BOOK REVIEW: GETTING TO KNOW THE CHURCH FATHERS (2ND EDITION) BY BRYAN LITFIN

 I had a semester of church history at Bible College, and about a decade later read through the whole text-book. But that didn't give me a handle on a lot of the people, let alone help me relate to them. This book does an excellent job at that.

In the first edition of this book, Litfin selected ten people from the first five hundred years of church history; in this second edition, he adds two more. With each one, he gives a more contemporary illustration that either was connected to the perception of the church father or an event in their life (such as dealing with twins as an example of the debate on Christ's natures in the intro on Cyril of Alexandria). He then gives a short history of that person's life, and concludes with a section titled "Reflections on ________". This is followed by five or six discussion questions, helping bridge the gap between the historical person and our current times. A list of sources for further study are provided, and followed by "A Taste of __________" where it gives a sample of the writing of that individual.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive work on Church History. Neither of what I call the Clement Brothers (respectively of Rome and Alexandria) are dealt with, nor is Jerome. You learn some about people (good and bad alike) like Polycarp, Marcion, Montanus, Ambrose, and Leo the Great when they're mentioned in connection with one of the twelve highlighted people. I do think Perpetua seems a little out of place, and included only so there's a church mother there with all the church fathers. Likewise, while I consider Patrick of Ireland a hero of the faith, I would not consider him a church father.

It gave me an appreciation for my favorite church fathers, Tertullian and Athanasius. It also helped me gain an understanding of others like Ignatius and especially John Chrysostom. My pastor and I also took some time reading this book and going through the discussion questions.

I would highly recommend this book both for personal knowledge and for small groups.

Are you familiar with any of the church fathers? If so, who would be your favorites? Any other people from church history you consider heroes?

NOTE: The church fathers dealt with in this book are Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, Iranneus of Lyons, Tertullian, Perpetua, Origen, Athanasius, Ephram the Syrian, John Chrysostom, Augustine of Hippo, Cyril of Alexandria, and Patrick of Ireland.