From Reformation to Reformation

"I don't need anything, but myself, my Bible, and the Holy Spirit"...or so it is sometimes said.  Although this sentiment has an air of super-spirituality, it is actually not Biblical.  Now, it is true, that the Bible is the only infallible source of Christian teaching, and is a fully sufficient revelation to teach the believer everything that he needs to know with respect to belief and practice in order to be pleasing to God.  It is also true, that the Holy Spirit has been given to illuminate the believers understanding of, and to soften the heart to, the teaching of Scripture.  But the ascended Lord Jesus has also blessed His Church with teaching officers, to help His people understand the Scripture.​

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Ephesians 4:8b, 11-16:  "He ascended up on high...and he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers (teaching officers); for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:  till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:  that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:  from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love."

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So, the Lord has blessed His people with the Scriptures, and with the Holy Spirit, but also with teaching officers to aid the understanding (2 Corinthians 1:24).  None of these gifts are to be despised or neglected!

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This course is a Survey of Church History, and in it we will track the development of the People of God down through the ages.  We will also have the opportunity to listen to the Church's best and brightest, holiest and most tenderhearted, teachers...some of the greatest minds in the history of the world...teach the Scripture, and wrestle with its mysteries and difficulties, so that we might better understand the Scriptures, and see Christ more clearly.  A thing of surpassing value!​

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Organizational Notes:

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This course is going to be divided into a series of lessons, and each lesson will have its own page (links below).  This present page is the "Class Page", and will serve as an index, presenting the lessons in their appropriate order.

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Every lesson will have some reading, and students can engage in discussion in the "Comments" section of the page.

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Some of the lessons will include video lectures as well.

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About the Readings:

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Readings will come from two sources:

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1.  Friedrich Aldoph Lampe's Synopsis of Sacred and Ecclesiastical History.  Frederic Adolphus Lampe (1683-1729) studied under Campegius Vitringa, and held various ministerial posts.  At Utrecht he was appointed Professor of Theology (1720), then of Church History (1726).  He departed to teach at Bremen in 1727, and died there in 1729.  Lampe was especially learned in ecclesiastical history and antiquities.  His Synopsis is clear and concise, an efficient introduction to Church History.  Valuable!

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2.  Other authors, creeds, confessions, and catechisms.  From time to time, material of this sort will be included in the "Comments" section.

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About the Lectures:

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Some lessons will include lectures, although the Lectures will not begin until the translation of Lampe's Synopsis of Sacred History is completed, and the Post-Apostolic period is begun.  It is anticipated that there will be approximately 40 Lectures in all, covering the history of the Church from the Post-Apostolic period to the present.  Lectures will usually be delivered live, every other week, on Tuesdays (6:30pm EST).  [https://www.gotomeet.me/fromreftoref]

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The lectures will also be recorded, placed on the appropriate lesson page, and indexed on this page below.