Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. (Hebrews 12:1, The Message)
Chapter Two - The Praise
The theologians of the past have boldly built on the foundation laid by Jesus Christ (see 1 Corinthians 3:10-11). Their diligence and commitment to seek the truth should be recognized. When a modern reader reviews the text of the theologians of the past, it is astonishing how much they were able to research and publish without the aid of a computer. Today we have nearly every document made in the past (that survived) available in electronic format for instantaneous search. Technology has certainly improved not only research time but also accuracy. Most of the theologians in the past memorized vast amounts of texts in multiple languages.
Here are a few of the more notable dead theologians. The short descriptions presented here are only brief snapshots of each person along with their contributions to Christian theology. It should be noted that many mainstream denominations and churches often start by embracing the work of one or more select theologians, venerating them for many years, only to later “find a flaw” in their thinking or find some point in their theology that is no longer considered valid by that church and so the theologian and/or theology is rejected. That is why none of their church affiliations are listed as this remains somewhat fluid.
The following theologians are listed in chronological order based on their date of birth.
Ignatius of Antioch (Ignatius Theophorus, unknown-140 AD)
He wrote a series of letters that became some of the earliest contributions to the theological subjects of ecclesiology, sacraments and church leadership. He wrote extensively, but only seven of his epistles have been preserved (those to the Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians, Romans, Philadelphians, Smyrnaeans, and to Polycarp). Due to his widespread theological influence, many Pseudo-Ignatius works have appeared.
Polycarp (69–155 AD)
A Christian Bishop of Smyrna was believed by some to be a disciple of the apostle John. Thought to have written several letters, the only surviving work is the “Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians.” While much of his theology is not known, his teaching was very influential to other theologians including Irenaeus and Eusebius.
Justin Martyr (100-165 AD)
A Christian apologist and philosopher. Most of his work has been lost, his work named the “First Apology” defended the morality of Christian life, which provided several ethical and philosophical arguments that helped convince the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius to abandon Roman persecution of the church.
Irenaeus of Smyrna (130-202 AD)
A Greek Bishop who wrote extensively on several Christian topics. His most well-known work is “Against Heresies” which primarily refutes Gnosticism. In the book he established three pillars of orthodoxy (those being Scripture, teaching of the Apostles, and the teaching of the apostle’s successors). He also developed most of today’s New Testament canon.
Clement of Alexandria (Titus Flavius Clemens, 150–215 AD)
His parents were pagans but Clement converted and became a Christian philosopher and theologian. Another prolific writer, possibly best known for his ‘trilogy’ (Protrepticus, Paedagogus, and Stromata). He was influenced by Hellenistic philosophy, and first to introduce the concept of a visible and invisible church, believed faith was the basis for salvation, and that faith was also the basis for spiritual and mystical knowledge.
Tertullian (Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, 155-220 AD)
Considered the father of Latin Christianity, some even call him the founder of Western theology. Thirty-one of his writings survived with fragments of many others. A few notable points: 1) He believed in premillennialism; 2) that the book of Enoch belonged in the canon; 3) embraced Montanism (regarding the works and philosophy of the false prophet Montanus); 4) denied Mary as being sinless; and 5) was influential in the development of many western churches.
Origen Adamantius (184-253 AD)
An extremely prolific author, writing over 2,000 treatises on a variety of subjects like Biblical hermeneutics, exegesis, textual criticism, homiletics, apologetics, and spirituality. He founded a Christian school and postulated many viewpoints that later were influential in the development of many church founder’s theologies, including the idea of the Trinity and interpreting Scripture through allegorization.
Eusebius of Caesarea (Eusebius Pamphilus, 260-339 AD)
Known as a Greek historian of Christianity, his work reflected an antisemitic point of view often blaming the Jews for Jesus’ crucifixion. Plus, due his friendship with the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, he wrote favorably about Constantine. Eusebius, also likely due to his relationship with the emperor, both presented and attended the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. He was a supporter of Origen as seen in his “Apology of Origen.” He also wrote large volumes on the book of Psalms and Isaiah. Eusebius was also a preterist, an unusual belief at that time (more on that later).
Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD)
Saint Augustine as he most-often called, was a theologian and philosopher from Roman North Africa. He wrote on a number of subjects, including Christian Doctrine and Confessions. Due to his teaching on salvation and divine grace, many of the reformers, many years later, called him one of the fathers of the Protestant Reformation. Considered one of the more influential theologians of the Western churches. He also believed in premillennialism.
Gottschalk of Orbais (808-867 AD)
A Saxon theologian and monk, was an early advocate for double predestination (that is where God not only designates some to be saved, but He also designates some to be condemned). Seeing how Christianity had become more divisive and less interested in uniting, he called for all of Christianity to repent of this civil war. He also did not respect the hierarchy of the church.
John Scotus Eriugena (815-877 AD)
An Irish Catholic Neoplatonist philosopher, theologian, and poet. He was against extreme predestination and often defended the doctrine of liberty of will. He believed that philosophy and theology were fundamentally the same. At one time was accused of teaching pantheism due to a misunderstanding of his four-fold division of nature. Considered an outstanding philosopher due to his originality, one philosopher called him the most astonishing person of the ninth century.
Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274 AD)
Was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was also a very influential philosopher, theologian and jurist (being an expert of the law). Wrote extensive commentaries of the Bible and of the works of Aristotle. He never finished his largest and most influential document, Summa Theologica. He is considered by the Catholic church to be one of their greatest theologians. Other important works include writings on epistemology, ethics, economics, and political order. He believed that truth was known through reason, rationality (natural revelation), and faith (supernatural revelation).
William of Ockham (1287-1347 AD)
An English Franciscan friar, scholastic philosopher, and theologian. He embraced fideism where faith is independent of reason, that faith is of greater importance than reason. Believing that faith gives access to theological truths. He was also a pioneer in the development of several epistemological points of view (regarding the nature of existence). Undoubtedly best known for the principle of logic that is named after him, “Ockham’s Razor.” A razor in philosophy refers to a principle or rule of thumb that allows one to eliminate (“shave off”) unlikely explanations for a phenomenon. Ockham’s Razor states that simpler explanations are more likely to be correct avoiding unnecessary or improbable assumptions.
Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536 AD)
A Dutch philosopher and Catholic priest/theologian. Much of his work was influential in the Reformation. He remained affiliated with the Catholic church but was involved with reforming the church from within, especially regarding cleric abuse. As a proponent of synergism (that of salvation through the involvement of divine grace and human freedom, a collaboration between God and man), he believed in free will which was opposed by Luther and Calvin. His writings were extensive, covering many Christian subjects like the sacraments, toleration, as well as several Scriptural translations. Much of what he wrote was to counter Luther’s writings.
Martin Luther (1483-1546 AD)
A professor, monk and theologian. Considered by many to be the father of the Protestant
Reformation, however the movement was well underway before him. By posting his 95 Theses on the door of the All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, Germany, in 1517, a document that firmly requested an open discussion of the practice and efficacy of indulgences of the Roman Catholic Church, Luther pushed the Protestant Reformation movement into the public light for all to see. Luther continued to write extensively on a number of theological subjects, as well as several in-depth commentaries of some of the books of the Bible. Even under pressure, Luther refused to back down and would not renounce any of his writings against the church.
John Calvin (1509-1564 AD)
A French lawyer, theologian and pastor. He was also one of the primary reformers during the Protestant Reformation. He was key in the development of a form of Christian theology often referred to as Calvinism, which influenced many theologians and church leaders. The heart of his theology would later be called the Five Points of Calvinism, which are: Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and the Perseverance of the Saints.
Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609 AD)
A Dutch theologian who was also very prolific in writing. His ideas regarding theology ultimately shaped a new form of Protestant thinking known as Arminianism. Even though Arminius maintained the basic premise of the Five Solas of the Protestant Reformation, his theology was very distinctive from the reformers. Regarding predestination, Arminius concluded that God knows who will accept Jesus’ offer of salvation, thus people have free will to have faith and believe in Jesus.