Category: Schaff-2014 - Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry

Trinitarian Christianity Articulated Not Invented

9/16/2019

Mondays are for Church History
9/16/19

Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church (The Complete Eight Volumes in One). Amazon Kindle Edition, 2014.
Volume 2, Ante-Nicene Christianity A.D. 100-325, “Chapter 12. The Development of Catholic Theology in Conflict with Heresy” Sections 137-158, Loc. 18758-20235.
§ 149. The Holy Trinity..

Having reviewed early Christian descriptions of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Schaff observes that the formulation of the Trinity is complete, and that the teaching of the Trinity “has a peculiar, comprehensive, and definitive import in the Christian system, as a brief summary of all the truths and blessings of revealed religion” (Schaff 2014, Loc. 19571). However, the Scripture normally speaks obliquely about the Trinity, treating with one or another person of the Godhead at a time. Schaff sees the Trinity as that which clearly sets Christianity apart from all the other world religions (Schaff 2014, Loc. 19579).

Schaff notes some opinions that the Trinity came from Platonism, neo-Platonism, or from an Indian religion, but discounts those ideas out of thand (Schaff 2014, Loc. 19592). There may have been a predisposition to see plurality in divinity, but the Trinity is decisively a New Testament explication. Schaff further notes that theologians have frequently tried to find Trinitarian references in nature, though they regularly prove inadequate (Schaff 2014, Loc. 19612).

The Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds are arranged around the Trinity, which formulation also appears in many doxologies and other traditional statements of the Church (Schaff 2014, Loc. 19619). With all this evidence, the claims that the Trinity was a relatively late theological invention do not stand up to scrutiny. Schaff details the articulations of various Fathers, showing that they differ primarily in their means of explanation rather than in their underlying concepts.

The Holy Spirit, A Real Person

9/9/2019

Mondays are for Church History
9/9/19

Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church (The Complete Eight Volumes in One). Amazon Kindle Edition, 2014.
Volume 2, Ante-Nicene Christianity A.D. 100-325, “Chapter 12. The Development of Catholic Theology in Conflict with Heresy” Sections 137-158, Loc. 18758-20235.
§ 148. The Holy Spirit.

Schaff notes that controversy about the Holy Spirit was largely absent prior to the 4th century, which can explain why there were relatively few attempts at explanation (Schaff 2014, Loc. 19518). He does not take this in any way as an indication that there was less of a Trinitarian understanding of theology, merely that there was no need to defend the nature of the Holy Spirit. The ante-Nicene understanding was “that the Holy Spirit, the sole agent in the application of redemption, is a supernatural divine being, and taht he is an independent person; thus closely allied to the Father and the Son yet hypostatically different from them both” (Schaff 2014, Loc. 19531). However, in some instances the Holy Spirit was seen as subordinate to the Father and the Son. Schaff cites Justin Martyr as holding and explaining this view (Schaff 2014, Loc. 19538). Clement of Alexandria and Origen also tend to this weakness, while still confessing the deity and eternity of the Holy Spirit. Irenaeus comes closer to a Nicene understanding (Schaff 2014, Loc. 19565). Again, the careful explanation seems to emerge from questions and disputes.

Catechesis and Confirmation

5/7/2018

Mondays are for Church History
5/7/18

Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church (The Complete Eight Volumes in One). Amazon Kindle Edition, 2014.
Volume 2, Ante-Nicene Christianity A.D. 100-325, “Chapter 5. Christian Worship” (Includes an introduction and sections 59-74).

§72. Catechetical Instruction and Confirmation.

From the apostolic period onward, training people before their baptism was considered important. Schaff notes that in the Book of Acts, we see, among others, Theophilus and Apollos receiving instruction. Catechesis would precede adult baptism. Schaff does say, “at a later period, after the general introduction of infant baptism, it followed” (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15481). “The catechumens, or hearers, were regarded not as unbelievers, but as half-Christians, and were accordingly allowed to attend all the exercises of worship, except the celebration of the sacraments” (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15488). Regardless of social or academic background, those who came for baptism would receive training. Schaff finds a typical pattern of two years’ instruction (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15496).

Schaff finds confirmation as the “positive complement” to baptism. It normally accompanied baptism but was later separated (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15496). After the third century, confirmation became the power of the bishop. This is the case in the Anglican communion still, but other groups have extended it to priests and deacons (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15504).

Baptism in Early Christianity

4/30/2018

Mondays are for Church History
4/30/18

Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church (The Complete Eight Volumes in One). Amazon Kindle Edition, 2014.
Volume 2, Ante-Nicene Christianity A.D. 100-325, “Chapter 5. Christian Worship” (Includes an introduction and sections 59-74).

§71. The Doctrine of Baptism.

The earliest Christians considered baptism as the means of entry into the Christian faith. In the case of adults it would follow instruction (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15436). Schaff summarizes Justin and Tertullian describing baptism as a washing which regenerates, cleansing from sin. Belying his own view of baptism, Schaff says of Tertullian, “He already leans towards the notion of a magical operation of the baptismal water” (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15444). Yet repentance and faith were required.

Schaff notes Clement of Alexandria and Hermas taking a position that the Old Testament saints were somehow baptized in Hades. Many agreed that, in case of martyrdom, baptism would be considered accomplished (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15444). However, baptism was widely understood to forgive only sins committed before baptism. This led to delaying baptism until the death bed. For sins after baptism, Tertullian and Cyprian agreed there should be acts of penance, which became a sacrament. “Tertullian held seven gross sins, which he denoted mortal sins, to be unpardonable after baptism, and to be left to the uncovenanted mercies of God…” (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15457).

Schaff states that baptism, even in Constantine’s time, was primarily applied to repentant adults. Application to children was problematic because an infant cannot receive instruction and renounce the devil (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15459). tertullian saw baptism as a consecratory act to be followed by instruction and conversion. To supplement the rite, confirmation was later added (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15466).

Early Christians and Baptism Rituals

4/23/2018

Mondays are for Church History
4/23/18

Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church (The Complete Eight Volumes in One). Amazon Kindle Edition, 2014.
Volume 2, Ante-Nicene Christianity A.D. 100-325, “Chapter 5. Christian Worship” (Includes an introduction and sections 59-74).

§70. The Celebration of Baptism.

After a brief bibliography about baptism, Schaff describes the rite, referring to the Didache chapter 7 and Justin Martyr, giving extensive quotations (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15383). Schaff goes on to describe the rite without quotations, but based on Tertullian and others.

A candidate for adult baptism would renounce the devil, confess dependence on Christ, and normally agree to the Apostles’ Creed. People were often baptized unclothed, by dipping three times in water (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15393). Pouring also was accepted as needed. A single immersion was accepted later, in the time of Pope Gregory I (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15402). After the baptism itself, there would be a prayer of thanksgiving, another prayer, and a kiss to welcome the baptized person into the community (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15406). An exorcism, rather than a simple renunciation, came to be common after 256 (Schaff 2014, Loc. 154130. Sponsors are mentioned by Tertullian. Schaff associates this with infant baptism and the need to guarantee ongoing Christian training (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15421). Particular days became associated with baptism fairly early, but merely as a matter of symbolic significance.

Communion as Medicine, Offering, and Reception

4/16/2018

Mondays are for Church History
4/16/18

Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church (The Complete Eight Volumes in One). Amazon Kindle Edition, 2014.
Volume 2, Ante-Nicene Christianity A.D. 100-325, “Chapter 5. Christian Worship” (Includes an introduction and sections 59-74).

§69. The Doctrine of the Eucharist.

Schaff asserts, “The doctrine concerning the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, not coming into special discussion, remained indefinite and obscure” (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15310). In early Christianity there was a good deal of discussion about who would participate. However, the significance of the sacrament was not a subject of much comment. The Church went “without inquiring into the mode of Christ’s presence, nor into the relation of the sensible signs to his flesh and blood” (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15317).

Ignatius speaks of the sacrament in mystic terms as a medicine to work immortality and as an antidote to death. Justin Martyr and Irenaeus speak in similar terms (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15322). Schaff takes the typical early Christian use of the word “antitype” and turns it into a symbolic antithesis. In this way he says the bread and wine work as a copy, and in Peter, the baptism as a copy of the flood of Noah (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15331). However, he says the arguments of the African Fathers which turn the words of institution into a purely figurative statement as “approaching nearer the Calvinistic or Reformed” (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15337). Spotts finds this a strangely weak argument. The examples given are strikingly physical, rather than spiritual and symbolic. Alexandrians, on the other hand, tend to speak in symbolic terms, as well as speaking of reception of spiritual life, rather than physical life (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15344).

At the same time, the Lord’s Supper was also regarded as a sacrifice. It would be taken to fill the place of a Passover sacrifice, as well as any other of Israel’s sacrifices (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15351). However, unlike later scholarship which pointed out an unbloody re-sacrifice of Christ, the ante-Nicene fathers saw a memorial appropriation of Christ’s sacrifice (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15358).

The elements were normally viewed as simultaneously a gift from God and an offering of the Christians, who give their gifts and their lives to God (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15365). Schaff notes that in more recent times the element of the Christians giving a thank offering has become more of a sin offering. This concept of the sacrifice has separated Roman Catholic from Protestant practice. In the second century, the offering of the people was seen strictly as a giving of thanks (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15374).

Communion Rituals in Early Christianity

4/9/2018

Mondays are for Church History
4/9/18

Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church (The Complete Eight Volumes in One). Amazon Kindle Edition, 2014.
Volume 2, Ante-Nicene Christianity A.D. 100-325, “Chapter 5. Christian Worship” (Includes an introduction and sections 59-74).

§68. Celebration of the Eucharist.

The Eucharist and its prayers were early considered the high point of Christian worship (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15243). Schaff records the account of Justin Martyr of the rite. His observation is, “We are not warranted in carrying back to this period the full liturgical service, which we find prevailing with striking uniformity in essentials, though with many variations in minor points, in all quarters of the church in the Nicene age. A certain simplicity and freedom characterized the period before us” (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15257). Schaff does acknowledge the “pseudo-Apostolical Constitutions” but dates the current form in the fourth century. He considers the Didache to be too scanty in detail. However, the communion was celebrated weekly or even daily (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15264). There was a sharing of peace, a reception of an offering, and prayers of invocation and thanksgiving (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15277). Schaff notes some variations in the prayers. Bread and wine were used, with the bread being placed in the hands of the communicants (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15283). Afterward, deacons carried elements to those sick or imprisoned. Schaff notes also the practice of taking some consecrated bread home for daily use in family prayers (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15290). A “love feast” was found in conjunction with communion but was later separated from it (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15297).

Communion as a Secret Ritual

4/2/2018

Mondays are for Church History
4/2/18

Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church (The Complete Eight Volumes in One). Amazon Kindle Edition, 2014.
Volume 2, Ante-Nicene Christianity A.D. 100-325, “Chapter 5. Christian Worship” (Includes an introduction and sections 59-74).

§67. Division of Divine Service. The Disciplina Arcani.

Schaff observes that by the mid-second century, Christian worship was divided into two portions. “The former consisted of scripture reading, preaching, prayer, and song, and was opened to the unbaptized and persons undergoing penance. The latter consisted of the holy communion, with its liturgical appendages: none but the proper members of the church could attend it; and before it began, all catechumens and unbelievers left the assembly at the order of the deacon, and the doors were closed or guarded” (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15214). Tertullian was particularly adamant that the unbaptized would not participate in the communion and its confession. The rite was treated very much as a hidden discipline. The term Disciplina Arcani was coined for this in 1679 (Schaff 2014, Loc. 1521). The practice essentially disappeared in the West after the sixth century. Schaff ties the disappearance to the decline of heathenism and universality of infant baptism.

Because the Sacraments were reserved for Christians, it was natural to show reverence and avoid offense by separating those who could not participate. Schaff does concede that the idea of a Secret Discipline has often been expanded to include all sorts of dogmas which may ot have been readily accepted by others (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15228). As Christianity spread in the West, the need to separate the baptized from catechumens became less important. Particularly as it became normal for almost everyone to be baptized as an infant rather than as a confessing convert, people of all ages were among the baptized (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15241). In the East a practice of dismissing catechumens has been retained.

What Happens in Christian Worship?

3/26/2018

Mondays are for Church History
3/26/18

Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church (The Complete Eight Volumes in One). Amazon Kindle Edition, 2014.
Volume 2, Ante-Nicene Christianity A.D. 100-325, “Chapter 5. Christian Worship” (Includes an introduction and sections 59-74).

§66. Parts of Worship.

A discussion of the seasons of the church year rather naturally leads to a consideration of the actual elements of a worship gathering. Readings of the Old Testament were present from the earliest days, as they were already the norm in the synagogue. As instruction moved away from apostolic orality, the reading of parts of the New Testament was regularly added (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15100). At times, readings which never became canonical were used as well. Meetings typically contained a sermon, an exhortation or exposition based on Scripture. By the mid second century it is clear that the sermon was delivered by an elder, and preferably a bishop (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15112). Prayers were normally carefully composed, including quotations from the Old Testament. These are recorded as early as the close of the first century (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15118). Singing of the Psalms was adopted directly from the synagogue (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15125). It seems clear that early Christians also composed their own songs. Schaff includes samples, then a copy of a prayer from Clement of Rome (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15149). Schaff observes that these ancient prayers have frequently inspired more recent church music (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15191).

Christian Assemblies on a Seven Day Calendar, not a Roman Calendar

3/19/2018

Mondays are for Church History
3/19/18

Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church (The Complete Eight Volumes in One). Amazon Kindle Edition, 2014.
Volume 2, Ante-Nicene Christianity A.D. 100-325, “Chapter 5. Christian Worship” (Includes an introduction and sections 59-74).

§65. The Order of Public Worship.

Schaff treats the earliest descriptions of Christian worship in their historical order. He first details the account of Pliny the Younger, dating from 109. Christians would assemble on Sunday at dawn. They would sing, pledge their holiness, then go to work. In the evening they would assemble again to eat together (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15079). Justin Martyr, about 140, describes readings from the Bible, prayer, and communion, along with offerings for the poor (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15093). Schaff notes that worship is described in a similar way by Tertullian and in the Apostolic Constitutions.

Epiphany and Nativity

3/12/2018

Mondays are for Church History
3/12/18

Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church (The Complete Eight Volumes in One). Amazon Kindle Edition, 2014.
Volume 2, Ante-Nicene Christianity A.D. 100-325, “Chapter 5. Christian Worship” (Includes an introduction and sections 59-74).

§64. The Epiphany.

Schaff continues filling in the church calendar with the Feast of Epiphany (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15065). This celebration was begun in the East, but faced resistance even there. Epiphany is the recognition of the appearance of Jesus as Messiah. The Eastern church restricts Epiphany to a celebration of the baptism of Christ. In the West it includes the visit of the Magi and several other events in which Jesus was revealed to people (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15073). Schaff notes that the first traces of a specific Nativity celebration are seen in a homily of Chrysostom from December 25, 385 (Schaff 2014, Loc. 15079).