The Early Chapters

Faith began with Jesus and his followers and was sustained and upheld – through a period of rapid growth and persecution – by faith in the living Spirit of Christ. Hope for a new era and a dedication to follow Jesus in his work marked this period. Early Christian communities were compelled by a faith that indicated a lifestyle, not strict adherence to set creeds or traditions (5). Shadows of the forthcoming Age of Belief could be seen even a few decades after the beginning of Christianity, but…

Red Rocks Church is only ten years old, and the Lakewood campus is brand new. It’s not even two years old and so many people flock to that campus every Sunday. It’s astonishing to see hundreds of people come through those doors and find a seat in the movie-esk pew area and praise the Lord. The church is nondenominational. They believe that God is the loving creator of the seen and unseen. According to their website, they also believe that Jesus is God in the flesh and that he lived a sinless…

orthodoxy” (p. 16,). In The Heresy of Orthodoxy, Kӧstenberger and Kruger (K2) provide a fair examination of the Bauer thesis which lays its foundation on the major urban centers of the first and early second centuries. The Bauer thesis, as popularized by Ehrman, argues that diversity – not unification - was present in early Christianity; “heresy preceded orthodoxy” (p. 17). K2 examines the Bauer-Ehrman thesis in three parts: pluralism…

but they do not have to worry about how early they have to get up just to have time to drive to class. When they say that the early bird gets the worm, they are not lying. Those who get the best parking spot are those who have early classes. I also interviewed my friend Braeden Hess, who commutes the University of Arkansas every day, I asked him how he manages to get a good parking spot and he said “easy, just take early classes. Nobody likes to wake up early so you have that one advantage.” He…

Tradition is woven into the very fabric of humanity. Every family, nation and society has traditions that are passed down from generation to generation. Even within the church, there are traditions that have been passed down through the centuries. However, the big question becomes: What role does tradition play within theology? The Catholic Church has equated tradition’s authority with Scripture; and great thinkers like John Meyendorff and Don Thorsen affirm tradition, yet lessen its authority…

During the early church there were many controversies on how to determine the canon of the New Testament. How did some books make the “cut” to be determined to be put in the infallible, inherent Word of God? Why did the church accept some books and rejected the others. There were key events and movements that were influential in the recognition of the canonical books of the New Testament. The foundation of the Canon should be understood in a believer’s life. It is sad to say, but, there are…

of the church, and it brought a whole new understanding of the practice of prayer. “In the mid-fourth century, Basil drew up a set of monastic rules for regulating the daily life of urban monastic groups. He noted eight daily occasions for prayer: early in the morning, at the third hour, at the sixth, at the ninth, when the day’s work is ended, at nightfall, midnight, and before the dawn.” The monastic development responded to the desire to seek God and remain under the biblical counsel of…

Spirit of Early Christian Thought” demonstrates how the “Christian intellectual tradition came into being” (pg. xiv). Intellectualism isn’t disconnected from believing, rather, the function and belief of the Church established its pattern of intellectual thought. The Church was Christocentric and thus, their intellectualism was Christocentric as their tradition was in “thinking about the God who is known and seeking the One who is loved” (pg. 311). The hearts and attention of the early church…

are getting a nutritious meal as well as an education. She gets to help them grow up to be healthy children by doing what she loves: cooking. She has found a passion and is using it to make the world around her a better place to be in, just like the early disciples did in the Acts of the Apostles. The world has given her the opportunity to do what she loves in an environment that not only benefits her but makes a lasting difference in people's…

Children, parents, students, athletes and all different walks of life live to meet a certain standard that is set for them. There is a reason for this and its to ensure that you are meeting the expectations and requirements. As a Christian, there are rules, standards, and levels of measurements that you must meet. Where does this come from? A Christian uses the Bible that outlines the rules and measuring sticks for the Church. The term Canon is used to establish this measurement so that young…