Why Evangelicals should read the Church Fathers (and where to start)

One of the common accusations made to the Reformation from the Roman Catholic Church was that Protestants were sweeping away centuries of the Church’s tradition. No longer were the Church Fathers or the Creeds necessary, all one needs is a Bible to develop a strong theology.

What’s sad is that today, many Evangelicals would hear such an accusation and gladly agree to it. The Bible is, after all, the inspired Word of God. What more can you need?

Reformers like John Calvin, Martin Luther, or Heinrich Bullinger, however, would strongly disagree. While the Anabaptist sect held to such a radical separation from Catholic tradition, the majority of Reformers argued they were the ones holding to the historic faith of the Church, and that Rome had lost its way from not only Scripture but the Church Fathers as well.

Sola Scriptura is one of the pillars of the Reformed faith, but it’s original meaning has unfortunately been passed down to the present generation poorly. Sola Scriptura does not mean that Christians only look to the Bible for theological understanding and insight. That is what we would call Solo Scriptura or Biblicism. (Barrett, 2023, Pg. 21)

Sola Scriptura rather means that while we look to the Fathers or Church tradition, we still line it up with Scripture. If we find conflict between the two, we ultimately place Scripture as the final authority. Tradition still has value and authority, just not on the level as Scripture.

To put it simply, Sola Scriptura and Protestant tradition does not ignore or brush off the Church Fathers or Creeds. They are still to be held in high regard in helping develop our theology and our reading of Scripture.

Personally, I wasn’t raised with any of this knowledge. Most of my Evangelical friends weren’t either. I didn’t even know who the Church Fathers were until I went to college, and that was mostly due to my own personal studies and not what was taught in class. With all of this mind, I feel compelled to say in a spirit of love:

My fellow Evangelicals, we need to do better.

Many are criticizing and leaving the Evangelical Church, and for good reasons. Political idolatry, sexual scandals, and financial abuse are just few of the heaviest reasons. While many of these controversies are complicated and I don’t want to oversimplify it, one important factor that needs to be addressed in this crisis currently facing the Evangelical Church is its recent lack of historical foundation.

I say recent because Evangelicals in the past held to Protestant tradition. Previous leaders of the movement read and referenced the Church Fathers and the Creeds. But somewhere along the road this was abandoned. The fears of the Roman Catholic critics have come true in many Evangelical spaces, with countless self-appointed leaders claiming to have the right interpretation of Scripture, completely oblivious to the ancient brothers and sisters who paved the way for us and the historic understanding of the Spirit’s words in the Biblical text.

The Church Fathers weren’t infallible, but they were the ones God chose to canonize our Bibles and establish orthodox doctrines such as the Trinity.

Seminaries and Bible colleges aren’t good enough. Evangelical churches have a responsibility to pass down to the next generation not only the sacred Scriptures that point to our Savior, but the leaders who came after the Apostles who were trusted to keep the teachings and traditions.

So where should I start?
Getting into the Church Fathers can be overwhelming. I’m not an expert, but here are a few readings and resources I’d recommend starting with:

Readings of the Church Fathers
1. The Didache (1st century)
This is a short, simple, and fascinating read that gives us a glimpse into the 1st century Church. I recommend this first because of how close it is to the time of the Apostles. The Didache is a brief catechism for new converts to Christianity, learning the lifestyle a Christian leads, as well as a Church manual for leadership and service.

2. 1st Clement (1st century)
Once again, this writing is believed to be within the 1st century, which makes its short distance from the New Testament highly valuable. This letter is a bit long, but it’s packed with Scripture, rich theological convictions, and points to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

3. The Epistle of Diognetus (2nd-3rd century)
This short, anonymous letter makes an apologetic case for Christianity. It uses powerful descriptions of the Christian life and the Gospel to show how Jesus saved us from our sins.

4. On the Apostolic Preaching- Irenaeus of Lyons (2nd century)
One of the most influential leaders of the early Church, Irenaeus lays out an overview of the Biblical story, outlining the narrative of God’s communion with humanity, the Old Testament’s foreshadowing of Jesus, and the new life brought through the Gospel. This is a great read in seeing how the early Church read the Old Testament and understood Jesus fulfilling the Scriptures as Lord and Messiah.

5. If you’re new to reading Creeds, I would recommend starting with the Apostles Creed and the Nicene-Constantinople Creed.

Online Resources
There’s a lot of great resources online to learn about the Church Fathers. One YouTube channel I keep coming back to after all these years is Church historian Ryan Reeves.

Literature Recommendations
The majority of the Church Fathers can be read in the public domain, thanks to previous English translators like Philip Schaff. If you’d like to read the Fathers in more updated English, I’d heavily recommend the Popular Patristics series as well as Michael W. Holmes’ translation of the Apostolic Fathers.

For a book on understanding Evangelical reflection on the Church Fathers, check out Gavin Ortlund’s Theological Retrieval for Evangelicals: Why we need our Past to have a Future. For a deep reading on the Reformation’s retrieval of Church tradition, check out Matthew Barrett’s The Reformation as Renewal: Retrieving the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.


Bibliography
Barrett, M. (2023). The Reformation as Renewal: Retrieving the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Grand Rapids, MI. Zondervan Academic.