Fall Sunday School Recap
This past week we ended our Sunday School series on early and medieval church history. We covered about 1400 years, beginning with the Apostolic Fathers in the 2nd century and ending with the Scholastics of the late Middle Ages. Along the way we discussed important figures such as Athanasius, Augustine, and Anselm; as well as important events like the fall of Rome, the split between East and West, and the rise of the papacy. We did our best to avoid white washing our heroes or purposely painting those we disagree with in a bad light. The Golden Rule applies even to how we read history and talk about those in the past! We need to study church history with humility and thankfulness. The church today owes an incredible amount to those who have come before us and laid a solid foundation of truth.
This article summaries the course and gives suggested resources.
The Apostolic Fathers
The period of time directly after the close of the New Testament is referred to as the time of the Apostolic Fathers. Stretching from 90-140 AD, this short time period was crucial. Who led the church after the apostles? How did the early church worship? Were there any big developments?
This class period identifies several of the important leaders (Clement of Rome, Polycap, Ignatius) as well as important works that still survive to this day (Didache, Letter to the Philippians, Shepherd of Hermes). Major developments are also discussed, such as how leadership in the early church functioned and what a typical worship service would have looked like.
Apologists and Heretics
The third century was full of activity. Theologians such as Tertullian and Origen are busy writing some of the church’s first extensive reflections on theology. Their influence was not contained to the 200’s, but was felt for many more years. This was also a time of persecution, intense in some areas of the empire but less so in others. These were the days before Constantine.
The church also had to deal with erroneous teachings, such as gnosticism. What do the scriptures have to say about a supposed secret knowledge? How does the term catholic relate to this? To add even more pressure, there were multiple crisis outside the church as well.
The Golden Age of the Early Church (4th & 5th Century)
This is the time of Athanasius, Ambrose, John Chrysotom, Jerome, Augustine, the Cappodocian Fathers. These two centuries also hosted two of the most important councils in church history: Nicea and Chalcedon. This class was an overview of the times.
Constantine's conversion changed the relation between the church and government forever. While many Christians admired his leadership in the life of the church, others thought it was wrong for him to meddle in the affairs of the church. Church teaching also developed further in this time. The central debate was on the doctrine of the Trinity, but there was also a development in understanding tradition and its role in church life. Tradition was considered to be the unwritten apostolic tradition that was handed down from the apostles concerning church organization and worship.
This class ended by looking at the life of three major figures who exemplified this time period: John Chrysotom (the Preacher), Jerome (the Scholar), and Augustine (the Theologian).
The Council of Nicea
This class was a detailed look at the Nicene Creed. What does it say? Why does it say it? Why does it say it like that?
Constantine called the Council of Nicea together in 325 to clarify the most important question one can ask: who is Jesus? The debate was about how the Son of God is truly God. The Arians answered this question by denying the Trinity, stating that the Son of God was the first and most powerful of all the creatures that God made. He is therefore not God in an absolute sense, although he is more powerful than humanity. The Nicene position ascribed full divinity to the Son of God as one who is eternally begotten from the Father, not made. A third party, often forgotten, was the Oriegeist party. This group followed the lead of Origen, claiming there could be degrees of divinity, and the Son was perhaps several degrees less divine than the Father.
Arianism persisted in the decades following the council of 325, but due to the careful exegetical work of the Capaddocians and others to clarify terms, another council was called in Constantinople in 381 which reaffirmed the Nicene Creed. The Nicene and Oriegenist parties united in their understanding, and Arianism was deposed.
The Chalcedonian Definition
Nicea answered the question “Who is Jesus?” by declaring his full divinity. The next question to be answered was “How is Jesus both divine and human?” How is He both God and man? Chalcedon is about Christology.
Just as there were multiple parties which came together at Nicea, there were two main groups that came together at Chalcedon. The Antiochenes emphasized a distinction between Christ’s human and divine natures, keeping them as far apart as possible for fear that limitation would be placed on the divine nature. The Alexandrians emphasized the divine nature of Christ, keeping the two natures always as close as possible, which often resulted in the human nature being absorbed into the divine. In effect, Chalcedon combined the best aspects of both Christologies.
The Life & Times of Augustine
Augustine is a towering figure in the church. He casts a long shadow that is still seen today. Having lived during the sack of Rome in 410, he functions as a hinge between antiquity and the middle ages. His great work The City of God was written in response to the world seemingly crumbling around him.
This class period looks in depth at Augustine's life: his early years, conversion, and work in the ministry. He was involved in two major controversies: the Donatist schism in North Africa and a theological debate with the British monk Pelgaius on original sin and free will. Interesting bits of information, such as neoplatonism, are also discussed.
Medieval Europe
This class period covered several hundred years of medieval history. The East / West Schism is explained, highlighting how Europe's center of gravity shifted during this time period. The rise of the papacy is explained, as well as doctrinal developments such as sacerdotalism.
Europe as a whole also faced an existential threat: the Islamic conquests. As Muslim armies conquered more and more land both the church and society at large were forced to respond. The crusades are not detailed in this episode, but rather the Islamic beliefs that fueled this “evangelism by scimitar.”
Medieval Spirituality
There were two major stands of medieval spiritually: Monasticism and Scholasticism. They both had the “beatific vision” as the highest end, but advocated very different ways of achieving it.
Monasticism began in the 4th century and became popularized by Athanasius' biography of Antony. In the middle ages monasticism became more united (and more diverse in another sense) as orders began to arise in the West. In the East there was not as much variety, as almost all groups adhered to some version of Basil of Caesarea’s rule drawn up in the 4th century.
The rise of the university produced scholasticism, which literally could be translated as school theology. This class described scholasticism not in terms of the content it produced, but the method it used (dialectic method, disputations, etc).
Thomas Aquinas & the Scholastic Project
As Augustine stood near the end of the early church and functioned as a hinge into the middle ages, so Thomas Aquinas functions as a hinge out of the middle ages. He is the greatest of the schoolmen and regarded by many as one of the best theologians of all time (per RC Sproul!). His major works highlight what the Scholastic project was all about: systemization. The Scholastic project was a “bookish project aimed at systematizing all the information the church had produced before.”
Several major theologians involved in the Scholastic project are discussed alongside Aquinas, and many first hand examples are used to illustrate how these theologians thought and taught.
Recommended Resources
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An excellent overview of Church history written by Nick Needham. These five volumes are highly recommended!
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2 volume work written by Justo Gonzalez that is easy to read. Smaller than Needham’s 5 volume.
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A short book by Sinclair Ferguson which covers one or two major events from each century of Church history.
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John Piper’s biographical sermons transcripted. He often uses a figure from history in order to teach certain doctrines.
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A newer work by baptist theologian Matthew Barrett which shows the continuity between the early & medieval church and the Reformation. This is a very academic book.
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An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature by C. S. Lewis.
This book helps to explain the medieval times.
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There is no better resource on the Nicene Creed & the Chalcedonies Definition than the documents themselves.
The Athanasian Creed is a later combination of both Nicea and Chalcedon that is very helpful.
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Thomas Aquinas summary of the faith. There are things that we would disagree with, but his work on doctrine of God is very good. This work also provides the perfect medieval example of Scholasticism.