The Well-Trained Theologian
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THE WELL-TRAINED THEOLOGIAN essential texts for retrieving classical Christian theology part 1, patristic and medieval Matthew Barrett Credo 2020 Over the last several decades, evangelicalism’s lack of roots has become conspicuous. Many years ago, I experienced this firsthand as a university student and eventually as a seminary student. Books from the past were segregated to classes in church history, while classes on hermeneutics and biblical exegesis carried on as if no one had exegeted scripture prior to the Enlightenment. Sometimes systematics suffered from the same literary amnesia. When I first entered the PhD system, eager to continue my theological quest, I was given a long list of books to read just like every other student. Looking back, I now see what I could not see at the time: out of eight pages of bibliography, you could count on one hand the books that predated the modern era. I have taught at Christian colleges and seminaries on both sides of the Atlantic for a decade now and I can say, in all honesty, not much has changed. As students begin courses and prepare for seminars, as pastors are trained for the pulpit, they are not required to engage the wisdom of the ancient past firsthand or what many have labelled classical Christianity. Such chronological snobbery, as C. S. Lewis called it, is pervasive. The consequences of such a lopsided diet are now starting to unveil themselves. Recent controversy over the Trinity, for example, has manifested our ignorance of doctrines like eternal generation, a doctrine not only basic to biblical interpretation and Christian orthodoxy for almost two centuries, but a doctrine fundamental to the church’s Christian identity. Debates over hermeneutics continue to expose our outright skepticism towards divine authorial intent and Christological prefigurement, despite the mountain of patristic, medieval, and Reformation commentaries that labored to read the Bible like Christ and the apostles. Even a loci as expedient to today’s cultural crisis as theological anthropology is approached as if the church had never thought about human nature until now. The list goes on and on. All because we refuse to learn from a pre-modern reading of scripture and its theological heritage, a heritage that has been, until recently, the bedrock of Christian orthodoxy. Something must change. But how? John Webster has identified the antidote: “If Christian theology today is sometimes in disarray—as, indeed, I believe it is—then one of the major reasons is its dislocation from its cultural place…What inhibits Christian theology is…its lack of roots in the traditions of Christian belief and practice which are the soil in which it can grow. …There can be few things more necessary for the renewal of Christian theology than the promotion of awed reading of classical Christian texts, scriptural and other.” I am tired of complaining about the disarray; it’s time to chart a clear path forward. If lasting renewal is to take place, there must be a return to classical Christian texts. Dare I say, even a retrieval. Without retrieval, there will not be renewal. In that spirit, I have written a reading list. It is an “essentials” reading list; it does not pretend to be exhaustive nor definitive, and it is, by my own admission, geared towards works in theology, though not to the neglect of commentary. Consider it a first step, tailor- made for eager students and humble pastors ready to read the Bible with the church. Ad fontes. Matthew Barrett PATRISTICS, beginner _______________________________________________ Creeds Statement of Faith (Expositio Fidei) Didache (pdf) The Apostles Creed (link) Defence of the Nicene Council (pdf) Nicene Creed (link) Four Discourses Against the Arians Creed of Chalcedon (discourses 1, 4) (pdf) The Athanasian Creed (link) Letters (e.g., Marcellinus on the Psalms; Serapion on the Holy Spirit; Festal Diognetus and Didache Letter 39) (pdf) Letter to Diognetus Didache Hilary of Poitiers On the Trinity (pdf) Clement, Polycarp, and Ignatius Various epistles Gregory of Nazianzus Theological Orations (Orations 27–31) Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho, Basil of Caesarea a Jew First (pdf) On the Holy Spirit (pdf) Second Apology (pdf) Gregory of Nyssa Irenaeus Against Eunomius (pdf) Against Heresies (pdf) On the Holy Trinity (pdf) On “Not Three Gods” (pdf) Tertullian Anti-Apollinarian Writings (selections) The Five Books Against Marcion (pdf) Against Praxeas (pdf) Augustine On Prescription against Heresy (pdf) Confessions (pdf) City of God (pdf) Origen On the Trinity (pdf) On First Principles (pdf) Answer to Faustus, a Manichean Enchiridion (pdf) Cyprian The Spirit and the Letter (pdf) The Unity of the Catholic Church Nature and Grace (pdf) The Grace of Christ and Original Sin Arius (pdf) Letter to Eusebius of Nicomedia The Predestination of the Saints (pdf) Letter to Alexander of Alexandria Letter to Catholics on the Sect of the Letter to the Emperor Constantine Donatists (pdf) Homilies (selections on Psalms and Athanasius John) (pdf) (pdf) On the Incarnation (pdf) Cyril of Alexandria Patrick of Ireland On the Unity of Christ Confession (pdf) PATRISTICS, advanced _______________________________________________ Creeds An Answer to the Jews The Apostles Creed A Treatise on the Soul The 7 Ecumenical Councils (creeds) On Prescription against Heresy The Athanasian Creed The Five Books Against Marcion Creed of Arminium Against Hermogenes Against the Valentinians Clement, Polycarp, and Ignatius Against Praxeas Various epistles Apology On the Flesh of Christ Diognetus etc. On the Resurrection of the Flesh The Odes of Solomon On Baptism Letter to Diognetus The Muratorian Canon Hippolytus Didache The Refutation of All Heresies The Apostolic Constitutions Fragments (e.g., Dogmatic) On the Apostolic Tradition Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho, a Jew Perpetua First and Second Apology The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Exhortation and Discourse to the Felicitas Greeks The Monarchy of the Rule of God Origen On First Principles Irenaeus Against Celsus Against Heresies Exhortation on Martyrdom The Demonstration of the Apostolic On Prayer Preaching Dialogue with Heraclides Commentaries (Gen; Lev; Matt; Lk; Jn; Athenagoras Rom) The Embassy for the Christians Cyprian Clement of Alexandria The Unity of the Catholic Church Exhortation to the Heathen On the Lapsed On Spiritual Perfection Exhortation to Martyrdom On Marriage Against the Jews Christ the Educator The Lord’s Prayer The Blessing of Patience Tertullian Letters (e.g., To Donatus; To Letters (e.g., Marcellinus on the Psalms; Demetrian; Mortality) Serapion on the Holy Spirit; Festal On the Church (select treatises and Letter 39) letters) Macarius-Symeon Gregory Thaumaturgos 50 Spiritual Homilies Creed or Exposition of Faith Dionysius of Rome Against the Sabellians Apollinaris of Laodicea Novatian On the Union in Christ of the Body with The Trinity the Godhead Lactantius Cyril of Jerusalem The Divine Institutes Lectures on the Christian Sacraments Arius (256) Didymus Letter to Eusebius of Nicomedia On the Holy Spirit Letter to Alexander of Alexandria On the Trinity (this might not be by Letter to the Emperor Constantine him) Thalia Hilary of Poitiers Eusebius of Caesarea On the Trinity Against Marcellus Commentary Matthew Preparation for the Gospel Proof of the Gospel Gregory of Nazianzus Church History Theological Orations (Orations 27–31) Life of Constantine Anti-Apollinarian Writings Ecclesiastical Theology Letters (selections: e.g., Apollinarian Letters (e.g., Describing the Council of Controversy) Nicaea) Basil of Caesarea Athanasius On the Holy Spirit Against the Heathen Letters and Homilies (selections) On the Incarnation Against Eunomius Statement of Faith (Expositio Fidei) On the Human Condition Defence of the Nicene Council Against the Arians Gregory of Nyssa On the Councils of Arminum and Against Eunomius Seleucia An Answer to Ablabius Life of Antony On the Holy Spirit against Macedonius On the Spirit On the Holy Trinity On “Not Three Gods” Anti-Apollinarian Writings Life of Macrina Debate and Answer to Maximinus the The Great Catechism Arian An Address on Religious Instruction True Religion On the Soul and Resurrection The Advantage of Believing Letters (selections) Faith and the Creed Homily on Perfection to Olympius Faith in the Unseen Faith and Works Ambrose Enchiridion On the Christian Faith Answer to Faustus a Manichean On the Holy Spirit The Catholic Way of Life and the On the Belief in the Resurrection Manichean Way of Life Letters (selections: e.g., To Marcellina as Answer to the Letter of Manni (The to the Arian party) Foundation) The Punishment and Forgiveness of Jerome Sins and the Baptism of Little Ones Against Vigilantius The Spirit and the Letter The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Nature and Grace Mary The Grace of Christ and Original Sin Dialogue against the Pelagians The Nature and Origin of the Soul Commentaries (Pss; Jer; 12 Prophets; Answer to the Two Letters of the Isa; Eccl; Matt; Gal;) Pelagians Answer to Julian John Chrysostom Grace and Free Choice Homilies [selections from OT & NT] Rebuke and Grace On the Incomprehensible Nature of God The Predestination of the Saints On Repentance and Almsgiving Letter to Catholics on the Sect of the Discourses against Judaizing Donatists Christians Baptism On the Priesthood Psalm against the Party of Donatus On Marriage and Family Life Answer to the Writings of Petilian and The Cult of the Saints Parmenian Homilies (Gen; Pss; Sermon on the Theodore of Mopsuestia Mount; John) On the Nicene