Direct Answer
Modern Christians may wrongly assume that early Christians would have changed doctrines and practices as rapidly and easily as modern societies do. Bercot argues that this projects a modern expectation of change onto ancient people, who were generally much more committed to preserving ancestral ways.
Support from Transcript
- Bercot says, “Today we live in a fast-changing society, a society where change is expected.” - He adds that “change is usually welcome today,” but calls this “a new phenomenon in human history.” - He claims, “Our society has changed more in the past 250 years than it did in the previous 4,000 years.” - Before the Industrial Revolution and political revolutions of the 1700s, people “strongly believed in doing things the way their ancestors did them.” - He says we are “so used to change today” that we find it hard to believe a society or Church could exist “for a century without change.”
Discussion Follow-ups
The transcript suggests that modern assumptions can distort historical judgment. A fair reading of early church history should account for ancient conservatism, not only modern patterns of rapid innovation.