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85 of 89 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A dramatic and accurate view of the Early Church, November 15, 2000
This review is from: One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic: The Early Church Was the Catholic Church (Paperback)
This book's focus is on the Early Catholic Church and covers five primary areas in five huge chapters (the book itself is a soft covered book of over 300 pages). The topics covered are 1. The Church of the Apostles, 2. The Church of the Early Church Fathers, 3. The Church of the First Four Great Councils, 4. The Primacy of Rome in the Early Church and 5. The Early Church Was the Catholic Church. This book is an excellent read, some of it being in story form which makes it an easier and more interesting read than some other apologetic material. It is strongly rooted in history, presenting historical facts to prove that the Catholic Church of today is a direct descendent of the Early Church of the time of the Apostles. I would recommend this book for anyone who is involved in Catholic Apologetics, or who would like to learn more about the Early Church. It draws upon a huge source of early Church literature, it develops a very interesting picture of the Early Church and ties them all together to give us the Catholic Church we have today.
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37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Destined to be a classic despite bias reviews of it, October 14, 2003
This review is from: One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic: The Early Church Was the Catholic Church (Paperback)
Keneth Whitehead historically based apologetic work on the early church, uses history to show the early church was in fact the Catholic church in all essential respects. I am writing this review to show how previous reviewers that maligned this book, on the basis of lacking footnoting is total bogus and has more to do with their own biases. I'm a former Graduate student in Political Science at the University of Central Oklahoma. Political Science scholarship often used Parethical text citation instead of footnoting. While it is true Mr. Whitehead's book does not use footnoting, his sources are well documented. The structure of the book is composed of four chapters and a conclusion. Chapter One is "Church of the Apostles". I hardly think footnoting is necessary when quoting the Apostle Paul the author merely documents this as (1 COR 10:17). Anyone even remotely familar with the Bible can recognize this. Chapter two is the "Church of the early Fathers" in which sources are identified in the text such as the classic historians like Eusebius Ecclesiastical History and early church fathers such as Ignatius. Ignatius only wrote seven letters around 107 A.D which are well known even among Protestants, and the book identifies which letter he is quoting from in each case. Anyone with even most limited knowledge of early church fathers can look up the author's references. Similarly when Emperor Constantine Edict of Milan is quoted from, the parethical reference is sufficient. Chapter three is on the "Church of the Four Great Councils" It includes lengthly quotes from Great Church council offical documents. Consider on Pg. 84 of this book being reveiwed, the author quotes a statement made by the Arian Emperor Constantius in 355 A.D as saying "take my will for a canon". This source is cited in the text as (St. Athanasius, History of the Arians, 33). There are many similar examples to this one. This argument about footnoting to attack this book is totally bogus and without foundation. It is made by people with their own biases and agendas. The reason is clear. The final chapter of book and much of the meat of the book on the "Primacy of Rome" in the early centuries is filled with historically damaging information. In particular, the documentary evidence is overwhelming (w/ Page Numbers!) of Eastern Christianity putting themselves to writing in Ecumenical councils recognizing the formal primacy of the Bishop of Rome despite what they and Protestants assert today.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well-Structured Apologetics, December 30, 2004
This review is from: One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic: The Early Church Was the Catholic Church (Paperback)
The central premise of Kenneth Whitehead's 300+ page work is that, despite the protestations of "reformers," the early church was indeed the Catholic Church. The author carefully takes the reader through the early centuries of the Church, exploring the development of the institution and hierarchy from the time of the apostles and the early church fathers through the four great councils, establishing the primacy of Rome from the earliest of times.
The author's arguments are carefully laid out and full developed in a flowing narrative3, offering the reader a systematic exploration of doctrinal developments as well as evidence of papal primacy. One weakness, particularly for those of a more critical bent or for those with a greater intellectual curiosity, is the lack of footnotes to accompany the extensive bibliography. However, given the intended audience, this is a minor criticism, detracting only slightly from what is well-crafted prose. The combination of scriptural, doctrinal and traditional exposition provides a good overview of the Catholic Church's apostolic roots.
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