25-1026sc - Detailed Summary

The class begins with the teacher, Scott, noting that it’s time to start and explaining that he is covering for Steve, who is preaching elsewhere in Toledo Road. Scott shares his thought process on selecting the topic, mentioning he avoided his ongoing preaching series and instead chose to draw from a book on the story of the restoration by Bill Humble.

Following this, Scott leads the class in a prayer, addressing the Holy Father with thanks for the opportunity to study together. He asks for blessings on their efforts, wisdom, and understanding of history, specifically God’s history and the unfolding of His plan from the time of Christ to the present day. The prayer seeks help in recognizing their place in this history, becoming God’s people, and conforming more closely to Jesus, concluding in Jesus' name.

Scott shares his personal background, noting that he grew up in the church but was not baptized until his early 20s, specifically at age 23. Despite years of exposure to extraordinary preachers and guest speakers, it was not until taking a Western Civilization class at Tri-C that he first encountered the term "Campbellites," which surprised him as the class covered the significant role of Christianity in influencing Western culture and history up to the Reformation.

The professor mentioned another movement post-Reformation, referring to Campbellites and asking if anyone wanted to discuss it further, but no one, including Scott, knew what it meant, so it was skipped. Scott explains that this refers to the Restoration Movement, influenced by Alexander and Thomas Campbell, often called the Stone and Campbell Movement. He emphasizes that Churches of Christ today are not a direct continuation of the first-century church in Jerusalem but a restoration of it, without a unbroken line through history. Believing otherwise bases faith on tradition rather than apostolic tradition in the New Testament.

Scott stresses the importance of history, referencing Bill Hackett’s The Truth Project, where history is a key tour, and cites Isaiah 46:9-11, urging remembrance of God’s deeds as He declares the end from the beginning. He mentions other passages and the story of the 12 memorial stones from the Israelites' exodus as examples of God commanding remembrance. Del’s presentation warns against historical revisionism as part of a cosmic battle between truth and lies, where humans resist a sovereign God to control their destiny, propagating self-determination as a pernicious lie.

Historical revisionism manipulates people by rewriting the past to alter present beliefs, seen in current culture and politics. Scott concludes that present beliefs are based on past beliefs, making it easier to influence the future by changing perceptions of history. Thus, knowing true history is crucial, and the Churches of Christ arose from historical events prompting a new scriptural view. He begins outlining church history from the first century, starting with origins in Jesus' life (circa 4 B.C. to 30 A.D.), teachings, death, and resurrection, noting Jesus lived about the first third of the first century.

Scott continues by noting that Jesus' followers, initially Jewish, believed Him to be the Messiah and Son of God, with the apostles, especially Peter and Paul, spreading teachings post-resurrection, as detailed in Acts—Peter in the first part and Paul in the second. Extrabiblical sources indicate Peter and Paul’s deaths around A.D. 64 after the Great Fire of Rome, covering roughly the second third of the first century.

The First Jewish-Roman War began in A.D. 66, after Peter and Paul’s deaths, fulfilling fears expressed during Jesus' trial by Caiaphas, who prophesied one dying for Israel to avoid Roman revolt. Caiaphas worried Jesus as Messiah would incite rebellion against powerful Rome, but it occurred 30 years later. The Romans eventually destroyed Israel in A.D. 70, obliterating the temple as Jesus prophesied, with General Titus ensuring no two stones remained stacked. This destruction marks the third third of the first century: Jesus in the first, Peter and Paul in the second, and Roman dominance in the third, leading to Israel’s loss of nationhood until 1948.

Shifting to the second through fourth centuries, Scott describes church growth and institutionalization amid persecutions and martyrdoms. Christians faced intermittent persecutions starting under Nero in A.D. 64, when Peter and Paul were likely executed, continuing until Emperor Constantine’s Edict of Milan in A.D. 313 legalized Christianity—a period longer than the U.S. has existed as a nation.

Doctrinal developments involved early church fathers like Ignatius, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus defending orthodoxy against heresies like Gnosticism. The Nicene Creed in A.D. 325 affirmed the Trinity and Jesus' divinity against Arianism (unrelated to modern Aryan groups). Organizationally, the church developed a hierarchy with bishops, priests, and deacons in key cities like Rome, Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, and Constantinople—contrasting with the biblical model of elders, evangelists, and deacons.

Scott discusses the development of a clergy class and professional structure in the church. He notes that in A.D. 380, Emperor Theodosius I declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, which, according to Homer Halley’s handbook, was detrimental because it led to people becoming Christians for job requirements in government rather than genuine faith, resulting in an influx of non-believers influencing the church and authorities.

This shift marked a stepping stone toward Catholicism, as the church inherited the Roman government’s hierarchy, causing significant damage over time. Moving to the 5th through 15th centuries, Scott describes the rise of Catholicism over a thousand years, during which the Roman Empire split into Western and Eastern parts.

The Western Empire fell in A.D. 476 to barbarians, leading the Western church, centered in Rome, to grow under the papacy. The Eastern church, based in Constantinople and known as the Byzantine Orthodox Church, diverged in theology, liturgy, and authority, culminating in the Great Schism of 1054, splitting into Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.

In the West, under Catholic dominance, the pope became a central spiritual and temporal authority, influencing politics, with figures like Gregory the Great (590-604) strengthening papal power. Scott mentions that various religions are visible in the U.S., unlike in Europe at the time.

Monastic orders such as the Benedictines and Franciscans were created to preserve, learn, and spread Christianity. The church shaped medieval European culture, politics, and education through cathedrals, universities, and scholasticism, with Thomas Aquinas being a key figure.

Scott notes that the Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantine Empire, fell in 1453 to the Turks and Muslims, 977 years after the Western Empire’s fall in 476. This occurred 23 years short of a thousand years later and only 39 years before Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492, placing it within historical awareness for Americans.

In the 16th century, dissatisfaction with Catholic practices like indulgences (paying for better afterlife outcomes), simony (buying clergy positions), and papal authority fueled the Protestant Reformation. Humanism, the Renaissance, and the invention of the printing press encouraged critical thinking and access to scriptures, which previously were hand-copied, expensive, and inaccessible, forcing reliance on clergy interpretations.

Key figures include Martin Luther in 1517, who nailed his 95 Theses to a church in Wittenberg, Germany, criticizing indulgences and asserting salvation by faith alone, drawing from Paul’s teachings but adding "alone," which contradicts James' statement that faith alone does not save. John Calvin in the 1530s developed Reformed theology in Geneva, Switzerland, emphasizing predestination and elder governance, influencing Presbyterianism and Calvinism. Henry VIII in 1534 broke with Rome over his divorce, establishing the Anglican Church under royal control, changing little else except the head from pope to monarch, allowing vicars to marry unlike priests.

People, influenced by available scriptures post-printing press, saw discrepancies between the Roman Catholic Church and biblical teachings after 15 centuries of drift. The Reformation fractured Western Christianity into denominations like Lutherans, Calvinists, and Anglicans, leading to religious wars such as the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) and turmoil. The Catholic Counter-Reformation resisted, forbidding laypeople from reading scriptures and using force.

From the 16th to 19th centuries, another 300 years passed before the Restoration Movement emerged in the United States, not Europe. Dissatisfied religious people from Europe migrated to the New World, bringing various Protestant denominations together in America, unlike in Europe where denominations were regionally dominant (e.g., Lutherans in Germany, Calvinists in Switzerland, Anglicans in England), leading to conflicts.

In America, the exchange of ideas among denominations fostered the Restoration Movement. From 1790 to 1840, the Second Great Awakening occurred, spawning the Restoration. Scott notes the First Great Awakening was in the 1700s during revolutionary times, amid denominations.

Broader context: Catholicism remains the largest Christian body with centralized Vatican authority, focusing on tradition, sacraments, and papal leadership. Protestantism includes diverse groups like Lutherans, Reformed, Baptists, and Methodists, emphasizing scripture, faith, and varied governance. The Restoration Movement, though smaller, seeks biblical roots, influencing evangelical and non-denominational groups.

Scott concludes the class, inviting questions, and states that Churches of Christ result from scriptural influence over 20 centuries. It took over a thousand years for apostasy, and 500 years since the Reformation to struggle back to scriptures, with ongoing efforts building faith in the Word.

When the Word was unavailable, apostasy occurred; now available, change happens. Protestants were necessary for the Restoration Movement, as it built on attempts to reform the apostate church.

Scott emphasizes knowing roots to understand beliefs and the need to return to first-century sources. He hopes the class was informational, sparking further research, which is easier today. History is important, and they strive to restore the Jerusalem church.

Scott closes with a prayer, asking the Holy Father to help learn more about Him, please Him, be fruitful, and fulfill preordained purposes. He prays for them to be God’s people, in Jesus' name.