Seminary Program

This is where we post the essays from many of our Universal Life Church Seminary students. When students finish a ULC course, they write a comprehensive essay about their experiences with the course, what they learned, didn't learn, were inspired by, etc. Here are their essays.

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Monday, April 30, 2012

Christian History Lesson 9

Lesson 9
 
Who were the apologists and polemicists and how did they respectively approach their task of defending the Christian faith through writing?
 
The apologists attempted to convince the authorities that Christianity was worthy of acceptance and did not deserve to be persecuted. The eastern Apologists, discussed the origins, morality and theology of Christianity and explained the nature and intent of Christian worship.. Western apologists such as Tertullian were more concerned with the practical and legal objections to persecution. Polemicists were fighting the internal threats to the religion.

What was the difference in approach between eastern and western apologists?
 
The Western apologists were concerned more about the distinctions and finality of Christianity than the similarities with pagan religions and philosophies.
 
 
Who was the greatest apologist ?who was the greatest polemicist?
 
Justin Martyr was one of the greatest of the apologist. The greatest polemicists cyprian an whose writings included the first justifications and explanations of the Trinity and Apostolic Succession.
 
What were the two polemical schools of of christian thought and what was their respective approaches to formulating christian theology?
 
The Alexandrian School taught a theology based on philosophy which wound up having harmful effects for a long time on how people understood the scriptures. The Carthaginian School was a more realistic and less speculative, in its views which mainly dealt with the doctrine of the Church.

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