Lessons from Church History

his•to•ry  [ ˈhist(ə)rē ] : the organized and interpreted record of the socially significant human past

church [ˈchərch] : the body of believers who have been called by God to live as his people; made up of every single person who has exercised faith in Jesus Christ

I'm in the middle of my first online IBS class, Church History. Between listening to the online lectures, participating in the Moodle discussion boards, and reading the Kindle version of the textbook (Bruce Shelley's Church History in Plain Language ), it's the first class I've ever taken that doesn't require any paper.

Taught by Dr. Ray Albrektson, this class has been the highlight of my semester because it has revealed how little I know about my faith. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't clueless going in: at least I knew the difference between Martin Luther and Martin Luther King. However, by providing a century-by-century overview of the individuals and events that have shaped the church, I now have a much greater appreciation and understanding of several important truths. Here are a few.

1. Perspective is everything

When viewing events from centuries ago, it's easy to see how and where things went wrong. But, as they say, hindsight is 20/20. It's one thing to imagine yourself transported in a time machine to Medieval Europe, trying to use your 21st Century Worldview to convince the Crusaders to repent of their evil plans and abandon their quest. It's another to actually be born into that culture and see things any differently than the other 12th Century peasants. Sadly, I probably would have gone with the flow, lacking the knowledge, insight, and courage to take a stand against unbiblical practices. (Partly because I'd be illiterate, like most of society.)

2. People are screwed up

From Constantine to Calvin, from Ignatius to Innocent III, colorful characters have influenced the Church, for better or worse. And whether saints or scoundrels, these folks had serious flaws. This is evidence of the power of the gospel: the message of Christ survived some dark, shameful times to draw people to Christ, radically changing individuals, communities, and nations. Seriously, the fact that Christianity survived attacks from the Gnostics, Romans, Arians, Huns, Danes, Goths, Vikings, Franks, Muslims, Saxons, Slavs, Modernists, Nazis, and Communists (not to mention the Great Schism, the Crusades, the Inquisition, and hundreds of religious wars) is nothing less than supernatural.

3. Parallels abound

There are so many events and issues from the past two millennia that correspond to our lives today. Evangelistic movements, persecution, heresy, corruption, changed lives, church splits — the list goes on and on. For example, seeing the parallels between the Crusades and modern-day jihad helps provide understanding of the strained relationship between Islam and The West. And knowing the historical context of some church practices and doctrines helps me appreciate the traditions of my non-evangelical friends.

All that to say, I highly recommend taking this class as soon as possible. And if the reasons above aren't enough for you, maybe this will convince you: you will instantly seem smarter than you really are. For example, when somebody mentions anything about college, you can launch into a monologue explaining how universities were founded because of the sack of Constantinople causing Greek scholars to bring the writings of Aristotle to Western Europe, which inspired theologians to create institutions that used logic to prove the validity of Catholic theology. You'll be a hit at parties!

* Photo courtesy of Joseph Kranak (Flickr Creative Commons)