Church History

James White, my elder and friend, is someone I greatly admire and look up to. He has positively affected me in numerous areas, one of the greatest being apologetics. He has said many times: "Two fields of study have best equipped me for apologetics: the study of the Biblical languages, and Church History."

I have always been passionate about defending the faith. For as long as I can remember I have had the desire to adequately defend the faith to the best of my ability. Learning Biblical Greek, and now, Church History will further aid me in fulfilling Peter's charge in 1 Peter 3:15.

Other than small bits and pieces, I am not very knowledgable when it comes to Church History. I've decided to start reading the great church historian, Philip Schaff's The History of the Christian Church, Vol 1-8. This massive work covers from the time of Christ until the late nineteenth century. After finishing his introduction, Schaff explains that he believes history has two aspects: divine and human. He argues that it is impossible to rightly understand history without considering God's providence in His Church, and our human perspective.

Still in the intro, I found Schaff's comments on the perseverance of the Church to be encouraging:

Christianity has thus passed through many stages of its earthly life, and yet has hardly reached the period of full manhood in Christ Jesus. During this long succession of centuries it has outlived the destruction of Jerusalem, the dissolution of the Roman empire, fierce persecutions from without, and heretical corruptions from within, the barbarian invasion, the confusion of the dark ages, the papal tyranny, the shock of infidelity, the ravages of revolution, the attacks of enemies and the errors of friends, the rise and fall of proud kingdoms, empires, and republics, philosophical systems, and social organizations without number. And, behold, it still lives, and lives in great strength and wider extent than ever; controlling the progress of civilization, and the destinies of the world; marching over the ruins of human wisdom and folly, ever forward and onward; spreading silently its heavenly blessings from generation to generation, and from country to country, to the ends of the earth. It can never die; it will never see the decrepitude of old age; but, like its divine founder, it will live in the unfading freshness of self-renewing youth and the unbroken vigor of manhood to the end of time, and will outlive time itself. Single denominations and sects, human forms of doctrine, government, and worship, after having served their purpose, may disappear and go the way of all flesh; but the Church Universal of Christ, in her divine life and substance, is too strong for the gates of hell. She will only exchange her earthly garments for the festal dress of the Lamb's Bride, and rise from the state of humiliation to the state of exaltation and glory. Then at the coming of Christ she will reap the final harvest of history, the eternal sabbath of holiness and peace. This will be the endless end of history, as it was foreshadowed already at the beginning of its course in the holy rest of God after the completion of his work of creation (Schaff, Vol 1, Pg. 19-20).

I am encouraged.