The History of the Christian Church

Este 4° episodio se titula, “Mártires.”Las tácticas del marketing moderno han producido, y ahora alimentan la obsesión de la cultura contemporánea de tener "lo mas nuevo." La etiqueta de "nueva y mejorada" es una característica frecuente en los envases. Era el caso contrario en el 1° siglo en Roma. Los Romanos, y en verdad la mayoría del mundo antiguo, eran sospechosos de lo nuevo y novedoso,...

03-El Episodio de esta semana se llama “Estratégico”Terminamos el ultimo podcast con un corto resumen de las diferentes perspectivas los Cristianos de la 1° y 2° Generación. El debate se centraba en el rol que tenia la ley Judía para los seguidores de Jesús. Los Judíos de la 1° Generación que estaban culturalmente inmersos enfatizaban la importancia de llevar la ley al pie de la letra, mientras lo...

02- Este episodio de CS se titula - “Transiciones”Terminamos el episodio previo con Jesús en la cruz a las afueras de Jerusalén un viernes en la tarde. Los lideres Judíos y Romanos pensaban que eso seria lo ultime de este profeta problemático de Galilea. De la misma manera, sus seguidores mas cercanos pensaban que también era el final.¿Si eso HUBIERA sido el final de la historia de Jesús, como pie...

Este episodio #1 de CS se titula, “El Comienzo” El mejor lugar para empezar es en el principio, ¿pero donde es eso exactamente en la Historia de la Iglesia? ¿Donde empezamos? La mayoría de Cristianos CONTEMPORANEOS probablemente empezarían con Jesús. Y eso es razonable. Pero adonde empezarían los PRIMEROS Cristianos ?Ellos eran Judíos y pensaban que lo que creían eran una forma mas pura del Judaís...

Think I’m on safe ground when I say à Those listening to this are mostly likely students of history. Your knowledge of the past is probably more comprehensive than the average person. And of course, the range of knowledge among subscribers to CS spans the gamut from extensive to, well, not so much . Yet still, more than the average. If asked to make a list of the main thinkers of the past; philoso...

Taken as a whole, leaders demonstrate a wide array of skills and talent. While great leaders often exhibit some consistent marks, there’s simply no set script they follow. No inventory of essential traits all must possess to excel. Indeed, some great leaders demonstrate contradictory traits from each other. One is gregarious, another reserved. Once is upbeat and energetic, another taciturn and sub...

During the early-mid 19 th C, an interesting phenomenon spread over the thinking of parts of Western Europe and the US. It was a general negativity about the present, but a strong optimism about the future. In some places, it was almost giddy. The current political and economic situation might be a mess and the number of social ills piling higher. But the Enlightenment’s promise of a bright new da...

In this episode of CS, we’ll take a look at something many of our listeners are familiar with; at least, they think their familiar with it – Evangelicalism . Not a few of them would describe themselves as Evangelicals .  But if pressed to describe what exactly that means, they’d be hard pressed to say. And they have little to know awareness of the historical roots of the movement they are indeed a...

In this Episode of CS we’ll take a look at a figure of church history anyone who’s done any reading in such has likely encountered – Eusebius of Caesarea. He’s a prominent figure because he’s known as the Father of Church history for his classic work Ec clesiastical History which charts the course of the early church from its inception to the late 3 rd C.His history of the Church was originally co...

In his marvelous one volume book on Church History, Bruce Shelley relates how the World Council of Churches came up with its motto. In 1962, its General Secretary, Willem Hooft, met a delegation of Russian Orthodox leaders in a Leningrad hotel over breakfast. The Russians complained the current WCC motto left out a crucial element of their theology, without which they couldn’t join.  They needed t...

The title of this episode, Part 6 in the Series 500 Yrs, in commemoration of the Half-Millennial anniversary of The Reformation, is “The Way It Was;” a brief look at popular religion of the Middle and Late Middle Ages in Europe. (more…)

https://storage.googleapis.com/communio-sanctorum/500Years-Part05.mp3As we come up to the 500 year anniversary of Reformation Day, when Martin Luther tacked his revolutionary list of exceptions to current church practice and belief to the Castle Church door in the German town of Wittenberg, we’re faced with the realization that the Reformation embraced many more people than the popular telling of...

His family name was “Black Earth,” as in the rich, fertile soil around his hometown. In German, Schwartzerdt. His first name was Philipp. He was born in Feb of 1497 at Bretten in SW Germany. His father was an armorer for an important German Count. (more…)

By necessity due to time, we ended the last episode in the middle of recounting Luther’s great conversion experience, where he realized the righteousness  God requires isn’t one borne of good works, but is the righteousness of God Himself, which He gives freely to those who put their faith in the atoning work of Christ. (more…)

We left off last time with the close of the Diet of Worms where Martin Luther informed the august assembled officials of both civil government & Church, that he’d not recant what he’d either written or said, because his opponents weren’t able to refute him with Scripture. (more…)

Since we’re rapidly approaching the 500 th Anniversary of the Reformation, we begin a short series on it’s beginning. (more…)

In Season 1 we spent a little time tracking the Enlightenment’s impact on the Christian Faith. Dual impetuses emerged; one leading to Liberalism , the other to Fundamentalism, which was the reaction of Orthodoxy to the challenges of Liberalism. (more…)

Years ago I watched a TV show with fascination as the host, james Burke, started with a single item then over the course of the next hour, showed it’s link to something else, then that to something else, until after a dozen seemingly disconnected links it arrived at some marvel of modern convenience and daily life. The show was called Connections. It’s one of several things that stoked my love of...

One of the most interesting moments in Church History comes in the conflict over the use of images in Worship. It’s born of the reality that Christianity has its roots in Judaism but had vast appeal among pagan Gentiles. (more…)

One of the features of Church History is the tendency for the theological pendulum to swing to one extreme, then back in the other direction to another. At the risk of being simplistic but in an attempt to keep it brief, let me condense things like this . . . (more…)

As we’ve seen in other episodes, theologically, the Church spent the 4 th & 5 th Cs figuring out exactly how to articulate what it believed about the nature of God & Jesus. The main questions it dealt with in the 5 th thru 7 th Cs, centered on how God saves the lost. Theologians were consumed with properly understanding God’s grace, free will, and the nature of sin. Just what happened in t...

This episode of CS will be significantly different from our usual fare. Whereas when I give commentary on things, I usually verbally mark it off by giving a caveat and saying I’m offering an opinion. Well, this entire episode is that. Here’s why . . . and hang with me for a bit because it’s going to take a little time to explain. (more…)

We’re going to go forward in time from our last episode nearly a millennium. Last time we talked about the Gnostics and the serious challenge they presented the Early Church. The dualism that lay at the heart of Gnosticism continued to rear its hoary head in the centuries that followed. It was part & parcel of the Zoroastrianism & Manichaeanism rooted in Persia and was the official faith o...

For 2 nd generation Christians—let’s say, those who came to faith after AD 70, Jesus became less a person they’d personally known, or the friend of a friend—but more of a mysterious agent in a cosmic drama. (more…)

We start a new series here in Season 2 of CS. This time we’ll take a look at some of the notable Heretics & Heresies in Church History. Most of these we covered in Season 1. This time we’ll go a bit deeper. As we do, we just might discover that some of those movements and groups that have been classed as heretical, weren’t. Aberrant maybe, but heretical, not! As has been said; Winners write hi...