In this section, we will be looking at the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries, including the great Church councils at Nicea (325), Constantinople (381), Ephesus (431), and Chalcedon (451). To prepare, read Chapter 27 in Gonzales (Eastern Christianity), especially up to and including the Council of Chalcedon.

In this session, we will be looking at the life, writings, and legacy of Augustine. This material is found mainly in chapter 24 in the Gonzales book.

In this session, we look at the lives and legacy of Ambrose, John Chrysostom, and Jerome.  This material is found mainly in chapters 21-23 in the Gonzales book.

In this session we look at the Great Cappdocian Fathers and the Council of Constantinople. To prepare you can read Chapter 20 in the Gonzales book, and you can look at internet resources to get a little background on the council of Constantinople and the creed that came out of that council.

In this session, we look at Athanasius. Athanasius stood strong for the orthodox faith, accurately seeing that to deny the Deity of Christ was to deny the faith itself. His life and writings thus became one of the most important chapters in church history.

Reading: Chapter 17

In this session we look at Diocletian, including the great changes to the ruling of the empire under his reign, and the final great persecution during his final years. We then look at the rise of Constantine, and the change in the relationship between the Empire and the church – from persecution, to tolerance, to acceptance.

In this session, we look at Diocletian, including the great changes to the ruling of the empire under his reign, and the final great persecution during his final years. We then look at the rise of Constantine, and the change in the relationship between the Empire and the church – from persecution, to tolerance, to acceptance.

We will be looking at the persecutions under Decius and Valerian, how the church responded, and the question of how to handle those who lapsed under the persecution. We will also look at Cyprian and some of his other ideas.

This month we looked at church life in the late 2nd and the 3rd century. This covered chapters 10 and 11 in the Gonzales book.

This month we will look at chapter 9 in the Gonzales book – The Teachers of the Church.  This chapter will predominately look at four important early teachers: Irenaeus of Lyons, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian of Carthage, and Orgien of Alexandria. Listen to the teaching Look at the outline

This month we will take a look at the formation of the canon of Scripture.  How did the church decide which books were truly inspired and should be considered authoritative Scripture?  What was the process it used?  Which books almost did not make it into the Bible – and why?  And which books were considered but ultimately rejected m- and why?

This lesson looks at the early heresies in the church and how the church responded to these heresies – especially Marcion and the Gnostics.

This looks at persecution in the early church. It will look up through the first couple of hundred years ending in the early to mid 200s.

This looks at persecution in the early church. It will look up through the first couple of hundred years ending in the early to mid 200s.

This looks at persecution in the early church. It will look up through the first couple of hundred years ending in the early to mid 200s.

This class gives goes over the period covered in the book of Acts, helping us understand how the early church went from being a small group of Jews in Jerusalem to a worldwide movement comprised predominately of Gentiles – in around 30 years.

This class gives an introduction to Church history, explaining why it is valuable to study the history of the church, and then looks at the major forces shaping the world during the time of the New Testament – the Greeks, Romans, and the Jews.

Listen to the teaching Look at the teaching outline Look at the teaching presentation

We apologize that due to some technical difficulties the second part of the discussion was lost. This is the first portion of the discussion which covers Jonathan Edwards’ sermon “Christian Knowledge.”

This is the handout given out during the class. It contains a timeline of Edwards’ life, and a brief annotated bibliography of resources to further study Edwards and his writings.

This was a paper Bret Hicks wrote for his seminary class on Jonathan Edwards. It gives his reasons for thinking that Edwards’ thought is very important for the situation confronting the modern church. Bret also gives an overview of how he would recommend people begin to read Edwards – which writings and sermons to read first, and which ones to wait until a basic understanding of Edwards has been attained.

This was a paper Bret wrote for his seminary class on Jonathan Edwards. It deals with the specific questions of whether unbelievers can really seek God, and if so, in what sense.

This was a paper Bret wrote for his seminary class on the Classic Writings for Personal Devotion. In it, Bret tries to summarize Edwards’ thoughts on revival and awakening, both personal and corporate. It includes Bret’s understanding of Edwards’ thought on the relationship between Divine Sovereignty and human responsibility and action in revival and awakening, his views on how to judge if a revival was really a work of the Spirit of God or if it was merely a product of human emotion and activity, and his understanding of how Christians grow in their Christian walk.

This was a paper Bret wrote for his seminary class on the Church history from the Reformation to the present. In it, he had to compare and contrast the thought of Jonathan Edwards and the leaders of the “Toronto Blessing” on revival. Bret discusses the theology of each on the Divine Sovereignty and human responsibility/action in bringing about and sustaining revival. He also addresses the theologies on the subject of unusual physical manifestations during a revival. If you would like to understand how Edwards would probably have viewed several modern purported revivals, this is Bret’s understanding from Edward’s writings.