Overview The early Christian church was heavily influenced by Plato, and the effects of Plato’s teaching can still be seen within Christianity today. This is particularly true when it comes to the topic of heaven. Many Christians today would be surprised to learn that they hold a Platonic view of heaven which is not Biblical. … Continue reading Christianity’s Platonic Heaven
We stated in the introduction that Calvinism has its roots in the views of St. Augustine. This man was also largely responsible for the acceptance of a-millennialism into mainstream Christianity, and the Roman Catholic doctrine that the Catholic Church is now God's Kingdom on earth. Prior to his conversion in the fourth century, Augustine was … Continue reading 10. Free Will & the Early Church – Calvinism
From the time of Christ until the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, Christianity was considered to be a sect of Judaism by Christians,[1] Jews, 2 and the Roman authorities. The dispute over whether Jesus was the prophesied Messiah was an internal theological debate, which is why Paul was able to enter the diaspora synagogues … Continue reading The Passover Controversy among the Early Church Assemblies
Perhaps you have heard of the term Replacement Theology. However, if you look it up in a dictionary of Church history, you will not find it listed as a systematic study. Rather, it is a doctrinal teaching that originated in the early Church. It became the fertile soil from which Christian anti-Semitism grew and has infected … Continue reading The Error of Replacement Theology
Some have tried to malign premillennialism (Christ’s second coming will occur prior to His millennial kingdom) by suggesting that it is a relatively novel development of recent times. That it is not a view which finds support among the early Church. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, in the earliest church, prior to … Continue reading How Did the Early Church View the Millennial (1000) Kingdom?
The earliest post-Apostolic Christian writers, whose eschatology can be determined with certainty,[1] consistently held to Chiliasm.[2] These men lived contiguous with the age of the Apostles. Some of them were personally instructed by the Apostles and others who had seen the Lord. They were the early apologists for the Christian Faith, fiercely attacking and overthrowing … Continue reading The Millennial Week (CHILIASM) In the Early Christian Eschatology
Living as a Christian in this World 