Ancient Christian
Doctrine, volumes 1-5
IVP Academic Press
Thomas C. Oden, series Editor
The Church throughout the ages has faced the
threat of false teachers and their false doctrines. To combat this threat the
Church has, on numerous occasions, gathered together in “councils” to clarify
what exactly the Bible teaches. The first such gathering is actually recorded
in the book of Acts when some questioned the ministry of St. Paul and whether
or not we are truly saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. These
gatherings have led to the great confessions and creeds of the Church.
One of the greatest of these creeds is called the Nicene
Creed. It was hammered together at two separate “councils” and, between those
two councils, representatives from everywhere the Christian Faith had spread
were in attendance, except England.
This creed has stood the test of time and is “owned” by every faithful
Christian, past and present.
In the Ancient
Christian Doctrine series, the teaching of the historic Church is organized
according to the Nicene Creed. Now here
is one of the great things about the series, it puts the actual words of the
Church Fathers in your hands. Most of the material you might pick-up is more “this
or that” scholar telling you what the Church Fathers taught. However, you don’t
actually have the ability to check the original sources to determine if the
scholar is correct. In this series, what you get are quotes from the Church
Fathers organized under the various lines in the Nicene Creed.
So, for example, in volume one the first phrase to be
considered is “We believe,” the very first two words in English and the first
word in the Greek and Latin. First the book gives you some historical context,
then a general overview of the upcoming quotes, and then quotes from the Church
Fathers. In the case of “we believe,” quotes are provided from Ignatius of
Antioch, Irenaeus, Tertulian, Aphrahat, Athanasius, Phoebadius of Agen,
Epiphanius of Salamis, Basil the Great, Rufinus of Aquileia, Augustine,
Fulgentius of Ruspe, Origen, Arnobius of Sicca, Lactantius, Eusebius of
Caesarea, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, and more.
The average Christian certainly will not have the resources
to gather all these Church Fathers’ writings and research them. But, with these
volumes, any Christian can literally read for themselves, the words of the
theologians that passed on the Christian Faith so that we might have the great
treasure of eternal life.
The title of each volume reflects what is treated, using the
Nicene Creed as guide.
Volume 1: We Believe
in One God
Volume 2: We Believe
in One Lord Jesus Christ
Volume 3: We Believe
in the Crucified and Risen Lord
Volume 4: We Believe
in the Holy Spirit
Volume 5: We Believe
in One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church
(The word “catholic,” here, has its original meaning of “universal”
or even “Christian.” It is not a reference to any specific modern denomination
that may have the word “catholic” in its name.)
It is common for Christians to think that they hold to the
Faith that was delivered by Jesus and his Apostles and held to by the Church
from the very beginning. Few, however, have the resources to check out just
what the people in the second, third, and so on, centuries actually believed.
With this series the reader gets a real and significant look at these early
believers. What did these believers hold to concerning baptism, or the Holy
Spirit, or the incarnation?
For those who are serious about knowing what has been handed
down throughout the ages, but can’t spend half a million dollars on their
library, let alone read all the material, this is THE series to own. If, after
reading these books, you desire to read more, then you can purchase the Ancient Christian Commentary on the
Scriptures, also by IVP Academic Press, but that is a different review.
Two thumbs up
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor John Rickert
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