Blog Category: 40 Days with the Fathers (5 posts)

Luke J. Wilson | 26th July 2022 | Articles

I was interviewed about my book, 40 Days with the Fathers, a few months ago. It's taken a while to be released, but now it's available to listen to! Ruah Space, who endeavours "to provide you with experiences and space to encounter God and deepen your faith", got in touch with me for a chat about my book, the early church, and the spiritual practices of the ancient church. We talked about everything from fasting to martyrdom, and the topics covered in the book, so if you're interested to hear more about that (or my thoughts on it all), then click the link below to go and listen to the podcast: Spiritual Formation & The Church Fathers with Luke Wilson – Ruah Space I hope you enjoy the interview! And if you haven't already got it, you can buy my book on Amazon....

Luke J. Wilson | 31st January 2022 | Book Extracts

INTRODUCTION TO THE THIRD EDITION As with many things, they can always be improved. And as somewhat of a “recovering perfectionist”, I can't let things go until I have that sense of completion about it; whether that be my work projects, writing or some other form of the creative process I am involved in. I say “recovering” because I try not to let myself be burdened by needless (and endless) perfectionism over the things I make, and have learned to let things be. With that said, though, this book has always niggled at me in the back of my mind ever since I first published it in December 2017. I knew it wasn't truly complete at the time, but I had also recently become a father for the first time and so I did rush it to print just to make sure I got it out. Once life settled down, that niggle was still there and I published a Revised Edition about eight months later which included some of the additions I had wanted to include the first time around, such as the maps and timelines. I was happy to leave it there, but as more people read it and had questions about different aspects of early history, or had suggestions about what they would find useful to make this book a better resource... that niggle returned! I've finally updated various chapters with more detail or better footnotes and sources plus added a new chapter dedicated to the Council of Nicaea to help dispel some myths. Now, here we are at the beginning of 2022 after a couple of the craziest years we've lived through in recent memory with the pandemic, and what better time to reflect on the past and hear from people who lived through far worse times, yet came through stronger for it and found God in the midst of their suffering? We can take hope in our forefathers in the Faith, learn from them and grow from their wisdom and insights, and maybe begin to see and trust the God who suffers with us yet gives us the strength to endure. I hope and pray that this book will be a blessing to you as you re...

Luke J. Wilson | 31st January 2022 | Articles

After many, many months of working on this in between COVID and other “life events” that kept me busy, I’ve finally released the Third Edition of my book, 40 Day With the Fathers: A Journey Through Church History! The Third Edition includes: a foreword by Paul Pavao (author of Decoding Nicea), updated content and also a new chapter about the Council of Nicaea explaining what did (and didn’t) happen there. “I cannot imagine there is a better way to get familiar with 350 of the most important years of church history in seven hours spread over 40 days.” — Paul Pavao, author of Decoding Nicea If you are unfamiliar with my previous editions and what this book is about, here’s the blurb and some quotes from reviewers to give you an overview of its content: Take a journey through the first 400 years of Church History in only 40 days! Over the course of this reading plan you will read extracts and commentary on 23 different early Church texts from a selection of some of the most influential Church Fathers: Didache, Diognetus, Polycarp, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Cyprian, Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Ambrose of Milan, and Leo the Great. These people who came before us, those great men of faith, many of whom suffered persecution and martyrdom to preserve the Church and Christ’s mission, bridge the gap between the Bible and the present day. They fill the void we sometimes wonder about when we get to the end of reading Acts or the Epistles and think, “what happened next?” or “what happened to the Ephesian church after Paul left?” — well now you can read for yourself and see how God continued to grow His Church! Praise for 40 Days with the Fathers: “Timeless truths still for today” — ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Insightful and captivating” — ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “[This book] will round out your knowledge and help you become a better teacher.” — ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “If you are a pastor or church leader, I highly...

Luke J. Wilson | 04th July 2020 | Book Extracts

Preface This is the companion to the first book in the series, Forty Days with the Fathers: A Daily Reading Plan. The first book originally took form on my blog as a daily post throughout the period of Lent in 2017 (hence the 40 days), and aims to give you a glimpse into the minds of that great cloud of witnesses that have come before us through short commentary of the early church texts. This book follows the same forty day pattern and chapter breaks so you can read it alongside the first book, or as a stand-alone reading plan with no additional commentary, as it features the source texts in full as translated and edited by Philip Schaff et al. All the original footnotes are included as well as few of my own where certain things required clarification for 21st century readers. The more learned readers here may notice that I have chosen to only include the shorter Ignatian epistles in this collection—this is because I am convinced by the arguments for their genuineness over the longer letters which are thought to be interpolations. The reading plan follows a collection of twenty-three early texts in full from the first four centuries. As an additional bit of information, at the beginning of each text I have given a preface which gives a Who, What, Why and When so you can read a short summary about the historical context, purpose for it being written, and the approximate date of each ancient text as well. At the end of each chapter, there is a notes section so you can jot down any thoughts you had during your reading, and at the very end of the book are some useful appendices containing historical data and maps to help bring more visual context the New Testament and Early Church texts. Each daily reading will vary in length of time to read, and by day 40, you will have read the writings of ten different Church Fathers from the Ante-Nicene and Post-Nicene period: Didache, Diognetus, Polycarp, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Cyprian, Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem, ...

Luke J. Wilson | 24th July 2018 | Book Extracts

Why read the Early Church Fathers? Maybe for some of you reading this, the question might better be phrased as: who are the Church Fathers? No doubt you will be familiar with some of their names: Augustine, Jerome, Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin Martyr et al. You may have even read portions or quotes by some of these men. But that still doesn't really explain to you who they are and why you should care, much less actually read any of their works. My new book deals with a selection of some of the most influential Early Church Fathers, sometimes also referred to as the Apostolic Fathers (if they lived between AD 70-150), or collectively as the Ante Nicene Fathers for all of those in the period of time preceding the Council of Nicea (AD 325). It is these men who wrote doctrine and defences against heresy and helped to continue and shape the Church in its most formative years. Some of the earlier Christian leaders of the 2nd Century were discipled and taught by the Apostles themselves. Those include Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch and Polycarp of Smyrna. Still others in mid-2nd century were then taught by those who knew the men who were taught by some of the Apostles. One of the more well-known Bishops who was second generation to the Apostles was Irenaeus (best known for his extensive apologetic works, Against Heresies). From chapter 21 onward in my book, I look at a few writers from beyond this period (around 356) up until AD 449 where we can observe some distinctive changes in thought and practice. These people who came before us, those great men of faith, many of whom suffered persecution and martyrdom to preserve the Church and Christ's mission, bridge the gap between the Bible and the present day. They fill the void we sometimes wonder about when we get to the end of reading Acts or the Epistles and think, “what happened next?” or “what happened to the Ephesian church after Paul left?”. So Why Read What They Wrote? The Bible didn't just ...