Spiritual Condition of the Church circa 1400
Heresies Confronted
1. Gnosticism. Denied Christ’s humanity. Up to 90 A.D.
2. Marcionism. Rejected Old Testament as Christian Scripture. 144 A.D.
3. Manichaeism. Similar to Gnosticism. 242 A.D.
4. Arianism. Christ is a created being and not God by nature. 320 A.D.
5. Nestorianism. Mary birthed only the human part of Jesus. 428 A.D.
6. Pelagianism. Man can achieve salvation by works. 431 A.D. Development of the Creeds
1. The Creeds were developed to address heresies and to establish Biblical support for Christian Doctrine.
2. The Apostles Creed. 197 A.D.
3. The Nicene Creed. 325 – 381 A.D.
4. The Athanasian Creed. Circa 367 A.D. (An element of the debate of the Nicene Creed by Athanasius.) Early Bible Translations
1. Original languages of the Bible were Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.
2. Jerome translated the entire Bible into Latin by 404 A.D. Often referred to as the Latin Vulgate.
3. The Bible was translated into 13 other languages by 500 A.D.
4. Bede translated the Gospel of John into English in 720 A.D.
5. Cyril & Methodius translated the Bible into Slavic in 861 A.D.
6. Wycliffe translated the entire Bible into English in 1382 A.D. Worship & Music
1. The Latin Mass was developed over time to become the standard Sunday worship experience. The Mass was intended to allow the worshippers to join Christ in His suffering and death. The Lord’s Supper was included and the laity were served only the Bread. The Priest server also was served the wine.
2. Music, as an art form, was strongly encouraged by the Church. Christian music compositions were flourishing at this time, especially by Italian composers. Gregorian chants were very popular and wide spread. Just prior to the Reformation, male choruses and boys choirs became a norm in worship and in special spiritual holidays. The Mendicants
1. There were numerous monastic movements in the first 1500 years of the Church. They were typically formed to serve God in a specific manner and submitted to a vow of poverty.
2. St. Anthony Monastery. Egypt in 300 A.D.
3. Benedictines. Monte Cassino, Italy in 529 A.D.
4. Cistercians. Bernard of Clairvaux in France, 1115 A.D.
5. Augustinians. Spain, circa 1200 A.D.
6. Franciscans. St. Francis of Assisi in Italy, 1209 A.D.
7. Dominicans. St. Dominic in France, 1206 A.D.
8. Jesuits (Society of Jesus). Ignatius Loyola in France, 1540 A.D.
9. The Monastic Movement was an important place where Christian Doctrine and piety were preserved. Important Theologians Prior to 16th Century
1. Origen of Alexandria, 185 – 254 A.D.
2. Augustine of Hippo, 354 – 430 A.D.
3. Thomas Aquinas, Italy, 1225 – 1274 A.D.
4. Thomas a Kempis, Germany and Netherlands, 1380 – 1471 A.D. Church Leadership Abuses
1. The Church, through the position of the Pope, declared supremacy over secular rulers including Kings.
2. Church Leaders at all levels assumed various positions of temporal authority politically and economically. Many owned land and became economically powerful. The Church actually raised armies and colluded with other political authorities in warfare. This came to final fruition in the Thirty Years War (1818 – 1848).
3. Popes, Cardinals, Bishops and even some Priests lived in luxury which was in direct contradiction to their vows of poverty.
4. Popes, Cardinals and Bishops routinely violated their celibacy vows and fathered many children.
5. By the 14th and 15th Centuries, Cardinal and Bishop positions were routinely bought and sold as lucrative economic commodities.
6. As a result of the above items, the Vatican, where the Pope resided, grew into a significant political power. Massive amounts of money flowed into the Vatican from all over Europe and fostered resentment, particularly from political leaders in Northern Europe. Evangelical Disagreement with Roman Catholic Doctrine
1. The Apocrypha. Both Evangelicals and Catholics agree that the original 66 books of the Bible are “Inspired”. In 1546, Catholics declared the Apocrypha to be “Inspired” and included in the canon of Scripture.
2. Scriptural Authority. Evangelicals declare that scripture alone contains authority for Christian Doctrine. Catholics give equal weight to “tradition” which includes all Papal declarations and results from Church Councils.
3. Infallibility. Papal pronouncements when “officially” declared are accepted as Catholic Church doctrine. 1870.
4. Justification. Evangelicals say justification is by Faith alone. Catholics say that certain works also justify the sinner. 5. Sacraments. Catholics declare that seven sacraments must be observed. Most Evangelicals observe only two sacraments, Baptism and The Lord’s Supper. The seven are:
- Baptism - The Lord’s Supper - Penance (or Confession) - Confirmation (of Baptismal Vows) - Marriage - Holy Orders (including Ordination) - Extreme Unction
6. Ecclesiology. The Roman Catholic Church declares that they are the only true, visible Church. Evangelicals declare that the only true Church is invisible and includes believers in Jesus Christ. 7. Mariology. Catholics believe that Mary remained perpetually a virgin. Evangelicals stress the Scriptural references to the brothers and sisters of Jesus to refute that belief. Later, the Catholic Church declared Mary sinless and co – redemptress with Christ.
8. Purgatory. Catholics declare when a believer dies, he/she goes to a place to be purified before entering Heaven. Evangelicals say believers go to heaven when they die.