AIM Distance Education Courses: Courses

Early church history is a new and strange world to many Christians. It’s understood that the apostles wrote the inspired New Testament, but most are unaware of the volumes of material wriiten by Christians in the first four centuries of the church. Though uninspired, they give us valuable insights into understanding what the early Chrisitans believed and how they put their faith into practice. This series will challenge your assumptions, increase your knowledge, inspire you, and call you to emulate the faith of the early believers.

This series contains over 8 hours of online video teaching from a weekend seminar–held September 19-21, 2008–on Patristics, the study of the early church Fathers, with author David Berçot, Douglas Jacoby, Joey Harris, and Steve Staten.

Lectures include the World of the Patristic Writers, the Evolution of Early Christianity, 1 Clement, Ignatius, Irenaeus, and Sectarianism. There is also a Question and Answer session with all four teachers.

Introduction to the Series (Douglas Jacoby)
1. The Evolution of Christendom (David Bercot)
2. 1 Clement: The Corinthian Connection (Douglas Jacoby)
3. Ignatius of Antioch: The Episcopacy and Structural Unity (Joseph Harris)
4. Irenaeus: Standard-bearer for Orthodoxy (Steven Staten)
5. The Spirit of Sectarianism (David Bercot)
6. Q&A Session (Harris/Bercot/Jacoby/Staten)
7. The Church and the World (David Bercot)

Featured speaker: David W. Bercot (born April 13, 1950) is a lawyer, author, and authority on early Christianity. In 1989 he wrote his first book, the sensational Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up?,He has written many more volumes, including The Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs. David was central to the founding of the Scroll Publishing company. David and his family make their home in Amberson, Pennsylvania. The Bercots have three children.

Front Cover: Mosaic image of Jesus Christ at Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey.