*Introduction

*Note to the Reader (Read First!)

Dear Reader,

You have come upon a project which, for a long time, has been stirring around in my head, but which I have only just now actually begun to bring into existence. The basic idea, which you may read more about in the formal introduction to the list itself, is to provide a selection of annotated quotations from the church fathers, which pertain to a categorized list of topics related to the ongoing debate between the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches. The project is in its earliest stages; in the future, I hope to provide a much greater selection of quotations, and eventually, when I have read enough to feel at least minimally qualified, to provide a simple introduction to each of the major headings, in which I give a brief explanation of the history and circumstances surrounding the works from which I excerpt, in the hopes of discouraging an anachronistic reading of the fathers. In the meantime, please feel free to provide feedback regarding the nature, scope, or progression of the design; the content of the footnotes; or suggestions of further useful quotations. For anything helpful which anyone should contribute, I will be most grateful.

Nathan Pitchford

Patristics for Protestants (this will take you to the Scribd website)

Introduction

Christians of the twenty-first century stand upon a millenia-old foundation of blood and blood-earnest struggles unlike any other movement in history. Every other idea, philosophy, or religion of humanity that in its time once captivated the most fervent spirits and wrested into its service the sharpest intellects of humankind has soon disappeared as suddenly as it came. Not so with Christianity: from that first day in which, according to his promise, the resurrected Christ poured out his Spirit upon the twelve apostles, there has been an unbroken succession of men and women devoted to the unchanging gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with an intensity of commitment unexplainable by any who have not likewise known the soul-entrancing beauty of the Good News of Christ, the God-Man. Continue Reading

Patristics for Protestants (full document)

Patristics for Protestants