1. An
Absurdly
Short
History of
Christianity
Part 1
The Primitive Church

2. Where We’re Going Acts to 313 313 to 1000 1000 to 1517 1517 to 1700
The Primitive
Church
313 to
1000
The Conciliar
Period
1000 to
1517
Divisions
Emerge
1517 to
1700
Western
Reformation
1700 to
1980
Enthusiasm
and Doubt
1980 to
2016
Contraction
and Renewal

3. The Church begins here

5. Speculated dates of composition of NT books
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
Romans 57
I&II Corinthians 56
Galatians 55
Ephesians
Philippians
I&II Thessalonians 51-70
I&II Timothy 100
Titus 100
Philemon
Hebrews
James
I&II Peter
I/II/III John
Jude ???
Revelation 95

6. Speculated dates of composition of NT books
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
Romans 57
I&II Corinthians 56
Galatians 55
Ephesians
Philippians
I&II Thessalonians 51-70
I&II Timothy 100
Titus 100
Philemon
Hebrews
James
I&II Peter
I/II/III John
Jude ???
Revelation 95

7. But back to the story… No formal “succession plan” Did Jesus think his
movement would
last?
What organizational
models did they have?

8. Who should lead? Matthew 16:18-19 seems to favor Peter
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock
I will build my church, and the gates of Hades
will not prevail against it. I will give you the
keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever
you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth will be
loosed in heaven.

9. Who should lead? Other sources favor James
Mentioned in Acts & elsewhere
Paul’s choice to meet with when he
makes peace with the Church

10. Where, by tradition, the Apostles died

11. But who were they?
Were they Jews, or something else?

12. Acts 2:46 Day by day, as they spent much time
together in the temple, they broke bread at home
and ate their food with glad and generous hearts
Acts 5:42 And every day in the temple and at home
they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the
Messiah.
Acts 21:26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day,
having purified himself, he entered the temple with
them, making public the completion of the days of
purification when the sacrifice would be made for
each of them.

13. Friction in the synagogue

14. Zeal rises
Stephen
Paul
James

15. 70 CE – An identity crisis for all…
…and the decline of the Jerusalem church

16. Ebionites
 Paul
Judaizing
May have
held on until
almost 1000

18. Gentile Church
Jewish Church

19. Outside Palestine, others decide
Jewish identity as a shield

20. Persecution Usually local and short-lived
Even official persecutions often ignored
by local authorities
Roman authorities usually more interested
in making apostates than martyrs

21. Persecutions with reliable documentation
up to the Edict of Constantine
~33 CE
313 CE

22. Raised issues in the Church
What to do about those who comply
with legal demands?
What happens when Christians sin?
What is martyrdom? Is it desirable?

23. Cyprian of Carthage If a man deserts the Chair of Peter upon
whom the Church was
built, does he think that
he is in the Church? He
can no longer have God
for his Father who has
not the Church for his
Mother.

24. But some things stick…
All baptisms accepted as legitimate, even
if done by
those who
fled or by
heretics

25. Martyrs inspire the Church
Encourage strength in times
of struggle.
Worry is that
it might be a
little too
appealing???

26. Desert Fathers & Mothers
“Zen” masters of Christianity
Keep the Church aware of its
ascetic roots
Monastic models

27. Meanwhile, back in the Church…
Questions (and answers) begin about
points of theology
A key one: Who and what was Jesus?

28. Docetism Started in 2nd Century Antioch Held that Christ was
spirit, and only appeared to be human
How could God lower Himself to our level?
John fires back with references to Christ coming
“in the flesh”

29. ??? Pieces come together Gentile Converts Beginning of theological
rationale
Gentile
Converts
Pieces come
together
Churches in
many places/
countries
???

30. ??? = Legal status Before 300, Christians were only about 10%
of the population of the Roman Empire
A few were influential, but most were not
So what happened to change things?

31. Roman Empire drifts apart

32. Roman politics
ish
Divide Rome into
East & West

33. Constantine consolidates power

34. Constantine fled to England
to escape court intrigue
Came back with an army
Met his main opponent at the
Milvian Bridge
Before the battle, he had a
vision with the message
“In hoc signo vincere”

35. Constantine in charge
Edict of Milan (313) gives religious liberty
to all, including Christians
Christianity did not become the state
religion of Rome until 380
Constantine himself did not convert until
he was on his deathbed

36. As the scene fades to black…many questions
What happens when Christianity becomes
“official?”
How will the church handle growth?
What about those who fled during the
persecutions?