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The Great Athanasius: An Introduction to His Life and Work
The Great Athanasius is an introductory survey of the life and work of the most dynamic pastor-theologian of the fourth century. From his birth and early years in Alexandria to the "Golden Decade," the book charts the life and work of Athanasius through a close study of his main writings and other important works. Central to his story is the "Arian controversy," the Council of Nicea, and the subsequent difficulties that emerged in building a consensus around the "very God, very Man" affirmation of the Nicene Creed. The eventual triumph of the theology of the Nicene Creed was largely due to his tireless efforts, which are carefully chronicled in this work. Though a controversial figure in his own lifetime, through both his theological insight and ecclesiastical leadership, and in his fidelity to his faith convictions, Athanasius proved to be "the great" church father and theologian of his age and one of the seminal Christian thinkers of all time. "Dr. John Tyson presents us with a superb intellectual biography of the Great Athanasius. Having taken great pains to bridge history and theological analysis, he has enriched our understanding of Athanasius's theology by careful consideration of the ecclesio-political controversies as well as personal influences that shaped it. This is an excellent introduction to the life and work of St. Athanasius." --David Yoon-Jung Kim, Arthur J. Gosnell Associate Professor of Christian Ethics, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School "John Tyson is to be applauded for his carefully researched and highly accessible introduction to Athanasius amid the theological tensions of the fourth century. This account provides a clear context for the champion of orthodoxy who consistently affirmed the full divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ against the Arian Controversy. It also reveals the challenges and tensions of seeking theological integrity in a world of competing claims." --Tom Schwanda, Associate Professor of Christian Formation and Ministry, Wheaton College John R. Tyson is Professor of Church History at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, in Rochester, New York. He is author of ten books, including Faith, Doubt, and Courage (Wipf & Stock).
202 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 3, 2017
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35 people want to read
About the author
John R. Tyson
20 books6 followersA life-long United Methodist, John R. Tyson was born in Pittsburgh, PA. He first became interested in the hymns of Charles Wesley as a child, when he sang them in the yellow-brick Center Avenue United Methodist Church, in Pitcairn, PA. He would subsequently become an internationally known expert in the life and work of Charles Wesley.
While trying his hand at Business Administration as a major, at Grove City College, Tyson experienced a call to ministry and switched to majors in History and Religion. He attended seminary at Asbury Theological Seminary, receiving the M.Div. After brief pastorates in Florida and Pennsylvania, he pursed doctoral studies at Drew University, earning the M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Theological and Religious Studies. Desiring to know more about his own theological heritage, he wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on “Charles Wesley’s Theology of the Cross.”
Tyson currently teaches Church History at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School and serves as Director of United Methodist Studies. Previous to coming to that post he taught at United Theological Seminary and Houghton College. He has authored more than 80 articles and conference papers, as well as having edited or written eight books. His most recent book The Great Athanasius: An Introduction to His Life and Work was published in 2017.
John is married to Jill Kingdon Tyson. They are raising four children. In his spare time he enjoys reading, writing, and sports. He is an avid Pirates, Penguins and Steelers fan.
While trying his hand at Business Administration as a major, at Grove City College, Tyson experienced a call to ministry and switched to majors in History and Religion. He attended seminary at Asbury Theological Seminary, receiving the M.Div. After brief pastorates in Florida and Pennsylvania, he pursed doctoral studies at Drew University, earning the M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Theological and Religious Studies. Desiring to know more about his own theological heritage, he wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on “Charles Wesley’s Theology of the Cross.”
Tyson currently teaches Church History at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School and serves as Director of United Methodist Studies. Previous to coming to that post he taught at United Theological Seminary and Houghton College. He has authored more than 80 articles and conference papers, as well as having edited or written eight books. His most recent book The Great Athanasius: An Introduction to His Life and Work was published in 2017.
John is married to Jill Kingdon Tyson. They are raising four children. In his spare time he enjoys reading, writing, and sports. He is an avid Pirates, Penguins and Steelers fan.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 20, 2021
Athanasius is probably one of the most significant, yet not widely known, heroes of the Christian history. He was a bishop, theologian, diplomat during a pivotal time in the history of the Christian church. Orthodox believers of the historic Christian faith owe a great debt of gratitude to him (or to God for him) for his relentless advocacy and defense of the Nicene faith. Dr. Tyson provides us with a good narrative overview of Athanasius’ life, ministry, writings, challenges and influence. The narrative writing style is good. He references many primary sources and gives appropriate time to considering their biases and giving them proper weight. For me, this is a great strength of the book. At times however, Dr. Tyson maybe spends too much time unpacking the theology of Athanasius’ writings. I enjoyed it, but it may be too much for the those looking for an overview. This may be a minus for the typical reading but it will be a plus for the student who wants to go deeper. I really enjoyed his analysis and commentary on the writings. Tyson sums up Athanasius well in the last chapter. “It was this Trinitarian vision of God, this incarnational, self-giving understanding of the Object of Christian faith, and the Incarnation of the God-Man, as well as this transformational understanding of Christian salvation, that Athanasius was fighting for in the fourth century. And it is my humble opinion that we should thank God for his persistence and perseverance in lauding the brilliantly biblical theological vision. By holding forth this Trinitarian, incarnational, Self-giving, transformational understanding of Christian faith, Athanasius established a theological legacy that was crucial in the fourth century and remains pertinent even down into our own times. For this reason, I join Gregory Nazianzen in calling Athanasius “great” – and I hope my readers will join him as well.” I will indeed join both Tyson and Gregory in the humble opinion that Athanasius indeed deserves the title “Great”. In my view, this book is an good read and an excellent choice for the student who wants to get a taste of one of the most significant defenders of the Christian faith.
November 18, 2019
Tyson's review of Athanasius' life and works is both thorough and accessible for any serious student of theology. As a companion guide to Athanasius' works, or on its own, it is an amazing tour of the theology that impacted orthodoxy forever. In addition, he defends Athanasius against some of the works that, for lack of a better term, demonize Athanasius for his complete unwillingness to compromise. It was a valuable read and a permanent addition to my library and I am forever grateful.
July 7, 2017
If studying early Church history in general has lost popularity with most Christians in the past few decades, then studying the early Church Fathers has lost more. Many simply say “we have the Bible, why do we need to know what someone else taught?” While this argument appears to have merit on its face, it lacks substance. Most of those who would make this argument would probably also say that their pastor does a good job with his sermons on Sundays, showing their inconsistency.
Dr. John R. Tyson does an excellent job explaining why it is valuable for a 21st century Christian to know about early Church Fathers. In his work, The Great Athanasius (available on Amazon, or from Wipf & Stock), Tyson not only explains who Athanasius (ca. 296-373 AD/CE) was, but also why he is important to the state of the Church today.
Tyson begins by providing the reader with the setting for Athanasius’ life, beginning in Alexandria. Alexandria, named after its founder, Alexander the Great, was to be the capital city for Alexander’s rule in the Middle East. The importance of this location, Tyson explains, may have influenced the ecclesiastical strength that Alexandria was able to exert in the Church for centuries. Notable religious thinkers such as Philo and Origen both made their homes in Alexandria. Tyson provides an interesting argument for Athanasius’ birth and ethnicity. He, like many other scholars, cites Justo Gonzalez’ claim that Athanasius was referred to as the “black dwarf” by his opponents (38). While I have not been able to substantiate this claim, Tyson presents an interesting argument. He argues that because of Athanasius’ languages (Coptic and Greek), as well as the fact that he was loved by common people, accompanied with the “black dwarf” claim, mean that Athanasius was probably from the “native Egyptian Coptic population” rather than the higher class Greek population. This is an important piece to note for today’s Christians, especially in the United States because it helps to show that Christianity is a multi-ethnic religion. It throws away all pretense of racial superiority and acknowledges that we owe a great debt to those outside of Western Europe for a defense of orthodoxy. This is not Tyson’s point in writing this, but I thought it was a valuable point (Dr. Tyson agreed in an email conversation we had on this point).
From this introduction, Tyson has set the stage for the rest of Athanasius’ life. From humble beginnings, Athanasius rose to prominence in the early Church. Tyson begins by examining Athanasius’ works before the Athanasius became a well-known name in Church history. Athanasius became bishop of Alexandria around 328 AD/CE. wrote on many subjects, but a key theme in the many of his writings was the deity of Jesus Christ. He wrote his Against the Heathen and On The Incarnation as polemic works supporting the validity of the Christian faith over against the pagan religions of the day (53). These works also laid the groundwork for Athanasius’ support of the deity of Jesus Christ as the Second Person of the Triune Christian God (53). This would come into play much more in the issue that defined Athanasius’ life and ministry to the Church. This issue was the Arian controversy.
Tyson takes time to lay out the foundation of the Arian controversy by briefly sketching the life of Arius (69). Arius (ca 256-336 AD/CE) was a Libyan presbyter (pastor) who rose to prominence in Alexandria shortly before Athanasius did (ca 311). Tyson explains the Arian theology clearly. He writes that the “. . . Arians would eventually conclude that (1) the Son, created by God the Father, is a creature Who is superior to all other creatures; and (2) there was a time when the Father existed and the Son did not exist” (46).
This theological issue is what led to the council of Nicaea in 325 AD/CE (contrary to what you may have read in a Dan Brown book from the turn of the century). Tyson explains the political motivation surrounding the council as well as the theological issues at stake. This defined much of Athanasius’ ecclesiastical and political life. He was engrossed in the Arian controversy so much that he was exiled no less than 5 times for his views and actions. Nevertheless, Tyson records Athanasius’ actions and arguments for the orthodox Christian position in each of his 5 periods of exile.
Tyson’s work is a thorough introduction of Athanasius’ life and teaching. Dr. Tyson’s work was very easy to read, which can be difficult when it comes to Church History, and when the book is lengthy. However, the book was a light read for those with some knowledge of Church History and the issues in Athanasius’ time. For those who do not have much experience in Church History, this would be a good book to pick up and get started in. It would be a good exercise in stretching your mind but not so much as to break your will to learn about the heritage that Christians have from these early Christians.
Dr. John R. Tyson does an excellent job explaining why it is valuable for a 21st century Christian to know about early Church Fathers. In his work, The Great Athanasius (available on Amazon, or from Wipf & Stock), Tyson not only explains who Athanasius (ca. 296-373 AD/CE) was, but also why he is important to the state of the Church today.
Tyson begins by providing the reader with the setting for Athanasius’ life, beginning in Alexandria. Alexandria, named after its founder, Alexander the Great, was to be the capital city for Alexander’s rule in the Middle East. The importance of this location, Tyson explains, may have influenced the ecclesiastical strength that Alexandria was able to exert in the Church for centuries. Notable religious thinkers such as Philo and Origen both made their homes in Alexandria. Tyson provides an interesting argument for Athanasius’ birth and ethnicity. He, like many other scholars, cites Justo Gonzalez’ claim that Athanasius was referred to as the “black dwarf” by his opponents (38). While I have not been able to substantiate this claim, Tyson presents an interesting argument. He argues that because of Athanasius’ languages (Coptic and Greek), as well as the fact that he was loved by common people, accompanied with the “black dwarf” claim, mean that Athanasius was probably from the “native Egyptian Coptic population” rather than the higher class Greek population. This is an important piece to note for today’s Christians, especially in the United States because it helps to show that Christianity is a multi-ethnic religion. It throws away all pretense of racial superiority and acknowledges that we owe a great debt to those outside of Western Europe for a defense of orthodoxy. This is not Tyson’s point in writing this, but I thought it was a valuable point (Dr. Tyson agreed in an email conversation we had on this point).
From this introduction, Tyson has set the stage for the rest of Athanasius’ life. From humble beginnings, Athanasius rose to prominence in the early Church. Tyson begins by examining Athanasius’ works before the Athanasius became a well-known name in Church history. Athanasius became bishop of Alexandria around 328 AD/CE. wrote on many subjects, but a key theme in the many of his writings was the deity of Jesus Christ. He wrote his Against the Heathen and On The Incarnation as polemic works supporting the validity of the Christian faith over against the pagan religions of the day (53). These works also laid the groundwork for Athanasius’ support of the deity of Jesus Christ as the Second Person of the Triune Christian God (53). This would come into play much more in the issue that defined Athanasius’ life and ministry to the Church. This issue was the Arian controversy.
Tyson takes time to lay out the foundation of the Arian controversy by briefly sketching the life of Arius (69). Arius (ca 256-336 AD/CE) was a Libyan presbyter (pastor) who rose to prominence in Alexandria shortly before Athanasius did (ca 311). Tyson explains the Arian theology clearly. He writes that the “. . . Arians would eventually conclude that (1) the Son, created by God the Father, is a creature Who is superior to all other creatures; and (2) there was a time when the Father existed and the Son did not exist” (46).
This theological issue is what led to the council of Nicaea in 325 AD/CE (contrary to what you may have read in a Dan Brown book from the turn of the century). Tyson explains the political motivation surrounding the council as well as the theological issues at stake. This defined much of Athanasius’ ecclesiastical and political life. He was engrossed in the Arian controversy so much that he was exiled no less than 5 times for his views and actions. Nevertheless, Tyson records Athanasius’ actions and arguments for the orthodox Christian position in each of his 5 periods of exile.
Tyson’s work is a thorough introduction of Athanasius’ life and teaching. Dr. Tyson’s work was very easy to read, which can be difficult when it comes to Church History, and when the book is lengthy. However, the book was a light read for those with some knowledge of Church History and the issues in Athanasius’ time. For those who do not have much experience in Church History, this would be a good book to pick up and get started in. It would be a good exercise in stretching your mind but not so much as to break your will to learn about the heritage that Christians have from these early Christians.
August 23, 2017
See my review in the Englewood Review of Books!
http://englewoodreview.org/john-r-tys...
http://englewoodreview.org/john-r-tys...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews