The Christian Tradition A HISTORICAL AND THEOLOGICAL INTRODUCTION PETER FELDMEIER OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION @ THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION A HISTORICAL AND THEOLOGICAL INTRODUCTION Peter Feldmeier UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO NEW YORK OXFORD OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America. © 2017 by Oxford University Press For titles covered by Section 112 of the US Higher Education Opportunity Act, please visit www.oup.com/us/he for the latest information about pricing and alternate formats. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Feldmeier, Peter. Title: The Christian tradition : a historical and theological introduction / Peter Feldmeier, University of Toledo. Description: 1 [edition]. | New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2016. Identifiers: LCCN 2015041647 (print) | LCCN 2016013125 (ebook) | ISBN 9780199374380 | ISBN 9780199374397 () Subjects: LCSH: Christianity. 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Web site: www.JohnAugustSwanson.com BRIEF CONTENTS Maps Xvi Timelines xvii Preface xix AChristian Timeline xxiii Introduction 1 CHAPTER 1 The Old Testament 10 CHAPTER 2 Jesus and the New Testament 34 CHAPTER 3 Christian Faith in the New Testament 50 CHAPTER 4 Christianity Becomes a Religion 65 CHAPTER 5 The Life of the Early Church 80 CHAPTER 6 The Imperial Church 92 CHAPTER 7 The Great Fathers and the Quest for Union CHAPTER 8 with God 110 Christianity’s Spiritual Life 129 CHAPTER 9 Expansion and Change in the East and North 147 CHAPTER 10 The Church and the Western Empire 163 CHAPTER 11 Medieval Piety and the Rise of the Universities 186 CHAPTER 12 The Renaissance 205 CHAPTER 13 The Reformation 219 CHAPTER 14 The Catholic Reformation 2237 CVnHMAArP TErRon 1i5o BAW SAGO SAV EAD 202s £4400a e The Enlightenment: From Conflict to Tolerance 251 CHAPTER 16 vi BRIEF CONTENTS Colonization and Missions 266 CHAPTER 17 Christianity in the United States to the Civil War 284 CHAPTER 18 Modern Challenges to Christianity 301 CHAPTER 19 The Rise of Evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity 319 CHAPTER 20 Modern Faith and Future Trends 332 CHAPTER 21 Glossary of Key Terms 349 Credits 361 Index 363 CONTENTS Maps xvi Timelines xvii Preface xix AChristian Timeline xxiii CHAPTER 1 Introduction 1 Introducing Christianity 2 Christian Sources: The Wesleyan Quadrilateral 3 The Bible as Authority 4 Approaches to the Bible 5 Themes of the Bible 8 CHAPTER 2 The Old Testament 10 Introduction 11 The Bible and History 12 Genesis and the Creation of the World 14 Genesis 2:4b-11:9: Adam and Eve 14 Genesis 1:1-2:4a 14 Making Sense of the Two Stories 15 Genesis and the Patriarchs (Eighteenth Century BCE) 16 Making Sense of the Patriarchs 18 Exodus (Thirteenth Century BCE) 18 Making Sense of the Exodus 20 Judges (c. 1220-1020 BCE) 20 Making Sense of the Judges 22 Monarchy (c. 1020-586 BCE) and Other Dynasties 22 Making Sense of the Monarchy 25 vii viii CONTENTS Prophets 26 Main Theological Themes and Developments in Ancient Israel 29 Law 29 Priesthood and Sacrifice 29 Polytheism to Monotheism 30 Sheol, Heaven, and Hell 30 Satan 31 Israel’s Relationship with Others 31 Conclusions 31 CHAPTER 3 Jesus and the New Testament 34 The Setting 34 The New Testament and How It Was Formed 36 The Gospels of Jesus 38 The Ministry of Jesus 40 The Gospel of Mark 42 The Gospel of Matthew 44 The Gospel of Luke 45 The Gospel ofJohn 46 Thinking about the Portraits of Jesus 47 Conclusions 47 CHAPTER 4 Christian Faith in the New Testament 50 Introduction to the Rest of the New Testament 51 Acts of the Apostles 52 The Apostle Paul (c. 5-64 CE) 54 Paul, the Early Church, and the Judaizers 54 Paul's Letters 56 Paul's Theology 57 Paul's Soteriology: How Christians Are Saved 58 The Letter to the Galatians 60 The End of Paul’s Life 61 Conclusions 62 Christianity Becomes a Religion 65 CHAPTER 5 From Judaism to Christianity 66 What Is Christianity? 67 Gnosticism 67 Proto-Orthodox Christianity 70 The Threefold Ministry 71 The Catholic Church 72 CONTENTS Persecutions 73 Apologists 75 Conclusions 77 The Life of the Early Church 380 CHAPTER 6 From Apocalyptic to Eschatological 80 Church as Center 82 Baptism 82 The Eucharist 84 Daily Gatherings 86 Moral Rigor 86 Asceticism 87 Consecrated Virginity 87 Veneration of Saints 88 Conclusions 89 The Imperial Church 92 CHAPTER 7 Constantine 93 Councils and Dogmas 95 Nicaea (325 CE) 96 Constantinople (381 CE) 97 Ephesus (431 CE) 98 Chalcedon (451 CE) 99 Christological and Trinitarian Dogmas in Brief 99 Jesus the Christ 100 The Trinity 101 Councils and the Breakup of the Patristic Church 102 Church and State 103 Patriarchal Sees 106 Conclusions 108 The Great Fathers and the Quest CHAPTER 8 for Union with God 110 Background 110 Fathers of the East 112 Origen (185-254 CE) 112 Athanasius (c. 300-373 CE) 113 The Cappadocians 114 Basil of Caesarea (330-379 CE) 114 Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 325-390 CE) 115 Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335-394 CE) 115