Inheriting Wisdom: Readings for Today from Ancient Christian Writers

Pastors will appreciate this well-organized book of quotations drawn from the writings of ancient and medieval church fathers such as John Chrysostom, Tertullian, Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Jerome, Ambrose and Irenaeus. Arranged topically, the book deals first with""social existence,"" a catch-all category that includes family, marriage, education, caring for the body and dealing with the government. The second section addresses ethics--justice, sexual morality, negative emotions, sin and virtue--while the third (and shortest) section takes up the issues of conversion and salvation. The final two parts deal with spiritual questions (the nature of God, angels, revelation through scripture) and the vicissitudes of Christian living. Many readers will enjoy the book's user-friendly accessibility and topically relevant window into patristics. There are some small quibbles; translator/editor Ferguson draws from a very small sampling of the church fathers and shows a decided preference for the teachings of Clement of Alexandria. It would also have been helpful to have at least some historical context for each quotation, even the birth and death dates of the man in question, since some of them are separated by centuries. Still, this is a useful compendium of some early church leaders' reflections on important issues.