By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2026-03-09T02:32:55-04:00February 11th, 2026|Tags: Christian History by the Century, Martyr, Meaning of Life, Violence, Women|
The fourth century stands as a decisive turning point in Christian history. Communities that had once defined faith through suffering and martyrdom now faced the challenges of legitimacy, authority, and power.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2026-03-09T02:24:25-04:00January 14th, 2026|Tags: Christian History by the Century, Martyr, Meaning of Life, Violence, Women|
It was during the third century CE that suffering became a defining marker of Christian identity—socially, politically, and theologically. By the start of the third century, the term ‘Christian’ began to gather specific meaning.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2025-08-07T04:30:22-04:00June 25th, 2025|Tags: Christian History by the Century, Christianity, Martyr, Plato|
Engage in the collective rethinking of how Christianities evolved across the centuries—past, present, and future. In this post we look at the 5th century BCE.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2025-04-16T14:39:48-04:00April 23rd, 2025|Tags: Christian Heresies, Genesis, Gnosticism, Martyr, Plato, Revelation|
Since the discovery of a substantial trove of ancient texts—unfamiliar to the modern world until the late nineteenth through mid-twentieth centuries—we’ve begun to hear a different side of the gnostic story, one that’s worth listening to.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2024-06-07T04:12:34-04:00October 4th, 2023|Tags: Deb Saxon, Empowerment, Martyr, Meaning of Life, Perpetua|
Many people today feel a lack of control. What we find in these early centuries is that there is a variety of responses among those early followers of Jesus as well. An interview with Dr. Deborah Saxon.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2023-05-01T18:51:57-04:00May 3rd, 2023|Tags: Art Dewey, Biblical Violence, Crucifixion, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Matthew, Judaism, Martyr|
The irony is that the history of Israel embodies the suffering innocent one. . . reminding us why we have to stay aware of the innocent one in our midst. An Interview with Dr. Arthur Dewey
By Dr. Erin K. Vearncombe|2023-04-18T07:01:11-04:00April 19th, 2023|Tags: Christianity, Community, Martyr, Perpetua|
When Perpetua, like so many of the early martyrs in these ancient stories, declared, “I am Christian,” what she really declared was, “I belong to the party of the Christ.”
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2023-03-30T17:32:25-04:00April 5th, 2023|Tags: Crucifixion, Martyr, Paul, Resurrection, Sacrifice|
In fact, God has made him alive. . . the experience of Jesus and the power of the experience of Jesus is the same before his death and after. An interview with Dr. B. Brandon Scott
