Are Protestants allowed to study writings of Christian Authors?

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2ndGen

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Are Protestants allowed to study the writings of Christian Authors like The Church Fathers?
 
2ndGen said:
Are Protestants allowed to study the writings of Christian Authors like The Church Fathers?
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I think so. I don’t remember it being encouraged when I was Protestant, but I also don’t recall anyone restricting my reading material. 🤷
 
Yes we can read anything we want. I read the Church Fathers quite frequently.
 
It would depend upon the denomination as to whether such was actively encouraged, and probably the subgroup within the denomination. I have not encountered any that strictly forbade such, but it would not surprise me to come across some groups who do try to control their membership to that extent. I know some churches who do actively encourage religious literacy of that sort.

Remember that there is not some monolithic “Protestant” group out there. There is a tremendous variety of different groups.
 
KarenNC said:
It would depend upon the denomination as to whether such was actively encouraged, and probably the subgroup within the denomination. I have not encountered any that strictly forbade such, but it would not surprise me to come across some groups who do try to control their membership to that extent. I know some churches who do actively encourage religious literacy of that sort.

Remember that there is not some monolithic “Protestant” group out there. There is a tremendous variety of different groups.
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I wondered, are there any denominations that encourage their followerers to study the writings of The Church Fathers?

I’ve seen non-Catholic Christians quoting them, but they stay away from quoting “everything” they taught.
 
2ndGen said:
Does your church encourage you to read them?

🙂
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All I can say is that I just finished a church history course through Knox College, the primary theological college for the Presbyterian Church in Canada, and it involved reading the Church Fathers. Nothing is really said in church about the Church Fathers but how different from most congregations would that be?
 
SyCarl said:
All I can say is that I just finished a church history course through Knox College, the primary theological college for the Presbyterian Church in Canada, and it involved reading the Church Fathers. Nothing is really said in church about the Church Fathers but how different from most congregations would that be?
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That’s a great question.

Now, being that all of our doctrines come from The Church Fathers, isn’t it important that we know who these men were and what they believed so that we can confirm that what they taught us and that what we base our faith on is accurate?

For example, the doctrines of Salvation, Justification, The Trinity were all revealed by The Church Fathers. Some would say, no, by scripture, but they are no where to be found in scripture unless one follows the teaching of the doctrines which came hundreds of years after The Apostles.
 
We are differeing views on the early Christian writings. Like SyCarl said, not many churches emphasize them. I can honestly say I know a world more about early Christian history than my three Catholic brothers:o
 
BrianH said:
We are differeing views on the early Christian writings. Like SyCarl said, not many churches emphasize them. I can honestly say I know a world more about early Christian history than my three Catholic brothers:o
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LOL!

Sorry to drop this bomb on you Brian, but that’s not saying much!

LOL!

Most Catholics don’t know their faith. We are like the Jews who were blessed, but not appreciative of their faith.

It’s said that only 30% of Catholics are “devout” Catholics.

I’d say that for Protestants, the numbers are much higher than for us.

😦
 
Addendum:

That the Protestants know their faith far better than most of us know ours that is.
 
Protestant Pastors rarely encourage reading of the Church Fathers. Most of them I think, feel stress trying to get everyone to study the Bible. So few people read anything anymore.

I have seen Church fathers quoted in sermon notes and I don’t know of any protestant group that forbids it,
 
2ndGen said:
Are Protestants allowed to study the writings of Christian Authors like The Church Fathers?
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I’m sure there’s no ban on it. But I think they are also more devoted to their own Church Fathers, such as Luther or Calvin.
 
Syele said:
Protestant Pastors rarely encourage reading of the Church Fathers. Most of them I think, feel stress trying to get everyone to study the Bible. So few people read anything anymore.

I have seen Church fathers quoted in sermon notes and I don’t know of any protestant group that forbids it,
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That’s very true. People do rarely read the Bible anymore, and not many people are really familiar with the Bible anymore.
 
valient_Lucy said:
I’m sure there’s no ban on it. But I think they are also more devoted to their own Church Fathers, such as Luther or Calvin.
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Hmmm…I’m Episcopalian, does that mean Henry what’s his # is my “church father?” Wait…I’m an “upstart colonist” (as one British Anglican referred to Episcopalians today!) hmmmmm…St. Augustine is someone my priest is constantly recommending we read (as well as a lot of others, including, I am sure, ones the OP is talking about).

Wasn’t St. Augustine declared a heretic at one point? Or just some of his writings? Or am I confusing him with someone else?
 
episcogirl said:
Wasn’t St. Augustine declared a heretic at one point? Or just some of his writings? Or am I confusing him with someone else?
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Augustine was a Manichean heretic during his late teens and young adulthood. (The Manicheans were Christians, but not in full communion with Rome - they had some pretty wild beliefs, as well.) Augustine became quite famous as a preacher and philosopher during this period of time.

He converted to the Roman Catholic faith in his mid-30s after hearing the preaching of St. Ambrose, and began to study for the priesthood at the end of his Neophyte year. He became Bishop of Hippo, and was head of the Council of Hippo that helped to determine the canon of the New Testament in the late 300s AD.
 
jmcrae said:
Augustine was a Manichean heretic during his late teens and young adulthood. (The Manicheans were Christians, but not in full communion with Rome - they had some pretty wild beliefs, as well.) Augustine became quite famous as a preacher and philosopher during this period of time.

He converted to the Roman Catholic faith in his mid-30s after hearing the preaching of St. Ambrose, and began to study for the priesthood at the end of his Neophyte year. He became Bishop of Hippo, and was head of the Council of Hippo that helped to determine the canon of the New Testament in the late 300s AD.
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Thanks! Good info!
 
We read and cite the church fathers all the time.

We just don’t believe that their opinions are on a level with God’s word, like Roman Catholics do.
 
FredSmith said:
We read and cite the church fathers all the time.

We just don’t believe that their opinions are on a level with God’s word, like Roman Catholics do.
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We see how the early church, whose leaders were taught by the apostles, put into practice what was passed down. This is helpful in understanding the bible.
 
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