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Four Witnesses: The Early Church in Her Own Words
What was the early Church like? Contrary to popular belief, Rod Bennett shows there is a reliable way to know. Four ancient Christian writers--four witnesses to early Christianity --left us an extensive body of documentation on this vital subject, and this book brings their fascinating testimony to life for modern believers. With all the power and drama of a gripping novel, this book is a journey of discovery of ancient and beautiful truths through the lives of four great saints of the early Church--Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus of Lyons.
343 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2002
160 people are currently reading
754 people want to read
About the author
Rod Bennett
20 books21 followersMy first published writing appeared when I was 15 years old in the pages of the legendary Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. Since then, I've been featured in other national publications, ranging from Rutherford and Gadfly to Catholic Exchange and Our Sunday Visitor. I spoke on film and television topics for 10 years at Jesus People USA's Cornerstone Rock Festival, leading seminars on the cinema of Frank Capra, John Ford, and the Star Wars films of George Lucas. In 2006 I was invited by the Archbishop of Pittsburgh to address more than 300 teachers on the role pop culture can play in the religious education of teenagers. Recently, I've had the chance to discuss my work on radio and television programs such as The Journey Home and Bookmark. My first book,
Four Witnesses The Early Church in Her Own Words
, including an account of my conversion to the Catholic Faith in 1996, is a best seller from Ignatius Press.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
September 10, 2008
As a lapsed Catholic, this book changed my life.
May 14, 2009
I'm quite impressed with this book! I wanted to read up on the Church Fathers a bit, but was afraid it would overtax my peanut brain. But I am finding this book to be a very easy, yet enlightening read! I wish I had read it last year, actually. Its one of those books that makes me so glad I had the good sense to join the Church!
December 7, 2016
The early Church is no mystery. As a matter of fact, most believers would be astonished to learn just how much we do know about the first three hundred years of Christian history.
These are the beginning sentences in this very informative and also very readable book. There is so much disinformation these days regarding the early Church, and Rod Bennett does a superb job in portraying how the Apostolic Tradition - what the Apostles themselves taught - got preserved and defended against (gnostic) heresies during the early centuries of the life of the Church.
These are the beginning sentences in this very informative and also very readable book. There is so much disinformation these days regarding the early Church, and Rod Bennett does a superb job in portraying how the Apostolic Tradition - what the Apostles themselves taught - got preserved and defended against (gnostic) heresies during the early centuries of the life of the Church.
January 14, 2020
After reading Eusebius, this book does not have a lot new. The historical context written by Bennett feels oversimplified; however the letters by the 4 Fathers of the Church are very good. It leaves you wanting to read more of the original sources.
I liked the Afterword, which explains Bennett's own road to the Catholic Church as he read the Fathers. It made me understand the rest of the book better, why he had chosen the excerpts he did. Maybe it would had worked better as an Introduction.
The Appendix is excellent: It addresses some of the main points of dispute between Catholics and Protestants, by stating first the current teaching of the Catholic Church and then a wealth of writings from Fathers from the first 5 centuries (not restricted to the 4 in the book), which clearly support the teaching and show it was upheld in those years.
I liked the Afterword, which explains Bennett's own road to the Catholic Church as he read the Fathers. It made me understand the rest of the book better, why he had chosen the excerpts he did. Maybe it would had worked better as an Introduction.
The Appendix is excellent: It addresses some of the main points of dispute between Catholics and Protestants, by stating first the current teaching of the Catholic Church and then a wealth of writings from Fathers from the first 5 centuries (not restricted to the 4 in the book), which clearly support the teaching and show it was upheld in those years.
January 29, 2011
Having just read Jimmy Akin’s “The Fathers Know Best” and Michael O’Briens “Theophilos” I found Rod Bennett’s book “Four Witnesses: The Early Church in Her own Words” to fit right in a reading theme of the early church and the Church Fathers. I had previously heard plenty of good things about this book and I found my high expectations to be exceeded.
This book runs along two basic themes. The first being related to conversion and apologetics as Rod Bennett tells the story in the introduction how as an Evangelical and the eternal quest for going back to the original church how the Early Church Fathers are a blindspot in the Protestant mind. Rod Bennett relates his running across a set of books on the Fathers of the Church in a Protestant bookstore and how he became hooked on these readings which were in stark contrast to his own beliefs and his view of Catholicism which was informed only by distractors of the Church. This introduction sets up the main part of the book. The final chapter returns to this theme and takes a more apologetics bent as he tells of his conversion story and the influence these four witnesses of the early Church changed his worldview and allowed him to investigate the Church with his prejudices diminished. He is not the first and won’t be the last to discover these writings and end up on a path crossing the Tiber. He dedicated the book toe now Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman whose experience with these writing led him to start the Oxford movement and also set him on his later journey to investigate the development of doctrine. “To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant” is Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman famous phrase which continues to prove itself true and this history certainly includes discovery of the Anti-Nicene and later writings.
The second and main theme of the book is to investigate the lives of four witnesses of the early Church. — Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus of Lyons. Each of these men get an in-depth chapter that gives their biography, the history of the times they lived in, their writings, and the writings of other where applicable. Now I have done a modest amount of reading in Patristics and other books about the men concentrated on here and so I was no stranger to these men. The writings of Ignatius of Antioch show up yearly in the Office of Readings for the Liturgy of Hours. Yet I have never come to know these great saints better than with Rod Bennett’s writing. He has a great talent in putting various pieces together and describing them in a way that makes it very real to you. The academic part of his research gets presented in description of scenes that reminds you of the fiction of a Louis De Wohl in that brings the writings of these men alive, but he sets them up in context of history and other writers from this time or later. It is hard to give justice to how well he pulls this off and brings you into the life of these four witnesses to the early Church. Though two of the men were probably not witnesses in the sense that the word martyr means witness, they were certainly witnesses to the theology and practice of the early Church.
One of the initiatives Ingatius Press started last year was to make their catalog available as ebooks and downloadable audiobooks. I received the audiobook version of this book. Rod Bennett reads the main parts of his book and Kevin O’Brien of Theater of the Word reads the writings of the various Church Fathers and others. Rod’s narration of this book is very enjoyable and Kevin O’Brien is more like a cast of players as he gives unique voices to each of the writers he narrates. This really added a nice dimension since often books that contains lots of extended quotations can be rather dry. They have produced a very high quality audiobook and I was pleasantly surprised at the rather low price Ignatius Press is selling the audiobook version for since audiobooks really tend to be pricey. I would highly recommend this book and especially the audio version.
This book runs along two basic themes. The first being related to conversion and apologetics as Rod Bennett tells the story in the introduction how as an Evangelical and the eternal quest for going back to the original church how the Early Church Fathers are a blindspot in the Protestant mind. Rod Bennett relates his running across a set of books on the Fathers of the Church in a Protestant bookstore and how he became hooked on these readings which were in stark contrast to his own beliefs and his view of Catholicism which was informed only by distractors of the Church. This introduction sets up the main part of the book. The final chapter returns to this theme and takes a more apologetics bent as he tells of his conversion story and the influence these four witnesses of the early Church changed his worldview and allowed him to investigate the Church with his prejudices diminished. He is not the first and won’t be the last to discover these writings and end up on a path crossing the Tiber. He dedicated the book toe now Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman whose experience with these writing led him to start the Oxford movement and also set him on his later journey to investigate the development of doctrine. “To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant” is Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman famous phrase which continues to prove itself true and this history certainly includes discovery of the Anti-Nicene and later writings.
The second and main theme of the book is to investigate the lives of four witnesses of the early Church. — Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus of Lyons. Each of these men get an in-depth chapter that gives their biography, the history of the times they lived in, their writings, and the writings of other where applicable. Now I have done a modest amount of reading in Patristics and other books about the men concentrated on here and so I was no stranger to these men. The writings of Ignatius of Antioch show up yearly in the Office of Readings for the Liturgy of Hours. Yet I have never come to know these great saints better than with Rod Bennett’s writing. He has a great talent in putting various pieces together and describing them in a way that makes it very real to you. The academic part of his research gets presented in description of scenes that reminds you of the fiction of a Louis De Wohl in that brings the writings of these men alive, but he sets them up in context of history and other writers from this time or later. It is hard to give justice to how well he pulls this off and brings you into the life of these four witnesses to the early Church. Though two of the men were probably not witnesses in the sense that the word martyr means witness, they were certainly witnesses to the theology and practice of the early Church.
One of the initiatives Ingatius Press started last year was to make their catalog available as ebooks and downloadable audiobooks. I received the audiobook version of this book. Rod Bennett reads the main parts of his book and Kevin O’Brien of Theater of the Word reads the writings of the various Church Fathers and others. Rod’s narration of this book is very enjoyable and Kevin O’Brien is more like a cast of players as he gives unique voices to each of the writers he narrates. This really added a nice dimension since often books that contains lots of extended quotations can be rather dry. They have produced a very high quality audiobook and I was pleasantly surprised at the rather low price Ignatius Press is selling the audiobook version for since audiobooks really tend to be pricey. I would highly recommend this book and especially the audio version.
April 29, 2021
This was not the book I expected it to be, but it was still a worthwhile book to read. The author is a convert to Catholicism, and he uses the book to present how he found early Church fathers' writings to be in support of the Roman Catholic Church. At times it was a little too much Rod Bennett and not enough the words of these early Christians, and that was a bit frustrating. The author makes up for that in the closing section of the book by using these writings of antiquity to show support for the Church he has joined.
Not all his arguments were convincing to me, but he made one very strong point by placing the reader in the decades just after Christ's ascension and asking how one ought to decide when faced with the teachings of Simon Peter and the teachings of Simon Magus which were in opposition to the other Simon's. Both performed wonders, both claimed to be teaching the truth. And there was only the Old Testament to refer to in order to attempt to make a choice between the two men and their two theologies. He showed that the only wise choice would be to choose the man who actually knew Jesus personally and claimed to receive authority to lead the followers of Jesus and establish His Church. Bennett explains that our choice today is similar due to apostolic succession: We either follow the ones entrusted with this authority (which was handed down to them) or we rely on the ability of the theologians and their rationalism. It's a strong argument and a good thought experiment that helps make the rest of the book have value in relating the teachings passed on from the apostles to those claimed to be entrusting with both their authority and their insights.
Not all his arguments were convincing to me, but he made one very strong point by placing the reader in the decades just after Christ's ascension and asking how one ought to decide when faced with the teachings of Simon Peter and the teachings of Simon Magus which were in opposition to the other Simon's. Both performed wonders, both claimed to be teaching the truth. And there was only the Old Testament to refer to in order to attempt to make a choice between the two men and their two theologies. He showed that the only wise choice would be to choose the man who actually knew Jesus personally and claimed to receive authority to lead the followers of Jesus and establish His Church. Bennett explains that our choice today is similar due to apostolic succession: We either follow the ones entrusted with this authority (which was handed down to them) or we rely on the ability of the theologians and their rationalism. It's a strong argument and a good thought experiment that helps make the rest of the book have value in relating the teachings passed on from the apostles to those claimed to be entrusting with both their authority and their insights.
January 18, 2019
This is a very approachable intro to the Appstolic Fathers. The book embeds the key ideas of four Apostolic Fathers within the context of biographical narratives that bring the authors alive and provide context for their ideas and writings.
October 18, 2021
The accounts of Justin Martyr and Polycarp (the latter is in the chapter on Irenaeus) stand out - they are staggeringly good. The afterword felt a bit random. All in all, a helpful approach to the early church.
January 27, 2022
Many times as an undergraduate, my fellow biblical/theological studies would pine and say "if only we could get back to how it was in the early church." We were given thin compilations of the church Fathers for our one class on pre reformation church history. This cut and paste book left us with the thought that the early church basically functioned like a bunch of independent small groups meeting in houses, eating meals together in seceret, having worship music and sermons to be strengthed in times of persecution. All that "catholiic stuff" was probably the result of syncratistic, overstuffed medieval theology we rightly discarded.
Reading the early church in her own words demolishes that view. Rod Bennett's book takes some of the earliest church fathers' and presents their lives and writing in a dramatic fashion. At times, this book reads like a novel as it places long passages of their major writings into historical context and dialgue with heretical writings, other early church historical writings, and scholarship about these fathers. This book focuses on Clement of Rome (born 35AD), Ignatious of Antioch (died around 130AD), Justin Martyr (born ~100AD), and Irenaeus of Lyons (born ~130AD). Some of these men knew apostles, some sat at the feet of those knew knew apostles, and were passionate heros, defenders of the church again heresies. Their martrydoms were joyful, glorious experiences that brought tears to hear of their zeal.
As I read these fathers, it seemed that they spoke the fluent language of the old testament and had a close familiarity with the letters of Paul and Peter. Also this information was not knew to me, I was surprised by the sheer number of times that their writings pointed back to the "teaching of the Apostles," the apostolic churches, and the teaching of Peter. Some of these men wrote against rival splinter Christian groups that also had a deep familiarty with the scriptures. However, these groups came to different conclusions about many matters of doctrine, leading to splits in communiun, apostacy, and many unfortunate conclusions. Some of these arguments are the same ones I have heard protestants making this very year,
At this early stage in the church, many letters were respected but there was no universally recognized, authoritative cannon of "New Testament" texts that were taken to be inspired. How did these church leaders resolve disputes over disagreements about scriptural interpretation and doctrine. The answer was the same again and again. The teaching of the Apostles, the chair of Peter. The New Testament is revealed to be a book coming from the church, rather than the church coming from the Bible. Christ instituted a church, not a book. The scriptures attest the authority of the Apostles as well (1 Tim 3:5, Acts 16:4, etc). In short, the early church was clear about what source settled disputes. It was not "solo scriptura." It was a coherant teachings from a group of men established by Christ.
This book also has a thin apendix with many quotations of earliest father's words commenting on the nature of the Church, the pope, the eucharist, the role of Mary, and the saints and purgatory. These very early quotations were strangely similar to the current doctrines of the Catholic fact. So similar in fact, some of these words were copied and pasted into the current Catholic formulations of doctrine. So much for that "medieval syncratistic" thesis about Catholic doctrine. In fact, there were no serious challenges to most of these doctrines (except the pope) until the reformation. I wonder why my Baptist college removed all these quotations from my early church father text books?
Reading the early church in her own words demolishes that view. Rod Bennett's book takes some of the earliest church fathers' and presents their lives and writing in a dramatic fashion. At times, this book reads like a novel as it places long passages of their major writings into historical context and dialgue with heretical writings, other early church historical writings, and scholarship about these fathers. This book focuses on Clement of Rome (born 35AD), Ignatious of Antioch (died around 130AD), Justin Martyr (born ~100AD), and Irenaeus of Lyons (born ~130AD). Some of these men knew apostles, some sat at the feet of those knew knew apostles, and were passionate heros, defenders of the church again heresies. Their martrydoms were joyful, glorious experiences that brought tears to hear of their zeal.
As I read these fathers, it seemed that they spoke the fluent language of the old testament and had a close familiarity with the letters of Paul and Peter. Also this information was not knew to me, I was surprised by the sheer number of times that their writings pointed back to the "teaching of the Apostles," the apostolic churches, and the teaching of Peter. Some of these men wrote against rival splinter Christian groups that also had a deep familiarty with the scriptures. However, these groups came to different conclusions about many matters of doctrine, leading to splits in communiun, apostacy, and many unfortunate conclusions. Some of these arguments are the same ones I have heard protestants making this very year,
At this early stage in the church, many letters were respected but there was no universally recognized, authoritative cannon of "New Testament" texts that were taken to be inspired. How did these church leaders resolve disputes over disagreements about scriptural interpretation and doctrine. The answer was the same again and again. The teaching of the Apostles, the chair of Peter. The New Testament is revealed to be a book coming from the church, rather than the church coming from the Bible. Christ instituted a church, not a book. The scriptures attest the authority of the Apostles as well (1 Tim 3:5, Acts 16:4, etc). In short, the early church was clear about what source settled disputes. It was not "solo scriptura." It was a coherant teachings from a group of men established by Christ.
This book also has a thin apendix with many quotations of earliest father's words commenting on the nature of the Church, the pope, the eucharist, the role of Mary, and the saints and purgatory. These very early quotations were strangely similar to the current doctrines of the Catholic fact. So similar in fact, some of these words were copied and pasted into the current Catholic formulations of doctrine. So much for that "medieval syncratistic" thesis about Catholic doctrine. In fact, there were no serious challenges to most of these doctrines (except the pope) until the reformation. I wonder why my Baptist college removed all these quotations from my early church father text books?
January 19, 2020
ENGLISH: Of the four witnesses (Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr and Irenaeus of Lyons) I liked most the part about Justin, to whom I feel more attracted, as he had a classic philosophical education and used reason to justify his beliefs. In particular, reading Bennett's book brought me to download two of Justin's works: "Dialog with Trypho" and "First Apology," which can be found easily in Internet.
I disagree with Bennett about some of the things he says: For instance, I found unjust his treatment of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, which includes a few historical mistakes, such as considering Marcus as a military nullity, while praising his "brother" and co-Emperor Lucius Verus as a military genius, when in fact the truth is probably the opposite. Marcus Aurelius persecution of Christians is also a little exaggerated, for it wasn't worse than those at the time of Trajan, Adrian and Antoninus, rather the opposite.
Perhaps Bennett's personal comments could have been shorter. What I was trying to find in this book were the original texts of the four witnesses. Yes, I know they can be found in other places, and in this sense Bennett's book has been successful, by giving me a foretaste of their texts, and sending me to find the originals somewhere else.
ESPAÑOL: De los cuatro testigos (Clemente Romano, Ignacio de Antioquía, Justino Mártir e Ireneo de Lyon), me gustó más la parte sobre Justino, por quien me siento más atraído, pues tuvo una educación filosófica clásica y utilizó la razón para justificar sus creencias. En particular, leer el libro de Bennett me llevó a descargar dos de las obras de Justino: "Diálogo con Trifón" y "Primera apología", que es fácil encontrar en Internet.
No estoy de acuerdo con Bennett en algunas de las cosas que dice: por ejemplo, me pareció injusto cómo trata al emperador Marco Aurelio, donde se le escapan algunos errores históricos, tal como considerar a Marco como una nulidad militar, mientras elogia a su "hermano" y co-emperador Lucio Vero como si fuese un genio militar, cuando en realidad la verdad es probablemente la opuesta. También exagera un poco la persecución de los cristianos por Marco Aurelio, ya que no fue peor que las de Trajano, Adriano y Antonino, sino más bien al contrario.
Quizá los comentarios personales de Bennett podrían haber sido más cortos. Lo que yo intentaba encontrar en su libro eran los textos originales de los cuatro testigos. Sí, ya sé que se pueden encontrar en otros sitios, y en este sentido el libro de Bennett ha tenido éxito, pues me ha dado un adelanto de sus textos y me ha enviado a buscar los originales en otra parte.
I disagree with Bennett about some of the things he says: For instance, I found unjust his treatment of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, which includes a few historical mistakes, such as considering Marcus as a military nullity, while praising his "brother" and co-Emperor Lucius Verus as a military genius, when in fact the truth is probably the opposite. Marcus Aurelius persecution of Christians is also a little exaggerated, for it wasn't worse than those at the time of Trajan, Adrian and Antoninus, rather the opposite.
Perhaps Bennett's personal comments could have been shorter. What I was trying to find in this book were the original texts of the four witnesses. Yes, I know they can be found in other places, and in this sense Bennett's book has been successful, by giving me a foretaste of their texts, and sending me to find the originals somewhere else.
ESPAÑOL: De los cuatro testigos (Clemente Romano, Ignacio de Antioquía, Justino Mártir e Ireneo de Lyon), me gustó más la parte sobre Justino, por quien me siento más atraído, pues tuvo una educación filosófica clásica y utilizó la razón para justificar sus creencias. En particular, leer el libro de Bennett me llevó a descargar dos de las obras de Justino: "Diálogo con Trifón" y "Primera apología", que es fácil encontrar en Internet.
No estoy de acuerdo con Bennett en algunas de las cosas que dice: por ejemplo, me pareció injusto cómo trata al emperador Marco Aurelio, donde se le escapan algunos errores históricos, tal como considerar a Marco como una nulidad militar, mientras elogia a su "hermano" y co-emperador Lucio Vero como si fuese un genio militar, cuando en realidad la verdad es probablemente la opuesta. También exagera un poco la persecución de los cristianos por Marco Aurelio, ya que no fue peor que las de Trajano, Adriano y Antonino, sino más bien al contrario.
Quizá los comentarios personales de Bennett podrían haber sido más cortos. Lo que yo intentaba encontrar en su libro eran los textos originales de los cuatro testigos. Sí, ya sé que se pueden encontrar en otros sitios, y en este sentido el libro de Bennett ha tenido éxito, pues me ha dado un adelanto de sus textos y me ha enviado a buscar los originales en otra parte.
April 14, 2019
Good introduction to the early Church. Will lead you to want to read more of the Church Fathers.
May 30, 2025
Rod Bennett's Four Witnesses: The Early Church in Her Own Words is a Novus Ordo "Catholic" apologetics book. It does contain some interesting historical discussions and context behind the statements of four Fathers of the Church in particular, Pope Clement I (or Clement of Rome), St. Ignatious of Antioch, St. Justin Martyr, and St. Irenaeus of Lyons. The book does contain quite a few passages from these Fathers (and others, especially in the appendix) showing that the early Church was not Protestant and was, in fact, Catholic. However, Four Witnesses is a very misleading book because it presents the Catholic faith as optional and a mere preference instead of something that God requires people to have in order to be saved, a notion which certainly the very Church Fathers the book is discussing would dissent from. It also promotes so-called baptism of desire and blood, the Catechism of John Paul II and the Second Vatican Council (For what's wrong with promoting these things, see vaticancatholic.com).
An example of Bennett's presentation of the Catholic faith as just one among many "Chrsitian" faiths one can belong to and get God's truth comes on page 211:
"Believe it or not, the philosopher's pallium- worn by Marcus, and Socrates, and Justin, and perhaps by Justin's mysterious Old Man- is still in use today. It survives, in a slightly modified form, in many pulpits of Christendom; worn every Sunday by ministers of the liturgical tradition, in Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. There it serves a useful purpose; reminding us that all real truth is God's truth, that He answers every sincere knock on His door- but also, for those of us who know his story, reminding us of Justin Martyr of Neapolis, whom old Eusebius rightly called: 'truly, the most philosophical of men'"
In this passage, since the Catholic Church is just one of many churches following the liturgical tradition, it is implied you could get reminded that all real truth is God's truth in a Greek Orthodox, Anglican, or Lutheran Church too, and thus it is a good thing to attend services at these churches. Bennett neglects to mention that the real Catholic Church teaches that one may not attend services at these churches. For example, Pope Pius XI says in Mortalium Animos:
"Is it permitted for Christians to be present at, or to take part in, conventions, gatherings, meetings, or societies of non-Catholics which aim to associate together under a single agreement everyone who, in any way, lays claim to the name of Christian? In the negative! [...] It is clear, therefore, why this Apostolic See has never allowed its subjects to take part in the assemblies of non-Catholics. There is only one way in which the unity of Christians may be fostered, and that is by furthering the return to the one true Church of Christ for those who are separated from her."
Pope Pius XI also says in Ad Salutem, that is his encyclical on St. Augustine:
"Since it is recognized that it is extremely rare to find men entirely devoid of the religious sense, some people entertain the hope that nations [...] in spite of their differing religious viewpoints, may be brought to unite as brothers in the profession of certain doctrines as a common foundation of the spiritual life. [...] Certainly efforts such as these cannot receive the approbation of Catholics, for they rest on that false opinion which holds any opinion whatever to be more-or-less praiseworthy and good. [...] Those who hold this opinion are not only in gross error, they even debase the concept of true religion and, little by little, lapse into Naturalism and Atheism. [...] He who refuses to have the Church for his Mother will not have God for his Father. When St. Augustine speaks of man's last end, he hastens to add this counsel to any one who wishes to reach that end: "Their attempt will be useless if they do not submit to the Catholic Church, and humbly obey her, for she alone has been divinely instituted to give light and strength to souls, without which they will necessarily stray from the right path." Would to God they had listened to the voice of Augustine in the past! And would to God that everyone might hear him today who rends the seamless robe of Christ. and casts himself miserably outside the path of salvation."
If one must have a quote from the early Church to show that it was indeed the teaching of the Catholic Church even back then, here is one from St. Ignatius of Antioch:
There are some, you know, who are accustomed to go around with the Name on their lips while they indulge in certain practices at variance with It and an insult to God. You must shun these men as you would wild beasts: they are rabid dogs that bite in secret; you must beware of them!"
And here is one from Arnobius the Younger:
""The Lord will cut off their necks" (Psalm 128:4). Let their destiny be shared by all heretics who hate the Church of Christ. "Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which withers before it is plucked up" (Psalm 128:6). [...] For of all the holy ones who shall pass by, from the Apostles even until now, not one has blessed them in the name of the Lord. And he who has not received a blessing from the blessed Apostle Peter, or from the Apostles and their successors, and in this state has deceived people by his teachings, such a person incurs a curse because he has usurped a blessing - a curse by which he withers away before he is plucked up, that is, before he dies. While he seems to live in the body, he is already withered away in the spirit. From such men we, being separated, guarding most perfectly the Catholic faith, find life everlasting."
So, we see from Pope Pius XI and the early Church that holding the Catholic faith and not participating in non-Catholic worship was not merely a preference, but something necessary for salvation.
Here is the passage in the book where Bennett promotes so-called baptism of desire and baptism of blood. It is on pages 182-184:
"We see here that at this early date no one had yet drawn any distinction between actual water baptism and the interior regeneration of the soul that makes a person a Christian. Indeed, since the two things normally went together there had not been any immediate need to do so. The cry of the early Church remains identical with that of the Apostles: "Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name." (Acts 22:16). Later, as the number of converts steadily increased, new and unforseen questions began to arise. Sometimes pagan students of Christianity, for example, and people who were preparing to receive baptism but had not yet done so were interrupted in their journey by death- often as martyrs to the faith of Christ. Surely such persons were not lost, were they? And what about the Good Thief on the cross- he who had not been baptized but to whom Jesus had nevertheless said, "Today you will be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43)?
Eventually, during the time of Augustine, the Church will begin to address these questions. She will come to speak of a "baptism of blood" (in which God applies the normal effects of baptism to the soul of a person dying for Christ without it) and of a "baptism of desire" (in which these effects are bestowed on someone who is looking to Christ for salvation, but who, through either ignorance or circumstance, has been prevented from receiving water baptism itself)."
So-called baptism of desire and baptism of blood were supposed by some theologians, who, however intelligent, well-read, and honest, were fallible men, such as St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Alphonsus Ligouri. These respected and great theologians proposed it in an extremely limited sense when compared to the modern proponents of "baptism of desire." They only applied it to people who explicitly expressed agreement with the Catholic faith and desired water baptism. They did not apply it to people of any sort of religion whatever or to people with no religion or to people ignorant of the Catholic faith like the vast majority of modern "baptism of desire" supporters, including Bennett, do. The Church's infallible magesterium indicates that water baptism, the sacrament, is necessary for salvation without any mention of exceptions every time the subject comes up. For a detailed examination of the "baptism of desire" and "baptism of blood" issue, please read Bro. Peter Dimond's book, Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation, https://vaticancatholic.com/outside-t.... Also, for a video that addresses the Good Thief issue, see this one: https://endtimes.video/good-thief-bap....
In this passage on pages 286-287 we find Bennett stating clearly his opinion that the Catholic faith is optional and that membership in the Catholic Church is optional and that one doesn't have to be Catholic to be saved:
"I mentioned in my introduction that I was raised in a Christian home, raised to love God and love the Bible, and to try and do right by them both. It was quite a shock, therefore, suddenly to start entertaining the thought that I might, in reality, belong to a mere schismatic sect, with a faulty man-made theology. I was unaware at the time that the Catholic Church herself actually had much subtler ideas about my position. In reality, she does not teach that everyone outside the Roman communion is simply lost and wandering in the dark. The Catholic Church has always acknowledged (in her doctrine if not always in practice) the existence of a genuine spiritual bond linking all baptized Christians- and she would not have faulted me personally for winding up on the wrong side in this five-hundred-year old "custody battle" in the Body of Christ."
Bennett goes on to say on page 287 that the "fatal blow" to his faith in Protestantism came in 1992, "when John Paul II promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church." This simply means he remained a Protestant and joined the Vatican II sect, not the Catholic Church. Pope Innocent III said, "With our hearts we believe and with our lips we confess but one Church, not that of the heretics, but the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church, outside which we believe that no one is saved." (Denziger 423). If Bennett does not accept this, he cannot be Catholic. And so, even though Four Witnesses: The Early Church in Her Own Words does contain some good quotes from the Early Church Fathers and makes some good points on how they weren't Protestant, I cannot recommend this book as it simply is misleading about what the Catholic Church teaches one must do to be saved. There are other truly Catholic authors one can look to for explanations as to why the Early Church was Catholic, such as St. Francis de Sales, who wrote The Catholic Controversy. Also, to learn how to be a true Catholic and save your soul, please visit vaticancatholic.com
An example of Bennett's presentation of the Catholic faith as just one among many "Chrsitian" faiths one can belong to and get God's truth comes on page 211:
"Believe it or not, the philosopher's pallium- worn by Marcus, and Socrates, and Justin, and perhaps by Justin's mysterious Old Man- is still in use today. It survives, in a slightly modified form, in many pulpits of Christendom; worn every Sunday by ministers of the liturgical tradition, in Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. There it serves a useful purpose; reminding us that all real truth is God's truth, that He answers every sincere knock on His door- but also, for those of us who know his story, reminding us of Justin Martyr of Neapolis, whom old Eusebius rightly called: 'truly, the most philosophical of men'"
In this passage, since the Catholic Church is just one of many churches following the liturgical tradition, it is implied you could get reminded that all real truth is God's truth in a Greek Orthodox, Anglican, or Lutheran Church too, and thus it is a good thing to attend services at these churches. Bennett neglects to mention that the real Catholic Church teaches that one may not attend services at these churches. For example, Pope Pius XI says in Mortalium Animos:
"Is it permitted for Christians to be present at, or to take part in, conventions, gatherings, meetings, or societies of non-Catholics which aim to associate together under a single agreement everyone who, in any way, lays claim to the name of Christian? In the negative! [...] It is clear, therefore, why this Apostolic See has never allowed its subjects to take part in the assemblies of non-Catholics. There is only one way in which the unity of Christians may be fostered, and that is by furthering the return to the one true Church of Christ for those who are separated from her."
Pope Pius XI also says in Ad Salutem, that is his encyclical on St. Augustine:
"Since it is recognized that it is extremely rare to find men entirely devoid of the religious sense, some people entertain the hope that nations [...] in spite of their differing religious viewpoints, may be brought to unite as brothers in the profession of certain doctrines as a common foundation of the spiritual life. [...] Certainly efforts such as these cannot receive the approbation of Catholics, for they rest on that false opinion which holds any opinion whatever to be more-or-less praiseworthy and good. [...] Those who hold this opinion are not only in gross error, they even debase the concept of true religion and, little by little, lapse into Naturalism and Atheism. [...] He who refuses to have the Church for his Mother will not have God for his Father. When St. Augustine speaks of man's last end, he hastens to add this counsel to any one who wishes to reach that end: "Their attempt will be useless if they do not submit to the Catholic Church, and humbly obey her, for she alone has been divinely instituted to give light and strength to souls, without which they will necessarily stray from the right path." Would to God they had listened to the voice of Augustine in the past! And would to God that everyone might hear him today who rends the seamless robe of Christ. and casts himself miserably outside the path of salvation."
If one must have a quote from the early Church to show that it was indeed the teaching of the Catholic Church even back then, here is one from St. Ignatius of Antioch:
There are some, you know, who are accustomed to go around with the Name on their lips while they indulge in certain practices at variance with It and an insult to God. You must shun these men as you would wild beasts: they are rabid dogs that bite in secret; you must beware of them!"
And here is one from Arnobius the Younger:
""The Lord will cut off their necks" (Psalm 128:4). Let their destiny be shared by all heretics who hate the Church of Christ. "Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which withers before it is plucked up" (Psalm 128:6). [...] For of all the holy ones who shall pass by, from the Apostles even until now, not one has blessed them in the name of the Lord. And he who has not received a blessing from the blessed Apostle Peter, or from the Apostles and their successors, and in this state has deceived people by his teachings, such a person incurs a curse because he has usurped a blessing - a curse by which he withers away before he is plucked up, that is, before he dies. While he seems to live in the body, he is already withered away in the spirit. From such men we, being separated, guarding most perfectly the Catholic faith, find life everlasting."
So, we see from Pope Pius XI and the early Church that holding the Catholic faith and not participating in non-Catholic worship was not merely a preference, but something necessary for salvation.
Here is the passage in the book where Bennett promotes so-called baptism of desire and baptism of blood. It is on pages 182-184:
"We see here that at this early date no one had yet drawn any distinction between actual water baptism and the interior regeneration of the soul that makes a person a Christian. Indeed, since the two things normally went together there had not been any immediate need to do so. The cry of the early Church remains identical with that of the Apostles: "Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name." (Acts 22:16). Later, as the number of converts steadily increased, new and unforseen questions began to arise. Sometimes pagan students of Christianity, for example, and people who were preparing to receive baptism but had not yet done so were interrupted in their journey by death- often as martyrs to the faith of Christ. Surely such persons were not lost, were they? And what about the Good Thief on the cross- he who had not been baptized but to whom Jesus had nevertheless said, "Today you will be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43)?
Eventually, during the time of Augustine, the Church will begin to address these questions. She will come to speak of a "baptism of blood" (in which God applies the normal effects of baptism to the soul of a person dying for Christ without it) and of a "baptism of desire" (in which these effects are bestowed on someone who is looking to Christ for salvation, but who, through either ignorance or circumstance, has been prevented from receiving water baptism itself)."
So-called baptism of desire and baptism of blood were supposed by some theologians, who, however intelligent, well-read, and honest, were fallible men, such as St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Alphonsus Ligouri. These respected and great theologians proposed it in an extremely limited sense when compared to the modern proponents of "baptism of desire." They only applied it to people who explicitly expressed agreement with the Catholic faith and desired water baptism. They did not apply it to people of any sort of religion whatever or to people with no religion or to people ignorant of the Catholic faith like the vast majority of modern "baptism of desire" supporters, including Bennett, do. The Church's infallible magesterium indicates that water baptism, the sacrament, is necessary for salvation without any mention of exceptions every time the subject comes up. For a detailed examination of the "baptism of desire" and "baptism of blood" issue, please read Bro. Peter Dimond's book, Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation, https://vaticancatholic.com/outside-t.... Also, for a video that addresses the Good Thief issue, see this one: https://endtimes.video/good-thief-bap....
In this passage on pages 286-287 we find Bennett stating clearly his opinion that the Catholic faith is optional and that membership in the Catholic Church is optional and that one doesn't have to be Catholic to be saved:
"I mentioned in my introduction that I was raised in a Christian home, raised to love God and love the Bible, and to try and do right by them both. It was quite a shock, therefore, suddenly to start entertaining the thought that I might, in reality, belong to a mere schismatic sect, with a faulty man-made theology. I was unaware at the time that the Catholic Church herself actually had much subtler ideas about my position. In reality, she does not teach that everyone outside the Roman communion is simply lost and wandering in the dark. The Catholic Church has always acknowledged (in her doctrine if not always in practice) the existence of a genuine spiritual bond linking all baptized Christians- and she would not have faulted me personally for winding up on the wrong side in this five-hundred-year old "custody battle" in the Body of Christ."
Bennett goes on to say on page 287 that the "fatal blow" to his faith in Protestantism came in 1992, "when John Paul II promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church." This simply means he remained a Protestant and joined the Vatican II sect, not the Catholic Church. Pope Innocent III said, "With our hearts we believe and with our lips we confess but one Church, not that of the heretics, but the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church, outside which we believe that no one is saved." (Denziger 423). If Bennett does not accept this, he cannot be Catholic. And so, even though Four Witnesses: The Early Church in Her Own Words does contain some good quotes from the Early Church Fathers and makes some good points on how they weren't Protestant, I cannot recommend this book as it simply is misleading about what the Catholic Church teaches one must do to be saved. There are other truly Catholic authors one can look to for explanations as to why the Early Church was Catholic, such as St. Francis de Sales, who wrote The Catholic Controversy. Also, to learn how to be a true Catholic and save your soul, please visit vaticancatholic.com
July 18, 2018
The writings were a bit circuitous, but I enjoyed it. I found the Afterword and Appendix especially beneficial.
March 22, 2024
On Saturday, March 30th, I am going to Receive my first communion and be confirmed into the Catholic Church. It took me five years to get here, but I am here and I am happy. I feel like I’m following my heart. The last year I’ve spent time reading the Bible, studying Catholic theology and trying to learn as much as I can about my faith. This book was the icing on the cake for me as I learned a great deal from the early church fathers and developed an insight into how the early church viewed things, the trials it went through and the heresies it dealt with. I wonder why we focus so much solely on the Bible and not on any of the writings of the early church fathers?
August 18, 2015
"Four Witnesses: The Early Church" covers the key figures of the 2nd Generation leaders of Christianity from 90 AD to 170 AD; Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus of Lyon. They faithfully transmit the Christian message given to them by Apostles and disciples of Apostles. They also stand against teachings that are different from the Jewish-based Christian understanding of God, nature, and man.
The central Christian message is -- Jesus lived, died and was resurrected as God's unique servant (son) to create a new humanity through God's Spirt. This new kingdom brings heavenly forgiveness and kindness to earth as a community of Shalom on Earth. His blood and body were given as true heavenly grace to enliven the community of saints. (Jesus also taught that there would always be weeds among the fruit-bearing plants.)
Against Magic
Clement of Rome in his letter(s) relates the battles of Peter in Rome against the first heretic of Christianity, Simon Magus the Magician. Many Christians followed the fantastic magical works of Simon Magus while Simon Peter argued against the unhealthy focus on the miraculous. Instead the focus of Christianity was to be humility and trust in God and to follow Jesus Christ into a new life of spiritual goodness (salvation).
Lord Jesus as Taught by the Apostles
Ignatius of Antioch writes 7 letters of encouragement to Churches in Asia minor as he travels to Rome under house arrest for being a public Christian and Bishop of Antioch. The Roman Emperor traveled through Antioch after a campaign in the wars on the Persian boundary of the empire. Ignatius was brought before the Emperor as one who would not participate in the public offering to Cesar as Lord and son of God. As a result he is arrested to be an example and taken to Rome to be feed to wild animals in the Colosseum (~107AD). His letters describe the Early Church structure and doctrine --- deacons, elders, and bishops carrying forth the teachings of Jesus; Christ's presence in the Euchrist with real grace for life in partaking; Christ's grace was real life with no fear of death or martyrdom; true believers were of a Catholic (universal) body. (His letters are pretty boring actually, but important early evidence of Christian beliefs.)
Jesus as Logos in the Flesh
Justin Martyr of Palestine merges the teachings of the Christians with his knowledge of the Greek philosophers (Stoics and Platonists). He acknowledges that the monotheism of Socrates and Plato was 'Christianity before Christ'. His Logos Theology is never fully accepted by the Church at-large but it still holds strong influence in Eastern Orthodoxy. Logos Theology merges Plato's trinity of the Creator (divine mind), Logos (divine words), and the World Spirit (divine action) in "Timaeus" into Christian language about Jesus as 'The Word' (Logos). He discusses Christianity with the Philosopher-Emperor Marcus Aurelius during Justin's trial as an illegal follower of the Lord Jesus. Justin argues that Christians are actually the best citizens of the empire. Christians are taught to do good, obey the authorities, and pay their taxes. Justin is executed to become Justin the Martyr.
Against Dualism (Matter as Evil) and Against Gnosticism (Truth as Secret)
Irenaeus of Lyons writes "Against Heresies" to document the bad teachings taking root within Christianity during the 2nd Century. The bad teachings were generally created by Greek excess against Jewish teachings about God and the World. Marcion dualism taught of two gods (1) the Jewish Jehovah created the evil physical reality and (2) the Christian Jesus Christ created the good spiritual reality. Irenaeus defends a Christianity which embraces the Jewish One God who created the physical world as 'good.' The Gnostic teachers began to speak of secret knowledge required to achieve higher levels of glory. Irenaeus defends the Gospel of Christianity as a public teaching available to all. Irenaeus was not a hardness dogmatician. He actually worked to keep the peace between Christians with diverse opinions. However, he was a clear thinker on what Christianity was not.
Most importantly, this book shows the faithful transmission of Christianity from Jesus's apostles to their disciples to the disciples of disciples. (This does not mean that Christian thought did not evolve, it just means that the basics have always been there.) These four witnesses write to show the centerness of Christianity on the person of Jesus the Messiah who arises from the Jewish tradition, but with a new openness to the Gentile world.
The central Christian message is -- Jesus lived, died and was resurrected as God's unique servant (son) to create a new humanity through God's Spirt. This new kingdom brings heavenly forgiveness and kindness to earth as a community of Shalom on Earth. His blood and body were given as true heavenly grace to enliven the community of saints. (Jesus also taught that there would always be weeds among the fruit-bearing plants.)
Against Magic
Clement of Rome in his letter(s) relates the battles of Peter in Rome against the first heretic of Christianity, Simon Magus the Magician. Many Christians followed the fantastic magical works of Simon Magus while Simon Peter argued against the unhealthy focus on the miraculous. Instead the focus of Christianity was to be humility and trust in God and to follow Jesus Christ into a new life of spiritual goodness (salvation).
Lord Jesus as Taught by the Apostles
Ignatius of Antioch writes 7 letters of encouragement to Churches in Asia minor as he travels to Rome under house arrest for being a public Christian and Bishop of Antioch. The Roman Emperor traveled through Antioch after a campaign in the wars on the Persian boundary of the empire. Ignatius was brought before the Emperor as one who would not participate in the public offering to Cesar as Lord and son of God. As a result he is arrested to be an example and taken to Rome to be feed to wild animals in the Colosseum (~107AD). His letters describe the Early Church structure and doctrine --- deacons, elders, and bishops carrying forth the teachings of Jesus; Christ's presence in the Euchrist with real grace for life in partaking; Christ's grace was real life with no fear of death or martyrdom; true believers were of a Catholic (universal) body. (His letters are pretty boring actually, but important early evidence of Christian beliefs.)
Jesus as Logos in the Flesh
Justin Martyr of Palestine merges the teachings of the Christians with his knowledge of the Greek philosophers (Stoics and Platonists). He acknowledges that the monotheism of Socrates and Plato was 'Christianity before Christ'. His Logos Theology is never fully accepted by the Church at-large but it still holds strong influence in Eastern Orthodoxy. Logos Theology merges Plato's trinity of the Creator (divine mind), Logos (divine words), and the World Spirit (divine action) in "Timaeus" into Christian language about Jesus as 'The Word' (Logos). He discusses Christianity with the Philosopher-Emperor Marcus Aurelius during Justin's trial as an illegal follower of the Lord Jesus. Justin argues that Christians are actually the best citizens of the empire. Christians are taught to do good, obey the authorities, and pay their taxes. Justin is executed to become Justin the Martyr.
Against Dualism (Matter as Evil) and Against Gnosticism (Truth as Secret)
Irenaeus of Lyons writes "Against Heresies" to document the bad teachings taking root within Christianity during the 2nd Century. The bad teachings were generally created by Greek excess against Jewish teachings about God and the World. Marcion dualism taught of two gods (1) the Jewish Jehovah created the evil physical reality and (2) the Christian Jesus Christ created the good spiritual reality. Irenaeus defends a Christianity which embraces the Jewish One God who created the physical world as 'good.' The Gnostic teachers began to speak of secret knowledge required to achieve higher levels of glory. Irenaeus defends the Gospel of Christianity as a public teaching available to all. Irenaeus was not a hardness dogmatician. He actually worked to keep the peace between Christians with diverse opinions. However, he was a clear thinker on what Christianity was not.
Most importantly, this book shows the faithful transmission of Christianity from Jesus's apostles to their disciples to the disciples of disciples. (This does not mean that Christian thought did not evolve, it just means that the basics have always been there.) These four witnesses write to show the centerness of Christianity on the person of Jesus the Messiah who arises from the Jewish tradition, but with a new openness to the Gentile world.
April 25, 2015
Rod Bennett is a convert to Catholicism from Protestant Evangelicalism. It was his study of the early church that convinced him that the Catholic Church as it is now is the same as the original church. His writing is clear and easy to follow, and the excerpts from the early church witnesses have been aptly chosen and revealing of their struggles. Not only did they have to deal with persecution, but there were many heretical off shoots of Christianity that corrupted the true faith. The final chapters deal with the rational of Bennett's conversion and a comparison of the early church teaching with that of today's Catholic teaching. Four Witnesses is worth a second reading.
February 8, 2014
A must read for Christians, well written history of four of the early fathers of the Church written by a Protestant trying to prove that the Roman church has fallen from its roots. He discovers along the way that he was wrong.
September 17, 2024
Being already a catholic. This particular book of witnesses bring me closer and much more fervent to the one and only apostolic church which the bible depended.
Read
October 11, 20183.5 stars
Could have been better w/o the artistic twist. In addition to the quotes, analysis, and commentary the author also wrote in made up scenes of what probably would have occurred in famous events using his own imagination. Unfortunately these fell flat and in some cases weren't completely historical. For example, there is historical debate whether Christians were killed in the Colleseum or in the Circus Maximus, with the latter being the most probable according to sources. However here we get a full blown account of the Coliseum with all its architectural intricacies. Furthermore, I felt the additional artistic license only served to make it overly dramatic but then again Im not a very easily impressed person.
Another Goodreads reviewer put it more eloquently:
"What I disliked:
- Bennett is clearly not a historian. He makes a large number of sweeping generalizations throughout the book.
- Bennett keeps asking rhetorical questions throughout the book (annoying) and tries to analyze the thoughts/feelings/emotions of the early church fathers (purely speculative)."
I also think the introduction was too wishy washy and disorganized. Some of the history was also historically proven to be a mistake such as the account about Simon the Magician.
At least New Advent thinks so:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13797...
Did do a decent job summarizing the common points though.
Could have been better w/o the artistic twist. In addition to the quotes, analysis, and commentary the author also wrote in made up scenes of what probably would have occurred in famous events using his own imagination. Unfortunately these fell flat and in some cases weren't completely historical. For example, there is historical debate whether Christians were killed in the Colleseum or in the Circus Maximus, with the latter being the most probable according to sources. However here we get a full blown account of the Coliseum with all its architectural intricacies. Furthermore, I felt the additional artistic license only served to make it overly dramatic but then again Im not a very easily impressed person.
Another Goodreads reviewer put it more eloquently:
"What I disliked:
- Bennett is clearly not a historian. He makes a large number of sweeping generalizations throughout the book.
- Bennett keeps asking rhetorical questions throughout the book (annoying) and tries to analyze the thoughts/feelings/emotions of the early church fathers (purely speculative)."
I also think the introduction was too wishy washy and disorganized. Some of the history was also historically proven to be a mistake such as the account about Simon the Magician.
At least New Advent thinks so:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13797...
Did do a decent job summarizing the common points though.
August 6, 2017
Rod Bennett, like many, believed that the Catholic Church – with a papacy, hierarchy and the Mass – was an invention of Constantine and the Middle Ages. He thought there wasn’t much we could know about Christians after the close of the New Testament writings. He was a Baptist raised on “the Bible Alone” and belonged to groups seeking to restore the Church to its pure New Testament roots. He wanted to look into what history could tell us about the earliest Christians and found a trove of information instead of his imagined “terra incognita.” His journey began by reading Luther and Calvin. He noticed they kept referencing the “Fathers of the Church.” He obtained a set of The Ante-Nicene Fathers, a collection of these early Christians’ writings. In Four Witnesses, Bennett explores the beliefs and practices in the first century after the apostles through the testimony of Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr and Irenaeus of Lyons with additional historical material to flesh out the narrative.
Bennett’s book focuses on Church from around 50 to 200 AD. He begins his story with what history tells us about Peter and the Church in Rome. Simon of Giotto, identified as Simon the Magician in Acts 8 fashioned his own strange religion and wound up peddling his “gospel” in Rome. Bennett notes that this may be what drew Peter to Rome in the first place. This problem of false teachers against the true teaching is a major theme throughout the book. As the apostles die, and many teachers come with various messages, how are people to know what Jesus really taught?
The book deals chiefly with that question and how the structure of the early Church provided the framework for Jesus' message to be known. Bennett also touches on specific practices and beliefs including baptism, the Mass, the incarnation and resurrection and the Eucharist.
The book is a readable introduction to the fathers. Some of what he calls "novelistic devices" do help keep the narrative flowing, but at times he speculates too much about the interior feelings and motivations of particular people when there is no evidence. When the speculation goes too far, it becomes distracting. He does a nice job of telling the stories of his witnesses as well as the story of the Church. In the end, he is successful in what he set out to do: reveal that we do know quite a bit about the early church.
Bennett’s book focuses on Church from around 50 to 200 AD. He begins his story with what history tells us about Peter and the Church in Rome. Simon of Giotto, identified as Simon the Magician in Acts 8 fashioned his own strange religion and wound up peddling his “gospel” in Rome. Bennett notes that this may be what drew Peter to Rome in the first place. This problem of false teachers against the true teaching is a major theme throughout the book. As the apostles die, and many teachers come with various messages, how are people to know what Jesus really taught?
The book deals chiefly with that question and how the structure of the early Church provided the framework for Jesus' message to be known. Bennett also touches on specific practices and beliefs including baptism, the Mass, the incarnation and resurrection and the Eucharist.
The book is a readable introduction to the fathers. Some of what he calls "novelistic devices" do help keep the narrative flowing, but at times he speculates too much about the interior feelings and motivations of particular people when there is no evidence. When the speculation goes too far, it becomes distracting. He does a nice job of telling the stories of his witnesses as well as the story of the Church. In the end, he is successful in what he set out to do: reveal that we do know quite a bit about the early church.
July 17, 2022
No stranger to Christian controversies, former Wonder Magazine editor, commentator, and author Rod Bennett learned much from the primitive church through the eyes of Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr and Irenaeus of Lyon. What he learned shook him to his core and “Four Witnesses: The Early Church In Her Own Words” is the result.
A very readable book, I felt Bennett bringing me into the lives, even the hearts, of these four men.
Like Bennett, I did not expect that the early church dealt with “hot button topics that have become hopelessly controversial in our own time” (p 14). The parallels to our own day amazed me.
This window into the character and choices of many different people who have gone before us is at times disturbing and other times wildly inspiring. If you’re concerned about all the craziness we are seeing in the world now, Bennett’s book points to the only effective solution – our holding fast to, and “vigorous defense of the faith that was passed down to the saints once and for all.” (Jude 1:3). I heartily recommend this book.
A very readable book, I felt Bennett bringing me into the lives, even the hearts, of these four men.
Like Bennett, I did not expect that the early church dealt with “hot button topics that have become hopelessly controversial in our own time” (p 14). The parallels to our own day amazed me.
This window into the character and choices of many different people who have gone before us is at times disturbing and other times wildly inspiring. If you’re concerned about all the craziness we are seeing in the world now, Bennett’s book points to the only effective solution – our holding fast to, and “vigorous defense of the faith that was passed down to the saints once and for all.” (Jude 1:3). I heartily recommend this book.
April 28, 2018
I both liked and disliked this book.
What I liked:
- Bennett gives the reader a concise introduction to the early church fathers.
- He provides ample primary source material from these early church fathers.
- Bennett's prose is enjoyable. I found him easy to read.
What I disliked:
- Bennett is clearly not a historian. He makes a large number of sweeping generalizations throughout the book.
- Bennett keeps asking rhetorical questions throughout the book (annoying) and tries to analyze the thoughts/feelings/emotions of the early church fathers (purely speculative).
I would still recommend this book to anyone who is wanting to gain a better understanding of the history of early Christianity in general, and of the early Apostolic fathers in particular.
What I liked:
- Bennett gives the reader a concise introduction to the early church fathers.
- He provides ample primary source material from these early church fathers.
- Bennett's prose is enjoyable. I found him easy to read.
What I disliked:
- Bennett is clearly not a historian. He makes a large number of sweeping generalizations throughout the book.
- Bennett keeps asking rhetorical questions throughout the book (annoying) and tries to analyze the thoughts/feelings/emotions of the early church fathers (purely speculative).
I would still recommend this book to anyone who is wanting to gain a better understanding of the history of early Christianity in general, and of the early Apostolic fathers in particular.
June 10, 2021
Interesting, Informative but ultimately a little disappointing
First off, Rod is a very good writer. The book flowed nicely. He kept my in grand I can be away with a decent understanding of the pressures and issues of early Christian churches. He put these four writers nicely into the context of the times. That's all to the good.
What he did not do was provide the full text of their writings. (It probably was for the best. I imagine it would have been tough slogging). But, that is what i had hoped to get when I bought the book.
I can say this book has given me a framework for further investigate reading.
First off, Rod is a very good writer. The book flowed nicely. He kept my in grand I can be away with a decent understanding of the pressures and issues of early Christian churches. He put these four writers nicely into the context of the times. That's all to the good.
What he did not do was provide the full text of their writings. (It probably was for the best. I imagine it would have been tough slogging). But, that is what i had hoped to get when I bought the book.
I can say this book has given me a framework for further investigate reading.
July 11, 2024
Great introduction to some of the more prominent fathers of the early church. I appreciated the accessibility of the writing and the context of the periods in which they lived. This made for a great blend of history, theology, and biography. The afterword may have been better as part of the introduction, but the appendix at the end was great at showing how prominent church belief's (such as the last supper, praying to Mary, the saints, etc.) were beliefs held in the early church that match what the Catholic church believes today. Overall a solid read for someone interested in the history of the Catholic faith.
October 21, 2018
I decided this is the time for me to learn more about the Church Fathers. This book was a great way to start. Rod Bennett has a very easy writing style and he's a good story teller. It's a real eye opener to get a sense of those brave men and women in the early Church who were so faitful and risked so much. And as for the four fathers in this volume, how imoportant they were to keeping the faith of the apostles alive. Against all oddes, they succeeded; today there are 2 billion Christians in the world.
June 26, 2023
Good introduction to four of the early church fathers of the 1st and 2nd centuries. This book sets the historical scene of the early church by explaining the beliefs and culture of the Romans, various heresies present in the early church, and what life might have been like for the early church. Bennett weaves the writings of the fathers into a narrative which better explains the context of these letters. I really enjoyed how he puts the reader into what it might have been like to be a part of the early church, it made it much more realistic for me. This book is definitely Catholic in perspective, and the selections of primary sources demonstrate how Catholic theology was present in very early sources. This is definitely a great introduction to the early church, and has gotten me excited to dig deeper into the sources themselves!
May 23, 2024
My first step into the world of patristics and the writings of the early Church Fathers who continued the good Lord's work entrusted to them by the Apostles. Great introduction to Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus of Lyon, whose life and writings (across the four of them) stretch from the Apostolic age and into approx the start of the third century. Beautiful to see the Catholicity of the Church from its earliest days. Definitely need a more in depth dive into each now!
February 9, 2020
I have often heard claims that Christianity was created in the year A.D 325 at the council of Nicaea. This book reveals all the truth in our history that completely proves that Christianity was alive and well long before A.D 325 and that it's practices have never changed. Thank you to Rod Bennett for bringing these facts to life and disproving falsehoods that exist in our society. Wonderful book, well written and flowed very well.
November 8, 2020
This book focuses on the writings and lives of four early Christians, coupled with passages from the Bible and writings from others of that time, to provide insight into the challenges and spread of Christianity. I have read other books that include these men, so this wasn't entirely new to me, but it was still an interesting and worthwhile read. The afterward was not surprising, but wonderful to read regardless.
February 24, 2025
Another great book on the church fathers that I have recently read. The Author, Rod Bennett, does a great job of laying out the lives of Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr and Ireanus of Lyon. I would definitely suggest this book for new Catholics or people thinking about Catholicism, especially about misconceptions of the early church. Bennett does a great job of putting out all the evidence. definitely worth a read and your time. Great, great book!!!!!!
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