Church History

Why bother to be good?

August 29, 2010 by untilfulllight

This is part of a question that was asked in our Coastline Life in 3D class and we answer it in the video below with information from both the Bible and church history.

Our actions can have a tremendous impact on our world. We tend to live out what we believe and as you’ll see in the ancient world, though the early Christians did not have the special events and spectacles common with the pagan religions, they did have one thing that helped them turn the world upside down—they loved and cared for each other with sacrificial, serving love.

Below the video is a PDF of the PowerPoint notes. Just click on it to go to the PDF and then you can print it off.

Voices from church history: what did early Christians believe about Jesus

August 21, 2010 by untilfulllight

We’ve seen how it is a fact that many early historians referred to Jesus. So we know he lived in the first century.

However, that isn’t enough–what did they think of him? Critics of Christianity say that early on people thought of Jesus simply as a man. In fact Dan Brown goes so far as to say that the church did not decide that Jesus was divine until the Council of Nicea and many people mimic that opinion.

That opinion however, is totally, completely and absolutely wrong.

Not only did the followers of Christ from their earliest days state beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was God, but they based their lives on it and most of them died a martyr’s death to prove how totally they believed it.

This video shows you what actually happened at the Council of Nicea (they did not vote if Jesus was divine or not) and you’ll also read the words of the early church believers.

The PDF of the notes for the class are below the video.

Question: are there other sources besides Josephus that tell you about Jesus?

August 21, 2010 by untilfulllight

Josephus is one of the best-known of first century historians, but he was far from the only person who talked about Jesus in his writings.

What is really important to remember when you are talking to someone or even for yourself when you consider these various authors is that at this point you do not need to consider if Jesus is God or Savior. The important thing to know here is that Jesus was a historical person who lived when the Bible said he did and in the circumstances it describes.

Our faith is “historical and evidential” and this video (and please also look at the ones on “Voices from Church History”) will help you understand the historical part of it.