Tag: Christianity

Restoring Apostate Christians during the Roman Persecutions

Apostate Christians and Rome
~ MD Harris Institute ~ 1 Comment

Christians sometimes broke under the pressure of Roman persecutions. In paying homage to the emperor they denied Christ. In the face of so many believers standing firm, even to the cost of their deaths, dealing with apostate Christians who wanted back into fellowship was controversial.

By Mark D. Harris

Christians had been persecuted in the Roman Empire since the Apostles, but the persecution under Emperors Decius and Valerian was more widespread and severe than before. Simply for bearing the name of Jesus, Christians faced loss of position, confiscation of property, rejection by pagan family members, and even death. Many Christians stood strong in the faith, but many lost their courage under the pressure, denied Christ, and even sacrificed to idols. The Plague of Cyprian, most likely caused by smallpox, created further suffering and confusion. After the death of Decius in 251 the persecution slackened and people who denied Christ expected to be restored to fellowship.

Continue reading “Restoring Apostate Christians during the Roman Persecutions” →

Christian Apology in the Second Century

Tertullian
~ MD Harris Institute ~ Leave a comment

Christians were accused of atheism, child sacrifice, orgies, and a host of other crimes by Roman writers. Leaders in the church such as Tertullian fought back. As Christians are falsely accused of more and more, we can look back to translate Christian apology to the modern day.

By Mark D. Harris

Contrary to the modern Western usage of the word, apology as first defined by Webster is “a formal spoken or written defense of some idea, religion, philosophy, etc.” By end of the second century AD, Christianity had grown dramatically in the Roman Empire and was clearly differentiated from Judaism, which had lost its place in the Empire as a result of the Great Revolt (66-70 AD), the Kitos War (115-117 AD), and the Bar Kochba Revolt (132-135 AD). No longer identified with Judaism which shielded Christianity from close Roman scrutiny in the earliest days (Acts 18:12-17), Christianity in the second century was a focus of great attention by non-Christians.

How Christians lived

Christians lived differently than their pagan neighbors. They kept to themselves in entertainment, worship, and even some commercial transactions such as purchasing meat sacrificed to idols. They avoided politics. Believers in Christ observed neither the traditional religious practices of the Greek and Roman gods nor the worship of the Emperor. The former made them different, but the later made them potentially treasonous in the eyes of others.

Continue reading “Christian Apology in the Second Century” →

Jesus, an Example of Mentoring Leadership

Mentoring leadership
~ MD Harris Institute ~ Leave a comment

How did Jesus mentor His disciples? How did He mentor others? How should we mentor those who look to us for leadership? Discover mentoring leadership.

By Mark D. Harris

Institutions from business to government to the military decry poor leadership throughout the world. Examples of poor leadership are legion, as are examples of poor followership. Library shelves groan under the weight of leadership books, and millions of words about leadership spew from audio files into waiting ears every month. And yet, during my 27 years in uniform, the situation never really seemed to get better. The faces changed from 1989 to 2016, but the message did not. Is leadership a dead art? We will look at the example of Jesus.

Teaching as mentoring

One of the greatest strengths of mentoring leaders is the ability to teach.  To reproduce himself, a man must teach, by words and by actions, those who are learning from him.  Jesus taught large groups and the people marveled at the wisdom and authority of His words.  He was doing His most important work, however, when He was teaching small groups of His disciples and other followers (Luke 24:32).

Mentoring leaders also use gifts of exhortation to mentor those entrusted to them.  Exhortation includes encouragement and instruction to do the right and wise thing.  After Peter’s proclamation of faith in Matthew 16:16, Jesus encouraged him.  After Peter denied Jesus in Matthew 26:69-75, Jesus encouraged him again (John 21:15-17).  Many times in the gospels Jesus exhorted His disciples.  Such gifts as exhortation and teaching are evidence of excellent communication, in this case sharing leadership principles and examples to the next generation of leaders.

Continue reading “Jesus, an Example of Mentoring Leadership” →

Misrepresenting Christianity in a Public School

Misrepresenting Christianity
~ MD Harris Institute ~ Leave a comment

Schools, public and private, are places where people of all ages learn important things that will help them and others. They are also places of indoctrination and coercion, where truth is skewed to serve someone’s ideology. The following is an example of misrepresenting Christianity in a public school

By Mark D. Harris

My son is a high school student who is currently taking his required World History class. The teacher is covering religions, and has recently been studying Christianity. While sometimes students misunderstand an instructor’s point when they tell others what happened in class, parents can gain insight into the class by what the teacher sends home as well as what their children report. These issues came up in our discussion:

Allegation 1 – Paul invented the doctrine of Original Sin

To address this allegation, we must first understand the word “sin”.  The Bible represents sin as a broken relationship between the Creator God and His creatures, human beings. The relationship was broken by the rebellion of man against the command of God in the original idyllic state, the Garden of Eden. Each individual commits sins, individual acts of disobedience to his Creator, but the human race as a whole is separated from God through our act of corporate rebellion. Whereas in other religions sin is considered a single act, usually involving breaking some taboo, in Christianity sin is a state of being. Since people are in this state, rebellion against God, they commit individual acts of sin. Stated another way, in other religions people may be sinners because they sin, but in Christianity people sin because they are sinners.

Continue reading “Misrepresenting Christianity in a Public School” →

Why Word Studies are Useful in Bible Study

~ MD Harris Institute ~ Leave a comment

Dive deeper into your Bible study. Dig into the Scriptures word by word. Do word studies.

By Mark D. Harris

The Bible is the very best book in the world. There is none like it, for it is the very word of Almighty God. Therefore every man, woman and child should immerse themselves in it. There are several levels at which we encounter the Bible.

1. Read the Bible
2. Study the Bible – carefully examine every passage and the interaction between them set against their historical backdrop in language and culture.
3. Memorize the Bible – commit large portions of God’s word to memory, hiding it in our hearts (Psalm 119:11).
4. Meditate on the Bible – ponder each concept and statement deeply and ask the Lord to reveal His meaning.

Continue reading “Why Word Studies are Useful in Bible Study” →

Science and Christianity

~ MD Harris Institute ~ Leave a comment

Does real science, not “scientific philosophy,” contradict real Christianity? Since honestly, we know less about science, and about the Bible, than we think we do, humility and inquiry needed to find the answer. Science and Christianity go together.

My sons enjoy playing a computer game called Civilization, in which players take the role of the ruler of a historical civilization such as China, Greece or Rome and try to win by conquering the world, sending a rocket into space, or building the most spectacular culture. There are many cultural advances that a civilization can get, but getting some cultural advances eliminates the ability to get some others. For example, the designers of the game decided that piety and rationalism were mutually exclusive; it is impossible for any civilization in the game to have both.

Continue reading “Science and Christianity” →