I am on my way back from the second session of lectures on Church History in Brussels Bible Institute. It has gone well so far. The first session was a fortnight ago. I gave an Introduction on why study church History and the New Testament World, followed by a Survey of the first church in Jerusalem in the Book of Acts. Today, we finished looking at the first church and talked about Persecution in the early church.
I had asked the students to read Ignatius of Antioch’s letter to the Romans and Polycarp’s Martyr. We had a lively discussion on Ignatius’ understanding of his martyrdom. It led to a lively discussion on self-denial and what Jesus meant when he said we should take up our cross. It was great and it seems that everyone enjoyed taking part and reflecting on Ignatius’s thoughts and understanding of his own martyrdom.
I wassn’t able to cover all the ground I wanted. I had planned to look at the Apologetes and the letter to Diognete but it will have to wait until next time, in a fortnight.