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

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Christian Spirituality
Welcome Notes

No Tuition - Free Access
Work at Your Own Pace

I have taught in four universities and have taught 12-15 different classes. This was the topic of my Ph.D. work and thus is my all-time favorite class. Several people have expressed interest in this class, asking me for notes, so I am going to make it available on the site.
Here are a one of several comments from students:
This class has helped me grow spiritually...showed me the importance of the discipline of silence. (Student from Germany)

This class revolves around the historical development of contemplative prayer (Christian Spirituality). The class met for three hours one day per week. It is a practical class - we spend 5-15 minutes in each class in silent prayer, then 15-20 minutes to write in a prayer journal about their time in silent prayer.
We read excerpts from 10-12 ancient Christian writers and 2-3 modern writers, then we shared around an hour of discussion on the concepts from the readings. All lectures and readings can be downloaded.
Join the class or just read and share the materials.

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

An Introduction to the Desert Fathers

Shortly after the Roman Empire stopped persecuting Christians a mist of complacency began to develop in the Church. Christians were no longer under threat - even the great Emperor had been a Christian!
Now there were no martyrs, so how would a young man prove he had steel in his soul? Fed up with a lazy church, many answered the call of the cross by venturing into the desert to live a life of prayer, humility and hardship. This group of men lived alone in caves...seeking God. The Sayings of the Desert Fathers allow us a glimpse into the lives of these men and women.

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The Issue of Second Repentance
If you do a Google search you will find almost NOTHING about this very important aspect of primitive Christianity. In my first year of research I was drawn into this topic because fellow Christians were fighting over "holiness." Some were using the early Church claiming they held to 100% victory over sin.
The primitive church struggled with how to deal with Christians who "fell into sin" during times of Roman persecution when the local church stopped meeting in the open. [primitive = the early years when very few Christians had any of the NT biblical texts] This is one example among many where the primitive Church did not get it "Right" in my opinion. Read about it...

Constantine the Great
There are many non-historical things said about Constantine. A significant percentage of conservative Protestants are ignorant when it comes to this important figure in early Christianity. As a young man I was taught many things about Constantine that I learned (much later in my life) were just false.

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