Faith of the Early Fathers, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

William A. Jurgens (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Faith of the Early Fathers | Publication Date: January 1998

A source-book of theological and historical passages from the Christian writings of the Pre-Nicene and Nicene eras selected and translated by William A. Jurgens, H.E.D.       Volume 1: the Pre-Nicene and Nicene eras;       Volume 2: the Post-Nicene era through St. Jerome;       Volume 3: St. Augustine to the end of the patristic period. The passages selected are keyed to the numerical order established in M. J. Rouet de Journel's Enchiridion Patristicum.  In no sense, however, are these volumes a translation of that standard work.  The author has made his own investigation of theological textbooks in common use and has selected the patristic passages most frequently cited, including much that is in Rouet and much that is not.  All passages have been freshly and accurately translated from the best critical editions. Preceding each selection is a brief introduction treating the authorship, date and place of composition, and the purpose of the work from which the selection is taken.  The author's scholarship and sprightly sense of humor are evident in these prefatory remarks. Of immense value to the reader is the Doctrinal Index provided for each volume.  Here one can find the texts pertinent to particular doctrinal points, a method especially useful to homilists.  In addition, each volume is enhanced by comprehensive Scriptural and General Indices.

Product Details

• Paperback: 474 pages
• Publisher: Liturgical Press (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814604323
• ISBN-13: 978-0814604328
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,514 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

88 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Scholarly & good translation, November 23, 2001

By 

"jamlaser" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Faith of the Early Fathers, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

This set of works is outstanding, many other works I have read pail in comparison. This set is most notable for:
* good translation (much of the Fathers is in ancient Greek)
* presenting the Fathers as themselves, thus the Truth can speak for itself (not relying on commentary to lead, or in some other books mislead)
*provides a relavant/broad sampling of a multitude of Fathers writings, without being overly shallow (the known writings of the fathers would take up at least a few library shelves)
*easy to use (some other works are hard to use, or have confusing lookup systems/layouts)
*there are many other minor points of interest, but I believe these are the most relevant
*my only complaint is that these are not hardcover, as this is preferred by scholars and others who use these books heavily, the publisher probably wanted to insure a low price to make this resource available to a broad readership

I can not stress the value of these books, I have seen them used by many scholars, Evangelical & Catholic alike (even at my University).

60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!!, December 22, 2004

By 

Tammy L. Schilling "tammyl84" (MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Faith of the Early Fathers, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

For those with an interest in the history of the earliest Christians, this books is an awesome and enlighting read. It starts with the Didache, a writing that is contemporary to the New Testament and covers the first four hundred years of Christianity. If you want to know what to believe, then a logical person to ask (if you could) would be the people who were contemporaries of the apostles or who came immediately after. Well, we can't ask, but we can read what they wrote, which is the next best thing.

Jurgen's The Faith of the Early Fathers is a particularly useful collection of those writings. It is arranged first by authors, which is nice for those who want to study the writings of one early father at a time. Better, though, for the rest of us busy people is the doctrinal index. Each issue of doctrine (from the Bible, to the papacy, to Mary, etc.) has a section, and within that section it is broken down into specific points of doctrine, then each of the points has a paragraph number(s) showing where you can read what these early fathers wrote about that issue. So, when you need to, you can lay your hands on what (for examply) St. Justin Martyr wrote about the Eucharist in about one minute flat, without having to spend hours reading and searching his writings.

The Faith of the Early Fathers is the easiest to use compendium of early Christian writings I have ever seen. Anyone who gets this book is going to be just thrilled with what they can quickly and painlessly learn with this reference in their hands.

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great apologetics resource of the Patristic Fathers, November 17, 1999

By 

Scott M. Windsor Sr. "cathapol" (Prescott, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Faith of the Early Fathers, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

This is a great resource with many, many primary sources. One criticism is that not all quotes contain entire context, but overall, many do include entire letters and enough context to see the relevance. Well worth the price!