Looking for an intro to theology...

[Radagast]

It is simply that His name is Yahuwshua. "Jesus" was never the name of our Savior.

Yes, it was. The New Testament says so: καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν.

 

[1watchman]

I would suggest you visit at the sound Bible-only site at Biblecounsel.net. One can ask questions there. Keep looking up, and put the Lord Jesus first in your thoughts and life.

 

[Skittles]

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.

 

[DennisTate]

You may find this interesting....

The first Church was Jewish. If a Gentile wanted to follow the Messiah, he had to convert to Judaism. Then Peter had a revelation that Gentiles did not have to convert to Judaism to be saved (see Acts 10). The Jerusalem Council meeting determined that Gentiles did not have to be circumcised. There were only four easily followed requirements. They were to “abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood” (Acts 15:20). After all, James said, they could learn more about God by hear- ing the words of Moses every Saturday in the syna- gogue (see Acts 15:21). This opened the door to widespread church growth among the Gentiles. So many Gentiles were saved that the Jewish believers became a minority.

The first Jewish followers of Jesus were called “Nazarenes” (part of the Essenes sect of Judaism dis- cussed in Chapter 3). They practiced traditional Judaism and were widely accepted by unbelieving Jews. Early in the second century their numbers reached 400,000.1 In the Book of Acts, the early church fathers said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many myriads [tens of thousands] of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law” (Acts 21:20).

The Nazarenes’ acceptance by traditional Jews came to a halt in A.D. 135 when Rabbi Akiba declared that Bar Kochba was the Jewish Messiah. His followers hoped he would lead them to victory over the Romans. The Nazarenes refused to fight because they believed Jesus was the true Messiah rather than Bar Kochba. They were branded traitors, not because they believed in Jesus, but because they would not join Bar Kochba’s armed struggle. Bar Kochba and his followers were quickly slaughtered by the Romans. Afterward, Jews were banned from Jerusalem.

History shows that as the center of the Christian faith moved from Jerusalem to Rome, it became increasingly Hellenized, adopting pagan customs and philosophies rather than the God-ordained practices and beliefs of the Bible. At the same time, Christianity became increasingly anti-Jewish."

(Sid Roth from his book The Incomplete Church, Chapter 7, page 64, 65)

 

[DennisTate]

Here is something really simple you may like:

 

[Radagast]

Why do you think some Christians lose their faith after attending a theology course?

Well, a purely intellectual approach to theology can lead people to spiritual pride and other bad stuff. That's why good seminaries intersperse the classroom teaching with prayers, chapel services, devotions, and other things that keep people focused on God.

Some people attend seminary because they have doubts (it's like people marrying their girlfriends because the relationship is falling apart). The seminary doesn't always resolve those doubts (that's not really its purpose, anyway).

Some people attend seminary with extremely fuzzy beliefs that have very little foundation and that may even contain contradictions. Examining their own theology causes it to fall apart. Many of those people eventually find a home in a different branch of Christianity.

Of course, in those last 2 cases, the seminary is simply revealing a problem that already exists.

 

[Radagast]

Here is something really simple you may like

That really is nonsense. People don't visit heaven and come back.

 

[aiki]

Why do you think some Christians lose their faith after attending a theology course?

There is a practice in many seminaries and Bible schools called "distanciation." Taken from the French language, the word means "detachment" and involves challenging the doctrinal views of new seminarians, ostensibly to encourage them to develop more robust grounding for their views. However, if the new seminarian does not already have fairly well-formed, well-grounded doctrine, distanciation may have the effect of eroding rather than confirming their faith. This is doubly the case if the new seminarian doesn't have a daily experience of God, but has merely an intellectual faith, adhering to theism "because it makes sense," rather than as a result of having met with God directly. Such a frail allegiance to the Christian faith often collapses under the force of distanciation, leaving many who had attended seminary with the intent of going deeper into their faith acutely uncertain that anything can truly be known about it. Mired in such thinking, it is no wonder these same folk frequently drift from the faith entirely.

 

[JordanGR]

That is a vicious, unprovoked, and totally unfounded slander against a great many godly men, like:

• Dr. Paul Akin,
• Dr. Mark Dever,
• Dr. Albert Mohler,
• Dr. John Piper,
• and thousands of others.

To be completely fair, the user you quoted never actually claimed that any of those people are false teachers.

 

[Radagast]

.

 

[ViaCrucis]

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.

It's been a while, and no longer have my copy of it (and so might try and pick it up again and re-read it), but I remember Alister McGrath's I Believe: Exploring the Apostles' Creed being pretty good. McGrath also has Christian Theology: An Introduction, a much denser book--though I couldn't comment on it as I've never read it.

If you are interested in better understanding what early Christians believed and how they practiced their faith, you really can't go wrong with going directly to the source--the writings and works of the ancient Christian fathers. Many of their writings are freely available online, translated into English.

A good example here would be St. Justin Martyr's First Apology, written around the middle of the 2nd century it is addressed to the Roman emperor of the time and the Senate as a defense of Christianity against the misinformed attacks being made. Justin goes into some detail explaining what it is we believe and what it is we do.

Familiarizing yourself with the basics of Christian faith, as confessed in the historic Creeds (most importantly being the Nicene Creed), and slowly letting yourself be introduced to the early history of the Church--the writings of the fathers, and the historical circumstances going on in those early centuries--from the hostility from the Roman Empire to the internal theological debates and conflicts--will help crystalize for you those things we see in the Creeds. Why the language is so precise for example, why that language was chosen and what it all means.

It can be really daunting, especially in the beginning, because there's just so much there. But honestly, begin by looking at the Creeds, and then reading up about the Creeds--books like McGrath's above about the Apostles' Creed can be incredibly helpful in saturating yourself with the meat and potatoes of the historic faith and the theological foundations upon which we still stand today.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Joy]

Mod Hat On

Some Posts and Responses
have been Removed
in
Thread Clean
RV: Statement of Purpose - For New Christians Forum Statement of Purpose

We would ask that members direct their responses to the member who started the thread and refrain from debating one another's theological beliefs and viewpoints. Do not use this forum to debate with other Christians as that is not the purpose of this forum.

Mod Hat Off​

 

[The Liturgist]

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.

@ViaCrucis made some very excellent recommendations. A knowledge of the Nicene Creed especially, and its history and what it means, and an awareness of the as-yet-unresolved Filioque controversy, is extremely important. The Apostle’s Creed is largely a subset of the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian or Quincunque Vult, a superset, but you should study them also.

Now here are some good books for you, most of which (except Mere Christianity) are in the public domain:

I suggest On the Incarnation by Athanasius of Alexandria, the Catechtical Homilies of Cyril of Jerusalem, (both 4th century) Against Heresies by Ignatius of Lyons (2nd century) and The Fount of Wisdom by John Damascene (8th century). Also a good panoramic overview which you might have already read is Mere Christianity by CS Lewis.

The Ecclesiastical History by Eusebius of Caesarea provides a good history of the first three centuries of the Church.

Also the 39th Epistle of Athanasius, wherein he introduced the New Testament canon we now use, and his biography the Life of Anthony, are of great interest. The latter provides an introduction to mystical theology and monasticism, with the struggle of St. Anthony against temptation in the desert brilliantly and evocatively described. These are public domain, and if you like The Life of Anthony, you will also like The Sayings of the Desert Fathers. Actually you might even want to read a bit of that first. It can be shocking at first glance, until the underlying wisdom of a pure Gospel life in the desert becomes evident.

 

[Skittles]

Jordan - you may find this resource useful. God bless you in your search to deepen your faith.

CHURCH FATHERS: Home

 

[The Liturgist]

Jordan - you may find this resource useful. God bless you in your search to deepen your faith.

CHURCH FATHERS: Home

This is actually a good resource.

 

[faroukfarouk]

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!

Hi, Sir; a motto of the Renaissance scholars was: Ad fontes, i.e., back to the sources.

In the case of Christianity, it meant and means going back to the Scriptures and asking what they really say, rather than what is for the sake of convenience or tradition may be read into the Scriptures.

 

[actionsub]

Hi, Sir; a motto of the Renaissance scholars was: Ad fontes, i.e., back to the sources.


In the case of Christianity, it meant and means going back to the Scriptures and asking what they really say, rather than what is for the sake of convenience or tradition may be read into the Scriptures.

Ad fontes is one of my mottos as well. That said, part of those "fontes" is looking at how those closer to the source interpreted the Scriptures.

 

[faroukfarouk]

And where those traditions might disagree with the Scriptures in their plain meaning, I too would dismiss even those traditions. For instance, I still struggle with infant baptism on those grounds. I get the theological reasoning behind baptizing babies. However, while you may take the boy out of the Baptists; you cannot always take the Baptist out of the boy!

It's interesting that in Acts 2.41 and 42 the two ordinances are mentioned: baptism and the breaking of bread. Baptism was clearly received by those who 'gladly received' the Gospel preaching, as a conscious response, not as something administered by proxy to someone who is unable even to know what is going on.

In Verduin's The Reformers and their Stepchildren, the writer shows that those who sought to follow Scripture on various matters in the face even of the Protestant "ecclesiastical authorities" faced considerable difficulties at times.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Ad fontes is one of my mottos as well. That said, part of those "fontes" is looking at how those closer to the source interpreted the Scriptures.

Sometimes the evidence emerges that those with a certain historical reputation for having gone back to the source in actual fact followed tradition in some areas because of the pressure of vested interests.

But the Lord knows His people and sustains them.

 

[John42]

Bit off topic, but Evernote, the app, may help you organize things, websites, etc.