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jvanwagoner's review
informative
inspiring
5.0
A look at the earliest Christian beliefs
I have read many books on early Christian beliefs and decided it was time to look at the source material for these books and come up with my summaries of these beliefs. This book is volume 1 of 10 in this series, and it covers the writings of the `Apostolic Fathers' since these are mostly men that knew the original apostles. The other nine volumes all cover writers who lived and wrote before the Nicene Council in the late 2nd, 3rd, and 4th centuries. They are roughly in chronological order. This Kindle edition includes a good table of contents with links to each author, then to each book, and then to each chapter. It also contains links to footnotes (at the end of each chapter) that I found helpful. It is well-formatted, though, as another reviewer mentioned, having the book and author listed on the top or bottom of the Kindle would be nice to remember who and what you are reading.
The writers who knew the apostles include Clement of Rome (late 1st century and a friend of Peter, the apostle), Mathetes (2nd century - little known about him), Polycarp (2nd century and knew John, the apostle), Ignatius (early 2nd century and was a student of John, the apostle), Barnabas (attributed to the apostle of the same name, but scholars think the author is a 2nd century Christian), Papias (early 2nd century and is said to have known John, the apostle). Those that did not know the apostles were Justin Martyr (mid-2nd century) and Irenaeus (late 2nd century), who were a generation later than the other men.
Since the works are in chronological order, it makes it easy to see the evolution of beliefs. The earliest writers focused mainly on living the gospel and following church leaders. You could also see their pre-Trinitarian views of the Father and the Son. The Father is the only unbegotten God, and the Son is the only begotten God and was begotten before the beginning. He is subordinate to the Father. They are separate beings. They also taught the doctrine of deification and that there were three heavens. Justin Martyr taught that the Jews of his time believed that the Father was anthropomorphic.
These men believed they were still inspired by the Holy Spirit and testified that miracles were still occurring. Ignatius and Justin Martyr taught that creation was done by God organizing existing matter, and that matter is eternal. Irenaeus later became the first Christian to introduce the concept that the creation was done ex nihilo in response to the heretical teachings of the Gnostics.
Justin Martyr also touches on the doctrine of a pre-mortal existence and uses this concept to prove that God did not make men wicked, but they were that way before they were born.
They also taught that man had free will, that salvation was synergistic, and that good works were important.
These authors also quoted scripture; it was interesting to see variations from modern translations. They also cited some scriptures we no longer have and others that we have but are not included in the current canon.
Overall, I found this source material fascinating. The translation was easy to understand, and the source notes were helpful. The compiler noted where translations were disputed and gave the alternates. He also gave a good summary of each author and book. Reading this volume has dramatically enhanced my understanding of early Christian beliefs. I will continue to read the subsequent volumes. I highly recommend this first volume to anyone interested in the writings of those that knew the apostles.
I originally wrote this review on 8/2/2011.
The writers who knew the apostles include Clement of Rome (late 1st century and a friend of Peter, the apostle), Mathetes (2nd century - little known about him), Polycarp (2nd century and knew John, the apostle), Ignatius (early 2nd century and was a student of John, the apostle), Barnabas (attributed to the apostle of the same name, but scholars think the author is a 2nd century Christian), Papias (early 2nd century and is said to have known John, the apostle). Those that did not know the apostles were Justin Martyr (mid-2nd century) and Irenaeus (late 2nd century), who were a generation later than the other men.
Since the works are in chronological order, it makes it easy to see the evolution of beliefs. The earliest writers focused mainly on living the gospel and following church leaders. You could also see their pre-Trinitarian views of the Father and the Son. The Father is the only unbegotten God, and the Son is the only begotten God and was begotten before the beginning. He is subordinate to the Father. They are separate beings. They also taught the doctrine of deification and that there were three heavens. Justin Martyr taught that the Jews of his time believed that the Father was anthropomorphic.
These men believed they were still inspired by the Holy Spirit and testified that miracles were still occurring. Ignatius and Justin Martyr taught that creation was done by God organizing existing matter, and that matter is eternal. Irenaeus later became the first Christian to introduce the concept that the creation was done ex nihilo in response to the heretical teachings of the Gnostics.
Justin Martyr also touches on the doctrine of a pre-mortal existence and uses this concept to prove that God did not make men wicked, but they were that way before they were born.
They also taught that man had free will, that salvation was synergistic, and that good works were important.
These authors also quoted scripture; it was interesting to see variations from modern translations. They also cited some scriptures we no longer have and others that we have but are not included in the current canon.
Overall, I found this source material fascinating. The translation was easy to understand, and the source notes were helpful. The compiler noted where translations were disputed and gave the alternates. He also gave a good summary of each author and book. Reading this volume has dramatically enhanced my understanding of early Christian beliefs. I will continue to read the subsequent volumes. I highly recommend this first volume to anyone interested in the writings of those that knew the apostles.
I originally wrote this review on 8/2/2011.
davidshq's review
5.0
Fascinating writings from Early Christians including Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement of Rome, Mathetes, Polycarp, Ignatius, Barnabas, and Papias.
Published in the 1800's so it doesn't have all of the latest scholarship but is freely and readily available.
Published in the 1800's so it doesn't have all of the latest scholarship but is freely and readily available.
evamadera1's review
4.0
This is a collection of documents written by the church fathers, seven (or eight) volumes in total. I'm reading these books as part of a challenge (7 years long!) to read through all of the writings of the church fathers.
Since these documents are compilations, some of which are fragments, the book does not have a coherant focus. This makes nearly impossible to review. Since I'm not an expert on church history (or in this case ancient church history) I will not attempt to review the content itself.
However, I will state that this book is available as a PDF online (I cannot remember the original link). Technology is wonderful. I opened the PDF with my Kindle app and it read like a book.
Since these documents are compilations, some of which are fragments, the book does not have a coherant focus. This makes nearly impossible to review. Since I'm not an expert on church history (or in this case ancient church history) I will not attempt to review the content itself.
However, I will state that this book is available as a PDF online (I cannot remember the original link). Technology is wonderful. I opened the PDF with my Kindle app and it read like a book.
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