The Fathers Know Best: Your Essential Guide to the Teachings of the Early Church [Kindle Edition]

Jimmy Akin (Author)

Book Description

What Did Early Christians Really Believe? The Answer Will Surprise and Amaze You! The Fathers Know Best: Your Essential Guide to the Teachings of the Early Church is a unique resource that introduces you to the teachings of the first Christians in a way no other work can. It is specially designed to make it easy for you to find the information you want and need. Amazing features in this fact-packed book include:

More than 900 quotations from the writings of the early Church Fathers, as well as from rare and important documents dating back to the dawn of Christian history.

Mini-biographies of nearly 100 Fathers, as well as descriptions of dozens of key early councils and writings.

A concise history of the dramatic spread of Christianity after Jesus told his disciples to evangelize all nations.

Special maps showing you where the Fathers lived, including many little-known and long-vanished locations.

A guide to nearly 30 ancient heresies, many of which have returned to haunt the modern world.

The Fathers’ teaching on nearly 50 topics, including modern hot-button issues like abortion, homosexuality, and divorce.

This groundbreaking work presents the teachings of the early Christians in a way unlike any other book. It flings open the doors of the crucial but little-known age covering the birth of Christianity and the triumphant march of the gospel throughout the ancient world.

“We are particularly blessed by this release of Jimmy Akin’s superbly compiled synopsis of the writings of the early Church Fathers. There are other works, but Akin’s finely selected and categorized collection provides a far more accessible introduction to the early Christians”—Marcus Grodi, President of The Coming Home Network and host of EWTN’s The Journey Home.

Editorial Reviews

Review

We are particularly blessed by this release of Jimmy Akin's superbly compiled synopsis of the writings of the early Church Fathers. There are other works, but Akin's finely selected and categorized collection provides a far more accessible introduction to the early Christians --Marcus Grodi, President of The Coming Home Network and host of EWTN's The Journey Home

Product Details

• File Size: 721 KB
• Print Length: 450 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Catholic Answers; 1 edition (January 28, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004LGRYEE
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #151,094 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 75 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect reference and introduction to the Church Fathers January 24, 2011

By Jeffrey Miller VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This is more than just a collection of quotes from the Church Fathers. The first major section contains a lot of information on the Church Fathers and related subjects. Ably and fully answered is the definition of what the definition is of a Church Father in the first place compared to who would come under the column of an ecclesial writer. A list of the Church Fathers along with short biographies and the time frame is provided along with other useful lists concerning the various councils and heresies from this period. Some of the stories included in the biographies are quite interesting and it is obvious care was taken to provide just information that could be historically verified.

The majority of the book is broken up into major topics and then sections within those topics. These sections such as the Trinity, Primacy of Peter, Women's Ordination contain an introduction followed by multiple quotes which are sorted by earlier to later Church Fathers. Where applicable along with these quotes are also listed any canons from Church Councils pertaining to the subject. The introductions are very good and give a good summary of the subject from scripture, tradition, and magisterial teaching.

For the most part the quotes are taken from a publicly available Protestant translation of the Church Fathers. So this is perfect for apologetics work and this makes it easy for others to see the full context of the original writings. In some cases fair use quotes of Catholic translations are used because they were left out of the aforementioned Protestant translation.

This is really one of the best references concerning the Church Fathers in that it is very easy to find information on the topic you want and their are multiple indexes in the back to make this easier. It is quite fascinating just to read through what the Church Fathers had said especially where you can see the development of doctrine or to see just how early and in-depth a doctrine had been fleshed out. Some things that I though had become more developed in the age of the Scholastics I was very surprised to see thought out in much detail very early in the Church.

As a one volume reference this is a worthy entry in the field of Patristics and I recommend it fully.

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Keeper February 21, 2011

By Being Real

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is packed full of facts and statements from the Early Church Fathers, bringing to light clear and convincing evidence that the church Christ established upon his apostles 2,000 years ago is the Catholic Church.

Mr. Akin (author) identifies his work as being more akin to that of a reference book. I can attest to this as I mistakenly chose to read it like a novel (front to back) only to find myself overwhelmed by information, causing a circuit overload. However, in my second attempt (having changed course) I found it masterfully done, amazingly insightful and a fascinating journey in the truth.

My personal recommendation when reading this historical collection is to begin with the short introduction titled "About This Book" followed by selecting topics that most interest you under (Part Two) of the Contents. Then, if your desire more precise details on a particular Father, history, geographical area, councils, writings, heresies, etc... select from the list of subjects under (Part One) of the Contents.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Reference February 6, 2011

By Brian

Format:Paperback

This is a fantastic resource when studying topically based Church teachings. It is very well organized, straight forward and approachable. You do not need to be a theologian or scholar to receive a significant boost to your faith. This book needs to be in your collection!

As always, pray for Christian unity!

More About the Author

Jimmy Akin was born in Texas and grew up nominally Protestant. At age 20 he experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant pastor or seminary professor, Jimmy started an intensive study of the Bible, but the more he immersed himself in Scripture, the more he found it to support the Catholic faith. Eventually, he was compelled in conscience to enter the Catholic Church, which he did in 1992. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in the book Surprised By Truth.

Akin is a Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a member on the Catholic Answers Speakers Bureau, a weekly guest on the global radio program, Catholic Answers Live, a contributing editor for Catholic Answers Magazine, and the author of numerous publications, including the books Mass Confusion, The Salvation Controversy, The Fathers Know Best, and Mass Revision.

His personal blog is www.jimmyakin.org.