Why Patristics?

The concept of a Great Books school perhaps doesn't need too much explanation. After all, there have been many succesful schools that take that approach to education. But why have such a school where a substantial proportion of the books are the writings of the Fathers of the Church? Why read those guys?

Let me describe the problem that such a question poses, via a quote from Chesterton:

It is very hard for a man to defend anything of which he is entirely convinced. It is comparatively easy when he is only partially convinced. He is partially convinced because he has found this or that proof of the thing, and he can expound it. But a man is not really convinced of a philosophic theory when he finds that something proves it. He is only really convinced when he finds that everything proves it. And the more converging reasons he finds pointing to this conviction, the more bewildered he is if asked suddenly to sum them up. Thus, if one asked an ordinary intelligent man, on the spur of the moment, "Why do you prefer civilization to savagery?" he would look wildly round at object after object, and would only be able to answer vaguely, "Why, there is that bookcase . . . and the coals in the coal-scuttle . . . and pianos . . . and policemen." The whole case for civilization is that the case for it is complex. It has done so many things. But that very multiplicity of proof which ought to make reply overwhelming makes reply impossible. There is, therefore, about all complete conviction a kind of huge helplessness.

I am so convinced of the value of reading the Fathers of the Church that trying to come up with an argument to that effect is like the man trying to make an argument for civilization. My reaction is somewhat more like this: ``Why not study patristics?'' But let me try to come up with one reason.

The Church in the modern age is confronted with a culture that is inimical to it. Not only is the world not Christian, it is actively, virulently anti-Christian. That which is sinful is considered virtue. It looks hopeless, doesn't it? How could the Church transform such a culture?

Well, the time I describe is not the present age, but the age in which the Fathers lived and wrote. The Roman Empire was a civilization fundamentally at odds with Christian revelation. For evidence, I give you the words of Justin Martyr, who was a man born into the pagan Roman culture.

But as for us, we have been taught that to expose newly-born children is the part of wicked men; and this we have been taught lest we should do any one an injury, and lest we should sin against God, first, because we see that almost all so exposed (not only the girls, but also the males) are brought up to prostitution. And as the ancients are said to have reared herds of oxen, or goats, or sheep, or grazing horses, so now we see you rear children only for this shameful use; and for this pollution a multitude of females and hermaphrodites, and those who commit unmentionable iniquities, are found in every nation. And you receive the hire of these, and duty and taxes from them, whom you ought to exterminate from your realm. And any one who uses such persons, besides the godless and infamous and impure intercourse, may possibly be having intercourse with his own child, or relative, or brother. And there are some who prostitute even their own children and wives, and some are openly mutilated for the purpose of sodomy; and they refer these mysteries to the mother of the gods, and along with each of those whom you esteem gods there is painted a serpent, a great symbol and mystery. Indeed, the things which you do openly and with applause, as if the divine light were overturned and extinguished, these you lay to our charge; which, in truth, does no harm to us who shrink from doing any such things, but only to those who do them and bear false witness against us.

The Roman Empire was a bad, bad place, where unwanted children were cruelly exploited for the pleasure of others. Any sort of Christian transformation of this culture seemed an impossible dream. And yet, within the span of three centuries Christianity went from being cruelly persecuted to the official religion of the empire. Such practices as Justin describes were, in large part, ended. The good guys won! We call those good guys the Fathers of the Church.

We live in a world that is similar in many ways to the Roman Empire. We don't sell our children into prostitution, at least not explicitly, although our society is hypersexualized, and many are likely to end up exploited in some way or other. We kill many of our unwanted children through abortion, and in fact create children for the express purpose of exploitation in in vitro fertilization and embryonic stem cell research. These practices are so common that opposition to them is characterized as extreme. Any sort of Christian transformation of this culture seems an impossible dream.

Could it happen? We know it can happen, since it already did. One can deduce possibility from actuality. The Fathers triumphed. It took centuries and the blood of many martyrs, but it happened. It seems that it would be a good thing to do to study how they did it. How did they present the Christian gospel to a world that seemed immune to it? What modes of discourse did they use? How did they act? How did the bishops govern? How did the people live?

We are in the same situation that they were in. Such study cannot fail to be profitable to us. Thus, we propose a Byzantine Catholic Great Books school where patristics is an integral part of the curriculum.