History of Christendom (more reading)

Chapter 3 notes:

The inward growth of the church has to do with its doctrine, beliefs, or its organization. This would make it very important. Doctrine is so very important that we can't just brush over it like it doesn't mean anything. But the thought that doctrine doesn't matter has broken up a large part of the Church. Because of this, people have grown up ignorant of true Christian doctrine. We must pound the idea till it's dead...doctrine matters.
The Apostolic Fathers were said to have been personally taught by the apostles. The lived in the first half of the second century. Clement and Hermas of Rome; Ignatius of Antioch; Polycarp of Smyrna; and Barnabas, probably of Alexandria. There were two others, but we don't know their names. The Apostolic Fathers wrote and thought deeply about Christ.
The Apologists were Christians who wrote books in defense of the gospel. Many pagans told false stories about Christians or misrepresented many teachings of Christianity. An apologist is someone who defends what he believes to be the truth. The best known apologists were Justin Martyr and Origen.
Gnosticism and Montanism, two false beliefs, arose to overthrow Christianity. Gnosticism is that Christ never dwelt on this earth in human form. Montanism taught that Christ's promise of the Comforter had not been fulfilled in the upper room on Pentecost, but that the coming of the Holy Spirit was now at hand and that the end of the world was near. Both of these false teachings were gaining a foothold on the Church. They were false doctrines, but they were rapidly increasing in population because many Christians had not been trained in the true doctrine.
The most prominant Church Fathers were Irenaeus and Tertullian in the western, and Clement and Origen in the eastern part of the Roman Empire.
Through the struggles of the two false teachings, there emerged three things: a creed, a canon, and an organization. The creed was the Apostles Creed, something many of us today know. The Canon is a listing of the books of the New Testament. The Organization is the episcopal form of church government.
The church had to have someone who maintained authority, such as bishops. At the beginning of the organization, there were elders and deacons. Sometimes one elder would take the lead. Once that happened, they were considered and overseer or a bishop. Eventually, that bishop came to rule over the whole of that one church. Bishops who gradually gained all authority in a church were called monarchical bishops. By the middle of the second century, practically all churches had monarchical bishops.
At the beginning, there were only churches in the cities and so the country folk were known as pagans.
Cyprian was a man who expressed his ideas about the Church. Soon after he was converted, he became a bishop but was martyred.

1) They were believed to have been personally taught by the Apostles and they lived in first half of the second century.
2) Done
3) Polycarp: Apostolic Father. Origen: Apologist Father and Church Father. Gnosticism: the belief that Christ never came to earth in human form. Montanism: the belief that Christ never sent the Comforter, but the Holy Spirit's coming was at hand and that the end of the world would be soon.
4) Justin Martyr and Origen. They defended the true Christian doctrine. Paul of Tarsus and Irenaeus.
5) Theophilus
6) Because the Apostles creed was written while people were struggling through all the false teachings and were unsure of what to think about Christ.
7) with the church being controlled under the bishop, this could lead to "bishop worship" or "church worship" which is where it did lead to.