The Apostolic Fathers: Modern Translations of These Early Christian Writings: Barnabas / I & II Clement / The Didache / Hermas / Ignatius / Polycarp

Book Overview

Book by This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0840756615
• ISBN13: 9780840756619
• Release Date: January 1978
• Publisher: T. Nelson
• Length: 319 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.

Customer Reviews

meeting the Fathers of the Christian Church for the first time, May 19, 2008

RATING: 4.25 / 5.00 stars INTRO: A wonderful way to start reading about the Church and Christians from the New Testamental church. The books and letters included in this volume date from the late 90s to the end of the 2nd century, a time when the disciples of the Apostles spread the Good News of God's Kingdom and of Jesus Christ. CONTENT: Jack N. Sparks does an extraordinary job translating and laying out the writings with excellent footnotes and for bonus - cross reference Bible verses (OT and NT). For anyone familiar with the New Testament writings of Paul, John, James, Peter, and other important followers of Christ, this volume is a great continuation of the times and lives of these brave and courageous Christians facing deadly persecutions, prejudice from more dominant religions of the day, and false and vile accusations. AUTHOR: Jack N. Sparks is one of the former Campus-Crusade-for-Christ disciple makes in the 60s USA, who is part of a larger group of neo-Protestants (over 4000) who formed the Evangelical Orthodox Church in the late 70s and officially joined Orthodoxy in the 80s. This may explain why the format of the text and abundant cross-reference Bible-verses made it very easy for a Protestant like myself to read the text with pleasure. The cross-referenced verses are a good evidence that the writing of the early Church Fathers were in line with the authors of the New Testament. By the end of the 5th century the conciliar minds of the Church have made the spirit-led decisions of which books were inspired and which were merely spiritual. CONCLUSION: I wish I could give this edition a 5-stars, but the binding (paperback) plus less than standard printing and font-set, makes this collection something that could look more academic and tight. I hope they will have a 2nd edition, but regardless, the wisdom contained between its covers are pearls of wisdom and insight into the life of the Christians and Church in the 2nd century.

Good easy to read translation

Fr. Sparks provides an excellent easy to read translation of these important early Christian texts. He also has a very brief introduction to each of the books that places the work in context for both the author and the period. The Apostolic fathers is an important collection of work in the earliest stratum of Christianity. Many of these works were seriously considered for inclusion in the collection of the New Testament. They provide keen insight and context to the spiritual life of the early Christian community.

The Wisdom from Those Before Us

Fr. John Sparks's book is easy to understand, well organized, and a must for all Christians, whether Orthodox, Catholic, or Protestant. Before each letter of some of the Church's first century fathers is a little introoduction about the writer and the reason for the letter. Next there is an outline so the reader can familarize themselves with the letter, its content, and the direction the author is taking. Then the letter itself appears.It is amazing that we often think that our generation are the first to discuss important issues such as church order, morality, repentance, and etc. It is imparitive we listen to the wisdom of the ancients. This is a great book and Fr. Sparks has done a great job organizing the book for ease of learning and reading. For another similar book, please also see "Early Christian Writers" by Cyril Richardson.