Tradition, Scripture, and Interpretation: A Sourcebook of the Ancient Church

This sourcebook gathers key writings from the first through sixth centuries on various topics of concern to the church yesterday and today. The writings are arranged thematically, and within each theme, chronologically, revealing how the Christian tradition on a given topic developed over time. The anthology begins with a chapter examining the close relationship between Scripture and tradition in the minds of early church leaders.

Tradition, Scripture, and Interpretation supplements a valuable series that helps modern church leaders return to the wisdom and insight of the early church fathers in order to apply their ancient understandings of Christian belief and practice to ministry in the twenty-first century.

This sourcebook gathers key writings from the first through sixth centuries on various topics of concern to the church yesterday and today. The writings are arranged thematically, and within each theme, chronologically, revealing how the Christian tradition on a given topic developed over time. The anthology begins with a chapter examining the close relationship between Scripture and tradition in the minds of early church leaders.

Library Journal

Williams (patristics & historical theology, Baylor Univ.; Retrieving the Tradition and Renewing Evangelicanism: A Primer for Suspicious Protestants) presents an anthology of writings from Christian fathers of the first through the fifth century, including the Apostle Paul, Ignatius of Antioch, Gregory of Nyssa, and Jerome. The relatively brief extracts are arranged in nine thematic chapters, e.g., "Origins of Christian Tradition," "The Interplay of Scripture and Tradition," and "Interpreting the Bible." Williams makes no attempt at exegesis but does provide helpful comments and historical notes with most excerpts, as well as a clearly written, contextual introduction. General readers motivated to digest the many broad-ranging but sometimes numbingly repetitive selections will be rewarded with insights into early Christian thinking on literal vs. allegorical interpretation of Scripture, the development of local and conciliar creeds, and the slow, distributed development of the Bible as canon. Recommended to public libraries for Williams's cogent introduction and the anthology's fit into a relatively unpopulated niche in the literature. James R. Kuhlman, Univ. of North Carolina at Asheville Lib. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

D. H. Williams (PhD, University of Toronto) is professor of religion in patristics and historical theology at Baylor University. He is the author of Evangelicals and Tradition and Retrieving the Tradition and Renewing Evangelicalism and editor of The Free Church and the Early Church.