Tomorrow I'm sitting an exam on Early Church History. And to my shame have to admit to not really having worked that hard towards the exam until the last twenty four hours, since when I have tried to read everything I can get my eyes on about Irenaeus, Athanasius, Augustine Constantine and the like. As I have done so one thing has struck me; we really don't know our history.
Why is the church like it is? How have we arrived at the doctrine of the Trinity that we hold? How do we come to have the Bible as it is and why? How do we face up to questions that we face about penal substitutionary atonement and the character of God?
The answer is all there in Church History. Its just that we don't know it. But that poses a question how do we teach church history to people in a way that is engaging. Most of us want to know about what affects us in the now, how do I deal with this or how should I live in the light of that? Yet many of the questions we face are exactly those we would see the answers to if we looked back at those who have been there before us.
But how do we do so in a way that engages? Is it through short 2 minute slots on Sundays? Is it through interested people sharing there info? Is it through mentioning it when relevant in sermons and Bible studies?
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