Biannual Update 2017
Post-Apostolic Church
INTRO
On this day, four years ago, this channel
began. As is my tradition, it is time
for a biannual update. I would like to talk about where
this channel has been and where it will be going, share some statistics about
the channel, and offer some ideas I have for some videos that are not related
to Pre-Nicene Christianity. In advance,
thank you for listening to this update.
PROGRESSION
In the first two years, 35 videos were
posted. In the last two years, 19 videos
were posted. Even though I have been
much slower the past 2 years, a lot has happened. The first phase of this channel is finished, which was introducing the
Pre-Nicene Christian writers and works, of which there were 40. This is the foundation of the channel. Since the rest of this channel’s videos will
contain quotes from Pre-Nicene Christians, they will refer to these
foundational videos. For example, you may have noticed
that each time I quote an early Christian writing, I provide an on-screen link
to that person’s or work’s introduction video.
This is handy for anyone who is interested in a quotation and wants to
learn more about that writer or work.
Another major event for this channel was the
series on the Septuagint. Not long after
the previous update video (2015), God put on my heart to research the
Septuagint. That subject was not far
from Pre-Nicene Christianity, because the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament,
was their Old Testament and is unlike the Old Testament in today’s translations. To my amazement, this series quickly became some of this channel’s most popular
videos. It appears that the Septuagint’s
popularity is growing like wildfire in modern years. I’m so thankful to join the many of the
Internet’s contributors regarding the Septuagint.
This brings us to the current and second phase
of this channel: a video series on the Divinity. The first three videos, which are an overview of the nature of God, have been
released. The following 11 videos will
focus on God the Father. After that, the
next 7 (or more) videos will be on Jesus the Christ. After that, the last 3 (or more) videos will
be on the Holy Spirit. After sharing what Pre-Nicene
Christianity believed about these things, the third phase of this channel will
discuss what they believed about salvation.
If you are curious as to how this channel is
progressing or about what I’m working on, you can find these details on the
blog where I post monthly updates. Also,
I post the full scripts of all videos. And
lately, I have added something to these scripts that may be of interest. Whenever there is a quote from the Pre-Nicene
Christians, I am now supplying a direct link to their quotation as it is found
in the Ante-Nicene Fathers. This is
handy for anyone who is interested in seeing these quotations in context. The link to the blog is in the description.
STATISTICS
Subscribers
Over the first two years, this channel
gained 542 subscribers. Over the second
two years, it gained about 1708 subscribers for a total of 2250 subscribers. This does not include 79 folks who have
subscribed by email.
Videos
Over the first two years, this channel
posted 35 videos. Over the second two
years, it posted 19 videos for a total of 54 videos.
Views
Over these four years, this channel has about
152,000 total views. Sadly, I do not
know how many views this channel had at the time of the previous update.
CONTACTS
Now that this channel has been active for 4
years, I have had the pleasure of getting in contact with many of my viewers,
mainly through email. And this has been
a real blessing. I’ve gained some dear
friends from places such as Missouri , Virginia , Mexico City , Puerto Rico , England ,
Italy
Of
course, where there are fans, there are also the critics. It is wonderful to receive approval, but it
is just as important to be challenged. I
do my best to take all criticism seriously.
Whether positive or
negative, I try to respond to all comments.
Though, I have found it difficult to respond to comments that are
unintelligible or borderline hateful. Over
the past four years, I have learned that… responding to the Internet is
hard! But I’m still happy to do it.
NON-EARLY CHRISTIAN VIDEOS
This channel is dedicated to Pre-Nicene
Christianity. But there may be
exceptions. For example, I shared a
video on the dating of Obadiah’s prophecy and a video on the full chronology of
the Scriptures that occurred during the Persian Empire . I have had ideas for other videos which are outside of Pre-Nicene
Christianity. Though these videos should
be a rarity, I wanted to share my list of ideas—just in case there is some
interest in them. If that is the case, please
let me know. But note that if I work on
these videos, they will delay future videos on Pre-Nicene Christianity.
First, there is a work called 2
Clement. This is a Pre-Nicene Christian
work. I didn’t make an introduction
video for it because there is so much mystery behind it. However, I’m thinking about a reading video of
2 Clement. Whether it was really written
by Clement of Rome or whether it was written in the first or second century,
the work is really fascinating because it is written as a homily, or
sermon. I am thinking about modernizing
the archaic language and reading it as a sermon.
Second, my work on the Septuagint nearly
sent me down many rabbit holes. Because
of my research and because I thought that some parts of my videos might be
confusing, another video might better explain an historical overview of how we
got the Bible. I would talk about things
such as the different codices, the difference between the Byzantine/Majority
Text family verses the Alexandrian Text family (and which ones are Old
Testament and which ones are New Testament), and how we arrived at a Biblical canon, that is, which books
belong in the Bible and which ones were almost included, and differences between Sola
Scriptura (Scripture Only) and Prima Scriptura and Holy Tradition. There is a lot of history and information in
all this. If I pursue this, it would
need to be a series of videos.
Third, church history is a fascinating and
important subject. A few years ago, I sought
to make a list of all the Christian groups that have existed from the apostles
until today. At least, groups that are
large enough to know something about. At
the end of my research, I made some basic historical notes on 800 Christian
groups that either have existed or still exist today… notes such as when the
group started, when it ended, and any prominent persons or events behind it. I would go through church history and
summarize 2000 years of denominations and events. This may also have so much information that
it would probably be a series of videos.
Finally, there are a number of passages in
the Scriptures (at least five major ones) that are debatable as to whether they
belong in Scripture. For example, was the account of
the woman caught in adultery which is found in John 8 really written by John? There are also the last 12 verses of Mark’s gospel. And there are quite a few others. These
passages are honestly questioned and there is doubt as to whether they were
written by the original authors. The
Pre-Nicene Christians have things to say about these passages and their
writings shed a lot of light on whether these doubtful passages are genuine or
not.
Feel free to comment or email if any of
these videos really interest you. But
remember, it is not my primary purpose to make videos like these but to keep
this channel focused on Pre-Nicene Christianity.
CONCLUSION
I feel very blessed to be able to share the
faith and history of early Christianity with you. Please stay tuned for more, and please share
this channel with your friends and your ministers. Again, I ask that you to pray for this
ministry. May the Lord bless you.
