Four Witnesses :- Awesome Book

Did you know that Christianity was illegal, until Emperor Constantine I circa 300A.D.? Have you ever wondered what the Early Church was like prior to this? Who were the heroes of the faith during and after the Apostles during this time of distress for Christians? What did they teach that was passed on to them by the Apostles, not in letter only, but also face to face? What exactly did they learn at the feet of the Apostles - those who walked with Jesus?

My wife wondered about these things and was given this book, Four Witnesses: The Early Church in her own Word by Rod Bennett by a friend of ours from Church. After reading the first chapter myself, I was hooked. It was nothing less than an amazing experience reading through these Early Christian writings. Not only do they give you a true glimpse of what the Church was like, including worship services and other practices, they also give you a sense of what they were up against. Not only were they up against the armies of the Emperor where a great number of them earned the crown of martyrdom, but they were also fighting schisms and divisions within the Church, as well as heretical influences outside of the Church.

Rod Bennett does a wonderful job of setting the stage of what was going on during the times and introducing you to four of the Early Church Fathers :- Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr and Irenaeus of Lyons. You do not need a degree in theology in order to understand this book. It is written in a style that is easy to read, and very entertaining.

If you are looking for something to read this fall / winter, I would highly suggest looking at this book.