Through the Church Fathers

Through the Church Fathers

di C. Michael Patton

Storia Cristianità

Stagione 2

Through the Church Fathers: August 8

Tertullian confronts the danger of a god who never judges, arguing that a god without justice ultimately destroys morality, discipline, and even the meaning of salvation itself. Augustine then turns inward, reflecting on why every human being longs for happiness and joy, recognizing that all people pursue the same end even while seeking it in radically different ways. Finally, Aquinas examines how justice must function publicly through lawful judgment, proper accusation, and sufficient evidence, insisting that truth and order must remain together if society is to avoid tyranny and corruption. Together, these readings explore judgment, happiness, conscience, justice, and the human longing for what is truly good. Today’s Readings: Tertullian — Against Marcion Book 1, Chapters 27–28 Augustine — The Confessions Book 10, Chapter 21 (Section 31) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica Part 2–2, Questions 67–68 Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #Tertullian #Augustine #ThomasAquinas #ChurchFathers #Confessions #SummaTheologica #AgainstMarcion #ChristianTheology #ChurchHistory #ThroughTheChurchFathers

Through the Church Fathers: August 7

Today’s readings move through memory, divine justice, and the right use of earthly things. Tertullian argues that God cannot be reduced to mere passive goodness stripped of judgment, emotion, and justice. A god who forbids evil yet never punishes it, he says, would ultimately permit the very evil he claims to oppose. Augustine then reflects on the mystery of happiness and memory, asking how we can long so deeply for the happy life unless we somehow already know it within ourselves. Aquinas concludes by examining bodily harm, theft, and property, teaching that created goods exist for the preservation of life and the common good, while also warning that violence, greed, and injustice corrupt both persons and society. Together, these readings ask whether goodness can truly exist apart from truth, justice, and rightly ordered love. Today’s Readings: Tertullian — The Five Books Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapters 25–26 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 21 (Section 30) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 65–66 Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ThroughTheChurchFathers #Tertullian #Augustine #ThomasAquinas #AgainstMarcion #Confessions #SummaTheologica #ChurchHistory #ChristianTheology

Through the Church FathersL: August 6

Today’s readings explore what it means for God’s goodness and human justice to be truly complete. Tertullian continues his assault on Marcion’s theology by arguing that a god who saves only a few—and even then saves only their souls while abandoning the body—cannot be called perfectly good. Augustine then reflects on the strange experience of remembering what we had forgotten, showing how memory searches within itself until the lost thing is recognized again. Aquinas turns to justice and the sanctity of human life, warning against favoritism that corrupts judgment and explaining the moral seriousness of murder, self-defense, and the lawful protection of society. Together, these readings ask whether goodness, memory, and justice can ever remain partial without becoming distorted. Today’s Readings: Tertullian — The Five Books Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapter 24 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 19 (Section 28) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 63–64 Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ThroughTheChurchFathers #Tertullian #Augustine #ThomasAquinas #AgainstMarcion #Confessions #SummaTheologica #ChurchHistory #ChristianTheology

Through the Church Fathers: August 5

Today’s readings explore memory, goodness, and justice from three different angles, yet all arrive at the same question: what does it mean for something to be truly right? Augustine reflects on how lost things can only be found if they remain somehow preserved within memory, leading him to marvel at the mysterious depths of the human mind and its longing for God. Aquinas then turns to justice in human relationships, warning against favoritism that bends judgment away from what is due and insisting that true repentance requires restitution wherever harm has been done. Together, these readings remind us that both truth and goodness demand order: memory must preserve what is lost, judgment must remain impartial, and justice must restore what has been wrongly taken. Today’s Readings: Tertullian — The Five Books Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapter 23 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 18 (Section 27) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 61–62 Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ThroughTheChurchFathers #Tertullian #Augustine #ThomasAquinas #AgainstMarcion #Confessions #SummaTheologica #ChurchHistory #ChristianTheology

Through the Church Fathers: August 4

You’re right — that podcast should have used Tertullian, not Augustine 17–20 as the main reading. Here’s the corrected version based on the right three readings. Today’s readings press into the nature of God, the mystery of memory, and the demands of justice. Tertullian challenges Marcion’s idea of a supposedly “better” god by arguing that true divine goodness cannot appear late, selectively, or passively; if God is good by nature, His goodness must be eternal, active, and ready from the beginning. Augustine then turns inward, marveling at the vast caverns of memory and asking how he can seek God beyond memory while still needing memory to seek Him at all. Aquinas brings the moral question down to earth, showing that injustice deprives another of what is due, while righteous judgment must be governed by truth, authority, charity, and rightly ordered law. Today’s Readings: Tertullian — The Five Books Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapter 22 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 17 (Section 26) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 59–60 Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ThroughTheChurchFathers #Tertullian #Augustine #ThomasAquinas #AgainstMarcion #Confessions #SummaTheologica #ChurchHistory #ChristianTheology

Through the Church Fathers: August 3

Prudence teaches us how to think rightly before we act, but Aquinas reminds us that wisdom alone is not enough unless it leads to justice. In today’s readings, we move from the dangers of rashness, negligence, and false prudence into the deeper question of what we owe to others and what it means to render to each person his due. Tertullian fiercely argues against Marcion’s attempt to divide the God of the Old Testament from the God revealed in Christ, insisting that the apostles preached one Creator and one unfolding covenantal purpose. Augustine then turns inward, wrestling with the strange mystery of memory itself—especially how we can somehow remember forgetfulness. Together these readings move from practical reasoning, to doctrinal fidelity, to the terrifying and beautiful depths of the human mind before God. Today’s Readings: Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 53–58 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 16 (Sections 24–25) Tertullian — Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapters 20–22 Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Aquinas #Augustine #Tertullian #ChristianTheology #Patristics #ChurchHistory #SummaTheologica #Confessions #AgainstMarcion #ThroughTheChurchFathers

Through the Church Fathers: August 2

Today’s readings examine false revelation, remembered emotion, and the counterfeit forms of prudence. Tertullian continues Against Marcion by arguing that Marcion’s god lacks both the witness of creation and a worthy revelation, and that Christ could not have revealed a god who only appeared in Marcion’s teaching more than a century later. Augustine then explores how memory can hold joy, sorrow, fear, and desire without forcing the soul to relive them, showing again how strange and powerful memory is within the mind. Aquinas closes by treating the vices opposed to prudence: imprudence rushes or judges poorly, negligence fails to attend to the good that should be done, and false prudence uses cleverness for disordered ends. Together, these readings remind us that truth must have a worthy witness, memory can preserve even the affections of the soul, and wisdom must not be confused with mere cleverness. Today’s Readings: Tertullian — Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapters 18–19 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 14 (Sections 21–22) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 53–55 (Imprudence, Negligence, and False Prudence Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Tertullian #Augustine #Aquinas #Marcion #Memory #Prudence #Theology #ThroughTheChurchFathers

Through the Church Fathers: August 1

Today’s readings move from false systems to memory and wise counsel. Tertullian continues Against Marcion by pressing the absurdity of Marcion’s divided theology: if Marcion gives his higher god a separate world, space, matter, and Christ, then his supposed two-god system begins multiplying gods without realizing it; and if he claims only the invisible things for his god, Tertullian answers that the visible and invisible belong together under the one Creator. Augustine then reflects on memory’s power to remember not only truths and falsehoods, but even the act of remembering itself. Aquinas closes by showing that prudence requires counsel, judgment, and command, and that the gift of counsel makes the soul teachable under the guidance of the Holy Spirit when human judgment is limited or uncertain. Together, these readings remind us that bad theology eventually collapses under its own contradictions, the human mind is wonderfully complex, and wise action requires both careful reasoning and dependence on God. Today’s Readings: Tertullian — Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapters 15–17 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 13 (Section 20) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 51–52 (Counsel, Judgment, Command, and the Gift of Counsel Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Tertullian #Augustine #Aquinas #Marcion #Memory #Prudence #Counsel #Theology #ThroughTheChurchFathers

Through the Church Fathers: July 31

Today’s readings move from creation’s witness to the mind’s grasp of truth and the virtue needed for wise action. Tertullian continues Against Marcion by defending creation as a worthy testimony to the Creator, arguing that even the smallest creatures and ordinary elements of the world expose the inconsistency of those who despise creation while still depending on it. Augustine then reflects on mathematical truths, showing that numbers and dimensions are not received through bodily senses like colors, sounds, or smells, but are perceived inwardly by the mind itself. Aquinas closes by treating prudence as right reason applied to action, the virtue that guides courage, mercy, correction, generosity, and every moral act toward the right end, in the right way, and at the right time. Together, these readings remind us that creation bears witness to God, the mind reaches truths beyond the senses, and the Christian life requires not only good desires, but wise judgment. Today’s Readings: Tertullian — Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapters 13–14 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 12 (Section 19) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 47–48 (Prudence and Its Parts Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Tertullian #Augustine #Aquinas #Marcion #Creation #Memory #Prudence #Theology #ThroughTheChurchFathers

Through the Church Fathers: July 30

Today’s readings press us toward evidence, attention, and wise action. Tertullian continues Against Marcion by arguing that a god with nothing to show for himself is no god at all; the Creator is known through His works, while Marcion’s supposed higher god has no creation, no witness, and no worthy ground for faith. Augustine then reflects on learning as a gathering of the mind, showing that thought is not merely receiving images through the senses, but collecting, ordering, and bringing forward truths already held within the memory. Aquinas closes by beginning the section on prudence, teaching that virtue needs more than good desire: it needs right reason applied to action, so that courage, mercy, correction, and generosity are carried out in the right way, at the right time, and for the right end. Together, these readings remind us that the true God is not without witness, the mind must be trained to gather truth carefully, and the good life requires wisdom in action. Today’s Readings: Tertullian — Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapters 11–12 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 11 (Section 18) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 47–48 (Prudence and Its Parts Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Tertullian #Augustine #Aquinas #Marcion #Memory #Prudence #Theology #ThroughTheChurchFathers

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