Four Witnesses: The Early Church in Her Own Words

Rating:
Summary: Wow! What a great book!
Review: A look at four of the earliest Christian Fathers through the eyes of a terrific writer, a great storyteller, and a good researcher! I can't recommend it highly enough!

Rating:
Summary: Wow! What a great book!
Review: A look at four of the earliest Christian Fathers through the eyes of a terrific writer, a great storyteller, and a good researcher! I can't recommend it highly enough!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book on early Churh History
Review: I've only recently rediscoverd the Catholic part of me that was lost 25 years ago. One can buy the individual books of the early Church Fathers and go through them and learn much. Or, if one does not have the time or the hundreds of dollars one might spend, they can purchase this excellent book. It is different in that Mr. Bennett weaves in much of the high points of what these four fathers wrote in a way that provides background and tells a story. Will I keep buying the books of the individual church fathers, yes. But, I whole heartedly recommend this book. There is also an excellent little section in the back that quotes the early fathers on various topics that are talked about and still debated by the protestants in this day.

Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: The best intro to the early church avilable. This former Protestant author takes the writtings of 4 of the early church fathers and builds a narrative story out of them. Even for those of us familiar with some early church writtings, this book fills in the historic conditions of the times which sheds much light on the context in which they are written. For those unfamiliar with the early church fathers, this book would be truely eye-openning.
The author also includes a chapter on his own journey from Protestantism to Catholicism. In fact the book almost seems to be written with Protestants in mind.
I would suggest this book to everyone from those who never heard of the early church fathers to those who recognize all the writtings quoted in the book.

Rating:
Summary: A compelling read
Review: This book is an awesome story! I finished this book in a short time, finding the story very compelling. It felt more like I was reading a novel than some dry history book. Rod Bennett does a wonderful job setting the historical stage for each character, revealing the conflicts and emotions that they must have faced. Bennett reveals what early Christians believed and how they endured despite persecution, leading to the growth of the Church. "The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians" wrote Tertullian. Every Christian will find the story of these witnesses inspiring, and I highly recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: This book is wonderful for people of all faiths.
Review: This book is wonderful for people of all faiths. Being a new Catholoc convert, and previous Lutheran, I found the writings of the four Fathers to be very helpful in explaining many tennents of the faith. Why does the Church believe such and such, where does that belief fit in with the Bible, how the Bible was developed from early beliefs, why does the Church hold such staunch opinions on certain topics - these questions and more are all answered in the early writings of the Church. In studying theses early writings, one comes to question many of our modern interpretations as not being truly apostolic and therefore, not truly teachings from Jesus. This book reads like a novel, but is not fluffy. I highly recomend this book to any one looking for answers to what the early Chruch taught and believed. Inspiring and occasionally unsettling, this book has taught me much.

Rating:
Summary: Wow! Church history that reads like Gladiator, not Quo Vadis
Review: This is undoubtedly one of the coolest books on Church history available anywhere - it's so far away from the deadly dry, impenetrable historical prose of modern university scholars. It's obvious this guy has done his homework (copious footnotes everywhere and careful, aesthetically-pleasing structure of the narrative), but what sets it apart is the fact that you can actually enjoy reading it - enjoy the stories of these interesting historical figures as they unfold. Hear them speak in their own voices; see them travel through the countries they lived in; feel their pain and joy as they delight in the struggle to help the baby Church thrive. Highly recommended - especially to anyone curious about what the early Church taught and believed, but didn't think it was possible to really know for sure...

Rating:
Summary: Wow! Church history that reads like Gladiator, not Quo Vadis
Review: This is undoubtedly one of the coolest books on Church history available anywhere - it's so far away from the deadly dry, impenetrable historical prose of modern university scholars. It's obvious this guy has done his homework (copious footnotes everywhere and careful, aesthetically-pleasing structure of the narrative), but what sets it apart is the fact that you can actually enjoy reading it - enjoy the stories of these interesting historical figures as they unfold. Hear them speak in their own voices; see them travel through the countries they lived in; feel their pain and joy as they delight in the struggle to help the baby Church thrive. Highly recommended - especially to anyone curious about what the early Church taught and believed, but didn't think it was possible to really know for sure...