HISTORIC TIME LINE

1. APOSTOLIC AGE: 33-100
2. APOSTOLIC FATHERS: 100-300
3. ROMAN CATHOLIC: 300-1500

A. Ecumenical Councils: 300-530

1. Council of Nicea 325
2. Council of Constantinople 381
3. Augustine
4. Sack of Rome 410
5. Council of Chalcedon 451
6. Fall of Rome 476
7. Decrees of Orange 530

B. Middle Ages: 500-1450

I. APOSTOLIC AGE: 33-100

This age is represented by the Apostles, those who were closest to Jesus, knowing Him personally. They are the main source of Christian doctrines. They wrote the books of the Bible. They established our basic traditions. This was a period of great creativity and development.

Nero (b. 37 d. 68) was Emperor of Rome which burned from a fire Nero may have started himself. In any event, Christians were accused and persecuted for rebellion against the Empire.

The historical event of the era was the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by Roman troops and the ending of the Jewish revolt. The Jewish Council of Jamnia, 90 A.D., struggling for their heritage dealt with the conflicting parties within Judaism, including Christianity. After Jamnia Christians were no longer tolerated in the Jewish synagogues. This forced the early church to seek its identity independent of the Jewish community.

II. APOSTOLIC FATHERS: 100-300

This was the second generation of disciples. They knew the Apostles and others who knew Jesus firsthand. Some regression occurred. They had a tendency to move away from the teachings of John, Paul and the book of Hebrews into a moralistic position in an effort to defend Christianity as moral.

Up until this time in history there had never been a connection between moral behavior and religion! The Apostolic Fathers invaded their world and remolded it! However, Christian legalism began developing and Paul's justification by faith was submerged.

The Apostle's Creed

The Apostles' Creed was not formalized until the fifth century, but goes back to the earliest apostolic testimony.

"I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary: Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell: The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost: the holy Catholic Church: The Communion of Saints: The Forgiveness of sins: The Resurrection of the body: And the Life everlasting. Amen."

A. Apologists, Antignostics and the Alexandrians

The Church was embroiled in seeking its own identification; rejected by Judaism, attacked by critics while other religious groups of the day tried to piggyback upon the growing church. Thus the era developed men of great faith and purpose.

1. Apologists:

This was the birthplace of theology as they began to appeal to popular opinion. They rejected a mystical Christianity in favor of a practical Christianity (moralism). The nature of the "apologies" was that they attempted to answer their critics, thus apologies were a defense of the faith determined solely by its opposition. Christianity began to be formed by society

Marcion began formulating a CANON, a measuring stick or norm by which to measure everything. This was the beginning of accepting and rejecting those books which today compose our Bible. The Canon was not formalized until 397.

Justin Martyr (100-165): Was the first well known defender of the faith. He opened the first Christian school in Rome, and was beheaded in the reign of Marcus Aureliue for refusing to offer token sacrifices to the Roman gods. He was primarily a thinker who sought to demonstrate the intellectual preeminence of the Christian faith.

Tertullian (160-220): Of Carthage in North Africa. Studied real estate law in Rome. Converted as a young man. A stern moralist and precise definer of theological orthodoxy. The first to write in Latin rather than Greek, which up to this time had been the official language of the church. Set the course for later Western terminology. Against the Gnostics he asserted the tri-personality of God, the Trinity.

2. Antignostics:

Antignostics rose to refute the second century's heresies by referring to definite, true tradition. They launched a counter attack to defeat gnosticism. It was a life and death struggle for Christianity. The use of sacraments and mysticism began to play a high role. A very creative time.

Irenaeus (130-202): An Antignostic who fought to establish the truth of the Gospel which the Church possessed and to gain a clearer understanding of it. Born in Smyrna, in the East, he became the Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul (Lyons, France).

3. Alexandrians:

Alexandrians were philosophic theologians from Alexandria, Egypt. Origen developed doctrine into theology. Philosophy began to emerge along with mysticism into Christianity. Christianity began to be culturized or absorbed into society.

Origen (185-254): Born in Alexandria where he became the head of the Christian school at age 18. The first systematic theologian he wrote books defending the faith. After his death some of his teachings began to be considered heretical, such as the view that at the end of the world there will be a universal restoration of all creatures, good and bad, including the devil. He was eventually condemned for heresy.

B. Major Movements:

1. Gnosticism:

Gnosticism saw matter itself as evil, a truly higher spirit could NOT have an ordinary body. They did not recognize the resurrection of the dead.

Simply put, Gnosticism saw a creator god who could not intervene in the natural world because of the evil found therein. He created a second god over the earth corresponding to the Biblical image of God the Father. This "father god" created a son who came to redeem the world but somehow disintegrated with pieces of his godhood falling to earth. These "pieces" may enter into men, which gives them a spark of deity. Jesus Christ, they claimed, was an example of this type of man. Jesus then shows us how we ought to live if we have this piece of deity in us. No man knows if he possesses this deity. It is this deity, grace, by which men are saved--whether they live according to Christ's pattern or not. The goal is for all the "pieces" to become incarnated in living men at one time, which will result in the redemption of the world, i.e. the body of the redeemer would then be complete and those who possess the "pieces" will be raptured!

Modern day Unitarianism and Christian Scientists have similar beliefs with Gnosticism. So does Hinduism, a natural religion. Hinduism believes that this physical, natural world is not real. Hinduism's Yoga or TM is a specific attempt to gain possession by a spirit being in order to break the chain of reincarnation. In the East, reincarnation is a curse, while in the West it is a fad. Hinduism believes that there is a god, but that all men are god, because the natural is not real. Hinduism, like early Gnosticism, Unitarianism and Christian Science, is an attempt to escape the clutches and limitations of the evil, unreal world. Christianity declares that God has come to redeem mankind's spirit, soul and body--thus all creation groans to be made complete, not to escape!

Benefits:

1) The church came into a conscious understanding of the truth that God is the Supreme Being, Creator, Upholder of the Universe, the same God in the Old and New Testament.

2) Jesus' unique character as the Son of God was emphasized.

3) The doctrine of redemption through Christ's atoning work was lifted up.

4) The universal receptivity of men for the Gospel of Jesus Christ was stressed in answer to Gnostic exclusiveness.

5) A cannon was developed.

6) The Antignostics developed a "Doctrine of Man" stressing that good and evil in man was not based on natural endowments, for if evil is inherent in matter then man cannot be regarded as a free moral agent. Sin is disobedience and brings death; just as obedience brings immortality. This is the first trace of a doctrine of original sin.

2. Montanism:

Montanism was a Second Century Pentecostalism as they emphasized prophetic gifts. "New" prophecy emerged, which brought a rebellion against Scripture, as they claimed a higher revelation, Creed and the Bishops and the rigidness of the church. With the interest in new prophecies the question was being raised, "How do we judge the spirit?" The church was too busy getting their heads together to deal with new revelation. They appealed to the Apostolic Tradition because of their proximity to the incarnation.