Early Church
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Category: Early Church
- Daniel Hames
- Article, Audio, Friends of Union
Friends, it’s not incidental to God that he is a kind and loving Father. That’s not a role he’s stepped into or an act that he tries to pull off while inwardly just being transcendent and disinterested in you.When you pray the Lord’s Prayer and call him “Our Father” or “Abba, Father,” you’re not asking him to pretend for a moment he’s less like God and more like Jesus than he actually is. You’re putting your finger on the very essence of God.
Daniel Hames introduces the early Church Father, Cyril of Alexandria. Cyril’s legacy endures as one of the most influential figures in the development of the doctrine of Christ, shaping the theological landscape of Christianity for centuries to come.
It is necessary not only to pray, but also to pray “as we ought” and to pray for what we ought. Our attempt to understand what we should pray for is deficient unless we also bring to our quest the “as we ought.” Likewise, what use to us is the “as we ought” if we do not know for what we should pray?
Dan Hames writes about the theological, historical, and biblical reasons he has changed his mind about the death of Jesus.
Athanasius' brilliant yet accessible work on the incarnation of Jesus. Not recommended for reading on screen!
Melito of Sardis writes on the death of Jesus in the form of a Passover haggadah (retelling).
An early church letter warning against Judaising influence and legalism which was probably not written by Barnabas.
Justin Martyr's open letter to the Emperor, Antoninus Pius, shows how the Old Testament speaks of Christ, arguing that Christianity is simply the religion of the Hebrew Scriptures. He appeals for fair treatment of Christians since their beliefs are legitimate.
In writing an introduction to Athanasius' 'On the Incarnation, C. S. Lewis also penned a modern classic on the value of reading old books.
Justin Martyr's discussion with a Jewish man, Trypho, gives a unique window into the early Church's relationship with Judaism as well as their robustly Christ-centred reading of the Hebrew Scriptures.