[theBuckwheat]

This is like looking to the writings of Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg for authoritative statements on the personal life of George Washington. She is so far removed from any personal knowledge of the facts that were she to write anything that contradicts what Washington’s contemporaries had said, you would be very foolish to take Ginsburg’s word over theirs.

[presently no screen name]

Exactly and well said. So much for ‘history’ in the hands of evil.

[marshmallow]

This is like looking to the writings of Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg for authoritative statements on the personal life of George Washington. She is so far removed from any personal knowledge of the facts that were she to write anything that contradicts what Washington’s contemporaries had said, you would be very foolish to take Ginsburg’s word over theirs.

I think you've got it backwards.

It's us who are removed from the early Church. It's our modern [American] world which has completely lost the connection.

The Church Fathers are the men who knew the Apostles, in some cases, and in other cases, knew those men who were taught by the Apostles. Irenaeus is a good example, as is Justin Martyr.

This might be hard to believe but we do not know more about Scripture than they did.