Table of Contents
Origins & Formation; Interpretation & Authority
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Part I: Origins and Formation
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Beginnings: Our Worldviews & the Bible's
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From Stories to Manuscripts to the Canon
- Other Ancient Texts (No Frame) --Noncanonical Books or Outside Books. Why other books did not make the canon
- Ancient Texts in English Translation
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So Many Bibles: Translations of the Scriptures
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The Bible Today: It Continues to Bridge the
Millennia
- The Bible Today: Our Journey:
Faith and the Bible, First Memories of the Bible
- Hymns and the Bible: Graphics
How hymns influence our understanding of the Bible.
- Art and the Bible: Graphics
How art influences our understanding of the Bible.
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Part II: Interpretation and Authority
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From Jesus to Constantine: 30-313
Imagine a time when Christians had no written Gospels but only a spoken tradition of the sayings and stories of Jesus. Top Menu
- History: Birth, Growth, Change, Martyrdoms
No Frames
- Timeline
- Christian Martyrs
*Ignatius the second bishop of
Antioch during a time of severe persecution
*Origen Origen’s writings were some of the most influential in the early church
*Polycarp Polycarp opposed heresy and became a Christian martyr
- Outside Links
- Authority: Controversies and Heresies
- Church Fathers
*Ignatius the second bishop of
Antioch during a time of severe persecution
*Irenaeus Irenaeus served as Bishop of Lyons in southern Gaul (France) and opposed heresies
*Origen Origen’s writings were some of the most influential in the early church
*Polycarp Polycarp opposed heresy and became a Christian martyr
*Tertullian North African teacher Tertullian wrote extensively against the Gnostics
- Heresies Definitions and historical background for key Christian heresies in the early centuries of the church
- Book Excerpt
*The Christian Covenant (The Old and New Covenants)
- Interpretation
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Christian Empire: 313-476
The status of Christianity changed considerably in
the fourth century because of one person, Emperor
Constantine the Great. Top Menu
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Middle Ages: 476-1453
During this era, there were "wars and rumors of war" and
a lot of suffering including the bubonic plague. The Apocalypse seemed near. Top Menu
- History: Crusades, Monasticism, Millennium
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- Charlemagne, Holy Roman Emperor (No Frames). Charles the Great, 742-814, was not only a military man and ruler but also a reformer of both church and society.
- The Crusades: The era the Crusades the first began in 1095 with Pope Urban II's famous speech and the ended in 1291 when Acre, the last of the Latin holdings in Palestine, was lost.
- Sack of Constantinople: The conquering of the great Christian city in 1204 ended the Fourth Crusade and had significant
religious and political consequences.
- Book Excerpts
*The Western Church: In the early Middle Ages the authority of the Bishop of Rome increased.
*Christian Campaigns: Attempts to purify the church and society led to efforts to rid the Christian world of non-Christians.
*Francis of Assisi: He preached a message that called for lives of poverty, caring love, and peace.
- Outside Links
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Reformations & Awakenings 1453-1870
- History: Discovery and Discontent-- New ideas and Worlds-- Persecution and Oppression
No Frames
- Authority: A religious awakening began. Many wanted a religion that depended more on the authority of the Bible.
- Erasmus, the man who "laid the egg that Luther hatched."
- Interpretation
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Modern Period of Interpretation: 1800--Present
