Church History / Ancient Church

  • Separation of Church and State by Nick Needham

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2011

    Western Europe was shaken to the heart in the eleventh century by the investiture conflict. It saw kings humbled by popes, popes driven out by kings, wars between armies, dissensions within the church, and, ultimately, a new Europe. A theological …Read More

  • Y1K by Keith Mathison

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2010

    As the end of the tenth century approached and the year 1000 loomed closer and closer, how did Christians react? Were they convinced that the end was near? Was there fear? Hope? A mixture of both? In the nineteenth century …Read More

  • High Crimes and Misdemeanors by Carl Trueman

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2010

    Some years ago I caused no little consternation when I was invited to speak at a church on the nature of ministry and started my lecture by declaring that it really did not matter if the pastor was an adulterer …Read More

  • Revival & Repentance: From Cluny to Simeon by Nick Needham

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2010

    In the ninth century, Christian civilization had almost been destroyed in western Europe by the Norse invasions. Unlike today’s benign neo-pagans, Vikings were ferocious, skull-cracking warriors who burnt down churches, slaughtered clergy and monks, and raped nuns. The tenth …Read More

  • No Place for Heresy by C. FitzSimons Allison

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2010

    One of the best examples of reform is that which occurred at Cluny in the tenth century in southern France following the darkest times of the Western church after the fall of Rome (see Nick Needham’s article above for …Read More

  • Setting the Stage: The First Millennium by R.C. Sproul

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2010

    Volumes have been written giving detailed analyses of the extraordinary things that occurred in the first thousand years of church history, events that influenced everything that came after them. In this brief overview, I’m going to look at five …Read More

  • Daily Confession, Enduring Reform by Burk Parsons

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2010

    I have a friend who is a Roman Catholic. Not too long ago he went to “confession,” after which he told me, with tears welling up in his eyes, he felt “clean like a new born baby.” Confession is an …Read More

  • Our Fourth-Century Fathers by George Grant

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2004

    Like America’s Founding Fathers, the Patristics are often invoked but seldom actually read. They are often referenced but seldom actually quoted. Though they are at the heart of the traditionalist sloganeering, they have in fact, only rarely actually contributed …Read More

  • Contra Mundum by Ken Jones

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2004

    As illustrated in other articles in this issue, the fourth century was a very interesting time in the history of the church. Having undergone a great deal of persecution as a despised religion in the eyes of Rome, the conversion …Read More

  • The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly by Gene Edward Veith

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2004

    The Edict of Milan in A.D. 313 legalized Christianity. Toleration of this new faith in Rome was not a gradual development. It happened suddenly, right after some of the most brutal persecutions of Christians. Soon, Roman officials were kissing …Read More

  • Not One Iota by Rick Gamble

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2004

    While on earth, our Lord confirmed that He and the Father are one (John 10:30). On the other hand, He asked, “Why do you call me good, no one but my Father is good?” (Mark 10:18). Putting those …Read More

  • A Pivotal Era by John Hannah

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2004

    It was a remarkable century. What began as the “Era of the Martyrs” under Diocletian ended with the emergence of Christianity as the religion within the empire. The fortunes of the church quickly passed from the realm of the marginalized …Read More

  • “Who do you say that I am?” by R.C. Sproul

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2004

    “In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The introductory segment of the prologue of the gospel of John was the most carefully examined text of the New Testament for the …Read More

  • Out with the New, In with the Old by Burk Parsons

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2004

    I love old things. I love old furniture, old cars, and old houses, but I especially love old books — old, dusty books. And I don’t know about you, but dust makes me sneeze. Recently, my wife and I were …Read More

  • Truly God, Truly Man: The Council of Chalcedon by Nick Needham

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2005

    It’s hard enough to pronounce “Chalcedon.” Getting to grips with its theology can be even more daunting. But the effort will be very richly rewarded. For the past 1,500 years, right up to the present day, virtually all …Read More