www.keral.net/cgi-bin/malayalambible/bib.cgi?book=1&chapter=1&verse=0
www.gotquestions.org/Docetism-Apollinarianism-Ebionism-Eutychianism.html
www.carm.org/apologetics/heresies/apollinarianism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo
www.pier.hu/councils
What do we (Indian Christian Mission) believe? We believe that:
1. The Bible in the original languages (O.T in Hebrew & N.T in Greek) is the inspired and only infallible and authoritative word of God.
2. there is one God eternally existent in three persons; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
3. In the deity of Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless and miraculous walk, in His vicarious death effected in eternal Spirit, in His bodily resurrection and ascension, in His personal future return to the earth in glory and power to rule the earth.
4. the only means of being cleansed from sin is through repentance and faith in the precious blood of Christ.
5. regeneration by Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for personal salvation.
6. in the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a holy life.
7. in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost, the one to everlasting life and the other to everlasting damnation.
A Brief History of Christianity
The Organized Church of Modern Times is made up of Four large branches: Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church, Reformed churches, and Pentecostal churches. These four segments developed over the last nineteen centuries.
Before the organization of the Roman Catholic Church, Apostles and Apostolic Disciples established the early churches at places like Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Ephesus, Rome etc. These were churches governed by pastors/ Elders.Gal.2:9. Later Ephesus lost influence and so did Jerusalem.
With the ascendancy of Western Roman Empire, bishop of Rome began to be recognized as chief among peers. And with bishop Gregory the Great of Rome formalization of Roman Catholic Church happened at the end of the sixth century.
However, the eastern churches around Constantinople retained considerable freedom from Rome. In the 8th century there came up a split in the church which bacame effective in the Greek speaking world.
In the 11th century there came up the Great Schism in the Church into the Eastern and Western Divisions. The leadership of the Eastern Division came from the bishop of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. This Eastern wing came to be called the Orthodox church.
Reformed churches came out from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century after the Reformation led by Martin Luther. The dissension that had started against apostasy in the 13th century in the Roman catholic Church by Waldenses & Lollards thus was formalized. The emphasis that Reformation placed on the word of God, led to the Protestant Movement. On the heel of the Lutheran and Anglican movements came the Methodists, Congregationalists and Baptists. There was also a feeble attempt at this time to have Patriarchal type of churches in the Brethren Movement.
Then came the twentieth century and the Pentecostal Movement. Revisiting the work of the Holy Spirit was the underlying emphasis of this Movement. This Movement brought in great enthusiasm for the spreading of Gospel through many medias. The most successful churches in winning souls for the Lord at present are The Assemblies of God (Pentecostal) and Southern Baptist churches. However, there is a difference; the money spent by the SBC is way out of proportion compared to the expenditure of Assmblies of God.
Persecutions & Heresies
The early Church went through ten separate persecutions. The harshest and most persuasive were the persecution of Domitian (90-96 A.D), the persecution of Decius (249-251 A.D) and the last and the most severe persecution of Diocletian (303-311). The Church braved these persecutions however and grew even stronger
Doctrinal errors also started coming up in the Christian Church as soon as the Church began. The Apostles had to contend with Legalism (Judaism) and Gnosticism (nature of physical body of Jesus). Ebionites, Dynamic Monarchianists and Arians denied the true deity of Christ. Modalists denied Trinity of God; Eutychians and Nestorians struggled with the humanity of Christ. Other heresies concerned the matter of human sin and the nature of atonement. These heresies did have a positive effect on the Church in that they led to a clear defining of orthodox biblical doctrines through the Church Councils. That does not mean that all the doctrines decided upon by the Councils are foolproof. For instance the decision taken by the Council of Ephesus to elevate mother of Jesus as Mother of God was a foolhardy one. God cannot have a mother. Definitely Jesus, the man had Mary as His mother .
Bishop Augustine & his teachings (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo#Sacramental_theology)
Augustine took the view that the Biblical text should not be interpreted literally if it contradicts what we know from science and our God-given reason.
Augustine viewed that a major result of original sin was disobedience of the flesh to the spirit as a punishment of their disobedience to God: Augustine taught that Original Sin was transmitted by concupiscence (roughly, lust), making humanity a mass of perdition, condemned crowd and much enfeebling, though not destroying, the freedom of the will. Luther and Calvin agreed with Augustine in most of his conclusions but identified original sin as 'sex' . The Eastern Orthodox position differs from Augustine's position in that they do not believe that Original Sin carries over the guilt of Original Sin (which only Adam himself is guilty of) but only the consequences of Original Sin. Therefore they also disagree with Augustine's early belief that unbaptized infants will go to hell or to even a state of limbo as advocated by Anselm. The same can be said for Unitarians, who never accepted the doctrine of Original Sin. By the way, Unitarianism is the old Modalism and it is a gross misunderstanding of the nature of God. United Pentecostals, United Methodists, Apostolic Christian Church (Jesus Olny) etc. teach this wrong doctrine. Most later forms of Christianity, including many Protestant movements, do not see baptism as an absolute requirement for salvation, although some believe in Original Sin.
Augustine did not believe that humans are utterly depraved in nature. That teaching comes later, from Calvinism. Augustine believed that evil was only the privation of good and that everything was created originally good by God. Therefore, nothing exists that is entirely evil. Original sin, according to Augustine, consists of the guilt of Adam which all human beings inherit. As sinners, human beings lack the freedom to do good, and cannot respond to the will of God without divine grace. Grace is irresistible, results in conversion, and leads to perseverance. Augustine's idea of predestination rests on the assertion that God has foreordained, from eternity, those who will be saved. The number of the elect is fixed. God has chosen the elect certainly and gratuitously, without any previous merit on their part. (however, the Greek word 'horridzo' used in connection with election, would give us a possibility of variation in the number of the elect. However, even those changes are known to God)
He often said that any can be saved if they wish. While God knows who will be saved and who will not, with no possibility that one destined to be lost will be saved, this knowledge represents God's perfect knowledge of how humans will freely choose their destinies.
Augustine also tended to believe that sacraments, including infant baptism, are needed to administer salvation, though later he wrote that a person will be saved on the basis of his confession of Jesus even without baptism.
The Roman Catholic Church adopted most of the teachings of Augustine.
However, Indian Christian Mission does not accept the authority of Roman Catholic or Orthodox Churches because of the following reasons:
1. They have abandoned faith in that they give heed to deceiving spirits forbidding to marry (They insist that church leaders should be celebate) and commanding to abstain from foods. 1 Tim.4:1-5.
2. They have returned to Old Testament priesthood and concocted a sacrifice that priests offer, called Mass or Korbana. They are in effect teaching that the Mass they render has the efficacy to save people.
3. They wrongly teach 'salvation through sacraments'. They contradict themselves when they pray for the peace of the souls of departed church members.
4. They have elevated mere men (women) to the position of divinity. Mary the mother of Jesus is lifted to the position of Mother of God and chief Meadatrix along with many other mediators.
Church Councils
1. Council of Jerusalem- 49 A.D
Acts.15:24-29. No circumcision, nor the Law needed for salvation. But Christians should abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled and from sexual immorality.
1. Council of Nicea- 325 A.D
Bishop Hosius, legate of Pope Sylvester, conducted it in the presence of Emperor Constantine (318 bishops attended). Deity of Christ affirmed (homoousios). Bishop Athanasius against Arius. Date of Easter also fixed.
2. Council of Constantinople- 381 A.D
Convened by Pope Damasus and Emperor Theodosius (350 bishops attended). Directed against the followers of Macedonius. Holy Spirit was declared to be God equally adored with Father and Son.
3. Council of Ephesus- 431 A.D
Presided by St. Cyril for Pope Celestine 1. Docetism, Ebionism, Eutychianism, Nestoriansim and Apollinarianism were condemned and hypostatic union of Jesus declared. Mary, mother of Jesus declared to be Mother of God, against the teaching of Nestorius.(200 bishops attended)
4. Council of Chalcedon- 451 A.D
150 bishops under Pope Leo the Great and Emperor Marcian defined the dual nature of Jesus Christ.
5. Second Council of Constantinople- 553 A.D
165 bishops under Pope Vigilius and Emperor Justinian frther confirmed the decisions of the first four General Councils.
6. Third Council of Constandinople 680 A.D
174 bishops under Pope Agatho and Emperor Constantine put an end to Monothelism by defining two wills in Christ. Patriarchs of Constantinople and of Antioch attended.
7. Second Council of Nicaea- 787 A.D
Between 300 and 367 bishops attended under the legate of Pope Adrian. It was convened by Emperor Constantine VI and his mother Irene. It regulated the veneration of holy images.
8. Fourth Council of Constantinople- 869 A.D
102 bishops and 4 Patriarchs under Pope Adrian II and Emperor condemned Photius who had usurped the the bishopric of Patriarch of Constantinople. This led to a schism between Western and Eastern Churches which became immediately effective in the Greek churches.
9. First Lateran Council at Rome- 1123 A.D
900 bishops and abbots attended. Investiture controversy and capture of Holy Land were subjects dealt with.
10. Second Lateran Council at Rome- 1139 A.D
11. Third Lateran Council at Rome- 1179 A.D
12. Fourth Lateran Council at Rome- 1215 A.D
13. First Coucil of Lyons- 1245 A.D
14. Second Coucil of Lyons- 1275 A.D
15. Council of Vienne in France 1311 A.D
16. Council of Constance- 1414 A.D
Schism in Western church averted and confirmed the decrees against Wycliff and Hus.
17. Council of Basle- 1431 A.D
18. Fifth Lateran Council- 1512 A.D
The Great Reformation.
19. Council of Trent- 1546 A.D
Decided to launch a Counter Reformation. Led to the development of Preterist and Futurist interpretations of 'Revelation'.
20. First Vatican Council- 1869 A.D
Decreed infallibility of Pope when he speaks ex cathedra. The whole Church under Pope is obligated to follow the doctrine as interpreted by him.
The Lateran Treaty is one of the Lateran Pacts(Accords) of 1929, three agreements made in 1929 between the Kingdom of Italy (King Victor Emmanuel III) and the Holy See (Pope Pius XI) signed by Prime Minister Benito Mussolini and by Cardinal Secretary of State of Pietro Gasparri, ratified on June 7, ending the Roman Question:
They consisted of three documents:
A political treaty recognizing the full sovereignty of the Holy See in the State of Vatican City, which was thereby established.
A concordat regulating the position of the Catholic Church and the Catholic religion in the Italian state.
A financial convention agreed on as a definitive settlement of the claims of the Holy See following the losses of its territories and property. ---------------------------------------