HC1310: Early Church

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HC1310 Early Church

• INTRODUCTION I
• Kairos

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Ephesians 1.9-10

• For he has made known to us in all wisdom and
  insight the mystery of his will, according to his
  purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan
  for the fullness of time kairos, to unite all
  things in him, things in heaven and things on
  earth.

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Augustus (Octavian) 63 B.C.-14 A.D.
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Battle of Actium 31 B.C.
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Roman Empire
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May it be my privilege to establish the republic
safe and sound on its foundations, gathering the
fruit of my desire to be Roman as author of the
Ideal constitution, and taking with me to the
grave the hope that the basis which I have laid
will be permanent. Augustus
7
The world has peace thanks to the Romans. Even
the Christian can walk without fear on the roads
and travel whithersoever they please. Irenaeu
s
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Greek Thought

• . . .its most striking characteristica
  sustained, highly diversified tendency to
  interpret the world in terms of archetypal
  principles.
• Richard Tarnas, The Passion of the Western Mind,
  p. 3.

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Archetypal Principles

• Geometry
• Arithmetic
• Light
• Love
• Male
• Unity
• Good, Beautiful, Just

• Dark
• Hate
• Female
• Multiplicity

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Stoa Poikile
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Whatsoever is expedient to thee, O World, is
expedient to me. Alexander and his groom were
alike. Both passed and perished. Asia and Europe
are but corners of creation. The ocean is but a
drop. . .the whole present but a point in
eternity. All is petty, mutable,
transient. Marcus Aurelius
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Genesis12.1-3

• Now the Lord said to Abram, Go from your country
  and your kindred and your fathers house to the
  land that I will show you. And I will make of you
  a great nation, and I will bless you, and make
  your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
  I will bless those who bless you and him who
  curses you I will curse and by you all the
  families of the earth shall be blessed.

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If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute
but ¼ of ¼ of the human race. It suggests a
nebulous dim puff of star dust lost in the blaze
of the Milky Way. Properly, the Jew ought hardly
to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always
been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet
as any other people, and his commercial
importance is extravagantly out of proportion to
the smallness of his bulk. His contribution to
the worlds list of great names in literature,
science, art, music, finance, medicine and
abstract learning are also way out of proportion
to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a
marvelous fight in this world in all ages and
has done it with his hands tied behind him. He
could be vain of himself and be excused for it.
The Egyptians, the Babylonians and Persians rose,
filled the planet with sound and splendor, then
faded to dream stuff and faded away the Greeks
and Romans followed, and made a vast noise, and
they are gone other peoples have sprung up and
held their torch high for a time, but it burned
out, and they set in twilight now or are
vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all,
and is now what he has always was, exhibiting no
decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of
his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling
of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are
mortal but the Jew, all other forces pass, but he
remains. What is the secret of his
immortality? Mark Twain (Harpers September,
1899)
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. . . to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the
guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures
on a class hated for their abominations, called
Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom
the name had its origin, suffered the extreme
penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands
of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate, and a
deadly superstition, thus checked for the moment,
again broke out, not only in Judaea, the first
source of the evil, but also in the City, where
all things hideous and shameful from every part
of the world meet and become popular. Tacitus,
Annals, xv, 44,2-8
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Punishment was inflicted on the Christians, a
class of men given to a new and wicked
superstition. Suetonius, Life of Nero, xvi, 2
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Pliny, Letters 10.96-97 Pliny to the Emperor
Trajan It is my practice, my lord, to refer to
you all matters concerning which I am in doubt.
For who can better give guidance to my hesitation
or inform my ignorance? I have never participated
in trials of Christians. I therefore do not know
what offenses it is the practice to punish or
investigate, and to what extent. And I have been
not a little hesitant as to whether there should
be any distinction on account of age or no
difference between the very young and the more
mature whether pardon is to be granted for
repentance, or, if a man has once been a
Christian, it does him no good to have ceased to
be one whether the name itself, even without
offenses, or only the offenses associated with
the name are to be punished. Meanwhile, in the
case of those who were denounced to me as
Christians, I have observed the following
procedure I interrogated these as to whether
they were Christians those who confessed I
interrogated a second and a third time,
threatening them with punishment those who
persisted I ordered executed. For I had no doubt
that, whatever the nature of their creed,
stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy surely
deserve to be punished. There were others
possessed of the same folly but because they
were Roman citizens, I signed an order for them
to be transferred to Rome.
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Soon accusations spread, as usually happens,
because of the proceedings going on, and several
incidents occurred. An anonymous document was
published containing the names of many persons.
Those who denied that they were or had been
Christians, when they invoked the gods in words
dictated by me, offered prayer with incense and
wine to your image, which I had ordered to be
brought for this purpose together with statues of
the gods, and moreover cursed Christ--none of
which those who are really Christians, it is
said, can be forced to do--these I thought should
be discharged. Others named by the informer
declared that they were Christians, but then
denied it, asserting that they had been but had
ceased to be, some three years before, others
many years, some as much as twenty-five years.
They all worshipped your image and the statues of
the gods, and cursed Christ. They asserted,
however, that the sum and substance of their
fault or error had been that they were accustomed
to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing
responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to
bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but
not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not
falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a
trust when called upon to do so.
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When this was over, it was their custom to depart
and to assemble again to partake of food--but
ordinary and innocent food. Even this, they
affirmed, they had ceased to do after my edict by
which, in accordance with your instructions, I
had forbidden political associations.
Accordingly, I judged it all the more necessary
to find out what the truth was by torturing two
female slaves who were called deaconesses. But I
discovered nothing else but depraved, excessive
superstition. I therefore postponed the
investigation and hastened to consult you. For
the matter seemed to me to warrant consulting
you, especially because of the number involved.
For many persons of every age, every rank, and
also of both sexes are and will be endangered.
For the contagion of this superstition has spread
not only to the cities but also to the villages
and farms. But it seems possible to check and
cure it. It is certainly quite clear that the
temples, which had been almost deserted, have
begun to be frequented, that the established
religious rites, long neglected, are being
resumed, and that from everywhere sacrificial
animals are coming, for which until now very few
purchasers could be found. Hence it is easy to
imagine what a multitude of people can be
reformed if an opportunity for repentance is
afforded.
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Superstition (superstitio)

• An anti-social belief grounded in the primitive
  fear of the gods and leading to extreme behavior

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Kingdom of God

• The chief eschatological symbol of Jesus
  preaching. It stands for the sovereign reign of
  God in human life, a reign which exposes the way
  we live and discloses the possibility of
  salvation. In Jesus preaching of the Kingdom,
  salvation comes by means of a decision for God.

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Luke 1229-32

• 29And do not seek what you are to eat and what
  you are to drink, nor be of anxious mind. 30For
  all the nations of the world seek these things
  and your Father knows that you need them.
  31Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things
  shall be yours as well. 32"Fear not, little
  flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to
  give you the kingdom.

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Acts 222-28

• 22 You that are Israelites, listen to what I
  have to say Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to
  you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and
  signs that God did through him among you, as you
  yourselves know-- 23this man, handed over to you
  according to the definite plan and foreknowledge
  of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of
  those outside the law. 24But God raised him up,
  having freed him from death, because it was
  impossible for him to be held in its power.
  25For David says concerning him, I saw the Lord
  always before me, for he is at my right hand so
  that I will not be shaken 26therefore my heart
  was glad, and my tongue rejoiced moreover my
  flesh will live in hope. 27For you will not
  abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One
  experience corruption. 28You have made known to
  me the ways of life you will make me full of
  gladness with your presence.

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Acts 242-47
42They devoted themselves to the apostles'
teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread
and the prayers. 43Awe came upon everyone,
because many wonders and signs were being done by
the apostles. 44All who believed were together
and had all things in common 45they would sell
their possessions and goods and distribute the
proceeds to all, as any had need. 46Day by day,
as they spent much time together in the temple,
they broke bread at home and ate their food with
glad and generous hearts, 47praising God and
having the goodwill of all the people. And day by
day the Lord added to their number those who were
being saved