Product Description

Interest in the ways of the early church has never been more intense. What did early Christians believe about the divinity of Christ? 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 allow easy access to the ancient material and furnish ready answers to these questions and others like them. David W. Bercot has painstakingly combed the writings of these early church leaders and categorized the heart of their thinking into more than 700 theological, moral, and historical topics to create A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs. 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 students of the original apostles, as well as other great lights in the life of the early church.

• Collects relevant comments on key Christian concepts from prominent figures such as Origen, Clement of Alexandria, Clement of Rome, and Hippolytus.
• Includes key biblical verses associated with a given topic.
• Offers brief definitions of unfamiliar terms or concepts, allowing easy access to the ancient material.
• Provides a "Who's Who" of ante-Nicene Christianity to put in context the ancient Christian writers.
• Discusses more than 700 key theological, moral, and historical topics.
• Gives strategic cross-reverences to related topics.
• Functions as a topical index to the writings of the Ante-Nicene Fathers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #300385 in Books
• Published on: 1998-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 736 pages

About the Author
David W. Bercot, an Anglican priest and an attorney, graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University and Baylor University School of Law. He is the author of Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up and is a member of the North American Patristics Society.

Customer Reviews

Great Overview of Ancient Christian Beliefs
This book was a fine addition to my library!

I believe that any student of Christianity should give serious attention to the beliefs and practices of the early Church, and this book gives one a brief but good introduction to those things.

It does not have a very good binding, and with use it will crack and break. Care should be used with this book or it will not hold up well.

It should be noted that this is an introduction, citing only brief references, and is not an exhaustive study of the Ante-Nicene Fathers. I have a set of the Writings of the Fathers, but often find this book to be a good starting place when I want to study a particular topic.

It would also be very easy to fall into the trap of "proof texting" with this book. The author warns against this in his preface.

With all this in mind, I highly recommend A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs to anyone who wants to discover and learn more about their Christian roots.

Excellent Resource!
David W. Bercot's compilation of early Christian beliefs is an excellent resource for those concerned with Christian faith and practice within the first 300 years of church history.

Bercot's passion is presenting the Christ of the early church. This dictionary begins with a "Who's Who?" section so that the reader may identify the persons that are quoted on the various topics in the book. In dictionary style... from A to Z... the topics range from early Christian quotes about abortion to war. If you are interested in hearing from the disciples of the disciples on controversial and long-debated issues... this book is for you! You don't have to search through an entire early church fathers encyclopedia set. Bercot has made your study much easier with this wonderful reference guide to the teahings of the early disciples of Christ.

I also recommend reading:
Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up: A New Look at Today's Evangelical Church in the Light of Early Christianity

Excellent resource for Pastors
when you are preparing a sermon you like to quote as much as possible the understanding of scripture of great christian of the past and the present. In this book you will find excellent quotes of the early centuries of the Christian Church about difficult matters clearly expounded. This book is the product of many years of research by an anglican cleric, but still of good value for any evangelical christian.