Recommend Book for Man with Anabaptist view of Church history...

[RevZach]

I have been interacting over e-mail for some time with a man who visited my church and is falling into a rather anabaptistic, "nuda scriptura" view of the Scriptures and the Church. He started by asking why we celebrate Easter and Christmas, then moved into why we worship on Sundays, not Saturday, and has more recently said that he's doubting the doctrine of the Trinity because he doesn't see it in the New Testament, and it was centuries before the church codified these doctrines at church councils. I've more or less determined that continued going around in circles with someone who seems to basically believe himself to be his own mini-pope and final arbiter/interpreter of Scripture (and who has acknowledged that he sees no authority belonging to the Church in any sense or form) is a waste of my time. However, he has asked me for recommended books to read, particularly about early church history (although I don't think that's really what he needs to be reading right now) that might help to explain how someone like me could subscribe to a confession, worship on the Lord's Day, believe in the Trinity and dual nature of Christ, as laid out in the ecumenical councils, and not see any contradiction with Scripture.

He is a layman, but rather sharp and seems willing to read some semi-scholarly works.

Any recommendation is welcomed, as I'm rather exhausted and am not sure which way to send him at this point. Thanks!

 

[Contra_Mundum]

Trinity: I haven't read it, but I the author is trustworthy, Alpha and Omega Ministries
and see the "monthly focus" at Monergism.com :: Classic Articles and Resources of the Historic Christian Faith (can also find resources galore)

Sunday worship: The Presbyterian Bookshop of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary - The Lord's Day

Strict Puritans prefer to forego manmade feast days (such as Christmas and Easter), however the Dutch Reformed determined to retain only a handful (Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Pentecost, Ascension, and the ecclesiastic New Years day) as part of their church order, presumably to maintain additional continuity with traditional worship and liturgic patterns.

Creed/Confession: Founders Ministries | Confessions of Faith in Baptist History
2 Utility and Importance of Creeds and Confessions
Biblical and Pastoral Basis for Creeds and Confessions | The Reformed Reader
"Creeds & Confessions" by A.A. Hodge
http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/ref-rev/10-2/10-2_mcgoldrick.pdf
(I found all these links, btw, at monergism.com)


One thing I have to say, however, in addition to offering the above. Many Reformed works assume that the reader will receive biblical instruction, simply on the basis of its being God's Word. Whereas, for many anabaptists and American evangelicals in general (which most have a functional anabaptist mentality, though not so often any selfconscious roots in that tradition) the authority of the Bible goes at most back to the four Gospels, and excludes the Old Testament.

I say this in order that you might be braced for a rejection of much of the argumentation that may be offered, even by some of the Baptist resources noted above. If we do not realize the functional limitations of certain people's hermeneutic assumptions, we may end up expending a lot of energy attempting to persuade them, only to find out that we and they are reading the Bible in different (albeit, and thankfully, not always contrary) ways. This same sort of observation also lies at the root of much of the Baptist/Paedobaptist debate.

 

[moral necessity]

Having been that sort of young churchman myself a long time ago, I can relate to where he is coming from. I'd go easy on him, and let the Spirit convince him of such matters over time. Keep feeding him books on the subject, as he is into scholarly reading, and let him work out the solution. Play the role of the Socratic friend, asking him probing questions that will further his study. And, remind him that "we all see through a glass dimly," at best, and so, 20 years from now, he will look back, and probably see that he didn't know everything he thought he knew back then.


I'd have him read Schaff's History of the Christian Church, Christianbook.com: History of the Christian Church, 8 Volumes: Philip Schaff: 9781565631960

Here's one on the Trinity by Augustine: Amazon.com: Augustine: On the Trinity Books 8-15 (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy) (9780521796651): Augustine, Gareth B. Matthews, Stephen McKenna: Books

This one might be the best of all, and is on my list to get: http://www.amazon.com/The-Christian...=8-5&keywords=history+of+doctrine+of++trinity


May God bless your efforts...

 

[RevZach]

Both of these responses are VERY helpful. I especially appreciate the advice about how to approach this, as I am prone to want to "win the debate" even when it is not the best path. I appreciate the reminder.

God bless you men and your ministries!

 

[cajunhillbilly53]

J N D Kelly has a great book on the development of theology in the early church. He is Protestanat and not Catholic. http://www.amazon.com/Early-Christi...F8&qid=1340300665&sr=1-1&keywords=j+n+d+kelly

 

[R. Scott Clark]

Here's a start:

http://clark.wscal.edu/ch601syllabus.php

Gerald Bray's Creed, Councils, & Christ is very good