Worshiping with the Church Fathers
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
Christopher Hall invites us to accompany the fathers as they enter the sanctuary for worship and the chapel for prayer. He also takes us to the wilderness, where we learn from the early monastics as they draw close to God in their solitary discipline. The focus of this book is not liturgy but more broadly worship in its corporate and individual dimensions. We enter into the patristic understanding of baptism and the Eucharist. And we come under the instruction and discipline of great spiritual teachers of prayer. In two previous books, Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers and Learning Theology with the Church Fathers, Christopher Hall has ushered us alongside the church fathers as they study the Scriptures and plumb the depths of theology. In this survey of the spiritual life of worship he informs and challenges Christians in faithful living today. Hall weaves his own experiences into his observations of the fathers' practices and teachings and so helps us close the gap of the centuries. Readers will enjoy a rich and rare schooling in developing their spiritual life.
Christopher A. Hall
Christopher A. Hall previously served as the president of Renovaré, as the chancellor, provost, dean of Palmer Theological Seminary at Eastern University for twenty-four years, dean of the Templeton Honors College, distinguished professor of theology, and director of academic spiritual formation. He earned a B.A. from UCLA in history, an M.A. in biblical studies from Fuller Theological Seminary, a Th.M. from Regent College, and a Ph.D. from Drew University. He has served in the pastorate in France and in Canada, and was a member of the editorial board of Christianity Today. He and his wife Debbie reside in Philadelphia and have three children and two grandchildren.
Read more from Christopher A. Hall
A Different Way: Recentering the Christian Life Around Following Jesus Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Mystery of God: Theology for Knowing the Unknowable Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to Worshiping with the Church Fathers
Related ebooks
Ancient Christian Worship: Early Church Practices in Social, Historical, and Theological Perspective Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Ecclesiology of St. Basil the Great: A Trinitarian Approach to the Life of the Church Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEver Ancient, Ever New: The Allure of Liturgy for a New Generation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Introduction to Christian Liturgy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Five Models of Spiritual Direction in the Early Church Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Apostolic Fathers: An Essential Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Evangelicals and Tradition (Evangelical Ressourcement): The Formative Influence of the Early Church Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Soul Recreation: The Contemplative-Mystical Piety of Puritanism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Basic Guide to Eastern Orthodox Theology: Introducing Beliefs and Practices Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The End of Protestantism: Pursuing Unity in a Fragmented Church Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Encounters with Orthodoxy: How Protestant Churches Can Reform Themselves Again Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBaptists and the Christian Tradition: Toward an Evangelical Baptist Catholicity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhy Sacraments? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAthanasius (Foundations of Theological Exegesis and Christian Spirituality) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Gregory of Nazianzus (Foundations of Theological Exegesis and Christian Spirituality) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEvangelicals and the Early Church: Recovery, Reform, Renewal Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBasil of Caesarea (Foundations of Theological Exegesis and Christian Spirituality) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Reading the Apostolic Fathers: A Student's Introduction Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rediscovering the Church Fathers: Who They Were and How They Shaped the Church Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Getting to Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Evangelicals and Nicene Faith (Beeson Divinity Studies): Reclaiming the Apostolic Witness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Scripture as Real Presence: Sacramental Exegesis in the Early Church Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Know the Creeds and Councils Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Didache: A Commentary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Story of Creeds and Confessions: Tracing the Development of the Christian Faith Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Theology of Augustine: An Introductory Guide to His Most Important Works Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Preaching the Word with John Chrysostom Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEarly Christian Martyr Stories: An Evangelical Introduction with New Translations Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Early Christians Speak, Vol. 1 3rd Ed.: Faith and Life in the First Three Centuries Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Early Church at Work and Worship - Volume 3: Worship, Eucharist, Music, and Gregory of Nyssa Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Christianity For You
The Screwtape Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mere Christianity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Enoch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Boundaries and Goodbyes: Loving Others Without Losing the Best of Who You Are Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Law of Connection: Lesson 10 from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Changes That Heal: Four Practical Steps to a Happier, Healthier You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'll Start Again Monday: Break the Cycle of Unhealthy Eating Habits with Lasting Spiritual Satisfaction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex: Creating a Marriage That's Both Holy and Hot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Less Fret, More Faith: An 11-Week Action Plan to Overcome Anxiety Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Stories We Tell: Every Piece of Your Story Matters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading and Understanding the Entire Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Holy Bible (World English Bible, Easy Navigation) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries with Kids: How Healthy Choices Grow Healthy Children Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wild at Heart Expanded Edition: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Undistracted: Capture Your Purpose. Rediscover Your Joy. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5NIV, Holy Bible Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Grief Observed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Worshiping with the Church Fathers
45 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Substance: A brief introduction and overview of the eight "most important" church fathers (exegetes in the first few centuries after Christ), including biographical information and excerpts (very small) from their works. Includes an analysis of the importance of their views on scripture, and an explanation of how their thought applies today.Includes a nod to feminist critics on why there are no "church mothers" despite there being several prominent and esteemed female exegetes (they just didn't write much, or it wasn't preserved).Style: Lukewarm, but serviceable.Includes: Athanasius (and thus perforce Arian, albeit as a heretic not a father), Gregory of Nazianzus, Basil the Great, John Chrysostom, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, Gregory the Great. Origen's work is also considered, although he is not ranked by Hall as a father because of his forays into now-heterodox thought.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hall's book provides a neat counterpoint to Fitzmyer's. He explores how Church Fathers were both unified and at odds in how to read scripture, and how they run counter to the way biblical scholars work in the academy. His book is a description of the Antiochian and Alexandrian schools of exegesis in the first few centuries of Christianity, but also a defense of these exegetes and a call to reclaim them for today. This book is meant to serve as an overture to Hall's Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series.The Fathers were not tenured professors writing books in private offices. They were bishops, ministers, men whose reading of the Bible was done with an eye to homiletics and to the immediate needs of the Church. Their criteria for sound exegesis did not just include critical reading skills, but also the spiritual health of the exegete: just as sin blinds one to God, it blinds one to God's Word. We should pay attention to their mode of reading scripture not just because many are saints and Church Doctors, but because of their hermeneutical and historical closeness to Christ, their ability to hear the music of scripture that falls dead on our modern ears.Hall goes on to describe eight of the major exegetes of the ancient Church, including Augustine, Basil, John Chrysostom, Athanasius, and Jerome. In really like how he describes their personal lives and the struggles they face: struggles between a call to ascetic contemplation and a need to serve the Church, between embracing the world or seeing its brokenness, between their scholarly sensibilities and the demands of the laity and leaders they served. These were men who fought heresies, such as Gnosticism and Arianism. At the end of describing these figures Hall points to good translations of their works for popular audiences, helping to bring ancient exegetes easily into the hands of modern readers.Hall then goes on to compare the Antiochian school of exegesis with the Alexandrian. The Alexandrian school, with such famous figures as Ireneus, Origen, and Augustine, looked to highly speculative allegorical readings of scripture. They could find the deepest symbolism in even the most prosaic Levitical laws; the cloven hoof of a goat could represent the Father and the Son, as could any binary in the Bible. To me this was reminiscent of Jungian dream interpretation: they assume that there is deep, deep meaning in every small detail of the dream, and of course find what they are searching for. Allegorical interpretation is useful for "explaining away" factual contradictions in the text or places where God seems less than Godlike. Alexandrian exegetes, responding to the Jewish skeptics of Christ's Messianship and the Gnostics' own allegorical reading, used allegory as an apologetic tool. Yet without hermeneutical constraints, allegory easily turned into a free-for-all more telling of the exegete's imagination than the text itself. Ironically, the same criticism is given to dream analystsAntiochian exegetes such as Theophilus of Antioch or John Chrysostom were more careful. While they were not above finding figurative meaning in scripture, they were clear that no figurative reading could contradict or take precedent over the literal meaning of a text. While there were surely viscious debates between these schools, Hall leads the reader through an examination of various exegetes' comments on Jesus' saying that a rich man's attainment of salvation is harder than putting a camel through the eye of a needle. The exegetes don't differ as much as one might think. While there were some wacky allegorists (Origen comes to mind), perhaps the polemics exaggerate the issue.Hall holds up ancient Biblical reading as a way out of two dilemmas faced in the academy. One is a modernist way of reading scripture: a rational, individual reader publishes research marked as their own corner. The other is the postmodern lapse into subjectivism. What criteria can we have for reading scripture if ultimately it's only our own solipsistic perspective? Hall's mode of returning to the Fathers, which he terms paleo-orthodoxy, provides an out by placing all scholarship in the community and needs of the Church. His readings are always theological. The Fathers unanimously read every verse of the Bible in light of Christ, whether allegorically or more literally.While I enjoyed Hall's book, his polemics at the end seemed unnecessary. I will keep in mind that this is published by InterVarsity Press, an Evangelical group, so perhaps his appeal to tradition needs to be defended more clearly. As a Catholic it seemed redundant. But perhaps this is my own failure to understand the mindset of his audience, a mindset that might disregard any Christian writer before Luther and Calvin. (Never mind that Luther was himself a Catholic monk nurtured on the Fathers!) Despite this annoyance, Hall's book is a solid user friendly introduction to how the Fathers read scripture.