A comparison of first century Christianity with the modern Evangelical Church. This was on audio and read by the author--he shouldn't have done it! I often listen in the car and have to turn up the volume, and his voice is like nails on a chalkboard when turned up! The information was enlightening, but I'm not sure he proved his thesis (which as the book goes on, it is difficult to discern) Good intro with the bit about Polycarp. 5 hours 51 mins (161 pages) ( )

This book researches the way the early Christians up through 300AD understood the writing of the New Testament. Their understanding was much different than what is taught in mainstream Christianity today. ( )

A friend loaned me this book--quite eye-opening on beliefs of early Christians and how the beliefs changed over time. ( )

Bercot places a lot of authority upon the early church fathers. This is nothing new especially since the Eastern Orthodox Church has been doing this for nearly two thousand years. As Christians, we can learn a lot from the early church fathers especially since they are within only one or two generations removed from the Apostles of Jesus. It seems today's evangelical Christianity has adopted a lot of the doctrines and heresies these early church fathers worked tirelessly to dispel. Many of these doctrines originate from the Gnostics, and it seems Luther and several other Reformed fathers may have adopted them.

It may also seem Bercot holds to a works-based faith, however this is simply untrue. Bercot repeatedly informs the reader that salvation is only a gift from God. But, what is true is that we must remain obedient in deed during our lifetime as Christians. We will truly be judged based on our works. And, this is precisely what Scripture and the early church ascribed to. Sadly, today's westernized Christianity has become a faith-based system that allows people to simply profess Jesus in order to escape hell and gain free entrance into heaven. Living in the kingdom of God and following Jesus is simply much more than this. It is living radically transformed lives, giving up the safety net of the American dream, and serving others with the willingness to possibly experience suffering. These are not the words of Bercot, but a testimony of Jesus and what many in the early church years endured.

This is another good book by Bercot. However, I enjoyed, "The Kingdom That Turned the World Upside Down" much better. I strongly recommend this book to those Christians who see an apathetic and dogmatic religious institution rather than a transformed kingdom of believers. Perhaps the blood and testimony of these early church fathers can help put it back into the right perspective. ( )

An interesting and informative look at the early church in comparison to the current church. It is challenging to think about how our way of thinking actually aligns with what is taught in the NT - not just our perception of what we think it teaches. ( )