The Early Christians: In Their Own Words

(Hardback)

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In these firsthand accounts of the early church, the spirit of Pentecost burns with prophetic force through the fog enveloping the modern church. A clear and vibrant faith lives on in these writings, providing a guide for Christians today. Its stark simplicity and revolutionary fervor will stun those lulled by conventional Christianity. The Early Christians is a topically arranged collection of primary sources. It includes extra-biblical sayings of Jesus and excerpts from Origen, Tertullian, Polycarp, Clement of Alexandria, Justin, Irenaeus, Hermas, Ignatius, and others. Equally revealing material from pagan contemporaries - critics, detractors, and persecutors - is included as well.

Reviews

This welcome anthology of writings from the first two centuries of Christendom is full and practical and fervent. -- America Magazine
If you hold, like Arnold does, that Christianity is no longer Christianity if it departs too radically from its beginnings, you must read this book. -- Roland H. Bainton,Professor Emeritus, Yale University
This selection will not only help readers understand early Christianity intellectually; it will also challenge them to live more fully, abundantly, and even radically. -- Justo L. Gonzalez,Emory University
A compelling, fascinating, and direct account of one of the most important periods in the history of modern man. -- James Luther, AdamsHarvard Divinity School

Author Bio

Eberhard Arnold (18831935) studied theology, philosophy, and education and was widely sought as a speaker at student conferences and other gatherings. In 1920, leaving a promising career as a writer and the privileges of upper-middle- class life in Berlin, he moved with his wife and children to Sannerz, a small village in central Germany, where they founded a Christian community on the basis of the Sermon on the Mount.