A Cloud of Witnesses: A History of the Early Church (First 400 Years)
Published August 30, 2015
With Ben Bythewood
Winter/Spring 2012
This class will pick up the history of the church at the end of Acts and cover to about 400 A.D. As the class unfolds, we will walk in the footsteps of martyrs, refute heresy at every turn, and earnestly seek to understand the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection.
Week 1: Introduction: Setting the Stage
Week 2: Introduction: Theology of the Early Church
Week 3: Theology of the Early Church, Persecution, and Martyrdom
Week 4: Letter of Pliny to Emperor Trajan, Letter of Ignatius of Antioch to the Romans, and the Martyrdom of Polycarp
Week 5: 2nd Century Beliefs, Christianity and Culture, Apologists
Week 6: The Canon
Week 7: 2nd Century Beliefs, Christianity and Culture, Apologists (cont.)
Heresies
Week 7 Slides 1 (from Week 5)
Week 7 Slides 2 (Heresy)
Week 8: Heresies
Week 8 Slides (from Week 7 - Heresy)