back gound reading 2

Question 1

What was the belief or practice of early post-apostolic fathers concerning spiritual gifts?

Answer 1

Their writings demonstrate the existence of spiritual gifts as a common phenomenon in the early post-apostolic church (pp. 283-284).

Question 2

Why do reports of speaking in tongues increase greatly after the Protestant Reformation?

Answer 2

a. Greater religious freedom.
b. Renewed emphasis on Bible study, apostolic doctrine, conversion, and spiritual experience.
c. The invention of printing.
d. The closer proximity to our time (p. 288).

Question 3

a. Is there any evidence to suggest that some people both practiced baptism in the name of Jesus and received the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues prior to 1900?
b. If so, what is the significance of this fact?

Answer 3

a. Yes.

b. This suggests the existence of the full apostolic experience of salvation throughout history (pp. 298-299).

Question 4

a. Can church history alone ever prove the validity of a doctrine?
b. If not, what use does a study of church history have?

Answer 4

a. No.

b. It gives insight into how key doctrines were altered or lost over the centuries.