James the Great
Son of Zebedee, James the Great was one of the Twelve
Apostles of Jesus. He was a son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of
John the Apostle. He is also called James the Greater to distinguish him
from James, son of Alphaeus, who is also known as James the Less. James
is described as one of the first disciples to join Jesus. The Synoptic
Gospels state that James and John were with their father by the seashore
when Jesus called them to follow him, (Matt. 4:21-22, Mk. 1:19-20.)
James was one of only three apostles whom Jesus selected to
bear witness to his Transfiguration. The Acts of the Apostles records
that Herod Agrippa I, King of the Jews, had James executed by sword in A.D. 44.
John the Apostle
Brother of James the Great. John was one of the Twelve Apostles of
Jesus. He was a son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James the
Apostle. John died around 99/100 a.d. He was the last of the apostles
to die, and the only one to have died a natural death.
James the Less
James the Less, stoned to death in AD 62 by scribes and Pharisees, who had
asked James, the leader of the church, to dispel the rumor that Jesus was
The Christ. In their dismay James boldly testified that Christ "Himself
sitteth in heaven, at the right hand of the Great Power, and shall come on
the clouds of heaven." Author of The Epistle of James. The first of the
Seventy Apostles, and the author of the Apostolic Decree of Acts 15. James
was called "James the Just" because of his righteousness and piety. Also known
as James the Righteous, James of Jerusalem, James Adelphotheos, the Brother
of the Lord, was an important figure in Early Christianity. James the Just
was the leader of the Christian movement in Jerusalem in the decades after
Jesus' death. Several early sources described him as the brother of Jesus;
historians have
variously interpreted this description as perhaps meaning a brother in a
spiritual sense, or more literally as meaning that James was a close
family relative of Jesus'- perhaps his full brother, half- or stepbrother,
a cousin, or some other relation. The oldest surviving Christian liturgy,
the Liturgy of St James, called him "the brother of God" (Adelphotheos).
Polycarp
Disciple of John the Apostle, martyred in 155 a.d. burned on a stake
in a Roman arena, then stabbed. But when the Pro-Consul pressed him
and said: "Take the oath and I let you go, revile Christ," Polycarp
said: "For eighty and six years have I been his servant, and he has
done me no wrong, and how can I blaspheme my King who saved me?"
Athanasius 293-373 a.d./Named 'The Father of
Orthodoxy'
Christian theologian who championed the cause for orthodoxy in the
4th-century struggle against Arianism. At the Council of Nicea in 325,
Athanasius opposed Arius, the Alexandrian priest who advanced the doctrine
known as Arianism. Tradition holds that 318 Bishops attended the council
where Arianism was condemned and the Trinity was completely codified in the
creeds. Arianism continued to try to manipulate the orthodoxy of the creeds
for many years after however. The Catholic tenets of Rome and Athanasius
finally triumphed for good as the first council of Constantinople (a.d.
381) upheld the decrees of Nicea. Athanasius formulated the "homoousian"
doctrine, according to which the Son of God is of the same essence, or
substance, as the Father. Arius, on the other hand, maintained that the Son
was of a different substance from that of the Father and was merely a
creature, much more perfect than any other creature, who was used by God in
subsequent works of creation. The author of the Athanasius Creed is unknown but was named for
Athanasius because it codifies the orthodox beliefs of Athanasius and the
early Church, and their work done at the 1st. Council of Nicea.
Blaise Pascal 1623-1662
1.) Mathematical prodigy, physicist, and Christian apologist. 2.) Founded
the modern theory of probability, discovered the properties of the cycloid,
and contributed to the advance of differential calculus. His experimentation
led to the invention of the hydralic press. Father of modern computer
programming languages. Pascal invented the adding machine and the
calculator. 3.) Quotes; "Truth is so obscure in these times and falsehood
so established, that unless we love the truth, we cannot know it". 4.)
"Pascal's Wager" If a man trusts in Christ as Savior, dies, and
then discovers that Jesus was not the Christ then that man would have lost
nothing. However if the man does not trust in Christ as Savior, dies, and
then discovers that Jesus was the Christ; that man will have lost EVERYTHING!
I will bet on God!
Anselm 1033-1109
Anselm was born of a well-to-do family at Aosta, in England. Anselm was a
Christian Theologian and a Classical Apologist. Influenced by Plato
philosophically and Augustine theologically. In his study of the nature of
God, Anselem originated Theistic philosophy which later became known as the
ontological argument. Anselm also elaborated on many forms of the cosmological
argument prior to presenting his ontological argument for God.
John Calvin 1509-1564
Born in France and influenced with the writings of Augustine, Anselm, and
Thomas Aquinas. The acronmym t-u-l-i-p was formulated at the Synod of Dort
in 1618-1619.
T - Total Depravity
U - Unlimited Election
L - Limited Atonement
I - Irresistable Grace
P - Perserverance of the Saints.
Augustine-354-430 a.d./Named 'The
Father of Theology'
1.) Augustine was a hound after women. Shortly after his conversion, he
returned to his hometown. One of the girls came up and said,"Augustine,
Augustine, it is I!" Augustine looked her in the eye and said, "It is not
I." Quoted by Ben Haden.
2.) Augustine was Bishop of Hippo near modern Algeria.
3.) Considered the founder of Christian theology.
4.) Wrote autobiography "Confessions" and "City of God".
5.) Church Father and one of the 8 doctors of the church.
6.) Famous quote used today in apologetics: "In essentials unity, in
non-essentials liberty, and in all things charity".
7.) Though not a direct quote, a catch phrase used by Augustine: "You do
not need to understand so that you may believe, you only need to believe
so that you may understand."
8.) Augustine, one of the only early apologists to consider the apocrypha
as scripture, ultimately admitted that the apocrypha had secondary status
to the rest of the old testament.
9.) Baptised in 387a.d.
10.) Popularized the phrase "His-story" describing God's sovereignty in
the affairs of men throughout history. This was also a part of Augustine's
Theisic mindset which harmonizes with Calvin, Anselm, Aquinas and Geisler.
Quotes:
~ If two friends ask you to judge a dispute, don't accept, because
you will lose one friend; on the other hand, if two strangers come
with the same request, accept because you will gain one friend.
~ Thou must be emptied of that wherewith thou art full, that thou
mayest be filled with that whereof thou art empty.
Origen 185-254
(Origines Adamantius), Christian philosopher, pupil of Clement of
Alexandria-taught in Alexandria for 28 years.
Tertullian 160-220
Roman Catholic theologian converted 197 a.d. Left Catholicism in 213.
Flavius Josephus 37-97
Jewish Pharisee and Historian during the Apostolic era whose writings
greatly assisted Christian Protestant Apologetics.
Jonathan Edwards 1703-1758
Supported Calvinism-Primary leader of the Great Awakening which swept the
American colonies in the mid 18th. century (1734).
John Wesley 1703-1791
Founder of the Methodist church. Named so because of his "methodical"
approach to the bible. Quote: "My ground is the bible. Yea I am a bible
bigot. I follow it in all things both great and small."
Polycarp 69-155
Apostolic Father and bishop at Smyrna. Polycarp was martyred at Smyrna at
the age of 86, According to the Christian martyr and theologian Irenaeus,
who was his pupil.
Ambrose
Close friend of Augustine's mother.
Jerome 347-419
Biblical scholar. Produced the Latin Vulgate Bible.
William Paley 1743-1805
British theologian and utilitarian philosopher. Paley's watchmaker
theory: If you were walking in a field and discovered a watch lying
on the ground, you would not believe that the watch evolved out of the
field. You would rather believe that the watch had an intelligent designer
who made watches. Likewise when we look at the complexity and the design
of our Earth and Universe, we assume that it did not just evolve. Rather
an Intelligent Designer made and fashioned the earth on which we live.
Ignatius of Antioch died 107 a.d.
Christian martyr and apologist against heresy. Ignatius was condemned under
Roman emperor Trajan to be devoured by wild beasts in Rome. First Christian
writer to use the term "catholic church" as a collective term for the faithful.
Thomas Aquinas 1224-1274
Theologian, philosoper, and consumate apologist of the medieval church.
Philosopher and shaper of Theistic thought. Famous for his teleological and
cosmological arguements in Theism. Born in Italy.
Arius 256-336
Alexandrian priest who taught the heresy that Jesus was a supernatural
being, not quite human, not quite divine, and who was created by God.
Arianism was condemned at the first council of Nicea (325). The conflict
continued as several bishops and emperors sided with Arius. The Catholic
tenets of Rome and Athanasius finally triumphed, and the first council of
Constantinople (381) upheld the decrees of Nicea.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon 1834-1892
"Tragedy is not in dying young, but in living long and never using your
life for what is of eternal significance." "The Old Covenant was a covenant
of prosperity. The New Covenant is a Covenant of adversity whereby we are
being weaned from this present world and made mete for the world to come."
Justin Martyr 100-165
One of the earliest Christian apologist for Christianity. Opened a school
of Christian philosophy at Rome where he was martyred during
the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
Irenaeus 140-202
Christian Apologist converted after hearing the preaching of Polycarp.
Martin Luther 1483-1546
Augustine monk. German leader of the protestant reformation. Luther quoted
"I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against concience is
neither right nor safe. Here i stand, i can do no other, so help me God.
Amen." In 1517 Luther nailed his 95 theses to the Wittenberg church door.
Clement of Alexandria 150-203
Greek theologian. Christian convert.
Cornelius Tacitus 55-120.
Roman historian.
Eusebius of Caesarea 260-340
Third century historian. Leader of the semi-Arians. Eusebius held that
the nature of the Father, and the nature of Jesus Christ, were of similiar
substance rather than the same substance. At the council of Nicea in 325
he accepted the Athanasian position, but leaned toward Arianism at the
Synod's of Antioch (324), and Tyre (335).
Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern orthodoxy rejects the doctrine of purgutory. They reject the
infallibility of the pope. They reject the immaculate conception that
teaches that at the moment of conception Mary received immunity from
original sin. They hold that the apocrypha is not on the same level as
the 66 inspired books of the Protestant Bible.
