The Ancient Church: Its History, Doctrine, Worship, and Constitution

"The Ancient Church: Its History, Doctrine, Worship, and Constitution" by W.D. Killen gives a view of the early Christian church, written in the 1800s, that looks deeply at how it grew, what it believed, how it worshipped, and how it was organized during its first 300 years. The writer wants to show new ideas about the church long ago, especially how much it changed from when Jesus and his followers were alive to when the church became more formally structured. The book starts with the author explaining why it's important to keep talking about the early church, pointing out new arguments and information that have come up recently. The author talks about what they will explore, like the life and lessons of Jesus, what the apostles did, how church worship changed, and the problems early Christians had, like being treated badly and disagreements over beliefs. This beginning sets the stage for a complete look at how Christianity grew while dealing with complicated cultural and religious issues back then.