Why do Catholics always talk about the Early Church Fathers (Apostolic Fathers)?

Let us take the analogy of a courtroom. When looking for witnesses, we want people who were closest to the action. They have a better perspective than those who are far removed. Catholics feel the Early Church fathers were good witnesses to the Christian faith. They understood Scripture the way Jesus and the disciples taught it.

Some of the criticisms of the Early Church Fathers is that they were only human and the Bible is divine so it is a better source. The Catholic Church agrees with this. Catholics believe that God used the hands of some of the early Church Fathers to write the Bible. The Early Church Fathers were only human but so were the early reformers in the 1500-1600s. They were over 1000 years before the reformers. Catholics feel that the Early Church Fathers had an excellent perspective about the meaning of Scripture because of their proximity to the events.

One of the criticisms of the Early Church Fathers is that they thought the world was flat and that the universe swirled around the earth. Actually that's not true. There was quite a bit of discussion among the Early Church Fathers. For example, Augustine described the earth as round. We should also note that most of the "reformers" such as Luther, Calvin, Wesley also rejected the "Copernican" system (a round world spinning around the sun). They interpreted scriptural references to the world being "immovable" to reject the idea that the world is spinning. (i.e., 1 Chronicles 16:30, Psalm 93:1, Psalm 96:10, and Psalm 104:5). This glitch in the reformer's interpretation of Scripture also shows one of the problems with the principle of Sola Scriptura. Scripture needs to be interpreted and discerned in the context of humanity's maturity.

Some Evangelicals might say that that the Bible is self-explanatory and needs no interpretation. My response would be that the Evangelical movement itself does not support that statement. There are presently dozens of conflicting interpretations of Bible passages by different Evangelical denominations and cell groups. (i.e., the Rapture) Everyone interprets Scripture the moment they pick it up. Sometimes the Holy Spirit reveals stuff to us as we study which is great. But almost all of the conflicting views among Evangelicals are claimed to be revealed by the Holy Spirit. If we believe that Truth is not relative then there is only one truth. Catholics think its better that it is interpreted by the authority to which Jesus gave the authority. (Mathew 16:18-19). The Catholic Church doesn't claim that it understands everything about Scripture. Rather, it says that what has been revealed and defined as Dogma is true. The Church is on a pilgrimage of faith and its understanding of the mystery of God is evolving. More about the Church's interpretation of Scripture here.

The Church Fathers believed in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, honoured Mary, had elaborate ceremonies, prayed for the dead, respected the Church hierarchy, baptized babies, recognized Peter as the Rock, built the Church upon him with successors and followed a rich tradition of Christianity. That was the Christianity of the early days of Christianity and that is the Catholic Church of today. A timeline of the Catholic Church from 1-500 A.D. is here

So in short Catholics feel the Early Church Fathers were kicking Christians who were plugged into the teachings of Christ and knew what the apostles were saying about the faith. The Church Fathers propagated the Church and helped bring it to the world. Catholics feel it is very useful to study what they taught and wrote about the interpretation of Scripture. It is also noteworthy that the Early Church Fathers practiced a very Catholic theology.

Apostolic Fathers are those before 200A.D. and who were directly influenced or taught by the apostles. They include: Clement (d. 97) Bishop of Rome and Catholics believe third successor to Peter as Pope, Ignatius, (50-107), and Polycarp (69-155), Justin Martyr (100-165), St. Irenaeus (130-202), Cyprian (210-258) The Early Chruch Fathers lived between 200 and 800 A.D.

the magisterium’s role, very practically, is not to give me the whole picture, but to guide and direct me as I get a WEE bit better and understanding

Well put, MD. thanks for your post.

I'm a convert, and when old friends who are non-Catholics discover I'm now a Catholic, they almost always are surprised and say something like: "Never thought you'd be Catholic, it's so structured" or "so strict" or "authoritarian". I tell them that all churches have to have walls some where or they wouldn't be different from another - and the Catholic Church's walls are the farthest out of any; it's the biggest Church.

I've belonged or attended most all the major Protestant Churches and now I can sometimes see them as taking a piece of the Church, one room maybe, and making it the whole thing.

The Church keeps us from going off on the wrong path, but gives a lot room to explore.

Here are some more quotes

“They [heretics] gather their views from other sources than the Scriptures...We have learned from none others the plan of our salvation, than from those through whom the Gospel has come down to us, which they did at one time proclaim in public, and, at a later period, by the will of God, handed down to us in the Scriptures, to be the ground and pillar of our faith”
- Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3.1.1

“I beg of you, my dear brother, to live among these books [scripture], to meditate upon them, to know nothing else, to seek nothing else.”
- Jerome (Letter 53:10)

“There is, brethren, one God, the knowledge of whom we gain from the Holy Scriptures, and from no other source. For just as a man, if he wishes to be skilled in the wisdom of this world, will find himself unable to get at it in any other way than by mastering the dogmas of philosophers, so all of us who wish to practice piety will be unable to learn its practice from any other quarter than the oracles of God. Whatever things, then, the Holy Scripture declare, at these let us look; and whatsoever things they teach, these let us learn; and as the Father wills our belief to be, let us believe; and as He wills the Son to be glorified, let us glorify Him; and as He wills the Holy Spirit to be bestowed, let us receive Him. Not according to our own will, nor according to our own mind, nor yet as using violently those things which are given by God, but even as He has chosen to teach them by the Holy Scriptures, so let us discern them.”
- Hippolytus, Against Noetus, ch 9

“For how can we adopt those things which we do not find in the holy Scriptures?”
- Ambrose (On the Duties of the Clergy, 1:23:102)

“We use Scripture to answer heresy and preceive that it is power and truth.”
- Basil the Great

“Let the inspired Scriptures then be our umpire, and the vote of truth will be given to those whose dogmas are found to agree with the Divine words.”
- Gregory of Nyssa (d.ca, 395) “On the Holy Trinity”, NPNF, p. 327

“We are not content simply because this is the tradition of the Fathers. What is important is that the Fathers followed the meaning of the Scripture.”
- Basil the Great (ca.329–379) On the Holy Spirit, 7.16

“Neither dare one agree with catholic bishops if by chance they err in anything, but the result that their opinion is against the canonical Scriptures of God.”
- Augustine (354–430) De unitate ecclesiae, 10

“For our faith rests on the revelation made to the Prophets and Apostles who wrote the canonical books.”
- Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Summa Theologiae, Question 1, Art. 8

“For among the things that are plainly laid down in Scripture are to be found all matters that concern faith and the manner of life,—to wit, hope and love, of which I have spoken in the previous book. After this, when we have made ourselves to a certain extent familiar with the language of Scripture, we may proceed to open up and investigate the obscure passages, and in doing so draw examples from the plainer expressions to throw light upon the more obscure, and use the evidence of passages about which there is no doubt to remove all hesitation in regard to the doubtful passages.”
- Augustine (On Christian Doctrine, 2:9)

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