1. Exploring the Church

2. Questions

3. Exploring the Church Questions Recall a time when you were misunderstood.

4. Terms heterodoxy/heresy – a different, contradictory belief or teaching; see 2 Corinthians 11:4, Galatians 1:6

5. Terms orthodoxy – right praise, right belief orthopraxy – right action orthocardia – right heart

7. Driving Question What does authentic Christianity look like?

8. Driving Concern That the church would live out and pass on the Christian faith as inspired by Christ and preached and modeled by the apostles.

9. Challenges in the Early Church 1. Persecution by Roman Leaders  Nero (64 AD)  Decius (250)  Diocletian (303-305)  Galerius (306-311) 2. Post-Apostolic Questions  HOW was Christ Divine?  HOW is God one/united and yet multi-faceted?  What does the Christian faith look like in a complex and diverse world?

10. Challenges in the Early Church 3. Heterodoxies  Gnosticism – from early 2 nd century; good & evil cosmic forces; material world – evil, spiritual – good; “secret knowledge” leading to enlightenment  Marcion – from early-mid 2 nd century, rejected OT, rejected chunks of the NT – only parts of Luke’s gospel and 10 of Paul’s letters were “worthy,” first to “edit” Bible  Arius – early 4 th century, taught that Christ wasn’t fully Divine, God the Son created by God the Father and therefore a lesser being

11. Responses to Challenges 1. Steadfast faith (many times resulting in martyrdom) 2. Networking!! – Church leaders communicated with each other (e.g. – Ignatius & Polycarp) 3. Faithful teaching – 1 Corinthians 11:23, 15:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:15; 2 Timothy 1:13-14, 2:1-7 4. Strong leadership (?)

12. Tertullian (ca. 160-225) from Carthage, Africa considered one of the first people to write about the Christian faith in Latin considered one of the first to use the term “Trinity” wrote against Gnosticism around 207 fell into Montanism, and thus lost respect as a defender of orthodox belief

13. Origen (ca. 184-254) born in Alexandria, Egypt wrote works on biblical study and interpretation, preaching, spirituality, and theology some later teachings strayed from orthodox belief, and thus Origen lost respect as an accurate representative of the faith

14. Athanasius (296-373) born in Alexandria, Egypt deacon and – later – bishop of the church in Alexandria staunch defender of orthodox Christian belief against the Arian heresy

15. Responses to Challenges 1. Steadfast faith (many times resulting in martyrdom) 2. Networking!! – Church leaders communicated with each other (e.g. – Ignatius & Polycarp) 3. Faithful teaching – 1 Corinthians 11:23, 15:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:15; 2 Timothy 1:13-14, 2:1-7 4. Strong leadership (?) 5*. Separation

16. Anthony the Great (251-356) born in Coma, Egypt around age 20, decided to live in the desert as a hermit first major monastic figure to have a biography written about him teachings collected in Sayings of the Desert Fathers

17. Two Developments 1. Roman Emperor began to look favorably on Christianity (312) – Constantine and the Battle of Milvian Bridge 2. First Ecumenical (“all church”) Council (325) – met in Nicaea to decide – among other things – an official, united stance on Arianism and the Trinity

18. Exploring the Church The Lord’s Prayer Our Father in heaven, Your name is holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory belong to you forever and ever. Amen.