People

Question 1

Polycarp

Answer 1

2nd Century. Disciple of the apostle John, later became bishop of Smyrna. Martyred at 86 when he refused to honor Caesar.

Question 2

Clement of Rome

Answer 2

1st Century. Best known by letter to the Church in Corinth(1 Clement) most likely written in 96, and was directed against immoral practices of prostitution connected with the Temple of Aphrodite.

Question 3

Ignatius

Answer 3

2nd Century. 3rd Bishop of Antioch. Wrote seven letters giving insight into Christians’ attitudes toward persecution. Opposed Gnosticism. First to distinguish between bishops and elders. Martyred under Trajan.

Question 4

Marcion

Answer 4

2nd Century Heretic. Taught that the god of the OT was an arbitrary and vindictive god distinct from the God and Father of Jesus of the NT. Produced his own canon, rejecting the Old Testament and accepting only the book of Luke and certain edited versions of Paul’s letters.

Question 5

Justin

Answer 5

One of the great apologist of the 2nd century, he personally opposed Marcion. He also was the first orthodox writer to evaluate the relationship between Christianity and Philosophy. He taught that all truth belongs to Christians, and developed the doctrine of the logos. He was beheaded in Rome under Marcus Aurelius.

Question 6

Eusebius of Caesarea

Answer 6

3rd-4th Century. Father of church history. Wrote Ecclesiastical History. Bishop of Caesarea during the Arian controversy and Council of Nicea. Eusebius dealt mainly with the succession of Christian bishops and teachers from apostolic times, heresies, the suffering of the Jews, and the persecution and martyrdom of Christians. He also recounted traditions about the New Testament writers and details about the canon of Scripture.

Question 7

Tertullian

Answer 7

2nd-3rd Century. He was the first major Christian author to write in Latin. He was therefore the first to use many of the technical words common in later Christian theological debates. Tertullian lived most, if not all, his life in Carthage, capital of the Roman province of Africa. He vigorously opposed heresies in the church such as Marcionism, and was an advocate for purity and holiness in the church.

Question 8

Constantine

Answer 8

4th Century. He was an emperor of the Roman Empire who before a ‘particular battle received a vision in which he was told to place the Christian symbol “Xp” on the shields of his men. He was victorious in the battle and from that time was converted to the Christian faith. One of the most significant aspects of Constantine’s rule is the Edict of Milan (313), which made the persecution of Christians illegal.

Question 9

Chrysostom

Answer 9

4th Century. He was given this name (meaning “Golden Mouth”) after his death since he was such a great preacher. He was considered a great orator and exegete of Scripture and was made the Bishop of Constantinople. During this time he preached the truth of Scripture including many messages calling for repentance. He was banished from the city twice and eventually exiled to an obscure village near the Black Sea where he died.

Question 10

Jerome

Answer 10

4th-5th Century. Translator of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. His edition, the Vulgate, is still the official biblical text of the Roman Catholic Church. He is recognized by the Vatican as a Doctor of the Church.

Question 11

Pelagius

Answer 11

4th-5th Century. British monk famous for his piety, but declared a heretic for denying original sin. Opposed Augustine.

Question 12

Augustine

Answer 12

4th-5th Century. Bishop of Hippo. He battled Donatism and Pelagianism. Taught the depravity of man and the primacy of grace in salvation. His works on sin, grace, and predestination laid the groundwork of the Reformation.

Question 13

Bernard of Clairvaux

Answer 13

12th Century. The last of the church fathers; mystic, monk and theologian. He was a strong spiritual reformer. Leader of the Cistercian movement. He was the major preacher of the Second Crusade and held to a full Augustinian view.

Question 14

Gregory the Great

Answer 14

6th Century. Considered one of the ablest men to occupy the position of Pope. Father of the Medieval papacy. He became pope in 590 after previously serving many other leadership roles in the church. A strong civic and spiritual leader, he brought order to Rome and helped establish the idea that the Pope was the supreme authority in the church. Wrote The Pastoral Rule.

Question 15

Francis of Assisi

Answer 15

12-13th Century. An innovator of the Roman system, he believed that the most serious problem in the church was worldliness and set to rebuild the church around the pattern of living an ascetic lifestyle like Jesus. In 1215, his order of Lesser Brothers received Papal approval.

Question 16

Anselm

Answer 16

11th Century. Archbishop of Canterbury, and known as the father of scholasticism, Anselm introduced a new theory of the atonement(the satisfaction theory) saying that man’s sin is a debt to God, not the devil and that Christ’s death alone has satisfied God’s offended sense of honor. He tried to make the content of Christian faith clear to reason, though insisted that faith must come first. Developed two proofs for the existence of God; the ontological and the cosmological.

Question 17

Aquinas

Answer 17

13th Century. Dominican monk-turned teacher, Aquinas was the author of the monumental Summa Theologica, the summary of the Roman Catholic Church. Scholasticism reached its pinnacle in Aquinas’ writings. Combining the greatest of the ancient Greek philosophers, particularly Aristotle, with Christian thought, Aquinas built a theological system, which has been accepted as the basis for all Roman Catholic theological instruction today.

Question 18

Wycliffe

Answer 18

14th Century. “Morning Star” of the Reformation. Translated the Bible into middle English. Declared a heretic in 1382. Believed the Bible is the supreme authority, that the clergy should hold no propriety, and that there was no basis for the doctrine of transubstantiation. He was a fore-runner to the Reformation.

Question 19

Hus

Answer 19

14th Century. Preached against the abuses of the Catholic Church, especially the morality of the priests, preaching of the Bible in the common language of the people (not Latin), opposed the sale of indulgences, and Papal infallibility. He wanted the church to practice Communion “in both kinds”. Excommunicated from the church and burned at the stake 1415. Was a Bohemian priest who discovered Wycliffe’s religious writings. Christ not the Pope was the head of the church. Thus he was excommunicated, and burned at the stake.

Question 20

Tyndal

Answer 20

16th Century. An English Bible translator. The 1611 King James Version is 90% the work of Tyndal. Was martyred for his opposition to the Pope in 1536.

Question 21

Luther

Answer 21

16th Century. Credited with being the father of the Reformation for his posting of the 95 thesis on the church door in Wittenburg, Germany 1517. Excommunicated from the Catholic church when he refused to recant his positions after the Diet of Worms. An accomplished preacher, author, and hymn writer. Father of the Lutheran church. Disagreed with Calvin on the issue of communion as he believed “consubstanciation.”

Question 22

Melanchthon

Answer 22

16th Century. Systematized Luther’s theology. Wrote Loci Communes and “Augsburg Confession.” Shifted toward Erasmus; theology of salvation and towards Calvin’s view of the Lord’s Supper (Christ not present for the sake of the bread, but for the sake of man).

Question 23

Zwingli

Answer 23

16th Century. Swiss Reformer. Perhaps the third best known Reformers behind Calvin and Luther. Disagreed with Luther over issue of whether or not we may do what the Bible does not forbid. Luther says we may, Zwingli says no. Fought the “Radical Reformation” over the pace (he wanted slower) of the Reformation. Believed that Christ’s presence in the Lord’s Supper was spiritual not physical.

Question 24

Calvin

Answer 24

16th Century. Born French, he was “suddenly” converted sometime between 1532-34. First published his Institutes in 1536. Served as pastor in Geneva, expelled, and returned three years later. Had a major effect on the organization and expression of what we call Reformed Theology. Final edition of the Institutes published in 1559. Died in 1564.

Question 25

Knox

Answer 25

16th Century. Bishop of Rochester. Upon the ascendancy of Mary Stuart as queen of Scots, he fled to the Continent where he was influenced by Calvin. In 1559, he returned to Scotland, and became the leader of the Scots Reformation. He helped draft the Scots Confession of Faith, and the Book of Discipline. He is remembered as the founder of Presbyterianism and theories on liberty and government.

Question 26

Covenanters

Answer 26

17th Century. Name applied to those Scottish Presbyterians who signed the National Covenant and the Solemn League as well as to their followers. They resisted the Episcopal, "system of church government and the divine right of Kings (conflicting with the Stuart dynasty).

Question 27

Arminius

Answer 27

16th Century. A progressive Protestant Dutch theologian, Arminius was the author of a brand of theology known as Arminianism developed as a reaction against what he saw as the sternness of Calvinism. Arminius discarded the idea of unconditional predestination and taught that man had freedom to choose or reject salvation. He was the first to urge that the state tolerate all religions and emphasized the more practical aspects of faith instead of the creedal.

Question 28

Amyraut and the School of Saumur

Answer 28

17th Century. French theologian and preacher, developed the doctrine of "hypothetical universalism" known as Amyraldianism. It taught that God wills all men to be saved, but because of inherited corruption, men reject him, so God wills to save his elect by grace.

Question 29

Jonathan Edwards

Answer 29

18th Century. Theologian and pastor. Perhaps America's best theologian remembered for stressing the inseparability of an intellectual Reformed faith from "experimental" religion. His writings include: "The Freedom of the Will" and "Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God."

Question 30

Richard Baxter

Answer 30

17th Century. Puritan preacher. Read him for his evangelism, spiritual counsel and church renewal, but not for grace centered living. He wrote The Reformed Pastor, A Call to The Unconverted, and A Christian Directory.

Question 31

Zinzendorf

Answer 31

18th Century. The founder of the Moravian Church. He was a German count whose importance lies in the creation of a missionary, service-oriented, ecumenical free church based upon a common experience of salvation and mutual love, and the emphasis upon deep, emotional religious expression which was intended to breathe new life into Protestantism.

Question 32

George Whitefield

Answer 32

18th Century. An English Calvinistic revivalist who was a major figure in the Great Awakening. Known for his eloquence and incredible speaking voice, he would preach to thousands gathered in the countryside. He was also influential in the founding of orphanages across the colonies. His eloquence and intelligence earned him the friendship of such notables as Benjamin Franklin.

Question 33

John Wesley

Answer 33

18th Century. An Arminian revivalist who, with the help of his brother Charles, founded Methodism as a movement within the Anglican Church. An itinerate preacher who was greatly influenced by the German Moravians, Wesley was one of the major forces behind the Evangelical revival in England. The Methodists stressed personal piety and devotion, as well as man's free choice to receive God's grace. Wesley emphasized the teaching of justification by faith alone and the pursuit of holiness to the point of "Christian perfection."

Question 34

Marrow Controversy

Answer 34

18th Century. A controversy in the Church of Scotland over rival theological views of legalism and merit in contrast to God's grace in Jesus Christ. The basis of the controversy was over a book, The Marrow of Moderm Divinity, which advocated strongly Calvinistic doctrines and was held to favor antinomianism.

Question 35

William Carey

Answer 35

18-19th Century. Shoemaker turned missionary, Carey had a vision for the church to be involved in foreign missions. His was the first real attempt at foreign missions by the Protestant church. In 1793 the Baptist Missionary Society sent Carey to India. Stationed near Calcutta, he and his colleagues translated the Bible into many of the native languages, set up printing presses, and colleges. His life inspired other missionaries to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, adopting his motto: "Attempt great things for God; expect great things from God."

Question 36

George Muller

Answer 36

19th Century. Greatly influenced by Pietism and known mainly for his orphanage work in Bristol England. When his second orphanage was built, he and his wife began to travel around the world preaching the gospel. He was known for his "faith mission" principle in which he received miraculous answers to prayer.

Question 37

Charles Spurgeon

Answer 37

19th Century. Calvinistic Baptist preacher and avid reader of the Puritans, known fondly as "The Prince of Preachers." In 1854 he became the pastor of a large congregation in London which built the Metropolitan Tabernacle to hold the crowds that came to hear him preach. He likely has more sermons published than any other preacher in history.

Question 38

Charles Hodge

Answer 38

19th Century. The best-known proponent of the Princeton theology. A noted polemicist, Hodge is remembered for his rational defense of the Reformed faith, and for his defense of creationism against naturalistic evolution.

Question 39

B. B. Warfield

Answer 39

19-20th Century. One of the last of the great Princeton theologians, respected for his scholarly defense of Augustinian Calvinism. He is remembered for his intellectual defense of Biblical inerrancy in the face of Scheierrnacherian and Ritschlian liberalism.

Question 40

Charles Finney

Answer 40

19th Century. After training to be a lawyer, Finney became a Presbyterian revivalist, and the father of the New School movement. He employed "New measures" of pragmatic techniques such as the anxious seat, to win souls. He was a key force in the Northern section of the Second Great Awakening of the first half of the 19th century.

Question 41

D. L. Moody

Answer 41

19th Century. Dispensationalist revivalist, famous for his "sinking ship" theory: the world is lost, and Christians must endeavor only to save as many souls as they can before the end. Moody's emphasis led to the rampant separationism of the fundamentalist movement.