[MarkBsnr]

:::People are prone to bring in false doctrine. That was the central reason the Chruch fathers gave us the Bible-to protect the inspired writing from the uninspired.:::

But these are the same Church Fathers, nearly 400 years after Christ died, that are scornfully dismissed and sometimes vilified by the Reformed when they write contrary to the doctrines of Calvin. How can they give you the Bible, when none of their other writings, including that on heresies, are accepted?

[HarleyD]

...that are scornfully dismissed and sometimes vilified by the Reformed when they write contrary to the doctrines of Calvin.

These people aren't "scornfully dismissed" or "vilified". Certainly nothing in what I read. We just use the scripture as a measuring stick against what they had to say. As a rule of thumb, I find church fathers who tend to quote scripture are more likely to line up with Protestant beliefs than those who conjecture.

How can they give you the Bible, when none of their other writings, including that on heresies, are accepted?

Is this the Pot calling the Kettle black? I love it when Catholics tell me they love the fathers. What they really mean is they love the fathers as long as they're writings follow their beliefs. I have yet to find a Catholic that accepts Augustine's A Treatise on the Predestination of the Saints.