Crosses and Pillars

Bryan Northcutt

Description

Recovering an objective view of Church History that reveals the inseparable connection between Scripture, history, and theology.

This book reintroduces ecclesiastical history in a concise manner that speaks both to the laymen and academic, informing them concerning the events and theology that the church struggled with and emerged victorious over the past two millennia. It is an objective study of ecclesiastical history that led the author to a more robust understanding of theology which challenges some of the novel differences in the numerous Protestant denominations of today.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Christian Theology
• Medieval
• Philosophie et théologie
• Edad Media
• Ancient history
• Protestant Reformation
• Theology
• Middle Ages
• History of Christianity
• Réformation
• Ancient
• History

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 07 décembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664285088
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

CROSSES AND PILLARS
 
 
REDISCOVERING CHURCH HISTORY
 
 
 
 
BRYAN NORTHCUTT
 
 
 

 
Copyright © 2022 Bryan Northcutt.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8509-5 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8510-1 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8508-8 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022921841
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 12/06/2022
 
To Angela Northcutt, my incredible wife, who has supported me over a long journey of university and research.
CONTENTS
Preface
Methodology
Unit 1     The Ancient Church
Apostolic Fathers
Irenaeus of Lyons
Tertullian of Carthage
Cyprian of Carthage
Origen of Alexandria
Unit 2     Late Antiquity
Constantine
The Fourth Century
Athanasius
Ambrose of Milan
Chrysostom and Jerome
Augustine of Hippo
Patricius of Ireland
The Fifth and Sixth Centuries
Pope Leo and the Controversy
Gregory the Great
Unit 3     The Medieval Period
Charlemagne: Charles the Great
The Scandinavian Exchange
Constantinople and the East
Islam and the Fall of Rome
The Crusades
St. Anselm and the Argument for God
Thomas Aquinas
The Renaissance
John Wycliffe
Unit 4     The Reformation and Beyond
Luther, Tetzel, Erasmus, and Aristotle
Luther Changed History
The Reformation
John Calvin
The Book of Concord and the Lutherans
The Colloquy of Montbeliard
The Puritans
Radical Reformers
The Separatists
The Baptists
The Great Awakenings
The Nineteenth Century: Heroes and Heresy
Conclusion
 
Reference List
PREFACE
The title and purpose of this book are united in that all religious and historical aspects about Christianity are tied together and hence inseparable. For those who are uninformed of the theology or history, or those who are unfamiliar with both, this book attempts to explain in a unique way how these two aspects of Christianity are indeed connected. It is vitally important, as it is with all of history, to provide a genuine context to our culture and reality in general. It is also significant to note that, in the discipline of history, precise analysis must be executed when interpreting texts that were written to and from cultures from different time periods. Thus, it is important to interpret the Scriptures and writings of past theologians properly rather than just reading them at face value based on present perceptions. While philosophers and scientists spend their lives investigating the universe in which we live, there is a teleological answer that invades history and establishes a plausible and credible resolution to the questions they ask and claim to answer, although inadequately in many cases.
Accordingly, Jesus of Nazareth violated the ancient norms of morality and theology by introducing himself, according to the Gospels, as the incarnate Yahweh so that all people could know and comprehend who the authentic God was that existed among the many polytheistic assertions of the day. The history of Christianity after this incarnation event developed and progressed to further explain not only a religion, but reality itself. No longer was humanity chained to superstitious investigations of the world that predominately resulted in polytheistic explanations. Never again would people be forced to expand their perceptions from the subjective peaks of ignorance. Thus, Christianity is the predominant religion that was founded in historical events that can be investigated and analyzed.
Ironically, a biased misnomer has called the early medieval period the Dark Ages. As we will see, Christianity pulled humanity out of the Dark Ages of antiquity. Whether humans resided in the powerful civilizations that existed or dwelt in the “barbaric” non-ordered societies that surrounded them, the Christians eventually developed humanity into the modern age of philosophy, science, and liberal education. Many Christians today have ignored this rich history and its benefits to humankind, both spiritual and material, to control and dominate those with their teachings and methodologies. It is common to hear pastors in churches or even theologians at universities completely misrepresent history to substantiate a claim they intend to make. If one were to compare this scene to Augustine’s treatise On the City of God Against the Pagans , one might see the Orthodox Church as that celestial city, while those who reject the historical and apostolic interpretation of Scripture to be the barbarians that lie in the hinterlands. That being said, it is not the purpose of this book to harshly judge anyone, ancient or contemporary, as a subject or audience. However, it is sometimes necessary to use clear and direct language to awaken the mind and instruct. Thus, the language employed is never meant to offend or dishearten but to patently teach that which is unique to Christianity, its history, and instruction left to us by those who lived and thought prior to our time on this earth.
METHODOLOGY
As I contemplated how to write about these various topics of church history, it was vitally important for me to bring out the accuracy of each subject. My references include not only primary sources but secondary sources. Sources include secular historians, theologians, and church historians. As I read through many of these sources, I realized considerable bias on the parts of many of the authors and thereby intend to weed out as much of that as possible. Certainly, there are more detailed period-focused books on particular subjects that might better satisfy the academic, but the purpose of this book is to give a brief and accurate account of each of these subjects in ecclesiastical history without losing the reader in the abundant and sometimes confusing details that surround each subject.
Though some may disagree and might accuse me of bias, it is my intent to write this book as objectively as possible, relying on my education in these matters from the several universities at which I have studied. It is also my methodology to use only the most eminent scholarly sources in researching these subjects. I have incorporated a bit of academic snobbery to achieve the highest quality of information since many religious-based books are too heavily corrupted with inaccurate information to substantiate their distinct beliefs. The religious sources I utilized proved to me to attempt to be objective even if they partially failed. That being said, I also used that same methodology toward secular sources that blatantly, without critical thought, attempt to portray the Church as a dark entity to serve their own philosophical agenda. I have limited the use of actual Scripture due to the reality that individuals within Christianity mainly interpret such words according to their own beliefs. This being the case, it is essential to communicate the historical theologians’ interpretation of Scripture and their conclusions on specific topics.
While my writing might seem to be biased toward a particular perspective, my initial objective study of these matters brought me to a better understanding of sacramental theology that many attempt to ignore. Some have rejected sacramental theology due to a misconception of the patristic and medieval Church, a pragmatic view of religion, or their Christology and soteriology. The sacramental theology coincides with the Christology that the patriarchs disseminated and with which many struggled during the Reformation. Hence, I highlight the sacramental topics not because of bias, but owing to the conclusions upon which the Scriptures, history, and theology jointly agree.
UNIT ONE

THE ANCIENT CHURCH

APOSTOLIC FATHERS
FIRST AND SECOND CENTURIES AD
The small, dusty town of Nazareth launched a philosophical war on the massive fertile Mediterranean Empire that resulted in its utter transformation. For millennia, the Mediterranean had been a region of power struggles and dominion, development and exploitation. Though this certainly continued through the powerful and renowned, hope was given to the ignobilem, the obscure and unknown . This new philosophy pulled asunder the columns of ancient thought that rendered humanity impotent to reach its potential as beings created in the image of God. The assault that abolished the burden of a heavy yoke emerged from one, then twelve, and then thousands. Christians were to “take up their cross” to follow Christ, but when the cross of Christ was made known through the Gospels, those tra