Category Archives: Patristic Commentary

“Children in Paradise”: Gregory of Nazianzus on Gen 2-3

Posted on July 23, 2014 by krhughes14

If there’s one thing I know about the early chapters of Genesis, it’s that they often raise far more questions than they do answers; not surprisingly, modern interpreters still struggle to make even the most basic of decisions, such as … Continue reading →

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Chrysostom on the Good of Marriage, Part 2

Posted on July 4, 2014 by krhughes14

In my final post on this subject, we encounter some truly beautiful words concerning marriage and family life as we arrive at the heart of Chrysostom’s positive view on marriage, which, I believe, stems from a principle found in his Homily … Continue reading →

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Chrysostom on the Good of Marriage, Part 1

Posted on June 27, 2014 by krhughes14

This week, we turn from Augustine in the West to a contemporaneous, and equally influential, figure in the East: John, who would later come to be known as “Chrysostom” (Golden Mouth) was born in Antioch around the middle of the … Continue reading →

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Augustine on the Good of Marriage

Posted on June 20, 2014 by krhughes14

Marriage is a contested issue in today’s society, but what many don’t recognize is that it’s always been an issue that has caused sharp debate, particularly within Christian communities. While the instructions of the apostle Paul concerning marriage, as most thoroughly … Continue reading →

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N. T. Wright on Patristic Interpretation

Posted on May 21, 2013 by krhughes14

Currently doing a quick read-through of Bishop Tom’s insightful little book Scripture and the Authority of God, and came across this comment on patristic interpretation: “What the use of allegory highlights, of course, is the church’s insistence on the importance of … Continue reading →

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Regnum Caelorum and What Makes a Great Dissertation

Posted on March 8, 2013 by krhughes14

For my eschatology class, I’m currently reading Charles E. Hill’s Regnum Caelorum: Patterns of Millennial Thought in Early Christianity (2nd ed., Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001). This book is a revision of Hill’s doctoral dissertation, which he completed under Rowan Williams at Cambridge … Continue reading →

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Are You God’s Money?

Posted on February 20, 2013 by krhughes14

And have you wandered away from the treasury? Those are the questions Augustine wants us to think about in his reflections on Mark 12:13-17. Mark 12:13-17 and parallels record a controversy between Jesus and the Pharisees and Herodians, in which … Continue reading →

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Should Christians Sell Everything?

Posted on February 9, 2013 by krhughes14

Some popular-level Christian writers have recently argued that modern-day Christians should emulate the early church in selling all of their possessions and giving to the poor. This is based in part on their interpretation of the description of the nascent … Continue reading →

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Making Peace with the Bible

Posted on February 7, 2013 by krhughes14

Ever been concerned about inconsistencies or discrepancies in the Bible? I’ve recently come across a memorable quotation from Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376-444). Interesting how he connects the ethic of the Sermon on the Mount to the hermeneutics of biblical … Continue reading →

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