April 20, 2013

Ante-Nicene Fathers (Volume 2) - X - The Instructor commenced

Required reading
Ante-Nicene Fathers (Volume 2) (Available from Amazon or free here) - Commence 'The Instructor' by reading Book I.

My summary
Clement now begins to teach us about 'The Instructor'.

Firstly he speaks a lot about our roles under the instructor as children: 'we have shown that all of us are by Scripture called children; and not only so, but that we who have followed Christ are figuratively called babes; and that the Father of all alone is perfect, for the Son is in Him, and the Father is in the Son.'

Then Clement tells us about the instructor himself, Jesus Christ.  We hear primarily about disciplinary methods, including punishments and threatenings.

What grabbed me
Reading these Church Fathers does help demonstrate that the New Testament is indeed the Word of God. 

Nowhere in the New Testament do you find faulty illustrations like those that were contained in today's reading.

There were errors about the human body and even false teaching about the reason milk goes sour: 'Further, milk has a most natural affinity for water, as assuredly the spiritual washing has for the spiritual nutriment. Those, therefore, that swallow a little cold water, in addition to the above-mentioned milk, straightway feel benefit; for the milk is prevented from souring by its combination with water, not in consequence of any antipathy between them, but in consequence of the water taking kindly to the milk while it is undergoing digestion.'

An inerrant God would never write such error.

Next week's reading
Continue 'The Instructor' by reading Book II.


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

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