Why do Catholics always talk about the Early Church Fathers (Apostolic Fathers)?
Let us take the analogy of a courtroom. When looking for witnesses, we want people who were closest to the action. They have a better perspective than those who are far removed. Catholics feel the Early Church fathers were good witnesses to the Christian faith. They understood Scripture the way Jesus and the disciples taught it.
Some of the criticisms of the Early Church Fathers is that they were only human and the Bible is divine so it is a better source. The Catholic Church agrees with this. Catholics believe that God used the hands of some of the early Church Fathers to write the Bible. The Early Church Fathers were only human but so were the early reformers in the 1500-1600s. They were over 1000 years before the reformers. Catholics feel that the Early Church Fathers had an excellent perspective about the meaning of Scripture because of their proximity to the events.
One of the criticisms of the Early Church Fathers is that they thought the world was flat and that the universe swirled around the earth. Actually that's not true. There was quite a bit of discussion among the Early Church Fathers. For example, Augustine described the earth as round. We should also note that most of the "reformers" such as Luther, Calvin, Wesley also rejected the "Copernican" system (a round world spinning around the sun). They interpreted scriptural references to the world being "immovable" to reject the idea that the world is spinning. (i.e., 1 Chronicles 16:30, Psalm 93:1, Psalm 96:10, and Psalm 104:5). This glitch in the reformer's interpretation of Scripture also shows one of the problems with the principle of Sola Scriptura. Scripture needs to be interpreted and discerned in the context of humanity's maturity.
Some Evangelicals might say that that the Bible is self-explanatory and needs no interpretation. My response would be that the Evangelical movement itself does not support that statement. There are presently dozens of conflicting interpretations of Bible passages by different Evangelical denominations and cell groups. (i.e., the Rapture) Everyone interprets Scripture the moment they pick it up. Sometimes the Holy Spirit reveals stuff to us as we study which is great. But almost all of the conflicting views among Evangelicals are claimed to be revealed by the Holy Spirit. If we believe that Truth is not relative then there is only one truth. Catholics think its better that it is interpreted by the authority to which Jesus gave the authority. (Mathew 16:18-19). The Catholic Church doesn't claim that it understands everything about Scripture. Rather, it says that what has been revealed and defined as Dogma is true. The Church is on a pilgrimage of faith and its understanding of the mystery of God is evolving. More about the Church's interpretation of Scripture here.
The Church Fathers believed in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, honoured Mary, had elaborate ceremonies, believed in Purgatory, respected the Church hierarchy, baptized babies, recognized Peter as the Rock, built the Church upon him with successors and followed a rich tradition of Christianity. That was the Christianity of the early days of Christianity and that is the Catholic Church of today. A timeline of the Catholic Church from 1-500 A.D. is here
So in short Catholics feel the Early Church Fathers were kicking Christians who were plugged into the teachings of Christ and knew what the apostles were saying about the faith. The Church Fathers propagated the Church and helped bring it to the world. Catholics feel it is very useful to study what they taught and wrote about the interpretation of Scripture. It is also noteworthy that the Early Church Fathers practiced a very Catholic theology.
Apostolic Fathers are those before 200A.D. and who were directly influenced or taught by the apostles. They include: Clement (d. 97) Bishop of Rome and Catholics believe third successor to Peter as Pope, Ignatius, (50-107), and Polycarp (69-155), Justin Martyr (100-165), St. Irenaeus (130-202), Cyprian (210-258) The Early Chruch Fathers lived between 200 and 800 A.D.
To read the Early Church Fathers
go here (opens to a new window)
Lord Jesus, let Your prayer of unity for Christians
become a reality, in Your way
we have absolute confidence
that you can bring your people together
we give you absolute permission to move
Amen
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