Customer Reviews

The Faith of the Early Fathers, Vol. 3

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As a non-Catholic, I can attest that this work is a great piece of scholarship. Although written by a Roman Catholic, this book presents the views and writings of the Early Fathers with very little bias. I would recommend this book to anyone wishing to research more about the origins of the Christian faith.

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).

then read these books. This three volume set is a great introductory set of the writings of the early Church Fathers. The books themselves are organized nicely starting with the earliest sources and then working down through the literary timeline. Jurgens has provided a brief synoposis on each individual author, and every piece of writing is titled, dated, and described. Moreover, the works contain excellent scripture annotations which makes it easy to discover just exactly what Bible verse the father in question is quoting. The topical reference system is very nice as well, but some may not like Jurgens style since he is strongly Catholic and desires to prove the teachings of the Church correct through Patristic sources. Nevertheless, anyone of an Orthodox persuasion or a Protestant curious about Church history will find these books useful and will be able to learn a lot. The only downside to these books is that quotes are only partial; Jurgens' intent is to prove doctrinal points, not provide a handy but abbreviated corpus of Patristic literature. Anyone wishing to study the Fathers more in depth will have to look elsewhere, but these three books offer a fine starting point.

Covered in volume three are the writings of Augustine of Hippo, and his student, Prosper of Aquitaine, Cyril of Alexandria, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian, Pope Leo I, Gregory the Great, and John of Damascus. Of course, everyone is going to want to read the writings of Augustine since he has had such a tremendous impact on Western Christianity. His writings compose about the first 200 pages of volume 3, so there is plenty to read. Nevertheless, one should always keep in mind that Augustine, no matter how influential, was only one voice among the many great fathers that existed, therefore one should read the writings of men like Vincent of Lerins and John Cassian to maintain a balance perspective. Also, the writings of Cyril of Alexandria are of great interest and will be enjoyed by anyone wishing to know more about the developing Christian faith.

This is the best--the very best--of all the collections of the sayings of the early fathers. The choices are superb. The explanations of the translations are direct and clear and the short biographies that introduce each author include every drop of information you need.

Want to look up 1 Clement? Jurgens includes a biography with all the facts listed, plus speculative information: "Whether or not he was Peter's convert, as the Pseudo-Clementines would have it..." p 8). And in the footnotes: "This is the first time the word 'layman' was used in Christian literature" p 13).

The depth of the information, the perfect choices are remarkable. You might be able to live without these three volumes, but studying the early fathers without them would be much, much more difficult.

These books, (PLEASE KNOW THAT THIS BOOK IS PART OF A 3 VOLUME SET!), are an invaluable resource for any student of Christianity. There is no commentary or editorials- simply verbatim excerpts of the Early Father's writings. What is especially helpful is the Doctrinal Index in the back which addresses every conceivable question about Church Doctrine; and establishes a sound basis for Church Doctrine based on the Early Father's writings and Sacred Scripture.

Anyone who wants to know how Christianity was REALLY intended to be through the direction of Jesus, the Sacred Scripture, and Sacred Tradition, should read all 3 of these books. IF YOU WANT THE TRUTH, THE WAY IT WAS INTENDED, READ THESE BOOKS! PLEASE!

This set belongs in every Christian's library.

The 3 volumes are sold separately, and will run around [price] for all three.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum,
(The peace of the Lord be always with you).

Beautiful insight on how the earliest Christian's received Christ's message.