Beginning to Read the FathersNow revised, Beginning to Read the Fathers is an introduction to the church's earliest writers, preachers and theologians. It presupposes no more knowledge on the part of the reader than that the fathers existed and that their ideas might be important and perhaps even interesting. The book does not restrict itself to such topics as Christology and ecclesiology but includes other areas like martyrdom and prayer, which were highly important in shaping the mind and heart of the early church. The material in this book is arranged thematically and follows a natural progression. Each chapter attempts to give a real taste of the subject in question by providing numerous selections from the writings of the fathers, some of them classic statements and some relatively obscure. Fathers from nearly all periods and traditions are cited. The author's opinions, although not nonexistent, are subordinate to the presentation of the fathers themselves. The work was written in a nontechnical style to be read both by beginners and by people with some expertise in the field. It concludes with suggestions for a patristics reading program for those who wish to pursue a study of the fathers in more depth. + |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Alexandria allegory Ambrose ancient andthe Anthony Apology apostles Arianism asthe Athanasius atthe Augustine Augustine’s baptism beginning bishop body bythe Cassian Christ Clement Clement of Alexandria Commentary Corinthians Cyprian deacons death demons Didascalia Apostolorum divine doctrine early Christian early Church Eucharist example fourth century fromthe God’s Gospel Greek Gregory Nazianzen Gregory of Nyssa havebeen Holy Homily human Ibid Ignatius of Antioch inhis inthe Irenaeus isthe itis itwas Jerome Jesus John John Cassian John Chrysostom Justin Martyr Letters liturgy Lord Lord’s Marcion martyrdom martyrs Matthew monastic monasticism monk mystery NPNF Nyssa ofChrist ofGod ofhis ofthis Old Testament one’s onthe Origen orthodox pagan paradise passage person pray prayer preaching Psalms resurrection rich Roman sacraments salvation says Scripture second century Sermons soul spiritual suffering symbol Tertullian thatthe theChurch theFathers thehuman themost theological things third century tobe tothe tradition trans treatise understanding unity virginity wasa withthe words writes