Lecture

The Christian faith claims continuity with our deepest ancestral roots.

R. Douglas Geivett: How old is Christianity? That’s an interesting question. Many people would date the origin of Christianity back to the time of Jesus Christ some 2,000 years ago. Is that when Christianity began? Well, how you answer that question depends on what you think Christianity is. As it happens, Christianity is a religious point of view that is continuous with the history of the Jews, extending all the way back to Abraham and even before that when God was working with the people that He created.

Jon Mark Reynolds: Christianity has continuity with the past, and this is one of its most important features. Born, consistent with and as a fulfillment of the promises of Judaism, continuing through 2,000 years of church history, great thinkers, great prophets, great saviors, right down to the present, to the believer who’s watching this show or someone who wants to be a believer, there is a continuous stream of Christian witness. We’re not something that somebody thought of yesterday and decided would be a good idea; such things are always dangerous.

R. Douglas Geivett: Jesus Christ is the linchpin of history. He is the bridge between the ancient Hebrew tradition and what we know to be modern or contemporary Christianity. Because Jesus Christ is the incarnation of God who came and revealed to His own people, the Jewish people, God as Father. Up until the arrival of Jesus Christ, their ancestor, the ancestor of choice, their religious father was Abraham. But Jesus said, ‘Abraham rejoiced to see my day and was glad.’ Abraham anticipated something more and that something more was embodied in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ said, ‘You can speak of your father Abraham, but let me tell you about My Father, God.’ And then

He opened the door to the possibility of our experiencing God as Father through a relationship to Jesus Christ as well, just as Abraham anticipated. And so there is a continuity between the ancient history of the Jews right on up through Christianity.