When the Church Was Young: Voices of the Early Fathers

by Marcellino D'Ambrosio Ph.D

Overview

If the word trinity isn’t in Scripture, why is it such an important part of our faith?
And if the Bible can be interpreted in many ways, how do we know what to make
of it? And who decided what should be in the Bible anyway?

The Church Fathers provide the answers. These brilliant, embattled, and
sometimes eccentric men defined the biblical canon, hammered out the Creed,
and gave us our understanding of sacraments and salvation. It is they who
preserved for us the rich legacy of the early Church.

D’Ambrosio dusts off the dry theology and brings you the exciting stories and
great heroes such as Ambrose, Augustine, Basil, Athanasius, Chrysostom, and
Jerome. This page-turner will inspire and challenge you with the lives and
insights of these seminal teachers from when the Church was young.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781616367770
Publisher:	Franciscan Media
Publication date:	08/22/2014
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	153,738
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Marcellino D’Ambrosio is a world-renowned commentator on religious issues. With a Ph.D. in theology (under Cardinal Avery Dulles), nine years of university teaching, and hundreds of published articles, Marcellino has a wealth of knowledge and knows how to make it accessible for a wide variety of audiences. As “Dr. Italy,” D’Ambrosio has a popular website, Facebook page, and Twitter feed and appears weekly on a variety of Catholic TV and radio networks. He is the coauthor of the million-copy bestseller The Guide to the Passion.

Editorial Reviews

“Dr. D’Ambrosio has accomplished the rare feat of combining scholarship with readability. Christians of all traditions can trace their faith to these pioneers; their story is our story.”
— Professor David Alton, House of Lords

"Gripping, compelling, and fast-moving."
— Sarah Reinhard

From the Publisher

10/01/2014
D'Ambrosio (Eternal Word Television Network; Exploring the Catholic Church: An Introduction to Catholic Teaching and Practice) has written a purposely accessible history of the church in its first three centuries, describing notable figures such as Bishop Gregory of Nyssa, theologians Augustine of Hippo and Origen, and several saints including Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Jerome. The author's professional background suggests a great deal about his perspective and its limitations. His approach to the history of this world in transition from classical to Christian, as well as to its theology, is superficial at best. He shows no acquaintance with the latest or best scholarship of the period (the absence of historian Peter Brown from the bibliography is noteworthy) and is behind in his belief that Nero "fiddled" while Rome burned. In an anxious tone, D'Ambrosio tries to generate an entertainingly varied narrative while emphasizing the eventual unity of theological opinion to match conservative Catholic understandings—where in fact there was a chaos of views. VERDICT Despite its problems, this book is flowing and readable and will be entertaining and comforting to general readers of Catholic history.

Library Journal