Ancient Christian Worship By Andrew B. Mcgowan

Hagner, D., Hengel, M. & Barrett, C. (1999). Conflicts and challenges in early Christianity. Harrisburg, Pa: Trinity Press International.

“Christianity has developed into a highly ritual-filled tradition and many of its significant practices are acts of public worship associated with the sacraments.” – Living Religion, 4th edition pg. 266.

Community is a grounding principle of Black worship, understood by African-Americans as an encounter involving God, the worshiper, and the broader community. For them worship is not primarily the expression of one's private devotion to God, but is rather a community event. It is the "eschatological invasion of God into the gathered community of

They give scripture which identifies the importance of unity. Ephesians 4:14-16 shows how the body of Christ should be unified in the midst of diversity. Leaders should work extra hard to keep the church family worshipping together. The authors condemn chronological snobbery and suggest that both the young and old come together. The young generation must grow up and the older generation needs to adapt.

In Birth of a Worldview: Early Christianity in its Jewish and Pagan Context, Robert Doran attempts to analyze the development of Christianity in the early period of its formation and how it related to the Jewish and the pagan (Roman) religions throughout its development in early times. The text begins with a historical outline of the development of the early Christian world and then delves into a more theological analysis in the latter portions. The development of the book mirrors the development of Christianity itself, which was focused early on with finding ways to worship and expand the faith in a world that was very anti-Christian. Once it had become more accepted throughout the world, Christian writing and thought about

This interview will assess the participates input relative to historical or theological issues impacting the church. Special attention and analysis will be gathers in the areas of historical impacts, worship ramifications, and theological challenges for the 21st century. In this interview three major categories will be analysis: historical, theological, and ministry – philosophy will sum up this project.

Times have changed in the venerated world of those devoted so greatly to the love of the lord, yet in this change has aroused a nuance of thinking of how that love should be portrayed to the masses. Many factions have been roused and felled throughout the many ages of Christianity, many holding greater disdain for their fellow believers than even that of the infidel. In all realizing that some of these paragons of virtue have no real admiration for the religion of which they stand as advocates, but that in their lust for power they use the Church as their proxy for attaining greater strength and influence.

Over the past years of my life I have seen many changes, some for the good and others not as good. Change can be demanding and also crucial. The early believers would encounter this. One can see that significant change happened, when reading through the gospels and the book of acts it is obvious to the reader that the believers who followed Jesus would never be the same again.

A starting point exists and has always existed at the Church's radical center: in Christ. Only one agenda distinctly manifests partisanship for Christ. There exists but one banner hung over worship: a human on a cross. Jesus calls the Church to lay down, not just its burdens, but its banners as well. In Christ, lies the only context in which secular agendas can find a place in the liturgical life of the Church.

Of all the early church fathers, only a few would stand up to the story, importance and work of Athanasius. Not only did he take over as Bishop in one of the most prominent cities of ancient Rome, he had a very tumultuous life and spent many years in exile for his defense of doctrine and he steadfast approach to understanding the Trinity, specifically the relationship of Jesus Christ to the father, and remains controversial to this day. This paper will take an overall look at the life of Athanasius, his upbringing, the stage that was set for him in Alexandria, and the controversies and work that surrounded his life, and most of all, showcasing, in their time, some of his most important works that are still used almost 2000 years

St. Timothy’s, like St. Christopher’s, was an aging and dwindling numerically parish that celebrated the Eucharist only bi-weekly and worshiped in Elizabethan English once a month. Many of the elderly parishioners had met me before because of my many previous visits to the parish, at the request of Reverend Fran, to introduce new music. They genuinely liked the new hymns I had taught them, but on Sunday mornings they were still stubbornly clinging to the same old Elizabethan metrical styles they had been singing for decades to pipe organ accompaniment.

Initially, communities of early Christian believers were able to choose their own leaders; however, as centuries passed, the practice of having secular rulers choose appoint church leaders became routine. These appointed leaders were eventually able to establish permanent institutions, which not only expressed Christian values, but also drew from many Greco-Roman Traditions. The creation of Nicene Creed and the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church and the Byzantine Christian (Orthodox) Church allowed the Christian church to expand and thrive.

Dr. Hurtado does a great job in drafting a concise survey of Early Christian worship in its context and character. Not been a history enthusiast myself, I appreciated Dr. Hurtado's descriptive style of writing because it helped me visualize what was happening back then. Furthermore, by comparing and contrasting the Roman religious practices against Christian practices, I was able to better comprehend the Biblical text.

In part four Lohfink shows that this “foundational reception of Jesus' praxis of the reign of God continued beyond the New Testament communities into the age of the ancient church”

The first part of this paper will explore the mystery-religions, the reasons behind their popularity, and the Hellenistic world in which they grew that began with Alexander the Great. Next, their characteristics and connections first with Judaism and later with Christianity will be more deeply discussed. In the second part it will be shown that the mystery-religions helped to clear the pathway for the Christianization of the Greco-Roman world by men such as Paul the Apostle. Finally, the Emperor Constantine’s role in this story will be mentioned, during whose reign the mystery-religions declined and Christianity became the major religion of Europe and the near east. The paper will conclude with a brief speculation about the significance of