Pliny's Test

In his book The Christians as the Romans Saw Them, Robert Louis Wilken writes about a test that Pliny used in order to determine whether or not people were Christians. For those who denied being Christians, how could Pliny know if they were telling the truth? In order to combat this problem, Pliny developed the following test:

He had statues of the emperor Trajan and of the Capitone gods--Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva--brought into the room. Those who had already admitted that they were Christians he sent off to be executed, as he had done with the first group. Those who denied the charge he asked to repeat after him a "formula of invocation to the gods" and "to make an offering of wine and incense" to Trajan's statue. He also ordered them to "revile the name of Christ" (25).

After reading this passage, 1 Corinthians 12:3 came to my mind: "Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit" (ESV). May the Spirit give each of us boldness as we stand against a world that wants us to revile our Savior. Let us stand firm in the faith and proclaim along with Peter and John: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:19-20, ESV)

No Creed But Christ?

Any attempt to confess what one believes is a creed. Saying "no creed but Christ" is just as much a creed as a written statement is a creed. You should see the self-contradictory problem with saying "no creed but Christ." Even though it is shorter and rather ill-conceived it is nonetheless a confession or creed. Hence, rather than liberating themselves from the snares of creeds, those who say this have actually entangled themselves in a poorly conceived one.

The Scriptures say in James 2:19, "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble! It is never enough to say that you "believe." The real question remains: what do you believe about Jesus?

--Faith of Our Fathers: A Study of the Nicene Creed by L. Charles Jackson, p.2

(You can read the first chapter from this book here.)

Ad Fontes

“Without humanism, there would have been no Reformation."

Certainly, most Christians would find the previous statement to be quite strange. And indeed, this would be a strange statement if 14th century humanism was equivilant to present-day secular humanism (which is at odds with the Christian faith or any worldview that involves belief in the divine.) Yet, at the time of the Renaissance, humanism was a return to the arts and letters of the past. Humanists sought cultural renewel by returning to the thoughts and forms of antiquity. As Alister McGrath explains in his book Christianity's Dangerous Idea,

Its basic method can be summed up in the Latin slogan ad fontes, which can be paraphrased as "back to the sources!" A stream is at its purest at its source (30).

For humanists, primary texts were of vital importance. McGrath continues:

Most humanists of the era--such as the great Erasmus of Rotterdam--were Christians who were concerned for the renewal and reform of the church. So why not apply the same method of regeneration to Christianity? Why not return ad fontes, to the original sources of faith, and allow them to reinvigorate a burned-out and run-down church? Could the vitality and simplicity of the apostolic age be recaptured?....But how was this to be done? What was the religious analogue of the culture of the classical world? What was the fountainhead of Christianity? Christian humanists had little doubt: the Bible, especially the New Testament. This was the ultimate source of faith (31).

Church history is messy. And the more we delve into study of the history of the church, the more we will see the ways in God has worked through innumberable people, events, and movements.

A Church History Primer

Earlier in the week I read Mark A. Noll's Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity, and I found it to be an excellent introduction to the history of Christianity. Church history is complicated to say the least. When anyone attempts to study the history of Christianity, he or she must obviously deal with the development of doctrine, but as Noll states in the introduction of his book,

historical details remind us that ‘Church History’ is never just the grand sweep through great eons of magisterial Doctrines, clashing Principles, or inevitable Consequences, but is rather the cumulative result of often blurred thoughts, often hesitant actions, and often unforeseen consequences experienced by people more or less like ourselves (14).

Moreover, the challenge of studying the history of Christianity is expanded as the student deals with all of the political and social happenings that swirl around every doctrinal and ecclesiastical development within Christian history. Noll’s book provides an excellent starting point for anyone that desires to gain a general understanding of the Church’s development without overwhelming the reader with too many people, places, or events. So, if you'd like to know more about the history of Christianity, then check out Turning Points.

Arius and Advent

In a recent post, Peter Leithart writes:

Doctrine matters, and no doctrine matters more than the doctrines concerning Jesus Christ.

One of the earliest and most intense controversies in the early church had to do with Arianism. Arius taught that the Son of God was not equal to the Father, not eternal God, but only a very exalted and powerful creature. He was not always with the Father, but there was when he was not.

So what? What does it matter whether Jesus was the eternal consubstantial Son of God or not?

Continue reading Leithart's post here.

The Word Became Flesh

If you are like me, then you probably have a manger scene somewhere in your home, complete with Jesus, Mary, Joseph, shepherds, and animals. As we peer into these manger scenes and see a depiction of Jesus as a baby, we are readily reminded of the full humanity of Jesus. Like us, he was born as a man and was dependent on His mother and earthly father for comfort and support. Yet, we must be reminded not only of the full humanity of Jesus but also the full Divinity of Jesus. In the opening chapter of his gospel account, John beautifully brings these two truths together:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1,14).

This is the great mystery and truth that we celebrate during this Advent season—that God Himself came in the Person of His Son! God the Son became flesh and dwelt among us as a man. God did not send an angel or some messenger on His behalf; rather, God the Son came to us. As the writer of Hebrews proclaims, God “in these last days has spoken to us by His Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (Hebrews 1:2). The very Creator of the world chose to be born, to dwell among us, to take our sin, to die for us, and to rise on our behalf. So, as we continue to celebrate during this Advent season, let us once again (or maybe for the first time) be grasped by the full humanity and Divinity of Jesus.

As a closing thought, I’ll leave you with the Nicene-Constantinople Creed of 381 and The Definition of Chalcedon of 451, two great documents that arose as the early church defended the truths we’ve been discussing. (Of particular relevance is this section of the creed: "Who for us men and for our salvation came down from Heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man.") Here are the documents in full:

Nicene- Constantinople Creed

I believe in One God,
the Father Almighty,
Maker of Heaven and Earth,
and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Son of God,
the Only-Begotten,
begotten of the Father before all ages;
Light of Light;
True God of True God;
begotten, not made;
of one essence with the Father,
by Whom all things were made;
Who for us men and for our salvation
came down from Heaven,
and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
And He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate,
and suffered, and was buried.
And the third day He arose again,
according to the Scriptures,
and ascended into Heaven,
and sits at the right hand of the Father;
and He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead;
Whose Kingdom shall have no end.

And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life,
Who proceeds from the Father;
Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified;
Who spoke by the prophets.

And in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins.
I look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.

The Definition of Chalcedon

Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.