Introduction

[John]

What was the early Church like? Contrary to popular belief, Rod Bennett shows there is a reliable way to know. Four ancient Christian writers--four witnesses to early Christianity --left us an extensive body of documentation on this vital subject, and this book brings their fascinating testimony to life for modern believers. 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.

We have five sets of questions this month, one for each of the fathers and one on the book as a whole.

[Jill]

His claim is very striking, given the general feeling that actual life in the early Church is lost in the mists of time.
I note that Bennett is only one of many former-evangelical converts who have embraced the Catholic Church after reading the Fathers, who are, of course, part of our common (pre-Reformation) heritage.

[Madeleine]

Jill, I believe Bishop Barron is one who advocates a return to the study of the early Church Fathers as an important step in reforming and evangelizing our faith. I think too many Protestants and other Christian denominations are simply ignorant of how Christianity grew so quickly and how our teachings and selections of the Biblical Canon developed.