The Teachings of the Church Fathers
Overview
The Fathers of the Church have been a vital source of wisdom and inspiration for countless believers throughout the history of the Church. In this powerful one-volume library, Father Willis presents more than 250 doctrinal topics in an exhaustive selection of writings from the major sources of the Fathers. He lets the Fathers speak for themselves on a wide variety of spiritual themes.
In the Logos edition, all Scripture passages in The Teachings of the Church Fathers are tagged and appear on mouseover, and all Scripture passages link to your favorite Bible translation in your library. With Logos’ advanced features, you can perform powerful searches by topic or Scripture reference—finding, for example, every mention of “divine mission” or “salvation.”
- Brief outline of Catholic doctrine
- Selections from well-known Church Fathers
Top Highlights
“The prophecies prove this divine mission to be fulfilled in Christ” (Page vii)
“Much of the writing is directed against the Docetists and the Gnostics, many of whom denied that Jesus had actually lived and suffered truly in the flesh.” (Page 3)
“But wisdom precedes, religion follows; for the knowledge of God comes first, His worship is the result of knowledge.” (Page 4)
“The central message of Christianity is that Jesus Christ truly came into the world as a divine legate and that His miracles and prophecies prove His divine mission, attested principally by the central fact of His resurrection.” (Page 3)
“God is speaking to you, and do you waver faithless in your unbelieving mind? God promises immortality and eternity to you leaving this world, and do you doubt? This is not to know God at all. This is to offend Christ, the Teacher of believing, by the sin of disbelief. This is, though one is in the Church, not to have faith in the House of Faith.” (Page 8)
The Teachings of the Church Fathers is arranged thematically, much like the Catechism of the Catholic Church, to which this book is a useful supplement. He has gathered key paragraphs from the Fathers, collecting them under 250 topics and providing extensive cross-references. The result is a fat book that is easy to read. The Catholic who wants to convince non-Catholics of the antiquity of Church teachings and practices can find just the evidence he needs.
—Karl Keating, founder and president, Catholic Answers
What a privilege it would be to sit before a cozy fire deep in conversation with all the Fathers of the Church—some of whom even personally knew the Apostles. Imagine them all talking to you about prayer, the love of God, and spirituality. You are in for a treat because Fr. John Willis has arranged just such an intimate meeting! He takes you back in time for a very up-to-date conversation with the Fathers in an easily readable and accessible format. Take a seat, open the book, and join the conversation.
—Stephen Ray, author, Upon This Rock
- Title: The Teachings of the Church Fathers
- Author: John Willis
- Publisher: Ignatius Press
- Publication Date: 2002
- Pages: 496
Reviews
2 ratings
Michael Mullen
9/17/2013
Dave Crosby
9/13/2013
John W Gillis
2/26/2013
This was originally published by Herder & Herder in 1966. It is a wonderful topical resource, presenting the thoughts of the Fathers in a manner much more accessible than wading through search results from something like the ECF - though the entries are indexed back to various more exhaustive sources in which they can be found (including ECF). The work is structured like a dogmatic theology, making it very easy to find material on the subject of interest. This should make a very useful Logos resource.
