Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers

by Christopher A. Hall

Many Christians today long to become reacquainted with their ancient ancestors in the faith. They see a deeper worship and devotion in the prayers and hymns of the early church. And they believe that the writings of the early church can shed new light on their understanding of Scripture.

But where and how do we begin? Our first encounter with the writings of the church fathers may seem like visiting a far country where the language, assumptions,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0830815007
• ISBN13: 9780830815005
• Release Date: August 1998
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Length: 225 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

A fine introduction

Hall does a fine job of touching on the some of the most salient points of patristic interpretation. It would do well as a secondary source for a Biblical Theology course, as he provides a great bibliography and direction for thinking about each of the fathers he covers. One critique: Too much weight is given to the notion that Post-modernism is EVERYONE'S problem when it comes to understanding the Biblical text. Some of us got over that a long time ago, or never had the problem to begin with. One thing lacking: direct examples of "how" the fathers did exegesis, the process of interpretation. This would be helpful for a furthering a sound Biblical method of hermeneutics based on their work. Otherwise, a great read.

Necessary Reading for All Protestants ( & Orthodox)

I very seldom believe that a book is a "must read," but this is one of those times. Over the past year-and-a-half I have been examining the Orthodox Faith. Coming from the Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ (Restoration or Stone-Campbell Movement), I was well-versed in Alexander Campbell's writings. The Church Fathers were looked at only to reinforce the Movement's views. Even any writer between Luther and Campbell was suspect. This book helps to set right the overlooked Church Fathers. Mr. Hall helps open the doors in a very readable way for Protestants. With the strong basics he presents, the reader will be drawn to further study. I wish that I had used this book first in my studies on Orthodoxy.

An Invitation to Share Patristic Interpretation of Scripture

"The study of the Church Fathers is central to an understanding of and appreciation for the history and content of Orthodox Christianity. ... It was these that produced the Scriptures, the formulations of the Councils,..." An Introduction to Patristics, Monachos.Net Ancient study of scripture: The study of the scripture with the company of early church fathers, is a great project, invigorating patristic hopes, that Nottingham's patrologist Dr. George Bebawi has proposed to translate the series into Arabic for the benefit of Christian readers in the Middle East. Chris. Hall, the coeditor of "Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture" has written a pleasant and useful introduction to the Commentary series and to patristic studies of scripture, in general, targeted for the curious American reader. He discusses in a logical sequence expected queries of the postmodern western mind, "why pursue an abandoned Eastern Church tradition, when they no more read the scripture, let alone studying it?" Hall uses here the authority of Robert Wilken and Thomas Oden's own journey home to the Fathers through PaleoOrthodoxy, to prove his case to patrology seekers. The desert fathers, says Burton-Christie, needed only scripture to sustain their spiritual life. Fathers of the Church: The Church Fathers are; "Ecclesiastical leaders and teachers who are accepted as authorities in matters of doctrine. In the early Church, Orthodoxy was determined by the so-called consensus patrum that showed general agreement among a set of Christian leaders distinguished by purity of faith, holiness of life, approval of the church, and antiquity." Nelson's New Christian Dictionary None of first and second century fathers could make it to Hall's list of Church Fathers, neither Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Clement of Alexandria, Justin, Irenaeus, nor Polycarp. The master of all exegetes, Origen (6000 works) was covered only as representative of the Alexandrine school, and Dionysius the Great, pioneer of textual & redaction criticism was totally ignored. Reading with the 'Doctors': When evangelical biblical scholars discovered that their exegetical memory was far from adequate, they searched to confirm what the experts of Vatican II have learned about ancient Church leading figures; and their masterful command of Scriptural sense. In his 'Theology Reader,' Alister McGrath edited writings within a proposed study panel on interpretation of scripture (panel 5) that included: Clement of Alexandria, Hippolytus, Origen, Augustine, and Bernard of Clairvaux, latest of the Fathers. Hall is also reading the scripture with the eight church teachers, including a sampler of their contributions to the early Church biblical thought, and Hermeneutical views. He also presents a birds eye view of the patristic thought on: allegory in the scripture, Christology, development of scripture, prayer, etc. He treated fairly well the basic church exegetical traditions in Alexandrian allegory and

Vital addition to anyone's library

Great book that was a welcome addition to my library. I feel that the author gave a strong review, explanation, and context for the selected church fathers that were covered. After reading the book, I came away with a deeper understanding of the fathers, the early church, and some of the stuggles that the church is going through now.