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Hello,

Please give me a summary of the theological history of the church dating from 1st century to 381?

Cynthia

Is this an open book quiz?

This is a discussion forum - not a forum to test one another knowledge. Is there some particular issue or subject during that time period which you would like to discuss?

John

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"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Gal 5:6b

Pastor John C. Blackburn

Try J.N.D Kelly Early Christian Doctrines

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Avid Reader

“Lord, in my zeal for love of truth, let me not forget the truth about love.” - Thomas Aquinas
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It won't get you all the way to 381, but you can get to the 320s by reading Eusebius. His writings are available online. He was a bishop of the church and wrote the church history to that point.

He's easy reading.

He does emphasize the parts of the church he knows best, but his writings are very helpful.

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Cobra (the car, not the poisonous reptile)
all scripture is NRSV unless otherwise noted

You could add something like Stuart G Hall Doctrine and Practice in the Early Church
Subtitled: A Companion to A New Eusebius and Creeds, Councils and Controversies.

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Avid Reader

“Lord, in my zeal for love of truth, let me not forget the truth about love.” - Thomas Aquinas
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Thanks Guys, for the information. I definitely can use this to complete my research.

Cynthia

Cynthia, one more word in support of Eusebius.

Sometimes when we read modern texts about ancient texts, the modern texts clarify by helping describe the local environment.
Other times when we read modern texts about ancient texts, the writers tend to push aside the portions they don't understand or don't agree with.

So going back to the original is always a good idea -- something like reading the Bible first then reading the commentaries on it.

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Cobra (the car, not the poisonous reptile)
all scripture is NRSV unless otherwise noted

Thanks. information most valuable.
cynthia

And let's not forget Latourette's, Schaff's or Shelly's Church Histories for general overviews. Also, as mentioned before check into the writings of the early church fathers for what they though during their respective times. Then it all depends on how focused you want to become. I have a volume about the crisis of church and state in the medieval church. Covers about a hundred years of so. Good scholarship, lots of citations.

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MikeC1956
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know that your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23b NET

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all quotations are by bible translation indicated.

I have been doing some reading here at CCEL.org. NewAdvent.org has been an excellent find as well. This link will take you back to 325 and earlier, to Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, who both wrote in the second century. Irenaeus was a student of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the Apostle John.

http://www.ccel.org/fathers.html

Then I just did a websearch on Martyr and Irenaeus and there are quite a few cites on those guys.

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Oh and I forgot two others which might be of use. John Hannah's "Our Legacy" and Olsen's "The Mosaic of Christian Beliefs."

English Translations of patristic material abounds at http://www.ccel.org as gymbo rightly pointed out.

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MikeC1956
Asst Admin

know that your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23b NET

Statement of beliefs
Code of Conduct
The Bible NETwork Blogs
The NeXt Bible Learning Environment
BeneSHOP: Help support Bible.org at no additional cost to you when you shop!

fides quarens intellectum, credo ut intelligam
faith seeking knowledge, believe to understand

all quotations are by bible translation indicated.

I really started to peruse the ccel.org link this morning and I am amazed so far at what I am reading. I skimmed over the table of contents of "The Apostolic Fathers with Ignatius and Justin Martyr", I scrolled around and read a few chapters, then came upon Ignatius' Epistle to the Smyrnaens. From what I can tell, it was written around the mid to late first century, which makes it pretty darned old! The note on Ignatius says he lived from AD 30-107. It is interesting that there is even a note about Ignatius linking back to Matthew 18:2, apparently stating that little baby Iggy might have been the baby that Jesus was referring to. I doubt there is any proof of this, or how solid the evidence is, but I guess it does not really matter if it is true or not, though it is intriguing to speculate on. The title of the chapter (most of which are very short) that caught my eye in light of some other discussions was "Honour the bishop". Here is most of it:



On another thread, someone kept asking for some early church writings that might describe a perpetual authority that was given to the office that Peter held, so I might post this over there as I think this starts to speak to that question, especially since it only speaks of one bishop overseeing many presbyters, who in turn oversee many deacons (and presumably elders?). I am guessing there is quite a bit more here that I have not even begun to discover, so I will do a little more chapter skimming if time allows this morning and see what pops up. I suppose I should just buy these writings in book form so I have them readily available, but it is also very convenient to have things like this readable on the internet so people can share passages via copying and pasting.

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"AKA 'barpadre' - Site Admin"

I really like Church History in Plain Language by Bruce E. Shelley

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it is good isn't it ..... also I find that a great book to give people as most can understand it and get something out of it.

Another great book is by Kenneth Scott Lattourette, which goes into more depth.

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I found several of his books. Which of them are you referring to?

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