Catholic Reading List: Difference between revisions
→Early Church
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* [https://earlychristianwritings.com/ Early Christian Writings: New Testament, Apocrypha, Gnostics, Church Fathers] | * [https://earlychristianwritings.com/ Early Christian Writings: New Testament, Apocrypha, Gnostics, Church Fathers] | ||
One of the dangers of venturing into the early Church is unknowingly walking into heretical works, like those of [https://www.tertullian.org/ Tertullian], who either joined or was influenced by the Montanism heresy as well as "rigorism" (see [[Heresy]] entry here).<ref>Nevertheless, while complicated, Tertullian is an important early Church thinker and apologist. A nice thing about the above link is that the site marks works by Tertullian that venture into Montanism. While he importantly coined the term "trinity" (''trinitas)'', he taught that the Son and the Holy Spirit were subordinate to the Father, a heretical belief. We see in Tertullian another danger in sorting through early Church sources, in that various intellectual or religious movements may latch on to him to prove some point. For example, some Protestants think of him as "the first protestant" for the absence of "ecclesiasticism" in his writings, his attacks on a particular bishop, and his ambiguity over transubstantiation. After leaving the Montanists, Tertullian founded his own sect in Carthage, which St. Augustine had to sort out later. Here for a Catholic view on [https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14520c.htm CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Tertullian (newadvent.org),]</ref> | |||
<u>Important and accessible works include:</u> | |||
=== Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus === | |||
=== The Didache === | |||
Pronounced" dee-da-kay", an important and very early statement of Christian faith and life, also called "The Lord's Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations." The Didache describes and explains the Christian life, practices, and beliefs (such as Baptism, the Eucharist and the Our Father prayer). | |||
* [https://www.catholicplanet.com/ebooks/didache.htm The Didache - Teaching of the Twelve Apostles - Oldest Church Manual (catholicplanet.com)] | * [https://www.catholicplanet.com/ebooks/didache.htm The Didache - Teaching of the Twelve Apostles - Oldest Church Manual (catholicplanet.com)] | ||
<u>A note on early sources:</u> | |||
A good guide is to stick to those with "Saint" before their names... Speaking of which... | A good guide is to stick to those with "Saint" before their names... Speaking of which... | ||