Review // The Apostolic Fathers: A New Translation by Rick Brannan
Review: The Apostolic Fathers: A New Translation by Rick Brannan
Perhaps one of the greatest weakness of the modern evangelical church today is its lack of a sense of history. Your average non-denom churchgoer won’t be able to trace what happened between the John the Apostle and John Piper, or what writings existed between 1 Corinthians and Crazy Love.
I’ve been reading through The Apostolic Fathers: A New Translation by Rick Brannan (published 2018), and it has opened my eyes to how the apostle’s original hearers passed on the faith that was delivered to them. Clement’s letter to the Corinthians sounds so New Testament-y that it makes one wonder whether the original compilation of the NT was accidentally lost in transit, and left behind in some ancient subway was this letter.
Who are the Apostolic Fathers?
The Apostolic Fathers are those important early Christian leaders and writers who had direct contact with the ministry of the Apostles themselves (hence the “Apostolic” part). This group includes Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch and Polycarp of Smyrna.
Clement was said to have been ordained by Peter himself, and was the same Clement mentioned in Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. Ignatius and Polycarp, meanwhile, were disciples of the Apostle John.
Book Impressions
The book is accessible for those who just want to dip their feet into Christian writings immediately after the New Testament. The translation is readable and clear. It is also helpful for those who want to study these writings more deeply because it includes extensive footnotes that document alternative translations, clarifications, and important historical context.
While reading the book, you feel like you’re bridging the gap between your own age and the age of the apostles. Many of the exhortations are timeless and beautiful:
“Therefore, being a holy portion, let us do everything that pertains to holiness, fleeing from evil speech, both abominable and impure embraces, both drunkenness and rebellions and detestable lusts, loathsome adulteries, detestable haughtiness. ‘For God,’ it says, ‘opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” (1 Clement 30.1)
“How blessed and wonderful are the gifts of God, beloved! Life in immortality, splendor in righteousness, truth with boldness, faith with confidence, self-control in holiness; and all these things fall within our comprehension. Therefore what, then, are the things being prepared for those who wait? The Creator and Father of the ages, the All-holy one himself, knows their magnitude and beauty. Therefore let us strive to be found among the number of those who wait, so that we may have a share in the gifts which were promised. But how shall this be, beloved? If our understanding is faithfully fixed on God; if we seek out what is pleasing and acceptable to him.” (1 Clement 35.1)
The book also includes works like the Didache, which is more of an instructional, the Shepherd of Hermas, which consists of visions and parables, and the Martyrdom of Saint Polycarp, which is a narrative about the death of Polycarp.
Why Read this Book?
I highly recommend this book to those who want to grow in their sense of the depth of Christian history. Our faith did not begin with Billy Graham in the 20th century, but through the faithfulness of 2,000 years of believers most of whom we would only come to know in the New Creation. These writings also help clarify theological and ethical debates that still exist in the church today. Two thousand years of change in culture, worldview and thinking can obscure our interpretation of the New Testament. One way we get around that is by looking how the original hearers interpreted the apostles, who were only one generation removed from them.
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