The works of Philip Schaff

[Austere]

Hello my friends,
I was wondering whether or not any of you have read any of Philip Schaff’s, a Protestant theologian’s work, particularly concerning the Nicene and the Ante-Nicene Fathers. While the price for purchasing the grand bulk of these is out of my range, would they be worth future purchase?

Thank you very much for reading.
God bless you.
:thankyou:

 

[Mintaka]

Buy a set? Why would you not use the online editions, or buy one of the computer file compilations?

 

[PaulfromIowa]

19th Century German Reformed Church scholar Philip Schaff, as a result of his studies of Christian Church history, advocated the re-union of Protestant and Catholic Churches along generally Catholic lines.

theopedia.com/philip-schaff

 

[Austere]

Buy a set? Why would you not use the online editions, or buy one of the computer file compilations?

I prefer the feeling of having a book in my hands then having to stare at a screen. Just a personal preference!

 

[DaveBj]

I’m accumulating them one by one in my Kindle; currently reading the volume of Augustine’s writings on the Pelagian heresy.

Schaff was the collector and American editor; a lot of the translation work was actually done by Englishmen and Scots. In general, the scholarship represents the cream of late 19th-century Protestant thought. A few of the footnotes reflect a Reformed bias, but when it comes to the actual texts, the striving for accurate representation reigns.

 

[Austere]

I’m accumulating them one by one in my Kindle; currently reading the volume of Augustine’s writings on the Pelagian heresy.

Schaff was the collector and American editor; a lot of the translation work was actually done by Englishmen and Scots. In general, the scholarship represents the cream of late 19th-century Protestant thought. A few of the footnotes reflect a Reformed bias, but when it comes to the actual texts, the striving for accurate representation reigns.

Thank you for clarifying my friend; I happened to come across them whilst I was wandering through Amazon one day. The thought of having 14 books delivered all at once is riveting but, it would have to be something you’d do gradually rather than all at once. The main worry was that the text would have reflected a Protestant bias so I thank you for dispelling that fear.

 

[DaveBj]

Thank you for clarifying my friend; I happened to come across them whilst I was wandering through Amazon one day. The thought of having 14 books delivered all at once is riveting but, it would have to be something you’d do gradually rather than all at once. The main worry was that the text would have reflected a Protestant bias so I thank you for dispelling that fear.

You’re welcome. Actually, reading the very first volume in Schaff’s Ante-Nicene Fathers series back in the '90s is what first got me interested in Catholicism – the Apostle John isn’t even cold in his grave, and already the Church is falling into the “Catholic heresies”

 

[IgnatianPhilo]

Schaff’s translations are fairly old mind you. They are good for their amount of volume and being easily attainable.

I think there are better translations (which are much more expensive mind you) such as Saint Vladimir’s seminary popular patristic series, Catholic university of America’s Fathers of the Church series or the Ancient Christian writers series.

 

[DaveBj]

Schaff’s translations are fairly old mind you. They are good for their volume and being easily attainable.

I think there are better translations (which are much more expensive mind you) such as Saint Vladimir’s seminary popular patristic series, Catholic university of America’s Fathers of the Church series or the Ancient Christian writers series.

Yes, the English is very 19th-century academic, which means that a lot of it dips its toes and sometimes its whole feet into Elizabethan/King-James/D-R English. I like reading it on the Kindle, because I can use the read-out-loud function and get the sometimes convoluted information going in two gates at once.

 

[Peter_J]

Hello my friends,
I was wondering whether or not any of you have read any of Philip Schaff’s, a Protestant theologian’s work, particularly concerning the Nicene and the Ante-Nicene Fathers. While the price for purchasing the grand bulk of these is out of my range, would they be worth future purchase?

Thank you very much for reading.
God bless you.
:thankyou:

Call me crazy, but it warms my heart to hear you talking about scholarship like that instead of “Such and such blogger said this and that.”

 

[Contarini]

Hello my friends,
I was wondering whether or not any of you have read any of Philip Schaff’s, a Protestant theologian’s work, particularly concerning the Nicene and the Ante-Nicene Fathers. While the price for purchasing the grand bulk of these is out of my range, would they be worth future purchase?

Thank you very much for reading.
God bless you.
:thankyou:

So you’re not talking about Schaff’s own work, but about the collaborative English translations of the Fathers of which he was the American editor?

They are worth owning, though I don’t know if I’d go to the trouble now if I didn’t already have them. My family gave them to me as a Christmas present when I was just starting out to study church history, and this was 20+ years ago when the Internet was in its infancy.

There are better translations of most of not all of the works in question–both the “Fathers of the Church” series and the “Ancient Christian Writers” series embody more up-to-date scholarship (and as a bonus for folks on this forum, both of them are Catholic), and there are other translations of many individual works. But the ANF/NPNF series remains the most easily accessible if you don’t have access to a good theological library.

There are some moments of Protestant bias, and a couple sections that are rendered into Latin so that children and young women couldn’t read them (they have to do with sex), which seems just silly today.

Schaff’s own work is significant–he was one of the finest 19th-century church historians, and also a pioneer of ecumenism (in fact, he was put on trial by his own denomination, the German Reformed Church in America, for his overly ecumenical attitude toward Catholicism).

Edwin

 

[Austere]

So you’re not talking about Schaff’s own work, but about the collaborative English translations of the Fathers of which he was the American editor?

They are worth owning, though I don’t know if I’d go to the trouble now if I didn’t already have them. My family gave them to me as a Christmas present when I was just starting out to study church history, and this was 20+ years ago when the Internet was in its infancy.

There are better translations of most of not all of the works in question–both the “Fathers of the Church” series and the “Ancient Christian Writers” series embody more up-to-date scholarship (and as a bonus for folks on this forum, both of them are Catholic), and there are other translations of many individual works. But the ANF/NPNF series remains the most easily accessible if you don’t have access to a good theological library.

There are some moments of Protestant bias, and a couple sections that are rendered into Latin so that children and young women couldn’t read them (they have to do with sex), which seems just silly today.

Schaff’s own work is significant–he was one of the finest 19th-century church historians, and also a pioneer of ecumenism (in fact, he was put on trial by his own denomination, the German Reformed Church in America, for his overly ecumenical attitude toward Catholicism).

Edwin

Thank you for the well-informed answer my friend! I will have to look over those other series as well, so thank you for the recommendation. I don’t plan on purchasing at the moment, but rather something to purchase when I have the finances to do myself! Also, forgive me for not clarifying that it was his translation I was referring to.

 

[Austere]

Call me crazy, but it warms my heart to hear you talking about scholarship like that instead of “Such and such blogger said this and that.”

Thank you for the comment! I feel that in order to get a true understanding of the Church’s history, doctrine and dogma, one must refer to the Fathers of the Church, as they are important in every age of the Church and how we understand ourselves.

 

[Mongo]

Hello my friends,
I was wondering whether or not any of you have read any of Philip Schaff’s, a Protestant theologian’s work, particularly concerning the Nicene and the Ante-Nicene Fathers. While the price for purchasing the grand bulk of these is out of my range, would they be worth future purchase?

Thank you very much for reading.
God bless you.
:thankyou:

I have the whole set and have read some of them. They are old translations and are often tough to read. I think some of the modern translations are better like the Cua press series and the svs press patristics series.

 

[MarkInOregon]

Hello my friends,
I was wondering whether or not any of you have read any of Philip Schaff’s, a Protestant theologian’s work, particularly concerning the Nicene and the Ante-Nicene Fathers. While the price for purchasing the grand bulk of these is out of my range, would they be worth future purchase?

Thank you very much for reading.
God bless you.
:thankyou:

I was able to download pdf’s of all the volumes. Since I prefer to read paper I have slowly been printing out each volume, three hole punching the print outs and putting each volume in a binder. I found the cost of the volumes to be prohibitive.

The peace of Christ,
Mark