|
 oday, Christianity is the most successful single phenomenon, statistically
considered, in all of history. Historian
Paul Maier in the introduction to Eusebius' The Church History,
page 9.
This issue is an undisguised and unapologetic
attempt to encourage you to invest in and cherish a deeper awareness of
our Christian history.
One of the saddest experiences a person can have is to realize that a
parent or loved one has lost their memory to age or disease. Many have
been grieved when an aging parent did not recognize them or remember that
they ever had children or grandchildren.
Preserving the Treasures
This bears an uncanny resemblance to our society today. We are quite different
from most other cultures that have inhabited the world throughout history.
For the greater part of the human sojourn on this planet, the past was
held precious, elders were honored, and stories of the past were treasured
and carefully preserved.
This is no longer the case in our society. To a frightening degree, our
contemporary society has forgotten from where it came. Or perhaps it is
more accurate to say that most have never really bothered to find out.
And if we don't know where we have come from, we can never truly know
who we are. We are like orphans who have no idea of our parents' identity
and little guidance for where we are going. In the often quoted words
of George Santayana, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed
to repeat it."
LEFT: Original artwork by Donna Wasserburger
of Romsa Creations: Look at your exploration of Christian history as a
family reunion where you can find out about your kinfolk. If you are a
committed Christian, you are indeed among family—a family that stretches
across centuries and around the globe. As a part of God’s household
of faith, we are heirs to the great promises of God. But even if you are
not a believer, you are still invited! This is a family that always has
room for more. The gospel is an invitation for everyone and this is one
family that wants to count you in.
The Grand Delusion
We have been quick to believe the lie that our age is so advanced that
those who have gone before have little to offer us. We are technologically
superior to the relatively backward times of our grandparents. This makes
it difficult for people today to care about previous generations and the
things they experienced, thought, said, and wanted to pass on to us. However,
if we think that way, we cut ourselves off from some of the greatest treasures
that rightfully belong to us, treasures that much of the MTV generation
will never experience.
A striking example of the pathetic puerility of the modern mentality
is the European Union's desire to keep any acknowledgement of Europe's
Christian roots out of its charter.
John Donne said, "No man is an island." Our generation is
no more an island than any other. Every generation is shaped by the thoughts
and ideas of previous generations. A generation that ignores its predecessors
only impoverishes itself. As historian Milan Hubl warned, "The first
step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory. Destroy its books,
its culture, its history… and before long the nation will forget
what it is and what it was."
This is especially true of the church's history. When we lose our history,
we lose an integral part of our identity. Who we are as a church is built
upon those who have gone before, just as those who follow us will build
upon the legacy we leave behind. Many Christians are handicapped by their
lack of awareness of the experience and struggles of preceding generations.
The Bible continually calls us to remember God’s work in ages past.
A look at the Scriptures reveals that by far the greatest genre of material,
in both the Old and New Testaments, is history, reciting the acts of God
in His world and among His people. We are also called to care about how
God has worked over the centuries since the completion of the scriptures.
Enduring Perspective
Knowledge and understanding of Christian history help us in many ways.
We see the precedents of how God has worked in the past. We gain perspective,
which helps us see our current circumstances in a new light. We develop
a sense of continuity and see the unfolding of God's purposes. Look into
our amazingly diverse and perplexing history. You cannot help but marvel
at how God's design transcends any single generation, century, denomination,
geography, or ideology. Further, a knowledge of our history helps us combat
our natural tendency to believe that the universe revolves around ourselves.
But Which Church and Christianity?
You may understandably ask, "Which history? Which Christianity?"
After all, there are many different denominations, churches and leaders,
each with their own story. Whom should you believe? Does anyone actually
have the truth?
The marvel is not that there is so much diversity and disagreement, but
rather that over the centuries and around the world there has been so
much agreement on the core of the faith as represented in the historic
creeds to which the vast majority of all Christians subscribe. Our faith
has been passed down to us over many centuries and includes many diverse
cultures. The many streams of Christian history can usually be traced
back to the same source. If we focus only on our own story, we miss the
broader picture of our faith. Christians have a collective history, common
roots that are shared by more than just those of our own denomination.
Knowledge of our common roots will provide us with a more complete view
of our Christian history and a clearer vision of what it means to be the
Christian Church.
Spiritual maturity requires an awareness of our past. Those aware of
the spiritual struggles and issues of the past will be better equipped
to deal with the present and the future.
Imagine being lost in a strange land with no idea where you are. Someone
comes along and gives you a map that shows where you have come from and
where you are. This is what Christian history is like. "Next to the
Bible," historian Philip Schaff said, "history is our surest
guide."
A Prayer of Thanks for Our History from John Baillie's
A Diary of Private Prayer.
O Thou who wast, and art, and art to come, I thank Thee that this
Christian way whereon I walk is no untried or uncharted road, but a
road beaten hard by the footsteps of saints, apostles, prophets, and
martyrs. I thank Thee for the finger-posts and danger-signals with which
it is marked at every turning and which may be known to me through the
study of the Bible, and of all history.
A Quickie Quiz on Christian History: How well
acquainted are you with the basics of our heritage? (Answers below).
A. Put the following in the order in which they lived and identify briefly.
____ Wilberforce _______________
____ Augustine ________________
____ Aquinas _________________
____ Bede ___________________
____ Luther __________________
B. Put in front of each the century in which the following significant
events took place.
____ The Council of Nicea
____ The East-West split of churches
____ The Reformation in Switzerland under Zwingli and Calvin
____ The Scopes Trial about Evolution
C. True or False
______ 1. Luther decided to break with the Catholic Church because
he objected to the requirement for priests to remain unmarried and celibate.
______ 2. Billy Graham's idea of the evangelistic invitation for people
to come forward came to him in a dream while he slept on an airplane.
______ 3. Constantine was the emperor who made Christianity the official
faith of the Roman Empire.
______ 4. There are no Christians in Egypt because Muslims got there
first.
______ 5. Rhode Island, founded by Roger Williams, was known in Colonial
times as the latrine or sewer of New England.
Answers to Quiz.
A.
Augustine of Hippo (354-430). Theologian famous for his writings: Confessions,
which told of his conversion, and The City of God.
Venerable Bede (c.673-735). Scholar and teacher, “Father of English
History,” author of the History of the English Church.
Thomas Aquinas (c.1225-1274). A leading theologian whose major work was
the Summa Theologica.
Martin Luther (1483-1546). Augustinian monk who began the Reformation
in Germany.
William Wilberforce (1759-1833). Member of Parliament and the prime force
behind the eventual abolition of slavery in England.
B.
The Council of Nicea (325) - 4th century
The East-West Split (1054) - 11th century
The Swiss Reformation (1520s-1550s) - 16th century
The Scopes Trial (1925) - 20th century
C.
1. False. Luther had no intention to break with the church of Rome. He
wanted to see it reformed. After reconciliation with Rome proved unsuccessful,
many of the priests associated with Luther did marry, including Luther
himself, but that was never the precipitating issue for the split.
2. False. Billy Graham adapted practices of earlier evangelists such as
Billy Sunday and D. L. Moody, including the practice of extending an invitation
for people to respond to the evangelistic sermon.
3. False. This claim that Constantine made Christianity the official religion
is one of the most widespread and persistent errors. He granted the Church
acceptance and even favoritism but never make it the state religion. That
was done by Emperor Theodosius I in his edict of 380.
4. False. Egypt and North Africa were strong centers of early Christianity.
The indigenous Egyptian Christians, known as Copts, claim their ancestors
were converted by Mark the Evangelist.
5. True. Roger Williams and the Baptist and “soul liberty”
ideas he introduced into his Providence Plantations settlement were not
very popular in Puritan New England in the early days.
©2005 by Christian History Institute, Box 540, Worcester, PA 19490.
Tel.: 610-584-3500, Fax: 610-584-6643, E-mail: glimpses@chinstitute.org,
Web: http://www.chinstitute.org. Prepared by Ken Curtis, Ph.D., and Tracey
L. Craig with Dawn Moore, Ann T. Snyder, and Beth Jacobson. Photo credits:
p. 1 - CHI Archives. |
