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Lent: Day 4 - Polycarp to the Philippians

...those who teach Docetism (the belief that Jesus's humanity was an illusion), quoting 1 John 4 and calling them the “firstborn of Satan”, plus some grieving for one of the church leaders who fell into sin. Polycarp also included some letters from Ignatius with this one, which were highly commended to be read and passed on amongst the churches. Overall, this letter feels very familiar and is just as encouraging as the Pauline letters we read in the New Testament, well worth at least one read through in full....

Lent: Day 11 - Ignatius to Polycarp

...tually “teach strange doctrines” which may fill Polycarp with some “apprehension”. This warning would seem to be against Docetism again, as in all of Ignatius's previous letters, which leads him to write this short creed about Christ just to reiterate the Church’s stance on the matter, and although it’s only short, I do like it, especially the parallelism: Look for Him who is above all time, eternal and invisible, yet who became visible for our sakes; impalpable and impassible, yet who became passible on our account; and who in every kind of way suffered for our sakes. What follows this are a few instructions, or maybe advice, to Polycarp, whi...

Lent: Day 15 - Justin Martyr: First Apology, Chaps. 36-47

...Christ to teach to all the word of God; and we who formerly used to murder one another do not only now refrain from making war upon our enemies, but also, that we may not lie nor deceive our examiners Christ’s appearance and death foretold Continuing with the theme of the prophetic messages, Justin goes to show more examples from the Old Testament which foretold the life of Jesus and “the conspiracy which was formed against Christ by Herod the king of the Jews, and the Jews themselves” because he “thought it right and relevant to mention some other prophetic utterances of David” and goes on to quote the whole of Psalm 2 as his proof. Yet have I...

Lent: Day 17 - Justin Martyr: First Apology: Chaps. 60-68

...hes would teach against today, and find ways to reinterpret 1 Peter, so I find this section particularly interesting as an early teaching. Imitation by demons Following on with baptism, Justin goes on to say that due to Isaiah prophesying this, the demons knew what to imitate in the temples to false gods, who would have all their worshippers sprinkled with water on entering and fully immersed on the way out, and also have them remove their shoes as Moses did at the burning bush when “Christ conversed with him under the appearance of fire”. This too shows an early example of how Christians viewed the “nameless God [who] spoke to Moses” in light of the...

Lent Day 22: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 11-20

...life and teaching. When: Somewhere between 356 and 362 AD You can find today’s reading on page 112 here: lentfatherscomplete.pdf Today we will see what began as a simple desire for personal growth with God, eventually became one of the most influential movements within not only early Christianity, but the faith as a whole. Anthony is regarded as the father and founder of desert monasticism, and today we will see how it all started. The old hermit that Anthony met previously, he asked to go into the desert with him to dwell, “more eagerly bent on the service of God”. The old man declined due to his age, but also because “there was no such custom...

Lent Day 26: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 51-60

...life and teaching. When: Somewhere between 356 and 362 AD You can find today’s reading on page 131 here: lentfatherscomplete.pdf Today we pick up at the start of a new chapter in Anthony’s life. He’s just relocated to a new mountain further in the Egyptian desert with the aid of the Saracens and with what is described as a ‘divine love’, Anthony was moved to love the area he found. But it soon became a small burden to him as people would seek him out and look to visit him, or to bring him bread. This area was a three day and night trek from where he previously lived, so the thought of other people taking this treacherous journey concerned him dear...