What You Will Find at
Church History 101

CH101 attempts to accurately present the data of the early church. How do we know what happened after the New Testament period? We have an enormous amount of documents from the first three centuries written by those who were leaders. It is amazing that we have so many written sources.

Unfortunately there are many web sites where you can find all kinds of misleading information on the early church. The early church fathers are not easy to read or understand - not easy to read because they tend to be verbose - they are known to drone on and on. They can be difficult to understand because they discuss issues of the day that are not as clear for us. Like the NT writers, sometimes they refer to things their readers fully knew but the details have been lost in the sands of time.

I try to present the data without making theological or doctrinal judgements - just the information as clearly as possible.

COMMENTS - QUESTIONS - CRITICISM
I welcome EVERY single serious comment, question or criticism - and I answer almost every single one. The Question/Answer section is where I will sometimes go beyond the basic data and give you MY personal opinions.

WHAT'S NEW ON CH101

Early Christianity "On the Trinity"

This came from a reader several years ago:
My pursuit of God often digresses into a pursuit of knowledge & understanding...I get hung up on having it all figured out. The concept of the Trinity is an example of something my mind gets stuck on, and i start thinking about God like an equation that needs to be solved...your articles help remind me why i asked the questions to begin with by shifting my focus from a purely intellectual study of God to the broader scope of God's involvement in history.
This past week I had another email asking about my articles on the trinity - So I put my articles on the trinity together to make them easier to find.

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This is my response to a YouTube video that presents Chi Alpha (XA) as a cult. I served 14 years in XA and have remained connected with this ministry to the present time. I feel the need to defend my former students who are now serving the Lord on campuses and as church pastors here in the USA and overseas in various roles.

Blog Articles by R.A. Baker

"Western" Individualism in Christian Faith (4 Parts)
This series addresses the argument that Western Christianity is overly focused on the individual.
Personal Forgiveness in the New Testament

How Can a God of Love Also Have Wrath? (4 Parts)
This series is a response to those who mock the idea of God's wrath and judgement.
Introduction: The Lamb of God in Revelation

Women in Early Christianity (6 Part Series)
This series began from my reading of a scholar who opened my eyes to the women who followed Jesus.
The Chosen Helped Me "See" the Women Around Jesus

Historical Errors by Frank Viola (4 Parts)
The Book Pagan Christianity sold thousands of copies, yet is FILLED with historical falsehoods. I felt compelled to respond. As Protestants we can very ignorant of early Christianity!
Historical Errors by Frank Viola, Introduction

Feedback: Q and A

These are some of the most popular Question/Answer articles:

• Was Saint Athanasius a black man?
• Is worship on Sunday Wrong?
  
• Was wine in NT alcoholic?
  
• What did the church fathers say about the military?
  
• Is land called Palestine or Israel? in the NT period?

Other Articles/Papers of Interest

• Introduction to Gnostic Texts
  
• "Second Repentance" and The Shepherd of Hermas
  
• Introduction to The Sayings of the Desert Fathers
  
• Wine in the Ancient World
  

What's New - Part TWO

The Scottish Bible Podcast - Interview with Al Baker, CH101

You can hear my testimony of how I became a Christian in this interview. It is quite long - these two young men kept asking me questions! LOL.

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Numerous CH101 readers have written to me with questions and critical comments about what I have written regarding Emperor Constantine. There is a significant percentage of conservative Protestants who believe Christianity suffered greatly under Constantine. As a young man I was taught that the Catholic Church started with Constantine and this was when Christianity lost its way.

Here are some of the articles I have offered on Constantine:
Constantine comes to Power
Constantine and Christian Faith
Constantine at the Council of Nicea
Constantine and Sun Worship (Sol Invictus)
Constantine and Christians in the Military
Constantine Against the Donatists

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Professor Craun wrote the section on post-Nicea to conclude the fourth century on CH101. This is a tremendously important part of early Christianity that tends to be left in the shadow of the famous Council of Nicea in 325AD.
The theological issues addressed at Nicea were not over. In fact, while the Council seemed to yield answers to some problems - it caused many more problems that would continue for another 100 years or more..
Dr. Craun does a good job of laying out the problems Christianity had to face after Nicea.