The Earliest Christians
Here is a quick update about what we are doing at Ad Radicem.
Last week (6.24.08), we talked about the developments in the first two hundred years of the church—how worship, leadership, and attitudes to the surrounding culture changed within that time. We looked at hymns and prayers of the earliest church that many churches still use today. We discussed the way that the New Testament was brought together from diverse collections of letters and documents carried around the Mediterranean and assembled to become the Bible we read today.
This week (7.1.08), we will continue and look at a few specific issues within the early church that have a great impact on the way we live out our faith today.
Specifically, we’ll spend time talking about the role that women played in spreading the faith through the whole Roman empire and the way that the church both challenged the injustices of Roman patriarchy and built its own gender hierarchy. There is plenty to talk about here!
Then we’ll spend some time talking about attitudes toward force and violence in the earliest church and how a movement known for courage in the face of martyrdom eventually turned into an institution that used violent force against heretics.
Understanding the attitudes of the earliest Christians is like using a mirror—it helps us to see our own faith and our own culture in new light. Join us for a rich conversation!
