This week we celebrate the beginning of a new year — and a new decade. As 2019 came to a close, there was much reflection not only about the past year, but also the past decade (2010-19). In one sense, it is difficult to look at a decade as it closes to see what will be remembered as the most significant historical events; some events that we thought might be pivotal may turn out to be forgotten, while others may be discussed for a long time. Therefore, rather than find key events in church history from the last decade, I wanted to look at some key anniversaries in church history that were celebrated in the past decade (this is also part of my resolution/plan for 2020 to post more about church history on this blog). I will describe five of these events in order of the anniversary year rather than in chronological order.
The King James Bible (1611)
Work on the translation known as the The King James Bible started in 1603 and concluded in 1611. This translation occurred because there were already many translations available and the King (and others) wanted to unify people by using the same Bible. The goal of the translation was to be accurate and true to the originals, but also to be popular so that it would be read in public. It met the needs for the time and for a long time moving forward (it still is often the most read translation and really was the English Bible up until the late 1800’s). While this might not be the translation you read from today, it likely has influenced you more than you realize since many have noted how it shaped the English language and literature. Interestingly, this past decade saw updates of major contemporary translations as the New International Version (NIV) had a major revision in 2011 (replacing the 1984 version), the English Standard Version (ESV) and New Living Translation (NLT) were updated in 2016 and 2015, respectively, and the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) was published in 2016 as an updated version of the Holman Christian Standard Bible (which was published in 2004) – though I doubt we will talk about those revisions 400 years from now! For more discussion of English Bible translations, see these posts from October 2017 and March 2016.
The Conversion of Constantine (312)
A key turning point in the history of Christianity was the Roman emperor Constantine becoming a Christian in 312. In 313, he issued the Edict of Milan that made Christianity legal (a 380 edict by another emperor would make Christianity the official religion of Rome). The anniversary of Constantine’s conversion caused many to discuss the nature of his conversion (what exactly he understood and believed) as well as whether the shift of Christianity from being illegal to legal to eventually favored (at times, with force) was good for the church (for example, see this article on Constantine and this article on his conversion and its impact). Whatever one thinks about these topics, one cannot doubt the impact of Constantine’s conversion, as among other things, it led to the Nicene Creed being written, Bibles being translated and preserved, and churches being built.
The Founding of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (1816)
I recently read Tony Evans’ Oneness Embraced, part of which draws attention to the history, distinctiveness, and legacy of African-American churches. A key event in history occurred in 1816, as Richard Allen formed the African Methodist Episcopal Church (often called the AME); this is the oldest of the African-American denominations in America. Allen was a former slave who bought his freedom and became a minister, but he and others left St. George’s Episcopal Church in Philadelphia due to discrimination (for example, they could only preach to congregations composed of African-Americans and had to sit in a different section of the church) and even outward hostility (an African-American was removed from church while praying). At first they became an independent church within the Methodist Episcopal Church (which is what the Methodist church was called at that time), but they continued to experience discrimination.This was also true of other churches led by African-Americans, so five churches then came together to become the AME. Therefore, this was a church denomination that was not born because of theological differences, but because of the reality and experience of racism in America. It provided community and support in the era of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and more, and played a large role in the Underground Railroad and Civil Rights movement. The AME and other African-American denominations need to be discussed when talking about American Christianity, and understanding its history is important in conversations about race and faith in this country that have been occurring in new ways in this past decade. You can read a little more about Richard Allen here.
Martin Luther’s Posting of the 95 Theses (1517)
I have posted before about the importance of Martin Luther’s act in posting the 95 Theses (see here and here), as this event really sparked the Protestant Reformation. While Martin Luther’s theses were not yet expressing the key tenants of the Protestant Reformation – above all, the idea that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone and that our authority for faith and practice is the Bible alone – it was a key moment in the developing articulation of these beliefs. In remembering this event, we should also not forget forerunners of Luther’s ideas such as Jan Hus (who was executed for his views in 1415) or Bernard of Clairvaux (who founded a monastery in 1115), nor the fact that there were other key events in Luther’s life and the Reformation (for example, the Leipzig Disputation of 1519 moved the debate from indulgence to authority of Scripture and addressed other topics).
Canons of Dort (1618-1619)
The 400th anniversary of one of our church’s confessions of faith — the Canons of Dort — was also celebrated in this decade. The Canons (a word that refers to something authoritative, coming from the Greek word for “measuring rod”) were written by a gathering (called a Synod) of church leaders in the Dutch town of Dordrecht (rendered in English either as Dordt or Dort) in 1618-1619 to help resolve a dispute in churches that started around 1591 due to the teachings of a pastor/professor named Jacob Arminius (1560-1609) who called into question teachings found in Article 16 of the Belgic Confession (written in 1561). Controversy grew in 1610 when supporters of his ideas (people who were called Remonstrants) published a statement with five points of disagreement with the church, which led to this Synod that had 58 Dutch Christian leaders and 27 from other European countries discussing these teachings. The Synod found these teachings out of accord with the teaching of the Scriptures, with the Canons laying out the biblical teaching and also the pastoral significance of each of the five points in dispute. The refutation of the five points of the Remonstrants (in four articles) led to what people know as the “5 Points of Calvinism.” I examined this writing and its context in a series of posts from January 2018-June 2018, and Kevin DeYoung’s recently published book about the Canons of Dort is a wonderful resource if you want to learn more about the teachings of this document.
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