Archive for Church History
Art or Idols?
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">RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! -- Jon ClaytonIf we aren’t careful our traditions can become our idols, and rooting them out may be hazardous to the church’s health. This was the case in Eastern Christianity’s infamous iconoclast controversy.
During Medieval times, Christians began worshiping and praying to saints, a practice that gradually led to the prominence of icons—flat pictures representing Christ, Mary, or some other saint. While Christian art has edified believers since the days of the catacombs, the Eastern church began worshiping these images. The pictures were reverently kissed. Incense was offered before them. Prayers were rendered to them. Some icons reputedly possessed miracle-working powers.
The Byzantine emperor Leo III was repelled by the worship of icons, perhaps because his political enemies, the Jews and the Moslems, accused him of heading an empire of idolaters. In 726 he outlawed image worship and soon thereafter ordered the destruction of icons everywhere. But image worship had become so entrenched in the Byzantine church that his edicts were viewed as attacks on Christianity itself. An uprising raged through his empire, and many died. Pope Gregory in Rome ridiculed the emperor and held two synods condemning Leo’s iconoclasm (icon-breaking).
Leo’s son, Constantine V, continued his father’s war against icons with vigor. He convened a church council in Constantinople, attended by 360 bishops. The council, citing the second commandment, denounced icons as idols and declared all religious paintings and sculpture as pagan. Their use in public and private worship was forbidden. The council’s decree was carried out with intensity, and sacred images were smashed, destroyed, painted over, and burned. Fifty thousand icon-producing monks fled or perished. For the next 89 years, the icon controversy seesawed back and forth, tearing the church, ripping its unity, and providing it with a new crop of dubious martyrs.
The persecution ended only after the death of Emperor Theophilus, the last great iconoclast, in 842. On March 11, 843 icons were formally sanctioned and reintroduced in all Eastern Orthodox churches. This day, the so-called “Triumph of Orthodoxy,” has been commemorated in Eastern congregations around the world for over 1,000 years.
Morgan, R. J. 2000, c1997. On this day : 365 amazing and inspiring stories about saints, martyrs & heroes (electronic ed.). Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville
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Amazing Grace
Posted by: | CommentsIt took John Newton to write the hymn Amazing Grace. “Let me not fail to praise that grace that could pardon,” he said, “such sins as mine.”
Newton had gone to sea at age 11, apprenticed on his father’s ship. He spent his teen years learning to be profane, irreligious, and indulgent. Female slaves being transported from Africa were at Newton’s disposal, and even seasoned sailors were alarmed at his corruption.
Newton’s life angered his father and disgusted his friends, and he was finally pressed into service for the British Navy. He deserted, but was arrested, stripped, and flogged. He became the property of a slave trader in Sierra Leone, who gave him to his sadistic mistress. John became a loathsome toy she tormented for over a year.
He finally boarded ship for Britain. On March 9, as he carelessly read a Christian book to pass the time, the thought came to him, “What if these things are true?” He snapped the book closed and shook off the question.
I went to bed in my usual indifference, but was awakened by a violent sea which broke on us. Much of it came down below and filled the cabin where I lay. This alarm was followed by a cry that the ship was going down. We had immediate recourse to the pumps, but the water increased against all our efforts. Almost every passing wave broke over my head. I expected that every time the vessel descended into the sea, she would rise no more. I dreaded death now, and my heart foreboded the worst, if the Scriptures, which I had long since opposed, were true.
The vessel survived the March 10, 1748 storm, and Newton began earnestly studying the Bible. He embraced Christ and eventually entered the ministry, becoming one of England’s best-loved preachers and a leader in the fight against slavery. He once recalled, That tenth of March is a day much remembered by me; and I have never suffered it to pass unnoticed since the year 1748—the Lord came from on high and delivered me out of deep waters.
Morgan, R. J. 2000, c1997. On this day : 365 amazing and inspiring stories about saints, martyrs & heroes (electronic ed.). Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville
Sam Jones vs. Sam Jones
Posted by: | CommentsJohn J. Jones felt God calling him into the ministry, but he resisted, choosing instead the profession of law. His son followed in his footsteps. Young Sam Jones proved a brilliant attorney at first. But alcoholism quickly ruined his life and reduced him to shoveling coal. He was on a drinking binge when he heard of his father’s illness. He rushed home, and the old lawyer became a preacher at last, saying, “My poor, wicked, wayward, reckless boy. You have brought me down in sorrow to my grave. Promise me, my boy, to meet me in heaven.”
Sam fell to his knees and promised, then he flew to a bar and begged for a glass of liquor. But as he started to drink it, he saw himself in the mirror. Hair matted. Filth and vomit on his clothes. Lips swollen. He smashed the glass on the floor and gave his life to Jesus Christ. A week later, he preached his first sermon.
Jones became the most famous evangelist of the nineteenth century, save for Moody. He held crusades in major cities throughout America, winning an estimated 500,000 people to Christ. His most unusual revival began on March 5, 1899, in Toledo, Ohio. The mayor of Toledo was also named Sam Jones. Mayor Jones introduced Evangelist Jones on the revival’s opening night. The next mayoral election was only a month away, and he enjoyed the exposure. But he didn’t enjoy what Evangelist Jones had to say, for the preacher lost no time in attacking the mayor’s policies. There were 700 saloons and 150 gambling dens in Toledo, and city administrators were unconcerned about it. The evangelist said that if the devil were mayor of Toledo, he wouldn’t change a thing. He flailed away at alcohol and sin. He lifted high the cross, and preached with the zeal of a lawyer trying to save his client from the gallows. Men wept. Women groaned. Children were spellbound. The seats were packed night after night. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, were converted during the Toledo meetings.
But the mayor won reelection the next month by a huge margin.
Morgan, R. J. 2000, c1997. On this day : 365 amazing and inspiring stories about saints, martyrs & heroes (electronic ed.). Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville
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A Practical Examination
Posted by: | CommentsThe sailing of the mission ship Duff was an event to remember. Thirty missionaries and their families set out from England to the South Pacific in August 1796. The morning was foggy, but the crowds were celebrative, singing hymns and offering prayers. The ship crossed the horizon and seven months later, on Saturday, March 4, 1797, the missionaries landed safely on Tahiti. The next day they held a worship service, then set to work.
The Duff’s captain, a Christian, was entrusted with the responsibility of seeing the missionaries established on various islands in the region. After several weeks on Tahiti, he felt secure enough to leave some of the workers there and take others to neighboring islands. He planted ten missionaries on Tonga, then proceeded to the islands of the Marquises to deposit two men, William Crook and John Harris.
But an unexpected problem arose, one that their theological and missions training had not equipped the preachers to handle. No sooner had the ship anchored than beautiful naked native women swam out to welcome the missionaries. Crook and Harris nervously bundled their things and went ashore.
Such curious crowds met the two that Crook became separated from Harris and found himself alone with the chief’s wife. To his horror, she immediately began seeking his attentions. When he refused, she seemed bewildered. As it turned out, she wondered if he was, in fact, a man. Resolving to find out, she and a mob of other women attacked Harris during the night and conducted a “practical examination” to clear up the matter.
The Duff’s crew found Harris sitting on the beach the next morning, suffering from shock, humiliated, and very anxious to leave. The work in the Marquises was abandoned. The work on Tonga proceeded with difficulty. The Tahiti mission showed more promise and eventually led to many conversions.
Morgan, R. J. 2000, c1997. On this day : 365 amazing and inspiring stories about saints, martyrs & heroes (electronic ed.). Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville
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The Counter-Reformation
Posted by: | CommentsChurches and denominations, like houses and hearts, need periodic cleaning and occasional renovation. Luther’s response to the deterioration of the 16th-century church sparked not only the Protestant Reformation, but the Catholic Counter-Reformation, efforts within the Roman church to repair itself. On December 13, 1545 Pope Paul III convened a council in the northern Italian city of Trent, attended at first by only 34 leaders. The several sessions lasted from 1545 to 1563. Participants included Jesuits and scholars, political leaders desiring reunification with Protestants, and clergymen, some desiring reform, others wanting none of it.
The widespread sale of indulgences (which had inflamed Luther) was modified, and many measures were passed to correct and protect the morality of clergymen and church leaders. The doctrines of the church were also reexamined in light of emerging Protestant theology. In most cases, the council reaffirmed traditional medieval doctrines. Protestant views of the Lord’s Supper were dismissed, and transubstantiation upheld (the belief that the wine and bread of the Lord’s Supper become the very body of Christ). The council affirmed Latin as the proper language for the Mass, and it disagreed with Luther on making the Bible available in the common languages. It also rejected the Reformer’s cry of Scripture Alone. Church tradition, said the council, joins Scripture as a source of divine authority for believers.
On this day in Christian history, March 3, 1547, the council began affirming the seven sacraments of the church, all of them, it said, necessary for salvation: Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Orders, and Matrimony. The Protestant view of two divine ordinances—baptism and the Lord’s Supper—was rejected.
The Council of Trent is one of the most important events in Reformation history, establishing the tone and doctrine of the Catholic Church for the next 400 years, and providing a basis for reformation within the Roman church. Not until the 1960s at Vatican II did another major reexamination take place.
Morgan, R. J. 2000, c1997. On this day : 365 amazing and inspiring stories about saints, martyrs & heroes (electronic ed.). Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville
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Council of Constance
Posted by: | CommentsThe Great Schism is a term describing two events in church history. The first is the breach between the eastern and western churches that occurred in 1054. The second is the sad period from 1378 to 1417 during which rival popes claimed to rule Christendom. In 1414 one of the claimants, Pope John XXIII, called together a church council in the city of Constance to end this schism.
John packed the conference with his followers, and he felt he would be affirmed as sole pope. As he approached Constance, he said, “Ha, this is the place where foxes are trapped.” He entered the city on a white horse accompanied by 1,600 troops. The excitement was breathtaking. Constance swelled with as many as 100,000 visitors from across Europe, including princes, musicians, and prostitutes. So many people bathed in the city’s lake that 500 drownings were reported.
But John’s smugness quickly faded. The proceedings were dominated by an overriding desire to restore church unity. The council, to John’s surprise, wanted to replace all three popes and elect a new one from scratch. When documents began circulating questioning his fitness for office, John became frightened. On March 2, 1415 he appeared before the council and said, I, John XXIII, a pope, promise and obligate myself, vow and swear—here he dramatically rose from his seat and fell on his knees—before God, the Church, and this holy council to give peace to the Church by abdication, provided the pretenders, Benedict and Gregory, do the same.
Constance erupted in joy, church bells pealing, people weeping and laughing and shouting. John, fearing for his life, fled Constance disguised in a gray coat and hat. But the council tracked him down, returned him to Constance, condemned him for scandalous conduct, and officially deposed him. In time, it successfully ended the Great Schism.
But John XXIII wasn’t the council’s only victim. The same assembly attacked so-called heretics like John Wycliffe and Jon Hus. When Hus himself came to Constance under promise of safe conduct, he was imprisoned, condemned, and handed over to secular authorities to be burned at the stake.
Morgan, R. J. 2000, c1997. On this day : 365 amazing and inspiring stories about saints, martyrs & heroes (electronic ed.). Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville
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Passing the Flame
Posted by: | Comments“How long, O God, shall darkness cover this kingdom?”
Patrick Hamilton’s dying words haunted George Wishart, only son of distinguished James Wishart of Pitarrow, Scotland. George was tall, dark-haired, good-looking, pleasant, and eager to both learn and teach. He believed that God’s way of salvation was through the finished work of Christ alone. Those Reformation beliefs put him at risk. In 1544 he began preaching in Dundee from the book of Romans. Among his listeners was a young man named John Knox. Knox was struck with Wishart and began serving as his bodyguard, carrying a two-handed sword.
Archbishop David Beaton brutally sought to repress Protestants, and as Wishart’s arrest grew more certain, Knox asked to remain at his side. “No” said Wishart, embracing the younger man. “One is sufficient for a sacrifice at this time.” On the morning of March 1, 1546, Wishart was led to the stake, where he told the crowds, “I exhort you, love the Word of God and suffer patiently. I know surely that my soul shall sup with my Savior this night.” He was then strangled and his body burned to ashes.
His death enraged Knox and all of Scotland, and within two months Archbishop Beaton was assassinated. Knox wasn’t among the murderers, but he vowed not to rest till Scotland was Protestant. It proved a costly vow, for Knox was soon imprisoned on a galley ship, chained to the oars with a whip to his back. He labored to exhaustion with no hope of release.
He was eventually released, and in years to come Knox took Scotland by storm, provoking rulers, inciting riots, demanding change. He prayed down the wrath of heaven on his nemesis, Mary, Queen of Scots. He was called the “Thundering Scot,” and as he aged his visage darkened. The years took their toll on both his health and his patience. He died exhausted, perhaps embittered, in 1572.
But his efforts inspired Scots for years to come, and the Reformation triumphed in their land at last.
Morgan, R. J. 2000, c1997. On this day : 365 amazing and inspiring stories about saints, martyrs & heroes (electronic ed.). Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville
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