Day by Day with the Early Church Fathers

Rating:
Summary: good idea, well executed
Review: A delightful volume. The messages are thoughtful, not trite as in many devotional books. 365 extended quotations, one page of maybe 200 words each. Several pages at the end list the fathers quoted and tell a bit about each one. The excerpts are referenced at the end in case you want to follow up with further study. The hardcover volume is sturdy, easy to hold and to read. A good idea, well executed.

Rating:
Summary: A good book to supplement your devotional time
Review: Few people read from the writings of the early church fathers- either because we don't know where to begin or the translation we have is in archaic English. Either way, it becomes an exercise in frustration. This book solves this problem by selecting short daily devotional readings from a variety of authors and then updating the translation. The readings are short (usually a couple paragraphs) and are helpful in making the most out of your devotional time (it's amazing how little human problems change over the centuries!). As you might expect, some of the readings will speak to you more powerfully than others. But at a minimum, the excerpts reveal the rich tradition of thought that underlies Christianity. It's worth a look!

Rating:
Summary: A good book to supplement your devotional time
Review: Few people read from the writings of the early church fathers- either because we don't know where to begin or the translation we have is in archaic English. Either way, it becomes an exercise in frustration. This book solves this problem by selecting short daily devotional readings from a variety of authors and then updating the translation. The readings are short (usually a couple paragraphs) and are helpful in making the most out of your devotional time (it's amazing how little human problems change over the centuries!). As you might expect, some of the readings will speak to you more powerfully than others. But at a minimum, the excerpts reveal the rich tradition of thought that underlies Christianity. It's worth a look!

Rating:
Summary: Begin the Day with the Early Church
Review: Many would want to know what the earliest Chrsitians outside of the NT thought. Here in a daily devotional organized around a daily reading from Scirpture followed by a short devotion from one of early church fathers such as Augustine, Basil, Chrysostom, Jerome, Athanasius, etc. A useful Appendix with a brief biography of each early church father is included.

This are not too pithy for most Christians, outside of their examples and explanations sometimes can be miscontrued or misunderstood due to changes in language and cultural setting, etc.

I agree that with others that the only improvement would have been to organize around the Church Year. Also helpful would have been a Scriptural Index.

Rating:
Summary: Begin the Day with the Early Church
Review: Many would want to know what the earliest Chrsitians outside of the NT thought. Here in a daily devotional organized around a daily reading from Scirpture followed by a short devotion from one of early church fathers such as Augustine, Basil, Chrysostom, Jerome, Athanasius, etc. A useful Appendix with a brief biography of each early church father is included.

This are not too pithy for most Christians, outside of their examples and explanations sometimes can be miscontrued or misunderstood due to changes in language and cultural setting, etc.

I agree that with others that the only improvement would have been to organize around the Church Year. Also helpful would have been a Scriptural Index.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good Devotional Tool...
Review: This book is an excellent devotional tool. The time it takes to read the daily devotion, which consists of a bible verse and passage from a Church Father, is rather short. This makes it a good addition to regular prayer or devotional time. At the end of the book, brief biographies of many early Christian writers appear, as well as sources for the texts used.

The book has many good aspects. First, the readings are brief and rendered into modern English. Second, the book is a simple and non-threatening way to learn about God through early Christian writers. For the most part, Church history is inaccessible to most Christians, or else confined to history books. To see the early Christian writers come alive in this way is encouraging.

The book does have a drawback as far as I am concerned. The topics appear to be chosen almost randomly, and really do not reflect the Church calendar. With the exception of Christmas, the book does not rely on the Church calendar in any real way. While some feasts are moveable (such as Easter, Lent, etc) and could not be exactly represented in this book, other days like Epiphany and All Saints Day are fixed. While this won't be a problem for many, I like to base my personal worship time on the Church calendar (which most of the writers in this book pioneered and celebrated). Regardless, the book is a good way to make the wisdom of past Christians a part of devotional time.