Customer Reviews

Early Christian Thought and the Classical Tradition

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This little gem by Henry Chadwick is a clear and concise introduction to three early Christian thinkers who addressed the question of how Christianity should interact with philosophy: Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen. All three were optimistic about the project of stating Christian faith in terms of the philosophy dominant in their culture. Chadwick's knowledge of the period is both wide and deep, but these essays assume little or no prior knowledge on the part of the reader. They are a lucid and informative introduction to a question which continues to trouble many thoughtful people of faith.

I bought this little paper back book in 1996 for about 14 dollars. I think $55 is a little steep for this brief series of lectures on the influence of Greek and Platonic thought on three early Apologists of the Catholic faith, Justin Martyr, Origen and Clement.

Chadwick's lectures herein are a clear and concise intro into the relationship between human capacity to understand God by way of Reason, as well as the Church's call for faith in the Revealed religion.

As many modern "fundamentalists" make the mistake of arguing that Reason and logic have no place in Christianity, and that people should instead rely completely on blind faith, it becomes important to recognize that the early Church found Greek ethics to be a perfectly compatble part of its theology. Not the ONLY part, but an important part to be sure.

It is out of this early connection that we have the growth of the concept of Natural law, which claims that humans are equipped with Reason in order to clearly understand the elements of which the good and ethical life consists, regardless of the nature of a person's faith.

THis book is a quick read, as it is based upon some lectures Chadwick gave at Oxford in the early 60's. It is not particularly comprehensive. Thus, for $55, I must recommend getting this book at the library, and spending that $55 on another book, like John Finnis' "Natural law and natural rights." Plus a little left over!

Contains little that is of value and is instead a long list of names of scholars which probably know much more than the author, along with little if any explanation of their work. Avoid at all costs if at all possible.