The Early Church from Ignatius to Augustine

The Early Church from Ignatius to Augustine – by George Hodges

For lovers of history, it’s always a bit sad when one realizes that the further back in time we go, the less information we have to give us a full picture of what, why, and how things happened.  I think about how easy it will be 200 years in the future for people to look back on our present day since we have smart phones that take videos of everything that get quickly uploaded to YouTube.  I bring this up because as much as I enjoyed this book, I really wanted more.  I’m sure there are other books out there that go into more detail, but this book is basically meant to be a primer of early church history.

By the time the New Testament ends, we’re about 90 years after the birth of Christ.  How does Christianity grow and flourish?  I’ve always been puzzled by those who dismiss the gospels as fable and make believe.  When you consider that most of the disciples were martyred (in very cruel ways in some cases) for their faith, it seems as though it would make the smart person think that these guys were truly onto something.

It also seems to be a bit perplexing that Christianity would grow the way that it did during its first 400 years of existence had it all been a hoax or a conspiracy.  Unlike modern times, this new faith had to overcome obstacles of existing faiths and philosophies.  Yet those who claimed to be Christians quietly clung to their faith – some being devoured by wild beasts in coliseums, others living a life of ascetic means – distancing themselves from the civilized world while living on nuts and berries and devoting their entire life to prayer and meditation.  It was all worth it.

Not surprisingly, there were many divisions and schisms, just as they are today.  When Constantine became the first emperor of Rome to declare himself a Christian, much good is done, but we also see firsthand why church and state should probably, in fact, be separate.  One should come to faith based on their heart – not because the leaders decree it upon the population.

Although this book really isn’t linear in its presentation – it really can’t be – 400 years in only about 300 pages, it does do a good job giving the reader a good enough background of the major players, the different ways of worship – both Christian and Pagan, and the effects of why certain key players believed the way that they did.

I really wanted more, but to give such a history the attention it deserves, it would have needed to be about 3,000 pages instead of 300 pages.  I also really wish I could go back in time and witness many of these events firsthand.

Note: I read this on a Kindle, and the transfer from printed word to e-book format doesn’t work very well in this instance.  Most of the infractions are minor, but it can be very distracting seeing many misspelled words throughout the pages.  There was one part where the author was telling about some key dates of the fourth century, and the transfer of dates accidentally shows an “8” where it should show a “3”.  So I would come across a passage that talked about events that happened “in the year “872”, and I would think, “Wait.  What?  We’re now in the ninth century?  What happened during the missing 500 years?”  When one reads a book in 2016, it’s hard to know the difference between major events that happened in the year 300 as opposed to the year 800.  So some cleanup is definitely needed here, and one needs to be astute as they peruse.