Ante-Nicene Fathers (Volume 1) - I - First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians

Required reading
Ante-Nicene Fathers (Volume 1) (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read the First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians.

My summary
Today we begin a rather long journey through the early church fathers.

We start with the first epistle of Clement to the Corinthians.

Among other things, we learn about:
(i) the evils of envy;
(ii) the need for repentance;
(iii) the good examples of the saints and Christ;
(iv) the need for peace;
(v) the resurrection;
(vi) justification by faith;
(vii) the rewards of God;
(viii) the orders of ministers in the church;
(ix) Christian love.

What grabbed me
I know I didn't tell you to read it, but in the 'Introductory Notice' to the volume, I was struck by the editor's comment about errors found in the fathers: 'Their very mistakes enable us to attach a higher value to the superiority of inspired writers.'

And so I couldn't help thinking of this when I read in Clement's letter the following: 'Let us consider that wonderful sign [of the resurrection] which takes place in Eastern lands, that is, in Arabia and the countries round about. There is a certain bird which is called a phœnix. This is the only one of its kind, and lives five hundred years. And when the time of its dissolution draws near that it must die, it builds itself a nest of frankincense, and myrrh, and other spices, into which, when the time is fulfilled, it enters and dies. But as the flesh decays a certain kind of worm is produced, which, being nourished by the juices of the dead bird, brings forth feathers. Then, when it has acquired strength, it takes up that nest in which are the bones of its parent, and bearing these it passes from the land of Arabia into Egypt, to the city called Heliopolis. And, in open day, flying in the sight of all men, it places them on the altar of the sun, and having done this, hastens back to its former abode. The priests then inspect the registers of the dates, and find that it has returned exactly as the five hundredth year was completed.'

If such a statement was included in the Bible, we'd have to admit there is a major error in the Scriptures.

But instead, such fables are not found in our Holy Scriptures which thereby demonstrates their inspiration.

Next week's reading
Read the Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus, the Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians and the Encyclical Epistle of the church at Smyrna.

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.