Here you will find the creeds, confessions, catechisms,
and history of the church. As much as we would like to return
to the first century church with its simplicity, the church was
planted as a seed, watered by the blood of the martyrs, and nurtured
in God's vineyard. The mustard seed is now a large tree; the
birds of the air have made nests in its branches (Matt.
13:32).
The creeds and confessions were developed in response to
heresies. If nothing else, you should know these creeds and
confessions for their historical value. But keep in mind that what
was heresy yesterday, may be orthodoxy today. It’s a moving target
and here’s why:
Heresy
is whatever is not orthodoxy.
Orthodoxy
is whatever the church currently declares to be sound doctrine.
Truth,
on the other hand, is whatever the bible teaches.
We
are always in pursuit of biblical truth.
May God be true, and all men liars (Rom.
3:4)
The Church History Page
has a series of lessons on Church Discipline through the Ages.
I wrote them nearly 20 years ago, ending at about 1700. It has
been researched from works by Philip Schaff, Kenneth Scott
Latourette, Jarislav Pelikan, and Jeremy Jackson, among others. I
will be adding Modern Church History shortly
(1700-present).
