“…are men to pray to you and learn to know you through their prayers? Only, how are they to call up on the Lord until they have learned to believe in him? And how are they to believe in him without a preacher to listen to?”[1]
This is a quote from Augustine’s Confessions in which he is speaking to God. It is so important to have people to teach the gospel. It is imperative to have defenders of the faith such as the church fathers; people that no matter what the cost will defend and preach the correct theologies about God’s word. How could Christianity have survived all of these years without teachers? But we have an amazing history because of the sacrifice others have made for the name of our God. Augustine’s statement parallels to Romans 10:14 “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” Augustine probably derived the idea from this scripture. This statement is an encouragement to Christians to go out and preach the Bible as God would have them do. Through the teaching of Christians, future generations have hope of salvation.
[1] St. Augustine, Confessions, trans. R.S. Pine-Coffin (London, England: Penguin Books, 1961), book 1 page 1.
Quotation from Augustine
Quote
am the wheat of God and am ground by the teeth of the wild beasts that I may be found the pure bread of God –Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch (about 100 a.d.)
If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.- C. S. Lewis
I waited to find the quote until the end of the class, (partially because I am always behind) mainly because I wanted the quote to represent what the class meant as a whole. When I came upon this quote, I realized the value of learning the history of the ancient world and Christianity in detail is that it is a tool that God can use for us to impact the world we presently live in. Now understanding the value of history better I can incorporate it as I seek to achieve my eyes being fixed on the next world of heaven, doing all things in light of eternity. History, from an eternal prospective is fascinating!
Pesky Atheists. And Love (Quote)
“Atheism [a.k.a. Christianity] has been specifically advanced through the loving treatment rendered to strangers, and through their care for the burial of the dead it is a scandal that there is not a single Jew who is a beggar; that the godless Galileans care not only for their own poor but for ours as well.” – attributed to Julian the Apostate
The Christians were falsely charged with atheism, as we have learned earlier in this course. What problem did Julian, a pagan emperor, have with Christianity? In this quote, the love that Christians had for themselves and for others was especially noted. Julian said there was not a single believer who was a beggar.
One early author said of the early church: “They love each other before they even know each other.”
Can we say that we as believers today have this same mentality towards each other? This just challenged me to love all of our brothers and sisters in the Lord without partiality, bias, or ill-willed judgement. We should regard no man according to the flesh. Everyone is equally important and equally essential in the contributions they can make to the Body of Christ. If one member suffers, then we all suffer together. In the same manner, if one member rejoices then we should all rejoice together. The family bond we have with one another should be as strong as those believers in the early church. Amen!
Quote
This is a quote from a man complaining about a magazine being biased.
“You completely left out the Islamic thoughts and traditions on the subject. As a Muslim American, I thought the conclusion was biased and only put forth the ideas in Christianity and Judaism. The show did not reflect on the Islamic thoughts or traditions which could have made this show more interesting and educational. And it would have also shown how closely Islam is aligned with Christianity and Judaism.”
I found this quote interesting, especially after watching the video posted on our blog that quotes the Quran and then shows its instructions being carried out, (Posted by Professor Stilley earlier) because the Quran tells Muslims to kill people who do not follow the same religion and some Muslims obey this teaching. Either the person quoted does not know what he truly believes or he assumes the readers are not aware of the Quran’s teachings. Concerning the articles being biased, the entire Quran is prejudiced against those who do not claim Islam as their religion because it says to kill the Infidels so the person quoted above is arguing fallaciously.
Also in arguing that Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are similar this person fails to identify the numerous differences between the three. This is a common mistake in reasoning, but still unacceptable.
Quote
St. Francis of Assisi “Preach the gospel. And if necessary, use words.” It can be very easy to take this quote extremes. Many take this statement and use it as their main mode of preaching the gospel. Say what you will about Rich Warren, I think he’s right when he said in the purpose driven chuch that if this is how you proclaim Jesus you are being arrogent to think that are so holy someone looking at you will decide to be a christian. Rather if we are to get the most application for our lives from this, we must bear in mind the context to in which it was said. the middle ages were a time when though everyone claimed to be chistian they did not live like a chistian. In every town in Italy where St. Francis was from every one had to go to church. So every knew a bout Jesus, and said they believed in him to get to heaven, (amoung other). So if you wanted to turn apathetic people into pious christians, the only way to do this was to do something out of the norm, follow the bible. Today most people are expected to live a good life, so this form of evangelism won’t work on the general public any more. It can I think however work with some groups of people, freinds and family who are lost, perhaps we can make them envious of what christ has done in our lives, like what Paul was saying in Romans. But first we must preach the good news with words.
A History of Faith
Quote: “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” - St. Augustine. This quote is a perfect reflection of the Church and Empire Lecture class. It depicts the struggles and power of faith in proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ. A Christian must fight perilous evils within the world and defend a God never physically seen, but after the physical death of the body, Christians are given the gift of eternal life for the fight well fought, for Christ. Augustine’s quote reveals the key element in the Christian Church, Faith. “Take up the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of he wicked one.” (Ephesians 6:16) There are numerous historical figures of the Christian faith that Christians today can learn from. Individuals such as: Constantine, Irenaeus, Athenasius, Perpertua, and Augustine. These persons fought with all their he Ephesians art, all their mind, and all their soul for an unseen faith. Prophets, philosophers, church fathers, and our martyrs, they are all valuable paradigms of influence and encouragement. However, it is not these men of history that attained Christian admiration, but rather their incentive for what it was that they were fighting for. As one professor proclaims, it is History, which guides us in our faith. It is the story of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.