GETTING TO KNOW THE CHURCH FATHERS
An Evangelical Introduction

JoHanna Gilyard-Woodward
History of Christianity 1 CHHI 520
July 20, 2012

Getting to Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction By Bryan M. Litfin: BrazosPress, 2007, pp301 softback.
Bryan M. Litfin at the writing of this book states that he earns his living as “a professor whose academic expertise is the early church fathers” (p.7). He is a husband and an associate professor of theology at Moody Bible Institute. He summarizes himself by saying that he is one who has been “taught to think like a Christian; taught to think like a scholar; and taught to think like a catholic” (p. 7). Litfin begins and ends this book with an overall theme and challenge to see how the church fathers impacted the Christian church and the life of an individual Christian on the whole. Secondary to the overall theme he lays out three misconceptions with regards to the church fathers, (1) the church fathers were not biblical; (2) the ancient church fathers were Roman Catholics; and (3) the church fathers represent the “fall” of Christianity (pp. 20-25 & pp. 255-257), and through the ten church fathers discussed in his book he seeks to prove how those misconceptions have misled some individuals. As he introduces the church fathers and deals with the misconceptions, he deals with his third theme, the historical events and places of the life of the church father. Each chapter begins by giving a modern day application or story that leads into the history of a particular church father, a history of events that were occurring during the lifetime of the church father, summarization of the impact the church father had in that period of history, provocative questions, references books that will allow you to study the matter further, and then closes with a portion of a writing from the church father discussed in the chapter. The author’s usage and definition of a church father is one that he states holds much “antiquity behind it” (pp. 17) and refers to one who from “a previous generation of believers who continue to guide their spiritual descendants in the Christian church today” (pp. 17) who meets the “criteria of being ancient, orthodox in doctrine, holy in life, and approved by other Christians” (pp. 17). He utilizes the term “father” in a standard designation recognizing that there were many Christian “mothers” who met the church father criteria, and one is discussed in this book. The ten chapters of this book look at the church fathers: Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, Tertullian, Perpetua, Origen, Athanasius, John Chrysostom, Augustine, and Cyril of Alexandria and he offers the reader a glimpse at the historical periods prior to the year AD 500 which reflects some of the period representing the fall of Roman and the end of the ancient period (p. 18). In chapter one Ignatius of Antioch is faced with opposition from Jewish legalism and Gnosticism. His nickname “Theophorus,” the bearer of God (p. 47) is his legacy which stems from his stand for church unity against threats to true Christology, the monepiscopacy (p. 47), and his death due to his position. Chapter two, Justin Martyr is a historical view of a church father whose last name was not Martyr but reflects the life he chose because of his spreading of the Christian message. Justin’s unique presentation of the Christian message of using connection points between the church’s proclamation and the thought-world into which he was taking the gospel (p. 55), and his willingness to defend his message led to his death. In chapter three Irenaeus of Lyons, the first person to use the term “New Testament” to mean what we mean today (p. 90), and one of the leading figures in establishing the canon of scriptures (p. 78) life is explored. He is described as a “principal architect” (pp. 83-84) of unified catholicity, a peacemaker, the writer of Proof of the Apostolic Preaching, The Detection and Overthrow of What Is Falsely Called ‘Knowledge’, and Against Heresies and one who had three concepts that he held firmly (p. 79). Tertullian is the title of chapter four and it brings out how this church father is known for his vital role in the canonization process (p. 110), his portrayal of God’s work as a single narrative of divine redemption (p. 111), his treatise Against Marcion (p. 111), and as the first one to use the term “trinity” to express the relationship of three-in-one that characterizes the Christian God (p. 112). The one downside to this particular church father is that of the ten written about by this author, Tertullian is one of two, Origen is the other, who was not bestowed the title of a saint (p. 116). Presentation of the only woman church father, Perpetua, is the title of chapter three. Perpetua as a church father brings out the strong desire for those of the Christian faith during times of persecution that were willing to die. Her passion for her faith and her unwillingness to make the called for pagan sacrifice, and her belief that her visions were telling her to die for her belief, led to her death despite her family’s position and her recent birth of a son. Origen is the title and subject of chapter ten, a church father who did not make the standards set for a saint, but one who was regarded as a great scholar (p. 143), a great Christian mentor, writer of First Principles (deals with the fundamentals of Christian faith) (p. 150), whose lifestyle bought him trouble and led to his death. He endured extreme torture and bodily hardships which earned him the nickname “Man of Steel” (p. 157). Chapter seven, Athanasius, tells of a church father that lived during the period of favor for Christians under the rule of Constantine the great, yet it was his stand against Arianism that caused him to be exiled five occasions by three different emperors; he spent seventeen out of his forty-six years as a bishop in exile (p. 167). He was a church father who steadfastly defended the true doctrine of God and Christ. John Chrysostom is the title of chapter eight, a church father who earned the nickname “Golden Mouth” (p. 191) because of his ability to expound on the scriptures in a way that drew and kept a crowd. He chose the lifestyle of a monk instead of the busy life of the city (p. 193), became a beloved pastor and bishop, and ultimately it was the power of his words that lead to his banishment and his lonely death (p. 191). Chapter 9, Augustine, the restless wanderer in spiritual turmoil (p. 215) who wrote Confessions, a spiritual autobiography that was a prayer: a spiritual offering poured out through pen and ink before the Heavenly Father (p. 216). This is a church father that found Christian faith in the Garden of Milan and was called the “Theologian of Grace” (p. 226). Cyril of Alexandria is the title of chapter ten a church father who was concerned with the unity of Christ during the fifth century. He coined the term “hypostatic union” to express his view regarding Christ as one person who possesses two natures, divine and human (p. 252).
Getting to Know the Church Fathers is an intriguing and historical book that looks at the lives of ten church fathers that believed in the Holy Scriptures and lived through persecution for their faith. It is a book that shows the discovery of who Jesus is in relationship to the Trinity. As other pagan religions and theologians sprung up and sought their position in the lives of the people Christianity grew and the need for a greater understanding of all things pertaining to this religion was hashed out through synods, apologies, treatises, and councils. With the involvement of the government in religious affairs it was even more difficult for the church fathers to set standards, but they accomplished it through perseverance, their concern for unity among all Christians and doctrine of the church, and through the giving of their lives. Litfin exploration of the three misconceptions: (1) the church fathers were not biblical – they engaged in the Word of God according to their respective times and places; (2) the ancient church fathers were Roman Catholics –they were of the universal catholic church; and (3) the church fathers represent the “fall” of Christianity- their doctrines aided by the church fathers in establishment is what is embraced by evangelicals today (pp. 20-27 & pp. 255-257), is addressed in some manner by the church father’s personal history. Historically the book deals with periods of persecution against men and women of the Christian faith, the travel that those sentenced to death had to endure, and the forms of bodily harm inflicted, through torture at the hands of the guards, through the “games” and through self-inflicted bodily harm in order to stay focused on God.
A strength of this book is it easy readability, the acquired knowledge gained, and the form in which he breaks down each chapters. This book has another strength which is how the author built upon the overall theme and gave a historical value to the book by explaining the period of time and places the church fathers lived through. Perhaps a weakness of this book would be that the stories the author choose to lead into the chapter’s subject had a tendency to make you stretch your imagination in order to tie it into the church father’s life. The omission of any other church fathers that may have had an equal to or greater impact to Christianity is another weakness of this book. While Litfin does a very good job at bringing out the highlights of the church father’s lives, other controversial aspects of the church fathers are not expounded on perhaps to keep the reader’s focus on the themes of this book. The excluded aspects take away from the reader’s ability to see more of the humanistic side of the church fathers and perhaps the turmoil some of them dealt with in regards to being a Christian especially for those who lived through the periods of severe persecution. The simplistic way that each chapter is broken down, the content of each chapter, and the questions with additional suggested resources at the end of each chapter along with an informative book introduction and a challenging epilogue makes this a must read for anyone wanting to gain more insight into the origin of Christianity and the price paid by others for the religious freedom most Christians have today. It is a wonderful learning tool for individuals and group study. The additional resources and notes for each chapter demonstrate the writer’s concern for the reader’s ability to gain knowledge.