Church History – Unmasking Sophistry

The Restoration Movement

Andy Sochor | Kentucky, USA Earlier in this series, we discussed the Reformation Movement. This movement set out to reform the Roman Catholic Church in order to correct the errors and abuses that had developed over the centuries. While the intention of the reformers may have been good, the unintended result of their efforts was the formation of countless

The Early Reformation

Andy Sochor | Kentucky, USA The four previous articles in this series focused on the apostasy that led to the development of the Roman Catholic Church. This was the product of the mindset that Paul warned the brethren in Thessalonica about: “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus

The Union of Church and State

By Andy Sochor In our previous article, we discussed the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. This was a gathering of church leaders from across the Roman Empire who came together to discuss various issues that were affecting the church at that time. This first ecumenical council was called by Constantine, who ruled as emperor

The Development of Papal Power

By Andy Sochor | Kentucky, USA The pope is arguably the most influential religious figure in the world today. Yet there was a time when the one who occupied this office was even more powerful than the current pope. He would not only be the highest-ranking member of the Roman Catholic Church, but he would

The Council of Nicea

By Andy Sochor | Kentucky, USA In this article, we will primarily discuss the first ecumenical council that occurred in Nicea in 325 AD. It was a gathering of church leaders from across the Roman Empire who came together to discuss certain controversial issues and come to a consensus on the church’s “official” position on

The Beginning of Apostasy

By Andy Sochor | Kentucky, USA As we noticed in the previous article, the early Christians often faced severe persecution for the cause of Christ. While many abandoned their faith in order to avoid these persecutions, there were others who remained faithful even to the point of death. Because of this, the enemies of the

The Protestant Reformation Movement

By Emmanuel Oluwatoba | Niger, Nigeria Introduction Up until the year 1500, the Roman Catholic Church was very powerful both politically and religiously. During this period, the Roman Catholic Church had been seen as an institution plagued by internal power struggles. Popes and cardinals lived like kings having temporal and spiritual power; they commanded armies,

The First Great Awakening

By Emmanuel Oluwatoba | Niger, Nigeria Introduction The Great Awakening was a movement that started between the 1730s and 1740s. Around this time, passion for religion started to wax cold. As a counter to this trend, the Great Awakening gave listeners a sense of personal guilt and the need for salvation through a series of

Jesus Built His Church

By Andy Sochor | Kentucky, USA With this article, we are beginning a new series that will continue over the next several issues in which we will be taking a broad look at “church history.” We will discuss the changes that took place after the time of the apostles, the rise of the Catholic Church,

The Church at the End of the First Century

By Andy Sochor | Kentucky, USA As we noticed in the previous article under this section, Jesus promised to build His church (Matthew 16:18) and it was established on the day of Pentecost following His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension into heaven (Acts 2). As Paul explained, the Lord’s church was “built on the foundation