We all have that family member who is obsessed with the family tree, perhaps that uncle or that aunt that knows the exact year that your family immigrated to the United States. Family members like this help us to understand our history and heritage and have a stronger personal identity.

What about our faith lineage? What about our spiritual history, the legacy of those that helped establish the worldview that we often take for granted? Knowing our heritage as Baptists is an important and worthwhile endeavor.

On today's show, Provost of Living Faith Bible Institute Brandon Briscoe sits down with Jim Alter, pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Sidney, Ohio. Jim is the co-founder and editor of the Ancient Baptist Press. Jim is also the coauthor of a book called Why Baptist? The Significance of Baptist Principles in an Ecumenical Age.

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Visit http://www.ancientbaptist.com/

We continue our series on church history with pastor Greg Axe, author of “Church History”. Last time, we talked about the actions of King Henry VIII severing the ties between the Church of Rome with the (Anglican) Church of England. Today we will discuss Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, two rulers with different approaches to leadership and with very different religious views. 

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Throughout the length of our podcast we have been doing episodes devoted to understanding history, particularly the history of the church, from a biblical perspective. Last time we came together on this topic was Episode 156, where we discussed the Counter Reformation and the Catholic Church’s struggle to reclaim its authority during the 16th and 17th Century. This week we are going to build on our ongoing narrative by chatting about Henry the VIII, King of England (1509-1547). Henry represents for us a serious turning of power in England away from the authority of the church which of course led to the establishment of the Church of England. And of course, our guide on this journey through church history. For this conversation we welcome back author of Church History: A Biblical Perspective, Greg Axe.

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We speak with Dr. Alan Shelby, Dean of LFBI, about the historical roots of a dispensational view of Scripture. Dr. Shelby explains the need for right divisions in understanding the Bible and emphasizes Dispensationalism as the hermeneutic that supports the most literal interpretation of the Scriptures. He defines Dispensationalism then highlights how it differs from other methods of interpretation that begin with human reasoning and often skeptical pre-suppositions. He explores the early modern roots and heritage of Dispensational thought, as well as the historical roots of positions such as premillennialism, the pretribulation rapture, imminent return of Christ and forms of Christian zionism. He traces these perspectives back to the very disciples of the twelve apostles, marking the connection of a fellowship of believers through God's Word that has lasted through history.

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Over the last couple of years on the Postscript, we have been walking through the history of the Church. The last few episodes on this subject, we have been discussing the Reformation. We have discussed Jan Hus, John Wycliffe, Martin Luther and the Anabaptists.

Today we are sitting down with pastor and Church History instructor Greg Axe to discuss the Counter Reformation. We set the context with the setting, particularly the age of European exploration and expansion couple with two key Catholic players, Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits (1534 AD) and Pope Paul III, overseer of the Council of Trent (1545 AD).

In this conversation, we discuss the ways in which the Roman Catholic Church sought to entrench its reformers against the Church as official enemies of the state by the authority of the Council of Trent, giving the Catholic Church the right to anathematize people in over 100 instances - which council stands today as one of the most foundational doctrinal documents of the Catholic Church.

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Purchase Church History: A Biblical Perspective at https://www.lfbi.org/books

We continue our church history series with Pastor Greg Axe of Crest Bible Church, who is also the professor of Church History at Living Faith Bible Institute. Greg is the author of Church History: A Biblical Perspective, which can be found on Amazon.

Today we discuss the Anabaptists of the 16th century, their origins, doctrines, culture, and their legacy of biblical discipleship.

Visit https://www.lfbi.org/learnmore

We continue our church history series with Pastor Greg Axe of Crest Bible Church. We discuss the man often recognized as the key player of the Reformation, Martin Luther. We begin with his upbringing and salvation experience, and then discuss his unrest with the Roman Catholic Church, the 95 theses, as well as the ensuing debate and persecution. We also discuss Luther's influence after his escape to Germany and the translation of the Bible into German.

We continue our unknown missionary series with James Fyffe, professor of Missiology at Living Faith Bible Institute. This time we cover the life of Columba of Colmcille, an Irish-born missionary credited with a fruitful church planting ministry spanning Ireland and Scotland. We discuss the legends surrounding the man as well as Catholic mythology in the tale of Saint Columba and the banishment of the Loch Ness monster.

In this episode, we continue our conversation on church history with pastor Greg Axe of Crest Bible Church. This time, we look at the conditions that paved the way for the Reformation, including further corruption in the Church of Rome, as well as the positive factors. We also look at the lives of John Wycliffe and John Huss, as well as their contributions to getting the Bible into the hands of the common man.

We continue our conversation with LFBI professor and author of Church History, Greg Axe. This time we cover the Spanish Inquisition — the false trial and slaughter of tens of thousands of people for the purpose of political control. We look at key players like King Ferdinand, Isabella, and the “heretics” tortured and murdered under the pretense of Christ’s kingdom.

Buy Greg Axe’s book “Church History” at https://www.lfbi.org/books

We continue our conversation on Church History with LFBI professor and pastor of Crest Bible Church Greg Axe. This time we cover the Inquisition of the Medieval Roman Catholic Church around the 13th and 14th centuries. We address what “heretic” means and how that concept was re-interpreted by the Catholic authorities of the time. We learn their strategy for “purifying” Europe of those who fell outside the bounds of their religious dogma.

We sit down with dean of LFBI and pastor of Harvest Baptist Church, Dr. Alan Shelby to discuss the unfolding biblical role of the pastor. We also see ways in which false ideas about leadership, stemming from traditions of the Imperial Church, have negatively informed the way church leaders function in their responsibilities today. Alan points back to scripture to then addresses how a leader ought to cast a vision for their local church that anticipates Christ’s imminent return and emphasizes the urgent mission before them.

In this episode we continue our discussion on the crusades with pastor Greg Axe the LFBI professor of Church History. We see how Augustine's City of God laid the doctrinal foundation of Roman Catholic rules for "holy war," along with modern-day ramifications of this ensuing doctrine. We briefly look into the lives of men & boys of the crusades like Bernard of Clairvaux, Saladin, Richard the Lionheart, Stephen of Cloyes & Nicholas of Cologne. Lastly, we consider the horrific Children's Crusade in which 30,000 children marched to their death or enslavement just before another 20,000 did the same.

In this episode we continue our discussion on Church History with pastor Greg Axe. We begin with the medieval cultural conditions that set the stage for the crusades. We talk about a few key characters: Peter the Hermit, Godfrey of Buillon & Walter the Penniless. We conclude by addressing why the crusades never actually ended.

In this first of three episodes on the Dark Ages Pastor Greg Axe of Crest Bible Church continues with us on the topic of Church History.

We begin at about the 5th century with Pope Innocent I who claimed universal dominion for The Bishop of Rome. We then look at Pope Leo the Great’s claim to channel Peter the Apostle. Leo's religiopolitical position contributed greatly to the rise of Papal Authority.

In this episode we continue our conversation with Professor and Pastor Greg Axe of Crest Bible Church. We examine the beliefs & works of a few early influencers of the Roman Catholic Church who came to prominence between 325-500 AD, including Ambrose, Augustine & Jerome.

Greg explains how Ambrose’s political office in the Roman Empire was key to him assuming the role of bishop of Milan, Italy. We discuss how Augustine’s theology gave way to Catholic doctrines such as baby baptism, purgatory, works-based salvation, penance, supersessionism and a papal theocracy. Lastly, we look into Jerome’s monastic lifestyle and his creation of the Latin Vulgate, which became the official bible for the Roman Catholic Church.

In this episode we have a conversation with Professor and Pastor Greg Axe of Crest Bible Church. Greg teaches the Church History course at Living Faith Bible Institute. In our conversation, Greg describes the events that led to the marriage of Christianity and the Roman Empire. He also helps us to decipher the differences between the councils, confession, catechisms and creeds we hear about in history and religion.

In Episode 5 we interview Pastor Greg Axe of Crest Bible Church and professor of Church History and Eschatology at Living Faith Bible Institute. In this episode Greg and Brandon conclude their discussion by overviewing differing doctrinal positions on Scripture exuding from three ancient cities, Antioch of Syria, Rome, and Alexandria. Join us next week as we speak with Pastor Sam Miles, dean of Living Faith Bible Institute.