Who Is Your Favorite Church Father?

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thistle93

thistle93

Puritan Board Freshman
Hi! Just curious who would you say is your favorite church father to read? Who would you say is closest in a reformed view of soteriology?

I am looking to dig into Tertullian here in the near future.

For His Glory-
Matthew
 
Gregory of Nazianzus or Maximus the Confessor

Augustine is the closet to the Reformed. The Eastern Fathers more or less champion free will to a man.
 
The biggest danger in interpreting the church fathers is the word = concept fallacy. That's when you see a word like "grace" or a phrase like "God chose" and think they meant exactly what John Owen meant. That's to ignore the entire context and philosophical background in which they said those things.

You will find phrases like "faith alone" in some of the post-apostolic fathers. Don't read too much into it. Their writings are so scanty that it really doesn't prove anything, and faith alone only works if we can prove that they are using it in an instrumental causal sense, but that's hard to prove because, as already mentioned, their writings are so scanty.
 
I have only really read Augustine and his concept of eudaimonia in several works but I appreciate what I have read a great deal.

Calvin quotes Augustine extensively and held him in high regard but was not afraid to disagree with him either. Bavinck's citations of Augustine take up a full page and then some in the Combined Name Index at the end of Vol.4 of Reformed Dogmatics.

You could use a version of Calvin's Institutes (or your favorite Reformed theologian) that has a list of quoted church fathers in the back and do some research that way - see where Calvin/Reformed theologian of choice agrees or disagrees and on what topics.
 
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BayouHuguenot said:
The biggest danger in interpreting the church fathers is the word = concept fallacy. That's when you see a word like "grace" or a phrase like "God chose" and think they meant exactly what John Owen meant. That's to ignore the entire context and philosophical background in which they said those things.

You will find phrases like "faith alone" in some of the post-apostolic fathers. Don't read too much into it. Their writings are so scanty that it really doesn't prove anything, and faith alone only works if we can prove that they are using it in an instrumental causal sense, but that's hard to prove because, as already mentioned, their writings are so scanty.
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Such is why I've found Cunningham's assessment of the Fathers and their use to be most instructive.
 
Also depends on what you are going to them for. In terms of Christology, the Cappadocians and Maximus are masters. Sit at their feet. On other points I am a bit more critical.
 
I would urge anyone interested in dipping into the Church Fathers to begin with the Ancient Christian Doctrine series. It is structured around the Nicene Creed. Each section has really helpful introductions to give you historical context. The set is pricey but I think the cost is justified. As a bonus, the books are aesthetically beautiful. There is some amazing Christology in these books.
 
thistle93 said:
Hi! Just curious who would you say is your favorite church father to read? Who would you say is closest in a reformed view of soteriology?

I am looking to dig into Tertullian here in the near future.

For His Glory-
Matthew
Click to expand...


>>> Tertullian is certainly one of the most prolific writers in the early Church. He is rightly called the "father of Latin Christianity" because of his copious writings. Scholars believe he was trained as a lawyer. He coined the latin term "trinitas" when thinking of the Trinity. And when describing the persecution of his day, he famously wrote in one of his apologias, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church". http://www.tertullian.org
 
"What has Athens have to do with Jerusalem?" So wrote Tertullian in his writings against the heresies of his day. He was undoubtedly one of the most powerful apologists. A simple search of the above quote will bring up examples of his fine and precise mind.
 
My favourite by far is St Ambrose of Milan. Im not an augustine fan in the slightest, though i have read nearly all of his books save the ethical works and the lesser known polemical ones. Chrysostom is a close second
 
I have not read a great deal of the patristics. One recent work I read and found very profitable was Irenaeus of Lyons', Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching. One contemporary of Irenaeus was Justin Martyr; who, I believe, provides the clearest description of the simplicity of patristic worship as it was practiced then. This can be found in his First Apology, Chapters 65-67.
 
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Best place to start is Basil's On the Holy Spirit. It's short and Basil was a classically trained writer. He knew how to communicate power in a simple way. It also teaches you key Patristic concepts (like the monarchia of the Father) and trains you to think in a proper Trinitarian grammar.
 
BayouHuguenot said:
Best place to start is Basil's On the Holy Spirit. It's short and Basil was a classically trained writer. He knew how to communicate power in a simple way. It also teaches you key Patristic concepts (like the monarchia of the Father) and trains you to think in a proper Trinitarian grammar.
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This a great suggestion. It is one of the first I read when I purchased my ECF set.
 
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