# Has anyone read Early Christian Doctrine by J.N.D. Kelly?



## Wooster (Jul 22, 2008)

Hi everyone,

I saw the book Early Christian Doctrine by J.N.D. Kelly on ChristianBook.com for $7.99 and was wondering if it's worth picking up. I'm not familiar with Kelly.

Thanks for any feedback!

God Bless,
Paul


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## Davidius (Jul 22, 2008)

No, but is your username taken from Bertrand Wilberforce Wooster of the P.G. Wodehouse series?


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## CDM (Jul 22, 2008)

*GPTS required text*

I will be reading it for a class this Fall semester as it is a required text for Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary - if that is any indication of its value for you.


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## Casey (Jul 22, 2008)

This book was also assigned for one my my classes. I purchased it when I saw I would have to read it. Then the class got a new professor assigned to teach it and he changed all the readings. So, I haven't read it yet. But I presume it is a good book if it was assigned by one of my professors.


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## Wooster (Jul 22, 2008)

Davidius said:


> No, but is your username taken from Bertrand Wilberforce Wooster of the P.G. Wodehouse series?


Absolutely!  I love those stories. There are some great audio dramatizations floating around of them too.



CaseyBessette said:


> But I presume it is a good book if it was assigned by one of my professors.





mangum said:


> I will be reading it for a class this Fall semester as it is a required text for Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary


Thanks guys, that's very helpful. I'm going to pick it up.

God Bless,
Paul


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## Davidius (Jul 22, 2008)

Wooster said:


> Davidius said:
> 
> 
> > No, but is your username taken from Bertrand Wilberforce Wooster of the P.G. Wodehouse series?
> ...



Awesome! That's the best series in the world. My wife and I have all four series on DVD and really want to read some of the books. What are the audio dramatizations you mention?


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## jambo (Jul 22, 2008)

I would highly recommend Kelly's ealry Christian doctrines. I have used this is a lot particularly in debates with JWs. Books always seem much cheaper in the US so $7.99 seems like a good price from this end of the pond.


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## Poimen (Jul 22, 2008)

The book is well done; it was also required reading at WSCAL (at least when I was there). 

On the other hand, considering the fact that they allowed me to enroll might make one question anything WSCAL did in those days. And then they allowed me to graduate (mainly to get me out of there)... but I digress.


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## JohnOwen007 (Jul 23, 2008)

Kelly's book is an excellent rendition of what early Christians believed. From time to time one may disagree with this or that, but generally it is a reliable guide. It was a much needed text given the bizarre historiography that came earlier from Harnack and his school.

Be aware that Kelly himself is an orthodox Anglo-Catholic.


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## Presbyterian Deacon (Jul 23, 2008)

I have read Kelly's book. I recommend it to any who are interested in what the "early church" believed. I have two copies in our church library. It is borrowed often.

For $8.00 you can't go wrong!


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## DTK (Jul 24, 2008)

Wooster said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I saw the book Early Christian Doctrine by J.N.D. Kelly on ChristianBook.com for $7.99 and was wondering if it's worth picking up. I'm not familiar with Kelly.



Kelly has a weak view of Holy Scripture in terms of how he views (for example) the authorship of 2 Peter, but he is an excellent church historian. In addition to his _Early Christian Doctrines_, I recommend highly his biographies of Jerome and Chrysostom. They exhibit sound scholarship and are simply fascinating to read. Their titles are...

_Jerome, His Life, Writings, and Controversies_ 

and 

_Golden Mouth: The Story of John Chrysostom, Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop_.

DTK


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## Marrow Man (Jul 24, 2008)

From a church history perspective (especially as a resource), it is a worthwhile purchase (especially for 8 bucks!). If you can get over the image of Christ on the cover (though I think it's being printed with a different cover now), that is.
-----------
Tim Phillips
Pastor, Midlane Park Presbyterian Church
Louisville, KY


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## Dieter Schneider (Jul 24, 2008)

Wooster said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I saw the book Early Christian Doctrine by J.N.D. Kelly on ChristianBook.com for $7.99 and was wondering if it's worth picking up. I'm not familiar with Kelly.
> 
> ...



Great book on Partristics, but there are others, too. Don't forget W Cunningham and G Bromiley (Historical Theology)


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## DMcFadden (Jul 24, 2008)

Kelley is a classic. We used it a hundred years ago at Fuller. As has already been mentioned, he will not fit into a PB mold. However, for a patristics guy, he is hard to beat. One of my profs, Geoffrey Bromiley did a fine job in his _Historical Theology_ too. I think I paid more for Kelley back then than what you can get it for now! Grrrrr.

If you want to read up on the controversies of the early church from a Reformed evangelical perspective, Harold O.J. Brown's book _Heresies: The Image of Christ in the Mirror of Heresy and Orthodoxy from the Apostles to the Present_ (1984) is full of good material. With his four degrees from Harvard/Harvard Divinity School, his staunch commitment to the unborn, and his outspoken commitment to the full trustworthiness of Scripture, he is a reliable guide in this area.


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## JohnOwen007 (Jul 24, 2008)

DMcFadden said:


> We used it a hundred years ago at Fuller.



Gee you're looking good for your age Dennis. I guess that's what listening to Steely Dan does to people. (Reelin' in the years ...).


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## Wooster (Jul 24, 2008)

Wow, thanks for all the fantastic feedback! I thought I may get one or two responses. I ordered the book today. This is a foundational area that honestly, I haven't studied, so I'm looking forward to reading it. 

God Bless,
Paul


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## Stomata leontôn (Jul 24, 2008)

Wooster said:


> Davidius said:
> 
> 
> > No, but is your username taken from Bertrand Wilberforce Wooster of the P.G. Wodehouse series?
> ...



I have the Jeeves Omnibus. Maybe it's time to read it all again.


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