Download Early Church History - Christian Ethics 20

Early Church History
~30-500 A.D.
Emerging Church
Medieval Church
Renaissance Church
Enlightenment Church
Modern Church
500-1000
1000-1500
1500-1700
1700-1900
1900-2000+
When we last left him…
• The life and teaching of Jesus Christ wrapped up with his
death, resurrection and ascension into heaven.
Matthew 28
18 And
Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything
that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with
you always, to the end of the age.”
And once he’s gone…
• After his ascension, Christ’s disciples lock themselves up in a
room, afraid of the authorities.
• Then something happens…
Acts 2
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all
together in one place.2 And suddenly from heaven there
came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled
the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided
tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue
rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the
Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the
Spirit gave them ability.
The Church Begins
With the descent of the Holy Spirit at
Pentacost, the apostles and disciples of
Jesus transformed from looking inward
to themselves into going forth into the
world to accomplish what Jesus asked
of them.
This moment is considered the birth of
the Church.
Mission Impossible
• All apostles go out to accomplish what
Jesus asked of them: make disciples of all
nations.
• Ironically, the Roman Empire which killed
Jesus provided many aids to evangelization
• Common language (Greek)
• Established trade routes
• Rule of law
Paul of Tarsus
• Originally named Saul, a Pharisee who
persecuted the Christian community
• After an encounter with Christ, becomes
the “Apostle to the Gentiles” extensively
travelling through the Empire, establishing
Churches.
• He also wrote the earliest books of the
Bible, letters to the Churches he founded,
which established the theology of Jesus.
Paul’s Journeys
Come together: Council of
Jerusalem
• Paul ends up convincing and converting many
people who are not Jewish: Gentiles
• As these people enter into faith, a crucial
question emerges: Do they need to become Jews
to become Christians?
• Paul and others say no. James and others say
yes.
• They come together and make a decision: as
long as Gentiles obey some key rules of Judaism,
they can be Christians ~49 A.D.
But the problems don’t end…
• Paul of Tarsus is arrested for preaching Jesus and is
executed in Rome
• Emporer Nero blames Christians for a fire in 64 A.D.
and has them killed.
• Over the next three centuries, Roman Persecution
continues, in which Christians are harassed, tortured
and executed.
• These persecutions would come and go in different
areas of the Empire under different Emperors
Back to the Jews
• So the Roman Empire, as Gentiles, did not love
Christians
• But more tension existed between the Christian and
Jewish communities
• Christians included non-Jewish Gentiles
• The Jews revolted against Rome in 67-70A.D. but
Christians refused to fight
• The Jewish Temple was destroyed, erasing what was
the centre of Jewish religious life
Council of Jamnia, ~90A.D.
Difficult to determine the historical facts, but:
• Jews gathered in aftermath of Temple
destruction to decide how to continue.
• Many different forms of Judaism were tolerated
when the Temple stood as a unifying force.
• No Temple, no unity; other forms of Judaism
were barred from the synagogue, the new centre
of Jewish religious life.
Perpetua and Felicity of Carthage
• 203 A.D. It is illegal to become Christian
• Perpetua and Felicity are two young women who
are catechumens – converts to faith
• They refuse to renounce their faith and are
sentenced to death in the arena by scourging,
wild animals, and gladiators
• Perpetua had a young child left behind; Felicity
was pregnant and delivered her child in prison
awaiting execution
Perpetua and Felicity of Carthage
• The account of their arrest was written by
Perpetua, the daughter of a Roman noble
• Felicity was her slave
• Perpetua had a vision of the next world
she recorded before her execution
Perpetua and Felicity of Carthage
• This story is important because
• It is written in a woman’s voice when women
generally never left home, never were
educated
• It revealed equality between noble and slave
• It recorded a mystical revelation, showing that
God still spoke to his people after the death of
the Apostles (Scripture and Tradition)
• It was a part of the martyrdom tradition that
shaped the church
Edict of Nantes
• By 313 A.D., Christianity is established
throughout the Empire, but still
“underground and hipster” to be
Christian.
• Emperor Constantine proclaims
religious tolerance for all faiths.
• Constantine becomes first Christian
Emporer
Council of Nicea, 325 A.D.
• Many different forms of Christianity spread out and
persecuted.
• Now that it’s out in the open, Constantine wants Christians to
be united in faith, and so calls a Council.
• At the Council, the divinity of Christ is affirmed.
• It marks the beginning of officially sanctioned Christianity –
recognized by the state.
Setting up for next episode…
• Constantine moves the capital of the Empire to
Constantinople in the East.
• This begins a balance of power between Rome and
Constantinople that we continue to feel today.
• Later, Rome is sacked in 455 A.D. Lots of people call this the
beginning of the “Dark Ages”
Sacked?
Sacked!