On to a Good Thing

Recovering our memory: Ambrose

Name: Ambrose
When: 339-397
Where: Bishop of Milan in Italy

So what?:

Ambrose was close friends with the Emperor of the western Roman Empire (essentially, today’s western Europe and north African coast). But he was also absolutely clear that the emperor was just a member of the church, rather than its head. In spiritual matters, he came under the leadership and discipline of the church.

This led to a huge confrontation in 390. Theodosius had ordered the massacring of the inhabitants of Thessalonica after the Roman governor was killed in a riot. Ambrose excommunicated him, and told him to repent. When Theodosius turned up at church the next Sunday, Ambrose wouldn’t let him in. The Emperor walked through the streets of Milan doing public penance; was banned from entering church services for eight months; and then had to kneel before the whole congregation and ask for God’s forgiveness—all of which he did.... continue reading

Recovering our memory: Athanasius

Name: Athanasius
When: 296 - 373
Where: Bishop of Alexandria in Egypt

So what?:

Athanasius lived in a time of furious arguments about exactly who Jesus was. Christians today take it for granted that the church teaches that God the Son is fully God, but distinct from the Father. But in Athanasius’ time, the church was being torn apart by disagreement on this point. There were four basic “camps”:

• “Arians” argued that Jesus was a created being, semi-divine but not God Himself.
• “Origenists” said Jesus was uncreated, but not quite as divine as God because he was of a different substance.
• “Nicenes” held that Jesus was God the Son—of the same nature (the Greek summary word they used was homoousia—same essence) as God the Father. Jesus was totally divine, but not identical to the Father.
• “Sabellianists” said that Father and Son were the same person in different appearances (a bit like a man can “look like” a father, an accountant, and a runner, at different times of his week).

Recovering our memory: Introduction

“A society without its history is like a man without his memory”, someone once told me. It would be equally true to substitute “church” for “society”.

Christianity is a historical faith—it is based on the mysterious yet historical facts of the virgin birth, the cross, and the empty tomb. Each time we read the Bible, we are reading history—living history, Spirit-applied history, but still history. In a sense, we are all historians.

But a lot of Christians have lived, died and gone to heaven in the 2,000 years or so since Christ walked this earth. The vast majority lived faithful but unremarkable lives before heading off to surround His throne. A few have been so greatly used by God that they shaped the way His people thought, worshipped and gathered in their lifetime. And a very few have shaped the church not just in their own generation, but for centuries to follow.... continue reading

Fighting the Monday feeling

“There is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.
Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
Man puts an end to the darkness;
he searches the farthest recesses
for ore in the blackest darkness.
Far from where people dwell he cuts a shaft,
in places forgotten by the foot of man;
far from men he dangles and sways.
The earth, from which food comes,
is transformed below as by fire;
sapphires come from its rocks,
and its dust contains nuggets of gold.