Here is the format for the class on Sept 20. If you can print this out at home or simply leave it on your computer for reference. There will be copies available in class as well.
Let me know if you have any questions.
CH1A03-Christian History I
20 September 2010
From Kosher to Christian:
The Jesus Sect in the World
The Jesus Sect in the World
“One of the most amazing and significant facts of history is that within five centuries of its birth Christianity won the professed allegiance of the overwhelming majority of the population of the Roman Empire and even the support of the Roman state.” LaTourette, History, 1:65.
I. Diversity of the Early Church
A. Admitting Diversity
B. Early leadership models
i. presbyters, elders & bishops
C. Roman authority?
II. Mission of the Early Church
A. Jerusalem
B. Gentiles & “Christians”
i. Stephen & Cornelius
ii. Athens Meets Jerusalem
iii. The Jewish Rebellion (A.D. 66-70)
C. Paul & the Apostles
D. Beyond the Borders of the Empire
i. Armenia
ii. Ethiopia
iii. Egypt
III. Worship of the Early Church
A. Didache
B. Baptism
i. Tertullian’s & Cyprian’s Views
C. Eucharist
i. Justin Martyr vs. the Didache
D. Order of Service
E. Christian Calendar (look at Bass for this)
|
IV. Christianity & Culture in the First and Second Century
A. Social Strata of Early Christians
B. Role in Culture
i. reversal of the social order
ii. cultural involvement
C. Persecution
i. Trajan & Pliny the Younger
ii. Nero & The Fire of Rome (A.D. 64)
iii. The “Lesser” Persecutors
iv. The Wraths of Decius & Valerian
v. The Ferocity of Diocletian
V. The 4,5,6
4 Terms
A.D.: Anno Domini Latin for “In the Year of the Lord” 6th century Monk Dionysius Exxigus first dated the calendar to Christ’s birth. But he was off by several years so Jesus was most likely born in 5 or 6 B.C.
Apostolic Fathers: Influential First-Century Christians who helped form the Christian faith. Later people like Augustine were known as Church Fathers
religio illicita- Roman term for an illegal religion that was not safeguarded under Roman protection. People who subscribed to an illegal religion were given no societal breaks and frequently persecuted and arrested.
Century: 100. Remember that the 1st century was from 1-100 A.D. the 2nd century was 101-200 A.D. and so on
5 Events
Jerusalem Council (A.D. 49 or 50. Found in Acts 15): recognized that Gentiles did not need to become Jews in order to become followers of Jesus.
Fire in Rome (A.D. 64): destroyed nearly ¾ of the city, Nero was blamed by the populace so he, in turn, blamed the Christians.
Destruction of Jerusalem Temple (A.D. 70): After Jewish revolt Vespasian ordered his son, Titus, to re-take Jerusalem. Titus torched the city and razed the temple.
Pliny’s Letter to Emperor Trajan (ca. A.D. 112): Pliny, governor of Bithynia asked Emperor Trajan how to handle Christians. Trajan ordered Pliny not to hunt them down but punish them if they were presented to him. This letter is a valuable source for understanding early Christian behaviour as discussed by critics.
Martyrdom of Polycarp (A.D. 155): Polycarp of Smyrna (Izmir, Turkey today) was burned alive because he would not offer incense to the emperor.
6 Names
Clement of Rome (d. A.D. 96): Leading past of the Roman in late first century. The fourth pope, according to Roman Catholics. Perhaps mentioned in Phil. 4:3
Polycarp (A.D. 69-155): Apostolic church father, preserved Ignatius’ writings.
Josephus (A.D. 37-100): Jewish writer. His historical works tell about early Christianity & destruction of Jewish temple.
Nero (A.D. 37-68): Roman Emperor, persecuted Christians after fire in Rome
Ignatius (A.D. 35-117): Apostolic church father & leading pastor in Syrian Antioch. he wrote several important letters on his way to Rome to be martyred.
Ignatius (A.D. 35-117): Apostolic church father & leading pastor in Syrian Antioch. he wrote several important letters on his way to Rome to be martyred.
Justin Martyr (A.D. 100-165): Christian philosopher & apologist. Martyred in Rome.[1]
Quotes:
“But if any of these heresies are bold enough to insert themselves into an Apostolic age, in order to seem to have been handed down from the Apostles, we can say: Let them then produce the origins of their churches; let them unroll the list of their bishops, an unbroken succession from the beginning so that the first bishop had as his precursor and the source of his authority one of the Apostles or of the apostolic men who, though not an Apostle, continued with the Apostles.”
“Tertullian on Tradition & Succession” as found in Bettenson/Maunder, Documents, 77.
“If you really wish to know the truth, leave your teachers and your father, and go with the women and the children to the women’s quarters, or to the cobbler’s shop, or to the tannery, and there you will learn the perfect life. It is thus that these Christians find those who will believe them.” Origen, Against Celsus, 3:55.
Links:
Roman Religious History Here
Pliny's Letter Here
Early Church in Late Antiquity Here
Origen & Celsus Here
© James Robertson 2010
The link to Celsus should be http://web.archive.org/web/20060427150628/duke.usask.ca/~niallm/252/Celstop.htm
ReplyDeleteThere was a question the first week about where the Holy Spirit was in all of this. I think we can find evidence of the Spirit's work in the early Church in Pliny's letter, in the two slave women who were deacons/ministers. In a book I read for another class, Teresa Berger writes, "For these women to rise to prominence within a Christian community involved a change of status that is hard to fathom. It speaks for the Christian community to which these slaves belonged that neither gender nor status indicators prevented its members from accepting the ministries of these women." (Women's Ways of Worship: Gender Analysis and Liturgical History)
ReplyDelete