A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs

by David W. Bercot (Editor)

Interest in the ways of the early church has never been more intense. What did early Christians believe about the divinity of Christ? What did they think about resurrection? How did they regard John the Baptist? What were the beliefs of those who sat at the feet of Jesus' disciples? Now, for the first time, a unique dictionary has been developed to furnish ready answers to these questions and others like them. David W. Bercot has painstakingly combed the writings of these early Christian leaders and categorized the heart of their thinking into more than 700 theological, moral, and historical topics to create this book.

Wonderfully suited for devotional or thematic study as well as sermon illustration, this resource offers a window into the world of the early church and affords a special opportunity to examine topically the thoughts of men like Clement of Rome, Ignatius, and Polycarp, who were students of the original apostles, as well as the thoughts of other great lights in the life of the early church such as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian. For anyone interested in historic Christianity, this book cannot be overlooked. This book

Genres: Reference, Theology, Church History, History, Christian, Christianity, Religion

736 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1997

Reviews

[Jarmo Larsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally I've finished the reading of this encyclopedia with more than 700 pages. There was a lot of interesting things that were said by the early church fathers about various topics, but also a lot of uninteresting and perhaps unimportant things, but it probably depends on which topics that interests the reader. For me, it was quite interesting to e.g. see how practically every church father mentioned in the book were pacifists and they actually had several good and biblical arguments for it. On the other hand, many of them may seem a bit legalistic to our modern eyes. Theater and competitive sports, especially wrestling, were completely out of the question for Christians to engage in, perhaps mostly because it had a deep connection with the idolatry of the time. Physical training, on the other hand, seemed fine. According to the early church fathers, adorning yourself was, so to speak, out of the question, then you were hardly even saved. Politics was also something to avoid for a christian, and philosophy was mostly not ok, but some were a bit more positive about it. It may be that philosophy became more accepted somewhat later when Augustine entered the scene, but this encyclopedia's selection does not extend so far in time. Otherwise, it is interesting to read the eschatological views of the church fathers, but I would have liked a few more statements from Eusebius in this area, because they do exist. It is also interesting to see Tertullian's views change in certain areas after the year 212 AD when he went from being a "classical" Christian to becoming part of the Montanists movement. I could've mention many more interesting examples, but these were the ones I could recollect in writing this review.

The encyclopedia could probably have contained much more, and several volumes could certainly have been written with statements from the church fathers. Perhaps the chosen selection may to some extent be characterized by unconscious prejudices on the part of the editor, but I do not know. The editor himself points out in the preface that he has done his utmost to be theologically neutral in his selection and that no key quotations have been left out on purpose. As far as central and key quotations are concerned, they can vary from scholar to scholar and layman to layman. All in all, this is still a useful work to consult when you wonder what the earliest church fathers after the first Christians thought on various theological topics. What can be certain after reading this is that in the first instance one must stick to the Bible, and not always take the opinions of the church fathers as gospel. They did not always agree with each other and they also had many views that we today would regard as somewhat surprising, at least to a certain extent. In any case, I am glad to have read through this encyclopedia, which was at times boring, occasionally fascinating, and at regular intervals interesting and extremely rewarding.

[Mike Crean Jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good book about the early christian beliefs. this book is suppose to be a concordance of the early christian beliefs so you look up a topic the early church spoke about then look it up in their writings even sources it as well which makes it very easy to look it up in their writings.

[Dan Tillinghast · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably not something you read straight through.
A very good reference for teachings of the early Christians, giving brief citations and where to look for the full context.

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Content is Excellent, the navigation is slow

When listening to lectures by David Bercot or reading some of his other books, this is a valuable resource for researching the topics he covers regarding what early Christians believed. The content is excellent, but navigating the dictionary on a Kindle app is a chore. The table of contents (TOC) menu has more than 700 entries without sub-levels, which sometimes fails to display properly, even on a fast iPhone. It’s a long way to scroll down to entries like Salvation and I think this would be worse on a Kindle device. It would be much better to have a main level A-Z and a sub-level with the individual topics. Please improve this in an update!

I exported the Kindle file and converted it to a Logos Personal Book, so I could use it in Logos Bible software, too. By editing the intermediate Word file, I was able to get a proper TOC and create clickable links to the 10 Volume Ante-Nicene edition, which makes it more convenient to find the quotes in context.

[shelby barnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must have for every resource library.

[Em · Rating 1 out of 5]

All of these things [i.e., the
making of j e w - elry]
the sinning and apostate angels put forth by their arts, when, lowered to the
contagions of earth, they
forsook their heavenly vigor. They also taught w o m e n to paint
the eyes with blackness
drawn around them in a circle and to stain the cheeks with a deceitful
red. Cyprian (c. 250,
W), 5.434.
book of The Shepherd declares the same, saying that each individual is
attended by two angels.
Whenever good thoughts arise in our hearts, they are suggested by the
good angel. But when
diose of a contrary kind arise, they are the instigation of the evil angel.
Origen (c. 225, E), 4.332.

[Chris Bloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually, I haven't read this one all the way through, but it's not that sort of book. I've long appreciated Bercot's ministry, and while there are some weaknesses to his approach to the early Christian writings, I can't deny that he's had a profound impact on my spiritual growth. I was excited to finally get this book.

The DoECB is a concise, convenient representation of the writings of various pre-Nicene Christians. Bercot has taken quotes from their writings, recast them in modern English, and arranged them alphabetically by topic. It's essentially a Cliff's Notes for the ten-volume Ante-Nicene Fathers set, and as such acts as a much easier -- and cheaper -- introduction to that series.

I have my doubts as to the wisdom of modernizing the English, which effectively adds another layer of translation to the ancient text. As a quick reference, though, this book is an invaluable resource to those wishing to understand Christianity in its earliest days.

[David Gaddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Ante-Nicene Fathers wrote volumes and volumes of texts. This book is a great way of reading some of that sorted by subject and divided up like an Encyclopedia. A great reference guide for the Christian who is curious about how Christians operated in the 1-3 centuries. NOTE: Just remember, errs in belief and practice was happening even in the days of the apostles so don't read this thinking to find answers to disputes. These are not inspired writings, but give you a window into some early beliefs.

[E.M. Welcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This "Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs" is an extremely useful reference book. On many topics one will find the relevant scriptures, and then a list of quotes from early church theologians. Look up a topic such as "Conception" and you will find Exodus 21:22-24, and quotes from Tertullian and Lactantius. While I have volumes and volumes of the early church fathers on my shelf, this small volume is much more user friendly for quick study.

[Charles Erlandson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Catalog of the Beliefs of the Early Church! Find out what the early Church really believed. For my full review on Amazon, see http://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Earl...

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good source material on how the first Christians worshiped; dispels some of the ideas that the early Christians were anything like modern evangelicals and reinforces the concrete data that they were a Sacramental/Liturgical based society centered on the Eucharist. Also shows that the 'Bible' did not even exist as we know it until centuries after Christ.

[Arthur Klemme]

This book is filled with insight into the beliefs and customs of the early Church fathers. It is not an exciting read, but it has information that one studying the early church must have in their library.

[Billy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must have for every Christian lay-person. A 25 years work of all the early church fathers volumes to make it easier to find what you're looking for in different word topics such as; Baptism, Hades, Church, etc, etc. it's a keeper!

[Mark Kolpek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing reference to see what early believers said about any number of topics according to key words. It's like have a Strong's Concordance for the first several hundred years of early "credible" writings.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is very handy for learning what people of the second and third centuries understood the Bible to say.

[Eric Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A most envaluable resource for understanding the Early Christian Faith, especially in light of the centuries of outside influences on that Faith.

[Brenton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one of the best Patristics resources available. Topically arranged, it quotes the ante-Nicene fathers on a great variety of topics, and documents where additional information can be found.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

very helpful topical guide to brief but characteristic perspectives of the Fathers. I use it often for sermon prep.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reference material, all his work is interesting

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has proved to be an incredible resource for me to turn to during my study of the Patristics.