History of missions acts & paul - lesson 4

Missions
History of Missions
Dr. Robert Patton
Missionary to Suriname,
South America

Persecution 250-313
 Decius demanded every citizen to make
a yearly sacrifice to the genius of the
emperor, and received a certificate.
Origen was tortured – later died
 Diocletian, a powerful military ruler, no
longer shared power with the senate,
and tolerated no other religion. Severe
persecution broke out 303-305

Rome persecuted the believers
 While Christianity was viewed as a
Jewish sect, there was not a great
amount of persecution, as Judaism was
tolerated. But when the church spread,
and was rejected by the Jews,
persecution began as the population of
Christians rose to 5-15% of the
population, and held themselves apart

Persecution – Diocletian
 Churches were burned, leaders captured and
killed if they refused to make a sacrifice. Jails
were too full to have regular criminals in
them
 311 – Galerius – edict of toleration
 313 – Constantine – freedom of all religions
 Showed importance of separation of church
and state

Results of persecution
 Christianity was first strong in the east
 2e – reached the Greek-speaking masses –
esp. Alexandria
 3e – moved into Latin areas, with Carthage as
a strong church
 There was the problem of what to do with
Christians who denied the faith or gave over
scriptures, and came back when the
persecution was over

Perpetua
 Her father, a nobleman, pled with her to
recant; she refused.
 He took a beating to try to get her free
 She had a new-born, and also her slave girl
had just delivered
 She at last pushed the family away
 Perpetua gored by a bull, then
beheaded

Polycarp was known and
hated by unbelievers
 He glorified Jesus Christ
 He spoke against idolatry
 He was effective not only in Smyrna,
but also traveled to Rome
 He was powerful in prayer
 His strong testimony led to his being
burned to death A. D. 156

A second problem – false
beliefs
 Most believers were:
 Jews who brought the legalistic methods of
the Old Testament with them
 Greeks who brought their philosophy with
them

Legalistic – Ebionites
 Believed that both Jews and Greeks
should hold the OT laws, which were
the highest expression of God’s will
 They believed that Jesus, son of
Joseph, attained some level of deity
when the Holy Spirit came upon Him

Philosophic heresies
 Gnosticism believed in dualism, with
clear separation of matter, which is evil
and not created by God, and Spirit,
which is good
 Jehovah, a demiurge, was a mixture of
spirit and matter and created this evil
world

Gnosticism
 The Christ is spiritual. Either the man
Jesus was a phantom, or the Christ
came on Him at baptism and left Him
on the cross
 Salvation comes to those spiritual
people who have this special knowledge
or those having faith without the special
knowledge. No physical resurrection

Gnosticism
 You could be an ascetic or libertine – the body
is irrelevant
 There was a tendency of elitism and
antisemitism against the Jew and Jehovah
 Refuted by men such as Tertullian, Iraeneus &
Hippolytus
 Many different sects – Marcion most popular

Manicheanism
 Dualism devised by Mani – like
Zoroastrianism
 Man was an emanation from a person
who was an emanation from the king of
light. But primitive man tricked by the
ruler of darkness, and man became a
mixture of the two
 You release the light through asceticism

Manicheanism
 They believed sex was evil, and favored
a priestly class
 Augustine was in the belief 12 years
before accepting Christ – then refuted it

Neoplatonism
 Absolute Being had emanations or
overflow by which humans were
created
 Through mystic intuition you are
absorbed into the one and have ecstacy
(It seems like pure monism of Hinduism
to me)
 Emperor Julian tried to make it the
religion of the empire 361-363

Theological errors
 Montanism – inspiration was
instantaneous and immediate and he
himself was the Holy Spirit
 God was going to set up his kingdom in
Phrygia, and he would have an
important part

Montanism
 Tertullian was in the system
 We must rely on the Holy Spirit, and
not ignore man’s spiritual nature

Monarchianism
 This was overemphasis on the unity of
God resulting in Unitarianism, and
denying the deity of Christ
 Paul of Samosata – Jesus was a good
man. The Logos came on Him at
baptism and He became divine
 Adoptionist monarchianism

Monarchianism
 Sabellius – in attempting to avoid three
gods, he used modalism – that God
appeared in three forms – as the Father
in the O.T. as creator, as the Son in the
N.T. as redeemer, and as the Holy Spirit
after the resurrection. Not 3 persons,
but 3 manifestations. This is like Jesus
Only Pentecostalism

Donatism
 Arose concerning the validity of
ordination through the hands of a
traitor who denied Christ
 The church decided that the validity of
a sacrament was not dependent on the
character of the one administering it

Attempts to answer a hostile
Roman empire – apologists
 Justyn Martyr – defended against
atheism, idolatry, cannibalism, incest,
immorality
 Dialog with Trypho – tried to convince
the Jews that Jesus is the messiah
 Tatian also wrote to the Greeks
 Athenagoras also wrote, as well as
Theophilus

Apologists – western
 Tertullian – showed Christianity as the
final answer to religion

Internal threat of false religion
Polemicists
 Used the New Testament extensively
 Iranaeus – missionary bishop to Gaul.
Wrote against gnosticism; supported
apostolic succession
 Alexandrian school – Pantanaeus,
Clement, Origin used allegorical method
of interpretation in place of
grammatico-historic methods

Alexandrian school
 Clement of Alexandria ended up with
syncretic mix of bible and Greek
philosophy
 Origen – extremely capable. Took over
family of six after his father Leonides
was martyred. Age 18 took over the
school from Clement; wrote extensively
6000 scrolls, but lived simply

Origen’s false beliefs
 Christ eternally generated from the
Father and subordinate to Him
 Pre-existence of the soul
 The ransom theory of Christ’s death
 No physical resurrection
 Universalism – the final restoration of
all souls

Origen – Alexandrian leader,
capable but strange beliefs

Carthaginian school
 Tertullian – apologist, also advocated simple
lifestyle & no immorality
 First to state the trinity, the traducian doctrine
of the soul; heavy emphasis on baptism with
sins later mortal sins
 Cyprian – bishop of Carthage 9 years till his
death as a martyr. Opposed Stephen’s claim
of priority of bishop of Rome

Cyprian
 Two ideas later developed – apostolic
succession as protection of heresy from
Peter on.
 Priests sacrificing the body of Christ

The church’s defense against
heresy & persecution
 The position of the bishop was exalted
above that of the normal church leaders
 The Roman bishop was considered in
apostolic succession from Peter, despite
the fact that Jesus probably referred to
his confession, Peter denied the Lord,
and Paul once rebuked Peter publically

Development of creeds &
canon
 A convenient short summary of faith
and practice – apostle’s creed of
baptism, etc. – approx. 340 A.D.
 N.T. canon- mostly done by 175 AD
 Written by apostle or close associate of an
apostle
 Edification
 Consistency with faith of creeds, etc

Canon of the church
 180 – list was 22 books – some
questioned James, 2 Peter, 2 & 3 John,
Jude, Hebrews & Revelation
 Athanasius – 367 – same 27 books as
today. Carthage – 397 – same books

Liturgy – baptism &
communion
 Felt could only be administered by
authorized individuals - priests
 Baptism – initially via belief; then by
catechism; usually Easter or Pentecost
 Usually by immersion; a few advocated
infant baptism
 Church started feasts such as
Christmas, Lent, etc

Constantine takes over
 313 – persecution ends. Then lands given
back, state supports clergy, clergy exempt
from public service
 Founded Constantinople, center of power for
the east
 Constantine’s sons continued to favor the
church
 Julian the apostate helped paganism briefly

Christianity = state religion
 Theodosius I – made it so 380
 Pagan worship punished 392
 Athens philosophic school closed 529
 Many advantages in outreach, but now
the state involved in the church

Barbarians invade from the
east
 There were waves of Goths, Visigoths,
Anglo-Saxons, Ostrogoths, and Vandals
invading, followed by Mongol Huns
 Rome sacked 410

Gregory Thaumaturgus
 Bishop in the area of Pontus, who saw a
sort of people movement. It was
claimed that only 17 Christians were
there when he arrived, and only 17
non-Christians when he died
 Various miracles were attributed to him
 Catholics made him a “patron saint” of
lost causes

Gregory the Illuminator
 Armenian fled, trained as Christian
 Returned when Armenia freed, and
jailed when he refused to put garland
on a heathen altar
 Later the king Tiridates was baptized
and destroyed the heathen temple

Gregory “the illuminator”
 Armenia became a Christian nation after
the king converted
 The New Testament was translated into
Armenian
 Estimated 2,500,000 Armenians became
Christians

Gregory the Illuminator & his
burial place in this cathedral

Armenia
 By 410 the New Testament was
translated
 The church is one of the oldest in
Christianity

Coptic church
 Frumentius and his brother were
shipwrecked in Ethiopia. They
preached the gospel
 Athanasius made Frumentius bishop of
Ethiopia

Frumentius, bishop of Ethiopia

Rome evangelized Italy
 The Italia translation was made very
early, possibly 150 A.D.
 Church spread to France though not
with great results – Irenaeus was
bishop of Lyon (France) 175-200 A.D.
 Church in England by the 2nd century
though not known by whom

Tigris-Euphrates valley
 Early spread to Arbela (north of Tigris)
by end of 1st century
 Tradition – Thomas all the way to India
 Edessa in upper Euphrates was a major
center, and the king converted by 200
A.D. But was soon overthrown by
Romans
 Syriac Bible translated by 150 A.D.

Thomas - India
 May have been jailed by King
Gundaphorus
 Tradition states that he was speared to
death in India having started churches
there

Mar Thoma churches still
exist; here is a convention

Christianity spread also
 Arabia by third century
 Strong church in Alexandria
 Carthage also had Christians – either
from Rome (was a Roman colony) or
from nearby
 Tertullian, Cyprian and Augustine were
all from North Africa

Summary of the church before
the council of Nicea 325 AD
There was no evidence of priority of the
bishop of Rome during this time (no
pope)
There were no icons, prayers to Mary or
prayers to the saints during this time

 The church was spread widely with
much persecution
 Some fled and became hermits,
especially in Egypt (Antony 270 A.D.)
 Some chose to be ascetics and come
away from the world
 There were many martyrs, as noted
above

 There were false teachings during that
time, and false teachers
 Apologetics were present

Summary of situation with the
“conversion” of Constantine
 Estimated 10-15% of the Roman
empire were Christian
 With Christianity becoming tolerated
and then popular, it became
contaminated by many Roman heathen
customs
 Martyrdom was in the past
 The church became related to the state

Summary after Constantine
 Edict of Toleration A.D. 313
 Christianity the official religion of the
Roman Empire A.D. 375
 Now expedient to become Christian,
and masses of individuals baptized
 Council of Nicea to establish the deity of
Christ

Effects of Constantine
 Church growth was probably hindered
by ulterior motives of many ‘converts”
 Those who rejected false beliefs
retreated into asceticism & monasticism
 Evangelization became less outside the
Roman Empire

Summary of the situation in
early centuries
 Church spread through Mesopotamia
 Armenia - by the 4th century
 Strong churches in North Africa early
 Turkey, etc - Polycarp gave strong
witness

There were churches with
strong missions emphasis
 Antioch – the strongest
 Ephesus – especially through Asia
 Egypt – Alexandria – Pantaenus, etc.
 Carthage – Tertullian
 Some of these churches had some teachings
which were influenced by gnosticism or
Arianism, especially in Alexandria

Summary of Council of Nicea
 Established that Arianism is heresy –
denying the deity of Christ
 Settling the inspired books of the Bible,
the canon

Monastacism begins
 Athanasius writes the life of Antony. He is
the bishop of Alexandria
 Monasteries begin, especially with Basil the
great, who was also a friend of Gregory
and also a brother of another Gregory who
was another bishop
 John Chyrsostom was a godly eloquent
archbishop of Constantinople – the
orthodox church is beginning at this time

Athanesius – bishop of
Alexandria, defeated Arianism

St. Catherine’s monastery –
where Sinaiticus was found

Spread of Christianity before
Islam

Ulfinas - missionary to the Goths
(311) (Area of Romania)
 Raised with the Goths – mother Gothic, father a
Christian captured by the Goths
 Sent to Constantinople as a diplomat, converted,
learned Greek under Eusebius, an Arian or
Semi-Arian
 Age 30 made bishop of the Goths, went north of
the Danube, out of Roman territory
 Strong opposition by a chieftain who felt Ulfinas
wanted to put the Goths under Rome in 348 AD

Ulfinas - missionary to the Goths
(311) (Area of Romania)
 Ulfinas actually moved the location of his
church to the other side of the Danube after
many deaths.
 Ulfinas translated the entire Bible with the
exception of 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings
because of the military exploits there.
 Very accurate translation after reducing
Gothic tongue to a written language

Ulfinas – remarkable leader
 Taught a mild form of Arianism which
persisted with the Visigoths in Spain
much later as well as Lollards
 The followers of Ulfinas after his death
at age 70 were still effective though the
Visigoths attacked Rome in 410 AD

Martin of Tours (316-396)
 Missionary to France – organized soldier
bands. Humble, wise, would not leave
his cell to be made bishop
 Broke down idols proclaiming
Christianity
 Still considered the patron saint of
France

Martin of Tours – patron saint
of soldiers by Catholic church

Patrick - Celtic church(Ireland)
 Born in Britain around 389. His father was a
deacon, his grandfather a priest in the Celtic
church.
 He was captured and a slave in Ireland
tending swine.
 He was converted, and escaped and went to
a monastery where he trained as a priest

Stained glass window of St.
Patrick

 After training as a deacon, he felt called to
Ireland. Initially, another was sent as better
prepared, but died, and Patrick arrived back
at over 40 years of age in 432.
 He clashed with the druids, who were
involved in witchcraft & human sacrifices.
 He tried to win a power encounter showing
himself stronger than them…

 He worked through the political powers,
but emphasized spiritual growth- 200
churches & 100,000 baptized converts
 Monasteries he helped establish had a
lot of influence later
 He remained a humble man

Britain
 By the time of Constantine, there were
churches there, but later destroyed by
Anglo-Saxons, and were re-evangelized
in the 5th century.
 Most effective was Columba & 12
workers from Ireland to Scotland and
the monastery at Iona.
 In the 7th century, Aldan went there

Celtic missionaries
 A group of 12 under an abbot would
begin a village with a church,
surrounded by huts for monks and
school rooms
 They would begin a church, teach,
translate scriptures into the native
language, and handicrafts
 Monks could marry or remain single

Columba
 Born in 521 and raised a Christian
 Initially Celtic church starting an abbot-
center in Ireland,
 Left for Britain after involvement in a
war with many dead which started,
unbelievably, over a copy of a psalter
which he had made leading to a war.

Columba – another Celtic
priest

Columba
 In 563, he went to Scotland and
evangelized that entire area.
 He founded a school for missions and a
monastery on Iona, formerly the center
of druid worship.
 They trained evangelist missionaries.
They had a major impact on Britain &
Scotland and a worldwide ministry

Aiden followed Columba
 King Oswald apparently converted
around 634 after success in battle. He
asked Iona for teachers – Aiden came
 Oswald died in 642 but his brother
followed as a Christian
 Aiden was followed by Cuthbert

The church councils between
313 - 451
 The church now wants uniform creeds to
solidify her teaching and avoid heresy
 Council of Nicea 325 – called by
Constantine, paid for by the state – with
200 bishops, mostly from the east
 Question – is Jesus of the same essence as
the Father. Arius said no, he was a
different essence and created by the Father

Arianism
 Jesus created, attained divinity but not
deity equal with the Father
 Athanasius – same essence but
different personality; necessary for
salvation = coequal, cosubstantial,
coeternal
 Eusebius of Caesarea tried to
compromise

Contention from 325-381
 Arianism condemned first, then won
 Eventually the orthodox view prevailed
 Cost – imperial domination. Eventually
the west was free, but never the east

Relation of the Father and the
Holy Spirit
 Macedonius taught that the Holy Spirit
was a creature, and not deity – but a
servant of the Father on the level of the
angels. This view was condemned

The nature of Christ
 Apolarius taught that Christ had a
normal body and soul, but the logos
came on Him – this was condemned
 Nestorius, to avoid Mary being the
mother of God, stated that she was
only the mother of the human side of
Jesus = so He would be the God-bearer
rather than the God-man. This was
condemned, but Nestorians went east

The nature of Christ
 Eutyches claimed that the two natures
of Christ were fused into one divine
nature. The council of Chalcedon
stated that Christ had two separate
natures, not confused, but in one
person. This has been the orthodox
stand since. Revived in the
Monophysite controversy

The will of Christ
 Two wills – the divine is dominant and
the human submits

Teachings concerning the
nature of man
 Pelagius – each man’s soul individually created
by God and uncontaminated by the sin of
Adam. Each man could choose good or evil.
No original sin. No need for infant baptism
 Augustine – the entire race fell with Adam,
and man cannot exert his own free will to
choose salvation. Salvation only through
grace to those elected for salvation

Teaching on salvation of man
 Pelagius views condemned
 Cassian – tried compromise – semi-
Pelagianism…
 Problem in that often the life of the
believer did not correspond to his
creed.

The Post-Nicean fathers
 Crystostom (347-407) Well trained
classically, lawyer, then monk, and then
became an ascetic. He was eventually
made Bishop of Constantinople. Ethics
and the cross go together
 Theodore (350-428) Great exegite and
opponent of allegorical interpretation.

History of missions acts & paul - lesson 4

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