' fill='none' fill-rule='evenodd'%3E%3Ccircle fill='%237A7A7A' fill-rule='nonzero' cx='5' cy='20' r='1'/%3E%3Ccircle fill='%237A7A7A' fill-rule='nonzero' cx='19' cy='20' r='1'/%3E%3Ccircle stroke='%237A7A7A' stroke-width='2' stroke-linecap='square' cx='5' cy='20' r='1'/%3E%3Ccircle stroke='%237A7A7A' stroke-width='2' stroke-linecap='square' cx='19' cy='20' r='1'/%3E%3Cpath stroke='%237A7A7A' stroke-width='2' stroke-linecap='square' d='M3.8 5H21l-2 10H5L3 0H0'/%3E%3C/g%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers
Overview
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, concerns and conclusions are completely unfamiliar to us.
In Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers, Christopher Hall helps us through this cultural confusion, introducing us to the early church, its unique world, and the sights and sounds of Scripture that are highlighted for them. As Hall points out, the ancient fathers hear music in Scripture where we remain tone-deaf. Despite their occasional eccentricities, theirs is a hearing refined through long listening in song, worship, teaching, meditation and oral reading. And like true masters they challenge and correct our modern assumptions as they invite us to tune our ears to hear the divine melodies of the Bible. Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers is an exceptional guide. Hall provides a warm, winsome, informative and indispensable introduction to who these leaders and scholars were, how they read and interpreted Scripture, and how we might read Scripture with them for all its worth.
Praise for the Print Edition
Reading Scripture… provide[s] a much-needed corrective to Protestant ignorance and suspicion of tradition, combating the claim that somehow being traditionless is achievable and advantageous. Hall… [is] to be commended for letting the Fathers, these ‘long-forgotten relatives,’ speak to a wider audience.
—Bibliotheca Sacra
Product Details
- Title: Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers
- Author: Christopher A. Hall
- Publisher: InterVarsity Press
- Publication Date: 1998
- Pages: 225
About Christopher A. Hall
Christopher A. Hall is dean of the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University (St. Davids, Pennsylvania), where he has been teaching in the biblical and theological studies program. He is also associate editor of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture.