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Shapers of Christian Orthodoxy: Engaging with Early and Medieval Theologians

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In a compendium of Christian theologians, editor Bradley G. Green compiles accounts of ten (Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Athanasius, The Three Cappadocians, Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas) early and medievel doctors of the Christian church which secured Christian orthodoxy for generations to come. While orthodoxy was not always present, the contributors are able to show a clearer line of connection between the ancient writers and thinkers by writing short theo-biographical essays and laying in a chronological method. While there is no end to the making of books on these theologians, by having shorter essays, next to each other and in one (con)dense volume, modern Christians can easily spot the building blocks to modern orthodoxy.

This book works as a teaching tool for Church history as well as an introduction to how to do theology - something that the editor notes he learned from reading Augustine. Far too often, many modern Christians are disconnected with their past, namely the theologians who have shaped and built the ancient theological framework of the Church. Simply put, not every theological stance seen as orthodox today came suddenly from the Apostles. Most developed in one way or another over time. So do the methods of theologizing (not Anslem and Thomas Aquinas), but we often simply study the now well-developed theology as if it has always been. What each essayist does is to remind us that with each theologian, he was building only upon those who came before, but also putting himself into the mix. For example, Shelton notes that Irenaeus spoke of God personally, and not about God as those pre-dated the Bishop of Lyons while Augustine, according to Green, continuously rehashed his life while working through his theological treatises while Athanasius made use of Ignatius of Antioch.

Each essay on the life of a theologian begins with a brief biographical sketch but is mainly focused on the theological centers of the saint's writing. For example, Green's essay on Augustine is sectioned off into areas such as `The Theology and theologizing of Augustine', `Augustine the recipient of grace' and such, but with each of these main sections broken down further into smaller focuses such as `God the cause of evil?' which falls under the subsection of Man under the formerly mentioned larger area. In `God the cause of evil?' Green attempts to correct a long held view that Augustine viewed God as the ultimate cause of evil, which is of no small disconcerting effort to modern senses. The essayist answers the question not by merely explaining Augustine, or making excuses for him as many are apt to do for the tougher theologians such as Tertullian and Calvin, but by letting Augustine defend himself against such tradition. Each essay is well cited, filled to the brim with actual quotations, and bookended with the essayist's evaluation of the theologian or some form of appropriation for the modern reader. Essentially, the questions are asked as to who the theologian was, what did they bring to the Church, and more importantly, why do they still continue to matter today. Along with this is included, for each theologian, and well stocked bibilography.

What may be lacking, or perhaps an unwelcomed addition, is a pure Protestant viewpoint. For example, with Irenaeus, the essaying seems to go out of his way to defend the Protestant viewpoint about papal authority and observance of Mary although I am sure he would readily admit that Rome and the East appropriate the theologian in much the same way that Protestants do, both to their own ends. Further, his study and treatment of Irenaeus' view of the Godhead seems to be overly optimistic to the Trinitarian doctrine while Carl Beckwith`s treatment of Marcellus of Ancyra is rather one sided, forcing Marcellus deeper into heresy, the pit from which modern scholarship is pulling him from. While the effect of bringing various essayists to bare is that different styles and biases appear, the only consistent bias is that certain doctrines are to remain almost undeveloped from the start, all the while acknowledging that they were developed and to tread upon ancient prejudices. If we accept the principle of doctrinal progression, then it would be useful to acknowledge it for most to all of the doctrines and ask the question, which is glossed over in this book, to what end can we say that any of them are now fully developed?

Many Christians today simply do not have an understanding of how, or who, developed doctrine. Not only are the people necessary to know, but so too the circumstances in which these doctrines developed and beyond that as well, how radically different Christianity may have turned out had heresies become orthodox. Books such as this one work towards that end with the goal of educating the Christian to know more about his or her faith and in some way contribute themselves to the progression of the Christian Church. We may each have our favorite theologians, but to see them almost in a ladder form, helps to place them in the context of both the history and the future. We know upon whom they rested so that we know upon whom we rest.

Evangelicals have been blessed with the recent increase of studies on the early church fathers. For example, Michael Haykin's "Rediscovering the Church Fathers: Who They Were and How They Shaped the Church" and Bryan Litfin's "Getting to Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction" both come to mind as recent good introductions. This is another important book in the study of the early church fathers, as it examines eight key theologians in the Christian tradition who have shaped what we believe today. The theologians included in this volume are the following (with the author in parenthesis):

Irenaeus (W. Brian Shelton)

Tertullian (Gerald Bray)

Origen (Bryan Litfin)

Athanasius (Carl Beckwith)

The Cappadocians (Robert Letham)

Augustine (Bradley G. Green)

Anselm (David Hogg)

Aquinas (Mark W. Elliott)

Each entry contains a short biography introducing the theologian, an introduction to specific writings, and a theological analysis. The individual sections close with a bibliography for further research.

To take an example, Brad Green's chapter is a good introduction to Augustine's thought. Covering almost 60 pages (pp. 235-292), Green provides a glimpse into key aspects of Augustine's life and theology. After surveying Augustine's life, Green examines some of the major points of his thought: God, Creation, Providence, Man, Grace and Salvation, Incarnation and Redemption, Church and Sacraments, Bible and Knowledge, and Civil Authority. In each case, although Green cannot go into detail, he does go to the important sections of quotes in Augustine's writings (such as the Confessions for aspects of salvation and City of God for issues related to Civil Authority). What I found helpful about the chapter is that it gives you the ability to see where something is in Augustine's massive writings, and go there for yourself. That is the benefit of an introductory volume like this, and each chapter does something along these lines.

Intervarsity Press is doing a wonderful work for Christians with their commitment to bringing the writings of the ancients to us. Among these is an introduction to some early and medieval theologians that is called "Shapers of Christian Orthodoxy".

This book covers the life, thought, writings, and theology of Inenaeu, Tertullian, Origen, Athanasius, The Cappadocians, Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas.

The contributors are honest about the ones of whom they write. They show their great contributions to Christian theology, and they also show their errors. What I appreciated was that they seemed to deal fairly with some who have not been fairly dealt with. I am speaking specifically of Tertullian and Origen. Though not without their failures, these two are certainly rehabilitated through an examination of their lives and writings. Thankfully, we can find that they were not as bad as many of us have been told.

In a time when the church is adrift theologically and many evangelicals fear the ancients, this book is a welcome help to those who are serious about Christian doctrine from an ancient perspective.

This review copy provided freely by IVP with no expectation or demand of a positive review.

IVP has been working a lot with the Church Fathers and early medieval theologians lately, and this work is yet another scholarly milestone in their efforts. However, let us be clear as to what this text attempts to achieve. In some sense it is a accompaniment to IVP two massive series, the Ancient Christian Commentary series and the Ancient Christian Doctrine series. In these texts, IVP is trying to force the words of theologians from the first thousand years of Christianity into a modern, Reformed, mold. This is not new - one has only to look Schaff's classic, but deeply flawed and heavily edited translation of the Church Fathers. However, in recent years there has been a renewed attempt in Reformed circles to rewrite the early history of Christian doctrine in a manner that provides unqualified support for modern Reformed theology, and ignores the development of Catholic and Eastern Orthodox theology. The scholars represented in this book continue to ignore the fact that the shapers of Christian orthodoxy, as the title of the book calls them, can only be understood properly when their ideas are taken a totality. That means that early Christian ecclesiology can only be understood in the context of Mariology, which, contrary to the views advanced in this book, was an integral part of Christian thought from the 2nd century onwards. Also, early Christian Christology can not be understood apart from eucharistic devotion and liturgical theology - another noticeable omission in this book. IVP - and the scholars it represents - repeatedly have chosen to take the words of the great theologians of the first thousand years of Christianity out of context, placing in an anachronistic theological framework, that bears little relation to the cultural or intellectual worlds of those theologians. In part, this is the product of the radical orthodoxy movement in Protestant thought over the last thirty years - and indeed the title of this book may be an implied reference to that movement. Radical orthodoxy has sought to suggest that Thomas Aquinas, and also the Church Fathers - or patristic writers, if you prefer - can provide intellectual and historical validation for a conservative modern reformulation of Reformed doctrine. While it is true that Luther, Calvin, and many reformation theologians were heavily influenced by the theology of the Church Fathers, and even by medieval thinkers such as Ockham and Duns Scotus, their theology trended in a radically new direction, which undercut much of the Patristic and Medieval understanding of the Bible, Tradition, and the Church. Shapers of Christian Orthodoxy: Engaging with Early and Medieval Theologians may include some useful insights, but unless you are only interested in an incorrect revisionist perspective of the great theologians who shaped the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, I would not recommend that you purchase this book. A far more balanced, and accurate account of this period in Christian thought is John Behr's two volume work, The Way to Nicea - The Way to Nicaea (The Formation of Christian Theology, V. 1) (Vol 1) and The Nicene Faith: Formation Of Christian Theology, Volume 2 (Pt. 1 & 2). For the later, post-Nicene period, I would recommend Leinsle's excellent work The Medieval Theologians: An Introduction to Theology in the Medieval Period (The Great Theologians). Evan's more introductory book is also good: Introduction to Scholastic Theology. For those who are interested in fully understanding how early Christian thought and practice shaped fundamental doctrines in the first thousand years of Christianity, I have to recommend Benedict XVI's marvelous works - even if you are not Catholic, the pope's three recent books on the makers of Christian theology are unrivaled for both their simplicity and insightful explanations. Any one of these books is a thought provoking exploration of the makers of Christian doctrine: Church Fathers: From Clement of Rome to Augustine, The Fathers, Vol. II and Doctors of the Church. The pope conclusively shows how liturgy, devotion, prayer, spirituality and theology were fully integrated in the lives and works of the great Christian theologians - something that is absent in the essays contained in the Shapers of Christian Orthodoxy. The pope also clearly demonstrates that the writings of these theologians can not be used as "proof texts", but must rather be understood in their cultural and historical context - something that again the scholars in Shapers of Christian Orthodoxy do not always fully explore.