# Church History Timeline?



## InSlaveryToChrist (Nov 27, 2010)

Anyone know if there is a clear timeline available on church history, including *records of the DOMINANT denominations in each of the following periods*: *the Early Church* (1-300s), *Middle Ages *(400-1400s), *Early Modern *(1500-1700s), *Modern Period *(1800-1900s)

I would also like to learn about some of *the most effective preachers* and *most dramatic events* that have taken place in each of the given periods.

One more thing. I often hear Paul Washer from the HeartCry Missionary defend the FACT that Christ, not long before being betrayed by Judas and taken captive by the Roman soldiers, was terrified (sweeting drops of blood!) of drinking down the cup of the WRATH of God BY referring to the early Christian martyrs, who would WITH JOY go suffer their own torture and crucifixion for the glory of God, and shout praises to God, while being burned alive nailed upsidedown to the cross. The point that Paul Washer is making is that if Christ was actually afraid of the PHYSICAL torture he was going to get, then the fact that some early Christians could suffer with joy the cruel torture of their own bodies would make the Captain of their salvation look like a crybaby! *The only problem, however, I'm having with Washer is that I'm totally unable to find any SUCH record of martyrdom as described by him.* So, maybe you could help me find some *good resources revealing some of THE MOST CRUEL martyrdoms in the church history*, as well?

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!

In Christ,
Brother Samuel


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## TimV (Nov 27, 2010)

If Christ had the control over His body to fast 40 days I rather think that His anguish was in anticipation of something much more than physical torture. But even to whatever extent His anguish was in anticipation of the physical part, remember that none of the martyrs were dying for the sins of tens of millions of people.


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## InSlaveryToChrist (Nov 27, 2010)

TimV said:


> If Christ had the control over His body to fast 40 days I rather think that His anguish was in anticipation of something much more than physical torture. But even to whatever extent His anguish was in anticipation of the physical part, remember that none of the martyrs were dying for the sins of tens of millions of people.


 
I honestly don't believe Christ was anguished by the fear of men - that is, what men could do to him - AT ALL. Christ was in agonies seeing the fierceness of the holy wrath of the Father. Furthermore, there is no actual evidence Christ had suffered THE MOST PAINFUL physical DEATH of all times. At the period of Christ's crucifixion, people's knowledge and understanding of torture devices was relatively low to that of present day. Throughout the ages, a countless stream of Christians have been led off to the most unspeakable tortures. (And yet it is the testimony of friend and foe alike that many of them went to their death with great boldness.)


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## InSlaveryToChrist (Nov 27, 2010)

Could anyone help, please? *feeling a little ignored*


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## seajayrice (Nov 27, 2010)

Esword has Schaff’s history of the church and the church Father’s ante-nicene writings available for download at no charge. That should keep you busy.

So far as the doctrine of this person Paul Washer, I am unfamiliar with his work. If indeed he likens our Lord to a crybaby, I’d suggest you examine your reading list. Christ had weightier things on his mind than the looming physical torture although make no mistake; the Roman crucifixion has no peer so far as cruelty.


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## toddpedlar (Nov 27, 2010)

InSlaveryToChrist said:


> Could anyone help, please? *feeling a little ignored*


 
Your question might be being ignored because it asks for a very, very long and involved response, and the majority of possible responders, being in the US, are quite possibly away from their computers for the holiday weekend. At any rate, the Washer portion is simply answered. Christ was facing the Wrath of God, and knew He would actually endure it. The Christian martyrs of the first (indeed any) century knew by faith that they were NOT facing the Wrath of God. Their deaths therefore are completely incomparable. You can't glean anything about Christ's "manliness" or whatever from His actually being fearful of what He was facing by making comparison to the Christian martyrs - because they were facing totally different things in their deaths. 

You ask about the Christian martyrs - one can go immediately to Foxe's book of Martyrs to read about Christian martyrdom throughout the centuries up to Bloody Mary's reign (and beyond, if you read modern versions of Foxe, because apparently modern publishers think we can't glean enough good from Foxe's original writing and need "modern" stories). You might also read Schaff's first two volumes for more martyr stories. 

As for the most important preachers of each time period you ask about, and the most important events, I really think "most influential preachers" might not be possible or even preferable. I have no clue how we might find out who the most influential preacher of the middle ages is, for instance, or whether such knowledge would be very helpful in any way.


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## Edward (Nov 27, 2010)

InSlaveryToChrist said:


> good resources revealing some of THE MOST CRUEL martyrdoms in the church history



_Foxes Book of Martyrs_ would be a good place to start. Free download on ESword. e-Sword - the Sword of the LORD with an electronic edge

As to dominant denominations, you'd need to define what you mean by 'denominations' in the modern era. For example, depending on definitions, Roman Catholicism could be one denomination or about a dozen. Same for Eastern Orthodoxy. Anglicanism - one, two, or dozens? 'Non-denominational' Dispensational churches - one, none, or thousands? 

As for the historic areas, the time divisions should probably be from Constantine to the East-West split, Rome. From the split to the reformation, Rome and Eastern Orthodox. Post reformation, and particularly in the modern era, it's easier to split out theologies than it is to split out denominations.

And, remember, this is a major holiday weekend in the US. Many folks may be away from their computers this weekend.


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## Contra_Mundum (Nov 27, 2010)

This massive, seven volume series contains an extensive survey of preaching and preachers from the time of Moses to the end of the 20th century.
Amazon.com: The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church, Volume 2: The Patristic Age (9780802843579): Hughes Oliphant Old: Books


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## buggy (Nov 27, 2010)

Is there a good church history book for the Baptists? Not "Trail of Blood" please!


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## Contra_Mundum (Nov 27, 2010)

LTL,
Why do the Baptists need their own history book? Isn't the church-history everyone's? Warts and all?


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## christiana (Nov 27, 2010)

Our Church History instructor chose Church History Through the Centuries by Earle Cairns and did a lot of comparisons of texts before his choice. I thought it was well written and it was used by many over the past 8 yrs.

Amazon.com: Christianity Through the Centuries (9780310208129): Earle E. Cairns: Books


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## InSlaveryToChrist (Nov 27, 2010)

toddpedlar said:


> Christ was facing the Wrath of God, and knew He would actually endure it. The Christian martyrs of the first (indeed any) century knew by faith that they were NOT facing the Wrath of God. Their deaths therefore are completely incomparable. You can't glean anything about Christ's "manliness" or whatever from His actually being fearful of what He was facing by making comparison to the Christian martyrs - because they were facing totally different things in their deaths."



Are you saying the physical suffering of Christ was somehow _relatively_ greater than that of Christian martyrs [just because He _knew_ He was facing God's wrath]? I do believe Christ's torture by men was a _cause_ of God's wrath on Him, but not a _part_ of the _actual_ wrath of God that Christ had to drink down.


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## Ivan (Nov 27, 2010)

buggy said:


> Is there a good church history book for the Baptists? Not "Trail of Blood" please!


 
Leon McBeth's book may be the most comprehensive. He was a professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary when I was there. He's is no lover of Calvinism, however.

Amazon.com: The Baptist Heritage (9780805465693): H. Leon McBeth: Books


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## toddpedlar (Nov 27, 2010)

InSlaveryToChrist said:


> toddpedlar said:
> 
> 
> > Christ was facing the Wrath of God, and knew He would actually endure it. The Christian martyrs of the first (indeed any) century knew by faith that they were NOT facing the Wrath of God. Their deaths therefore are completely incomparable. You can't glean anything about Christ's "manliness" or whatever from His actually being fearful of what He was facing by making comparison to the Christian martyrs - because they were facing totally different things in their deaths."
> ...



Christ's death was of a wholly different character, as I've said, yes, because of what He was facing and because of what He deserved. No Christian martyr suffered anything except the wrath of men. Christ Himself suffered the full brunt of the wrath of God against the sins of the elect. As the perfect, spotless lamb of God Christ was wholly undeserving of any hateful act against Him - ANY death, including physical death. I can't see how anyone would argue that the two deaths are at all comparable in nature. Christ knew he'd suffer in a way the martyrs never would have to - furthermore, he was wholly undeserving of ANY anger from His Father, as He was completely and utterly sinless. Christian martyrs, on the other hand, suffered at the hands of men, and died - a death they deserved, but nothing like what they actually deserved for their sins. 

I'm not sure what you're getting at when you talk about Christ's torture being a cause of God's wrath - vs. His death being handed Him because of God's wrath. He did die, taking the punishment of sin upon Him, did he not? Then why separate the acts that put Christ to death from the fulfillment of God's punishment upon Him?


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## InSlaveryToChrist (Nov 28, 2010)

toddpedlar said:


> InSlaveryToChrist said:
> 
> 
> > toddpedlar said:
> ...


 
Could you tell me what Christ's death consists of, in your mind and understanding? Do you think the shedding of Christ's blood, which includes the physical and spiritual suffering (the shame), was all there is to it? Was this the forsaking of the Son? Was this all the curses of the law? Or was there something more that the Father did to the Son than just let the Romans rip off His flesh and put Him to open shame? I'm asking this as an ignorant man. Maybe my understanding of the true Gospel is still dimmed...

Christ's death had to be a BLOODY death, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood" and therefore "it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul" (Lev 17:11). So, according to the Scriptures, once Christ's blood was shed, the atonement was FULLY made for us? Is that correct?


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## InSlaveryToChrist (Nov 28, 2010)

At any rate, I would really like to know if Paul Washer indeed preaches another Gospel than the Reformed Faith does. I'm sure he does his evangelizing in the name of Reformed Faith, no doubt about that. Maybe I have misrepresented Washer's view, I don't know... But I would request you to read His short five-page article, "The Cross of Christ", and share your thoughts on his teachings.

Here is the link to his arcticle:
ebook Downloads - ebooks

(Scroll the page down a bit and you'll find it on the right side. Don't click the article, "The Meaning of The Cross", but the one above, "The Cross of Christ". The latter article is an expansion of the former one.)


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## rbcbob (Nov 28, 2010)

InSlaveryToChrist said:


> Anyone know if there is a clear timeline available on church history, including records of the DOMINANT denominations in each of the following periods: the Early Church (1-300s), Middle Ages (400-1400s), Early Modern (1500-1700s), Modern Period (1800-1900s)



BibleWorks has an editable, built in, Timeline in its program. Very nice!


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## graydog (Dec 3, 2010)

Here are some "timelines" and I've included some great audio links which flesh the history of Christian Orthodoxy out in a bit more detail.



Puritan John Owen Focused on Christ - Church History and Timeline - Christianity.com

General: Timelines & Charts - Bible History Links (Ancient Biblical Studies)

http://www.christiantimelines.com/

Best overall lecture series I've heard on the *first seven Eccumenical Councils* by Rev. Marcelo Souza

Some good stuff here: *Repository of Christian Church History*

It's hard to beat Schaff's *History of the Christian Church*.

Finally, Frank James III has a marvelous series on the *History of Christianity* at iTunes. FREE


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