Abstract: This two-part lecture series will set the groundwork for Athanasius’ defense of orthodoxy by surveying the first three centuries of the church. The first lecture will focus on the Book of Acts, the early growth of the gospel, the ten persecutions of the Roman Empire, and the martyrs who died for the church. The second lecture will focus on the theologians who helped define church doctrine, the heretics who sought to deconstruct it, and the historical forces that led to the ascension of Constantine and the Council of Nicaea. Though these two talks are best heard in sequence, they can each stand alone.
Louis Markos is a Professor of English and Scholar in Residence at Houston Baptist University, where he teaches courses on British Romantic and Victorian Poetry, the Greek and Roman Classics, and C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. He speaks widely for classical Christian schools and conferences and has authored 25 books, including From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics, On the Shoulders of Hobbits: The Road to Virtue with Tolkien and Lewis, The Myth Made Fact: Reading Greek and Roman Mythology through Christian Eyes, From Plato to Christ: How Platonic Thought Shaped the Christian Faith, and Ancient Voices: An Insider’s Look at the Early Church. He is committed to the concept of the Professor as Public Educator and believes that knowledge must not be walled up in the Academy but must be disseminated to all who have ears to hear. His son Alex teaches history at the Geneva School in Boerne, TX and his daughter Anastasia teaches music at Founders Classical Academy in Lewisville, TX.
