A History of Christian Doctrine in Three Volumes by David K. Bernard ISBN 1-56722-036-3 ©1995 David K. Bernard Hazelwood, MO 63042-2299 Contents Volume One p. 2 Volume Two p. 250 Volume Three p. 482 1 Volume One The Post-Apostolic Age to the Middle Ages, A.D. 100-1500 All Scripture quotations in this book are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise identified. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in an electronic system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of David K. Bernard. Brief quotations may be used in literary reviews. Printed in United States of America Printed by Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bernard, David K., 1956– A history of Christian doctrine / by David K. Bernard. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. Contents: v. 1. The Post-Apsotolic Age to the Middle Ages, A.D. 100-1500. ISBN 1-56722-036-3 (pbk.) 1. Theology, Doctrinal—History. 2. Church history. 3. Oneness doctrine (Pentecostalism)—History. I. Title. BT 21.2.B425 1995 230'.09—dc20 95-35396 CIP Contents Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 1. The Study of Doctrine in Church History . . . . . . 9 2. Early Post-Apostolic Writers, A.D. 90-140 . . . . . . 21 3. Early Heresies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 4. The Greek Apologists, A.D. 130-180 . . . . . . . . . . 43 5. The Old Catholic Age, A.D. 170-325 . . . . . . . . . . 61 6. The Ecumenical Catholic Age, A.D. 325-787 . . . . 87 7. The Canon of Scripture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101 8. The Doctrine of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113 9. The Doctrine of Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141 10. The Doctrines of Humanity and Salvation . . . . . .159 11. The Doctrine and Structure of the Church . . . . .183 12. The Early Sacraments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199 2 13. Pagan Influences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215 14. The Early Middle Ages, A.D. 600-1100 . . . . . . . .223 15. The Later Middle Ages, A.D. 1100-1500 . . . . . . .251 16. The Medieval Doctrinal System . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273 17. The Road to the Reformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293 Appendixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .307 A. Dates in the History of Christianity . . . . . . . .307 B. Oneness Believers in History . . . . . . . . . . . . .313 C. Ancient Creeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315 D. Baptism in Jesus’ Name in History . . . . . . . . .321 E. Speaking in Tongues in History . . . . . . . . . . .323 F. Holiness Teaching in History . . . . . . . . . . . . .325 G. Development of Roman Catholicism . . . . . . . .329 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .332 Select Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .341 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .344 Preface This book surveys the history of Christian doctrine from approximately A.D. 100 to 1500. It generally follows chronological order and identifies the most significant events in church history, but the emphasis is on tracing doctrinal developments. To further this purpose, it discusses some events thematically rather than in strict chronological sequence. We will use the words church and Christian in the most general sense, recognizing that the visible church structure is not necessarily the New Testament church as defined by message and experience. We will discuss the major groups of people who have identified themselves as Christian. Occasionally material in this book may seem complex and foreign, but some treatment of details is necessary to provide background and to impart a feel for significant issues and problems. The main objective is to introduce the leading historical figures and movements in Christendom and to convey a basic understanding of their doctrines. This information will provide various perspectives on biblical issues and will aid in dialogue with people of different backgrounds. The reader will see when, how, and why certain biblical doctrines were abandoned and certain unbiblical doctrines embraced, and will see how God has worked to restore and revive fundamental truths that were largely forgotten. 7 This book arose out of teaching two semesters of 3 church history for five years at Jackson College of Ministries in Jackson, Mississippi. The rough draft was transcribed from lectures taped for the extension program of Kent Christian College in Dover, Delaware. Special thanks goes to Karla Christian, Vita Sharpe, Ruth Patrick, Connie Bernard, and especially Claire Tinney for transcribing this material. It was an immense project! After considerable additions, deletions, and revisions, this book is the result. It is important to remember that only the Bible is our authority for doctrine. History cannot alter or replace biblical truth. Nor can history prove the validity of doctrine, but it can provide insight into how key doctrines were handled over the centuries. It can help to dispel the myth that our fundamental doctrines are of recent origin. The clear teaching of Scripture is enough to tear away the shrouds of nonbiblical tradition, but a historical survey can aid in the process. 8 A History of Christian Doctrine Why is it important to study the history of doctrine in Christianity? We can identify several reasons. First, a study of this nature can help to confirm the apostolic doctrine as revealed in Scripture and to analyze the teachings of God’s Word in light of discussions in church history. A second purpose is to trace the development of false doctrines. If we conclude that some doctrines taught in Christendom today are erroneous, the question arises, Where did these false doctrines begin? Church history can help show us which doctrines were original, which were not, how false doctrines entered Christendom, and how they became, in some cases, part of the mainstream of historic Christendom. A third benefit of this study is learning about the 1 The Study of Doctrine in Church History 9 major denominations and movements, thereby providing a context for dialogue today. The goal is to identify each major category of Christendom and learn where it began, why it began, and what its distinctive, characteristic doctrines are. Scope of Study At the outset, let us define the boundaries of our study. We will start with the death of the apostles, or the 4 end of the apostolic era; therefore, we will begin with the second century A.D. By using the words church and Christianity, we will not make a value judgment as to the accuracy of the doctrines of various groups. Rather, we will use the words church, Christian, and Christendom in the most general sense, speaking of the visible structures known collectively as Christianity. When we speak of Christian doctrines we do not mean that a particular belief is correct or has been officially endorsed, only that some people within Christendom have believed and taught it. We would expect to find true apostolic believers within the visible, historical church, or at least associated in some way with it at various times, but the visible church is not always identical to the invisible church, the true church, the church of God. We will focus on all those who have historically gone by the label of Christian, whether or not their experience and doctrine seem identical to that of the apostles in the first century. Our study will be an overview, not an exhaustive investigation. We will not describe in great detail all the movements, personalities, and events in church history, but we will seek to give at least a survey of church histo- 10 A History of Christian Doctrine ry, particularly focusing on doctrinal history. We will not place heavy emphasis on names, places, and dates, but we will look primarily at the origins of various doctrines and movements throughout the history of Christianity.* Major Themes 1. A great falling away. It is evident when we study early church history that there was a great falling away, a great infusion of false doctrine. Indeed we find warnings and indications of this falling away in the New Testament itself. It contains admonitions to the early church not to embrace false doctrine as well as warnings concerning false prophets, false teachers, and false doctrines that were already creeping in among the churches. (See Matthew 7:15; Romans 16:17-18; I Corinthians 11:19; Ephesians 4:14; II Timothy 4:3; Hebrews 13:9; II Peter 2:1; I John 4:1; II John 10; Revelation 2:14, 15, 24.) It also predicts that in the latter days would come a great falling away, seducing spirits, and doctrines of demons. (See Matthew 24:11-12, 24; II Thessalonians 2:3; I Timothy 4:1.) Even in the first-century church, then, problems had 5 already begun to develop. In Revelation 2 and 3, letters to seven churches in Asia Minor reveal serious errors of doctrine and practice in various local assemblies in the first century. In the second century, this process of doctrinal corruption accelerated. In short, we find a great influx of false doctrines over the centuries. That is not to say these doctrines polluted everyone, but widespread heresies and 11 The Study of Doctrine in Church History *For a chronological list of important people, events, and dates in Christianity, along with important secular dates, see Appendix A. doctrinal difficulties certainly existed in the first few centuries. 2. A faithful remnant. At least a few people in church history continued to hold onto the apostolic doctrine and the apostolic experience. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said, “On this rock I will build my church,” speaking of the rock of the revelation of who He was, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God. He said “the gates of hell will not prevail against” the church, so as a matter of faith we can affirm that God has always had a people throughout history. (See Romans 11:2-5.) He has always had a church. The apostolic church as defined by the experience and message of the Scriptures has never entirely faded away. This belief does not mean that as a matter of history we can necessarily identify a fully apostolic group known by a particular name at every decade throughout the hundreds of years of church history. It does not mean we can trace an unbroken historical succession of an organization or series of organizations. It does not mean that at every point in time a group of people taught every doctrine we believe to be biblical. We can find in various centuries, however, people who baptized in Jesus’ name, people who received the Holy Spirit with the sign of tongues, and people who enunciated various doctrines that we think are important to being truly apostolic. At some times, great numbers of people adhered to the apostolic faith; at other times, perhaps just a handful did so. For certain decades we may not have a historical record of anybody who was identical to the apostles in experience and teaching. But as a matter of faith, even when there may be historical gaps, we can affirm that 12 A History of Christian Doctrine God had a people born of water and the Spirit, believers 6 who experienced biblical salvation. 3. A circular pattern. We can discern a trend of events in church history, and we can represent it by a circle. The church began with great evangelistic growth, with a great burst of power and fervor as recorded in the Book of Acts. Then came a gradual falling away into false doctrine, and as this falling away intensified, for the most part the visible church fell into apostasy, having little or no real experience with God. This apostasy was not permanent, at least not in a historical sense. Over the centuries, particularly after the medieval period, we find a step-by-step restoration of various doctrines, beliefs, and experiences, returning closer to the original apostolic pattern. It is not entirely accurate to say “the church” was restored, because the true church as defined by apostolic experience is what it is. The apostolic message has always been the same; the true church of God has always been defined in the same way. In that sense the church never needs to be restored. If there were people in a certain century who were filled with the Spirit, then they did not need restoration to that experience. When we speak about restoration, we mean a renewed understanding of certain doctrines and a widespread acceptance of certain works of God. Perhaps we can say the church has been renewed or revived (restored to health and vigor). The church has always existed since the Day of Pentecost, but the visible or professing church has not always kept the teachings of God’s Word. In some cases, the professing church structure, the majority, the mainstream, has gone into error, heresy, or perhaps even apostasy. 13 The Study of Doctrine in Church History The process of doctrinal decline and restoration is the circular pattern we can discern. We can identify various doctrines that have followed such a trend: the apostolic church taught them with fervor; they fell into disfavor, were ignored, or were contradicted over the centuries; and then gradually more people returned to those doctrines. To generalize, historically speaking in Christendom we find a great falling away, an entering into apostasy, and then, at least among some professing Christians, a gradual restoration to more biblical doctrines. In the twentieth century there came a great revival of apostolic doctrine and experience, with multitudes accepting the full gospel message of baptism in Jesus’ name and the baptism of the 7 Holy Spirit. There are possible scriptural indications of this cyclic pattern, this falling away and gradual restoration. Isaiah 28:10-12 speaks of truth being built line upon line, precept upon precept. Joel 2:23-28 depicts various pests destroying the people and work of God but promises that gradually God will restore everything these pests have eaten. Revelation 2 and 3 may provide a similar indication. It is important to recognize that this passage speaks of seven literal churches in the first century who had the problems described. But it seems clear that God inspired these letters for inclusion in the text of Scripture because these churches represent typical problems that can occur throughout church history. We can receive instruction today from the examples, problems, and recommendations for each of the seven churches. Some commentators view these seven churches as 14 A History of Christian Doctrine indicative in some way of the overall trend in church history. They note a burst of fervor initially (Ephesus and Smyrna), some falling away and compromise (Ephesus and Pergamos), a greater encroachment of false doctrine (Thyatira), widespread apostasy (Sardis), and then a great restoration along with continued apostasy before the coming of the Lord (Philadelphia and Laodicea). When we integrate the three major themes that we have discussed, we conclude that the New Testament experience of salvation has always existed somewhere upon the earth. We cannot find a strict apostolic succession in the sense of historical figures or a continuous stream of pastors and leaders, so we cannot say that a particular organization is identical to the New Testament church as a matter of historical linkage. But we can make a partial argument for doctrinal succession. That is, we can find various groups in church history who received the basic New Testament experience of salvation as described in the Book of Acts. When a group had essentially the same fundamental doctrine as found in the New Testament, we can consider it an apostolic church, or a New Testament church. In that sense, we can make somewhat of an argument of doctrinal succession throughout history. We cannot fill every gap, but we can find enough groups at different places and times scattered throughout history to give us confidence that God has 8 always had a people since the founding of the New Testament church. In this sense, the church is continuous. Difficulties in Reconstructing Church History There are several difficulties in trying to reconstruct church history. We cannot always know with absolute 15 The Study of Doctrine in Church History certainty what ancient people believed about every point in question. Here are some reasons why. 1. Bias can affect writers and historians. Every doctrinal writer and church historian has his own presuppositions, which can affect his objectivity. Early writers were no exception. It was only natural for them to tend to slant things in their favor, sometimes deliberately and sometimes unconsciously. When they described the doctrine of someone they disagreed with, they often made it look foolish or illogical, because to them it was. Sometimes they simply did not understand a point their opponents made. History is written by the victors. Whenever there were clashes in history, the people who won usually were the ones who left the record of what happened. Often the views of a minority are preserved only in the writings of their opponents. To see the difficulty here, we can imagine trying to understand and assess the Pentecostal movement solely by reading the documents of critics and skeptics. How accurately could some define the doctrine of Oneness, or explain the experience of the Holy Spirit baptism, if all he had were records of opponents who castigated, smeared, and misrepresented these teachings, whether intentionally or not? We should also note that there is doctrinal bias among church historians today. We cannot evaluate church history simply by reading church historians. We must go back to the primary sources themselves and look at them from our perspective. Of course, another historian would say we have a bias, but at least we try to establish the “bias” of our doctrinal position from the Bible. We cannot depend totally on writings from church historians who 16 A History of Christian Doctrine come with a different doctrinal perspective. Instead, we must read the original historical sources as much as possible to see what the writers said for themselves. By examining these writings from our point of view, we may uncover information, evidence, or possibilities that other 9