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A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs: A Reference Guide to More Than 700 Topics Discussed by the Early Church Fathers Hardcover – February 24, 2005

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4.3 out of 5 stars 53 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 704 pages
  • Publisher: Hendrickson Publishers; First Edition edition (February 24, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1565633571
  • ISBN-13: 978-1565633575
  • Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsDo you want to know what the early church believed...?
By David Bennett VINE VOICE on April 27, 2000
Format: Hardcover
How the early church (those who lived from the time of the apostle John to around 330 AD) viewed issues may be slightly different than many Christians do today. This book (all 704 pages!) catalogs those beliefs in a systematic, topical fashion. Want to know what the church believed about Original Sin? or the Trinity? or abortion? or even reincarnation? Bercot puts together a variety of quotes (directly from the Ante-Nicene writings) together for each topic. Many topics have 10 or more quotes of a variety of lengths from the church Fathers. Also the page number of the quote (in the Ante-Nicene 10 volume set) and the date of the author are listed. Also included at the very beginning is a brief biography of the major Christian Fathers.
The doctrines that the early church held may surprise many today...overall, they wouldn't serve in the army if it meant killing, they believed in free-will, and they accepted the apocrypha, at least as useful reading. Even if one does not accept their interpretation, it is still useful to know what the people who lived closest to Christ thought and believed. It is truly an excellent reference guide I would never be without. I personally get my theology from the Bible and the interpretations of it provided by the Church fathers.
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2.0 out of 5 starsLaudable but disappointing
By A Customer on January 29, 1999
Format: Hardcover
Bercot is a lawyer and also an Anglican priest. His present book is written very easily (for a wide audience). Bercott,'s laudable intent is to provide a reference work with a neutral selection of what the Church Fathers thought on many topics, so one can discover what the church fathers used to think. Each entry has a few lines of explanation and then some short texts excerpts from early church fathers, taken from the "Ante-Nicene Fathers" by A. Robert (1885 and reprinted by Hendrikson.)
However there are major problems with this book. First many entries are not provided, for example on apologists such as Militiades, Hippolytus, Apollinaris, etc. Second, the selection of texts often fails to represent the textual information we have. Bercot said he tried to be neutral, and I think he did, but the problem is that he does not have the scholarship required for the difficult task he tried to achieve. Take for example the entry "montanism": he fails to cite the major texts (Eusebius, Epiphanius, the montanist oracles), and above all the charismatic/shamanic nature of the heresy (glossolalia/tongues, fallible prophecy, trances/convulsions) which was the reason why the montanists were excommunicated at the church councils of Hierapolis and Anchialus). What a blatant omission! And then he cites many texts of Tertullian as if they were typical of montanism, apparently ignoring that Tertullian eventually rejected the charismatic aspect of montanism after he left the early church , and instead focussed primarily on the ascetic aspect of the movement, having no communion with the montanists but creating his own group (the Tertullianists). Bercot apparently ignores such things and many others.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent!
By Seth Aaron Lowry on October 2, 2003
Format: Hardcover
There is a resurging interest among Protestants to understand what the Early Church taught and believed. I believe a book like this one can be instrumental in furthering that search and introducing a whole generation of Christians to the writings of these wonderful, devout, and pious men. This book is absolutely invaluable for anyone who wants to research what the Ante-Nice Fathers taught on any given topic. Also, Bercot's concise and standard way of referencing each Father's works makes it easy to go back to the original sources and do further resarch by examining the entire text.
There may be some who will not like what the Father's teach, but that is to be expected. A vast majority of Evangelical churches in America do not conform either in principle or in practice to what these godly men taught. I think that stauch Calvinist's will be the most disturbed by their writings because the Early Church Fathers were unequivocally more supportive of the view that mankind can and must respond to God. Furthermore, they did not teach unconditional election, perseverance of the saints, limited atonement, or irresistable grace. In fact, it was the Gnostics who held views similar to those expressed above. The response by most will be that these men just fell into error and didn't understand the gospel, but then the question must be asked, why do individuals who lived 1,500 years after the Apostles understand it better than the Fathers did? I do not mention Augustine because his views are not those of traditional 5 point Calvinists, and therefore the view followed by many is not Augustine's view but that of the Reformers.
Buy this work if you interested in discovering what the Early Fathers believed, and use it as an introduction and guide to further study of their writings. It is by no means an exhaustive study of the entire corpus of their literature, but is a great starting point for introductory study.
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5.0 out of 5 starsAn excellent reference book for Christians!
By A Customer VINE VOICE on November 8, 1999
Format: Hardcover
This book essentially puts in dictionary form various beliefs and practices, and then has quotes by the Early Church writers regarding each issue. While the former reader saw this as an index of sorts to the excellent ante-Nicene Fathers 10 volume set (which I own), it can also function autonomously. In fact I usually use it as a way of getting to what the Bible actually says when the Bible isn't as clear as I would like to to be. One instance is the issue of predestination and freewill which divides many Christians to the point of exclusion. The Bible can be used to support both views. By looking under freewill, one can find that the Early church almost unanimously were freewill. There are great quotes showing the early church was essentially Trinitarian, giving towards others, pacifists, and took turning the other cheek literally. It is not the Bible, but is a good way to know what those people who lived closest to Christ and the apostles believed.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent Resource and a Great Value

This is an excellent resource and I find myself using it frequently when I want to get a quick snapshot of what the early church fathers had to say about a given subject. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Dave P.
2.0 out of 5 starsTwo Stars

I suppose it wasn't what I was looking for. Information was difficult to get to.

Published 2 months ago by Thomas Thompson
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

concise and well laid out

Published 2 months ago by philip foster
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat seller..great book

Husband loves this book! Lots of insights into early church practices.

Published 3 months ago by N. Lunceford
5.0 out of 5 starsEvery Christian Should Have "A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs."

This is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to study authentic Christianity! There are over 700 topics, each topic starts with pertinent Bible verses followed by comments... Read more

Published 4 months ago by R. W. Moser
4.0 out of 5 starsAmazing to see how far from Scripture we have come ...

Very interesting book. Amazing to see how far from Scripture we have come in so short a time from the life of Christ.

Published 5 months ago by Susan Dickinson
4.0 out of 5 starsGood general resource but it leaves out many of the ...

Good general resource but it leaves out many of the terms from early Christian heretics and controversies facing the Orthodox Church.

Published 5 months ago by The Friz
5.0 out of 5 starsThe Best Compendium of Early Christian Thinking and Living

There are few resources that give such a comprehensive and compact overview of the beliefs and practices among Christians, or at least Christian writers, from the early centuries. Read more

Published 6 months ago by Joseph Koheleth
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

want tohave right learning dictionary about what early Christian beliefs

Published 6 months ago by bookworm
5.0 out of 5 starsAn Excellent Resource

This is an excellent resource for any who do investigative work into the centuries of the developing Christian Church, the developing doctrine, perspectives relating to various... Read more

Published 7 months ago by S. Edwin Rufener

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