Page 1 of 2

Your Favorite Person(s) from Church History?

Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 10:42 pm
by anochria
Question:

Your favorite person(s) from Church history? (not counting anyone from the New Testament) and why...

Here's my list:

Some of my favorites, by period, beginning after the New Testament:

Early Church
Polycarp
Clement of Rome
Clement of Alexandria
Justin Martyr
St. Cecilia

End of Roman Era/ Early Middle Ages
Augustine
Gregory the Great

Middle Ages
Thomas Aquinas
Francis of Assisi

Reformation to 1900
William Wilberforce
John Donne
Blaise Pascal
Feodor Dostoevksy

1900-1950
C.S. Lewis
George MacDonald
G.K. Chesterton
Deitrich Bonhoeffer

I know I'm missing a ton, but these are just off the cuff.

Re: Your Favorite Person(s) from Church History?

Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 6:12 pm
by SteveF
My favorites are the ones that inspire me.

Like those who died for their faith, like John Hus

or

Those who layed down their lives for others, like David Brainerd

or

Those who comitted themselves to prayer, like John Hyde

or

Those who lived by faith, like George Muller

or

Those who used their God given genius to further the Kingdom of God and not for personal gain, like William Tyndale

or

Those who lost almost everything in God's work but kept going, like Hudson Taylor


The list goes on and on.......

Re: Your Favorite Person(s) from Church History?

Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 6:49 pm
by Paidion
How about starting earlier than the second-century church? Maybe a category, "Apostolic Church".

My favourite is Barnabus.
Barnabus, whose name means "son of encouragement" was indeed an encourager. Recall that Paul was ready to write off John Mark, because he had taken off in Pamphilia, and had not helped them in the ministry. But Barnabus knew the young man needed some encouragement, and wanted to take him with them again. Then Paul and Barnabus had a sharp disagreement about the matter, and they separated.

Well, it turns out that Barnabus was right, and Paul was wrong. Mark became a great man of God, and later helped Paul. Paul actually asked Timothy to bring him, "Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry." Peter called Mark his "son", and Mark scribed the memoirs of Christ (the "Gospel of Mark") as Peter recalled those great events.

Yet, Paul records one instance of failure on the part of Barnabus:

Galatians 2:13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

Re: Your Favorite Person(s) from Church History?

Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 9:10 pm
by anochria
Paidion: you know, I love the behind-the-scenes story about John Mark. I also like to imagine he was the boy who ran away in the garden of Gethsemene.

The reason I didn't include bible characters was because I thought there might be a tendency to favor them over characters from outside the bible. Was I right? :D

Great list, stevef. And thanks for providing the reasons (I should have done that, maybe I'll be able to get to it)

Re: Your Favorite Person(s) from Church History?

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 10:47 am
by mattrose
Paidion wrote:Well, it turns out that Barnabus was right, and Paul was wrong.
I don't quite agree Paidion. I've thought about that disagreement a lot and have come to the conclusion that the best thing for John-Mark was that he hear both opinions. Imagine if the whole church were like Barnabus. People like John-Mark might begin to take ministry too lightly (no consequences to failure). Or imagine if the whole church were like Paul. People might become so discouraged by their failures that they give up. I think it was necessary for John-Mark to have someone in the church fighting for him and someone arguing against his actions. Both may be necessary for true restoration.

As for my favorite people in church history, I'd have to agree about Polycarp. I'd add many of the early Anabaptists along with John Wesley.

Re: Your Favorite Person(s) from Church History?

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 1:02 pm
by selah
Rees Howells, for his willingness to pray, pray, pray...and obey the Holy Spirit even though his acts of obedience looked anti-social (eating oatmeal only--for a year or two, growing his hair long when men's hair was expected to always be short, NOT wearing a hat when men were expected to wear them in public)

Suzanna Wesley, for praying for her 16 children for about 50 years---that they would be influential for the kingdom of God---never giving up on praying for her children, and being faithful to her materially-impoverished husband, thus showing her heart to have hope in God's glory

Re: Your Favorite Person(s) from Church History?

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 1:13 pm
by dean198
Here's mine:

Early Church
Paul
John of Ephesus/the Beloved Disciple
Polycarp
Clement of Rome
Ignatius
Origen
Eusebius

End of Roman Era/ Early Middle Ages
Patrick
Vigilantius

Middle Ages
Ulfilas
Peter Waldo

Reformation to 1900
Menno Simons
William Tyndale
Thomas Grantham
John Wesley
John Nelson
Anthony Norris Groves

1900-1950
John G. Lake
William Parham
Brother Andrew
Brother Yun

Re: Your Favorite Person(s) from Church History?

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 1:18 pm
by dean198
Paidion wrote:
Well, it turns out that Barnabus was right, and Paul was wrong. Mark became a great man of God, and later helped Paul. Paul actually asked Timothy to bring him, "Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry." Peter called Mark his "son", and Mark scribed the memoirs of Christ (the "Gospel of Mark") as Peter recalled those great events.
This illustrates a problem when it comes to very early history - according to early records, it is very unlikely that John Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark, which was written by a disciple of Peter in Italy c. 44 - by someone who had never met Jesus (according to Papias) who soon after went to Alexandria - at the same time that John Mark was with Paul and Barnabas his levitical uncle.

Re: Your Favorite Person(s) from Church History?

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 1:19 pm
by anochria
I'm so adding Patrick to my list... can't believe I forgot that one!

Code: Select all

I don't quite agree Paidion. I've thought about that disagreement a lot and have come to the conclusion that the best thing for John-Mark was that he hear both opinions. Imagine if the whole church were like Barnabus. People like John-Mark might begin to take ministry too lightly (no consequences to failure). Or imagine if the whole church were like Paul. People might become so discouraged by their failures that they give up. I think it was necessary for John-Mark to have someone in the church fighting for him and someone arguing against his actions. Both may be necessary for true restoration.
Very much agreed mattrose. Sometimes seemingly contradictory forces within the church work together for the good. Imagine that?!!! :shock:

Re: Your Favorite Person(s) from Church History?

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 2:47 pm
by Paidion
If Paul had had his way, it is highly probable that John Mark would never have become the outstanding disciple which he became.

Hardness and criticism seems to have the results of stagnating Christian growth.

As I see it, all of us need all the encouragement we can get.

It is God's kindness that is meant to lead us to repentance (Rom. 2:4) ---- not His harshness and rejection of us when we fail.