This is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International, with the History of Christianity Podcast #177, titled, “The Germanic Kingdoms, Part 4.”
When I became a believer in Jesus Christ, I somehow had the false idea that Christianity began when I got saved. I had no concept of the hundreds of years of history that Christianity had gone through since the time of Jesus Christ over 2,000 years ago. I have found that many believers, young and old, have the same false idea. The purpose of this broadcast is to dispel this notion by sharing with listeners the history of Christianity from the ministry of Jesus Christ all the way up until the present day in an easy-to-understand format. You don’t have to worry: this is not a lecture. This is a look at the basic facts and figures of Christian history that every believer and every person needs to be aware of.
Our Scripture for today is Matthew 9:37-38 which reads: “Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”
Our History of Christianity quote today is from Matthew Henry. He said: “It is our duty not to not only hold fast, but to hold forth the Word of life; not only to hold fast for our own benefit, but to hold it forth for the benefit of others, to hold it forth as the candlestick holds forth the candle, which makes it appear to advantage all around, or as the luminaries of the heavens, which shed their influences far and wide.”
Today, in the History of Christianity, we are looking at “The Germanic Kingdoms, Part 4” from Dr. Justo L. Gonzalez’s fine book, The Story of Christianity (Volume 1).
At the same time as some of the various Germanic invasions were taking place, the Irish church was flourishing. Since it retained much of its earlier faith and culture, Ireland soon began sending missionaries to other countries, most notably to Scotland. The most famous of these missionaries was Columba, who settled on the small island of Iona with twelve companions, probably in 563 CE. The monastery that they founded there became a center of missions to Scotland, where there soon were several other houses patterned after the Iona community. Eventually, these missions moved south, to territories held by Angles and Saxons.
An important and lasting consequence of the influence of Irish Christianity on the rest of Europe was the spread of the practice of private or auricular confession to a priest, which had originally developed in Ireland, and was often accompanied by manuals for confessors. It is also interesting to note that the popular hymn “Be Thou My Vision” is a translation of a Celtic prayer or lorica [LAW-RUH-KUH] to thwart the evil influence of the Druids–Rob tu mo bhoile [BHAY-LAY].
For reasons that are not altogether clear, there were a number of differences between this Scotch-Irish Christianity and that which had evolved in the former territories of the Roman Empire. Instead of being ruled by bishops, the Scotch-Irish church was under the leadership of the heads of monastic communities. They also differed on the manner in which a number of rites should be performed, and on the date of Easter. A sign of resistance on the part of the Scotch-Irish monks was to wear a different tonsure, shaving the front instead of the crown of their head–as did other monks. Eventually, this practice was outlawed.
The other form of Christianity–the one reflecting and following the customs of the rest of Europe–had always been present in Great Britain among those who kept the traditions of Roman times, but it gained momentum when Christians on the continent became interested in Great Britain. A biographer of Gregory the Great–to whom we shall return later on in this chapter–records an incident in which young Gregory, who was then living as a monk in Rome, saw some blond young men who were to be sold as slaves.
“What is the nationality of these lads?” Gregory asked.
“They are Angles,” he was told.
“Angels they are in truth, for their faces look like such. Where is their country?”
“In Deiri [DEH-RIH].”
“De ira [“from wrath”] they are indeed, for they have been called from wrath to God’s mercy. Who is their king?”
“Aella [AA-EH-LLAA].”
“Alleluia! In that land must the name of God be praised.”
This dialogue possibly never took place. But it is certain that Gregory was interested in the land of Angles, and he may have considered going there as a missionary. He became pope in 590, and nine years later sent a mission to the Angles under the leadership of Augustine, a monk from the same monastery to which Gregory had belonged. When they realized the difficulties that lay ahead, Augustine and his companions considered giving up the enterprise. But Gregory would hear nothing of it, and they were forced to continue. Finally they arrived at the kingdom of Kent, whose king, Ethelbert [ETH-EL-BERT], was married to a Christian. At first they did not have much success. But eventually Ethelbert [ETH-EL-BERT] himself was converted, and increasing numbers of his subjects followed suit. Augustine them became the first archbishop of Canterbury (the capital of Kent). One by one, the various kingdoms became Christian, and Canterbury became the ecclesiastical capital for all of England.
Next time, we will continue looking at “The Germanic Kingdoms.”
Let’s pray.
—PRAYER—
Dear friend, simply knowing the facts about Christian history without knowing the One on Whom this faith is based will do you no good. If you do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, may I encourage you to get to know Him today. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can be a part of the church in this life and in the life to come. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will. Romans 10:13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Until next time, remember that history is truly His story.
The History of Christianity 