Strength to Strength welcomed a group of four panelists to answer your hardest questions on church history.
This Q&A is not limited to specific topics discussed in our Sacred Roots series, but is limited to questions of church history in the first 1500 years.
During this Talk, David Anderson was asked for recommended reading for non-scholars who wish to get into the early church. Following is his compilation:
Recommended primary sources:
Early Christian:
- The Didache (in our store: “The Two Ways”)
- Epistle to Diognetus
- Justin Martyr’s Apology (abridged, in our store: “We Don’t Speak Great Things — We Live Them”)
- “On Wealth and Poverty” by John Chrysostom
Theology:
- “On the Incarnation” by Athanasius
Monasticism:
- “Life of Antony” by Athanasius
Personal Spirituality:
- “Confessions,” first seven books, by Augustine
Recommended secondary sources:
Early Church:
- “Patient Ferment of the Early Church” by Alan Kreider
Non-resistance:
- “Caesar and the Lamb” by George Kalantzis
General Overview:
- “The Global Church” by Donald Fairbairn
David Anderson is a teacher and a father of three who lives in Medford, Massachusetts. Raised in a mainline Protestant denomination, David experienced the call of Christ to forsake all and follow when he was 20 years old while studying at the College of William and Mary. Dropping out of college, he explored various expressions of Christianity before finding solace in obedience to Jesus. After moving to Boston, he finished his education at Sattler College. He is currently teaching at Sattler College, completing a Master’s degree in Theological Studies with an emphasis in Church History at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, and is a regular teacher at Followers of the Way in Boston.
Stephen Russell has taught at Faith Builders for 23 years. Prior to that, he has taught in private Christian schools for five years and worked for Choice Books for 18 years. He received a BA in European Studies from George Mason University and an MA in Church History and Theology from Wheaton Grad School.
Stephen was drawn to the Anabaptists after he gave his life to the Lord and realized that God doesn’t want His people killing anyone. Just before he turned 21, he joined the Beachy Amish as a result of his quest for a nonresistant church. In 2008, he wrote a book on the historical and theological basis for nonresistance called Overcoming Evil God’s Way.
Finny Kuruvilla works with Eventide Asset Management, a values-based and faith-based investing firm. He is a physician who works at the intersection of business, investing, and healthcare.
He is the president and founder of Sattler College, a Christian college located in downtown Boston.
He has a keen interest in biblical interpretation and church history, for the purpose of fostering a strong and vibrant church today. He writes about this topic in his book, King Jesus Claims His Church. His interests also include ante-Nicene Christianity, Reformation and Anabaptist history, and the Great Awakenings of the eighteenth and nineteenth century.
Finny lives with his wife Laura, six sons and two daughters in the greater Boston area, and is a part of the church Followers of the Way.
Philip Hess lives in State College, Pennsylvania, with his wife Betsy and their seven children. When he is not reading or writing on a topic that interests him, he works in construction and keeps busy with church and family activities.
- 5:18 – David Anderson recaps his prior “Sacred Roots” talks
- 11:15 – panelists respond to David Anderson
- 15:03 – Stephen Russell recaps his prior “Sacred Roots” talks
- 18:39 – panelists respond to Stephen Russell
- 23:05 – Finny Kuruvilla recaps his prior “Sacred Roots” talks
- 30:30 – Philip Hess recaps his prior “Sacred Roots” talk
- 37:39 – panelists respond to Philip Hess
- 53:07 – Question 1: Overcoming Chronological Snobbery
………. – Question 2: Infant Baptism in the Early Church
………. – Question 3: How Good Fruit Comes from Those with Poor Doctrine- 1:05:43 – Question 4: Is Atonement Theory Important to Understand
………. – Question 5: Was Penal Substitution in the Early Church- 1:20:04 – Question 6: Eastern Church History Sources
- 1:28:04 – Question 7: Reformers’ Access to Greek New Testament
- 1:32:00 – Question 8: How Does a United Trinity Have Unique Experiences
- 1:37:51 – Question 9: Experiential Problem Solved by Exclusion of Longer Ending of Mark
- 1:44:50 – Question 10: How Were Bishops Selected in the Ante-Nicene Church
- 1:49:19 – Question 11: Did the Early Church or Anabaptists Justify Divorce
- 1:51:39 – Question 12: Faithful Christianity After the Fourth Century
- 1:57:49 – Question 13: Early Church Practice of Holy Kiss and Modern Relevance
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This presentation is part of a series called “Sacred Roots: Rediscovering the Ancient Faith.” Be sure to follow the entire series:
AD 0–100 (Apostolic era):
- Talk 1 — “Sacred Roots: Why Study Church History” by David Anderson
- Talk 2 — “Sacred Roots: The Book of Acts: The Kingdom of God Fills the Earth” by Finny Kuruvilla
- Talk 3 — “Sacred Roots: The Book of Acts: Descriptive or Prescriptive?” by Finny Kuruvilla
- Talk 5 — “Sacred Roots: Why ‘Above All’ Matters: Moses, Jesus, James, Paul, Maximilian, and You” by Zack Johnson
AD 100–300 (Ante-Nicene era):
- Talk 4 — “Sacred Roots: Why Study the Early Christians” by David Bercot
- Talk 8 — “Sacred Roots: Practical Distinctives of the Early Church” by David Anderson
- Talk 16 — “Sacred Roots: Canonization of the New Testament” by Philip Hess
- Talk 6 — “Sacred Roots: Gnosticism: The First Serious Threat to the Church” by Stephen Russell
- Talk 7 — “Sacred Roots: Neo-gnosticism: Today’s Most Serious Threat to the Church” by Stephen Russell
- Talk 14 — “Sacred Roots: Nature of the Church: ‘Assembly of the Saints’ vs. ‘Hospital for Sinners'” by David Anderson
- Talk 10 — “Sacred Roots: Beyond the West: How Africa Shaped Christianity” by Anan Twijjukye
300–800 (early Medieval era)
- Talk 11 — “Sacred Roots: Trinity and Christology – part 1” by David Anderson
- Talk 12 — “Sacred Roots: Trinity and Christology – part 2” by David Anderson
- Talk 9 — “Sacred Roots: Development of the Relationship Between Church and State” by Stephen Russell
800-1400 (late Medieval era)
- Talk 15 — “Sacred Roots: Monasticism: Holiness and the Communal Rhythm of Life” by David Anderson
- Talk 13 — “Sacred Roots: Medieval Europe: The Dark Ages, or…?” by Stephen Russell
1400–1600 (Reformation era)
- Talk 17 — “Sacred Roots: Setting the Stage for the Reformation” by Stephen Russell
- Talk 18 — “Sacred Roots: Panel discussion Q&A on church history” by Stephen Russell, Finny Kuruvilla, David Anderson, and Philip Hess
- Talk 19 — “Sacred Roots: The Radical Reformation: A Model for Our Time” by Dean Taylor
- Talk 20 — “Sacred Roots: The Anabaptists, the Sacraments, and the Words of Jesus” by Dean Taylor
- Talk 21 — “Sacred Roots: Q&A on the Anabaptists’ Understanding of the Sacraments” by Dean Taylor
- Talk 22 — “Sacred Roots: Martyrs Only in the Past: What About Us?” by Stephen Gingerich
- Talk 23 — “Sacred Roots: Faith at the Stake: Michael Sattler and the Cost of Discipleship” by Finny Kuruvilla
- Talk 24 — “Sacred Roots: Separation—a Swiss Brethren Article of Faith” by Edsel Burdge
- Talk 25 — “Sacred Roots: How the Reformers Slipped in Soteriology” by Philip Hess