ERA 1 << Early Church (1): Persecutions (AD 30–300) >> SESSION 2
Reference: Gonzalez, volume 1, chapters 7-9
† 3.1.1 Rumours & misunderstanding of Christian faith
·
Background: Apologists were the scholars who
defended Christianity from enemies outside the church, by refuting the rumours about
Christianity and Christians.
·
Apologetic
method: Negatively, they sought to refute the false
accusations of atheism, immorality, cannibalism, incest, and anti-social behaviour
that pagans levelled against them. Positively,
they developed a constructive approach by showing that in contrast to
Christianity, Judaism, pagan religions, and emperor worship were foolish and
sinful.
† 3.1.2 Christian faith & pagan culture
·
Attitudes
on pagan culture:
Different Christians held 2 different types of attitudes toward the pagan
culture surrounding them: [1]
opposition, or [2] accommodation.
·
Opposition: Most Christians tried to avoid
civil ceremonies where there were sacrifice and vows made to the pagan gods.
But some even avoided the study of classical literature. Later, some withdrew
completely from the society and lived as hermits.
·
Accommodation: They tried to show and explain the
connection between Christian faith and pagan culture, or philosophies, and
pointed out their agreements.
† 3.1.3 Leading apologists
·
East
vs West: Eastern
apologists (using Greek)—Aristides, Justin Martyr, Tatian, Athenagoras,
Theophilus. Western apologists (using Latin)—Tertullian, Minucius Felix.
·
Justin
Martyr
(100–165)—He was a teacher in
·
Tertullian (160–225)—He was an elder in
† 3.2.1 Major heresies during 2nd-c
·
Reasons
for heresies:
Different interpretations of Christianity arose as Christianity was spread to
various regions. Before there was a NT canon
(Scripture), people chose the documents as they pleased to support their own
interpretation of the religion. Some people also mixed other religions and
philosophy with Christian teachings together (syncretism)
and built up new heretical teachings.
† 3.2.2 Ebionites—The Son is not God
·
Beliefs: They believed that Jesus was
Joseph’s son who attained a measure of divinity at baptism.
† 3.2.3 Gnosticism—secret knowledge to salvation
·
Origin: They believed that a lesser god,
identified as Jehovah in OT, created the evil material world.
·
On knowledge: They claimed that only those with
secret and mystic knowledge would get to
heaven.
·
Dualism: They claimed that only spiritual things are good. The final goal is to
escape from the body and this material world in which we are exiled. This leads
to a few conclusions:
o
[1] Docetism [c.110]: They believed
that the body of Jesus was a phantom which only appeared to be fully human.
o
[2] Asceticism: One must control the body
and its passions and thus weaken its power over the spirit.
o
[3] Libertinism: Flesh is bad but spirit is
good, so let the flesh enjoy its evil desire, while the spirit remains good.
·
Problems: It denied many important Christian
doctrines, including creation, incarnation, sacrificial death, and
resurrection. It pandered to spiritual pride as only an aristocratic elite
would go to heaven. Its libertinism encouraged Christians to live in sin.
† 3.2.4 Manicheanism—dualism: god of darkness
· Dualism: They believed in dualism, two opposing and eternal principles—the king of light and the king of darkness. Man was created by the king of light but he was tricked by the king of darkness. Salvation was the liberation of the light in his soul, brought about by exposure to the Light, Christ.
† 3.2.5 Marcionism—OT inspired by an inferior god
·
Beliefs: They chose the Gospel Luke and
Paul’s Epistles as the basis of faith, and discarded the OT.
† 3.2.6 Neoplatonism—absorption into the Absolute Being
·
Beliefs: They believed an Absolute Being as
the transcendent source of all that exists. The goal was re-absorption into the
divine essence. Joy can be achieved with rational contemplation, and by mystical intuition seeking to know God. This movement
contributed to later Christian mysticism.
† 3.2.7 Montanism—new age revealed
·
Reaction
to formalism: They
claimed that their movement was the beginning of a new
age with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to them. It was an age characterized
by a more rigorous moral life.
† 3.2.8 Monarchianism—one Father God
·
Dynamic
Monarchianism: It
taught that Christ was not divine but was merely a good man who, by
righteousness and possession by the divine Logos at baptism, achieved divinity
and saviourhood. This emphasis of the unity of God and the denial of the deity of Christ was an ancient form of
unitarianism.
·
Sabellianism: It taught that Trinity is a manifestation of forms—as Father in OT, as the Son to
redeem man, and as the Holy Spirit after the resurrection of Christ.
† 3.2.9 Finding the common ground against heresies
·
Responses: The church responded by: [1] setting the Canon of NT, [2] establishing the Creed, and [3] pointing out the source of
authority—the apostles, leading to the emphasis of apostolic succession.
† 3.3.1 Defense against heresies
· Background: Polemicists defended the Christianity faith by pointing out the errors of heresies which grew out from inside the church. Eastern polemicists (using Greek) were concerned with metaphysical problems, using allegorical interpretation of the Bible. Western polemicists (using Latin) were more concerned with practical problems, using a grammatico-historical interpretation of the Bible.
† 3.3.2 Leading polemicists
·
Irenaeus
of
·
Clement
of
·
Origen
of
·
Tertullian
of
·
Cyprian
of
|
[1] treasure our heritage |
The
orthodox doctrine of Trinity was developed from struggles. |
|
[2] appreciate God’s providence |
God
raised outstanding apologists and polemicists at the right time. |
|
[3] avoid past errors |
Many
heresies came from groundless speculations. |
|
[4] apply our knowledge |
Methods
used by the apologists are useful for today. |
|
[5] follow past saints |
Polemicists
recognized and encountered the threat of heresies. |