This is a guest post from Erin Joy, a real doll. She writes about life in rural America and in the big city where she studies at a Bible college.

Erin Joy and her book

Hello, dear readers!

It’s not always easy reading a book that’s taller than you are, but this one was truly a joy. Getting to Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction by Bryan Litfin is a book I can wholeheartedly recommend.

For one thing, Litfin has an refreshing writing style. This book was assigned for one of my church history classes at the Bible college I attend. Frankly, many of these textbooks are interesting only because of their content. While I have enjoyed learning the material, seldom have I enjoyed the reading experience as much as I did with this book.

The book examines the lives of ten early church leaders: Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Iranaeus, Tertullian, Perpetua, Origen, Athanasius, John Chrysostum, Augustine, and Cyril of Alexandria. Litfin devotes one chapter to each of their lives, offering their life story, a comparison to modern day, a discussion of the doctrine they lived (or died) defending, and a sample of their writing. Each chapter also features discussion questions and correlating Scriptures, which would enable this book to be terrific material for an adult Sunday School class or Bible study.

Litfin’s approach in this book is one of embracing the good in the early church leaders, urging evangelicals to see themselves as part of the universal church. While sometimes we tend to associate everything pre-Luther with Roman Catholicism, Litfin explores in this book the roots of some of Christianity’s most central doctrines, such as the deity of Christ and the canon of Scripture. These doctrines are presented in their historical context, and Litfin urges his readers not to take them for granted.

In his book, he addresses some of the earliest heresies which faced the church. I was interested to learn that some positions I had long associated with the Roman Catholic Church, such as the bishopry, were initially established to defend against heresy. While certainly there has been some abuse of ecclesiastical authority, it would be foolish for us evangelicals to throw away the concept completely.

This book truly helped me take ownership of church history. I am learning to see the part in my heritage the early church plays, and to cherish the heritage I share with all other believers. No longer do I take my core doctrines for granted or dismiss quickly the unity that can be found with believers of other denominations. This is unity is not at the expense of our core doctrines, but rather is found through upholding them together.

With love from an absolute doll,

Erin Joy

A big thanks to Erin Joy for doing the first guest post for my blog. Be sure to check out her blog.

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Getting to Know the Church Fathers⁂ is available at Westminster books.

Christianity Today interviewed Litfin about Getting to Know the Church Fathers.