Podcasts about against heresies

Psalm 104Reading 1: Romans 8Reading 2: From the treatise Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus, bishopSt. Helena Ministries is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit. Your donations are tax-deductibleSupport us at: sthelenaministries.com/supportPresentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975

In AD 180, Charismatic ministry was very different than today. By God's grace, we need to somehow recover what was lost.Irenaeus (AD 180) - “Those who are in truth His disciples, receiving grace from Him, do in His name perform miracles, so as to promote the welfare of others, according to the gift which each one has received from Him. For some do certainly and truly drive out devils, so that those who have thus been cleansed from evil spirits frequently both believe [in Christ] and join the Church. Others have foreknowledge of things to come: they see visions and speak the prophecies they have received. Others still, heal the sick by laying their hands upon them, and they are healed. Moreover, as I have said, even the dead have been raised and remained among us for many years. And what more can I even say? It is not even possible to number all of the gifts which the Church, throughout the whole world, has received from God, in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and which Christians demonstrate daily for the benefit of the unbelievers, neither deceiving them nor taking any financial reward from them [on account of such miraculous ministry]. For as Christians have received freely from God, freely also do they minister [to others]” Matt. 10:8  (Against Heresies, Book 2, Chapter 32, Section 4)

Psalm 89Psalm 90Reading 1: Revelation 9Reading 2: From the treatise Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus, bishopSupport us at: sthelenaministries.com/supportPresentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975

Psalm 38Reading 1: Exodus 19Reading 2: From the treatise Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus, bishopSupport us at: sthelenaministries.com/supportPresentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975

Psalm 78Reading 1: Exodus 3Reading 2: From the treatise Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus, bishopSupport us at: sthelenaministries.com/supportPresentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975

Irenaeus of Lyons was a pivotal figure in the early Church, bridging the apostolic era and the development of Christian orthodoxy. A student of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John, Irenaeus defended against Gnostic heresies, articulated the scriptural canon, and innovated theological concepts. His work, Against Heresies, refuted Gnostic dualism and solidified core Christian beliefs like the unity of God and the incarnation. Irenaeus also championed the "Rule of Faith" and episcopal authority as safeguards of authentic apostolic tradition. His doctrine of recapitulation framed Christ as the "New Adam," restoring humanity's relationship with God. www.twinsbiblicalacademy.com

Psalm 102 Reading 1: 1 Thessalonians 4 Reading 2: From the treatise Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus, bishop Support us at: sthelenaministries.com/support Presentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975

Psalm 18 Reading 1: Sirach 24 Reading 2: From the treatise Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus, bishop sthelenaministries.com Presentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975

Revelation, Session Two Christ the Savior, Anderson SC Fr. Anthony Perkins Sources: The translation of the Apocalypse is from the Orthodox Study Bible. Lawrence R. Farley, The Apocalypse of St. John: A Revelation of Love and Power, The Orthodox Bible Study Companion (Chesterton, IN: Ancient Faith Publishing, 2011), Bishop Averky, The Epistles and the Apocalypse (Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament, Volume III. (Holy Trinity Seminary Press, 2018). Andrew of Caesarea, Commentary on the Apocalypse, ed. David G. Hunter, trans. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou, vol. 123, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2011). Venerable Bede, The Explanation of the Apocalypse, trans. Edward Marshall (Oxford: James Parker and Co., 1878). William C. Weinrich, ed., Revelation, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005). Correction from Last Week Revelation was removed from active use because it was being used to support the Marcionists, not the Gnostics [or Montanism as I said in the class!]. The Orthodox Study Bible; “[I]n the second and third centuries Revelation was widely twisted and sensationally misinterpreted, and the erroneous teachings brought troublesome confusion to Christians – a trend that continues to this day.” Review of Last Week The Church wants us to be aware of the Last Judgement but from WITHIN the sacraments and the “good defense” God gives us through them.  Authorship and Dating of the Work The author was St. John the Theologian St. John's disciple Papias of Hierapolis, St. Justin the Martyr (lived in Ephesus), St. Irenaeus (disciple of Polycarp of Smyrna who was a disciple of St. John), St. Hippolytus (disciple of St. Irenaeus), St. Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian and Origen were early leaders of the Church who knew and witnessed to this. The work itself (see 1:2; also exile on Patmos). The date of the work is AD 95/96 St. Irenaeus; Against Heresies (5.30.3) Purpose of the Work To show things that must shortly come to pass (1:1). Pastoral protection and encouragement to the early Church against state persecution and (internal) heresy. Apokalypsis means uncovering of something that has been hidden. Style and Interpretation of the Work Apocalyptic Literature.  A “visceral” (Fr. Lawrence) and heavily symbolic genre.  It is meant to be prophetic in every sense of the word. “It is a human work.  But it is also an apostolic work, and as an apostle, John tells the truth, striving to convey to us the substance and power of what the Lord revealed to him for our sake.” (Fr. Lawrence) What are we to make of the diverse interpretations offered by saints? Not to be taken literally in the modern sense; “Thus, for example, a literalistic understanding of the images of this book has given occasion, and even now continues to give occasion, for the false teaching of “Chiliasm” – the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth.” (Bishop Averky) Bishop Averky says four main categories of interpretation (and calls for a combination): Visions and symbols of the “last times” (end of the world, the anti-christ, second coming) Description of the historical pagan Roman persecutions against the Church in the first century. Look for realization of the prophecies in recent history. Allegorical and moral meaning. The Orthodox Study Bible: “Faithfulness in tribulation” is the main theme, with subthemes of Divine Judgment of human wickedness and The symbolic presentation of most major New Testament teachings concerning eschatology, the study of the last things. 1:1. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants – things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John. Andrew of Caesarea. “An apocalypse is the manifestation of hidden mysteries when the intellect is illuminated either through divine dreams or according to waking visions from divine enlightenment. To be given to Christ, it says, making this statement about him especially with respect to his human , since in the Gospel he above all others dwelt on the sublime and things that befit God. And here, the magnitude of the divinity of Christ is shown through the attending angel, and through the name of the teaching servants, for “all things are his servants.” The must come to pass soon means that some of the predictions concerning them are to come to pass immediately thereafter and the things regarding the end are not to be delayed, because “one thousand years” to God is “like yesterday's day, which is reckoned as having elapsed.” St. Bede. The revelation of Jesus Christ.  The progress with which the Church that had been founded by the Apostles was to be extended, or the end with which it was to be perfected, had need to be revealed, in order to strengthen the preachers of the faith against the opposition of the world. And John, in his own manner, refers the glory of the Son to the Father, and testifies that Jesus Christ has received from God. shortly. That is, which are to happen to the Church in the present time. signified. He wrapped up this revelation in mystical words, that it might not be manifested to all, and become lightly esteemed. angel. For an angel appeared to John in the form of Christ, as will be seen more clearly in that which follows. John. That through John He might lay open to all His servants the things which he, by the privilege of a peculiar chastity, obtained above all others to behold. Oecumenius: When it is said to him, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him,” it is as though he said, “This revelation is given from the Father to the Son, and then from the Son to us,” his servants. By calling the saints the “servants” of Christ, he safeguards what is proper to his deity. For, to whom would men belong, unless to him who is the Maker and Creator of humankind? And who is the Creator of human-kind and of all creation? No one other than the only begotten Word and Son of God! For, the present author says in the Gospel, “All things were made through him.” And why does he wish to add “what must soon take place,” although those events which will take place have not yet occurred, even though a considerable span of time has passed, more than five hundred years, since these words were spoken? Because to the eyes of the eternal and endless God all ages are regarded as nothing, for, as the prophet says, “A thousand years in your sight, O Lord, are as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.”3 For this reason, therefore, he added “soon,” not to indicate a measure of time which must pass before the fulfillment of what must happen, but to indicate the power and eternality of God. For to him who is, any passage of time, even should it be great and considerable, is something small when compared with that which is unending   1:2. Who bore witness to the Word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.   OSB: Testimony of Jesus refers to a witness concerning Jesus; not the testimony of Christ Himself. Andrew of Caesarea.  “Christ,” he says, “declared these things to me through an angel, as a master to a household servant, as I had borne witness to my confession to him,” of which, on the basis of the visions to bear witness and, in view of the return of those who hear, to preach both the things which are and which escape human understanding and the things which will occur in the future, for, prophetically, he had seen them both. And clear from what he says: those things which are and those which must come to pass. These are descriptions both of the present time and of the future. St. Bede; testimony. That thou mayest not doubt of the person of John, he is the same who gave testimony to the eternal Word of God incarnate, according as he saw, saying, “Whose glory we saw, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father.”   1:3.  Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. Andrew of Caesarea.  He blesses those who read and hear through the actions, for the present time is near, through which it is possible to acquire the blessing, and to all the work is laid open. As the Lord says, “Work [13] while it is day.” And elsewhere, the time is near, the time of the distribution of prizes, on account of the brevity of the present life in comparison to the future. St. Bede. Blessed. Teachers and hearers are therefore blessed, because they who keep the Word of God find that a short time of labour is followed by everlasting joys. Averky; “The book of the Apocalypse has, consequently, not only a prophetic but also a moral significance.  The meaning of these words is as follows: blessed is he who, reading this book, will prepare himself by his life and deeds of piety for eternity, for the translation to eternity is near for each of us. Fr. Lawrence.  Seven beatitudes (blessings) are pronounced upon (Fr. Lawrence): 1:3 “the one who reads and the ones who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things which are written in it” 14:13 the martyrs “who die in the Lord from now on” 16:15 “the one who keeps alert,” faithfully awaiting the Lord's Coming 19:9 “those who are called to the wedding supper of the Lamb” 20:6 the martyrs who have “a part in the first resurrection” 22:7 all who “keep the words of the prophecy of this book” 22:14 all those in the martyric Church, “those who wash their robes, so that they may have their right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.”  

Atheïsten, agnosten en moslims maken dankbaar gebruik van de hypersceptische, antichristelijke boeken van Bart Ehrman. In een recente comment van Jacob-Carl Pauw onder een van mijn video's noemde hij, in navolging van Ehrman, dat er allerlei documenten circuleerden in het vroege Christendom met verschillende versies van Jezus. Hij noemt expliciet het evangelie van Thomas. Bart Ehrman suggereert in zijn boek "Lost Christianities" dat 2e eeuwse documenten zoals het evangelie van Thomas net zulke goede kandidaten zijn voor het verkrijgen van betrouwbare informatie over het leven en de woorden van Jezus en de Apostelen als de Nieuwtestamentische canonieke documenten. In deze video lopen we enkele van zulke documenten langs om te laten zien waarom die historisch bezien niet in dezelfde categorie thuishoren. Nuttige literatuur:Irenaeus; Against Heresies; 2e eeuw na Christus; https://amzn.eu/d/8Yk8wYOApostolische vaders deel 1 en deel 2; https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/apostolische-vaders-deel-1/1001004011727111/Köstenberger Andreas J. (auteur), Michael J. Kruger (auteur), I. Howard Marshall; The Heresy of Orthodoxy: How Contemporary Culture's Fascination with Diversity Has Reshaped Our Understanding of Early Christianity; 2010Michael J. Kruger; Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books; 2012Nuttige debatten:Bart Ehrman vs. Daniel Wallace Debate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRHjZCKRIu4Bart Ehrman vs. James White Debate deel 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moHInA9fAsIBart Ehrman vs. James White Debate deel 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Mp4v8VQwQNuttige video:Dr. James White Exposes Bart Ehrman's Biblical Fallacies - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD7kMRoLJkU&t=3204sMuziek:Khi Rho BeatsSommigen vragen er wel eens naar, maar je kunt mijn bediening 'Christelijke Apologeet' niet financieel steunen. Wellicht wil je overwegen in plaats daarvan een kind te ondersteunen via Compassion? https://www.compassion.nl/ Gods zegen! Chris

As I build an aggragate argument for open theism in the early church I thought I'd share a couple gems with you here. The first is from The Epistle to Diognetus. The second is from Irenaeus's "Against Heresies." Enjoy!   YOU can join future Surprising God conversations at SurprisingGod.com! Episode 26 YouTube Channel: Surprising God Dan's books: Confident Humility The Training of KX12 Send Questions To: Surprising God on X: @SurprisingGodFacebook: SurprisingGod Dan on X: @thatdankent

Verhalen over wonderbaarlijke verwekkingen en geboorten werden verteld over heersers en filosofen in historische tijden. Van de filosofen werd gezegd dat Pythagoras de nakomeling was van Apollo en de menselijke Pythais, de mooiste van de Samiërs; Plato zou de zoon zijn van Apollo en Amphictione; Apollonius van Tyana zou de zoon zijn van Proteus, een godheid van Egypte, of Zeus.Er waren twee belangrijke redenen waarom de Ouden spraken over wonderbaarlijke verwekkingen en goddelijke afstamming. Het was zeker een poging om de superioriteit van een individu ten opzichte van andere stervelingen te verklaren. Over het algemeen keken mediterrane volkeren naar iemands geboorte of afstamming om iemands karakter en gedrag te verklaren. In Plutarch's "Romulus" wordt Remus voor straf voor Numitor gebracht. Wanneer Numitor Remus ziet, is hij "verbaasd over de buitengewone grootheid van het lichaam en de kracht van de jongeling, en aan zijn gezicht te zien hoe onverzettelijk en vitaal zijn psyche was ondanks de huidige omstandigheden, en te horen dat zijn werken en daden overeenkwamen met zijn uiterlijk, ... vroeg hij wie hij was en wat de omstandigheden van zijn geboorte waren." Geboorte verklaart latere daden en karakter. In het Evangelie van Marcus, waarvan de meeste schriftgeleerden denken dat het eerder was dan dat van Matteüs en Lucas, ontbreekt een geboorteverhaal. Het begint met Johannes de Doper en met Jezus als volwassene. Sommige christenen geloofden dat hun relatie met God afhing van hun initiatief en acceptabele prestaties, zodat God goedkeurend zou reageren. De laat tweede-eeuwse kerkvader Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.26, spreekt over ene Cerinthus (laat eerste eeuw) die geloofdeJezus werd niet uit een maagd geboren, maar was de zoon van Jozef en Maria volgens de gebruikelijke wijze van verwekking. Omdat hij rechtvaardiger, verstandiger en wijzer was dan andere mensen, daalde de Christus na zijn doop op hem neer in de gedaante van een duif. Daarna predikte hij de onbekende Vader en verrichtte wonderen.Het evangelie van Marcus, zonder een wonderbaarlijk geboorteverhaal, was vatbaar voor een dergelijke interpretatie van een verdienstelijke Jezus die door God wordt beloond. Als Jezus het model voor christenen is, dan moeten zij ook verdienstelijk zijn. Sinds Paulus was dit in ieder geval niet wat de reguliere christenen geloofden. De relatie met God was gebaseerd op Gods genadige initiatief waarop mensen in vertrouwen en gehoorzaamheid (d.w.z. geloof) reageerden. Als men geloofde dat de mogelijkheid van wonderbaarlijke conceptie of geboorte in het algemeen waar was, dan kon een werkelijk superieur persoon alleen verklaard worden door een goddelijke oorsprong. Verschillende voorbeelden maken dit duidelijk. Dionysius van Halicarnassus, in zijn verslag van de verkrachting van de maagd Ilia in het aan Mars gewijde bos, laat de verkrachter na de gebeurtenis tegen de maagd zeggen dat ze niet moest treuren omdat ze "uit haar verkrachting twee zonen zou baren wiens daden alle andere zouden overtreffen. Een goddelijke verwekking leidt tot superieure daden!Toen Matteüs en Lucas geboorteverhalen met een wonderbaarlijke ontvangenis toevoegden als onderdeel van hun herschrijving van Marcus, zeiden ze dat dit soort leven alleen voortgebracht kan worden door Gods voorafgaande genadige, scheppende daad. Als dat zo is voor Jezus, dan geldt dat ook voor zijn volgelingen. De traditie van wonderbaarlijke verwekkingen en geboorten wordt zo opnieuw gedefinieerd in de christelijk-joodse context. De Grieks-Romeinse overtuiging dat de superioriteit van een mens alleen verklaard kan worden door een goddelijke scheppingsdaad, wordt gebruikt om de vooringenomenheid van goddelijke genade in de goddelijk-menselijke relatie vast te stellen. Dit is wat een auditor uit de oudheid te horen zou hebben gekregen.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/koinonia-bijbelstudie-live--595091/support.

Paul spent much time and words in exhorting his young ministers, Timothy and Titus to hold to the pattern of sound words in which they they had been instructed. These core beliefs of the faith are to be taught to passed on coming generations. They are the measuring line, the rule by which other teachings and teachers are to be evaluated. Their contents can be determined by the summaries Paul gives in his letters to the churches. In early Christian history  they are referred to and summarized in the Rule of Faith. Some Bible passages in which they are in part found are: Titus 2:11-14, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Philippians 2: 5b-11. Pattern of Sound Words/The GospelThis saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”— For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind,the man Christ Jesus who gave himself as a ransom for all people.  Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel.Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: [God] He was manifested in the flesh,     vindicated by the Spirit,          seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations,     believed on in the world,         taken up in glory.He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.This has now been made evident through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.But when the kindness and love for mankind of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not by deeds of righteousness that we have done, but because of his mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,so that, having been justified by his grace, we may become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.Amen 1 Timothy 1:15;2:5-6; 2 Timothy 2:9; 1 Timothy 3:16; 2 Timothy 1:8b-10; Titus 3:4-7In the early church, Irenaeus was writing in the second century about the "rule of faith" or "rule of truth." this faith: in one God, the Father Almighty, who made the heaven and the earth and the seas and all the things that are in them; and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who was made flesh for our salvation; and in the Holy Spirit, who made known through the prophets the plan of salvation, and the coming, and the birth from a virgin, and the passion, and the resurrection from the dead, and the bodily ascension into heaven of the beloved Christ Jesus, our Lord, and his future appearing from heaven in the glory of the Father to sum up all things and to raise anew all flesh of the whole human race…— Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.10Bible Insights with Wayne ConradContact: 8441 Hunnicut Rd Dallas, Texas 75228email: Att. Bible Insights Wayne Conradgsccdallas@gmail.com (Good Shepherd Church) Donation https://www.gsccdallas.org/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJTZX6qasIrPmC1wQpben9ghttps://www.facebook.com/waconrad or gscchttps://www.sermonaudio.com/gsccSpirit, Truth and Grace MinistriesPhone # 214-324-9915 leave message with number for call backPsalms 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

Scripture: 1 Thess. 1:11, 1 Corinthians 15:51-58, 4:17, 5:9, John 14:2-3, Genesis 22, 24, Daniel 9:24-27, Romans 11:24-26, 2 Thess. 2:3-8, Genesis 5:24, Daniel 3, References to the rapture of the church from the church FathersShepherd of Hermas (Late 2nd Century)Irenaeus (180?), Against Heresies, Book 5 (Arguing against the pre-trib position)Victorinus of Petrovium (300): Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John, 6.14 Pseudo-Ephraem (fourth to sixth century)Calvary Chapel Franklin: http://calvarychapelfranklin.com/  Email: info@calvarychapelfranklin.com  The Parsons Pad Website: https://parsonspad.com/ Telegram: https://t.me/parsonspadpodcastRumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-1006557?date=this-year Twitter: https://twitter.com/ccfranklintn Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CalvaryChapelFranklin/  Subscribe to the audio podcast: https://parsonspad.buzzsprout.com/  Calvary Chapel Franklin meets at: Sunday mornings: 1724 General George Patton Drive, Brentwood TN 37027 Wednesday evenings: 274 Mallory Station Rd, Franklin TN 37967 (Aspen Grove Christian Church)Mail: PO Box 1993 Spring Hill TN 37174 If you need a Bible, please download the free Gideon's app for iPhone or Android: https://gideons.org/  Calvary Chapel Franklin is a 501c3 tax exempt religious organization. If you would like to donate to support this ministry, please click here: https://calvarychapelfranklin.churchcenter.com/giving 

This is part 15 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. In previous episodes, we've looked at Paul's church epistles and pastoral epistles. Today we move into the third section of epistles in the New Testament--the general epistles. Instead of surveying each of the eight general epistles, we'll just focus on two: Hebrews and 1 John. We'll ask about author, audience, occasion, purpose, and mode for each. Going through these two will hopefully provide you with helpful examples to enable you to read these epistles more fruitfully on your own. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://youtu.be/alXkHkkhn_w —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Notes —— The General Epistles Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude Some consider Hebrews to be Pauline, but even if Paul wrote it, it's not to a church or a pastor, so it still fits as a general epistle 2 John and 3 John are technical to specific individuals and thus not general epistles Hebrews Authorship Evidence for Paul Associated with Timothy and Rome (Heb 13:23-24) Pauline themes Evidence against Paul Non-Pauline themes Ancient uncertainty (Origen, Eusebius, etc.) Non-standard opening Not an eyewitness (Heb 2:3) Daniel Wallace suggested Barnabas with help from Apollos. Audience As title indicates, the audience was Jewish. Persecuted (Heb 10:32-36) Occasion Became aware of some falling away from faith (Heb 3:6; 4:14; 6:4-6; 10:23, 26-27) Concern that they will return to Judaism Purpose Convince Jewish Christians to endure in the faith instead of falling away (presumably back into Judaism) Mode Show that Jesus is better Ch 1: Jesus as God's promised Messiah is better than the angels who gave the Law. Ch 2:  Jesus' salvation is better b/c he is human. Ch 3:  Jesus is better than Moses. Ch 7: Jesus' priesthood is better than Aaron's. Ch 8:  Jesus' covenant is better than the old covenant b/c it has better promises. Ch 9:  Jesus' heavenly priestly service is better than the priests serving at the temple on earth. Ch 10:  Jesus' sacrifice is better than animal sacrifices. Ch 11: The unshakable Mt. Zion covenant is better than the covenant at Mt. Sinai. Overall rhetorical effect to ask, “Why in the world would Christ-followers want to downgrade to Judaism after they've tasted something so much better?” 1 John Authorship No author in the document itself (1 John 1:1) Early Christians refer to this letter as written by John Irenaeus (a.d. 180) attributed the Gospel of John and 1 John to “John, the disciple of the Lord”[1] Later Christians agreed, including Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and the Muratorian Canon Eusebius says, “But of John's writings, in addition to the Gospel, the first of the letters is unambiguously accepted [as genuine] both by people today and by the ancients” (H.E. 3.24.17)[2] Definitely the same John who wrote the Gospel of John (John the Apostle) Same vocabulary and writing style Audience Christians that John is worried about Occasion: concern over rogue Christians “They went out from us, but they did not belong to us” (1 John 2:19). They are trying to deceive the regular Christians (2:26; 3:7). Many false prophets have gone out (4:1). They are denying that Jesus is the Christ (2:22). They may have been teaching that sin is ok (3:7-10). Purpose Equip Christians to discern and resist false teachings Encourage them to Live righteously Believe correctly about Jesus Love one another Mode Christology “Confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” (4:2) “Testify that the Father has sent his son as the savior of the world” (4:14). “Confess that Jesus is the son of God” (4:15) “Believes that Jesus is the Christ” (5:1) “Believes that Jesus is the son of God” (5:5) “Believes in the son of God” (5:10) “Life is in his son” (5:11) “Believe in the name of the son of God” (5:13) Behavior (1 John 3:7-10) “It is unlikely that John has in mind absolute sinless perfection, since earlier he has denounced those who say they are without sin (1:8, 10). Rather, John has in mind the blatant sinning to which those who have left the community have fallen prey (2:19). In view of the letter as a whole, such sinning probably involves denial of Christ's human nature (4:2-3; theological lapse), flaunting of God's (or Christ's) commands (2:4; ethical lapse), failure to love (4:20; relational lapse), or some combination of these grave errors.”[3] Many appeals to live righteously (1 John 1:.5-6; 2:1-6; 3:4-10, 23-24; 5:18) Live differently than the world (1 John 2:15-17; 3:1, 13; 4:4-6; 5:4-5, 19) Love your brother/sister in Christ (1 John 2:10-11; 3:11, 14-18; 4:7-12, 16-21; 5:1-3) Review General epistles are for Christians in general rather than a specific church or person. In order to understand the general epistles, it's helpful to figure out authorship, audience, occasion, purpose, and mode. Authorship is explicit for James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and Jude, but takes some work to figure out for Hebrews and 1-3 John. Hebrews was probably not written by Paul but by someone who spent time with him like Priscilla, Luke, Barnabas, or Apollos. Audience and occasion are often intertwined and determinable by gleaning bits of historical information from the epistles themselves. As you read, ask yourself, "Who was the original audience?" and "What was going on with them?" To discern the purpose, ask, "What is the author's main goal in this epistle?" Mode is answering the question, "How does the author go about achieving his purpose?" Once you've figured out the author, audience, occasion, purpose, and mode, understanding the rest of the epistle's particulars is much easier. [1] Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.16.5, 8. ANF translation. [2] Eusebius, 148. [3] Yarbrough, Robert. “1 John” in Hebrews to Revelation, vol 4 of ZIBBCNT, ed. Clinton E. Arnold (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 176-212.

The General Epistles Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude Some consider Hebrews to be Pauline, but even if Paul wrote it, it's not to a church or a pastor, so it still fits as a general epistle 2 John and 3 John are technical to specific individuals and thus not general epistles Hebrews Authorship Evidence for Paul Associated with Timothy and Rome (Heb 13:23-24) Pauline themes Evidence against Paul Non-Pauline themes Ancient uncertainty (Origen, Eusebius, etc.) Non-standard opening Not an eyewitness (Heb 2:3) Daniel Wallace suggested Barnabas with help from Apollos. Audience As title indicates, the audience was Jewish. Persecuted (Heb 10:32-36) Occasion Became aware of some falling away from faith (Heb 3:6; 4:14; 6:4-6; 10:23, 26-27) Concern that they will return to Judaism Purpose Convince Jewish Christians to endure in the faith instead of falling away (presumably back into Judaism) Mode Show that Jesus is better Ch 1: Jesus as God's promised Messiah is better than the angels who gave the Law. Ch 2:  Jesus' salvation is better b/c he is human. Ch 3:  Jesus is better than Moses. Ch 7: Jesus' priesthood is better than Aaron's. Ch 8:  Jesus' covenant is better than the old covenant b/c it has better promises. Ch 9:  Jesus' heavenly priestly service is better than the priests serving at the temple on earth. Ch 10:  Jesus' sacrifice is better than animal sacrifices. Ch 11: The unshakable Mt. Zion covenant is better than the covenant at Mt. Sinai. Overall rhetorical effect to ask, “Why in the world would Christ-followers want to downgrade to Judaism after they've tasted something so much better?” 1 John Authorship No author in the document itself (1 John 1:1) Early Christians refer to this letter as written by John Irenaeus (a.d. 180) attributed the Gospel of John and 1 John to “John, the disciple of the Lord”1 Later Christians agreed, including Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and the Muratorian Canon Eusebius says, “But of John's writings, in addition to the Gospel, the first of the letters is unambiguously accepted [as genuine] both by people today and by the ancients” (H.E. 3.24.17)2 Definitely the same John who wrote the Gospel of John (John the Apostle) Same vocabulary and writing style Audience Christians that John is worried about Occasion: concern over rogue Christians “They went out from us, but they did not belong to us” (1 John 2:19). They are trying to deceive the regular Christians (2:26; 3:7). Many false prophets have gone out (4:1). They are denying that Jesus is the Christ (2:22). They may have been teaching that sin is ok (3:7-10). Purpose Equip Christians to discern and resist false teachings Encourage them to Live righteously Believe correctly about Jesus Love one another Mode Christology “Confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” (4:2) “Testify that the Father has sent his son as the savior of the world” (4:14). “Confess that Jesus is the son of God” (4:15) “Believes that Jesus is the Christ” (5:1) “Believes that Jesus is the son of God” (5:5) “Believes in the son of God” (5:10) “Life is in his son” (5:11) “Believe in the name of the son of God” (5:13) Behavior (1 John 3:7-10) “It is unlikely that John has in mind absolute sinless perfection, since earlier he has denounced those who say they are without sin (1:8, 10). Rather, John has in mind the blatant sinning to which those who have left the community have fallen prey (2:19). In view of the letter as a whole, such sinning probably involves denial of Christ's human nature (4:2-3; theological lapse), flaunting of God's (or Christ's) commands (2:4; ethical lapse), failure to love (4:20; relational lapse), or some combination of these grave errors.”3 Many appeals to live righteously (1 John 1:.5-6; 2:1-6; 3:4-10, 23-24; 5:18) Live differently than the world (1 John 2:15-17; 3:1, 13; 4:4-6; 5:4-5, 19) Love your brother/sister in Christ (1 John 2:10-11; 3:11, 14-18; 4:7-12, 16-21; 5:1-3) Review General epistles are for Christians in general rather than a specific church or person. In order to understand the general epistles, it’s helpful to figure out authorship, audience, occasion, purpose, and mode. Authorship is explicit for James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and Jude, but takes some work to figure out for Hebrews and 1-3 John. Hebrews was probably not written by Paul but by someone who spent time with him like Priscilla, Luke, Barnabas, or Apollos. Audience and occasion are often intertwined and determinable by gleaning bits of historical information from the epistles themselves. As you read, ask yourself, “Who was the original audience?” and “What was going on with them?” To discern the purpose, ask, “What is the author’s main goal in this epistle?” Mode is answering the question, “How does the author go about achieving his purpose?” Once you’ve figured out the author, audience, occasion, purpose, and mode, understanding the rest of the epistle’s particulars is much easier. Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.16.5, 8. ANF translation.Eusebius, 148.Yarbrough, Robert. “1 John” in Hebrews to Revelation, vol 4 of ZIBBCNT, ed. Clinton E. Arnold (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 176-212.The post 15: How to Read the General Epistles first appeared on Living Hope.

The General Epistles Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude Some consider Hebrews to be Pauline, but even if Paul wrote it, it's not to a church or a pastor, so it still fits as a general epistle 2 John and 3 John are technical to specific individuals and thus not general epistles Hebrews Authorship Evidence for Paul Associated with Timothy and Rome (Heb 13:23-24) Pauline themes Evidence against Paul Non-Pauline themes Ancient uncertainty (Origen, Eusebius, etc.) Non-standard opening Not an eyewitness (Heb 2:3) Daniel Wallace suggested Barnabas with help from Apollos. Audience As title indicates, the audience was Jewish. Persecuted (Heb 10:32-36) Occasion Became aware of some falling away from faith (Heb 3:6; 4:14; 6:4-6; 10:23, 26-27) Concern that they will return to Judaism Purpose Convince Jewish Christians to endure in the faith instead of falling away (presumably back into Judaism) Mode Show that Jesus is better Ch 1: Jesus as God's promised Messiah is better than the angels who gave the Law. Ch 2:  Jesus' salvation is better b/c he is human. Ch 3:  Jesus is better than Moses. Ch 7: Jesus' priesthood is better than Aaron's. Ch 8:  Jesus' covenant is better than the old covenant b/c it has better promises. Ch 9:  Jesus' heavenly priestly service is better than the priests serving at the temple on earth. Ch 10:  Jesus' sacrifice is better than animal sacrifices. Ch 11: The unshakable Mt. Zion covenant is better than the covenant at Mt. Sinai. Overall rhetorical effect to ask, “Why in the world would Christ-followers want to downgrade to Judaism after they've tasted something so much better?” 1 John Authorship No author in the document itself (1 John 1:1) Early Christians refer to this letter as written by John Irenaeus (a.d. 180) attributed the Gospel of John and 1 John to “John, the disciple of the Lord”[[Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.16.5, 8. ANF translation.]] Later Christians agreed, including Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and the Muratorian Canon Eusebius says, “But of John's writings, in addition to the Gospel, the first of the letters is unambiguously accepted [as genuine] both by people today and by the ancients” (H.E. 3.24.17)[[Eusebius, 148.]] Definitely the same John who wrote the Gospel of John (John the Apostle) Same vocabulary and writing style Audience Christians that John is worried about Occasion: concern over rogue Christians “They went out from us, but they did not belong to us” (1 John 2:19). They are trying to deceive the regular Christians (2:26; 3:7). Many false prophets have gone out (4:1). They are denying that Jesus is the Christ (2:22). They may have been teaching that sin is ok (3:7-10). Purpose Equip Christians to discern and resist false teachings Encourage them to Live righteously Believe correctly about Jesus Love one another Mode Christology “Confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” (4:2) “Testify that the Father has sent his son as the savior of the world” (4:14). “Confess that Jesus is the son of God” (4:15) “Believes that Jesus is the Christ” (5:1) “Believes that Jesus is the son of God” (5:5) “Believes in the son of God” (5:10) “Life is in his son” (5:11) “Believe in the name of the son of God” (5:13) Behavior (1 John 3:7-10) “It is unlikely that John has in mind absolute sinless perfection, since earlier he has denounced those who say they are without sin (1:8, 10). Rather, John has in mind the blatant sinning to which those who have left the community have fallen prey (2:19). In view of the letter as a whole, such sinning probably involves denial of Christ's human nature (4:2-3; theological lapse), flaunting of God's (or Christ's) commands (2:4; ethical lapse), failure to love (4:20; relational lapse), or some combination of these grave errors.”[[Yarbrough, Robert. “1 John” in Hebrews to Revelation, vol 4 of ZIBBCNT, ed. Clinton E. Arnold (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 176-212.]] Many appeals to live righteously (1 John 1:.5-6; 2:1-6; 3:4-10, 23-24; 5:18) Live differently than the world (1 John 2:15-17; 3:1, 13; 4:4-6; 5:4-5, 19) Love your brother/sister in Christ (1 John 2:10-11; 3:11, 14-18; 4:7-12, 16-21; 5:1-3) Review General epistles are for Christians in general rather than a specific church or person. In order to understand the general epistles, it’s helpful to figure out authorship, audience, occasion, purpose, and mode. Authorship is explicit for James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and Jude, but takes some work to figure out for Hebrews and 1-3 John. Hebrews was probably not written by Paul but by someone who spent time with him like Priscilla, Luke, Barnabas, or Apollos. Audience and occasion are often intertwined and determinable by gleaning bits of historical information from the epistles themselves. As you read, ask yourself, “Who was the original audience?” and “What was going on with them?” To discern the purpose, ask, “What is the author’s main goal in this epistle?” Mode is answering the question, “How does the author go about achieving his purpose?” Once you’ve figured out the author, audience, occasion, purpose, and mode, understanding the rest of the epistle’s particulars is much easier. The post 15: How to Read the General Epistles first appeared on Living Hope.

Invitatory Antiphon: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering. Hymn First Antiphon: Lord, in your anger, do not punish me. Psalm 38 Second Antiphon: Lord, you know all my longings. Psalm 38 Third Antiphon: I confess my guilt to you, Lord; do not abandon me, for you are my savior. Psalm 38 Verse: Turn back to the Lord your God. Resp: He is kind and merciful First Reading: Ex 19:1-19; 20:18-21 Response: You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation. Second Reading: From the treatise Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus, bishop Response: To prepare himself to receive the law of the Lord. Presentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975 YouTube Website

Invitatory Antiphon: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering. Hymn First Antiphon: We groan in pain as we await the redemption of our bodies. Psalm 39 Second Antiphon: Hear and answer my prayer, O Lord; let me not weep in vain Psalm 39 Third Antiphon: I have put all my trust in God's never-failing mercy. Psalm 52 Verse: Turn back to the Lord and do penance. Resp: Be renewed in heart and spirit. First Reading: Ex 17:1-16 Response: And on that day you will say: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name. Second Reading: From the treatise Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus, bishop Response: And now that the time of faith has come, we are under that guardian no longer. Presentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975 YouTube Donate

Liturgy of the Hours, Vol. II.  Lenten Season • Easter Season Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Office of Readings FIRST Reading: Exodus 3:1-20 SECOND Reading: From the treatise Against Heresies by St. Iranaeus - the friendship of God (Book 4, 13, 4-14, 1: SC 100, 534-540) --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/Johnathan-St.Dominic/support

Invitatory Antiphon: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering. Hymn First Antiphon: The Lord delivered his people from the oppressor Psalm 78 Second Antiphon: The Lord led his people to his holy mountain. Psalm 78 Third Antiphon: The Lord chose the tribe of Judah, and David, his servant, to shepherd Israel, his chosen people. Psalm 78 Verse: The man of God welcomes the light. Resp: So that all may see that his deeds are true. First Reading: Ex 3:1-20 Response: Tell the people of Israel: I AM sent me to you. Second Reading: From the treatise Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus, bishop Response: To fear him, and to love and serve him with all your heart and soul. Presentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975 YouTube Website

The question is: Is it true that “no church fathers” taught a pre-tribulation rapture? Post-tribulation teachers can be particularly antagonistic toward the pre-trib view, but what about writings like Irenaeus’ Against Heresies? Pastor Gene Pensiero offers some thoughts on this issue in a study of Isaiah 51. Find many more Q&A’s and send in your […]

Hello and welcome to The Patrick Madrid Show, where we dive into the deeply intricate and personal questions about life choices, faith, and health. Today, we've untangled the complex web surrounding childbirth choices, discussing the potential risks of home births and championing hospital deliveries for their medical safeguards. We've poked at the controversial practice of placenta consumption, examining it from both a medical and Catholic perspective. We've also bolstered faith by turning to ancient texts like St. Irenaeus's "Against Heresies," reaffirming the Catholic Church's apostolic foundation. Join us as we blend humor, history, and heartfelt advice on this thought-provoking journey. Brian - What is the Churches position on women eating their own placenta after birth? Someone asked me this and I don't know how to respond. Tony - Is there a historical list that we can PROVE that the Church is the Apostolic Church? (09:50) John - Why does the Church stand so firmly on not receiving communion if you are divorced? I have known people who leave the church because of that teaching. It doesn't seem biblical. (19:00) Dr. John - Home delivery verse hospital: I would recommend being cautious of hospitals now days. Ann - I am a Risk Manager in a hospital and we get patients who come from a birth center and when the births are bad, it is not pretty. I would just warn people not to go to birthing centers. Ron - My daughter had her placenta made into medicine for Postpartum Depression.

Invitatory Antiphon: Come, let us worship the Lord, our mighty God. Hymn First Antiphon: Lord, let my cry come to you; do not hide your face from me. Psalm 102 Second Antiphon: Be attentive, Lord, to the prayer of the helpless. Psalm 102 Third Antiphon: You, O Lord, established the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. Psalm 102 Verse: Listen, my people, to my teaching. Resp: Give ear to the words I speak. First Reading: 1 Thes 4:1-18 Response: He will gather his elect from the four winds, and from the depths of the earth to the heights of heaven. Second Reading: From the treatise Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus, bishop Response: Just as in Adam all men die, so in Christ all men will be brought to life. Presentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975 YouTube Website

Christmas risks losing its meaning not only because of the commercial frenzy but because of the way it is talked about in churches.In this conversation, Russell Jefford talks about his discovery of the understanding of the incarnation conveyed in the writings of the early church fathers. They were unknown to him as an evangelical Christian and have refreshed his love of Christianity now.Together with Mark Vernon, they consider the iconography of the nativity. Why is Jesus born in a cave? Is that a coffin rather than a manger? They consider phrases of three key figues in particular:St Nazianzus "He who Is, comes into being, and the uncreated is created" (Oration 38.13)St Irenaeus "He sanctified every age by the resemblance we have with him" (Against Heresies 2.22.4)St Athanasius "He became man that we might become God" (On the Incarnation 54)The humanification of God enables the deification of humanity. Salvation is thought of as recapitulation, the divine sanctifying humanity through the various stages of life. The work of atonement is the work of incarnation, as both are manifestations of God, grabbing our attention as to our true nature through the life of the body. For more on Russell's work and teaching days see https://ordinarytheology.com/For more on Mark's work see https://www.markvernon.com/

Friday of the Second Week of Advent: Office of Readings Hymn First Antiphon: Lord, in your anger, do not punish me. Psalm 38 Second Antiphon: Lord, you know all my longings Psalm 38 Third Antiphon: I confess my guilt to you, Lord; do not abandon me, for you are my savior. Psalm 38 Verse: Let your compassion come upon me, Lord. Resp: Your salvation, true to your promise. First Reading: Is 27:1-13 Response: They will gather his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. Second Reading: From a treatise Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus, bishop Response: Behold you shall conceive and bear a son, and he will be called the Son of the Mos High Presentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975

DAY 303 CHALLENGE “Why should I think the Church can teach infallibly?” DEFENSE Reflection on Christ's teaching reveals why. Christ did not reserve teaching authority to himself but established a teaching authority (Latin, magisterium) in his Church (see Day 281). This authority was originally vested in Peter and the apostles, and when they passed from the scene it was inherited by their successors, the pope, and the bishops (cf. 1 Tim. 3:2, 2 Tim. 2:2; Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3:3:1; CCC 861–62). Christ willed his Church to endure to the end of the world (Matt. 16:18), and teachin…

Saturday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Office of Readings Hymn First Antiphon: None but the Lord has ever done such marvels; his love endures for ever. Psalm 136 Second Antiphon: He brought Israel out of Egypt with powerful hand and arm outstretched. Psalm 136 Third Antiphon: Give praise to the God of heaven; he has ransomed us from our enemies. Psalm 136 Verse: Lord, show me your ways. Resp: Teach me to walk in your footsteps. First Reading: Hos 6:1-7:2 Response: I want a loving heart more than sacrifice, knowedge of my ways more than holocausts. Second Reading: From the treatise Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus, bishop Response: Whenever you receive them, do this in memory of me. Presentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION“Man is literally split in two: he has an awareness of his own splendid uniqueness in that he sticks out of nature with a towering majesty, and yet he goes back into the ground a few feet in order blindly and dumbly to rot and disappear forever.”~Ernest Becker (1927-1974) in The Denial of Death “Religion used to be the opium of the people. To those suffering humiliation, pain, illness, and serfdom, religion promised the reward of an afterlife. But now, we are witnessing a transformation, a true opium of the people is the belief in nothingness after death, the huge solace, the huge comfort of thinking that for our betrayals, our greed, our cowardice, our murders, we are not going to be judged.”~Czesław Miłosz (1911-2004), Polish-American poet and Nobel Laureate, regarded as one of the great poets of the 20th century “The final dignity of a thing is its glory—that is, the realizing of its built-in potential for good…. The true glory of all objects appears when they do what they were made to do.”~J.I. Packer & Thomas Howard in Christianity: The True Humanism “The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is the vision of God.” ~Irenaeus (c.130-c.202), early Christian leader in Against Heresies “Living according to the truth is the most authentic way to live because it's what we were made for.”~Alisa Childers, singer-songwriter and author “…a Christian lives not in himself, but in Christ and in his neighbor…. He lives in Christ through faith, in his neighbor through love. By faith he is caught up beyond himself into God. By love he descends beneath himself into his neighbor.”~Martin Luther (1483-1546), German reformerSERMON PASSAGEselected passages (ESV)John 14 – The Words of Jesus18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. John 15 – The Words of Jesus4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. Colossians 26 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION“Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.”~Albert Camus (1913-1960), French journalist and philosopher “Man cannot endure his own littleness unless he can translate it into meaningfulness on the largest possible level.”~Ernest Becker (1924-1974), in The Denial of Death “…over the past few decades, people have lost a sense of their own sinfulness. Children are raised amid a chorus of applause. Politics has become less about institutional restraint and more about giving voters whatever they want at that second. Joe DiMaggio didn't ostentatiously admire his own home runs, but now athletes routinely celebrate themselves as part of the self-branding process.”~David Brooks in The New York Times “‘You are enough' is a message that enslaves people…. It burdens them with the obligation of being the source of their own joy, contentment, and peace.” “You are not enough, but when your trust is placed in Jesus, his enough-ness is transferred to you.”~Alisa Childers, singer, songwriter, and author “The true penitent, though he dreads punishment, much more dreads sin…”~Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) “Modern secularism (which insists on keeping faith private) and modern pietism (which keeps Jesus safely contained in the hearts of individual believers) are usually assumed to be adversaries. But this feud is ultimately a battle between brothers. They share conceptual DNA with Marcion and the Gnostics.”~Ken Myers, contemporary Christian thinker “It is not a question of whether we worship, but what we worship.” “We are what we love. And love takes practice.”~James K. A. Smith, Canadian-born contemporary philosopher “The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is the vision of God.”~Irenaeus (c.130-c.202), early Christian leader in Against HeresiesSERMON PASSAGEselected passagesJohn 1 (ESV) 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 1 John 3 (ESV) 1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. John 17 (ESV) – The Words of Jesus 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them…. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them. Colossians 3 (NASB95) 1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

Memorial of St. Irenaeus, bishop and martyr: Office of Readings Hymn First Antiphon: Men will hate you because you are mine, but he who perseveres will be saved. Psalm 2 Second Antiphon: The sufferings of this life cannot be compared to the glory that will be revealed in us in the life to come. Psalm 11 Third Antiphon: The Lord tested his chosen ones as gold tested by fire; he has received them for ever as a sacrificial offering. Psalm 17 Verse: I have known tribulations and distress. Resp: But in your commands I have found consolation. First Reading: 2 Sam 2:1-11; 3:1-5 Response: Until the coming of the one I have promised you; he will be the desire of nations. Second Reading: From the treatise Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus, bishop Response: He walked with me in goodness and in peace. Presentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975 Visit: https://sthelenaministries.com Donate: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/StHelena

June 28: Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr c. 125–c. 200 Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of apologists and catechists The Church was explicitly Catholic from the start The iconic opening words of Julius Caesar's Gallic War are “All Gaul is divided into three parts.” The chieftains of these three regions of Roman Gaul (France) met yearly in the southern city of Lugdunum, known today as Lyon. These rough noblemen and their large retinues trekked to Lyon in 12 B.C. for the dedication of the Sanctuary of the Three Gauls on the slope of Lyon's hill of the Croix Rousse. The inauguration ceremony was an elaborate reinforcement of Rome's military, religious, and commercial dominance. Pagan priests performed pagan rites on pagan altars to pagan gods, asking those gods to favor the new sanctuary, the tribes present, and the city. This important sanctuary remained a focal point of Lyon's civic and religious life for centuries. And in the sand and dirt of this Sanctuary of the Three Gauls, in 177 A.D., the blood of the first Christian martyrs of Gaul was spilled. Here they were abused, tortured, and executed. Killed for their faith were about fifty Christians, including the Bishop of Lyon, Pothinus, and a slave woman named Blandine. While they were imprisoned and awaiting their fate, these future martyrs wrote a letter to the Pope and gave it to a priest of Lyon to carry to Rome. That priest was today's saint, Irenaeus. With the dead bishop Pothinus' mutilated remains tossed into the river, Irenaeus was chosen as his replacement. He would remain the Bishop of Lyon until his death. It was in this way that the tragic end of some raised others to prominence. As the first generation of Christians in Gaul retreated from history, the great Saint Irenaeus, the most important theologian of the late second century, emerged. Copies of Saint Irenaeus' most important works survived through the ages, likely due to their fame and importance, and are now irreplaceable texts for understanding the mind of an early Church thinker on a number of matters. Irenaeus was from Asia Minor and a disciple of Saint Polycarp, a martyr-bishop of Smyrna, who was himself a disciple of Saint John the Evangelist. The voice of Saint Irenaeus is, then, the very last, remote echo of the age of the Apostles. Similar to those of Saint Justin Martyr, Irenaeus' writings astonish in proving just how early the Church developed a fully Catholic theology. In keeping with other theologians of the patristic era, Irenaeus focused more on the mystery of the Incarnation, and Christ as the “New Adam,” than on a theology of the Cross. He also called Mary the “New Eve” whose obedience undoes Eve's disobedience. Irenaeus' writings primarily critique Gnosticism, which held that Christianity's truths were a form of secret knowledge confined to a select few. The only true knowledge is knowledge of Christ, Irenaeus argued, and this knowledge is accessible, public, and communicated by the broader Church, not secret societies. Irenaeus fought schismatics and heretics, showing just how early the connection between correct theology and Church unity was understood. His main work is even entitled “Against Heresies.” He promoted apostolic authority as the only true guide to the correct interpretation of Scripture and, in a classic statement of theology, Irenaeus explicitly cited the Bishop of Rome as the primary example of unbroken Church authority. Like Saint Cyprian fifty years after him, Irenaeus described the Church as the mother of all Christians: “...one must cling to the Church, be brought up within her womb and feed there on the Lord's Scripture.” This theology notes a beautiful paradox. While in the physical order, a child leaves his mother's womb and grows ever more apart from her as he matures, the Church's motherhood exercises an opposite pull on her children. Once she gives us new life through baptism, our bonds with Mother Church grow ever stronger and tighter as we mature. We become more dependent on her sacraments, more intimate with her life and knowledge, as we grow into adulthood. The Church becomes more our mother, not less, as we age. On Pope Saint John Paul II's third pastoral visit to France, in October 1986, his very first stop was the Sanctuary of the Three Gauls in Lyon. Excavated and opened to the public in the mid-twentieth century, it rests largely unknown, a ruin, in a residential neighborhood. Before dignitaries and a large crowd, the Pope prostrated himself and kissed the site where the many martyrs of Lyon died so many centuries before. Saint Irenaeus may have been looking on from the stone benches that fateful day in 177 A.D. when his co-religionists were murdered. The blood of those forgotten martyrs watered the seed that later flowered into the great saint we commemorate today. Saint Irenaeus, may your intercession strengthen our wills, enlighten our minds, and deepen our trust. Like you, we want to be loyal sons and daughters of God, and loyal, educated, and faithful members of His Church. Help us to fulfill our loftiest and our most noble goals.

This is part 18 of the Early Church History class. I wonder how many Christians in the world today believe the gifts of the spirit ceased in the time of the apostles? I know there are quite a few. Many others, however, believe they are available today and make time for them in their worship services. This is one of those topics about which we don't need to guess. We have the historical record and can just look and see if generations after the apostles continue to speak in tongues, prophecy, cast out demons, or perform miraculous healing. In today's episode we'll survey what the data say about the first five hundred of Christian history. We'll also cover the Montanists, a lesser-known movement centered on prophecy, tongues, and asceticism. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz29T8ApWCc&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2lk3B0I7Pa77hfwKJm1SRI&index=18 —— Links —— Check out our series on gifts of the spirit with interviews from different perspectives here. More Restitutio resources on Christian history See other classes here Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Notes —— Gifts of the Spirit in General Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 82.1; 88.1 Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 2.32.4 Tertullian of Carthage, On Baptism 20 Novatian of Rome, On the Trinity 29 Apostolic Constitutions 8.1-2 Speaking in Tongues and Prophecy Didache 11.7-12 Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 5.6.1 Tertullian of Carthage, Against Marcion 5.8; On the Soul 9 Hilary of Poitiers, On the Trinity 8.33 Montanism (Excursus) 165 - Montanus began speaking in tongues and prophesying, initiating a movement called the New Prophecy[1] Sayings of Montanus “Behold, man is like a lyre and I fly to him like a plectrum. Man sleeps and I stay awake. Behold, the Lord is the one who throws human hearts into ecstasy and gives a heart to men.” (Panarion 48.5.1)[2] “I am the Lord God, the Almighty, who abide in man.” (Panarion 48.11.1) “Neither angel nor envoy, but I the Lord God, the Father, have come.” (Panarion 48.11.9) Maximilla and Priscilla became prophetesses. The New Prophecy people emphasized obedience to God, asceticism, fasting, celibacy, and spiritual experiences. They rejected remarriage and any serious sin after baptism. They survived until the mid-sixth century when Justinian initiated a persecution in Pepuza. Exorcisms Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 30.3; 76.6; 85.2-3 Tertullian of Carthage, On the Shows 29 Origen of Alexandria, Against Celsus 7.4 Hippolytus, Apostolic Tradition 20-21[3] Healing and Miracles Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 2.31.2 Origen of Alexandria, Against Celsus 1.46, 67 Cyprian, Letters 16.4.1; 39.1.2 Hippolytus, Apostolic Tradition 14 Apostolic Constitutions 8.26 Disappearance with Time Causes for diminishment Reaction to Montanists' emphasis on the spirit Constantinian shift watered down Christianity, resulting in the gifts mainly finding expression among the desert fathers and mothers. Rigidity of church services and authority solely among bishops and councils quenched the spirit. John Chrysostom, Homilies on 1 Corinthians 29 Augustine of Hippo, Homilies on 1 John 6 Review Christians throughout the first five centuries believed that gifts or charisms of the spirit were available to Christians. We have several reports of speaking in tongues as well as prophecy from the Didache, Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Hilary. In the second century, Montanus began a movement called the New Prophecy that emphasized the gifts of the spirit. New Prophecy leaders included female prophets such as Maximilla and Priscilla as well as a male theologian named Tertullian. Though excommunicated by many churches and persecuted by the government from Constantine onward, The New Prophecy movement endured for four centuries. Christians associated demons with the gods the pagans worshiped and confidently believed they had the power to drive them out. Casting out demons was standard operating procedure in churches both for first-time visitors and at baptisms. Miraculous healing, including raising the dead, was well-known to early Christians. Church orders said someone with the gift of healing would be obvious to all in the church. Over time, possibly due to a reaction against the Montanists, the Constantinian shift, or the rigidifying of church services, the gifts of the spirit diminished. By the fourth century, John Chrysostom said speaking in tongues and prophecy had ceased. By the fifth century, Augustine thought it silly to expect tongues. [1] Others called them Phrygians, Cataphrygians, and Montanists [2] Epiphanius of Salamis, Panarion 48.5.1, trans. Philip R. Amidon (New York: Oxford 1990), 170. [3] Available online at http://www.bombaxo.com/hippolytus-the-apostolic-tradition/

This is part 17 of the Early Church History class. Throughout the first five hundred years of Christian history, a significant shift occurred in what we believed about our ultimate destiny. The New Testament and the early church fathers repeatedly expressed belief in God's kingdom coming to earth. Over time, however, this idea gave way to the more recognizable medieval dichotomy of heaven or hell immediately at death. In this episode you'll learn who the major players were on both sides of this struggle as well as the main reasons why Christianity ultimately rejected the kingdom. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3pTATsdfME&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2lk3B0I7Pa77hfwKJm1SRI&index=17 —— Links —— Check out our entire class on the Kingdom of God available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. This class includes the four original lectures on which this single one was based. More Restitutio resources on Christian history See other classes here Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Notes —— The Kingdom of God is the idea that the Messiah Jesus will come back to earth, resurrect the saved, and initiate an age of restoration, eventually making everything wrong with the world right. We find robust belief in this idea in the New Testament; however, by the Middle Ages, heaven or hell at death had entirely replaced the Kingdom idea. Kingdom Believers First Century Didache 8.2; 9.4; 10.5; 16.7-8 Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 42.3; 50.3 Psuedo-Barnabas, Epistle of Barnabas 1.7; 6.13; 10.11; 15.4-5 Second Century Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Ephesians 16.1 Polycarp of Smyrna, Epistle to the Philippians 5.2; 11.2 Hermas, Similitude 9.15.2-3; 9.20.2-3 Pseudo-Clement; 2 Clement 5.5; 9.6; 11.7; 12.1, 6; 17.4-5 Papias of Hierapolis, cited in Irenaeus, Against Heresies 5.33.3-4; see also Jerome, Lives of Illustrious Men 18 Justine Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 80 Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 5.32-5.36 Third Century Hippolytus, On Genesis Fragment 3; On Daniel 2.4; Scholia of Daniel 7.22; Treatise on Christ and Antichrist 65 Commodian, Instructions 29; 33; 34; 35; 44 Nepos of Egypt, cited in Eusebius, The Church History 7.24.1 Victorinus, Commentary on Revelation 1.5, 15; 14.15; 20.2, 5, 6 (Greek version[1]); On the Creation of the World 5 Fourth Century Lactantius, Divine Institutes 4.12; 5.24 Fifth Century Augustine, Sermon 259.2 Jerome, Commentary to Isaiah 18. Prologue Kingdom Deniers Too crude Origen of Alexandria, Commentary on Song of Songs Prologue Eusebius of Caesarea, The Church History 3.39 Too hedonic Dionysius of Alexandria, cited in Eusebius, The Church History 7.25 Jerome, Commentary to Isaiah 18. Prologue Augustine, City of God 20.7 Too Jewish Origen of Alexandria, On First Principles 2.11.2 Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on Isaiah 2.1-4 Jerome, Commentary to Isaiah 11.15-16 Review From the first to the fifth centuries, many important authors spoke about their belief in the coming Kingdom of God on earth. They conceived of the Kingdom as a new age we enter at the coming of Christ. Early on, going to heaven was considered a serious heresy. Over time, a relatively small number of influential Christians began arguing against the Kingdom. They considered living on a mutable earth forever in physical bodies to be too crude and out of touch with their cosmology. They criticized believers in the Kingdom for seeking bodily pleasures like eating fine food, drinking alcohol, and having intercourse. They rejected the literal interpretation of Kingdom prophecies found throughout scripture as a Jewish way to understand. Although Augustine had believed in the Kingdom at one point, his ultimate rejection of it in favor of heaven-at-death settled the matter for the Roman Catholic Church of the Middle Ages. [1] Jerome changed Victorinus' book in his Latin translation. The Greek version is online at http://www.bombaxo.com/victorinus-in-apocalypsin/

***Please note: there were some technical difficulties with this recording. We apologize for the lower-quality audio this week. QUOTES FOR REFLECTION“The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is the vision of God.”~Irenaeus (c.130-c.202), early Christian leader in Against Heresies “…Christian vision illuminates the whole of our experience with incomparable splendor. Far from beckoning us away from raw human experience, this vision opens up to us its full richness, depth, and meaning.” “The final dignity of a thing is its glory—that is, the realizing of its built-in potential for good…. The true glory of all objects appears when they do what they were made to do.” “To the Christian, every human being has intrinsic and inalienable dignity by virtue of being made in God's image and realizes and exhibits the full potential of that dignity only in the worship and service of the Creator.”~J. I. Packer and Thomas Howard, in Christianity: The True Humanism Q: What is the main purpose of mankind?A: Mankind's main purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.~Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647), Question 1 “To please God … to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness … to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son—it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain. But so it is.”~C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) in The Weight of Glory “Recognizing who we are in Christ is the ultimate self-care because the Word of God doesn't reinvent itself along with a constantly changing culture.”~Alisa Childers, singer-songwriter and author “If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. But if you look at Christ you'll be at rest.”~Corrie Ten Boom (1892-1983), Dutch watchmaker and Holocaust survivorSERMON PASSAGEselected passages (NASB95)John 171 Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You…. 4 I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was….6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word…. 13 But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves…. 20 I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word…. 22 The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one…. 26 and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”Romans 51 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.Romans 814 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.Colossians 31 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.1 John 31 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

Pentecost: Office of Readings Hymn First Antiphon: The Spirit breathes where he wills; you hear his voice but do not know where he comes from or where he is going, alleluia. Psalm 104 Second Antiphon: Suddenly from the heavens there came the sound of a great wind, alleluia. Psalm 104 Third Antiphon: Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created; and you will renew the face of the earth, alleluia. Psalm 104 Verse: The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world, alleluia. Resp: He sustains all creatin and knows every word that is spoken, alleluia. First Reading: Rom 8:5-27 Response: God has sent into your hearts the Spirit of his Son, crying out: Abba, Father, alleluia. Second Reading: From the treatise Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus, bishop Response: The sound of a great wind, which filled the whole house, alleluia. Presentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975 Visit: https://sthelenaministries.com Donate: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/StHelena

The word “Christianity” may need to go away for a while, like on a desert retreat. It needs to go off to a sweatlodge with St. Anthony of Egypt again so it can figure out what Jesus intended. Few Protestant denominations remain that teach what “Christianity” really entails or demands. The familiarity of it has bred contempt and complacency, which has led to extremely watered-down versions. This is exactly why St. Anthony and the Desert Fathers exited the culture in the third century. Even back then it had been diluted into a cheap BBQ lighter fluid instead of the 100% explosive ethanol it was on Pentecost. Today, it can be restored to be highly flammable once again, but it won't be done by being “cool” in the culture or by flopping around speaking in tongues or doing fake healings or by affirming sin or denying that the devil exists. It will be restored to it's original strange potency by the same old proven methods: prayer, fasting, and charity. But once again, like in the time of the Desert Fathers, the errors that led people away from proper worship and correct doctrine must be re-visited, because they have been allowed back in. All of them. It almost as if a busload of old heresies showed up at the pool, and barged right in without checking their floaties, food, weapons, and drugs at the door. Many of them don't even bother to wear a swimsuit, as modesty and ideas about sin are old-fashioned. Now the pool is in mayhem. Only a few lifeguards (in red hats) are shouting while others have joined in the orgy. Fortunately, the party is almost over, since it has become a pool no one wants to swim in. The newcomers and families who would like to swim take one look at the chaos and decide to stay home - after all, they can setup their own pool - who needs the community pool? Thus we have many trying to claim the main pool, and millions of little pools where people isolate in their own anti-social backyard. The heresies have stunk up the water to the point that the “Christian” pool is more like a swamp lagoon. Now it will require a lockdown for cleaning. After draining, it needs a full sandblasting before a refill. The intense, long battle against errors about who Jesus was, what Jesus said, and what he taught, waged over centuries, needs to be waged all over again. Today, it's not even clear that people understand the word heresy. And to be fair, it is an ugly word. “Heretic” combines two sounds that make Minnesotans like me shiver: “hair” and “tick.” This sounds like a burrowing insect at the base of my hairline. Where I live, ticks raise goosebumps on people more than snakes. Whenever I've discovered one engorged on a dog's belly, or see one climbing my shirt after a walk in the woods, it gives me a case of the heebie-jeebies. But perhaps this strange association is apt. A tick buried in skin kind of fits well with what heresy does. Because a tiny corruption like that caused by a tick lodging in your skin is much like how a heretical idea poisons and corrupts individuals or entire nations. Heresy is not unlike Lyme disease in that it often has a subtle entry point but leads to an insidious devastation of the body as it spreads. The idea of heresy is something people don't even like to talk about, but I think it needs to be. I doubt that the average Joe Christian has ever heard of Marcionism, or Pelagianism, or any other heresy, but many certainly speak those heresies openly. Ideas long ago denounced as un-Christian are mentioned as if they were orthodox in casual conversation. But this isn't surprising, given the past few centuries of rejecting all authority. Almost everyone now is their own Pope, so even if I mentioned the basics of a heresy, my listener would respond, “Who made you the Pope?” To which I would answer, “Do you see a funny hat on me? Long ago, after a big todo, the Church declared…” And that's exactly where the conversation would end, because the appeal to authority beyond the “Self” would outrage the listener. “The Church has entered the chat.” When that happens, the modern American, Protestant, public school brain exits the chat. It's over. Authority? Are you claiming authority? Are you kidding me? We have hundreds of years of literature and philosophy and theology crammed between our ears, where the only authority is in national power and the self. America itself is a rejection of old-world “authority.” But this continual march of rejecting authority has put the West in an odd state. Because once the highest authority of God and his Church was thrown out, and the Pope put in his corner in Vatican City, the nations must act as the moral authority. They have been doing this for about three centuries now. Mentioning the Church's authority leads to an automatic response. Like a trained bear that can dance, the hearer waltzes off stage on cue. Or, more likely today than ever, this “tamed” bear attacks and mauls the trainer. What's most interesting today is that in our rejection of authority, so few today are called to the priesthood, but nearly everyone is called to the pontificate. Worth noting here is that “pontiff” means bridge-builder. But with a billion mini-popes in the world, we end up having a lot of bridges to nowhere, because all of the bridges lead directly back to the self. This isn't just an issue among Protestants or agnostics, it's rampant within the Catholic Church, too. So many people don't know what the teaching of the Church is that you can hear the echoes of ancient errors every day, even among bishops. Imagine: a bishop that doesn't understand errors that have existed for thousands of years. You don't have to imagine it. This is happening all over Europe and the United States. This is the equivalent of an NFL coach not knowing what is a “first down,” or what a “nickel defense” is used for. Could you imagine a coach who worked for thirty years to reach the top, and then have it be revealed that he thought the game was soccer? No. This seems almost impossible, unless somehow you have cronyism or ideology (or both) interfering with the proper promotion of educated and competent bishops. And this of course is exactly what we have. The creep of heresy gets in like a tic. It's like Soviet Science or modern American sociology, where ideology has replaced the goal of seeking the Truth, the highest Truth. And it replays over and over in history. It's Plato versus the Sophists. It's Athanasius versus Arius. It's Augustine versus Pelagius. It's Marx versus Pope Leo XIII. Heresy is ideology that bleeds into faith and skews the right understanding of God, the Trinity, Jesus, the Sacraments, and the whole Church. And it always starts with the rejection of God, in some form, and the elevation of what a person wants. “Blessed are the heretics,” said Stanley Hauerwas. What he meant by this was that without those pushing errors, we wouldn't see the Truth so clearly. So luckily we have Marcion and Pelagius and Nestorius to illustrate the errors. Their ideas act like bugs on a windshield, where you don't need to stop until it gets really bad, and then you must pull over at the nearest service station and squeegee like a maniac with elbow grease to get the encrusted scum off. Sin works this way; sin is not a big deal, until it is. Until your sin is going to cause a major accident and maybe even kill you, you don't take action to fix the disorder. When you hear a bishop defending an old heresy, often with new words, that was called a heresy long ago, it leads to confusion for the team. Trust in leadership is undermined, especially when the waterboy understands the game better than the coach. You cannot have the offensive coordinator telling the running backs they must run backward from now on. If that ever happened in the NFL, a firing would surely occur. Yet we are not seeing the firings despite wild errors in “coaching” from those in charge in the Church. This is likely because the Church moves slowly, which is good, since they operate like the Ents in Lord of the Rings. Anything worth saying is worth taking a long time to say it. This is one of the great features of the Church so that they don't jump to conclusions. There is something called “The Peter Principle,” which has nothing to do with St. Peter or the Church, but simply states that people will be promoted in their career to one level higher than they should be, right to the point where they are incompetent. This doesn't apply to all bishops, obviously, just a few, but whenever you hear a high-ranking person espouse an idea that was jettisoned as an error many centuries ago, you have to scratch your head and wonder how or why God is working through this. But rest assured that God is doing just that. Errors about Christianity are ever-present in both the culture and the Church, and I suspect this has been the case since Peter finished his first speech on Pentecost, as surely strange interpretations began immediately. There are many bishops sticking to doctrine and the Truth, with Bishop Barron doing a beautiful job of articulating the faith, following in a long line of great articulators, like Saints Cyril, Maximus, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, John Damascene, Newman, Sheen, and many, many others. Teaching Wednesday night religion class recently, a kid raised his hand and told me, “My dad says that Jesus is the good God, and the God of the Old Testament was the one that would squash you.” “Kid,” I said, “Your dad is a heretic.” Just kidding. I didn't say that. “Kid,” I said, “Have you ever heard of Marcion?” Just kidding. I didn't say that either. How many adults today have heard of Marcion? Who has ever heard of Marcion, or Menander, or the Cathars? Few today have heard of these old names except for geeky Catholics who know about the ecumenical councils where the early Church had to settle these disputes. These old heresies argued for exactly what this kid's dad was teaching. This idea springs up repeatedly, and if we haven't heard of Marcion, we've certainly heard of Nazi Germany, which was rife with Marcionism as an offshoot of its hatred and ethnic cleansing of the Jews. (Tip: Marcionism always goes hand in hand with anti-Old Testament thinking and makes a beeline toward anti-Jewish thoughts and behavior.) Any time that Catholicism lacks respect for the Jews, it is in error, and this is why the document known as Nostra Aetate was sorely needed, as a reminder that the Church “recalls that the Apostles, the Church's main-stay and pillars, as well as most of the early disciples who proclaimed Christ's Gospel to the world, sprang from the Jewish people.” I also must add here, that if Jesus is God, and you believe that as I do, then he inspired the entire Old Testament, including the parts that are confusing, and Jesus was a devout Jew, as were Mary and Joseph. So for any Catholic to misunderstand the intensely deep meaning of the Jewish roots of Christianity is to be like the sower's seed on the rocky path. If Jesus is God, and if Scripture is inspired by God, and all of the prophecies of the Messiah were foretold by God, and the story of the chosen people is God winning back the world, then throwing out the Old Testament seems a bad idea. The kid's father who taught Marcionism was doing the same thing that a writer like Dan Brown does in his novels (as wildly inaccurate in history and logic as they are). He finds an old heresy and dusts it off as something fresh and new. Then it's presented as a fact, as a new “orthodoxy” and then believers have to spend lots of time re-arguing what has already been argued and ruled upon. But this is one of the strengths of the Church, actually, in that it has a structure that can do this. We can all see the Protestants lack this authority to rule, which leads to heresy proliferating like a cytokine storm. Truly, if there is one weakness in the Eastern Orthodox churches, it's that they cannot resolve disputes like the Catholic Church can, because the Bishop of Rome can speak from the Chair of Peter, as Christ gave Peter the keys, which is to say, the authority. What's old is new, but none of the heresies are actually new. You can go read St. Irenaeus who wrote Against Heresies in the second century, and most heresies today were already in play. Over time, new errors have come about, and over the centuries others have written books to define these errors, and why they are errors, like St. Alphonsus Liguori with the History of Heresies. There are many. St. Hippolytus of Rome. Denzinger. Belloc. Fortunately, we don't have to go read all of these, we can just read the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It's the Reader's Digest condensed version of about a million pages and scrolls from Adam to Pope Francis. There's a reason these ideas come back to life, and it's because we default toward doubt, not faith. And faith is a gift. With the eyes of faith, the heresies are clear, as the scales fall away from our vision once we see Christ for who he really is, and that is God. Once you can see Jesus and hear the word of God, then it's clear why none of the heresies work in practice. This is why they don't stick. They come and go like an Old Navy shirt - sure, it feels good for a bit, but you can tell how cheap it is, and you'll throw it out after a few years. The heresies sound good when you first discover them. They seem to make sense. This is why it took me a while to figure out that everything that Dan Brown writes is actually a spoof comedy, not a drama. Because his send-ups of heresy as truth and adventures in bad history lessons made me re-arrange my video shelf so that The Da Vinci Code sits right next to Dumb and Dumber. When I need a light-hearted night to let loose, I can choose either movie. The reason heresy is declared and marked as incorrect is not about power and control. It's about what heresies do, and what they don't do. It's about how they misunderstand Jesus and salvation history. It's about a false way to know God. The reason heresies are declared is simple: they do not work. They do not work logically or spiritually. They do not work in the mind, in the soul, or in the body. This is the thing I've been saying in this entire series in talking about sales and practical application. There are many shiny things that seem real, but like advertising for bad products, those things wind up being a mirage in the desert. What works is not just that which sells. Consumers and voters may select bad choices. Mistakes play out over time, long after the sale was made. What becomes heresy is not based on popular opinion, but based on what happens when an error is chosen. There is perhaps nothing more vindicating in the Church's slowness than in its rejection of birth control and abortion, as both of these “cure-all” remedies of the techno-utopian evangelists have blown up spectacularly. What was supposed to solve divorce, unhappiness, and family issues has exploded in divorce, unhappiness, and family issues. What works is that which lasts and endures through the ages. What works isn't always what seems easy, but what works satisfies the intellect, the will, the body, and the soul. Virtue works. Chastity works. Humility works. Faith works. Hooking up with random sex partners and pretending it doesn't matter? That doesn't work. Shouting your abortion? That doesn't work. Believe in yourself instead of something higher? That doesn't work. Perception is reality? That doesn't work. All of these ideas run into the rock of life, the true test, where bad ideas run aground. But we forget this every generation, and we re-learn it in every generation. We forget the Truth because we want to be new and clever, but the bad ideas are always old and warmed-up leftovers. This is why someone like Jean-Paul Sartre can be celebrated for a hundred years for saying, “God is dead,” when he's just saying the same thing every middle-schooler has said since the beginning of time. But when you do so with a Ph.D. it seems to have weight, despite the long-winded argument being the result of never growing past high school rebellion. What happens then is that everyone else also stuck in that ninth-grade rejection of authority, claps their hands and says, “Brilliant!” because it satisfies their egos and excuses their sin. This is why the same heresies pop up and die over and over again because heresies are exactly like dandelions. Orthodoxy, however, is like a redwood tree. Hardwoods grow slowly, apparently weak as saplings, while the wild and fast-growing grasses spring up quickly. But what is apparently hale and hearty in spring dies in the autumn. The hardwoods always win in the end, because they are built to last through the seasons of life, and that includes the winter of suffering. To go back to the sports metaphor, Catholicism is a fourth-quarter faith. It's not for the first drive down the field, or for the halftime show. It's built for the last drive that wins the game. It's for the long haul, made to last, not for showing off and fading away. So, to bring this back to heresy and Marcion: you have to read about Marcion to understand why his idea of “the Old Testament God is not the same as the New Testament” is an error all by itself, and a very dangerous one at that because it twists scripture into a wildly different shape. In the early church, Tertullian and others took up the battle and won the argument, closing the door on Marcionism forever as an error in what the Church founded by Jesus believes. And it's not a “because I said so” argument and defense, it is well-reasoned and logical, and worth exploring. Many of the “Jesus as the dude” arguments are a form of Marcionism, just as much as anti-Semitism has a taproot in Marcionism. But if I don't stop here, this post will turn into a lengthy discussion on this particular heresy, so let's move forward. More to come in part 2. Perhaps a whole series on heresies is needed, but that may require a more focused mind than my own, like those who have already written books on it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.whydidpetersink.com

This is part 11 of the Early Church History class. Have you heard of the Roman emperor Constantine? He had a massive impact on Christianity. Not only did he end the brutal persecutions of his predecessors, but he also used the Roman government to actively support the Church. However, his involvement also resulted in significant changes that eventually led to the merger between Church and State called Christendom. In this episode you'll learn about the good and the bad effects of Constantine's involvement in Christianity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQDFaIh2SsY&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2lk3B0I7Pa77hfwKJm1SRI&index=11 Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts —— Links —— More podcasts about Constantine Get Kegan Chandler's book, Constantine and the Divine Mind Find out more about this summer's Family Camp here. More Restitutio resources on Christian history See other classes here Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Notes —— Today, we're looking at one of the most influential people in church history: Constantine (272-337). Also called Constantine the Great or Constantine I There would be 10 more emperors named Constantine. Constantine 11th was the last Roman emperor who died when the Muslims conquered Constantinople in 1453. Constantine's “Edict of Milan”[1] 303-313 - The Great Persecution 313 - Toleration granted to Christians and all religions Restore confiscated property Constantine's Favoring of Christianity Exemption from public office Tax exemption Use of cursus publicus Printing of Christian scriptures Closing of law courts on Sundays Abolition of face-branding as a punishment Constantine and Churches Donated 3,000 bags of money to church in African provinces Rebuilt and enlarged damaged churches Built new churches, especially through his mother, Helena Helena also allegedly finds the true cross (relic). Constantine's Government Appointed government officials that were Christians Sought advice from Christian bishops on decisions Shared his table with Christians Had bishops accompany soldiers Christian Attitude Toward Military Prior to Constantine Jesus and his apostles taught to love enemies (Matthew 5.5, 9, 38-48; 1 Thessalonians 5.15; Romans 12.14, 17-21; 1 Peter 3.8-11) Didache 1.3-4; Justin Martyr, First Apology 39, Irenaeus, Against Heresies 4.34, Tertullian, On Idolatry 19, Hippolytus, Apostolic Tradition 16.17-19, Origen, Against Celsus 5.33, Cyprian, Epistle I: To Donatus 6, Arnobius, Against the Heathen 1.6, Lactantius, Divine Institutes 5.8.[2] Preston Sprinkle: “Despite the presence of Christians in the military, it is clear that no single Christian writer before Constantine sanctioned the use of violence, not even toward bad guys.”[3] Constantine's Vision Had been a worshiper of Sol Invictus (Unconquered Sun) Allegedly saw something above the sun Had a dream in which Christ told him to use his initials, chi rho (also called, labarum), on his soldiers' shields (“in this you will conquer”) At the battle of the Milvian Bridge, Constantine defeated Maxentius, fished his body out of the river, decapitated him, and paraded his head through the city on a stick. Christian Leaders Seek Favor Christians requested the emperor to persecute other Christians. Constantine's Edict Against the Heretics Novatians, Valentinians, Marcionites, Paulians, Cataphrygians Currying imperial favor to defeat one's Christian enemies became a standard tactic. The Constantinian shift initiated a new stage in church history—Christendom, the idea that a society or nation could be Christian. Before long, all infants would be baptized, making everyone a member of the church by birth. Everyone would be raised Christian. The government would pay clergy their salaries. How many of these so-called Christians followed Christ? Evangelism was no longer needed. The kingdom had come. The Roman Empire became the holy Roman Empire and was seen as God's kingdom on earth. Review Constantine's involvement in Christianity brought several significant changes, both good and bad, initiating the “merger” of the church and the state known as Christendom. Constantine ended the persecution of Christians, issuing the Edict of Milan (along with Licinius) in 313. Constantine donated large sums of money to rebuild churches, build new churches, and support clergy. Constantine's favoritism of Christianity incentivized people to join the church. Christians changed from discouraging military participation to blessing it. Christians pursued the emperor's favor to persecute pagans, Jews, and other Christian sects with different beliefs. Constantine's desire to have Christian advisors in his entourage caused some Christians to begin identifying the Roman Empire as God's kingdom on earth. Rather than strict obedience to the teachings of Christ, Christendom came to lower the requirements for all, while the zealous left, pursued monasticism whether as isolated hermits or in communities. [1] Scholars point out that the “Edict of Milan” was really a letter sent from Nicomedia. [2] More quotations in David Bercot, Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs. [3] Preston Sprinkle, Fight (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2013), 212-3.

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter: Office of Readings Hymn First Antiphon: Look on us, Lord, and see how we are despised. Psalm 89 Second Antiphon: I am the root and stock of David; I am the morning star. Psalm 89 Third Antiphon: Our years wither away like grass, but you, Lord God, are eternal. Psalm 90 Verse: God has raised the Lord to life, alleluia. Resp: Through his power he will also raise us up, alleluia. First Reading: Rev 9:13-23 Response: For he has fixed they day on which he will judge the world with justice, alleluia. Second Reading: From the treatise Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus, bishop Response: This is the bread that comes down from heaven, anyone who eats this bread will never die, alleluia. Presentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975 Visit: https://sthelenaministries.com Donate: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/StHelena

Feast of St. Mark, Evangelist: Office of Readings Hymn First Antiphon: Their voice has gone out to the limits of the earth, their words to the ends of the world, alleluia. Psalm 19A Second Antiphon: They proclaimed what God has done for us; they grasped the meaning of his deeds alleluia. Psalm 64 Third Antiphon: God's holiness was revealed by them; all nations saw God's glory, alleluia. Psalm 97 Verse: The Lord will give his message to the preachers of the Gospel, alleluia. Resp: He will give them strength to proclaim it fearlessly, alleluia. First Reading: Eph 4:1-16 Response: The men who spoke the word of God were inspired by the Holy Spirit, alleluia. Second Reading: From the treatise Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus, bishop Response: For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are on the way to destruction; but to us who are on the way to salvation, it is the proof of God's power, alleluia. Te Deum Presentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975 Visit: https://sthelenaministries.com Donate: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/StHelena

In chapter 16 of the book of Acts, the narrator switches from using the third person to the first person plural. Why does he do that? Works Cited C.K. Barrett, Acts: A Shorter Commentary (London: T&T Clark, 2002), xxiv. William Sanger Campbell, The "We" Passages of the Acts of the Apostles: The Narrator as Narrative Character (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2007), 87-91. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3.14.1. Translation taken from The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1957). Mikeal Parsons, Acts, Paideia Commentaries on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 238-240.

This is part 6 of the Early Church History class. In the latter half of the second century, two kinds of Christians arose to defend the faith. On the one hand, apologists wrote defenses of Christianity directed at the Roman government. They responded to rumors, arguing that Christians were decent people who should be shown toleration. On the other hand, heresy hunters (or heresiologists) began to combat Christian groups that diverged significantly from apostolic Christianity, such as the Gnostics, Valentinians, and Marcionites. Today we'll briefly overview this fascinating period of Christianity when persuasion not coercion was the means to defeat one's opponents. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43mIuUVqCK0&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2lk3B0I7Pa77hfwKJm1SRI&index=6 —— Links —— More Restitutio resources on Christian history More classes here Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Notes —— Apologists (Defenders) of the 2nd C. - Quadratus (130?)- Aristo of Pella (c. 140?)- Aristides (c. 145)- Miltiades (c. 160-180?)- Justin Martyr (d. 165)- Athenagoras (c. 170-180)- Melito of Sardis (c. 170-180?)- Appolinaris of Hierapolis (170-180)- Tatian (d. 180?)- Theophilus of Antioch (c. 180-185)- Epistle of Diognetus (150-225) Quadratus of Athens (130) - addressed book to Hadrian (r. 117-138)- claimed to know people healed by Jesus Epistle of Diognetus (150-225) - author ideas: Hippolytus, Aristides, Pantaenus- common criticisms are that Christians are incestuous b/c we call each other brother and sister, cannibals b/c we eat body and blood of Jesus, atheists b/c we didn't believe in the gods, politically subversive b/c we didn't honor the emperor by offering incense to his statue- Diog. 5.1-17 provides an excellent example of an effective apologist Justin Martyr (100-165) - Stoic -> Peripatetic -> Pythagorean -> Platonist -> Christian- founded a school in Rome- claimed Greek philosophers accessed truth of the Logos, thus Christianity is not a novel religion- Justin addressed his case to the Roman emperor and his sons and the senate and the Roman people (First Apology 1.1-2)- Dialogue with Trypho employed the idea of heresy as defined by a key belief—resurrection (see chapter 80) Heresy Hunters - Justin (140-160)- Irenaeus (180-199)- Tertullian (200-213)- Hippolytus (200-230)- Eusebius (324)- Epiphanius (374-377)- Theodoret (452-453) Standard Arguments - too complicated- trace beliefs to heresiarch- unnatural interpretation of scripture- can't trace beliefs back to the apostles- perverted truth leads to perverted morals- new generations recycle old heresies Irenaeus of Lyons (130-202)- Argued against Valentinus, Marcus, Ptolemaeus, Saturninus, Basilides, Carpocrates, Cerinthus, Ebionites, Nicolaitans, Cerdo, Marcion, Tatian, the Encratites, Orphites, Sethians, Cainites, and others- Against Heresies (aka. The Refutation and Overthrow of Falsely Called Gnosis) intended to equip church leaders to protect their unsuspecting flock from getting tricked into believing any forms of Gnosticism Review - Apologists focused on defending Christianity against outsiders by writing to the Roman authorities and laying out a case for toleration.- Justin Martyr taught that Christianity had continuity with Greek philosophers who also accessed the Logos.- Heresy hunters (heresiologists) defended Christianity against insiders who had differing beliefs from theirs.- Christians fought heresy by using key beliefs they knew their opponents couldn't affirm and by labelling them.- Justin and Irenaeus emphasized resurrection and an ultimate kingdom on earth to exclude those who held varieties of Gnostic beliefs.

For the record, I don't care about Han Solo or whether he shot first in the cantina scene in Star Wars. I care about Matthew. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for Mark, too, and Luke, and John. It's just that Mark didn't shoot first. Mark shot second. Like Mark Antony's speech at Caesar's funeral, it started with a line such as, “I've come to bury Matthew, not to praise him!” This scholarship to remove Matthew as the first Gospel writer started in anti-Catholic Protestant universities in Europe, using biased textual criticism that ignored all historical testimony in writing and Sacred Tradition. But why would they do that? Why would anyone do that? Who benefits? Let me beat this topic a bit longer…First and foremost, knocking down Matthew to second or third very clearly elevates the Protestant argument against Peter as the first Pope and apostolic succession. This cannot be understated. If there is one position to attack on the Catholic Church, it's to get the Papacy in check-mate, and when the direct assault of the Protestants didn't work, a long “march through the culture” happened in the universities. Today we can observe the atheists like Bart Ehrman in lockstep with the Marxists. It makes for strange bedfellows. Since the workers of the world did not unite to overthrow capitalism and religion, a long atheist “march through the culture” is happening. (Spoiler alert: at the end these marches, guess who will still be there? Yes, the answer is the Catholic Church. This is not the first rodeo for the Church. There have been large, violent, and lengthy attacks before in the forms of the Arians, Nestorians, Albigensians, Islam, and a hundred others.) As we watch the fragmentation of Protestantism, and the latest ascendency of what is becoming known as wokeness, we can observe a process of atomization unfolding. A scattering is happening. We can read about the annual splintering of the Baptists at their conventions. Even this week as I write this, the United Methodist Church will soon be no longer United but “Wedged” instead. On the other side, the unbelievers form factions that come and go, like the Masons, the humanists, the deconstructionists, the freethinkers, the “Brights” (the hilarious, brief attempt at a religion started by Richard Dawkins, which I was quite enamored with when I was fallen away and thought Dawkins was deep instead of ridiculous). These fads come and go, because none of them are from God. We are in the last days of the Masons because they were always just a reaction and a copycat. The humanists can't get along, or even form a coherent set of ideas, because they worship the human, and that makes for seven billion gods. The woke are already destroying one another, as the head is now eating the tail. One thing that always plays out is the breakdown of unity among unbelievers. It's ugly. It's not beautiful. It's ugly…because it's not from God.The tragedy, however, in doing this teardown of Matthew, is that these well-intentioned Pope-haters (which is considered a virtue in some Protestant circles) managed to undermine all of sacred scripture, not just the parts that affect the Catholic Church. A nice summary of this long tragedy is in a book by Scott Hahn and Benjamin Wiker called The Decline and Fall of Sacred Scripture. The obsession with scholarly insight into scripture did not elevate the word of God, it devalued it and ripped out the supernatural altogether. Yet the supernatural is still in there, despite decades of academic wrestling over.Why does this research undermine the Gospel? Because if Matthew is written after the fall of the Temple in Jerusalem, when the Romans laid waste to all things Jewish, Jesus' prediction about the temple being disassembled becomes really, really weak. If Matthew wrote this after 70 A.D., which all “modern” biased scholarship suggests, then it makes no sense. As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. Then he asked them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” (Matthew 24:1-2)Now, faithful scholarship believes Matthew was written between 42 and 68 A.D., which makes sense with this statement (and everything else above). However, scholars who lack faith place Matthew as being written after 70 A.D. and only that Matthew drew from “earlier sources,” but the problem is that the suspicion is already branded on the text and when scholars refer to “earlier sources” they are not referring to the Hebrew version of Matthew that tradition speaks about. And here are the suspicions: 1.) That the prediction of the temple destruction was added after the fact to make Jesus look prophetic. 2.) That the pro-Catholic verses about Peter and the Sacraments were added later to shore up the case for Catholic authority. 3.) That all of the Gospel is dubious at best because so much time passed that an eyewitness account is impossible. What I can never fully get my head around is this. The main argument for Mark being first is that…: Mark is shorter. The second reason is that Mark is…: Mark is a weaker writer. Both of these arguments can be turned around and argued against to say that Matthew was first because Matthew is longer and Matthew is a better writer. These arguments for “Mark shot first” are inventions and bear no weight whatsoever on facts, and you can argue it until you are blue in the face without it getting anywhere, and scholars have done just that. But somehow these arguments have great staying power because scholarship has anointed these two ideas with the ink of published papers. Never mind that the journals are biased toward “Mark shot first” to begin with. Never mind that you probably can't get a job teaching Biblical studies if you objected to these arguments (read this fascinating article about 19th century German hiring and firing of those who didn't toe the party line). The following may come as a shock to the modern person who likes to “follow the science” and assumes that science and experts would never lie: scholars and scientists are every bit as prone to simping, scapegoating, and “dry-labbing” facts as are religious and business people, and correcting an error in scholarship or science is like turning a super-tanker around in the ocean; it takes a long time, and a lot of energy, and a lot of convincing, because usually no one wants to admit things are going in the wrong direction. There's too much money, time, and sunk costs to change direction. The Titanic didn't sink because an iceberg hit it. The Titanic sunk because it ran into an iceberg. The problem of pride in the mind and assumed perfection preceded the collision. The iceberg just happened to be the reality that smashed a false idea. In praise of science, it usually will self-correct over time because sooner or later someone calls out the lie. The researcher who produces false results will be outed, even if it takes a century. However, Biblical scholarship is not biology or physics, so there is much more room for bias, just like in sociology or history or literary criticism, and the will of whoever is in power, whether it's a king or department chair, can skew the results dramatically toward the desired outcome through wordsmithing. Even in hiring, the bias for the desired outcome of future research is accomplished, because if an academic researcher would like a job but shows inclinations against the status quo, then their application will be passed over. This is no different than the Church, where an atheist cannot become a priest. But the faith is laid out in full display in the Church, where the preachers and teachers must profess the faith. In academia, this is hidden. Under the guise of “free speech” there is anything but such a thing, and therein lies the problem: the lies. Thus is a bias and motive protected, fenced off, in the walled gardens of academia, and there is no place more fenced off in the modern world than the university. They are the modern Levites, the experts who hand down the truth. As we try to downplay Moses and religious ways, our modern academic experts act more like Moses on Sinai than Moses himself, even wearing lab coats in their TV interviews, or being interviewed in rooms with walls bearing diplomas for the lay people, or giving TED talks from on high to the plebes watching at home on YouTube. So, back to the absurd argument of “It's shorter.” If I want to argue that “Mark shot first” because “it's shorter,” if I stare long and hard enough at Mark, I will find a case and enough evidence for the outcome I'm seeking. This is the beauty of textual criticism - it's an interpretive dance based solely on internal evidence, and therefore a fantasy. On the flip side, if I want to argue that Matthew is first because “it's longer,” I can do that, too. After all, you can spin a text into whatever you like, if you just use internal evidence of the text itself.The difference, however, is that a scholar most likely cannot publish the findings for an argument that “Matthew is longer, therefore first.” In secular academics, to get a job teaching such things, or to get accepted in a graduate program, is unlikely. This is the problem with modern academia; it is as rigid as the Pharisees in what you are allowed to say or believe. The book 1984 was written in an era of totalitarian governments, but today it applies very well to American universities and public schools, and this is exactly why so many teachers are leaving the profession. No one enjoys living a lie. As a former English major, I will say this pointing at myself: This spin problem is why you never want English majors being the navigators for your nation. They can spin gold into straw very easily, but they cannot spin straw into gold. They can only spin. They spin and toil and undo things, but by and large they do not create anything. A career is made of unpacking and teasing out meaning, calling out prejudices, pointing out oppression - but never producing or making anything. Lit-crit and Biblical-crit at the modern university is full of morality, guilt, and finger-pointing, to the point that three modern academics were able to publish several hoax papers on grievance studies that were accepted mainly because of their use on ridiculous postmodern jargon. “The trio set out with the intent to expose problems in what they called ‘grievance studies', referring to academic areas where they claim ‘a culture has developed in which only certain conclusions are allowed… and put social grievances ahead of objective truth'.”Now, with the humanities in free-fall, the jig is up on modern scholarship, since it's reaching the tipping point, the last phase, where the head becomes too heavy for the body to carry it any longer. Now we reach the point in a society where the workers of the world unite, but not the way that intellectuals like Marx think. The workers unite because they are tired of pulling the cart and being told they are the evil ones. So for the most part, I try not to worry about this long attack on Matthew. Jesus warned us not to worry. One thing is for sure: even if Matthew hadn't written at all, and we were still simply rolling by oral tradition, the message of Christ would still be growing, because it is from God, and nothing on this earth, nothing in this world, can halt what is from God. Jesus warned us about spinning and toiling, using clothing as an example, and clothing is even a metaphor in the Garden to hide our nakedness. Our reputations and opinions are kind of like clothing, where we fashion these elaborate fig leaves to cover ourselves. Jesus warns us to knock it off, and quit worrying: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin.” He warns us about men of little faith: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.”So I should really just stop bothering about the fact that “Matthew shot first,” because I know that tradition tells us his Gospel was first, and having faith means trusting in Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium of the Church. I know that. And yet, sometimes I let it bother me, because the real reason behind all of this is not a search for the truth, but the search for an outcome. The obvious aim of this kind of scholarship from the start has been to undermine the Church, and it remains so to this day. Whether it comes from the cynicism of unbelievers or the broadsides of Protestants, the desired outcome is the capitulation of the bishop of Rome, a.k.a. the Pope, who is on the chair of Peter, on the rock of the Church that Christ founded. And clearly scholars will not destroy the church, because Jesus promised that the “gates of hell will not prevail against” his Church. So they can certainly try to undermine it, but ultimately will fail, and they are failing now. It will play out exactly as every other attempt to destroy the Church, in that it will be messy, but the Church will remain when the dust settles, just as it has outlasted every other heresy and empire. This campaign has produced thousands of papers and articles on the Synoptic Problem, which was not a problem at all until modern scholarship made it into one, in the same universities that brought us the sad philosophy and ideas that conjured 20th century Germany, China, and the Soviet Union, and all of the horrors. These things are not unrelated. The stoking of the “will-to-power” didn't just happen in political nationalism and social Darwinism and Marxist revolutions. It happened most definitely in Biblical scholarship as well. Now, they meant it for bad, but as always, God will in the end, use it for good. This is how God deals with folks like Julius Wellhausen and Gottlieb Storr. He will do so with modern doubters too, like Bart Ehrman and his atheist disciples. The funny thing about scholarship's search for “truth” that wants to debunk Christianity is that they often end up organizing and collating information better so that new insights to Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition can be found. In other words, the unbelievers and anti-Catholics help faithful writers write better books on the truth of Christ. The anti-Catholics are like Joseph's eleven brothers in Genesis that throw him down the well and sell him into slavery, only to find out later that Joseph ended up thriving while they starved. In short, there was great incentive to crush Catholicism in Lutheran Germany from the time old Gottlieb Storr first whispered the idea of “Mark shot first” in 1786. For any philosophy aficionados, this connection will be interesting: one of Gottlieb Storr's students was none other than Hegel, who was the muse of Karl Marx. You have to marvel at it really, how these connections lead down the path of unbelief. The mess we are in today is the product of a lot of cross-pollination and rebellion (I wanted to say inbreeding but that would be uncharitable). What's interesting to me is these Hatfields and McCoys are actually all in the same family, as Protestant Storr begat unbelieving Hegel, and Hegel begat atheist Marx, and Marx begat Nietzsche, and Nietzsche begat Sartre, and Sartre begat Derrida, and Derrida begat Foucault, and Foucault begat the many-headed monster of wokeism. These are the names. This is how we've come to live in the book of Judges again in 2023 because “in those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.” (Judges 21:25) The path of denying that sin exists starts small, but balloons into the denial of God. In hindsight, this all should have been as predictable as a stock market bubble, but the prophets of doom, those annoying gnats, are never heard until afterward.When Bismarck and company were consolidating power in Germany, this little snowball of Biblical criticism rolled, and rolled, and rolled, and the re-shaping of the Bible into a secular book has been so successful that when I attended a Catholic University for a year (from which I want my money back), I learned about “Marcan Priority,” which is a fancy way of saying that “Mark shot first.” I was also told that “We don't know who wrote the Gospels.” Both of these statements are false. If only that were the worst of it. The “Mark shot first” theory is not only taught in Catholic colleges. No, no, no. “Mark shot first” is taught in the American bishops' official Bible footnotes, in the “New American Bible,” the NAB. The Bible translation itself is fine. It's the footnotes that destroy faith. I am not alone in this feeling. Many others, like Jimmy Akin and Trent Horn to name just two of them, do not like the footnotes, or even the translation very much. You cannot read a page of Matthew in the New American Bible without the writer of the footnotes mentioning the hypothetical “Q” source (a document that doesn't exist and was probably Matthew in Aramaic or Hebrew if it did exist). Further, the footnote author mentions Marcan priority, and Mark as the source. So the footnotes of the New American Bible disagree with 1800 years of Tradition. How interesting. Someday I hope to learn who the author was of these footnotes. The root problem here is a lack of a supernatural view of the Bible, of which I may do a whole additional series on, because it's so important, but I can't dive deeply on it here without getting way off track, as I tend to do. This Bible, this New American Bible, with these heretical and faithless footnotes, is given to Confirmation students across America. It is everywhere. They are given out like a medal, a right of passage at Confirmation. I've discarded mine. So should you. Get a Word on Fire Bible or Ignatius Study Bible instead, or if you don't want a Catholic study Bible, get an ESV Study Bible that has faithful footnotes. I guess I can breathe a sigh of relief here because most Catholics don't actually read the Bible. (Score one for the Protestants. See - I don't always pick on the protestors. Some of the Protestant study Bibles have better footnotes, far more faithful ones than the New American Bible). Worst of all, the USCCB, the United States Catholic Bishops' website, uses these same footnotes. I weep. Here I weep. This is a travesty that must be uprooted and ripped out of the Church. I wrote a letter to the USCCB requesting that the footnotes be taken down, or better, printed off and used for kindling. (“But that's book burning, you Nazi!”) Fine, let's just delete them and use the Ignatius Study Bible footnotes instead. Now there is a Catholic study Bible that is faithful to the Scripture and the Tradition. Again, the New American Bible is fine, but the footnotes must have been written by my liberal arts professors who hadn't been to Mass in a long time - probably ever since they received their New American Bible with the footnotes about Marcan priority! Matthew shot first. As I've mentioned before, in the Bible, in the Commandments, and in the story of Creation, order matters, and the order of which the four evangelists wrote also matters greatly. The ordering of them in the form of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John doesn't just roll off the tongue. It's also the order in which they came to be on paper. And even if Matthew was translated from Hebrew into Greek, he was first, has always been first, and the early Church had no reason to pretend this was the case, unlike the scholars who tried to upend history by twisting words. One thing that should be an immediate head scratcher for you is this: if Christianity started in Jerusalem, where Christ was crucified, effectively on Pentecost, and most of the initial arguments were with Jews and Christ's followers, then why would Mark, written in Greek, be the first? Warning: if you attend a university, almost any university, you will never hear these arguments. This is all hidden from you, as the modern Biblical scholars have buried these. In 1995, I was taught only Marcan Priority…at a Catholic college, of all places. The great thing about truth, however, is that it cannot be buried forever. My hope is that someday, just as the Dead Sea Scrolls were found by some kids throwing rocks in caves, that another jar will turn up in Israel, and inside it will be Aramaic Matthew, and all of this false scholarship, and I mean all of it, will turn to dust. Matthew shot first.The following is from a biblical site where people argue about these things, copied in full. (From https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com). What are the arguments in favor of Matthean Priority?External Evidence* Matthew is almost unanimously testified as the oldest gospel by the church fathers. Clement of Alexandria even supported both Matthew and Luke as before Mark. This is significant because Mark is said to have founded the Coptic branch of Christianity in Alexandria, Egypt. If any place were to argue for Markan priority, Egypt would be the most likely. A sampling of the church fathers' testimony follows:* Papias “Matthew wrote in Hebrew and others translated.” (HE 3.39.16)* Origen said the first gospel was written by Matthew in Hebrew. (HE 6.25.4)* Irenaeus (grandson in the faith of John by Polycarp of Smyrna) said the first gospel was written written by Matthew in land of Hebrews in their own language. (Against Heresies. 3.1.1)* Eusebius — Matthew had first preached to Hebrews and wrote in their own language (HE 3.24.6)* Jerome “Matthew was the first to compose in Hebrew and his text is still available in [library near Bethlehem].” He even challenged his critics to go see it if they doubted. (Lives of Illustrious Men ch. 3)As the church rose out of the mission to the gentiles, it is interesting that the church fathers supported the Judaic gospel of Matthew instead of Mark. Also consider that they testify that Mark was the companion of the Apostle Peter in Rome which became one of the five sees of the early church (Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria, Egypt). Unless the tradition of Matthean priority were very early, it is unlikely that they would all arrive at it independently. In fact, the slight differences in their testimonies provide evidence that they came from different sources.* Even though one of the main arguments for Markan priority is that Mark is shorter and "later authors would be more likely to expand than contract," such is not always the case (see, for example, the Reader's Digest Condensed Library). Summarizing a longer work is well known and has been for a long time. There are even ancient works which name their sources and state, "this work will be a shorter, more understandable account of the events than X."* The Didache clearly relies on Matthew. While the date of this document is debated between AD 50 and AD 150, the earlier it is, the earlier Matthew has to be.* When you examine second-century Christian writings, Matthew is quoted far more frequently than Mark. So is Luke. If Mark enjoyed a period when it was the only written gospel, it seems that it should have been more popular. Likewise, Matthew's Gospel enjoys a more central place in the second century liturgy than any other gospel or even Paul's epistles. (see, for example, Massaux's extensive treatment of the subject here)Internal EvidenceI am separating textual evidence from internal evidence. The difference is that internal evidence will be themes or concepts while textual evidence deals with specific words and phrases.* The fall of Jerusalem is completely missing from Matthew. This event rocked the Jewish world. Matthew, who so often points out when a prophecy is fulfilled, does not add an editorial comment to Jesus' prophecy that Jerusalem would be overthrown. Not a single "and this prophecy was fulfilled" about the fall.Some have pointed to Matthew 22:7 as referring to the fall of Jerusalem as an event happening in the past. In fact, this verse is almost universally accepted as such. However, sending in troops and burning a city with fire were quite common ways of dealing with troublesome cities in the past. In fact, it is so common in Near Eastern, Old Testament, and Rabbinic writings that its occurrence here should not be thought to refer to a single event.Moreover, for an after-the-fact prophecy, Matt 22:7 is very inexact. While the walls of Jerusalem fell, it was the temple that burned. In fact, post event "prophecies" do make this distinction.We have overthrown the wall of Zion and we have burnt the place of the mighty God (II Baruch 7.1). [I.e. the temple. For this sense, cf. II Mace. 5.17-20; John 11.48; Acts6.14; 21.28; etc.]They delivered ... to the enemy the overthrown wall, and plundered the house, and burnt the temple (II Baruch 80.3).And a Roman leader shall come to Syria, who shall burn down Solyma's [Jerusalem's] temple with fire, and therewith slay many men, and shall waste the great land of the Jews with its broad way (Sibylline Oracles 4.125-7).It seems to me that if this were being written post AD 70, then the prophecy would have been altered to distinguish the fates of the city and temple. Christians did come to see the burning of the Temple as God's judgment on the Jewish leadership, but the events do not correspond closely enough to require Christ's parable to be a reference to it or the wording to be an after the fact description. A final note on Matthew and the city can be found in Matthew 27:8 ("For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day."). Matthew seems to view the city as still intact when he writes that.Likewise, the cryptic statement in Matt 24, "let the reader understand" need not mean the "this prophecy has been fulfilled." Whenever Matthew wants to say that a prophecy has been fulfilled, he says so (for example, Matt 1:22; 2:15; 2:23; 3:15; 4:14; etc).I understand Matthew 24 to be referring to the parousia. Matthew states that the distress of those days will be followed immediately by the coming of the Son of Man (24:29). This did not happen in AD 70. If Matthew is trying to portray Jesus as an unmatched prophet, he failed by including material that did not happen.* While Matthew contains a high Christology, this by no means means it has to be written after Mark who does not present such a high theology. (Easily explained if Mark's Gospel is meant for an audience who is new in the faith.) Paul's letters contain a high Christology, and most scholars date Paul (died ~64) before Mark (who they place ~70). Moreover, Paul's letters show that Christian traditions even earlier than his had a high Christology.* The same can be said for Matthew's high liturgy. In fact, one of the verses that is brought out to show Matthew came late in the first century or beyond is Matthew 18:17 based on the word "church." However, this ignores that the Greek word used there, ecclesia, enjoyed wide usage in the Septuagint to translate qahal, "sacred assembly," and was used by diaspora Jews.Textual Evidence* There are a significant number of places in Matthew where the parallel account in Mark makes more sense to have been edited down than for Matthew to expand. It is possible to read Mark with the hypothesis that it came from Matthew and run into no redactional problems that challenge said hypothesis. However, reading Matthew as a redaction of Mark does cause such problems.* There are places where Mark uses a certain word but Matthew does not, even though he used that word in other places (for example "pherein"). This makes more sense with Mark editing Matthew than of Matthew copying Mark.* There are places where Matthew has phrases he likes and uses them consistently. Mark has parallels of most of these accounts and is very free in his translations of the phrases. It makes more sense for Mark to be free styling from Matthew than it does for Matthew to be forcing the phrase into his wording whenever he sees it in Mark. One of these phrases is opias de genomenes, found first in Mt 8:16 and Mk 1:32. Markan priority has to conclude that Matthew copied the form exactly as Mark had it the first time, then always and consistently used the same grammar whenever he found a similar phrase in Mark and introducing it himself in Mt 20:8 which has no parallel in Mark.* There are places where Mark combines details from both Matthew and Luke. An example of these duplicate expressions can be seen in Mark 1:32 compared to Mt 8:16 and Luk 4:40.Mk 1:32 When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed.Mt 8:16 When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.Lk 4:40 While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them.In these parallels, Mark combines the introductory phrases from both Matthew and Luke. In this case, Markan priority would require that Luke know of both Matthew and Mark and consciously choose to use the exact phrase that Matthew does not. However, if Matthew writes first and Luke second, there is no such problem.* Matthew leaves semitisms in place where Mark smoothens them. This includes wording and patterns that Mark breaks. Yes, Mark has eight semitic words, but Matthew has many more semitisms (so does Luke, a plethora of semitisms). Many of Mark's semitisms seem to be added for drama while Matthew's flow naturally.Adding to the semitisms are 12 times where Matthew (and Luke) uses the participle of a verb while Mark uses the past tense. Using a participle for the second verb in a set (and he answered, saying) is well-known when coming from a semitic language (all over the Septuagint) but is not used in normal Greek. Mark also uses these participles but not as often. It would be more likely to edit them out than to edit them back in.Many more examples exist where Matthew and Luke agree with one another in wording and Mark is different.* Matthew and Luke both record 8 healing miracles. Mark has 10. The two left out of both Matthew and Luke are the saliva miracles (Mark 7:32-35 and 8:24). Did they both decide to skip the same miracles independently or did Mark add them from another source?More details can be found here and here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.whydidpetersink.com

BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY brings the Montanism Trilogy to its bloody, triumphant ending. Host Chris Palmero shifts the focus to the spectacular changes that the war against the New Prophecy caused within the structure of Catholic Christianity itself, causing it to transform from just another "free radical" Jewish sect, to a truly organized religion, for better or worse. Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about the bogus list of early Roman Bishops; the dawn and progression of the Catholic Sect; why "Proto-Orthodoxy" is a vague and silly concept; how Asia Minor is so central to the story of Christianity; about the changes caused by Montanism in terms of organization, the Eschaton, prophecy, and the invention of the past; why the ancient Christians wanted their Church leaders to be rich; how the ancient Roman Church became so prominent; who its first real Bishop was; what finally happened to the New Prophecy; and about a curious little tome entitled..."Churchfails."Opening reading: The Jesus of the Book of Revelation, impressed with the city's cheesesteaks, grants the ancient city of Philadelphia an "Open Door," through which the first Montanist missionaries will step on their way to converting one man in a lost little valley, in one of the most momentous decisions in history.Patreon: www.patreon.com/borninthesecondcenturyWebsite: facebook.com/BornInTheSecondCenturyE-mail: secondcenturypodcast@gmail.comMusic: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, SoundCloud0:47 - Reading: BOOK OF REVELATION. Philadelphia and the Open Door.18:27 - OPENING Remarks.25:21 - Top News Story: CHURCHFAILS.30:34 - OPENING Remarks, Cont'd.35:47 - Reading: IRENAEUS, Against Heresies. The List of Roman Bishops.47:36 - On the So-Called PROTO-ORTHODOXY.55:11 - The Dawn of the CATHOLIC SECT.59:25 - Reading: IGNATIUS, Philadelphians. He Prophesies in the Voice of God.1:05:31 - ASIA MINOR as the True Home of Christianity.1:20:35 - Changes Caused by Montanism, PRELUDE.1:23:52 - Changes Caused by Montanism: ORGANIZATION.1:27:38 - EXCURSUS: On Money.1:32:45 - Changes Caused by Montanism: THE ESCHATON.1:35:40 - Changes Caused by Montanism: THE SEALING OF PROPHECY.1:39:37 - Changes Caused by Montanism: THE INVENTION OF THE PAST.1:55:30 - EXCURSUS: Why the Church Would Canonize FORGED BOOKS.2:04:52 - Reading: TERTULLIAN, Prescription Against Heretics. On the Roman Church.2:07:56 - How the Catholic Church Colonized ROME.2:22:28 - The Rise of THE HOLY PSYCHIC CHURCH.2:26:51 - CLOSING Remarks of the Montanism Trilogy.2:28:39 - Epilogue: The New Prophecy's FATE.Support the show

Star Wars nerds have an argument about Han Solo, and whether he fired his gun first in the bar scene of “A New Hope.” There are t-shirts that say, “Han shot first.” I am here to tell you of a similar argument, one that has far greater importance and consequence for anyone that believes Jesus is God incarnate, also known as the Creator of the Universe. This one matters immensely because your spiritual life may depend on how you answer it, and the truth about this matters much in the founding of Christ's Church. This question is about which Gospel was written first, and I am here to tell you: Matthew shot first. Matthew wrote the first Gospel. He wrote it in Hebrew first before it was translated into Greek. He wrote it before the year 70 A.D. And it was Matthew the Apostle that wrote it, not some random Matthew from Accounting. Why does any of this matter? Because for two centuries, people have been spending incredible amounts of ink to disprove this Tradition, because it undermines the Church. According to Sacred Tradition, from Papias and Irenaeus, to Ignatius of Antioch, all the way to St. Jerome and St. Augustine, Matthew was known to be the first Gospel. This is documented in various writings from the Church fathers. The whole tradition of the Church said so for nearly two millennia. For a terrific read on this, check out Brant Pitre's book The Case for Jesus which cuts through two hundred years of fog spewed from anti-Catholic scholarship and atheists. For anyone who attended college in the 1990s, brace yourself and be seated when reading this book. Much of what I learned in my freshman year of college turned out to be false, it's just unfortunate that I can't get a refund from Viterbo University for it. (Note: there's a video series on formed.org of Pitre's The Case for Jesus). Matthew happens to be the Gospel with the most pro-Catholic references. But that is not the reason I believe it is important to believe that Matthew shot first. Not at all. Rather, it is the overwhelming evidence of history and testimony of the early church that indicates that Matthew, the apostle, wrote a Hebrew or Aramaic gospel first, and no one batted an eye about this claim until 19th century scholars decided that Matthew a.) didn't write it all, and b.) wrote it much later, and c.) maybe didn't even exist. All of Christianity, for 1800 years, knew that the gospel of Matthew was written first, hence the ordering that we all learn as children: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Until the 19th century, in Germany's “culture war” (Kulturkampf) against the Catholic Church, Matthew shot first. Then, magically, by textual criticism, in mostly Lutheran academic circles, suddenly Mark became the first Gospel. You have to marvel at this sudden change, when you consider how much Catholics and other faithful talk about Jesus, and things related to Jesus, and anything that could possibly even relate to Jesus. People talk about Jesus and the Gospels like breathing air. But we are to assume that for 1800 years, no one had really thought about which Gospel was written first? And, stranger still, only when the Protestant era and Enlightenment humanism arrived did the topic finally come up? I find it difficult to imagine that the early Church members, from bishops downward to the lowliest lay person, didn't constantly discuss these things. Moreover, you have copies of Matthew scattered about the known world with “According to Matthew” written at the very top of the scrolls, indicating very clearly that the authorship was not in question. But suddenly in modern times, the question erupts: “Did Matthew really write Matthew?”There is literally no copy of Matthew that does not have his name written at the top. Zero. The only question of authorship comes from those who do not want it to be written by an apostle and an eyewitness of Jesus' life. Further, there is not a single argument in the writings of the early Church that dispute that Matthew was written first. When scripture first started being read in liturgy, the Church would still have been almost entirely oral tradition. In other words, spreading the word of Jesus was not done by handing someone a Gideon's Bible or leaving a pamphlet on the bathroom sink at the airport. No, the word, was all passed on by the spoken word, and through relationships. Anyone still remember relationships? This is hard to remember for us now, but relationships and human contact was a pre-Internet phenomenon when people got together and talked about things that really mattered to them instead of watching cat videos, sports, and porn by themselves. In the early church, there was no printing press, and most people were illiterate. So if you wanted to learn about Christ, you had to talk about Christ with others, listen, repeat, retell, and revisit. No podcasts were available, no wordy blogs like this one. Yet clearly the copyists and the Church fathers knew that Matthew existed, wrote the first Gospel, and wrote it first. This is what is called Tradition in the Catholic Church. It is beyond my ceiling of credibility to imagine that no one during the Apostolic era stopped to ask, or thought to discuss, or bent anyone's ear about which evangelist wrote first, or who wrote it. We are to believe that we had to wait some 1800 years for English and German Protestant scholars to come up with these questions. Now, I can watch just about any fantasy or science fiction movie and let my ceiling be raised to accommodate the director's or author's imagination, but I cannot imagine that no one said, “Hey guys, which Gospel was written first?” In addition, the one Apostle who most certainly knew how to write was the tax collector, Matthew, who worked in Jerusalem and would have obviously needed to know multiple languages to merely do his job. Yet, we plant this stamp of doubt upon it and ask, “Did Matthew really write Matthew?” as if no one ever asked that question. But there is good reason for enemies of the Church to argue that Mark shot first. There are extremely compelling reasons to take up this banner and fight against “Matthew shot first.”The motive to remove eyewitness accounts of Jesus' life is strong on the atheist side of the fence, because it increases doubt and alleviates their conscience for not believing. If you push Matthew out to 90 A.D., then a sixty year gap from Crucifixion to writing the Gospel makes it more of a legend than a biography. On the flip side, for Protestants, moving Matthew to a much later date elevates the argument against Peter as the first Pope. Matthew is full of references to Peter as the founder of Christ's Church, as well as the Sacraments of confession and marriage being defined exactly as the Church still teaches them in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In both cases, the Church is attacked. This is nothing new, and every heresy and battle the Catholic Church ever faced comes from the same places, going as far back as Marcion, Pelagius, Arius, Celsus, and every other would-be Pope-slayer. But here's one of the funny things about all of those historical heresies: not one of them, not a single one, ever challenged the idea that Matthew shot first. This only came up relatively recently, starting in countries with kings and politicians that hated the Church, who were either Protestant or unbelievers. But most interesting is that in both writing the author as Matthew and declaring the order with Matthew first, the early church had no motive or reason to lie about any of this, because neither the specter of atheism nor the idea of future Protestantism in the 16th century would have occurred to them. It's difficult, if not impossible, to imagine how every scribe in the world wrote “The Gospel according to Matthew” on top of the scroll, when as this thing was spread out it was like feathers flying out of a pillow from a rooftop. Yet, we are to believe that every scribe who caught a feather was somehow in on a conspiracy to mask the authorship of some random writer by tricking everyone into believing that the apostle Matthew wrote it. Perhaps more amazing is the minor, miniscule errors in copying that the scribes made as this document flew around the world. To follow this a bit more, we are to believe that those first Christians who were willing to preach in the streets and be martyred for proclaiming the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, had some kind of massive, Orwellian, bureaucratic memory-hole operation in place to bury any copy that could have unwound the conspiracy. This is beyond comprehension, because it assumes that rather than just trying to spread the word of Jesus, the apostles were master manipulators, like Machiavelli, or Iago from Othello, and somehow these fishermen cooked up a story so profound and so life-changing, that not only were they willing to tell it to everyone, but they were willing to be boiled, clubbed, beaten, stabbed, flayed, and crucified for it. The “synoptic problem” was not a problem until it was a problem for unbelievers and Protestants, especially kings who wanted to have their own form of religion and morality, like every mythological cult that ever got started. The problem with allowing kings and power into your religion is that in that very moment, that instant, you've lost your religion. This is, essentially, what paganism is. It's the hammering of God's law and natural law to fit the goals of the king or the State. And re-writing history to remove Matthew is one of those methods of “winning” that modern kings and governments and academics have attempted to use. But the motive of the Apostles motives was evangelism, as they were on fire with the Holy Spirit, literally, from Pentecost onward. Things were moving at a pace far too fast for creeping conspiracies, and the Word of God was spreading even without them, because as soon as they told someone, that person told the next, and the next, and the next. It's worth pointing out that the Apostles and early Church Fathers didn't have TV or YouTube, so they had immense amounts of time to ponder these things, and they knew the scriptures, not to mention Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic, far better than anyone alive today. They lived far closer to the oral tradition and the texts themselves, and St. Jerome even wrote that he saw and read from the Hebrew version of Matthew in Alexandria. What scholars do with lines like that is find an error in the writing, unrelated to the claim, and then cast out the author as “unreliable.” Or they look to the motives and say, “This Church father was a propagandist for the Catholic Church.” This is classic hitman work, but if that is the case, then this cancel culture should be applied equally to modern scholarship, where if any error is ever made, the Ph.D. should be rescinded. As for who I would rather trust, I would take saints Jerome, Augustine, Papias, Irenaeus, Polycarp, Ignatius of Antioch, and Matthew himself over the 19th century anti-Catholics and 20th century atheists. After all, a lot of the Church Fathers and the Apostles died for their proclamations, and none of them, not one, cracked and cried out in the fires or at their beheadings, “You're right, I lied. We all lied! In the seven weeks between the Crucifixion and Pentecost, we came up with a grand conspiracy, and we would say that Matthew wrote in Hebrew first, and that he wrote it after the Temple was destroyed so that we could make it look prophetic, and actually Matthew didn't write it all, it was Matthew from Accounting - he wrote it! We hired a ghost writer, just please, please don't kill me!”No, they go to their deaths. They go boldly, without apostatizing or recanting. They die saying things much different than what I just imagined. "Eighty-six years have I have served him," Polycarp said on his way to the fire, "and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my king and my savior?"Ignatius of Antioch, dragging his chains, spoke defiantly to the Roman emperor Trajan. He said, “You are in error, emperor, when you call the demons of your nation gods. For there is but one God who made heaven, earth, the sea and all that are in them. And one Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God.” Church tradition even holds that Ignatius was the actual kid that Jesus held in the Gospel stories. (Mt 18:1-5) In other words, guys like Ignatius of Antioch were alive when Christ was alive. He met Jesus. So here's the dilemma, the choice: am I to believe a 19th or 20th century scholar who spent all of his time in a library reviewing fragments of paper and letting his imagination soar, or am I to believe the testimony of Matthew, Ignatius, Papias, Irenaeus, Jerome, Eusebius, Augustine, and all the others, who lived and died in the era when the Church was forming and when many were being slaughtered by kings and governors in professing that Jesus is the son of God? I choose the latter. Sorry, C.H. Weisse. Sorry, Bart Ehrman. It requires more faith to believe anything that Ehrman claims than it does to believe in the Resurrection of Christ. Here's the thing: these scholars have sacrificed nothing and only sown doubt, and led millions to the death of their faith. It is not difficult to destroy faith. It is difficult to be in the counter-culture and live a life of faith. Ehrman and the others may be searching for truth, but they are doing so in the darkness, willfully choosing to reject God, which is what God allows us to do. Each of us has the choice to turn toward or away from God, and the effort of scholars to spurn God requires that they reject hard historical written evidence in order to produce and uphold their faith in nothing. But then of course they must do this - when all you have is this world, and no spiritual life, it's imperative that you recruit others to your worldview, because we all need our cheerleaders, and standing alone in the abyss without God is a lonely place to be. We get to choose our own hell, but some of us like Ehrman want others to choose it as well. St. Thomas, the doubting apostle, was told, “Blessed are those who have not seen and believe.” (Jn. 20:29) This is, of course, the great test, the final test, the one we get to answer on our deathbed. It's the one that Ehrman and Dawkins have already answered, but could still change their mind. It's the kind of final exam you really don't need to study for, but you do need to prepare for it, because how you decide will crystallize your eternal state. Perhaps the most difficult thing for me to believe is that we have several different writings from Church Fathers which mention that Matthew first wrote a document in Hebrew, but because we cannot find that document today, we assume it doesn't exist. Here's a news flash for modern people: paper crumbles. Time decays paper. If you don't believe me, go find your grandmother's photo album and inspect it. There's this odd sense that if we don't dig up the original draft that it didn't exist, when we know full well that paper falls apart, and copyists had to copy and yes, even translate the texts. There is a reason scribes were called scribes, and that was to copy texts so they didn't disintegrate. Yet many deny a Hebrew writing by Matthew exists because we haven't found it. But this leads us to the best part, the most fantastic and ludicrous thing of all about 19th century German scholarship and 20th century atheist scholarship, which has even bled over into Catholic teaching at universities like the one I attended. You cannot make up the next part, except that they did make it up… Of all things that confound me, replacing this Hebrew version of Matthew, we have scholars who have invented a fictional document called “Q” for which there is no evidence, no scrap, not a letter of, but which is assumed to exist. So we have writings that mention Matthew's earlier writing in Hebrew, which is discarded for a hypothetical document that is not mentioned anywhere, has never existed, and will never exist, that takes its place. We even have St. Jerome saying that he saw a Hebrew version of Matthew in Alexandria. We have testimony of eyes on the Hebrew version of Matthew. However, this fairy Q document has nothing, but is treated as if it were the first Gospel. So the next time someone tells you that Matthew was written after 80 A.D., you should assume that they are referring to the Greek translation of Matthew, because there is clearly a Hebrew version of Matthew, of some kind, of some format, written long before that. Because if the scholars can “prove” that a Greek translation of Matthew was written after the fall of the Temple in Jerusalem, and that someone other than Matthew translated it, that's not a terribly big deal. The point of massive significance is that Matthew wrote first, that Matthew wrote a Gospel, and he wrote it first in Hebrew. He was the only apostle that certainly had to be literate because of his occupation as a tax collector, and even if he dictated it to a scribe, that's no different than any other author speaking to a secretary that types a memo. It should come as no surprise that copies and translations had to be made, and my New Testament college professor acted as if the Gospels had to a.) either fall from the sky, b.) or had to have the finger of God directing the hand motion on the paper, or c.) if neither of the above happened, then it was just a game of telephone that only academics and the Jesus Seminar unbelievers could decipher. To this day, I am stunned, really beyond stunned, that a Catholic University was teaching and guiding students to read the output of the Jesus Seminar from the 1990s. The same attack on Matthew has been done to the point of insanity on the books of Moses, with the same batch of motives, which is to reduce the sacred texts to “nation-building” lies, or worse, to deny the existence of Moses altogether. When things come up like this you have to look at the motives of the scholars. To quote the Dude in The Big Lebowski, who quotes Vladimir Lenin, before his stoner mind drifts off: “You look to the person who will benefit…and ah…”Walter Sobchak: The Dude: It's all a fake, man. It's like Lenin said: you look for the person who will benefit, and, uh, uh, you know... Donny: I am the walrus.Who benefits from this scholarship that removes Matthew as author, as the first author, and pushes his writing back to 90 A.D.? It's quite simple. Protestants and atheists benefit, and they benefit in different ways. The Church's authority is undermined, which is what Protestants wanted, but funny thing about that, in their zeal for undermining Catholic authority, they undermined scripture altogether, because as soon as they finished their sprint around the track, atheists took the baton and ran so that today people don't even believe that Jesus existed. Now, I can go on for days about this railroading of Matthew, and I probably will, because one of the greatest attacks on the Church, sustained now for two hundred years, is this effort to force Matthew down from it's chronological position as the first Gospel. The goal is multi-faceted. The attack has various prongs, but first of all, his writing clearly elevates the Catholic Church, and most of the scholars on this topic truly hated the Catholic Church. They still do. Second, removing Matthew as an eyewitness account of Christ makes the miracles seem fishy. Hence, you get unbelievers like Ehrman calling it all a “telephone game” rather than eyewitness accounts of God in the flesh. What's funny is that there is a telephone game happening, but it's among academics starting in the 1500s right up until today in 2023. Third, pushing Matthew's writing to beyond the year 70 A.D. after the temple was destroyed in Jerusalem, makes the prophecy of Christ about the temple destruction seem more like a statement from Captain Obvious than the Son of God. Moving the goal posts on the chronology of the Gospel writers has a clear motive, which is to remove the eyewitness nature of the accounts and play up the “telephone game” nonsense. There's just one major problem with this, Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching in Rome and laying the foundation of the Church. After their departure, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, did also hand down to us in writing what had been preached by Peter. Luke also, the companion of Paul, recorded in a book the Gospel preached by him. Afterwards John, the disciple of the Lord, who also had leaned upon his breast, did himself publish a Gospel during his residence at Ephesus in Asia. (Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3:1:1)Peter and Paul were martyred before 70 A.D. So was this a vast conspiracy by Irenaeus and Papias and the various other writers to befuddle us all until we were blessed with Protestant German scholars and atheist academics? I think the QAnon people have a more plausible conspiracy theory than this one. So who are we to believe? Some random professor today? Or Irenaeus, who was taught by Polycarp, who knew the Apostle John, who stood at the Cross during the Crucifixion? Which of these two people are more likely to have known when and by whom the Gospels were written? Here's the pedigree of Irenaeus, who today's random professor has written off as unreliable:Polycarp was a bishop of the early church, a disciple of the apostle John, a contemporary of Ignatius, and the teacher of Irenaeus. According to Irenaeus, Polycarp “was instructed by the apostles, and was brought into contact with many who had seen Christ.” He lived from the latter half of the first century to the mid-second century. Polycarp was martyred by the Romans, and his death was influential, even among the pagans. (from gotquestions.org) I choose Irenaeus. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.whydidpetersink.com

The imperial church of the late 2nd century was bedevilled by external competitors -- Gnostics, Marcionites, Montanists – and vexed by internal division over the nature of Christ. Was he man, god, or both? The church brought forth fighters to defend its corporate markets. These were the heresy hunters. Justin Martyr and Hegesippus the Holy were early soldiers.  Bishop Irenaeus of Lyon was the greatest of these warriors. His works was enormously influential. For a start, he decisively moved the church away from its reliance on the Jewish holy books as divine authorities, and towards a new holy canon.  In his greatest work, “Against Heresies”, Irenaeus produced an encyclopedia of the church's enemies. He invented the concept of heresy, incorrect belief. This was a concept unknown to the ancient world. Irenaeus used the concept to set up clear borders between the church incorporate and its rivals.

On your MARKS, get set, go! We all know those fateful numbers 6-6-6 by heart, but most people's assumptions about what they really mean don't add up. To help us decipher this inscrutable integer, we're joined by Beverly, longtime record-breaking member of our own Mark of the Beast club.   SHOW LINKS Only Sky: After legal threats, Kansas school board repeals ‘Satanism' ban in dress code Revelation 13 Against Heresies, Irenaeus (180 CE) A Commentary Critical & Explanatory of the Entire Bible: Revelation 13, Jamieson, Faussett, and Brown (1876) International Bible Commentary, William Farmer (1998) The Antichrist: A New Biography, Philip Almond (2020) The Late, Great Planet Earth, Hal Lindsey (1970) Naming the Antichrist, Robert Fuller (1995) LA Review of Books: The Desperate Search For the Mark of the Beast, Anna Merlan (2019) The Conversation: No, the COVID Vaccine Is Not the Mark of the Beast, Eric Vanden Eykel, (2021) YouTube: Watch out for 666! YouTube: Kathy Don't Go!   GET IN TOUCH WITH BLACK MASS APPEAL Facebook Twitter Instagram Patreon Tabitha Slander's Instagram Discord server   SATANIC BAY AREA Website Facebook Twitter (as @SatanicSF) Instagram Sign up for Satanic Bay Area's newsletter On TikTok as DailyBaphirmations Coffee Hour is the third Thursday of every month from 6 – 8 pm at Wicked Grounds in San Francisco!

Picking up from Episode 13, and after a brief review, Dr. Jenkins looks specifically at what St. Irenaeus says in Book III of Against Heresies concerning the office of the Bishop, what this office entails, why it is important, and its link to the Apostles, and thus to Christ. The passage read from St. Irenaeus, plus other information for Episode 14 can be found on my blog.

Picking up from Episode 13, and after a brief review, Dr. Jenkins looks specifically at what St. Irenaeus says in Book III of Against Heresies concerning the office of the Bishop, what this office entails, why it is important, and its link to the Apostles, and thus to Christ. The passage read from St. Irenaeus, plus other information for Episode 14 can be found on my blog.

Picking up from Episode 13, and after a brief review, Dr. Jenkins looks specifically at what St. Irenaeus says in Book III of Against Heresies concerning the office of the Bishop, what this office entails, why it is important, and its link to the Apostles, and thus to Christ. The passage read from St. Irenaeus, plus other information for Episode 14 can be found on my blog.