The Church Fathers for Today

St. Augustine of Hippo

I am on a crusade. A crusade that directs Evangelicals to the early church fathers as the genesis for understanding Evangelical tradition. The good news is that some young Evangelicals also see the need to understand, once again, what Augustine, Athanasius, Irenaeus and Ignatius have to offer to the development of theology in church history. There is plenty of room to learn and create a more robust understanding of Evangelical faith without giving up what has become essential; biblicism, conversionism, activism, and crucicentrism (see David Bebbington's book, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s).

While attending seminary I was able to see this put into practice, as students and professors read Orgien, Cyril of Alexandria, Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory the Great, etc.. Gleaning from the these theologians doctrinal affirmations, liturgical challenges, and life narratives that demonstrate godly life and sacrifice pour forth from one primary text after another. Also, an acknowledgment of a confesional faith that is built upon the Nicene Creed (325) and the seven ecumenical councils. The first five centuries can illuminate the trinity, the deity of Christ, the role of the Holy Spirit in relationship to the Father and Son. Of course, all attempts to study history becomes confronted with heresy, the sifting of fact from fiction (or interpolation of a certain texts), and the development of the Catholic Church. Whatever the challenge, the last course of action for an Evangelical to take is to completely ignore the aforementioned church fathers and the Nicene faith. Ignorance should not be an option.

My personal study of the church fathers has lead me to several healthy principles:

1) You do not and should not agree with everything that the church fathers say. Aside from the rule of faith, which was fleshed out in the 4th century on in creedal form, there was a diversity of opinion of several matters. This point is important because the standard of faith for an Evangelical is not what Augustine says but what says the text of Scripture.

2) Don't be afraid of learning from a Catholic or an Eastern Orthodox church historian/theologian. To learn does not mean you agree. Up to this point the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Churches own their traditions proudly. While Evangelicals must place "tradition" underneath the authority of Scripture, this does not mean a sense of our own Evangelical tradition does not exist.

3) Be honest. All churches are confessional. Evangelical churches have just replaced the words "confesional" and "creed" with "statement" or "tenets" of faith. Looks like a duck, qacks like a duck . . . it must be a duck.

4) Learning about early church history does not dismiss the need for the Reformation. If anything it was the early church fathers that developed reformation theology in several areas. John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, and Heinrich Bullinger all quoted church fathers ad nauseum.

A goal of this blog will be to introduce everyday Jane and Joe Smith who attend church to the rich history of Evangelical faith, beginnings with the early church fathers. Questions and comments are welcomed from meaningful churchgoers who are not content on just accepting tradition, but owning their tradition.