Deserted Island, Church Fathers Edition: Irenaeus & Athanasius

Dr. Stephen Nichols: Welcome back to another episode of 5 Minutes in Church History. We are once again at Ligonier’s National Conference, and I’ve asked Dr. Reeves to step back into our podcast studio to have another episode with us. Dr. Reeves, it’s great to see you again.

Dr. Michael Reeves: Great to be back.

Dr. Stephen Nichols: Well, on this one, we’re going to send you to a deserted island. Now, I believe we have done this to you before.

Dr. Michael Reeves: I’ve been on that island. I had fun there.

Dr. Stephen Nichols: Great. I’m glad you liked it because we’re sending you back. But this time, we are going to restrict the area of books that you can choose from to the church fathers.

Dr. Michael Reeves: Oh, okay.

Dr. Stephen Nichols: This is Deserted Island: Church Father’s Edition. Five books, go.

Dr. Michael Reeves: Okay. I love many of the church fathers and they’re not what many Reformed people think. I think many Reformed people often look at the church fathers and think, “Isn’t that a crypto-Catholic?” And you see a mixed bag of theology. But what I love to be able to show people is how actually the great theologians of the early church, really the Reformed tradition is in straight continuity. It’s not an odd offshoot from that.

Dr. Stephen Nichols: There are riches there.

Dr. Michael Reeves: Absolutely.

Dr. Stephen Nichols: We don’t have to go straight from Paul to Luther.

Dr. Michael Reeves: Absolutely. Exactly. So, my first book that I would take would be by Irenaeus of Leon, is Against Heresies. And Against Heresies was written... So, Irenaeus, he lived from about 130 to 202, roughly. We’re not absolutely sure. And so, he was bishop in what’s now the south of France. And in his day, the heresy of Gnosticism took over and he saw this as a heresy that was destroying the church. And he wrote Against Heresies to create a complete biblical picture of how, against what Gnostics were saying, one God has one plan for the redemption of his own creation.

And this was in many ways the first systematic theology of the church. And Irenaeus has a remarkable ability to connect doctrines. So, you see how important it is that your doctrine of God shapes your doctrine of creation, say. And what was striking about Irenaeus and how he did this is that the argument is built explicitly on sola Scriptura. Because he’s saying that was the Gnostic problem. He said they take Scriptures and they, it’s like the tiles of a mosaic, they put them all out of order. Whereas we say that Scripture should be supreme and authoritative and should be read as such and not manipulated by us.

Dr. Stephen Nichols: So we have sola Scriptura, we have the doctrine of God, and we have a well-thought-through comprehensive systematic theology.

Dr. Michael Reeves: Yes.

Dr. Stephen Nichols: I think that’s a great volume. How about your second choice?

Dr. Michael Reeves: My second choice I think would be by Athanasius of Alexandria who was a theologian in the early fourth century. And he really championed the line in the Nicene Creed, “We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, begotten not made of one being with the Father.” And what Athanasius does so brilliantly... He’s a fascinating character.

Dr. Stephen Nichols: It’s a great story there.

Dr. Michael Reeves: Yeah.

Dr. Stephen Nichols: It’s full of adventure of the life.

Dr. Michael Reeves: Absolutely. I think he’s quite like Luther as a sparkling character with penetrating thought. And what he saw was that if you deny the eternal Sonship of the Son, if you say that he came into being at some point, you change entirely your understanding of who God is, that God is not eternally a Father.

Dr. Stephen Nichols: Very helpful, of course, to the early church, but even helpful to us to think about.

Dr. Michael Reeves: Absolutely, critical for us.

Dr. Stephen Nichols: A great second choice. While we’ve only gotten through two books, we will let you take three more, but we’re going to have to bring you back for a second episode. So, look forward to having you again. You’ve been listening to Dr. Michael Reeves, picking his books for his Deserted Island: Church Fathers Edition. And I’m Steve Nichols, and thanks for listening to 5 Minutes in Church History.