Historical, Religion & Spirituality 

Collected wisdom crossing time to engage current issues. . . So many concerns of today’s world require nuanced consideration and a sensitive response. Yet human nature and spiritual need remain remarkably constant. Practical, moral, and spiritual struggles are not peculiar to modern life. Early Christians looked at all things through the lens of God and Christ, including those that today we would consider secular in nature, as the wide range of subjects these writers addressed clearly demonstrates. The words of Christian writers such as Tertullian, Jerome, John Chrysostom, Basil of Caesarea, and Clement of Alexandria are organized around familiar, everyday themes. In study, reflection, or devotional reading, use this book to look through their eyes at our issues — and, perhaps, find a deepened and sharpened awareness of what it means to choose the Christian life. Introduced, organized, and translated by Everett Ferguson, these quotes are arranged to allow the ancient authors to speak for themselves. Inheriting Wisdom will refresh modern readers with the rich resources of early Christianity and provide direction and guidance for the twenty-first century. "Ancient Christian wisdom applies so readily to contemporary living that we have to realize, with a kind of shock, that the problems and temptations humans face today are far from new under the sun. The idea that new moral challenges require new solutions is an illusion. What’s required is humility, as we listen to the wisdom of older brothers and sisters who trod this same road, presented here in this beautiful and very accessible book." —Frederica Mathewes-Green, Author of The Illumined Heart: The Ancient Christian Path of Transformation and At the Corner of East and Now: A Modern Life in Ancient Christian Orthodoxy "A trip to the local Christian bookstore can occasionally be a discouraging experience, particularly for readers longing to go deeper in their devotion to Christ and Christ’s kingdom. Much of the fluff being produced by modern writers has a shelf life of only a few months and fails to assuage the thirst and hunger of readers eager for a more substantial meal. Everett Ferguson has done us all a great service by presenting a banquet from the thought and life of the early church in accessible, lively translations across a broad range of topics and concerns. Social existence, early Christian ethical concerns, conversion and salvation, key doctrines, and central themes of Christian living are engagingly addressed by early Christian writers in this wide-ranging text. Here is a book that readers unfamiliar with the early church will come to treasure. Those more familiar with the terrain of early Christian thought will also find gems here worth pondering and praying through." —Christopher A. Hall, Dean of the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University, author of Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers, and associate editor of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture "It is always a temptation for us to assume that the past has little to teach us. This rich and ordered collection of excerpts from early Christians is an excellent exercise in correcting such arrogance and in demolishing foolish stereotypes. Christians, especially, will find here many links with spiritual forebears, as we listen in on their efforts to live and reflect upon their faith and its implications for many sectors of life in their times." —Larry W. Hurtado, Professor of New Testament Language, Literature, and Theology, School of Divinity, New College, University of Edinburgh, and Director of the University of Edinburgh Centre for the Study of Christian Origins - from Amzon