Early Church period: 0 – 300 CE
The Early Church period covers the birth of Jesus in 0 C.E. until the Edict of Milan in 313 CE, which allowed religious toleration of Christianity in the Roman Empire. This time was defined by the expansion of Christianity, the propagation of the gospel message, and the founding of the Church as an institution (McGrath, 2022). Clement of Rome and Polycarp of Smyrna were famous Christian authors and leaders during the Early Church era. Clement wrote to the Corinthian Church about division and unity. Polycarp is remembered for his epistle to the Philippians, highlighting the value of humble obedience to Christ.
Clement of Rome and Polycarp of Smyrna
Clement of Rome stated in his epistle to the Corinthians, “Let us believe intently to the blood of Christ, and realize how valuable that blood is to God, which, having been spilled for our salvation, has put the gift of repentance before the entire world” (Shelley, 2013). “For whosoever does not believe and confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, he is antichrist; and whosoever does not believe the testimony of the cross, is of the devil; and whosoever perverts the oracles of the Lord to his lusts, and says that there is neither a resurrection nor a judgment, he is the first-born of Satan,” Polycarp wrote to the Philippians (Schaff, 2022).
Both Clement and Polycarp highlight the relevance of Christ’s sacrifice and the need to keep true to the gospel message. Clement underlines the grace of repentance made possible via Christ’s blood, while Polycarp emphasizes the necessity for authentic confession of Christ and the message of the cross.
Age of the Imperial Church: 300 – 590 CE
From the Edict of Milan (313 CE) through the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE and the rise of the Byzantine Empire, the Imperial Church ruled. Christianity became the Roman Empire’s main religion, and the Church gained imperial authority (Schaff, 2022).
Eusebius of Caesarea and St. Jerome
Eusebius of Caesarea was an Imperial Church bishop and historian. “Ecclesiastical History” covered Christianity from Christ until his day (Becker & Pascali, 2019). Theologian and translator Jerome contributed to the Vulgate, the Latin Bible. Eusebius wrote in his “Ecclesiastical History,” “We, on the other hand, who preserve the apostolic tradition, and who are in communion with the Holy Catholic Church of God, are justified in our belief to that alone which the apostles delivered to us in writing” (Kieckhefer, 2021).
Jerome wrote in his “Letter to Laeta,” “Let your daughter avoid all occasions of sin, and let her ever believe that, as a Christian, she must be dead to the world and alive to Christ”. Eusebius and Jerome stressed tradition and following the apostles. Eusebius believed the Holy Catholic Church upheld the Apostolic Faith. Jerome urged Believers to live sinless, Christ-centered lifestyles. Previous Christian eras stressed apostolic doctrine and holiness. Throughout the Era of the Imperial Church, tradition and Church authority were stressed in interpreting and safeguarding the religion.
Christian Middle Ages: 500 – 1500 CE
Significant political, social, and cultural changes characterize the Christian Middle Ages. It includes the Christianization of Europe, the emergence of various kingdoms, the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Crusades, and the Black Death (Ozment, 2020). Two prominent figures during this period are Thomas Aquinas and Martin Luther. Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and theologian whose ideas greatly influenced the Catholic Church. On the other hand, Martin Luther was a German theologian and a key figure in the Protestant Reformation. He protested against the practices of the Roman Catholic Church, which led to the emergence of Protestantism.
Thomas Aquinas and Martin Luther
Thomas Aquinas wrote, “Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand. If our opponent believes nothing of divine revelation, there is no longer any means of proving the articles of Faith by reasoning, but only of answering his objections, if he has any, against Faith.” Where else, Martin Luther said that “The just man is he that believes in faith” (Becker & Pascali, 2019). During the Christian Middle Ages, the concept of Faith was central to the Christian Faith.
Both Aquinas and Luther emphasized the importance of Faith, albeit from different perspectives. Aquinas saw Faith as a complement to reason, arguing that Faith and reason can coexist and helps individuals see what reason cannot. On the other hand, Luther saw Faith as the sole means of salvation and rejected the idea that good deeds could lead to salvation (Becker & Pascali, 2019). Luther’s emphasis on Faith alone was a significant departure from the Catholic belief in the importance of good works.
The Reformation: 1500 – 1650 CE
European theological, political, and social upheavals occurred during the Reformation, 1500–1650 CE. Martin Luther’s publishing of the Ninety-five Theses in 1517, King Henry VIII’s founding of the Church of England in 1534, and the Council of Trent’s reaction to the Protestant Reformation in 1545 were the most important events of this time (Shelley, 2013). Calvin, a Reformation theologian, stressed predestination and God’s sovereignty. His teachings founded Reformed Protestantism. Teresa of Avila, a Spanish mystic, founded the Discalced Carmelite order and promoted a more personal and experienced Christianity.
John Calvin and Teresa of Avila
John Calvin’s famous predestination quotation is, “All of the believers, then, have in themselves something worthy of God’s anger. Everyone shares our natural origin.” (Kieckhefer, 2021) Calvin believed in humanity’s depravity, and that redemption wholly relied on God’s grace. “Believe that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life, which is brief and has to be spent by you alone,” says Teresa of Avila, emphasizing the necessity of personal contact with God. 2022).
Teresa believed that life should be spent seeking God’s unity. Calvin stressed God’s sovereignty and predestination because he believed in God’s authority and control over everything. Teresa’s mystical experiences and belief in spiritual progress inform her emphasis on personal interaction with God.
Age of Reason & Revival: 1648 – 1799 CE
The Enlightenment and Great Awakening shaped the Age of Reason and Revival, a period of intellectual and social change. This age featured new concepts about individual rights, reason, science, and religious renewal (Shelley, 2013). The English Civil War (1642-1651), Glorious Revolution (1688), American Revolution (1775-1783), French Revolution (1789-1799), and Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) were notable events (Holmes & Standen, 2018).
Johnathan Edwards and John Wesley
Theologian and preacher Johnathan Edwards helped spark the Great Awakening in the American colonies. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” his most famous sermon, warns his audience of the risks of sin and God’s wrath (Becker & Pascali, 2019). The Methodist movement, established by English theologian John Wesley, emphasizes personal Faith and purity. He spoke in England and America and founded several groups and churches.
Jonathon Edwards remarked, “Reasonable creatures value God. Only he can satisfy our spirits. Going to paradise and truly believing God is far greater than the best accommodations here ” (McGrath, 2022). “Believers want the entire Christ for their Lord, the whole Bible for their book, the whole Church for their fellowship, and the whole globe for their mission field,” stated John Wesley. (Schaff, 2022). Jonathan Edwards and John Wesley stressed God’s sovereignty, personal Faith, and purity. Wesley stressed Faith through love and good acts, whereas Edwards stressed God’s vengeance and repentance.
Modern Period – Age of Progress: 1800-1918 C.E.
The Industrial Revolution, nationalism, science, technology, and new philosophical and literary movements shaped this century. The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), American Civil War (1861-1865), the telephone invention (1876), and World War I (1914-1918) were notable occurrences (Reid, 2020). Danish philosopher and theologian Soren Kierkegaard founded existentialism; he felt that religion is subjective and cannot be demonstrated by reason. Theologian and poet John Henry Newman moved from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism (Holmes & Standen, 2018). “The Idea of a University” and “Apologia Pro Vita Sua” are his best-known works on religion and reason.
Soren Kierkegaard and John Henry Newman
Soren Kierkegaard notes, “Life can only be understood backwards, but believe that it must be lived forwards.” On the other hand, John Henry Newman said, “Faith is not a work which we have to offer to God, but a gift which God bestows upon us.” He said, “We can believe what we choose. We are answerable for what we choose to believe” (Ozment, 2020). Soren Kierkegaard’s idea of human responsibility and subjective Faith was a reaction to rationality and objectivity in modern philosophy and religion.
John Henry Newman’s view of Faith as a gift from God stresses humility and trust. He thought that God gave people Faith. He also stressed that people must choose to embrace or reject religion. Kierkegaard’s focus on human experience and Faith’s subjectivity differed from many Enlightenment intellectuals’ objective and rationalistic approach. Newman’s focus on Faith as a gift from God aligns with the New Bible and early Church Fathers, who stressed grace in salvation.
Summary of Analysis
Early Church
The notion of God and the function of religion have changed considerably across the time mentioned above periods, and there are parallels and distinctions amongst these transformations. God is represented in the Old Testament as an all-knowing, all-seeing being who meddles in human affairs and has ongoing dialogues with his people (Shelley, 2013). Submission to God’s law and faithfulness to his promise is emphasized. During this time (0-300 CE), the Christian Faith was formalized, the canon of scripture was compiled, and the Church grew to its present size and prominence.
Similar to the New Testament’s understanding of the Church, the early Church valued fellowship, service, and the spread of the Gospel. Persecution and the necessity for order and structure were issues that the early Church faced that were not included in the New Testament. The early Church period is a broad category of the first three centuries of Christian history. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the expansion of Christianity outside Rome, and the persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire all took place during this period.
Imperial Church
During the Era of the Imperial Church, Christianity was recognized as the state religion of the Roman Empire. At this time, sacramental theology was developed, and monasticism became more popular. The Church’s function as a conduit of grace replaced an individual’s devotion as the focal point of religious activity (Schaff, 2022). Church ideas and practices heavily influenced European culture throughout the Christian Middle Ages. A new school of thought called scholasticism emerged during this time, formulating the idea of transubstantiation (Kieckhefer, 2021). The importance of the Church and the clergy was emphasized.
Protestant Reformation
There was a radical change in how people saw God and organized religion during the Reformation. The Protestant Reformation reacted against the Catholic Church, emphasizing personal conviction and the Bible. This was the time when ideas like “sola scriptura” and “justification by faith alone” began to take shape (Ozment, 2020).
Modern Period
In the Age of Reason and Revival, there was a shift toward valuing reason and the scientific method. The century witnessed the growth of religious movements like evangelicalism and the Great Awakening, which emphasized direct religious experience and revival. Even in the last phase of human history, religion remained influential despite the increasing priority placed on rationality, progress, and atheism. New possibilities and threats were presented to religion as a result of the advent of industry, urbanization, and scientific discoveries.
References
Becker, S. O., & Pascali, L. (2019). Religion, division of labor, and conflict: Anti-Semitism in Germany over 600 years. American Economic Review, 109(5), 1764-1804. Web.
Holmes, C., & Standen, N. (2018). Introduction: Towards a global middle ages. Past & Present, 238(suppl_13), 1-44. Web.
Kieckhefer, R. (2021). Magic in the middle ages. Cambridge University Press.
McGrath, J. F. (2022). The only true God: Early Christian monotheism in its Jewish context. University of Illinois Press.
Ozment, S. (2020). The Age of Reform, 1250-1550: An Intellectual and Religious History of Late Medieval and Reformation Europe. Yale University Press.
Reid, P. (2020). The Merchant Ship in the British Atlantic, 1600–1800: Continuity and Innovation in a Key Technology. Brill.
Schaff, P. (2022). History of the Christian Church: Vol. 2. BoD–Books on Demand.
Shelley, B. (2013). Church history in plain language. Zondervan Academic.