during
visions. *Gestures. White reportedly wrung her hands, walked back and forth,
and gracefully moved her shoulders in her ecstatic states. *Visual
hallucinations, including 'crude sensations of light or darkness.' White spoke
of 'light' and 'dark' during her visions... Brinsmead, one of the first
dissident evangelical Adventists, believes the denomination 'engaged in a
conspiracy to hide the facts of early Adventist history.' The shut-door theory
was postulated to explain what happened in 1844 when, contrary to prediction,
Christ did not return to earth. It held that on
5. Doctrinal
differences:
a. Major controversy: Passover observed quarterly rather than
annually
b. No alcohol concept, had grape juice
at Passover
c. Christ resurrected on Sunday
d. Believed in trinity did away with holydays using Col 2:16.
A. In the 1860's the
1. Still
being published.
2. Mr.
Armstrong wrote of this in the 1920's and 1930's.
B. Headquarters of the Church:
1. Moved
from
2. In the
1880's moved to
3. Sent out
ministers into foreign areas from 1861-1933
In Dugger and Dodd's "A
History of the True Religion," we find a very interesting section
describing the activities of the
"As time went on, work was opened up in foreign fields and the precious truth found its way into many countries, and islands of the sea. Hundreds of thousands of tracts were printed and distributed together with many books, and for a period of 72 years from 1861 to 1933 the church continued to send forth the true doctrine." p. 297
4. The Bible Advocate show the place they went
From "The Bible Advocate"
published by the
"Several weeks prior to November
4th, a call was sent to many countries for prayer that
God would again choose men to lead His church as in the former time. These
countries were:
5. Areas
included
a. We received letters from them
Following is a translation of the
first letter we received from a member of the
"Dear Brother in Christ: I am
very pleased to address this letter to you and all your fellow laborers in the
Work of God. During a recent trip to Peru in order to study various doctrines
and Bible prophecies with the members of the 'Asociacion Israelita Evangelica
del Nuevo Pacto' (Evangelical Israelite Association of the New Covenant), I
learned from Sr. Jose Alfredo Loje, the president of this group, that he had
various booklets and Bible courses, which you had sent him. During my stay I
had the opportunity to read several of these. I've found your literature to be
remarkable. I'm very impressed by your full knowledge of the Bible, its
doctrines and prophecies. Maybe I'm particularly impressed because I am a member
of an old, although small, religious group in
b. Many came into the
From "A History of the
“Well over 100 letters have been received in the course of the past year from the Chilean Sardis group. Many are emotion-packed, virtually tear-filled. One man sprawled as S.O.S. on his letter, asking us to be sure to visit him. Sr. Garrido wrote to us just a few days ago a very inspiring letter. Here's a particularly interesting analogy included in it:
"Oh how I wish you people were
here! Believe me, some of us here are so anxious for
your visit we can hardly eat! The 'Iglesia Israelita del Nuevo Pacto' no longer
satisfies me. It's as if you
were to go to bread. And you have to eat this bread even though you are fully
aware of a bakery a little further away where you can eat real good bread. You
just have no way of physically getting to the second bakery. The
C. Oct. 1887 - Held annual
conference.
1. Located
in Stansbury.
2. Not
legally incorporated until 1900 as the
D. John Kiez:
1. A principle leader of the
2.
Affiliated with Mr. Armstrong until opening of
3. Split
with the
4. Later
split from Mr. Armstrong in 1940's.
E. A.M. Dugger:
1. Minister
in
2. In the
time of W.W.I took over leadership of the church.
3. (1914)
Editor of "The Bible Advocate".
4. Through
him, Mr. Armstrong presented his papers of new doctrine.
5. Died in
6. At the
End of WWI, Dugger had an interview with Woodrow Wilson.
a. Conscientious objector status obtained
b. Liberation of Judea
G. (1920) Correspondence course developed.
H. (1923) Doctrine of healing established.
J. (1927) Mr. Armstrong comes into contact with the church.
K. (1929) Radio becomes a means of broadcasting by Dugger. Use of the radio to spread the gospel comes into play.
Lecture 25
Modern Era
I. Reference Material.
A. History of the
B. Autobiography of Herbert W. Armstrong.
II. Modern History of the
Church.
A. 1924 - Mr. and Mrs.
Armstrong move to
B. 1926 - A neighbor discusses the
Sabbath with Mrs. Armstrong.
1.
Challenges Mr. Armstrong into an in-depth study.
2. Things he
studied:
a. The existence of God
b. Proof of the Bible
c. Baptism - proved it was to be by immersion
3. Began
search for the true church.
C. 1927 - Mrs. Armstrong became
very ill.
1.
Pentecostal minister anointed her and she was healed.
2. Mr.
Armstrong discussed with the minister the subject of anointing, and healing.
3. Lesson to
Note: Knowledge can be gained through those not converted. Must not just accept
it, but prove it.
D. 1927 - 1930.
1. Entered
into a study of the name of the church.
2. Mr.
Armstrong wrote articles for the "Bible Advocate" a publication put
out by the 7th Day Church of God.
3. Came to
understand two major doctrines:
a. Pork and smoking
b. Proved smoking and eating pork were against God's principles
4. Researched doctrine that you grow spiritually after baptism.
5. Dugger
acknowledged truth but wouldn't preach it at that time.
E. 1928 - Began speaking in small groups.
F. 1929 - Depression hits.
G. 1930 - Mr. Armstrong comes to
understanding of the identity of the
1. Garner
Ted born.
2. The
Armstrong’s lived in poverty.
3. June 1931
- Mr. Armstrong is licensed as a minister.
a. 1900 years after 31 A.D.
b. 1939 - License evoked
H. 1933 - Began evangelistic
campaigns.
1. In
September on radio for first time.
a. Bought time in Jan. 1934
b. Is one of the longest running radio programs in the world
2. Church in
a. Mr. Armstrong selected as one of the 70 elders
b. Church at that time was very democratic
I. Feb. 1934 - First issue of the Plain Truth.
J. 1935 - First church building
built.
1. 175-200
PT subscribers.
2. Office rented
by Mr. Armstrong in
K. 1940's - Mexican radio
broadcasts.
1. Heard
throughout the
2. Real beginning of growth in the church.
L. 1947 -
M. 1953 - Radio Luxemberg.
N. Growth rate between 25 & 30 % per year.
O. Feast in one place 1961 --
P. 1972 Syndrome. ---Church beginnings of Laodecian period begins?
1. Troubles
with G.T.A.
2. January - Groundbreaking for the Auditorium.
Q. 1973 - Group of ministers on
East Coast revolted.
1. Worldwide
News - First issue
R. 1974
1. Resignations/Terminations Jolt Ministry.
a.
b. Five terminated (C. Wayne Cole is temporarily in charge of
2.
Auditorium Opens in April.
3.
Divorce/Remarriage Doctrine Change.
S. 1975
1. February
- Plain Truth goes to bi-weekly tabloid (newsprint);
2. First Polish member (Victor Przybylla) baptized;
3.
4. March -
A.C. receives candidacy for accreditation.
5. AICF
Announced.
T. 1976
1. Good News
to contain stronger spiritual content.
2. September
- Local Distribution of PT begins.
U. 1977
1. April -
HWA marries Ramona Martin
2. May -
3. June -
Supreme Court ruling: companies do not have to give certain days off for
religious reasons.
4. August-
HWA: Congestive heart failure; seriously ill. 1330 enrollment
in A.C.
V. 1978
1. Jan. -
HWA back after illness (for ministerial conference).
2. -
Systematic Theology Project.
3. June -
The Worldwide News becomes The Good News.
- HWA: "The living Jesus Christ, Head of God's Church, has set God's church in order-setting it back on the track of God's norm of organization."
4. July - A.C. "Back on track as God's College."
W. 1979
1. Jan. -
Church faces massive crisis. Records and accounts seized. State files suit.
Charges against executives: siphoning off church assets for personal use.
Assets and records placed under authority of receiver (former Superior Court
Judge Steven Weisman). Wayne Cole appointed Chief Executive officer of church.\
2. Dec. - HWA travels to
X. 1980
1. March -
HWA begins to make new T.V. Radio broadcasts.
2. May -
Full page adds in newspapers (unsure of date).
3. July 28
issue: "Federal Court Reverses Ruling, Recognizes Rights says
Treasure."
4. August -
Imperial Schools (
Y. 1981
1. Advisory
Council of Elders formed.
2. Big
3. Sept. -
First Ministerial Refreshing Program.
Z. 1986
1. Jan. 1986 Herbert Armstrong dies. Joseph Tkach Sr. becomes Pastor General.
2. Administrational changes.
3. 1989 Groundwork for Doctrinal
changes slowly taking place.
Zi. 1990’s
1. May 1990 AC Pasadena campus
closes and merges/moves to Big Sandy campus.
2. 1995 Tkach Senior’s Big Sandy
sermon states Sabbath and Law no longer necessary.
3. 1995 Church splits, most stay with
4. In Transition newspaper (later
named Journal)– news of all the churches of God
groups.
5. Late 1990’s
6. Independent movement gains
momentum among disillusioned members of the splits. Confusion.
7. Many who accepted
Zii. 2000+
1.