Can I Get A Witness?

You know what makes history interesting to me? Our connection to it.

It's one thing to read about the hard times in the 1930's, but it's something else entirely to read about the circumstances surrounding your grandfather's young adult years. You know what I'm saying here right? A personal connection to historical data brings it to life, makes it "real" for us even though it is already real objectively.

I've been reading Four Witnesses The Early Church in Her Own Words by Rod Bennett lately. (This is an excellent little paperback from Ignatius Press, less than 350 pages, which I highly recommend to all of my straggly little audience here. I'm currently reading a borrowed copy, but have just purchased one for myself and another for a friend. If you are reading this hoping that you are the friend who will soon be receiving this gift, let me know so that I can make sure I have enough copies to satisfy all interested parties if monetarily feasible.)

From the back cover: "With all the power and drama of a gripping novel, this book is a journey of discovery of ancient and beautiful truths through the lives of four great saints of the early Church - Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus of Lyons." I can certainly vouch for the gripping nature of this work from Mr. Bennett. Gripping, that is, for those of us who call ourselves "Christian" because here we have eye-witness accounts of how the earliest followers of Christ received and acted upon the teachings of His Apostles. Is this sort of thing important? Is it valuable? You betcha. Can anyone here help me spell crucial?

I feel as though I am sitting fireside with both insiders and outsiders who are sharing their experiences and observations about the Church from its neophyte stage of life. The book has a particular focus on the four names mentioned above, but a fine writer, Bennett sets the stage with relevant backstory based on actual historical resources and informed speculation. As one reviewer said, most readers would not describe this book as "scholarly." But it is most certainly an excellent introduction to the work of these four early Church Fathers and it is a "convincing rendering of what the early Church must really have been like."

In recommending this book, I do not mean to say that this is the best of all books on the early Church. Frankly, I am too unlearned to make any such suggestion. What I do mean to say is that learning about the early Church is very helpful in general, and important for those who want to have a deeper understanding of their faith. Come on, you understand. You believed your 8th grade American History teacher when he told you that reading about the birth of our country would help you appreciate being a citizen today. So just believe me. Start reading about the early Church. Whether you are Protestant or Catholic or not sure what to think about Christianity, there is no risk in reading a bit of history...right?