Looking for an intro to theology...

[Dave L]

Hello everyone, Jordan here.

I made an intro thread to start off, and was told to come to this forum to discuss my interest in theology. I am specifically interested in learning about how Early Christians thought, lived and practiced Christianity. I consider myself a non-denominational Christian and simply want to learn how the Early Christians practiced.

That being said, what type of theology should I consider getting into?

I have thought about taking the free theology course at Bible.org, and am wondering what some of you may think of that course. Beyond that, I plan to read the Bible soon, as I've never really read it; at least not cover-to-cover.

Thanks for reading in advance. I appreciate you guys for your time.

What I did was look for where the theological debates were the most intense, the Reformation. And began studying those views...Reformed Theology.

 

[Radagast]

Not my personal favourite, I must say. But if you like watching videos, the Bible.org course, even though I disagree with bits, seems fairly good.

If you don't like watching videos, just stick with reading books.

If you do the Bible.org course, it would probably help to have a "buddy" who was doing it with you. Unless they run a chatroom that I've somehow missed.

 

[Dave L]

That seems to me slander against the godly, well-educated men who teach in the good seminaries.

I think the Reformation refined the truth into its purest form. Just as with the Ecumenical creeds through debating heretics. So I always hang with the Creeds.

 

[Radagast]

I think the Reformation refined the truth into its purest form. Just as with the Ecumenical creeds through debating heretics. So I always hang with the Creeds.

I'm with you there: Nicene Creed, Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Canons of Dordt.

 

[aiki]

Check out Dr. William Lane Craig's "Defender's Course."

www.reasonablefaith.org

 

[dqhall]

Hello everyone, Jordan here.

I made an intro thread to start off, and was told to come to this forum to discuss my interest in theology. I am specifically interested in learning about how Early Christians thought, lived and practiced Christianity. I consider myself a non-denominational Christian and simply want to learn how the Early Christians practiced.

That being said, what type of theology should I consider getting into?

I have thought about taking the free theology course at Bible.org, and am wondering what some of you may think of that course. Beyond that, I plan to read the Bible soon, as I've never really read it; at least not cover-to-cover.

Thanks for reading in advance. I appreciate you guys for your time.

Early Christianity was spread by Jewish disciples of Jesus. There are records of this in the Gospels and Acts. Paul was going to synagogues outside of Israel to preach. He also met Gentile friends of Jews and preached to them. Eventually there was a full effort to teach Gentiles about Jesus.

I learned some of the context of first century Judaism in the Jewish Talmud. One book I liked was “Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus,” by Joachim Jeremias (1969). He did an in depth study of numerous volumes of the Talmud.

 

[DennisTate]

Hello everyone, Jordan here.

I made an intro thread to start off, and was told to come to this forum to discuss my interest in theology. I am specifically interested in learning about how Early Christians thought, lived and practiced Christianity. I consider myself a non-denominational Christian and simply want to learn how the Early Christians practiced.

That being said, what type of theology should I consider getting into?

I have thought about taking the free theology course at Bible.org, and am wondering what some of you may think of that course. Beyond that, I plan to read the Bible soon, as I've never really read it; at least not cover-to-cover.

Thanks for reading in advance. I appreciate you guys for your time.

Are you at all interested in the early Messianic Jewish community that is thought to have numbered perhaps four hundred thousand members by the time of Rabbi Akiva and the Bar Kochba Revolt?

 

[public hermit]

One helpful thing I did early on was read about the history of Christian thought. Christian doctrine did not develop in a vacuum. It really helps to understand the context in which various doctrines, such as the Trinity, developed. Below are two books that I read. They are accessible and helpful in getting the big picture. The second goes into detail concerning doctrine in the early church, as well as various aspects in their faith and practice. I hope these help.

https://www.amazon.com/Story-Christian-Theology-Centuries-Tradition/dp/0830815058

Amazon.com: justo gonxales the story of christainity: Books

 

[lazyservantofYahweh]

If you would like to know how the apostles and early Christians would have called on His true, original (and only) name, Yâ-hwéh Yâhuwshúa`, and how they would have rejected the pagan traditions in most congregations today, you should read from www.yahuwshua.org and also study the scripture translation the Purer Scriptures for the REMNANT (PSR) downloadable for free there.

After skimming through the above responses, it seems most have recommended some of the writings that I have read to get more information on the early Christians. However, the main thing the truly faithful early Christians would have done is profess the true name of Yahweh, and the name of the Son, Yahuwshua, as well as truly live for Him, rejecting the foolish traditions of man.

Below is an excerpt from the Glad Tidings of the Truth ("gospel of the Truth") from our PSR translation).

How do name-ignorant Christians fit in?

All the spaces are His offspring; they knew that they branched from Him as children from a perfect/grown Man. They knew that they had not yet received the Image nor yet accepted the name, of which the Father procreates every one. During that time period, if they accept the Image of His recognition, though they are truly in Him they do not acknowledge Him. [YirmYâ´huw ("Jeremiah" 5: 10-14] But the Father is perfect: He does know every space which is within Him. If He pleases, He manifests anyone whom He wishes by giving him the Image and by giving him a name, when He does give him the name to Him, and causes him to come into existence (’iysh) [meaning of Yâ-hwéh]; [YchezqË´’l ("Ezekiel") 18: 5] those who have not yet come into existence are unrecognizant of Him Who created them. I do not say, then, that those who do not yet exist are nothing. But they are within Him Who will desire that they exist when He pleases, like the event which is going to happen. [Romans 8: 19]


When the Father manifests His hidden Self to us for us to pronounce His name [~Yâ-hwéh Yâhuwshúa` (Yâ-hwéh - the eternal name of the Father and Son) Yâhuwshúa`- the hidden (secret) name of the Son] and for us to also perform His works (which are the Affectionate Love of the Father, demonstrated by fulfilling the two greatest commandments), He calls us by the name which He has given to us, and (that is how) we (have) come into existence. We can only acknowledge Him by calling on His name and doing His will.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

I never really became "born again"... I've just always been a Christian, and in recent years, have decided to study further.

To be born again, a person must seek forgiveness of their sins with Jesus, and believe in His death, burial, and resurrection on their behalf.

Here is a comic tract that may help you to understand on what a person must do to be born again:

Chick.com: This Was Your Life

 

[wonderkins]

Hey Jordan, if you're still interested, I would recommend a book I've been reading called Major Bible Themes by lewis sperry chafer. He started Dallas Theological Seminary. It's sort of like a condensed systematic theology. It has 52 chapters intended for 1 chapter per week for a year. It's pretty easy reading as well. I feel like it's a good place to start.

A couple other recommendations...

Biblicaltraining.org has tons of seminary lectures to listen to. I have found it extremely useful when I've used it.

You may also enjoy Tommy Nelson's talks on church history. I personally haven't heard anyone more engaging on the topic than him.
If you're interested, or anyone else...
http://www.dbcmedia.org/sermons/church-history-the-footprints-of-god-volume-1-of-2/

There are two volumes with 13 talks total.

 

[PaulCyp1]

If that's your intention, then obviously you should look at the history and teachings of the original Christian Church, the one Church Jesus Christ founded, which He said was to remain one, to which He promised the fullness of God's truth until the end of time. The only Church that existed for the first 1,000 years of Christianity, which continues to teach the fullness of God's truth today, just as Jesus promised it would, which includes well over half of all Christians alive today.

 

[actionsub]

That seems to me slander against the godly, well-educated men who teach in the good seminaries.

I lost my faith (in terms of the denominational dogma I brought to seminary) while in seminary, since studying theology and Church history brought me to question some of the fundamentalist credobaptist theology I'd had. I started going back to the very beginning, but there were some Catholic traditions with which I disagreed, so I started looking at some of the early Reformed traditions, particularly Lutherans.

That said, the Baptists and the low-church Methodists would probably say I lost my faith!

 

[Euodius]

Hello everyone, Jordan here.

I made an intro thread to start off, and was told to come to this forum to discuss my interest in theology. I am specifically interested in learning about how Early Christians thought, lived and practiced Christianity. I consider myself a non-denominational Christian and simply want to learn how the Early Christians practiced.

That being said, what type of theology should I consider getting into?

I have thought about taking the free theology course at Bible.org, and am wondering what some of you may think of that course. Beyond that, I plan to read the Bible soon, as I've never really read it; at least not cover-to-cover.

Thanks for reading in advance. I appreciate you guys for your time.

That is a very worthy venture. But that mind is not easy to be reached, because it is very, very different from the modern rationalistic worldview. Modern theologists, even when accurately describing dogma, do so usually in a way that is set apart from the mind of the early church.

Firstly, read the Bible daily. Preferably the Gospels and the Psalms, but you should sometime read the Bible from cover to cover - as each book is inter-related and they explain each other. It is good to keep in mind that the Biblical Canon was produced by the Fathers by observing what books were used liturgically around the world. The Bible must be participated in daily to understand it.

Secondly, I suggest reading the written works of Christians from the first few centuries - the Ante-Nicene Fathers. Available Here: Ante-Nicene Fathers - VOL I - IX. Download all as PDF In these volumes, I suggest skipping the academic introductions - as they are not very helpful. I highly suggest the first volume, with Ignatius of Antioch and Justin Martyr. Some books in these volumes are boring, but not Ignatious or Justin Martyr.

Thirdly, I can suggest a list of modern books that are good for ;

1. Through New Eyes by James Jordan (followed by his The Handwriting on the Wall: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel, if you want more)
   
2. The Unseen Realm by Michael Heiser (Also, check out his other books Reversing Herman, Angels, and Demons - but you have to start with The Unseen Realm.)
3. A House for My Name by Peter Leithart
   
4. Inhabiting the Cruciform God by Michael Gorman
   
5. Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels by Richard Hays
6. The Conversion of the Imagination: Paul as Interpreter of Israel’s Scripture by Richard Hays
7. Introduction to the Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church by Vladimir Lossky (followed by Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church - though it is not an easy read... it is very difficult reading.)
8. Anything written by Seraphim Rose (even if you disagree with him, he is an example of a modern man who saw things in an ancient way and his scholarly merit is great.)

Finally, whenever you study theology or scripture, you must pray to God for understanding for He is the source of understanding.

 

[Euodius]

Begin with the new testament and then the writings of the sub apostolic fathers. Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, and Polycarp of Smyrna. Those are in fact the "early Christians" you are looking for. You can find what are looking for here:

Early Church Fathers

You may want to ignore the commentaries of some of the translators.

Definitely ignore the translator commentaries.

 

[klutedavid]

Hello everyone, Jordan here.

I made an intro thread to start off, and was told to come to this forum to discuss my interest in theology. I am specifically interested in learning about how Early Christians thought, lived and practiced Christianity. I consider myself a non-denominational Christian and simply want to learn how the Early Christians practiced.

That being said, what type of theology should I consider getting into?

I have thought about taking the free theology course at Bible.org, and am wondering what some of you may think of that course. Beyond that, I plan to read the Bible soon, as I've never really read it; at least not cover-to-cover.

Thanks for reading in advance. I appreciate you guys for your time.

When you say 'early Christians' are you referring to first century Christianity, second century Christianity, e.t.c?

 

[klutedavid]

Hello everyone, Jordan here.

I made an intro thread to start off, and was told to come to this forum to discuss my interest in theology. I am specifically interested in learning about how Early Christians thought, lived and practiced Christianity. I consider myself a non-denominational Christian and simply want to learn how the Early Christians practiced.

That being said, what type of theology should I consider getting into?

I have thought about taking the free theology course at Bible.org, and am wondering what some of you may think of that course. Beyond that, I plan to read the Bible soon, as I've never really read it; at least not cover-to-cover.

Thanks for reading in advance. I appreciate you guys for your time.

Probably the best trajectory to take to understand the early Christian world. Would be to study the New Testament canon, how and when it was compiled, what letters are canonical.

Then I would strongly suggest you read the New Testament thoroughly.

Then explore the early church letters of at least the first four centuries.

Avoid at all costs accepting someone's opinion on any matter within the history of Christianity.

 

[Radagast]

since studying theology and Church history brought me to question some of the fundamentalist credobaptist theology I'd had

Certainly seminaries force people to ask "are the beliefs I grew up with biblical?" That's often a good thing (provided that the seminary itself is biblical).

 

[JackRT]

Remedial Christianity: What Every Believer Should Know About the Faith, but Probably Doesn't
by Paul Alan Laughlin and Glenna S. Jackson.

 

[lazyservantofYahweh]

It is simply that His name is Yahuwshua. "Jesus" was never the name of our Savior. What you said would have been true if stated, "a person must seek forgiveness of their sins with Yahuwshua.... The first ones who shall enter into the Kingdom are those who possess the name of the Father and the Son (Revelation 14:1), then immediately after, the great throng of peoples who shall call upon His name.

Yahuwchanan's Glad Tidings ("gospel of John") 5:43

I have come by the name of My Father[1] [Songs 118: 26], yet ye do not accept Me; whenever another might come by his own name[2], that one then ye will receive



[1] Yâhuw-shúa`: Yâ´huw is the name Yâ-hwéh in the preterit, or jussive conjugation of that Verb. –shúa` means “saved”. So Yâhuw-shúa` means “Yâ-hwéh is deliverance/wealth” for He shall deliver His people from their errors (Matt. 1: 21).

[2] “Jesus”, when pronounced as a Spanish-English \xey-zoós\, is spelled in transliterated `Ivríyth (Hebrew) “Chëzúç”, and does have a meaning in `Ivríyth (Hebrew): “Vision of Zeus”. Zeus, identified by Yâhuwshúa` as the adversary (see Disclosure 2: 13) is the chief demon of the Greeks. Another shall come by his own name, and that anointed of the Lie will be the Abomination (Idol) of the Desolation (Christianity as Tsiyyówn), and it is foretold that he will be accepted by the “Yehuwthím” (Mal. 2:11, Dan. 11:23-24).