Transcript History of Christianity

Part 4: Unity of Belief:
Mission Impossible?
How possible and even desirable is it for
Christianity to have its key beliefs about
God, Jesus and being Church expressed in
precisely the same, unchanging way for all
peoples and all time?

It is evident from the
Gospels and letters of the
New Testament that from
the very start there have
been many interpretations
of the Jesus message.

This continued into the
first and second centuriesfrom house churches to
Gnostic versions of
Christianity to segregated
agape meals between rich
and poor and Jews and
gentiles. (I Cor 11:21)

The attempts by
Constantine to impose
unity and order
actually resulted in
division and
persecution- this time
of variant groups.

As can be seen from the
experiences of the early
Christian writers and thinkers
following, the more closely
they sought to define the
nature of God, Jesus, Trinity,
Holy Spirit, the Church, living
the Gospel etc, the more
argument and division seemed
to occur.

The accusations of heresy,
excommunications and division
between the Latin and Greek
church also had some basis in
the inability of each language
to be precisely translated into
the other.
Much of the scholarship and
dissent seemed to arise in
the East- North Africa, Asia
Minor, Constantinople,
Palestine.
Paul, with his classical
upbringing and understanding,
was the first to attempt to
frame the life and teachings of
Yeshua of Nazareth and the
Jewish sect established by his
followers in European
language and thought
processes.
 It was Paul who changed
Yeshua to Jesus and Mashiah to
Christ.
 Paul profoundly shaped how
the Good News would be
presented to the Gentile
world.
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The four gospel
evangelists did not
write biographies of
Jesus: they wrote
cleverly constructed
Chreiai (attributions of
sayings and deeds to a
person for a particular
purpose) of Jesus
drawing on the
techniques of the
Progymnasmata
(literary techniques)
used in the panMediterranean world
of the time.

The evangelists were
writers, not memorisers;
thinkers, not parrots.
They constructed events
and teaching passages in
their gospels (note the
plural) about Jesus for
specific purposes, for
specific audiences.

Some 2nd Century Christian writers 
were influenced by Gnosticism- a
philosophy that drew on elements
of Greek Philosophy,
Zoroastrianism and Egyptian
mystery religions.

Gnosticism taught that only a
select/chosen few were able to
attain the “secret knowledge”
that enabled them to know Sacred
Truths and thus achieve salvation.

Some applied this to the new
Christian teachings and
communities of believers wrote
gospels and accounts of Jesus’
teaching in this style.
The Gospel of Thomas, discovered
in 1946, is an example.

Early orthodox Christian writers
such as Irenaeus, Hippolytus,
Origen, Tertullian and
Epiphanus challenged the
incursion of Gnosticism into
Christianity.
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A second century bishop at
Antioch, Ignatius wrote seven
letters addressed to churches
in Asia Minor while on a
journey to Rome for
execution (110-115 CE). He
strongly condemned
Docetism, which taught that
Jesus only seemed human
and did not really die.
Ignatius was a key figure in
structuring the Early Church.
He worked to consolidate
house churches into a central
authority overseen by the
bishop.
Ignatius based his church
structure on Roman civil
government.

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The Early Church therefore
came to resemble a Roman
municipality with
Elders/bishops and deacons as
authority.
Women, therefore, were
excluded and lost the power
and authority they had held.
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Born in Palestine and a
pagan, Justin converted to
Christianity.
His classical philosophy
came to include his new
faith in Christ.
His First Apology, addressed
to the Emperor, claimed
Christian beliefs and
practices reflected a higher
reason and morality. His
second Apology protested
injustice. His Dialogue with
Trypho records his deep
disagreement with
Judaism.

Justin was martyred
under the reign of
Marcus Aurelius in 165
CE.
 Origen
was born
into a Christian
family in Alexandria
in 185CE.
 He is known as the
greatest scholar and
most prolific author
of the early church.
 Loyal and deeply
spiritual, he tried to
harmonise Greek
philosophy and the
Christian tradition.

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Some of his teachings,
including his belief in
universalism, were
repudiated by the church
and helped to bring about
his later condemnation.
Origen died in 254 under
Decius’ persecution.
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The first major Christian
author to write in Latin,
Tertullian lived in Carthage.
His surviving works date from
196-212 CE.
Tertullian had strong views on
church discipline, remarriage,
fasting and fleeing to avoid
persecution.

Tertullian joined the
Montanists around 207 CE. (A
heretical sect- see Montanus)

The speedy advent of Christ,
and the establishment of the
millennium, are the
fundamental ideas of his
theology as a Montanist.

He coined the phrase:
“the blood of martyrs is
the seed of the church”.
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Basil was born into a
wealthy Christian family
in Caesarea about 330
CE. He chose to live an
ascetic lifestyle on his
family estate in Pontus.
He was dedicated to
biblical study and
compiled an anthology
of Origen’s works.
He was ordained a
presbyter and became
bishop of Caesarea in
370.
Basil’s writings on
monastic life stressed
love and community.

Basil’s studies on
Trinity paved the way
for the work of the
Council of
Constantinople in 381.
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Irenaeus (2nd century – c. 202)
was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul,
then a part of the Roman Empire
(now Lyons, France).
He was an early church father
and apologist, and his writings
were formative in the early
development of Christian
theology.

He was a hearer of Polycarp who
in turn was a disciple of John the
Evangelist, writer of the fourth
Gospel.

Irenaeus' best-known book,
Against Heresies (c. 180) is a
detailed attack on Gnosticism,
which was then a serious threat
to the Church.
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As one of the first great
Christian theologians, he
emphasized the traditional
elements in the Church,
especially the episcopate,
Scripture, and tradition.
Irenaeus wrote that the only
way for Christians to retain
unity was to humbly accept
one doctrinal authority—
Episcopal councils.

ARIUS one of the most
famous heretics was born
about 256, in Libya
(according to others, in
Alexandria); d. 336, at
Constantinople.

Arius denied this, holding
that Christ was of a
different essence, and a
creature of the Father,
though created before the
world.

He held a prominent position
as presbyter in the Church of
Alexandria when the Arian
controversy with Bishop
Alexander began (about 318)
concerning the eternal deity
of Christ and his equality with
the Father (homoousia).

Condemned by the synod
of Alexandria (320),it was
evident that not a few of
the Asiatic churches
favored his ideas. But, in
spite of his many and
powerful friends, Arius
was defeated at the
Council of Nicaea (325),
and banished to Illyria.

Arius was formally
recalled from
banishment; and all the
chiefs of the Eusebian
party were assembled in
Constantinople to receive
him back into the bosom
of the church, when he
suddenly died the day
before the solemnity
(336).

This was interpreted by
the Orthodox as God’s
judgment on his heretical
views.
Aurelius Ambrosius, better known in English as
Saint Ambrose (c. between 337 and 340 –397),
was a bishop of Milan who became one of the
most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th
century. He was one of the four original “Doctors
of the Church.”
 Ambrose was known to be Catholic in belief, but
also acceptable to Arians due to the charity
shown in theological matters in this regard.
 In the confrontation with Arians, Ambrose sought
to theologically refute their propositions, which
were heretical. The Arians appealed to many
high level leaders and clergy in both the Western
and Eastern empires.

 Under
Ambrose's
major influence,
Emperors Gratian,
Valentinian II and
Theodosius I carried
on a persecution of
Paganism. His
defence of monks and
a bishop who
destroyed a
synagogue gave
implicit immunity to
such acts against
Jews throughout the
Empire.
 Ambrose’s
theology
centered around
doctrinal teaching,
priestly ministry;
liturgical flexibility
and Mariology.
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Aurelius Augustinus [more
commonly “St. Augustine
of Hippo,”(354– 430 C.E.)
is considered one of the
most influential thinkers
of the Early church.
One of the decisive
developments in Western
philosophy was the
widespread merging of the
Greek philosophical
tradition and the JudeoChristian religious and
scriptural traditions.
Augustine is one of the
main figures through and
by whom this merging was
accomplished.

Augustine is most
known for his works
Confessions and City of
God.
 In
particular, philosophy for Augustine was
centered on what is referred to as “the
problem of evil”, that is, how to make sense
of and live within a world that seemed so
adversarial and fraught with danger, a world
in which so much of what matters most to us
is so easily lost.
 Augustine’s concepts of Original Sin and the
nature of women had significant impact on
the church’s attitude to the unbaptised and
its negative view of women up to the
present.
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As a direct result of the persecution of
Diocletian, there arose among the
Christians a great enthusiasm for
sufferings, and even for death, for the
sake of the faith.

At that time some Church leaders unwilling to endure torture or death and
become martyrs - had been ready to
take such acts as worshipping the gods
of the old pantheon, considered idols by
Christians, or surrendering church books
and property to the imperial authorities.
Such people became known as traditors
or surrenderers.

One of these "traditors", named
Caecilian, had returned to the fold of
the Church once the persecutions
ended, and was consecrated Bishop of
Carthage and Primate of North Africa.
Those of the faithful who refused
to accept the authority of such a
spiritual leader raised Majorinus
as a rival bishop; however,
Majorinus died shortly after being
consecrated, and it fell to
Donatus to take his place and
continue the struggle.

The Donatists contended that
traditores could not be reinstated
without being re-baptized and reordained to take office. They also
contended that church rituals
performed by traditores were invalid.
Therefore persons who were baptized,
ordained or consecrated should not be
recognized by the Church.

The Roman Church believed that
lapsed clergy could perform rituals
such as baptism as long as they
followed church ritual.

During his tenure of some 40 years
Donatus oversaw the expansion of the
Donatist Christian sect but struggled
unsuccessfully against the Roman
Christian wing to obtain Church
recognition as the legitimate Primate
of North Africa.
Augustine founded the heavyhanded edict against the
Donatists when he wrote: “Why
should not the Church use force
in compelling her lost sons to
return, if the lost sons compelled
others to their destruction? (The
Correction of the Donatists, 22–
24)
Augustine debates the Donatists
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About the middle of the second century
Montanus appeared as a new prophet
in Phrygia.
Prophecy was the most prominent
feature of the new movement.
Ecstatic visions, announcing the
approach of the second advent of
Christ, and the establishment of the
heavenly Jerusalem at Pepuza in
Phrygia, and inculcating the severest
asceticism and the most rigorous
penitential discipline, were set forth as
divine revelations.
In spite of the sensation it created and
the discussion it caused, the movement
remained for a long time within the
Church, but by the late 180’s, it
became necessary for the Montanists to
separate from the Orthodox Church in
Phrygia, and form a schismatic
congregation, organized by Montanus
himself.
Sts Perpetua and Felicity
were Montanist martyrs.
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Condemned in Rome and in its
native country, Montanism
found a new home in North
Africa, and its most prominent
representative in Tertullian.
Montanus advocated fasting,
chastity and martyrdom. He
was strictly orthodox.
Some would argue that
Montanism was simply a
reaction of the old, the
primitive Church against the
obvious tendency of the
Church of the day, - to strike a
bargain with the world, and
arrange herself comfortably in
it.
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Three ancient
witnesses, one of
whom claims to be
contemporary, declare
that Hermas was the
brother of Pope Pius I,
whose pontificate was
not earlier than 140 –
155.
The book consists of
five visions granted to
Hermas, a former
slave. This is followed
by twelve mandates or
commandments, and
ten similitudes, or
parables.

It is a Christian literary work of
the 2nd century, considered a
valuable book by many
Christians, and considered
canonical scripture by some of
the early Church fathers such
as Irenaeus. The Shepherd had
great authority in the 2nd and
3rd centuries.

Titus Flavius Clemens
(c.150 - c. 215), known as
Clement of Alexandria is
counted as one of the
early Church Fathers.

Clement is best
remembered as the
teacher of Origen. He
united Greek philosophical
traditions with Christian
doctrine and valued gnosis
– in his understanding a
term for deeper
knowledge of the Word of
God.
Clement presented the goal
of Christian life as
deification, identified both
as Platonism's assimilation
into God and the biblical
imitation of God.