Jim Papandrea on the Catholicism of Early Christianity

tonygill — Sun, 19 Feb 2017 09:00:09 +0000

Protestants have often accused the Roman Catholic Church of “adding on” a great many traditions, rituals, and theological components that were not part of early Christianity. Prof. Jim Papandrea, an associate professor of Church history at the Garrett-Evangelical Seminary (Northwestern University), takes these ideas to task by showing that early Christianity and Catholicism are very much in sync with one another. We begin our discussion by proving the role of “tradition” in early Christianity. Prof. Papandrea makes the case that tradition — the means of passing on knowledge throughout the ages — was important from the very birth of Christianity and was essential in the writing of the Bible. He talks about the need for authority and unity in teaching Church doctrine and how this lends itself to hierarchy. To illustrate this, Jim puts forth the life of Irenaeus, the Heretic Hunter (as he calls him). We then move on to a number of other topics that often divide Protestants and Catholics, such as the role of faith and good works, and the need for the papacy. As for the latter, Jim makes the case that true Catholics have never believed that you can earn your way into heaven via “good works,” nor have they denied the importance of salvation by personal faith, but rather he argues that doing good deeds is a means of ensuring one does not fall into a sinful lifestyle. He argues that baptism allows one to get a “clean slate,” but does not guarantee a free ride to salvation. Here he uses Clement of Alexandria to illustrate the proper understanding of alms-giving, penance, and salvation. Jim then reaffirms what was noted earlier in the podcast when it comes to the papacy, and that is the important role of a unifying hierarchy to preserve the faith. This leads to an interesting discussion of Eastern Orthodoxy and congregational Protestantism. He calls up Leo the Great to make his point about the importance of having a unified faith. We also examine the veneration of the saints, a practice that many Protestants see as idolatry. Much like our previous guest Brian O’Neel, Jim notes that this isn’t idolatry, but rather a means of devotion and intercession, as well as being an instructive way to live out one’s Christian faith. He makes an interesting analogy as to how honoring the saints helps us connect with “The Cloud” (of past Church history). St. Augustine comes into play here as the exemplar Church Father illustrating this point (and Tony notes that Augustine was also the “Hammer of the Donatists”). We finish off with Jim’s seven major “essential connections” between Catholics and Protestants. Throughout the conversation, we discuss the importance of ecumenism, and given the friendship Jim and Tony have had going back to high school, and that each individual has converted faiths in opposite directions, this was a lesson that was well received by both. Recorded: February 10, 2017.

Jim Papandrea on the Church Fathers & Patristic Exegesis

tonygill — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 08:00:11 +0000

Who were the early Church Fathers? How did they interpret the Scripture? And how did their interpretations change over time and shape Christianity? Prof. Jim Papandrea of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (on the campus of Northwestern University) takes up these questions in a fascinating discussion of “patristic exegesis,” or how the early Church Fathers understood and interpreted the Scriptures. Our conversation begins with an examination of who qualifies as the early Church Fathers and whether or not this list is consistent across different denominations. We also chat about the difficulties early Christian bishops and theologians had in trying to create a relatively unified doctrine of the faith, though Jim reveals that there was much more agreement and harmony that one (particularly your host) would think. Dr. Papandrea then walks us through what he defines as the four main phases (or eras) of patristic exegesis, showing how the different eras varied by the degree to which they favored literal/historical or more allegorical interpretations of the Scriptures. Interestingly, Jim makes that point that most of the disagreement in interpretation tended to revolve more around the Old Testament, although the divine nature of Jesus was also up for debate by different theological factions. In this discussion, we talk about the role that the First Council of Nicaea played in solidifying Church doctrine and how different theological schools, notably Arianism, reacted to the Nicene Creed. Jim makes the case that patristic exegesis tended to move in more allegorical directions during the latter second century through the fifth century, but then moved back towards a more historical-contextual (or some might say “literal”) meaning in subsequent centuries, eventually reaching a balance between allegory and more historical interpretations in the fifth century. Prof. Papandrea provides some examples regarding interpretations that are overly-allegorical. Throughout this discussion, we touch on some specific Church Fathers such as Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, and Augustine. The podcast also veers in some other interesting directions, examining whether or not Augustine was the patron saint of the hippopotamus, if Christians can now safely eat weasels, and the profound implications relating to clothing tags at Sunday services. It is also revealed what theatrical performance both Jim and Tony were in during high school, and that they were “neighbors” in Los Angeles without ever realizing it. Recorded: July 11, 2011.

Research On Religion » Clement of Alexandria

Jim Papandrea on the Catholicism of Early Christianity

Jim Papandrea on the Church Fathers & Patristic Exegesis