Let’s face it the New Testament probably calls Jesus God (or god) a couple of times and so do early Christian authors in the second century. However, no one offers much of an explanation for what they mean by the title. Did early Christians think Jesus was God because he represented Yahweh? Did they think Read more about 521 The Deity of Christ from a Greco-Roman Perspective (Sean Finnegan)[…]
This is part 17 of the Early Church History class. Throughout the first five hundred years of Christian history, a significant shift occurred in what we believed about our ultimate destiny. The New Testament and the early church fathers repeatedly expressed belief in God’s kingdom coming to earth. Over time, however, this idea gave way Read more about 499 Early Church History 17: The Kingdom of God in Early Christianity[…]
Now that you’ve seen the historical defenders of the kingdom faith, it’s time to turn our attention to those who fought against it. Over the next three lectures you’ll learn the main reasons why Christianity rejected the kingdom message of the bible and replaced it with going to heaven or hell at death. First up, Read more about 102 The Kingdom Is Too Crude (Kingdom of God 11)[…]
Apologetics 8: More Evidence for the Resurrection Because secular historians don’t accept the inspiration of the bible, they don’t trust the Gospels as reliable witnesses about Jesus. Consequently, they’ve come up with various “criteria of authenticity” to sift the sayings and deeds recorded in the Gospels into historical and mythical categories. Last time we saw Read more about Podcast 57: More Evidence for the Resurrection (Apologetics 8)[…]
by Sean Finnegan My Conundrum I entered the mammoth façade of my local Barnes and Noble and found my feet carrying me directly to the Christianity section. Once at my destination, I stood before the familiar shelves, half filled with what I call “real” books and the other half, “inspirational.” I cocked my head to Read more about Looking For the Historical Jesus between Evangelical and Liberal Scholarship[…]
Presented at the 2013 Theological Conference Sponsored by Restoration Fellowship by Sean Finnegan From the earliest days of Jesus’ Jewish apocalypticism to Augustine’s authoritative City of God, early Christians have held a variety of views about the final home of God’s people. Already in middle of the second century, Justin Martyr reports Christians held opposing Read more about Rejecting the Kingdom 1: Too Crude[…]