Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary

Liberty University

A CRITICAL REVIEW OF

GETTING TO KNOW THE CHURCH FATHERS

BY BRYAN M. LITFIN

Submitted to

Dr. David C. Alexander

in partial completion of course requirements for

CHHI 520 – History of Christianity I

Elke Speliopoulos

Downingtown, PA

December 6, 2009
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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3

FAST APPEAL TO READERS......................................................................................................3

CHARACTERS DISCUSSED........................................................................................................3

STRUCTURE OF BOOK................................................................................................................4

STYLE AND IMPACT...................................................................................................................5

CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6

BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................................7

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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INTRODUCTION

In his 2007 book Getting to Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction,

Bryan Litfin sets out to introduce a broader audience than just his academic peers and seminary

students to the lives of the early church fathers. The book is written in an easy to read study book

format that seems well suited for individuals or a small group. It attempts to educate evangelicals

who have grown up with the tenets of Sola Scriptura firmly drilled into their collective

conscience, even if they are not necessarily consciously aware of this. What most of these

believers are aware of is their seemingly innate dislike for anything that is outside of Scripture,

and this most certainly includes the church fathers. Litfin ably combats this perception in this

effort to reconcile today’s believer with his or her spiritual ancestors.

FAST APPEAL TO READERS

Litfin understands that most evangelical believers have grown up with either a general

unawareness or a disdain of sorts for the early church fathers. For those that have found their

way into the pages of this book, he lures them in gently by providing a friendly introduction after

the first few pages of a map and a timeline, which initially looks daunting. Yet Litfin manages to

raise a fast interest by starting off with storytelling, a time-proven technique to draw in listeners.

Before readers know it, they have entered into the world of historical studies. Through Litfin’s

introduction, readers come to realize that their initial perception of the church fathers may not be

a constructive one, and that it is thus imperative to continue reading to gain insights into the

backgrounds of their faith, Christianity. In this case, these are backgrounds that they never even

knew they had a need for. Even those typically averse to historical studies will find themselves

enthralled in Litfin’s skilled story telling.

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CHARACTERS DISCUSSED

A first expectation upon reading the book’s title is quickly adjusted when a reader takes a

first look at the table of contents: among the list of church fathers, a female name is hiding.

Perpetua has been included in the roster of great names of the early church, which is a bit of a

pleasant surprise perhaps not only for female readers. The other characters discussed, as would

be expected with a book that serves as an introduction to the church fathers, are well familiar

names: Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, Tertullian, Origen, Athanasius,

John Chrysostom, Augustine and Cyril of Alexandria. Others, however, are notably missing,

such as Polycarp, Cyprian, Ambrose or Jerome. As quickly becomes clear though, the characters

selected serve the broader purpose of the book: to show through select individuals how their

writings aligned with the apostolic writings, and how their writings can help modern believers

better understand not only why these writers should be appreciated, but also how much they were

in line with the biblical texts.

STRUCTURE OF BOOK

As already mentioned, Litfin has structured this book in a format that lends itself to

individual or group study by breaking up the chapters. His easy style makes it a pleasure to

peruse the pages of this book, and the structure he gives the book allows anyone to start at any

chapter and not get lost. Even within chapters, it is easy to leave off, as each chapter is written

based on a simple format of introduction of chapter, description of character, a set of questions to

spark further thoughts, if read individually, or discussion, when in a group setting. Each chapter

then ends with a recommended further reading list and a sample of the person’s writings (or an

account of a part of their life by another writer).

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Litfin’s primary goal in conveying the stories of the early church fathers is to broaden the

reader’s understanding of the value of studying these men (and one woman), not only for their

sacrifices, but even more so for the far-reaching impact their thoughts, writings or actions have

on believers even today. As Litfin highlights, none of this happened outside of these individuals’

utmost reliance on and trust in God while working within the orthodox confines of the biblical

texts at their disposal.

Litfin ends the book in a short epilogue that exhorts his readers to seek after Jesus and

embrace the fact that believers who have accepted God’s grace by faith should be one body of

Christ – a wonderful reminder that more exists that binds true believers together than that which

separates them. Last but not least, he includes 34 pages of endnotes, which while adding

tremendous value to the serious student, seems a bit much for a book of this more casual nature.

STYLE AND IMPACT

Litfin writes in a style that will have his readers say (to borrow a line from the movie

Jerry Maguire), “You had me at ‘hello’”. As already mentioned, his warm style grabs readers

from the introductory pages of the book and lets them forget they are actually learning about

history. One item of note is Litfin’s liberal use of what one might term “martyrdom gore” within

some of the accounts. One example here is Litfin’s description of Ignatius’ being “a martyr

ground up by the fangs of salvage beasts like wheat in a flour mill”1 in order to underscore

Ignatius’ truthfulness in his claims about God and especially salvation by grace. While actually

necessary to understand what these martyrs experienced, it nevertheless leaves behind a small

amount of feeling that this is a type of (almost) headline-seeking, sensationalized account. It is

only upon further reflection that the readers may realize that most of the history books they have

read in the past are rather sterilized accounts of what truly happened. Readers that have never

1. Bryan M. Litfin, Getting to Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction (Grand Rapids, MI:
Brazos Press, 2007), 47.
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heard that greater than three million people lost their lives in the early centuries of Christianity

might need exactly this level of “shock treatment” to realize that Christianity even today in many

parts of the world does not come in the nice and easy Sunday morning pew-sitting comfort they

are accustomed to.

The book is clearly written for an evangelical audience, something that becomes evident,

e.g., in the account of Origen, who is oftentimes not considered a “friend of evangelicals”

because of his writings that seem to contradict some of today’s theological ideas. Litfin,

however, manages to extricate the value of Origen’s contribution to the modern reader, while

providing explanation for diverging views. This aspect also becomes apparent when Litfin rather

passionately appeals to the love for their Lord driving some of the early church fathers to readily

accept martyrs’ death. It is not a clinical observation, but rather a passionate account.

One worthy inclusion in the book would have been a dictionary of terms used. As an

example, while seminary students may know what res gestae means, casual readers most likely

will not, yet Litfin fails to explain the term when first encountered2. Likewise, at the conclusion

of the last chapter, the reader may remember having read about Docetism, but cannot remember

the chapter he or she read it in.

CONCLUSION

Litfin’s book is truly a well-written effort, successfully permitting the introduction of

these noble men and women into the awareness of the modern evangelical believer. Its style is

one that draws in the reader who can choose to learn more or less, depending on their need or

desire, about the characters described. His colloquialisms (example “’user-friendly’ access to the

one true God”3) lend themselves to the nature of the book. For seminary students who have

2. Ibid., 45.

3. Ibid., 37.
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suffered through one dry textbook too many, this may be a welcome change in literary menu,

however it lends itself best to devotional studies by individuals or small groups.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Litfin, Bryan M. Getting to Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction. Grand
Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2007.