Questions tagged [church-history]
The history of the Church following the book of Acts
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Why does Judaism celebrate Sabbath on Saturday and most Christians celebrate Sabbath on Sunday?
When did most Christians (possibly excluding exceptions such as Seventh Day Adventists) and Jews start celebrating Sabbath on different days of the week and why?
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What is the origin of the moral-civil-ceremonial distinction of the Old Testament law?
This distinction is often called tripartite division of the law.
I ran across this series of blog posts, which considers the division of the law into "moral", "civil", and "ceremonial" parts:
...
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Are there any accounts of "words of knowledge" taking place outside of Pentecostal and Charismatic denominations?
First of all, let me clarify what I mean by "Word of Knowledge" to avoid confusions. I'm particularly interested in the following definition from Wikipedia:
[...] It can also be defined as ...
user50422
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How were the books of the New Testament chosen?
I'm interested in finding out:
what the process of choosing the books of the New Testament was,
when did it occur,
who did the choosing, and
what are the supporting evidences
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When did the prohibition of marriage for priests in the Catholic church originate?
The Bible mentions that one of the miracles Jesus performed was the healing of Peter's mother-in-law. This makes it quite clear that Peter himself was married, and Peter is the considered the first ...
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How old is old earth creationism?
The answers to What is the biblical evidence for an old Earth? say that biblical arguments for old Earth creationism are based on the ambiguous words used for describing lengths of time in Genesis.
...
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What is a brief history on the idea that the Pope is the Antichrist?
I am quite familiar with the Reformers' opposition to the Papacy, and many said the Pope is the Antichrist. What confuses me is this quote from that same page:
In calling the pope the "...
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At what point did the Roman See start self-identifying as the Catholic Church?
The Great (East-West) Schism was a massive trainwreck centuries in the making and centuries in its outworking. At what point in the process did the Roman see start identifying itself as the Catholic ...
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Why is the KJV frequently said to be the "true" translation?
This question actually centers on the KJV translation itself. It's not hard to find a church in America (particularly in the south) where they believe that the KJV is the one true translation and that ...
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Why aren't the Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Churches in communion with each other?
Both the Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Church worship the same God and the Blessed Mother Virgin Mary and the Saints and the Holy Trinity. Do language and cultural differences separate them? What ...
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When in the development of trinitarian doctrine was the word "persons" first applied to God?
In the Bible, the word "persons" is not used in reference to God, nor are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit called "persons."
When, in early Christian writings and creeds, was the word "persons" (...
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Have any real people been de-canonized?
People can be canonized (declared to be saints) and these official declarations are held to be infallible. Some people might be considered saints because of popular devotion, without being actually ...
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Who first distinguished between the inerrancy of the Bible and the inerrancy of the original autographs?
It's common these days among those who believe in the inerrancy* of the Bible to limit the statement to the original manuscripts. For example, the Chicago Statement reads:
We affirm that ...
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When is the first documented case of Christians praying to the dead saints?
When is the first documented case of Christians praying to the dead saints?
(A point in comments was brought up that "asking the dead saints" does not mean "praying to the dead saints" as "prayer is ...
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When was the Bible formally declared to be inerrant and/or infallible?
Fundamentally*, an inerrant Bible is one without errors and an infallible Bible is one that cannot have errors, as David Stratton pointed out in his answer. As for the Roman Catholic Church, all of ...
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Have the dietary prohibitions of Acts 15:20 been applied to Christians today?
An answer to this question references Acts 15:20, which says --
(19) Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, (20) but should write to them to ...
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What evidence is there that Peter was a bishop in Rome?
The Encyclopaedia Brittanica says
The claims that the church of Rome was founded by Peter or that he served as its first bishop are in dispute and rest on evidence that is not earlier than the ...
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Was William of Ockham the first sedevacantist?
Ockham (cf. this article on him by the Catholic logician Paul V. Spade) invented his dead-end nominalist philosophy in order to justify his being against the papacy (cf. Thomist John Deely's Four Ages ...
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Is there any historical evidence of Early Church Christians denying the divinity of Jesus during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD?
I'm essentially asking the counter-question to this one. Is there any historical evidence of Early Church Christians (post-New Testament) openly denying the divinity of Jesus in the 1st and 2nd ...
user50422
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Is there any historical evidence that the supernatural gifts of the Spirit were still in operation after the apostolic age?
Once the apostolic age finished with the death of the apostles, is there any evidence that the supernatural gifts of the Spirit (e.g., tongues, prophecy, words of knowledge, healing, miracles, etc.) ...
user50422
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History of the doctrine of religious vocation in Catholic Church
I am reading Aquinas and I am puzzled by his view on religious vocation and common view in the Church today (I will for sake of simplicity call it a modern view) about religious vocation.
In On the ...
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When was it claimed for the first time in Church history that the offices of apostle and prophet have ceased?
First, some context ...
Ephesians 2:19-22 (ESV):
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the ...
user50422
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Who assigned the gospel authors originally?
According to the theory of the originally anonymous gospels, the titles of the most ancient surviving manuscripts were added later on.
I would like to know:
For each gospel, how many different, ...
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How did the cross come to be a symbol for Christianity?
I understand WHY the cross became a symbol for Christianity, but HOW did it become a symbol? How did it start and how did it evolve into the symbol (or symbols since there are many variants) we all ...
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Was tithing 10% required or encouraged by the early church?
I cannot find in the New Testament an obligation on Christians to tithe 10% of their income. Instead I read that it is up the individual to decide:
2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIV1984)
Each man should ...
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From where does the doctrine that there is no time in heaven originate?
I'm quite familiar with the fact that God himself is outside of time, this is very easy to show through scripture.
However it seems to be an increasingly popular conception that there is no time in ...
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Why does communion frequency vary in different denominations?
Different churches celebrate the Eucharist (Communion, Lord's Supper, ...) with different frequency. At one extreme, Catholic and high Anglican churches tend to celebrate it at least daily. Many ...
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What is the evidence that suggests that the Apostle Paul was married?
I have heard people say over the years that it is likely that the Apostle Paul had been married at some point, perhaps prior to his conversion. However, there doesn't seem to be any biblical evidence ...
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What has the LDS Church (Mormons) historically taught about the Curse of Cain and dark skin?
I have heard that people with black skin had been denied certain things in the Mormon Church until the past 30 years or so and that this has something to do with the Curse of Cain. What has been the ...
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Who was the first Church Father to argue for executing heretics?
When was it first said in Christianity by a church leader that heretics must be put to death? Who came up with this idea and presented it?
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What is the Biblical and historical basis for Christian pacifism?
My understanding is that early Christians were generally pacifists. Today (at least in the U.S.) Christian pacifists are a bit hard to come by. Many quote Romans 13:1-3 to support Christian ...
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When did "he descended into hell" become part of the Apostles' Creed?
There seems to be much more debate over one clause of the Apostles' Creed than the entire rest of it put together, and that is the "descent into hell" (or "hades") clause, also known as the "harrowing ...
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What is the origin of the Good Friday tradition?
As suggested by this question and this answer, it seems possible that Jesus actually died on a Wednesday, not on a Friday.
In light of these competing theories, what is the origin of the Good Friday ...
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What is the Catholic Church's historical position on capital punishment: how did we get here?
It's big news in the internet today. Pope Francis declares death penalty unacceptable in all cases. The Pope made specific changes to the catechism reflecting this. From the New York Times:
Francis ...
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What is the origin of the "religion vs. relationship" dichotomy?
These days the word "religion" often has a bad connotation. Christians (including myself) often emphasize that they have a "relationship" with Jesus, not that they are "religious."
But this doesn'...
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What's the basic premise behind "restorationist" movements?
To the untrained ear, the labels used in Christian circles for some groups of churches as either "reformational" or "restorationist" don't seem that different. If the label "reformed" is a direct ...
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What was Martin Luther's perspective on the early Christian church?
Was Luther's belief that the church's foundation was faulty to begin with, or that through time it fell into an apostate state and needed to be reformed back?
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Are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit explicitly identified as "persons" in any writings directly associated with the Nicene Creed?
Neither version of the Nicene Creed (325 or 381) contains the word "person," in the singular or in the plural.
Are there any extant writings that came out of, or are closely associated with, either ...
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When did the Latin Catholic Church begin to generally require fasting only one hour prior to the Eucharist?
According to Wikipedia's article on eucharistic discipline, the Latin rite of Catholicism requires only one hour of fasting before the Eucharist (cf. Canon 919 §1), but that prior to 1955, the fasting ...
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Is there any evidence to support the claim that the Apostle St. Peter founded the Church in Antioch and, if so, what are the implications?
According to tradition, the Apostle Peter founded the Church in Antioch in A.D. 34 and is regarded as the first Bishop of Antioch. Here are a few extracts from sources I found regarding this claim:
...
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How does the Roman Catholic Church interpret predestination?
I've been trying to determine how the Roman Catholic church interprets the idea of predestination. From what I have found so far it appears to be a view more rooted in single predestination, though I ...
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At what point did the Eastern Church start self-identifying as the Orthodox Church?
The Great (East-West) Schism was a massive trainwreck centuries in the making and centuries in its outworking. At what point in the process did the Eastern Church start identifying itself as the ...
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What major changes have American Presbyterians made to the Westminster Confession of Faith?
As someone who generally affirms the Westminster Confession of Faith, one comment I hear periodically is that I therefore must believe that the Pope is the Antichrist. However, the Confession ...
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Is there any historical evidence that the early church believed in the divinity of Jesus?
Is there any historical evidence that the early church believed in the divinity of Jesus? What about the first century? What about the second century (and so on)? Was the belief in the divinity of ...
user50422
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Have a message in tongues and its interpretation ever been verified by an outsider fluent in both languages?
Let's say someone speaks a message in tongues (in language X) to a whole congregation at a church service, and then someone else stands up and speaks the interpretation (in language Y, understood by ...
user50422
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Can somebody summarize the different "branches" of Christianity to me, and explain why they exist in the first place?
All my life, I've been massively confused about how there exists separate, seemingly incompatible and separate, "branches" of Christianity. I know about "protestant", "catholic" and then there's ...
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What is the history of the concept of a "personal relationship with Jesus"?
It is common these days to hear questions like:
Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?
Or...
The most important thing is your personal relationship with Jesus.
The Bible never uses ...
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What is the origin of praying hands folded?
I was taught in Sunday school to pray hands folded. On the other hand, there's no biblical mention of the practice (as far as I know). It actually doesn't seem to matter which position we pray in.
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According to Evangelicals, before the Reformation, who were Christians if “Catholics are not Christians”?
Every now and then I hear non-Catholic Christians, usually Evangelicals, say things along the lines of “Catholics are not Christians” or “the Catholic Church does not teach the true Gospel.” Unless I ...
user900
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Did the Apostles' Creed originate with the Apostles?
The Apostles' Creed is perhaps the oldest statement of faith in the Christian tradition. Is there any evidence that it was used by Jesus' first followers? If not, when did it originate?
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