Reformed Churchmen

We are Confessional Calvinists and a Prayer Book Church-people. In 2012, we remembered the 350th anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer; also, we remembered the 450th anniversary of John Jewel's sober, scholarly, and Reformed "An Apology of the Church of England." In 2013, we remembered the publication of the "Heidelberg Catechism" and the influence of Reformed theologians in England, including Heinrich Bullinger's Decades. For 2014: Tyndale's NT translation. For 2015, John Roger, Rowland Taylor and Bishop John Hooper's martyrdom, burned at the stakes. Books of the month. December 2014: Alan Jacob's "Book of Common Prayer" at: http://www.amazon.com/Book-Common-Prayer-Biography-Religious/dp/0691154813/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417814005&sr=8-1&keywords=jacobs+book+of+common+prayer. January 2015: A.F. Pollard's "Thomas Cranmer and the English Reformation: 1489-1556" at: http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Cranmer-English-Reformation-1489-1556/dp/1592448658/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420055574&sr=8-1&keywords=A.F.+Pollard+Cranmer. February 2015: Jaspar Ridley's "Thomas Cranmer" at: http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Cranmer-Jasper-Ridley/dp/0198212879/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422892154&sr=8-1&keywords=jasper+ridley+cranmer&pebp=1422892151110&peasin=198212879

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Wheaton College: Patristics, Ecumenical Councils, Early Christian Literature

http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/afdocumentaries/wheaton_and_the_fathers

Wheaton and the Fathers
January 16, 2010 Length: 40:05

Wheaton College, the epicenter of Evangelical Protestantism, has just opened a Center for Early Christian Studies that will immerse students in the fields of Patristics, the Ecumenical Councils, and early Christian literature. This audio documentary, exclusive to AFR, explores the reasons for the sudden Evangelical interest in the Church Fathers, as well as the potential ramifications of this interest.

1 comment:

Kepha said...

Well, there may be the worry that some of the students and faculty) will turn to either the Vatican or the Faner, since Evangelical scholarship in patristics has long been a weak sister, and a lot will probably have to be learned from the Romanists and Phanariots.

However, many have observed that Jean Calvin himself was a very astute commentator on the Church Fathers, especially Augustine of Hippo and Cyprian of Carthage. Indeed, some of the ideas for the Presbyterian form of government (election of clergy by their peers AND the laity) were built out of statements from Cyprian.

BTW, I've read the Loeb Classical Library editions of the Apostolic Fathers and Eusebius not too long ago. I treasure Augustine's _City of God_ and _Confessions_; and I know I'm not the only Evangelical/Reformed Christian who's had something of a soft spot for Augustine.

As long as we remember that the Word of God is found in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, and not in some mythical "consensus of the First Five Centuries" [forgive me, conservative Anglican friends], I see no danger in the study of patristics, and would indeed welcome it.

While we're at it, I've also read Tractates Pirqe Avot, Sanhedrin,and Pesahin of the Talmud Bavli--and even the Qur'an. I've also read through some of Confucius and Lao Zi (and in the Classical Chinese originals, no less). Yet I still remain a Christian; not a Romanist, Phanariot, Rabbinist, Muslim, Confucian, or Daoist. I simply believe that we can't pretend to close ourselves off from the world we are called to evangelize.

We simply must let the Scriptures stand in judgment of ALL words of men, no matter how holy or ancient.