Paperback: 206 pages Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (July 17, 2010 AD) ISBN-10: 1452868565
ISBN-13: 978-1452868561
You might need to read this book, if you think that the epistles are the apostles’ wives. But seriously folks…
One amazing thing about this book is how succinct it is and how Ken Johnson managed to fit so very much information in a mere 206 pages. Actually—spoiler alert—don’t tell anyone but Johnson hardly did any writing at all. This is because, as the full title elucidates, the book is about the “Ancient Church Fathers” and specifically “What the Disciples of the Apostles Taught.”
The book’s origin is noted on his Amazon page:
He quickly realized there were differences in doctrine in various denominations and sought out to prove to himself the correct interpretation of these issues that divide Christians. After an intensive study of the first century church he sought to bring back the teaching of the disciples of the 12 apostles.
Here how the book, itself, explains it (p. 6-7, 21):
We can show that the apostles’ disciples taught the same doctrines from generation to generation and document when, who, why, and where the first change in each doctrine was made. In some cases we can even show that each time someone tried to change doctrine, the church fathers attacked them as heretics. Still, a few centuries later the same “heresy” became official church doctrine. We know the history of the church fathers from their own writings… In order to clearly see the correct doctrine handed down by the Twelve Apostles, we need to know the eye-witnesses of the twelve very well. We will see that the disciples of the apostles handed down the same doctrines with no additions to them. It wasn’t until the late second century and early third centuries AD that things began to change….
the eyewitnesses of the apostles continued to teach the true doctrine of the apostles. In the third and fourth generations non-eyewitnesses of the apostles began to change doctrine and were immediately called heretics.
The list of “Eyewitnesses of the Apostles” is as follows:
Papias AD 70-155 Clement of Rome AD 90 Ignatius AD 90 Polycarp AD 95-135 Mathetes AD 130 Justin Martyr AD 168
lrenaeus AD 177
The list of “Non-Eyewitnesses of the Apostles” is as follows:
Theophilus AD 168 Athenagoras AD 177 Caius AD 180 Hippolytus AD 170-206 Tertullian AD 190-210 Lactantius AD 240-320 Commodian AD 240 Origen AD 240
Victorinus AD 270-303
As aforementioned, it is amazing how much info on how many topics he boiled down into a quick and easy to read book. Here is an example of the topics:
History of and who were the Fathers Authority of the Bible The Deity of Jesus Christ Replacement Theology Women in Ministry Text of Scripture Missing verses Heretical Manuscripts Calvinism Catholicism Baptism Salvation, Sin End Times Church Councils Circumcision Sabbath Homosexuality Abortion, Euthanasia and Suicide Jehovah’s Witnesses Mormonism Gnosticism Paganism Evolution Ghosts Idolatry Reincarnation
Yoga
The majority of the book is an intro to the topic and then citations and quotations from the church fathers. He provides the relevant portions and via the citation, makes it very easy for those seeking more info to look up the primary source material.
Consider the following
From the “Book of Jasher” (this one is from the 1887 AD edition/version published by J.H. Parry & Co.):
And some of the sons of men caused their wives to drink a draught that would render them barren, in order that they might retain their figures and whereby their beautiful appearance might not fade. And when the sons of men caused some of their wives to drink, Zillah drank with them. And the child-bearing women appeared abominable in the sight of their husbands as widows, whilst their husbands lived, for to the barren ones only they were attached.
This, of course, was not from a church father but from Old Testament
Apocrypha. It is indicative of the sort of info you get in Ken Johnson’s book—a significant side note which he adds to the section on abortion.
Note that it could have been written in today’s pop-materialistic-culture; we have men who did not want women to get pregnant since pregnancy “ruins the body” as we term it today. Meanwhile, the “breeders” as we term it today, are looked down upon as being merely functional. Indeed, there is nothing new under the Sun.
How about evolution, that’s, like, a relatively new thing right? Not! Someone today could have written this:
Some say that the first men spent a nomadic life among the woods and plains. Men were not united by any mutual bond of speech or justice. They had leaves and grass for their beds, and they used caves and grottos for their dwellings…These things are by no means true. Men did not spring from the ground…Rather, one man was formed by God. And from that one man the whole earth was filled with the human race. There were never men on earth who could not speak.
You might find this very argument and counterargument in a modern day creation vs. evolution discussion forum. However, it was written by Lactantius in AD 310 (in Divine Institutes 6.10).
What about requiring that clergy be celibate? Clement of Alexandria. AD 177 – Stromata 3.6 &16, “Forced celibacy is wrong…Bishops should be married.”
What about the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist? Irenaeus, AD 178 – Against Heresies 1.13, “A Gnostic named Marcus started teaching when he blesses the cup of wine, the Charis, or Holy Spirit, puts a drop of her own blood into the wine. [Heretics sometimes taught the Holy Spirit was feminine.] The Holy Spirit is then spiritually present in the wine. Upon drinking this wine, they are filled with the Charis and are able to prophecy. The church never taught anything like this and all who follow such a demonic teaching are crack-brained.”
What about Purgatory? Justin Martyr, AD 165 – Dialogue 5, “At death, Christians go to heaven, and non-Christians go to hell. Scripture mentions no other place.”
What about the Trinity? “Theophilus, bishop of Caesarea (circa 190 AD) was the first to coin the term ‘Trinity.’” (p. 16). Of course, reference to the Trinity even without use of that particular term go back to even earlier times.
What about free will vs. a strict concept of YVHV’s sovereignty? Tatian, AD 166 – Greeks 7, “Jesus created men and angels with free will. Jesus had foreknowledge of what free agents would do. There is no such thing as fate.”
What about the very modern day argument by Atheists that theists only do good for fear of punishment? Clement of Alexandria, AD 192-202 – Stromata 4.22, “Mature Christians…do not do good out of fear of punishment or promise of reward, but because it is the right thing to do.” Again, this could be posted in a forum today and be more relevant than ever.
These are mere tastes of the wealth of information in Ken Johnson’s Ancient Church Fathers which makes it a priceless resource.
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