Early Christianity Quiz

There were approximately 300 bishops who attended the Council of Nicea in the year 325 A.D. Out of those 300 bishops, only 2 denied the deity of Christ. All of the rest affirmed that Jesus is God.

Most early Christians believed these books to be inspired by the Holy Spirit, and they accepted these books as part of Holy Scripture. This suggests that these books were considered to be divinely inspired and held the same level of authority as the other books of the Old Testament. The fact that some modern Churches include these books in their Bibles further supports this belief.

The apostles Paul and Peter both played a role in starting the Church in Antioch. During their time, the Church in Antioch was governed by a hierarchy of bishops, priests, and deacons. This hierarchical structure has been maintained for the past 2000 years, and the names of every bishop of Antioch have been recorded throughout history.

Of course the Holy Spirit inspired the book of Revelation to be Scripture, the same day that the apostle John wrote it. But it took centuries for all Christians in the Church to recognize which books should be included in Scripture, and which ones should be excluded. It took centuries for the book of Hebrews to be accepted by Western Christians, and it took centuries for the book of Revelation to be accepted by Eastern Christians.

The first time this concept shows up is in the Old Testament, in the second book of the Bible. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, all of God's people are priests. In Exodus 19:6, God's people are called a "kingdom of priests". Similarly, in 1 Peter 2:5, God's people are all called a "holy priesthood".

In the Old Testament, every Israelite was a priest of God in some sense. Within this priesthood, the Levites were priests in a special sense. Within the group of Levites, men between the ages of 30 and 50 were ordained priests to serve at the temple in Jerusalem. And within this inner circle of priests, one man was chosen to be ordained as the High Priest.

In the New Testament, things work similarly. Every Christian is a priest of God. And within this priesthood, there is an inner circle of men who are priests in a special sense, set apart to serve as ministers within the Church. And according to the 7th chapter of Hebrews, Jesus Himself is the High Priest.

The apostle John had a disciple named Polycarp, and the apostle Peter had a disciple named Ignatius. Both of these men have left us writings, showing that the Church is led by a hierarchy of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. This form of Church government was already well established in the churches throughout the entire Roman Empire, by the time Ignatius wrote his letters in the year 107, less than a decade after the death of the apostle John. Ignatius was the third Bishop of Antioch, and Polycarp was the Bishop of Smyrna.

During the first 300 years of the Church, Christians did study some of the individual books of Scripture. But there were not any "Bible studies", because all the books of the entire "Bible" had not yet been collected together into a single book. It took several hundred years for Christians to come to wide agreement regarding which books should be included in the Bible, and which books should be excluded.

Eusebius of Caesarea was a Church historian who lived during the time of the early Church, a little over 300 years after Christ. Here is an excerpt from one of the books written by Eusebius:

Book 6: CHAPTER 18.
“THE STATUE WHICH THE WOMAN WITH AN ISSUE OF BLOOD ERECTED.
SINCE I have mentioned this city I do not think it proper to omit an account which is worthy of record for posterity. For they say that the woman with an issue of blood, who, as we learn from the sacred Gospel, received from our Savior deliverance from her affliction, came from this place, and that her house is shown in the city, and that remarkable memorials of the kindness of the Saviour to her remain there. For there stands upon an elevated stone, by the gates of her house, a brazen image of a woman kneeling, with her hands stretched out, as if she were praying. Opposite this is another upright image of a man, made of the same material, clothed decently in a double cloak, and extending his hand toward the woman. At his feet, beside the statue itself, is a certain strange plant, which climbs up to the hem of the brazen cloak, and is a remedy for all kinds of diseases. They say that this statue is an image of Jesus. It has remained to our day, so that we ourselves also saw it when we were staying in the city. Nor is it strange that those of the Gentiles who, of old, were benefited by our Saviour, should have done such things, since we have learned also that the likenesses of his apostles Paul and Peter, and of Christ himself, are preserved in paintings, the ancients being accustomed, as it is likely, according to a habit of the Gentiles, to pay this kind of honour indiscriminately to those regarded by them as deliverers.

During the first 1000 years of Christianity, Christians believed that mankind was in bondage to the Devil and that Jesus came to destroy the works of the Devil. They believed that Jesus' death and resurrection conquered Death, Hell, and the Devil, making it possible for believers to enter Heaven. This belief emphasized the victory of Christ over evil and the liberation of humanity from the power of the Devil.

In Exodus 32, the children of Israel used some of their Egyptian gold to make a statue of a golden calf, to worship as God. But God has never taken the form of a cow, so this statue was a lie. Thus the Israelites were guilty of the sin of idolatry.

Four chapters later, in Exodus 36, the children of Israel use their Egyptian gold to build a place to worship God. They build golden statues of angels (cherubim), and they weave numerous images of angels into the fabric which was hung in the tabernacle. God was pleased with their work.

God has never been opposed to the use of statues and other images in the context of worship. God only forbids false images, which result in idolatry. Angels have a form, and may be depicted. God the Father does not have a bodily form, so He may not be depicted.