Semester 1, Week 05: Politics

Tonight's class examines the transition of the Church from persecuted to triumphant. Through circumstances no one could have foreseen, the Church began to enjoy favored status from the same Empire that tried to kill them off. Who or what events cause this transition? What impact did this have on the Church?

Teacher's Guide

Lecture Recording (1:15:08; 68.7 MB)

Full Picture

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Semester 1, Week 04: Persecution - The Seeds of the Church

Tonight's class completes the series on "Becoming Christian" by looking at martyrdom and persecution in early Christianity. We examine how Romans understood the role of religion in the Empire. This knowledge helped us to understand the motivations that drove local persecutions - and eventually across the Empire itself. But how did these persecutions affect the Church beyond just loss of precious lives?

Next week, we'll look at the how early Christians dealt with their new found political favor.

Teacher's Guide

Lecture Recording (1:20:58; 74.1 MB)

Semester 1, Week 03: Heresy - The Family Feud

Tonight's class continues a series on "Becoming Christian" by looking at dangerous ideas in early Christianity. We learn what Scripture teaches about heresy before looking at four specific heretical ideas. We finish up with how the Church responded and navigated the truth in a world full of ideas. There is much to learn about our times from theirs. Thank God for the help of the Holy Spirit.

Teacher's Guide

Slide Deck

Lecture Recording (1:13:02; 66.8 MB)