Podcasts about Tertullian

On today's Bible Answer Man broadcast (05/03/23), Hank answers the following questions:In Genesis 1:6, why isn't there a declaration that the second day was good?What are your thoughts on the book Hope Beyond Hell? This book claims that Tertullian was the first church father to teach an eternal hell, is that true?Did the Early Church Fathers teach universalism?Is the Sabbath to be observed on Saturday or Sunday?Was Satan created before Adam? How did he attain the power he has?Why was Satan allowed to sin in heaven? If Satan had volition, will we also have the ability to sin in heaven?When were dinosaurs created?

Do you know the origin of original sin? Join Sam, John, and Ron as they engage the topic by laying some groundwork and distinguishing between two approaches to the discussion of original sin. What did the great theological minds of Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian, and Augustin have to say about original sin, and how did they shape our current understanding? Is original sin a core Christian doctrine or an optional way of interpreting certain passages? Tune into this week's episode to find out!

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.

2 Timothy 2:9-10 If it were possible to extinguish Christianity through violent persecution, it would have been snuffed out long ago. But it is a fact of the last 2,000 years that the persecution of the Church has simply accelerated its growth. Tertullian, an author in the second century, wrote: “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Most of us have had no experience of violent persecution, but it is important to remember that it continues to be the experience of many Christians around the world today. Every year, thousands of Christians are killed because of their faith in countries such as Afghanistan, North Korea, Somalia, Libya and Yemen. Paul was certain that, however great the persecution, the word of God could never be chained. We find exactly the same truth in the prophecy of Isaiah 55:10-11. God declared: “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” What an encouragement these words should be for us all! It often seems as if people aren't remotely interested in God's word, and we can get discouraged. But we should hold on to the truth that the word of God then and now is, to use the words of Hebrews 4:12, “alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword”. Paul was willing to suffer anything in the cause of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. For him, nothing in the world could be more important or worthwhile than that. QUESTION How much are you willing to endure as you live for God? PRAYER Lord God, I thank you for the inspiration of Paul's testimony. Help me to be willing to serve you faithfully, however tough it might be. Amen

Pascha 2023 – Christ's Descent Apostle's Creed - I believe in God the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried,  descended to the dead (lit. “to the lower”), rose again from the dead on the third day, Acts 2:22-28, 31-3222 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him,“‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope.27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.'… 31 he [David] foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Eph. 4:9 - Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?   1 Pet. 3:18-19 - 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which He went and proclaimed/preached to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah,  “Almost without exception in the NT, “spirits” (plural) refers to supernatural beings rather than to people…The word “prison” is not used elsewhere in Scripture as a place of punishment after death for humans beings, while it is used for Satan (Rev. 20:7) and other fallen angels (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6). In this case the message Christ proclaimed is almost certainly one of triumph…” 2 Pet. 2:4 – 4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into tartarus and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;  Jude 6 - 6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, He has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— 1 Pet. 4:6 - For this reason, the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.   Christ rose from the place of the dead, and raised up the race of Adam from the grave below.  Melito (c. 170, E), 8.757. The Lord was made “the First-Begotten of the dead.” Receiving into His bosom the ancient fathers, He has regenerated them into the life of God.  Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W), 1.455. For their benefit, “He also descended into the lower parts of the earth,” to behold with His eyes the state of those who were resting from their labors. ...For Christ did not come merely for those who believed on Him in the time of Tiberius Caesar. Nor did the Father exercise His providence only for the men who are presently alive. Rather, He exercised it for all men altogether, who from the beginning...have both feared and loved God.  Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W), 1.494. It was for this reason, too, that the Lord descended into the regions beneath the earth, preaching His advent there also. And He [declared] the remission of sins received by those who believe in Him.  Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W), 1.499. He gathered from the ends of the earth into His Father's fold the children who were scattered abroad. And He remembered His own dead ones, who had previously fallen asleep. He came down to them so that He might deliver them.  Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W), 1.506. For three days He dwelt in the place where the dead were, as the prophet said concerning Him. “And the Lord remembered His dead saints who slept formerly in the land of the dead. And He descended to them to rescue and save them.” The Lord Himself said, “As Jonah remained three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so will the Son of man be in the heart of the earth.”  Irenaeus  The Lord preached the Gospel to those in Hades. ...Do not [the Scriptures] show that the Lord preached the Gospel to those who perished in the flood, or rather had been chained, as to those kept in ward and guard? And it has been shown also...that the apostles, following the Lord, preached the Gospel to those in Hades. ...If, then, the Lord descended to Hades for no other reason but to preach the Gospel (as He did descend), it was either to preach the Gospel to all, or else to the Hebrews only. If, accordingly, He preached to all, then all who believe will be saved on making their profession there—even though they may be Gentiles. For God's punishments are saving and disciplinary, leading to conversion. He desires the repentance, rather than the death, of a sinner. This is especially so since souls, although darkened by passions, when released from their bodies, are able to perceive more clearly. For they are no longer obstructed by the paltry flesh. ...Did not the same dispensation obtain in Hades? For even there, all the souls, on hearing the proclamation, could either exhibit repentance, or confess that their punishment was just, because they did not believe. And it was not arbitrary that they could obtain either salvation or punishment. For those who had departed before the coming of the Lord had not had the Gospel preached to them. So, they had been given no opportunity to either believe or not believe.  Clement of Alexandria (c. 195) He preached the Gospel to those in the flesh so that they would not be condemned unjustly. So how is it conceivable that He did not for the same reason preach the Gospel to those who had departed this life before His coming?  Clement of Alexandria (c. 195, E), 2.492.Hades is not supposed by us to be a bare cavity, nor some subterranean sewer of the world. Rather it is a vast deep space in the interior of the earth. ...For we read that Christ in His death spent three days in the heart of the earth. ...He did not ascend into the heights of heaven before descending into the lower parts of the earth. This was so that He might there [in Hades] make the patriarchs and prophets partakers of Himself.  Tertullian (c. 210, W), 3.231. [Christ is Lord of] things under the earth, because He was also reckoned among the dead. For He preached the Gospel to the souls of the saints. Through death, He overcame death.  Hippolytus (c. 200, W), 5.209. [John the Baptist] also first preached to those in Hades, becoming a forerunner there when he was put to death by Herod. So even there, too, John revealed that the Savior would descend to ransom the souls of the saints from the hand of death.  Hippolytus (c. 200, W), 5.213. Christ delivered the first man of earth from the lowest Hades, when he was lost and bound by the chains of death. ...This is He who was to become the preacher of the gospel to the dead.  Hippolytus (c. 205, W), 5.170. The jailers of Hades trembled when they saw Him. And the gates of brass and the bolts of iron were broken. For, look! The Only-Begotten, God the Word, had entered Hades with a soul—a soul among souls.  Hippolytus (c. 205, W), 5.194. It was the same among the dead. Christ was the only free person there, and His soul was not left in Hades. As a result, then, He is the first and the last.  Origen (c. 228, E), 10.315. When Christ became a soul, without the covering of the body, He dwelled among those souls who were also without bodily covering. And He converted those of them who were willing.  Origen (c. 248) Meanwhile, Hades was resplendent with light. For the Star had descended to there. Actually, the Lord did not descend into Hades in His body, but in His spirit. In short, He is working every­where. For while He raised the dead by His body, by His spirit He was liberating souls. ...For the Lord had conquered Hades, had trodden down death.  Alexander of Alexandria (c. 324)

1. Martyr Justin 2. Tertullian  

On this episode of FACTS, Dr. Stephen Boyce reads Tertullian's profound statement of how the Apostolic Churches protected themselves from forgeries and heresies that would often come into the Churches. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stephen623/support

This is part 9 of the Early Church History class. How did Christians organize themselves in the first few centuries? We're taking a break from theology and switching to focus on practical matters of church offices, church governance, church discipline, conversion, and charity. As it turns out we have a surprising amount of information about how early Christians did church not only from scattered quotes, but from a series of church manuals that have survived. In some ways these church orders sound eerily familiar to modern ears and in other ways, utterly foreign. See what you think. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7tCjuTbHx8&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2lk3B0I7Pa77hfwKJm1SRI&index=9&t=1892s Sources The Didache (100)[1] Apostolic Tradition (215) (Hippolytus?)[2] Didascalia Apostolorum (230)[3] Apostolic Church Order (300)[4] Apostolic Constitutions (380)[5] quotes from others like Justin, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Cyprian, etc. Church Orders are notoriously hard to date (composite documents). They don't necessarily reflect the whole church and sometimes disagree with each other. They simply represent a snapshot of what Christians were doing in a particular time and place. Joseph Lynch: “In the innermost circle were the people who were full members, the baptized faithful. Two groups were in the second circle: the unbaptized catechumens (“those under instruction”) who were seeking entry to the inner circle and the baptized penitents who had been expelled from the inner circle and were trying to get back in. The huge third circle held the non-believers (pagans and Jews), the former Christians (apostates), and the unacceptable Christians (heretics).”[6] Bishops (Overseers) qualifications in 1 Timothy 3.1-7; Titus 1.7-9 extraordinary honor as God's representative 50 years old (if possible) learned (if possible) and skillful with words preach, administer communion, baptize, rebuke sin, restore repentant, visit the sick supported financially, but live moderately coordinate burying believers Presbyters (Elders) qualifications in Titus 1.6-9 functions in 1 Timothy 5.17; James 5.14; 1 Peter 5.1-4 (shepherd, anoint sick, teach) Tertullian: “The tried men of our elders preside over us, obtaining that honour not by purchase, but by established character. There is no buying and selling of any sort in the things of God.”[7] Deacons/Deaconesses (Servants) qualifications in 1 Timothy 3.8-13; Acts 6.3-6 take care of the poor, elderly, sick they “go everywhere night and day” (Apostolic Church Order 22) bring communion to people's homes encourage giving and handle distribution prior to communion a deacon “calls out in a loud voice: ‘Is there anyone who maintains anger with his neighbour?'” (Didascalia 11[2.54]) serve as ushers “[I]f anyone is found sitting in a place which is not his, the deacon within should warn him and make him stand up and seat him in the place which is his own, as is right” (Didascalia 12.7) “And the deacon should also observe that nobody is whispering or going to sleep or laughing or gesticulating, for it is fitting that they should be watching in the church respectfully and attentively, with ears alert to the word of the Lord.” (Didascalia 12.10-11) Acolytes (Subdeacons) acolytes were subdeacons they assisted the deacons helped with food distribution Virgins committed to celibacy served the congregation supported by the church growing significance in the fourth and fifth centuries return to them when we get to Jerome Widows qualifications in 1 Timothy 5.3-16 typically 60+ years old though Didascalia set the age at 50+ younger widows should get remarried widows could remarry once, but “after this she is a harlot” (Didascalia 14.2 [3.2]) office of a widow is one who committed to not getting remarried served the congregation especially in prayer supported by the church financially Apostolic Church Order 21“Three widows should be appointed. Two are to continue in prayer for all who are in temptation and for revelations concerning whatever is necessary. One is to assist women who are being troubled by sickness. She is to be a good minister, discreet in communicating what is necessary to the elders…” Exorcists cast out demons Readers Apostolic Church Order 19 “A reader should be appointed after careful testing. He should not be a babbler, or a drunkard, or a jester. He should be of upstanding life, submissive, well-intentioned, taking the lead in the assemblies on the Lord's days, who is good to listen to and is able to construct a narrative, aware that he labours in the place of an evangelist.” Doorkeepers presumably took care of maintenance needs Laity from Greek word for people regular members of the church the great majority submit to leadership Authority Structures local bishop decisions made by council of bishops pentarchy of patriarchs bishop of Rome emperor Christian Practices conversion communion prayer church discipline giving and welfare church service Day of Meeting Didache mentions gathering “the Lord's own day” but doesn't link it to the Sabbath (14.1) Justin says “Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly” (1 Apology 67) Epistle of Barnabas says they meet on the 8th day b/c that's when Jesus arose form the dead (15.8-9) Also met other days frequently (Didache 16.2) Order of Service Justin Martyr: “And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons.”[8] pre-service screening reading of scripture teaching (men only, cf. Didascalia 15.6 [3.6]) dismissal of catechumens prayer of the faithful kiss of peace communion Recommended Reading Worship in the Early Church by Justo and Catherine Gonzalez Review Several church orders have survived, which provide snapshots into how early Christians organized and worshiped Three main divisions: insiders, outsiders hoping to become insiders, and outsiders Roles within the church: apostles, prophets, bishops, elders, deacons, acolytes, virgins, widows, exorcists, readers, and doorkeepers Conversion was a lengthy process that involved years of instruction, regular attendance, exorcism, anointing, and baptism Catechumenates and the penitent had to leave prior to the prayer of the faithful, kiss of peace, and communion Leaders took church discipline seriously and both expelled people and welcomed the repentant back Christians voluntarily contributed to support their leaders and to care for those in need Meeting on Sundays, the church service included a screening, reading of scripture, a teaching, prayer of the faithful, kiss of peace, and communion. [1] Michael Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2007). [2] The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus of Rome, trans. Kevin P. Edgecomb, accessed Feb 13, 2023, http://www.bombaxo.com/hippolytus-the-apostolic-tradition/. [3] The Didascalia Apostolorum, trans. Alistair Stewart-Sykes (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2009). [4] The Apostolic Church Order, trans. Alistair C. Stewart (Macquarie Centre, Australia: SCD Press, 2021). [5] the only version I have is in the ANF vol 7, but I did not use it in this lecture [6] Joseph H. Lynch, Early Christianity, (New York: Oxford, 2010), 105. [7] Tertullian, Apology 39, trans. S. Thelwall, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol 3, p. 46. [8] Justin Martyr, First Apology 67, ANF, vol 1, p. 186.

“The blood of the martyr's is the seed of the Church.”- Tertullian. (155 - 220 AD)When we look back upon Church history we quickly realize that our experience in the American Church is quite unique as we have only known peace and prosperity. For the most part, those faithful to Christ that have gone before us experienced great hardship and lived in obscurity living out what Hebrews 11:38 states, “Of whom the world was not worthy, wandering in deserts and mountains and caves, and holes of the earth.” The hardship they encountered was a direct result of their faith in Christ and their unwillingness to submit to the demands of the pagan culture they lived in.Today, as we live out our faith in a culture that is growing increasingly hostile to the Word of God, we have the mandate to stand boldly for truth. There is so much we can learn from those that have gone before us and for this Civics and Culture class we will be doing just that. Please join us on Sunday evening, March 26th as we venture into Church History to study the life, faith and boldness of two heroes of the faith - Polycarp and Perpetua.

In this video we discuss Athanasius of Alexandria and his two part works of "Against the Heathen" and "On the Incarnation". We mostly focus on "On the Incarnation". This is part 2. We mention Origen of Alexandria, Tertullian, Irenaeus of Lyon, Hippolytus, Arius of Alexandria, Anthony of the Desert, Paul of Samosata, Constantine, Alexander of Alexandria, Eusebius of Caesarea, Augustine of Hippo, Martin Luther, Bishop Barron, John Calvin, Billy Graham, Pope Benedict, Thomas Aquinas, Jordan Peterson, Marcellus of Ancyra, and Ayn Rand. On the Incarnation Part 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7zTIxQLSzc St. Anthony of the Desert - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJJ4mq-CJ04&t=1s

Topics: Communion, Eucharist, The Lord's Supper, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, This is my body, This is my blood, Church History, Tertullian, Cyprian of Carthage, Hebrews 8-10, Covenant Differences, The Love Feast, Jude 1:12, The AgapeSupport the showSign up for Matt's free daily devotional! https://mattmcmillen.com/newsletter

Father reads some profound words about prayer from a theologian, who lived around the year AD 200, named Tertullian. One of the key elements of Lent is fostering an increase in our prayer life.  Prayer is very powerful.

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.

A deacon by the name of Stephen has been accused of blasphemy and now stands before the court of the Sanhedrin. False witnesses claimed that he had spoken against the law of God. Today, Stephen turns the tables on his accusers and puts them on trial for refusing to acknowledge Christ. Reciting a brief overview of Israel's history, he plainly shows them that it is Israel who is guilty of rebelling against God and resisting the Holy Spirit. In a rage, they rush to kill him, and Stephen becomes the first known Christian martyr, and as Tertullian later said, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.”:::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

In this video we discuss Athanasius of Alexandria and his two part works of "Against the Heathen" and "On the Incarnation". We mostly focus on "Against the Heathen". This is part 1 and part 2 will focus more on "On the Incarnation". We mention Origen of Alexandria, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Arius of Alexandria, Constantine, Eusebius of Caesarea, Martin Luther, Bishop Barron, John Calvin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and many more.

In this episode, we discuss the Sabbath Day with the help of Tertullian, B.B. Warfield, and Jesus in the Gospel of Luke (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15; Luke 6:1-5; 13:10-17).

Dr. Michael Bird is Academic Dean and lecturer at Ridley College and an Anglican Priest. He is the author of multiple books and a well know research in early christianity and the New Testament. We talk about his new book "Jesus Among the gods". We also mention Troels Engberg-Pederson, Bart Ehrman, Andrew Perriman, Richard Bauckham, NT Wright, Larry Hurtado, Jeremiah Coogan, David Litwa, Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, Philo of Alexandria, Plato, Tertullian, Ignatius of Antioch, John Calvin, Marcellus of Ancyra, Athanasius of Alexandria, Paul of Samosata, Theodotus of Byzantium, and many more. Dr. Bird's book "Jesus Among the gods": https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-among-gods-Christology-Greco-Roman/dp/1481316753 Dr. Bird's twitter: https://twitter.com/mbird12 Dr. Bird's substack: https://michaelfbird.substack.com/ Dr. Bird's youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC21I7qYVHPsOzL9ujxiRWZA

Western Christianity is fundamentally African in the way that Eastern Christianity is fundamentally Greek. It was in Africa that a vigorous Christian Latin culture first developed. Carthage had a Latin liturgy for a full century before Rome switched over from Greek. Africa gave the Church great saints and Fathers such as Tertullian, Minucius Felix, Cyprian, Arnobius, Lactantius—and the greatest of all: Augustine. For a Western Christian, to know early African Christianity is to know one's own roots. LINKS Mike Aquilina, Africa and the Early Church: The Almost-Forgotten Roots of Catholic Christianity https://www.amazon.com/Africa-Early-Church-Almost-Forgotten-Christianity/dp/1645852598/ Mike Aquilina's website https://fathersofthechurch.com Mike Aquilina's books https://catholicbooksdirect.com/writer/mike-aquilina/ Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed http://www.ccwatershed.org

How I Met Your Other Mother. In this episode, we discuss Tertullian on Heresies, especially the relationship of philosophy to theology, and how to pastorally address heresies past and present. — SHOW NOTES: 1 Clement 37 - http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/1clement-lightfoot.html  Didache - https://legacyicons.com/content/didache.pdf  Autism, Academics, and Animals - Dr. Temple Grandin https://youtu.be/XYZP1wuGBD8   SUPPORT 1517 Podcast Network https://www.1517.org/podcasts/ Support the work of 1517 http://1517.org/give Warrior Priest Gym & Podcast https://thewarriorpriestpodcast.wordpress.com St John's Lutheran Church (Webster, MN) - FB Live Bible Study Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/356667039608511 Gillespie's Sermons and Catechesis: https://stjohnrandomlake.org/church/media/ Gillespie Coffee https://gillespie.coffee Gillespie Media https://gillespie.media Tin Foil Haloes https://t.me/bannedpastors CONTACT and FOLLOW BannedBooks@1517.org Facebook Twitter SUBSCRIBE YouTube Rumble Odysee Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher Overcast Google Play TuneIn Radio iHeartRadio

Terms like "Old and New Testament" and "Trinity" are common in modern theological discourse. Who originally coined these terms? Today on our journey back through the archives, Dr. Stephen Nichols helps us get to know the early church father Tertullian. Read the transcript: https://www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/7-t-is-for-trinity-and-tertullian/ A donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Donate: https://www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/donate/

Fragments Of The Lost Writings Of Valentinus - Valentinian Gnostic Texts. Valentinus was the best known and, for a time, most successful early Christian Gnostic theologian. He founded his school in Rome. According to Tertullian, Valentinus was a candidate for bishop but started his own group when another was chosen. Valentinus produced a variety of writings, but only fragments survive, largely those quoted in rebuttal arguments in the works of his opponents, not enough to reconstruct his system except in broad outline. His doctrine is known only in the developed and modified form given to it by his disciples, the Valentinians. He taught that there were three kinds of people, the spiritual, psychical, and material; and that only those of a spiritual nature received the gnosis (knowledge) that allowed them to return to the divine Pleroma, while those of a psychic nature (ordinary Christians) would attain a lesser or uncertain form of salvation, and that those of a material nature were doomed to perish. The fragments here are selected from: Bentley Layton, The Gnostic Scriptures https://amzn.to/3GzOFm5 Please consider supporting my work and download this audio as part of the ESOTERIC AND OCCULT WISDOM - MASTER COLLECTION VOL. 2 (an ongoing collection of Gnostic, alchemical, Hermetic, and related occult audio projects that span dozens of hours) at https://altrusiangrace.bandcamp.com Music is by Illuminated Void from "The Vesper Serpent". *JOIN MY PATREON at https://www.patreon.com/altrusiangracemedia *BECOME A YOUTUBE CHANNEL MEMBER at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMzRTOugvDLwhSwJdoSWBZA/join *JOIN THE CULT OF STARRY WISDOM at https://altrusiangrace.bandcamp.com/starry-wisdom-cult *FOLLOW THE AGM PODCAST at https://altrusiangracemedia.podbean.com *MY TSHIRTS AND DESIGNS ON AMAZON at https://amzn.to/3peS9j3 *MY NEW 2022 MERCH LINE "OCCULT NOUVEAU" at https://amzn.to/3OeUHZL *MY TSHIRTS AND DESIGNS ON TEEPUBLIC at https://teepublic.sjv.io/XxvPDX *LICENSE MY MUSIC FOR YOUR PROJECT at https://www.pond5.com/artist/altrusiangracemedia *MY BOOKS ON AMAZON at https://amzn.to/3oQGh6A As an Amazon Associate I earn a small amount from qualifying purchases and it helps to support my channel. Please consider LIKING the video, SUBSCRIBING to the channel, and SHARING the links! These simple actions go a long way in supporting AGM and is truly appreciated!  ~~Places to follow and support Altrusian Grace Media~~ Website ► https://altrusiangrace.blogspot.com/ Bandcamp ► https://altrusiangrace.bandcamp.com Teepublic Store ► https://teepublic.sjv.io/XxvPDX Twitter ► https://twitter.com/AltrusianGrace Rumble ► https://rumble.com/c/c-375437 YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/AltrusianGraceMedia Odessy ► https://odysee.com/@altrusiangracemedia:1 Bitchute ► https://www.bitchute.com/channel/altrusiangracemedia/ To kindly donate directly to my channel: www.paypal.me/altrusiangrace For inquiries regarding voice-over work or licensing for my work (including music) please contact altrusiangracemedia ((at)) gmail.com AGM BACKUP CONTENT ► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO0nCG5aqB1CHyU3Xf0TUbg #Gnosticism #Alchemy #Hermeticism #Occult #Esoteric #Audiobook #Mysticism #Gnostic #Egyptian #Christianity #NagHammadi #Spirituality #Jung

December 23: Saint John of Kanty, Priest 1390–1473 Optional Memorial; Liturgical color: Violet Patron Saint of Poland and Lithuania Humility, austerity, work, and intelligence unite in one man Conquering generals returning home from the rim of the Empire were awarded triumphal parades through Rome's crowded masses. The booty of war entered the city first on carts—gold plate, silver goblets, piles of aromatic spices—then came the exotic animals, the caged prisoners of war, and row after row of legionaries. Finally, the victorious general split the crowd in a chariot pulled by two white horses. Slaves waving huge plumes fanned the emperor while another slave stood behind him, continually whispering in his ear: “Thus passes the glory of the world” or “Remember you are a mere mortal.” Tertullian, a North African Christian, specifically cites this triumphal custom: “...amid the honours of a triumph, (the emperor) sits on that lofty chariot, and he is reminded that he is only human. A voice at his back keeps whispering in his ear, ‘Look behind thee; remember thou art but a man'” (Apologies Chpt. 33). Today's saint needed no such professional whisperers. Nature spoke loudly into one ear and Christ into the other, reminding him of life's fleeting nature, that the “here and now” must one day cede to the “there and then.” John of Kanty (or John Cantius) was impressively unimpressed with all that the world had to offer. Saint John's prodigious intellectual gifts could have garnished his life with a fair share of the world's riches, if he had desired them. But the only glory Saint John sought was knowledge of God, the hard floor he slept on every night, and the hunger that seasoned what little food he ate. Saint John was a gifted student at Poland's University of Krakow, who after priestly ordination became a professor of philosophy, theology, and Scripture there. Apart from a few year's interlude serving in a parish, he spent all of his adult life as a professor.  John gave to the poor until he deprived himself of life's necessities. When he walked on pilgrimage to Rome, he carried his meager sack on his own back. His cassock was threadbare, he did not eat meat, and his personal sweetness and patience made his impressive theological knowledge even more impactful. He dismissed the concerns of friends that his punishing austerities would damage his health by invoking the example of Egypt's long-lived desert fathers, whose gaunt frames were draped in skin as cracked and dry as the desert itself. John's virtuous life proves the mutually reinforcing character of poverty and celibacy. Once a priest abandons his vow of poverty or simplicity and begins leading a bourgeoisie life of comfort, he risks abandoning his vow of celibacy too. He starts to imperceptibly drift downriver from where he first entered the stream of his vocation, until it's too late, and he is swept over the falls into the sea of mere bachelorhood. From an external perspective, Saint John lived a mundane, predictable existence. It is in keeping with his personal history that he is one of the most obscure saints on the Church's liturgical calendar. His life was like a flat plain, without great events jutting up like mountains from the even, everyday terrain. Saint John was a humble scholar who sought no legacy through wealth, fame, property, marriage, or offspring. Such goods were arrows that glanced off his spiritual armor. He did not want to cheat death by colluding with the desires of his fallen nature. His mind, his body, and his life would serve no one and nothing except Christ and His Church. Such a serious, mortified life is not for the many, but a few are indeed called to live it. After his death, John's holiness and academic excellence were so highly esteemed that his doctoral gown was long placed on the shoulders of the University of Krakow's doctoral graduates to ceremoniously vest them. On a pilgrimage to Krakow in 1997, Saint John's countryman, Pope Saint John Paul II, prayed at his tomb, noting that his fellow Krakovian's life exemplified what emerges when “knowledge and wisdom seek a covenant with holiness.” Saint John of Kanty, we ask your heavenly intercession to infuse the virtues of poverty, chastity, and perseverance in all students of higher education, that they may be diligent in furthering their knowledge of all things sacred and mundane for God's glory and their own sanctification.

The second installment of BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY'S Montanism Trilogy examines the Christian reactions to this mysterious movement. Host Chris Palmero presents testimonies from Irenaeus, the Shepherd of Hermas, the Didache, Epiphanius, and of course, Eusebius. He also tackles a burning question: did Tertullian really convert to the New Prophecy, or was that illustrious fool merely participating in an elaborate LARP?Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about why Christians blow on the faces of their converts; whether Eusebius can really be trusted; the "Heretic's Journey;" whether the Catholics were trying to assassinate Montanus, Maximilla, and Priscilla; whether Irenaeus was a secret Montanist sympathizer; whether the Didache was originally a Montanist book; what the controversy between Christianity and the New Prophecy was really about; why Tertullian got involved in this movement; and how the pagan Celsus has taught us more about this "heresy" than any Christian commentator ever could. The host also shares a special time-saving technique that anyone can use when writing about Philip's Daughters.Opening reading: The Canons of the Council of Constantinople, from the late fourth century, look forward to the age in which Montanism eventually fades from the earth.Patreon: www.patreon.com/borninthesecondcenturyWebsite: facebook.com/BornInTheSecondCenturyE-mail: secondcenturypodcast@gmail.comMusic: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, SoundCloud00:48 - Reading: COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE, Canon 7.05:24 - OPENING Remarks.09:33 - Reading: FIRMILIAN, Epistle 74, to Cyprian.15:10 - A SAFETY Briefing before Reading Eusebius.18:41 - Testimony of THE ANONYMOUS. His Confused Origin Story for Montanus.22:14 - The Anonymous: The HERETIC'S JOURNEY.26:43 - The Anonymous: PROPHET-KILLERS.30:49 - The Anonymous: A Possible MATTHEW Reference.34:13 - The Anonymous: AMMIA and QUADRATUS.42:25 - Reading: EPIPHANIUS, Panarion, On the Quintillianists.45:38 - Testimony of IRENAEUS.54:29 - Testimony of CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA.54:58 - Testimony of COMMANDER SHEPHERD OF HERMAS.59:50 - Testimony of THE DIDACHE.1:02:30 - Testimony of EPIPHANIUS.1:09:11 - On the PARACLETE.1:15:21 - On JESUS.1:16:25 - On PHILIP'S DAUGHTERS.1:27:47 - Reading: WILLIAM TABERNEE, Prophets and Gravestones.1:28:45 - Tertullian as Montanist LARPER.1:45:47 - Testimony of CELSUS.1:49:52 - CLOSING Remarks.Support the show

Transcript:Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective. The early church was distinctive for many reasons, but one of the most powerful was the quality of loving community found among in it. Tertullian, the 3rd century church leader, wrote a number of works defending the gospel in the face of persecution (see, To the Gentiles and Apology). In one of his more famous statements, he directs his pagan detractors to look at the quality of love among Christians, as compared to its lack among the pagans. He writes:“Look . . . how they love one another (for they themselves [pagans] hate one another); and how they are ready to die for each other (for they themselves [pagans] are readier to kill each other).”Tertullian knew that the love of Christians for one another was incredibly powerful and persuasive. Not surprising, since this is exactly what Jesus taught.In His famous prayer recorded in John 17, Jesus not once but twice says that it is this unifying love among Christians, in spite of their many differences, that shows to the world the truthfulness of the gospel. Jesus prays:…that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. [And again a few verses later, Jesus prays…] The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. (John 17:21-23 NASB, emphasis added)The quality of our relationships as followers of Jesus Christ is our strongest and clearest witness. Twentieth century thinker Francis Schaeffer called this love, “the final apologetic”—that is, the final proof of the veracity of the gospel. The kindness, mercy and grace of genuine love may be in short supply in the world, but it must not be in the church. Is your life dripping with love toward your fellow Christians?Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.“O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; 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.”~ John 17:17-26 (ESV)

In this episode: 6 seals, Pale horse, ashen horse, death, plague, famine, disease, Wuhan, biological warfare, global government, population control, digital economy, WEF, Bill Gates Foundation, WWII, Nazi dogs, fifth seal, martyrs, Open Doors watch list, Tertullian. Become a supporter and get unlimited questions turned into podcasts at: www.patreon.com/theologyandapologetics YouTube Channel: Theology & Apologetics www.youtube.com/channel/UChoiZ46uyDZZY7W1K9UGAnw Instagram: www.instagram.com/theology.apologetics Websites: ezrafoundation.org theologyandapologetics.com

God Has No Skin in The Game? In this episode, we discuss Tertullian's argument against Marcion about God's being born flesh and blood in his treatise, On The Flesh of Christ. What's at stake when well-meaning Christians disembody God and, consequently, Christians? — SHOW NOTES: Tertullian bio https://www.theopedia.com/tertullian  Tertullian - On the Flesh of Christ - Chapters III & IV: https://ccel.org/ccel/tertullian/christ_flesh/anf03.v.vii.iii.html SUPPORT 1517 Podcast Network https://www.1517.org/podcasts/ Support the work of 1517 http://1517.org/give Warrior Priest Gym & Podcast https://thewarriorpriestpodcast.wordpress.com St John's Lutheran Church (Webster, MN) - FB Live Bible Study Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/356667039608511 Gillespie's Sermons and Catechesis: https://stjohnrandomlake.org/church/media/ Gillespie Coffee https://gillespie.coffee Gillespie Media https://gillespie.media The Banned Pastors https://t.me/bannedpastors CONTACT and FOLLOW BannedBooks@1517.org Facebook Twitter SUBSCRIBE YouTube Rumble Odysee Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher Overcast Google Play TuneIn Radio iHeartRadio

Mark Eight: Biblical Worship by William Klock On February12, A.D. 304 a group of men was brought before the Roman proconsul in Carthage.  The charge against them read, “These men, being Christians, have held an assembly for the Eucharist, in violation of the edict of the Emperors Diocletian and Maximian.” “What is your position?” the Proconsul asked of the first prisoner. “I am a senator,” the man responded.  His name was Dativus. “Were you present at the assembly?” “I am a Christian and I was present in the assembly.” Immediately, the Proconsul ordered him to be hung on the rack, where barbed hooks tore his body.  After that, Saturninus, the presbyter, was brought in and asked, “Did you, contrary to the orders of the emperors, oversee the assembly of these men?” Saturninus responded, “Yes.  We celebrated the Eucharist.” “Why?” asked the Proconsul. “Because the Eucharist cannot be abandoned,” said the presbyter. Immediately he, too, was taken to join Dativus on the rack. Next, Felix, one of Saturninus' sons and a reader in the church, was brought before the Proconsul.  “I am not asking if you are a Christian.  That's not my concern.  But were you at the assembly and do you possess copies of the scriptures?” Felix answered, “As if a Christian could exist without the Eucharist, or the Eucharist could be celebrated without Christians!  Don't you realise that a Christian is defined by the Eucharist?  We cannot exist without it!  And we always read the Lord's scriptures when we assemble for the Eucharist.” The Proconsul flew into a rage and ordered Felix beaten with clubs. Lastly, Hilarion, another son of Saturninus, was brought before the Proconsul.  “Will you follow your father and your brothers?” He was asked. “I am a Christian,” he boldly said, “And I became one, along with my father and brothers, of my own will.” The Proconsul bellowed out threats of torture.  Little did he know that he was not going up against men, but against God himself in his holy martyrs.  The Proconsul ordered the boy taken away and for his hair to be shorn and his nose and ears to be cut off. And Hilarion simply replied, “Do what you will.  I am a Christian.” And as he was led away, the whole court heard the boy crying out with joy, “Thanks be to God.”  In all, forty-nine members of the church in Abitinae were martyred on that day and in the days that followed.[1] The story of those brothers and sisters is not unique.  From the time of the Apostles until the time of Constantine, Christians gathered together to worship—to read the scriptures, to pray, to sing, to eat the Lord's Supper—and they did so under threat of violence and sometimes even martyrdom.  “Day by day we are besieged; day by day we are betrayed,” wrote Tertullian.[2]  But no matter the risks involved, Christians continued to gather.  They had found the treasure hidden in the field.  They had found the pearl of great price.  They had given their allegiance, to the exclusion of all others, to the Lord Jesus.  And they lived in sure and certain hope that his kingdom was coming “on earth as in heaven”. What brought them together?  If it was just a longing for fellowship with God, they could do that at home in private.  They could pray, they could sing.  Those were the days before mass-produced Bibles, but they could, at home, recite passages from memory or read hand-copied portions of scripture.  But they risked their lives to gather together for corporate worship.  It was the Lord's Supper that reminded them, as it does us, “that we are true members of the mystical body” of God's Son.  St. Paul uses that language of the body a lot.  As we are in Jesus the Messiah, so we belong one to another.  We are a family, a covenant people with a God-given mission that cannot be accomplished unless we all bring our parts together to build up the whole.  And the Lord's Supper reminded them that it was all absolutely worth it, because the Supper recalled the events—the death and resurrection of Jesus—in which God poured out his love, his grace, his mercy and revealed his faithfulness in all its—in all his—glory, while also pointing them to his future glory when he will finish what he has begun and set all things to rights.  No command of Caesar could compete with the glorious calling of God. Yes, the New Testament commands us to gather together for corporate worship.  Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us: Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.   And Paul so frequently, particularly in Romans and 1 Corinthians, stresses our unity in Jesus and the nature of the Church as being like a body in which we all have our part.  But even without those commands and instructions to gather together, the Lord's Supper reminds us who we are, that we're not loners, that Christianity isn't just “me, my Bible, and Jesus”, but that we are a covenant people knit together in love and grace in Jesus and the Spirit.  Even if all we had was the Lord's Supper, we would still be compelled, like those early believers, to gather together to worship the God who reveals himself in and through Jesus. So we've been looking at the marks of a healthy church.  If we don't gather, there is no church.  The Church gathers to worship.  Period.  So the question is not whether or not we will gather, but what our gatherings should looks like.  What does the Bible tell us about corporate worship? Well, first, there's no book or chapter in the New Testament that gives us specific instructions outlining liturgy or posture, how often we should observe the Lord's Supper, how many songs we should sing, how long the sermon should be, or anything like that.  The New Testament does have plenty to say about worship, but what it says is largely about our unity in worship, our serving others in worship, giving ourselves as living sacrifices in worship—and when it comes to specifics, it's usually Paul stepping in to tell churches what not to do.  The Bible gives us freedom in our worship, and so some churches use a liturgy with set prayers and others use a set order of service with extempore prayers, some churches have elaborate ceremonial—whether that involves incense, postures, vestments, and the like or fog machines, high-tech lighting, dancing, and multi-piece bands, while other churches do things very simply and without any fuss.  We are free to construct our worship—within reason—so long as it glorifies God and has him at its centre and focus.  In light of contemporary trends, biblical worship, it must be stressed, involves the people of God as participants.  Worship is not a show or a concert. Now, I could just end things here by pointing you to the Prayer Books in the pew racks in front of you.  What does biblical worship look like?  It looks like the Book of Common Prayer.  It could look like something else, but the BCP is the finest example of biblical worship I can think of.  Our liturgies have survived virtually unchanged for five-hundred years and continue a liturgical tradition that goes back at least a thousand years before that.  It has proved itself.  The only reason people started tampering with the Book of Common Prayer was because their theology changed—and not for the better.  There's a reason why Lutherans, when they needed a common service in English, borrowed heavily from the Common Prayer tradition.  There's a little book titled The Minister's Handbook, which is popular with free-church ministers.  It's essentially a prayer book for people who don't have the Prayer Book and need to know what to do and say at a wedding or a baptism.  It's mostly just excerpts from the Book of Common Prayer.  When the United Church drafted its Book of Order, it borrowed heavily from the Book of Common Prayer.  Brothers and Sisters, never take our liturgical heritage or the Prayer Book for granted.  It is, arguably, the richest treasure of worship ever produced by Christendom.  And virtually all of it is from the Bible, either directly quoted or paraphrased in some way. But I don't want to just defend the Common Prayer tradition, or liturgy in general, this morning.  Why has the Book of Common Prayer stood the test of time?  Because it brings together the elements of biblical worship.  But what are those elements?  Well, let's look at our controlling narrative again.  Good worship not only tells the story, but involves us in it.  Think back to those forty-nine martyrs in Carthage.  This is what compelled them to gather together even though it meant death. So, once again, think back to the beginning.  God created human beings to bear his image.  That means to serve as his regents in Creation—in this temple that he built for himself.  This is why St. Paul writes in Romans that Creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.  When we rejected our vocation, Creation lost her stewards and the Lord lost his priests.  Everything fell apart.  But in the midst of the darkness, the Lord called forth Abraham and created a people for himself.  He delivered them from slavery in Egypt, he gave them his law, and most importantly, he took up his dwelling in their midst.  And as they lived to give him glory and to witness his presence and his mighty deeds, they became a light to the nations, looking forward to a day when nations would come streaming to the temple to know the living God for themselves and to give him the glory he is due.  The prophets looked forward to the day when the knowledge of the Lord's glory would cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Old Testament Israel gives us models for biblical worship.  We see her songs of the Lord's mighty deeds—songs like the Song of Moses or the Psalms.  We see her prayers for deliverance—from her earthly enemies and from the sins and the lack of faith that so often compromised her witness—prayers for deliverance made in faith and rooted deeply in a sureness of God's covenant faithfulness.  We see her songs of hope, knowing the Lord's past faithfulness, and looking forward to the day when he would not only save Israel, but set all of Creation to rights.  But most importantly for us, we see Israel's story reach its climax in Jesus—and in his death, his resurrection, and his ascension.  This is our exodus.  As Israel was delivered from her bondage to Pharoah, so the cross and the empty tomb are our deliverance from sin and death.  Baptism is our Red Sea and the Lord's Supper is our Passover, whereby we participate in God's mighty deeds and find our place in his covenant people.  And now, like Israel, we sing and we proclaim what he has done to give him glory and to make him known that others will be moved to give him glory too.  Everything we do as his people is meant to give him glory—or it should!  Think of Jesus' words in John 15:8, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” Now, how does that controlling narrative, how does that story shape our worship?  First, it means that word and sacrament will be at the centre of our worship.  The Bible never tells us directly how frequently we should observe the Lord's Supper, but the implication of what we read in Acts and the Epistles certainly suggests that the first Christians observed it at least every Sunday.  The English Reformers, particularly Thomas Cranmer, designed our liturgy around a weekly observance of the Lord's Supper, but people were so used to only participating in the sacrament four times a year that weekly Communion didn't take and Morning Prayer became the staple of weekly worship in most Anglican churches until the Twentieth Century.  Whatever the case, biblical worship will include baptisms, whenever they are called for, and the Lord's Supper on some sort of regular schedule.  The one thing we can't do is discard them entirely.  If we fail to observe the sacraments we disobey Jesus himself and cease to be a church.  I think when we realise that the Supper is as an act of covenant remembrance and renewal, it becomes more natural to observe it weekly. Biblical worship listens to God and tells the story.  That means it will include the reading of scripture.  Always.  Preferably at least a passage from the Old Testament and another from the New—and preferably tied together so that we see the interconnectedness of the old and new covenants and the faithfulness of God is revealed to his glory. Brothers and Sisters, our calling as God's people is to glorify him and to proclaim his mighty deeds and the good news about Jesus so that the world will give him glory.  We can't do that unless we know who he is and what he's done.  And that doesn't just go for corporate worship.  Scripture ought to be central to our lives in general.  We ought to be steeping ourselves in God's word on a daily basis—listening to him—so that we can know him and what he's done.  I don't know if it's because we're lazy or if we think that Christian maturity comes by osmosis or just with time, but Brothers and Sisters, if you don't feed on God's word, you will not grow.  It's the Spirit who grows us, but he grows us with the word.  Steeping ourselves in the word during the week is one of the ways we prepare ourselves to gather together on Sundays.  One of the trends of contemporary worship is this idea that the service has to start by getting the worshippers in the “right” mood.  That's borne in part out of the faulty notion that good worship makes us feel a certain way, but I think the bigger reason for this is that too many of us simply aren't preparing for worship over the six preceding days of the week.  We treat worship as a Sunday thing, then we go home and unplug ourselves from God and from his word and from prayer until Sunday comes around again.  That's not the kind of life that drove Saturninus and Dativus and their congregation to risk death in order to gather at the Lord's Table. So the reading of the word will be central.  And so will the sermon.  Biblical worship will include a sermon that explains and applies the word.  There's nothing inherently holier about a longer sermon than a shorter sermon, but good biblical exposition and application takes time and it rarely happens in the ten- or twelve-minute homilies that have become commonplace today.  And as much as modern people may think it's the Anglican way, it most definitely is not.  I've edited several volumes of sermons by popular Anglican preachers of the past and you'd be hard-pressed to read those sermons out loud in less than an hour.  Let me stress that those were popular preachers.  A few centuries earlier, in the decades following the Reformation, it was common for people to hear a sermon on Sunday morning, go home for lunch, and then return to the church to hear another sermon or two in the afternoon.  Puritan preachers were often given hourglasses—as in they actually measure out a full hour—and were told how many turns of the glass they could preach.  Because God's people were hungry for his word.  Today we've lost that hunger and it's no wonder that the Church in the West is foundering and that we struggle to tell the story anymore.  How can we proclaim what we don't know? The second focal point of our biblical corporate worship is the sacraments—particularly the Lord's Supper.  Baptism, when it is done, ought normatively to take place in the corporate gathering, because it is the rite by which we are included in the covenant people.  It is our Red Sea by which we pass from bondage in Egypt into life in the presence of the Lord and his people and it's right that those people be there to welcome each new member as he or she rises from the sea.  I pray that we would have reason to do that every Sunday someday, but in the meantime we include baptism as necessary.  But weekly observing the Lord's Supper, well, it is meet and right so to do. Word and sacrament complement each other.  Different churches and different preachers will take different approaches to how we read scripture.  We use a lectionary.  Others may read through whole books of the Bible systematically week by week.  However we do it, though, our reading of the word will range over all sort of subjects and genres and not everything we'll read is about the gospel—at least not directly.  The focus of the readings and the sermons will cover all sorts of different subjects—and that's good.  But the Lord's Supper (and baptism, when the occasion arises) grounds us week in and week out in the death and resurrection of Jesus and reminds us what he's done for us and who he has made us.  As the annual observance of the Passover was for each generation in Israel a new participation in the events by which the Lord had made them his people, so each observance of the Lord Supper is for us a new participation in the events by which Jesus has delivered us from sin and death.  And notice that there's both a vertical and a horizontal element to that.  When we come to the Table we are reminded that we belong to God through Jesus, that he has redeemed us and made us his own, but it also reminds us of the horizontal—that he has made us a part of this covenant people called the Church and that we are brothers and sisters in Jesus, and that we belong to each other, that we are one body.  At the Table God's love is poured down on us, but then it also flows out horizontally from each of us to the others. The scripture lessons and the sermon can't cover these fundamental truths every single Sunday, but we are reminded and confronted by them every single time we come to the Lord's Table.  Our culture today is almost entirely oriented on the individual and that his infected Christian thinking and the Church.  We have no trouble remembering the vertical—me and God—but we too often downplay or forget altogether the horizontal—the fact that even as God saves us individually, in doing so he makes us part of a people who cannot be effective in our mission and who cannot ultimately be healthy if we do not live this new life together as a family.  Again, this is a powerful corrective to modern error.  Too much of contemporary worship is people coming together to sort of have their individual worship experiences in a group setting.  Worship has become a performance.  The lights are turned down so we can't see each other—we just focus on the “leaders” at the front.  The band—or in some places the choir or the organ—is so loud that you can't hear yourself sing, let alone the person next to you.  A friend of mine who advocates that kind of worship tells me that it's an “immersive” model in contrast to a “participatory” one and that it's just how our culture has gone.  In folk cultures everyone is involved in music, but in ours, music has largely been relegated to professionals.  The rest of us just sit and listen.  Even at home, we put on our headphones, close our eyes, tune everything else out, and immerse ourselves in the performance.  Brothers and Sisters, that may be the way our culture has gone, but the Church cannot go there.  That “immersive” model of worship is incompatible with biblical worship in which we all participate.  Worship is not a concert or a show for the worshiper to passively receive.  Worship is the service of God's people to him.  The lights should be on so we can see each other.  And the accompaniment should be just that: accompaniment.  It shouldn't drown out our voices, because the most important thing about congregational singing is that it's just that: congregational singing—our voices raised together as one to give God the glory he is due. I think if we get these two things right in our worship—word and sacrament—we will get the story right and that's really what it's all about.  As we hear his word, God draws us in with the story.  In Baptism and the Lord's Supper he incorporates us into the story and gives us a place in it.  And now equipped by word and Spirit, he sends us out to tell the story ourselves so that others will be drawn in.  There are other essential parts to worship—we sing and we pray, we confess our sins and receive assurance of pardon, we bring our tithes and offerings—but they revolve around the word and sacrament that stand in the middle.  They are our response to the story, to what God in Jesus has done for us and for the world.  Each of those parts of our worship could merit a whole sermon on its own, but I just want to close with one example, again taken from our Common Prayer tradition, and that's the Gloria. When the Prayer Book was first written in 1549—and for a long time thereafter—there were no hymns.  Much of the liturgy itself was sung.  The Psalms were sung.  But there was one hymn included in the liturgy for the Lord's Supper and Thomas Cranmer made sure that it stood at the end of the service, because the hymns we sing in worship are essentially response to what God has said and done in word and sacrament.  In the service we hear his word and he renews his covenant with us at the Table, and then we sing in response, “Glory to God in the highest”.  This is what he created us to do.  When Jesus gave his life on the cross and rose from the grave, it was to create a people, full of God's own Spirit, who will give him glory.  And, Brothers and Sisters, we give him glory—it starts here on Sunday, but ought to carry on in our whole lives the rest of the week—we give him glory that one day all the nations will give him glory too. Let's pray: Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleans the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name, through Christ our Lord.  Amen. [1] Adapted from the Acts of St. Saturninus in Migne, Patrologia Latina, Vol. VIII, 688ff. [2] Apology 7.

In this episode Dr. Jenkins continues the discussion of the Trinity, and particularly the controversy that occurred in Rome sometime around the year AD 210. Today especially we look at the N. African writer Tertullian, whom we have met before, and his treatise Against Praxeas. The texts quoted and alluded to in this episode put up under the episode notes at https://luxchristi.wordpress.com/

The Fathers saw a profound connection between Eucharistic communion and social concerns — between liturgy and charity. It's evident in the works of the great saints of antiquity, from Ignatius of Antioch and Justin Martyr to Tertullian and John Chrysostom. It's spelled out even in the ancient liturgical books. LINKS Tertullian, Apology XXXIX https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1662 Justin Martyr, First Apology LXVII https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1610 Mike Aquilina's website https://fathersofthechurch.com Mike Aquilina's books https://catholicbooksdirect.com/writer/mike-aquilina/ Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed http://www.ccwatershed.org Donate today! https://www.catholicculture.org/users/donate/audio

Friends, Tertullian famously asked in the third century, “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” What does philosophy have to do with theology, or reason with faith? However, on today's “Word on Fire Show,” Brandon Vogt and I discuss a provocative new article that wonders what Athens and Jerusalem have to do with Silicon Valley. How should we understand the intersection of reason, faith, and technology? A listener asks, how do you feel about neuroscience, and how does it fit in with your understanding of the soul? Links “The Three-City Problem of Modern Life” by Luke Burgis Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings (Cycle A) by Peter Kreeft

Tyler Woodhead

Enoch is mentioned in the OT Book of Genesis and the NT Book of Jude. In 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 Paul says he was taken up into heaven.  In the Apocalypse of Paul, an angel takes Paul to heaven and introduces him to Enoch.  The Book of Enoch is widely considered the most quoted source in the NT.  In the last 200 years much more information has been found.  Enoch's writings are in the Dead Sea Scrolls.  Early Christian Church Fathers Irenaeus and Tertullian considered the Book of Enoch to be scripture. The Book of Enoch was rediscovered by the Scottish explorer James Bruce in September 1769.  Other manuscripts of Enoch have been found.  It contents, generally divided into five sections, (1) Book of Watchers, (2) the Similitudes, (3) the Astronomy Book, (4) Book of Dreams, and, (5) Epistle of Enoch.  The contents are fascinating.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION “Underneath human anxiety is the reversal of identity in which the finite attempts to be infinite. With our finite knowledge, we want to know everything so as not to be caught off guard by anything. With our finite abilities, we want and try to control everything so we're not controlled by anything. We fail to do both because it's impossible to be like God.” ~Jackie Hill Perry, poet, author and hip hop artist “Remember that pride is the worst viper that is in the heart, the greatest disturber of the soul's peace and sweet communion with Christ; it was the first sin that ever was, and lies lowest in the foundation of Satan's whole building, and is the most difficultly rooted out, and is the most hidden, secret and deceitful of all lusts, and often creeps in, insensibly, into the midst of religion and sometimes under the disguise of humility.” ~From Jonathan Edwards' (1703-1758) Letter to Deborah Hatheway (1741) “The Son of God was crucified: I am not ashamed—because it is shameful. The Son of God died: it is immediately credible—because it is absurd. He was buried, and rose again: it is certain—because it is impossible.” ~Tertullian (c. 155-220) North African church leader in On the Flesh of Christ “John is explicitly incomplete in aspects which… the Synoptic Gospels supply.” ~Richard Bauckham, New Testament scholar I know a place, y'all (I'll take you there) Ain't nobody cryin' (I'll take you there) Ain't nobody worried (I'll take you there) No smilin' faces (I'll take you there) Lyin' to the races I'll take you there. ~ “I'll Take You There” by The Staple Singers SERMON PASSAGE John 13:36-14:7 (ESV) John 13 21 After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus' side, 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?”… [A little later, Jesus said to the disciples:] 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.'… 36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.” John 14 1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” John 1 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. John 2 13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

A new MP3 sermon from Firth Bible Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Tertullian and Montanism Subtitle: Church History 2022 Speaker: Timothy Schmidt Broadcaster: Firth Bible Church Event: Sunday Service Date: 9/25/2022 Length: 57 min.

The doctrines of grace were too easily lost among many in the early church. Tertullian didn't help.

Tertullian (ca. 160–220) and Thomas Aquinas (13th century) both defended faith as a justification for their Christian beliefs, but whereas Tertullian proudly defended faith even when it clashed with reason, Aquinas argued that there was a harmony between faith and reason — that the two could never clash. In this lecture, Dr. Mayhew will examine the views of each in detail and briefly discuss the continuing influence of their conceptions of faith and reason in the 21st century.

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION “Divine love is in [God], not as in a subject that receives it from another, but as in its original seat, where it is of itself. Love is in God, as light is in the sun, which does not shine by a reflected light, as the moon and the planets do, but by its own light, and as the great fountain of light.” “The saints in heaven love God for his own sake, and each other for God's sake, and for the sake of the relation that they have to him, and the image of God that is upon them. All their love is a pure and holy…. Nothing shall hinder them from communing with God, and praising and serving him just as their love inclines them to do. Love naturally desires to express itself; and in heaven the love of the saints shall be at full liberty to express itself as it desires….” ~Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) from his sermon “Heaven, A World of Love” “There is tremendous relief in knowing that His love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion Him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench His determination to bless me.” ~J.I. Packer (1926-2020), English-born theologian in Knowing God “The matchless self-emptying of the eternal Son, the eternal Word, reaches its climax on the cross.” ~D.A. Carson, New Testament scholar “If God is holy, then he can't sin. If God can't sin, then he can't sin against me. If he can't sin against me, shouldn't that make him the most trustworthy being there is?” “Holiness is what makes real love possible. Without it, love is purely sentimental.” ~Jackie Hill Perry, poet and author “See how they love one another!... how they are ready even to die for one another!” ~Tertullian (c. 155-220) North African early church leader (Apology 39.7) SERMON PASSAGE John 13:21-38 (ESV) John 1 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. John 13 1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him…. 12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.' 19 I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” 21 After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus' side, 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night. 31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.' 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” 36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.

This episode, Sebastian takes you on a crash-course of Eastern Christianity - truly obscure and little-known stories about the faithfulness of God's church in the Far East. Roman Catholics have manipulated history ever since they battled Eastern Orthodox (and eventually Protestants) - they have long labelled Eastern Christians 'heretics' and discounted the expansion of the Gospel far beyond the reach of the Vatican. However, we show that this view of history is unbalanced, biased, and makes God's story throughout the world seem unduly Western, sudden, and modern. Sources below:   Frykenberg, R. (2008). Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present. Oxford History of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press.   Godwin, T. (2018). Persian Christians at the Chinese Court: The Xi'an Stele and the Early Medieval Church of the East. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.   Herman, G. (2016) Persian Martyr Acts under King Yazdgird I. Persian Martyr Acts in Syriac: Texts and Translation, 5. Gorgias Press.   Jenkins, P. (2008) The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand Year Gold Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia–and How It Died. Harper Collins Publishers.   Kozah, M., et al (eds.). (2014). The Syriac Writers of Qatar in the Seventh Century. Gorgias Eastern Christian Studies, vol 38. Gorgias Press.   Kozah, M., et al (eds.). (2015). An Anthology of Syriac Writers from Qatar in the Seventh Century. Gorgias Eastern Christian Studies, vol 39. Gorgias Press   McClean, N., Kiraz, G. (ed.). (1899). An Eastern Embassy to Europe in the Years 1287-8. Analecta Gorgiana, 957. Gorgias Press.   Mingana, A., Kiraz, G. (ed.). (1925) The Early Spread of Christianity in Central Asia: A New Document. Analecta Gorgiana, 640. Gorgias Press.   Mingana, A. (1928). Timothy's Apology for Christianity. Christian Documents in Syriac, Arabic, and Garshuni, vol 2. Cambridge Heffer & Sons Limited. Tertullian.org   Palmer, M. (2001). The Jesus Sutras: Rediscovering the Lost Scrolls of Taoist Christianity. Ballantine Publishing Group.   Rossabi, M. (2010). Voyager from Xanadu: Rabban Bar Sauma and the First Journey from China to the West. University of California Press.   Soro, B. (2007) The Church of the East: Apostolic and Orthodox. Adiabene Publications.   Tang, L., Winkler, D. (eds.). (2013). From the Oxus River to the Chinse Shores: Studies on East Syriac Christianity in China and Central Asia. University of Salzburg, vol 5.

Tertullian (155-220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from the north African providence of Carthage. He is widely considered the father of Latin Christianity and was the first writer to use the term trinity to describe God. Although controversial in many branches of Christianity, Tertullian continues to be widely read today. In this episode of Voices of Renewal, learn about Tertullian from Dr. David Eastman, the Joseph Glenn Sherrill Chair of Bible at the McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and author of Early North African Christianity: Turning Points in the Development of the Church (Baker, 2021).

In today's episode, Dr. Strange looks at the early Church Fathers Irenaeus and Tertullian. What were some of Irenaeus' significant contributions, and what do we learn about the heretics of his day from his writings-- Did he accurately describe them-- Did Tertullian join the ranks of the early heretics, the Montanists-- Tune in to listen as Dr. Strange answers all these questions and more.

In today's episode, Dr. Strange looks at the early Church Fathers Irenaeus and Tertullian. What were some of Irenaeus' significant contributions, and what do we learn about the heretics of his day from his writings? Did he accurately describe them? Did Tertullian join the ranks of the early heretics, the Montanists? Tune in to listen as Dr. Strange answers all these questions and more.

In today's episode, Dr. Strange looks at the early Church Fathers Irenaeus and Tertullian. What were some of Irenaeus' significant contributions, and what do we learn about the heretics of his day from his writings- Did he accurately describe them- Did Tertullian join the ranks of the early heretics, the Montanists- Tune in to listen as Dr. Strange answers all these questions and more.

08/30/22 - How do Catholics interpret the story of the Prodigal Son?, Tertullian and Papal Authority, and does the #Catholic #Church preach a false #Gospel? #prodigalson #jesus

How do Catholics interpret the story of the Prodigal Son?, Tertullian and Papal Authority, and does the #Catholic #Church preach a false #Gospel? #prodigalson #jesus

1 John 4:11-12 'Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.' You cannot see the wind, but you can easily see the effects that it has. Equally, you cannot see electricity but we have no doubt that it exists because of all that it does. No one has ever seen God, but we know that he exists because we see his love reflected in the people around us. And so the more we love people, the more they will have the opportunity to see the living God. Tertullian, one of the Early Church Fathers, wrote of the way in which the pagan Romans were struck by way of life of Christians: “See how they love one another,” was their response. I would love to think that would be the response to each of our churches, and I believe it often is. People see churches setting up food banks, debt advice services, parent and toddler groups, listening services and many other activities. They are wonderful expressions of love and care to our communities but let's be honest – people sometimes see something very different too. They see churches squabbling over doctrine, worship and buildings and the last thing it shows them is love. I don't believe that we will make things better by decrying the Church or blaming other Christians for not being loving. We need to look to ourselves and reflect on ways in which we can set a better example. As we look to God and listen to his voice, we need to find practical ways to better love our Christian brothers and sisters, and then explore ways in which we can share his love more fully together. We don't want to put on a big show, but we do want to love each other better. We want to make it clear to everyone in our communities that God is alive and well. Question: How can you reflect God's love today? Prayer: Lord God, I thank you for your amazing love to me. Help me to share your love generously with others in whatever I do. Amen

Today, July 19, marks a dark day in Christian history. On this date in A.D. 64, the Great Fire of Rome left two-thirds of the Eternal City in ashes. According to the Roman historian Tacitus, the fire was sparked in a part of town concentrated with flammable goods, quickly spread by high winds, and burned over the course of the next week and a half. This was the stuff of nightmares.   According to Tacitus:  "The blaze in its fury ran first through the level portions of the city, then rising to the hills, while it again devastated every place below them; it outstripped all preventive measures, so rapid was the mischief and so completely at its mercy the city, with those narrow winding passages and irregular streets which characterized old Rome."  He went on to describe screaming women, helpless children, and panicked crowds, trampling everything before them.   The end of the blaze was not the end of the terror. On the throne at the time was Emperor Nero, a man notorious for his immorality and hatred of Christians. Suspicious by the way Nero refashioned the charred city into his own image, as well as by rumors that he “fiddled while Rome burned,” many Romans began to wonder if he had started the fire himself.  To forestall the whispers, Nero blamed the Christians. And why not? Christians were weird. They talked about eating flesh and drinking blood. They called their husbands “brother” and their wives “sister.” They denied the gods, like atheists. They thought a dead man had come back to life and was going to return one day in glory and, most pertinently, in vengeance.  Up to this point, believers had mostly been left alone by Roman authorities, but Nero found they were easy to pick on. In the days that followed, the Apostles Peter and Paul met their fates, along with an unknown but great number of other Christians.  If this was the first time Christians took heat for a public disaster, it certainly would not be the last. Christians have found themselves an unpopular minority in many cultural settings and have been consistently blamed for various disasters in various societies. A century and a half after Nero's attacks, Tertullian, a North African Christian writer, morbidly quipped, “If the Tiber rises too high, or the Nile too low, the remedy is always feeding Christians to the lions.” In 410, pagan writers suggested that the sacking of Rome by German tribes would not have happened had Rome not abandoned her gods for a supposedly immoral Christianity. That accusation led Augustine of Hippo to respond with his magnum opus, The City of God.   One of the most important works in the history of Western civilization, The City of God is still read, centuries later, by pastors, philosophers, and historians alike. In it, Augustine provided a thoroughgoing defense to a shallow trope leveled against Christians. He offered a litany of natural and military disasters and gross moral failings from Rome's supposedly purer and pagan past. With these examples, he undid the critique that Christians had somehow made life worse. If anything, in fact, the influence of biblical ideals had made things better.  Christians today face analogous accusations. We aren't being cast to the lions (at least not here in the West, anyway), but there's a clear and growing undercurrent of hostility toward Christians that often resembles the tropes used in ancient days. Christians have been blamed for the prevalence of poverty, natural disasters due to climate change, the degradation of science and technology, and all kinds of social and political oppression.   Our reply can be much the same as Augustine's. Oppression, poverty, military, and natural disasters are the common lot of humanity. They are common in times and places where the Gospel has never gone. However, in those places where Christianity has gone there are hospitals, universities, technological innovation, freedom, and an unusual insistence on human dignity.  Recently, the good that Christianity brought to the world has been described in books like Dominion by the (as yet!) non-Christian historian, Tom Holland, and the newer The Air We Breathe, by Anglican evangelist Glen Scrivener. These works remind us how bad the world was before Christ came, and how much of what we think of as good and valuable has come, not despite Christianity, but because of it. Any Christian who faces an unfair accusation today should read these books and be encouraged. Christianity is just as true and good today, as it was then.  

In most of the world today, slavery is unthinkable. Is it possible that we could ever reach that same place with abortion in America?  Just as there were once states where it was legal to own slaves and other states where it wasn't, we are now a nation deeply divided on the issue of abortion on a state-by-state level. In certain states, abortion is allowed, encouraged, and even subsidized abortion. In others, abortion is all but illegal. The history of the Church's stance on both issues, abolition and abortion, is instructive as we seek to obey Christ in a post-Roe world.  Clearly, the early Church did not like slavery. The New Testament condemns behaviors that were endemic to the slave trade. In his letter to Philemon, Paul gave broad hints that masters should free their Christian slaves. Early Christians often purchased slaves specifically to set them free.   Even so, neither the New Testament nor the early Church pushed for full abolition of slavery, for at least two reasons.  First, taking a public stand would have brought even more unwanted attention to an already targeted group. Second, the ancient world offered no model to Christians for a society without slaves, so few could envision what that would look like. Though Christians saw slavery as a curse, they could not conceive of being rid of it entirely (any more than they could imagine a world rid of disease or poverty). This failure of moral imagination meant that it would be centuries before the implications of the Gospel would lead Christian rulers to take definitive steps toward abolishing slavery.  By the Middle Ages, overt slavery was rare in Europe, and Church leaders spoke out against it. Thomas Aquinas claimed that slavery might be part of the “law of nations” but was against the law of nature and therefore a sin. When, centuries later, the infamous Atlantic slave trade began, Portugal and Spain defied the decrees of four different popes to spread it in their colonies. In the English-speaking world, the rampant practice of slavery found opposition among Quakers and a rising evangelicalism that eventually ended first the slave trade, then slavery altogether.  All this means that the American theologians who defended slavery were following the culture's lead, not Church teaching. Though it took far too long for the implications of the Gospel to become clear, the teaching of both Jesus and Paul of the spiritual and moral equality of all persons meant that slavery was incompatible with Christianity, and its abolition in Christian states was only a matter of time. Eventually, because of the commitment to the worth and dignity of every human being as created in the image of God, Christians fought to end the abuse of slavery.  In contrast, the Christian position on abortion has been clear from day one. In the Didache, the earliest non-New Testament Christian work to survive, Christians are instructed “you shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill that which is born.” Similarly, the late first or early second century Epistle of Barnabas, a manual of ethics in this early period, says “you shall not murder a child by abortion, nor again kill it when it is born.” In “A Plea for Christians,” written in 177, Athenagoras of Athens wrote, “[w]e say that those women who use drugs to bring on abortion commit murder …”  Similar teaching can be found in the writings of Clement of Alexandria, the pseudonymous Apocalypse of Peter, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Cyprian, and Lactantius, which takes us up to the de-criminalization of Christianity by Constantine. The teaching of the Church on abortion has been clear from the start and continued to be clear well into the 20th century.   Only recently have some claiming the name of Christ accepted abortion as morally licit, or worse, have celebrated it. Christian opposition to abortion is based on precisely the same reasoning as Christian opposition to slavery. Every human being is made in the image of God and is crowned with glory and honor, a dignity we dare not ignore. The same dehumanizing and depersonalizing claim that undergirded the idea that slaves were less worthy as human beings, and further undergirded the horrific treatment of African Americans in the Jim Crow South, is also at work in pro-abortion thinking. And yet, the same liberating power of the imago dei that broke the chains of slavery demands that we see the dignity of preborn children and work to protect them.   Slavery and the subsequent dehumanizing treatment of African Americans was evil, and that the crusade to end both was (and is) God's work. May we also recognize that dehumanizing and killing the unborn is at least as evil, and rightly abhorred.   

(00:40) Abortion in the Ancient World - Today I finish Part Two of a series on abortion in ancient Greece and ancient Rome. One Jewish historian, Philo, describes in detail the practice of exposure and its affect. While men like Hippocrates and Philo attempted to speak out against abortion and infanticide, things change when Christianity arrives. The early Christian leader Tertullian argues that life begins at conception and describes a medical instrument used in abortion called "the slayer of the infant." Christian emperors, such as Valentinian I and Justinian, work toward changing Roman law to protect the unborn. Regrettably, American law in some ways is turning pagan, although in a matriarchal, not patriarchal, direction. As always, if you have any law/government related questions, feel free to email me at thegbgpodcast@gmail.com, and I will be happy to address them on the program. Thank you and God bless! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or go to www.ericluppold.com Please support me on Patreon!

In this burst of classical interest, Dave and Jeff discuss the graffito discovered on the Palatine Hill in 1857. Does it depict Christ Jesus crucified, mocked in the shape of a donkey? What is onolatry? Who was Alexamenos and why is he being ridiculed? What about the early evidence from apologists Tertullian and Minucius Felix? What can they tell us about how the Romans viewed their Christian and Jewish neighbors? Tune in as we discuss these questions and more, and don't forget to check the link for the image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexamenos_graffito

Why is it big news when someone claims to find a fragment of a lost "gospel"? Why do people say that these ancient apocrypha threaten to overturn everything Christians believe? In the second century, some of these pseudonymous books appeared and quickly landed in the remainder bin, called into question by giants such as Irenaeus and Tertullian. They're news today because of a modern myth, crafted by one of the renowned literary critics of the 20th century — and sustained by ivy-league celebrities.   Paul Mankowski, S.J., "The Pagels Imposture," Catholic Culture https://www.catholicculture.org/news/features/index.cfm?recnum=43736   Amy Weiss-Meyer, "What Ever Happened to the Gospel of Jesus's Wife?" The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/08/ariel-sabar-what-happened-to-the-gospel-of-jesus-wife/615160/   Mike Aquilina's website https://fathersofthechurch.com   Mike Aquilina's books https://catholicbooksdirect.com/writer/mike-aquilina/   Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed http://www.ccwatershed.org   Donate today! https://www.catholicculture.org/users/donate/audio