The reading spree continues! đź“š Today I finished On the Apostolic Preaching by Irenaeus and Gregory of Nazianzus by Brian Matz.
I picked up Irenaeus’s book hoping to learn something about preaching in the early church. What I got was a reminder that the Bible has an “integrity and purity” manifest in its unified message about the Son of God. Preachers who want to expound that message and preach Christ with confidence need to be competent in the various connections the Old and New Testaments make with each other. Also called Proof of Apostolic Preaching, it’s a nice little handbook on biblical theology from the late second-century.
Gregory of Nazianzus was a pastor-theologian in early fourth-century. I read Matz’s book as a part of a larger project to become familiar with the church father designated by the Council of Chalcedon as Gregory the Theologian. Expect to hear more about Gregory in the coming months.
In other ancient news, I’m almost done with Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations and have a lot to say about it. Not sure where, when, or if to say it, but there’s a lot of food for thought anyway. For that, I’m thankful.