Friday, March 11, 2011

FW: The Spiritual Value of the Church Fathers

A preview of a forthcoming book…

 

Feed: Crossway Blog
Posted on: Friday, March 11, 2011 10:46 AM
Author: Erin Haft
Subject: The Spiritual Value of the Church Fathers

 

From the days of the Reformation, Protestants have been wary of placing emphasis on the "saints" and those figures who has sometimes been glorified by the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Consequently, many evangelicals today are unaware of or uncomfortable with the teachings of the church fathers, fueled by a strict adherence to Scripture as the sole source of revelation.

So why should Evangelicals bother familiarizing themselves with the teachings of the church fathers?

  1. First, it removes any generational biases or presuppositions we may have when examining Scripture. Examining work from a previous era may force us to consider certain concepts that would not have occurred to us otherwise.
  2. Second, the church fathers can provide us with a road map for living the Christian life. We cannot count on our own experiences to provide perfect guidance for our lives. Certainly, the Scriptures are more than sufficient direction for our walks, but the wisdom and experience of those who have gone before us can be a tremendous resource in forming our spiritual foundations.

Excerpt modified from Rediscovering the Church Fathers. Learn more here.


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