Themes in the Early Church and the Church Today

What Themes in the Early Church and the Church Today covers

Themes in the Early Church and the Church Today is examined in A2 4, one of the two A2 units chosen — area of study: Systematic Study of One Religion. Worth 30% of the A level. A student may not take two units from the same area of study.. It covers church government in the New Testament, from charism to office: church government in the Apostolic Fathers, Irenaeus, Tertullian and Cyprian, the Bishop of Rome and the threefold ministry, Gnosticism and the Gnostic challenge, Marcionism and Montanism, the church's threefold defence: rule of faith, canon and succession, Irenaeus and his polemic against heresy, Tertullian: life, writings and Montanism, Cyprian: unity, the lapsed and baptism, religious leadership, organisational models and secularisation today, C S Lewis, Alister McGrath and Karl Rahner and religion, the state and the resolution of conflict.

The 12 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Church government in the New TestamentApostles, elders and deacons, the evidence for how the earliest communities were led, and the debate over how fixed the pattern was.Open →
• From charism to office: church government in the Apostolic Fathers, Irenaeus, Tertullian and CyprianCyprian's central statement about the bishop and the church and cyprian's teaching that the episcopate is one.Open →
• The Bishop of Rome and the threefold ministryThe emergence of bishop, presbyter and deacon, the claims made for Rome, and the disputed reading of Irenaeus.Open →
• Gnosticism and the Gnostic challengeChristology did Gnostic teaching produce and three Gnostic teachers and say what is known of them.Open →
• Marcionism and MontanismChristology and ethics did Marcionism involve and case for a sympathetic reading of Montanism.Open →
• The church's threefold defence: rule of faith, canon and successionRule of faith, muratorian Fragment and argument from apostolic succession, as used against heresy.Open →
• Irenaeus and his polemic against heresyKnown of the life of Irenaeus and two surviving works of Irenaeus.Open →
• Tertullian: life, writings and MontanismKnown about Tertullian's life, argument of the Apologeticum and argument of On the Prescription of Heretics.Open →
• Cyprian: unity, the lapsed and baptismCyprian's background and rise to office, main crises of Cyprian's episcopate and central claim of On the Unity of the Catholic Church.Open →
• Religious leadership, organisational models and secularisation todayEpiscopal model of church government, strengths and weaknesses of the congregational model and classic secularisation thesis.Open →
• C S Lewis, Alister McGrath and Karl RahnerLewis's argument from desire, lewis's trilemma and mcGrath's scientific theology.Open →
• Religion, the state and the resolution of conflictMain models of the relationship between religion and the state, barmen Declaration and religious conviction changing public morality.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Themes in the Early Church and the Church Today further

The same content, four other ways.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Why is it difficult to speak of a single system of church government in the New Testament?

   Model answer

   Different communities show different arrangements, with elders in some churches, overseers and deacons in others and gifted ministries recognised without formal office in Corinth. The evidence points to a period of variety in which structures were still forming rather than to one constitution laid down at the beginning.

2. 2

   What authority did the apostles hold in the earliest church?

   Model answer

   The apostles were the witnesses to the resurrection and the guarantors of the message, and Acts shows them teaching, settling disputes and appointing others. Their authority rested on commission from Christ rather than on election, which is why the office could not simply be handed on in the same form.

3. 3

   How does the New Testament use the word apostle beyond the Twelve?

   Model answer

   Paul claims the title on the basis of having seen the risen Lord, and Barnabas is called an apostle in Acts. Paul also greets Andronicus and Junia as outstanding among the apostles, so the term is wider than the original group.

4. 4

   What is the significance of the appointment of the Seven in Acts 6?

   Model answer

   The Seven were chosen by the whole community and appointed by the apostles with prayer and the laying on of hands, to relieve them of the daily distribution. The passage is often treated as the origin of the diaconate, though Acts never calls them deacons and Stephen and Philip go on to preach and baptise.

5. 5

   What evidence is there that presbyter and overseer named the same role in the New Testament?

   Model answer

   Paul summons the elders of the Ephesian church and tells them that the Holy Spirit has made them overseers to shepherd the flock, and the letter to Titus moves from appointing elders in every town to the qualifications of an overseer in the next sentence. The two terms therefore appear to describe the same people from different angles, one of age and standing and one of function.

6. 6

   What does the greeting of Philippians show about local leadership?

   Model answer

   Paul writes to all the saints at Philippi together with the overseers and deacons. The plural shows a group of leaders rather than a single head, and the two titles are the earliest pairing of the offices.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Themes in the Early Church and the Church Today revision questions

What does Themes in the Early Church and the Church Today cover in CCEA A-Level Religious Studies?

12 subtopics: church government in the new testament, from charism to office: church government in the apostolic fathers, irenaeus, tertullian and cyprian, the bishop of rome and the threefold ministry, gnosticism and the gnostic challenge, marcionism and montanism, the church's threefold defence: rule of faith, canon and succession, irenaeus and his polemic against heresy, tertullian: life, writings and montanism, cyprian: unity, the lapsed and baptism, religious leadership, organisational models and secularisation today, c s lewis, alister mcgrath and karl rahner and religion, the state and the resolution of conflict. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Themes in the Early Church and the Church Today organised?

By the CCEA 4610 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.