Tag: Jesus Christ

A Reading Plan for Christian Apologists – Part 3.25

· Leave a comment ·

Reading Plan

We are currently looking at Christian apologetic writings from the 4th century AD. In our last article we saw that the 4th century for Christians exploded into an all-out attempt by the Roman Empire to destroy Christianity. Christian bishop and historian Eusebius of Caesarea lived through the Great Persecution and wrote about it in his well-known Church History.

The persecution came to an end in 313 AD with the Edict of Milan. Emperors Constantine I (Western Empire) and Licinius (Eastern Empire) agreed to allow all people in the Empire to worship the deity of their choice. Christians received their legal rights back and were allowed to own property and organize local church assemblies.

Keep in mind that thousands of Christians died during the Great Persecution – many of them leaders of local churches. What followed the Edict of Milan was the process of Christianity finding its way in a new world that did not include persecution, but did face other strong challenges.

(more…)

Advertisements

Evangelistic Apologetics – The Church Under Attack (Part 29)

·

“This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck.” 1 Timothy 1:18-19

The Fight

We are currently answering seven questions about the spiritual battle Christians find themselves fighting every day. In our last study we looked at the Battleground and the Players on the Field of Battle. We now move to the Strategy of War.

(more…)

Book Review: Christianity At The Crossroads

·

Crossroads ImageChristianity At The Crossroads: How The Second Century Shaped The Future Of The Church (IVP Academic, 2018) will be an excellent addition to anyone’s personal, teaching, pastoral or church library.

Written by Dr. Michael J. Kruger (President and Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina), this new book does a wonderful job demonstrating the importance of the 2nd century to the life and future of the Christian Church.

“There was a time, nearly two thousand years ago, when Christianity was in its infancy. It possessed very little cultural influence, was weak and frail, and found itself fighting for its life. Theological formulations were imprecise and undeveloped, factions and ‘heresies’ were dominant, attacks from pagan philosophers were rampant, and the future was altogether uncertain. On top of all this, Christianity was, for the first time, moving forward without the direct guidance of living apostles and still did not yet have a fully formed New Testament canon.

When was this time? It was the second century. This particular block of time is one of the most critical in the life of the Church – perhaps the moment when it was most vulnerable. It is what we might call the transitional century for the early Christian faith. The Church was out of the apostolic womb and now trying to take its first breath.” Christianity At The Crossroads, Introduction, p 1

(more…)

A Reading Plan for Christian Apologists – Part 3.24

·

Reading Plan

The Christian Church reached a pivotal point as the 3rd century blended into the 4th century. The Great Persecution under Roman Emperor Diocletian and his co-rulers went after Christians with a vengeance. It began in the early part of the 4th century (303 AD) and continued for several years. Their intent was to destroy Christianity.

It is this story of the Great Persecution and its impact on the Christian Church that we now take up in our special series A Reading Plan for Christian Apologists.

(more…)

Book Review: The Extent of the Atonement

· 2 Comments ·

Atonement ImageThe Extent of the Atonement: A Historical and Critical Review (B&H Academic, 2016) is an excellent reference book for your library. At 848 pages this is a powerful tool for preachers and teachers and other serious students of the Bible.

The author, Dr. David L. Allen, is the distinguished professor and director of the Center for Biblical Preaching at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, so he understands what preachers and teachers need for sermon and lesson preparation.

(more…)

The Jesus Seminar Revealed – Part Three

·

Jesus Seminar Revealed

In the last part of our report, we looked at the founder of The Jesus Seminar and Westar Institute, Robert Funk. He was a leader in the new “quest” for the historical Jesus until his death in 2005.

Westar Institute’s “mission” statement claims that the organization “is dedicated to fostering and communicating the results of cutting-edge scholarship on the history and evolution of the Christian tradition, thereby raising the level of public discourse about questions that matter in society and culture.”

Question: how “cutting-edge” is Westar’s scholarship?

(more…)