Tammy’s Reviews > Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought > Status Update

From 313 to 451, theology rose to the surface to find consensus in Christian doctrine. As the church in Rome gained more power, the church in Constantinople resisted. Throughout the empire, there were more seats of influence: Alexandria, Antioch (Syria), a couple of places in North Africa. Quote from Denman, “Controversy brings clarity.” He also recommends the Didache (1st century church practices).

Diocletian stepped down in 305 and retired to Croatia (his homeland). The persecution ended in 311, just two years before Constantine became emperor. We know the story about Constantine’s conversion as well as his mother’s pilgrimage to identify holy sites in Judea. The church went from persecution to being accepted and in 321 he declared Sundays as public holidays. I wonder what the work week was like before that.

Strength in numbers cause sporadic persecution, but it wasn't until the third century that major persecution happened (Edict of Decius in June 250). All had to sacrifice to Roman gods and the emperor. Thousands of Christians were persecuted. It ended when Emperor Decius was killed. The worst was under Diocletian: they destroyed churches, burned books, and were enslaved.

The second century was apologetics: a reasoned defense of faith to counter the Greek philosophers. Pulling away from Judaism stripped off some protection. Apologetics helped explain Christianity but did not deter persecution. Theology did not emerge until persecution ended. In the first century, Christianity spread throughout the empire with a foothold of Rome. It was not legally recognized but not forbidden.

Four difficulties in studying the patrists are: some issues important in their time do not interest us; philosophical ideas of the day (Platonism) seem confusing; in this age of flux there was great doctrinal diversity (like today); the divide between West (Latin speakers) and East (Greek speakers) causes confusion. First century issues were sorting out Jewish and Christian practices.

Unfortunately, modern people are not equipped to read the writing of early theologians to get a correct understanding. They struggle with terms like patristic. Most churches see this time as a landmark in the development of doctrine. Lancelot Andrew's "two testaments, three creeds, four gospels, five centuries of church history." I love his definitions as a geometry teacher.

Love connects to suffering because we wonder if God can fully love if he does not empathize with suffering. Jesus wept, so I say yes, but modern theologians still discuss this. Historical theology makes us aware of arguments and heresies of the past, so we don't repeat the errors of the past. Historical theology informs systemic theology. Today has a resurgence in reading Chiristian classics which gives us new eyes.

It helps us identify what’s already been discussed, the strenghts and weaknesses of how it was approached, and know the landmarks of Christian thought. It also serves to correct our thinking. We can learn why certain doctrines became important when they did and understand how theology adapted to a particular time. He illustrates the idea of God not suffering came from Greek ideas about perfection and God.

Another question is whether God can suffer and that is an interesting question in light of Jesus suffering on the cross. The issue is the spirit of the study: if the sole purpose is looking for error, then that is not a posture of humility. Looking for ideas (spirit of the age) is very helpful because they yield fruit. Nothing is new under the season and the minds of the past wrestle with the questions we ask.

They examined the work of early patristic writers as well as scholars in the Middle Ages. The Enlightenment triggered another examination because they believed dogma that developed because of the culture of those eras may be incorrect (which is why we have chaos today). They reject essentials of Christian belief as dogma--the incarnation for example--because they believe it came from Greek philosophy.