Documents In Early Christian Thought PDF Download

Excerpt from Leaders of Early Christian Thought This book is offered, in the first instance, to thoughtful persons who, whether or not they contemplate a systematic study of Christian theology, are interested in the history of the subject, but who are often, at the outset, bewildered by the massively detailed expositions in the larger works on the History of Christian Doctrine. I have, I hope, been helped to avoid a mere 'sketch' of the main aspects of the subject by approaching it in the light of certain principles of fundamental importance. (i) As a matter of fact, there has been a 'main stream' in the history of Christian Thought, in which doctrines and beliefs which have been historically vital to Christianity have survived through periods sometimes of embittered controversy and confusion. But it has not been a mere 'survival.' The canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments have been, and are, its primary source. But the authority of the Scriptures and their interpretation inevitably gave rise to questions which could not be directly decided by quotations from the Scriptures themselves, and which, therefore, necessarily led to a development of Christian doctrine. (ii) The very idea of development, in reference to the history of Christian doctrine, brings us to face the conclusion powerfully argued by the greatest Christian scholar of the last century. Adolf Harnack, with a vast knowledge of the relevant facts, brought to his interpretation of the facts a guiding idea of which there is no proof adequate to the radical conclusion which he derived from it, and which is defended, though in a less extreme form, by some recent theologians. The question is therefore one of contemporary importance. Harnack saw in the history of Christian doctrines (which he always described as 'dogmas'), and in the history of the Church at large, an alien philosophical method and an illegitimate growth of ecclesiastical authority. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.