Through the Church Fathers: June ...
Through the Church Fathers: June 6

Through the Church Fathers by C. Michael Patton

Episode notes

Truth is not built on guesswork, the soul is not divided into multiple beings, and sorrow is not morally neutral—it all comes down to what is real and what we love. Today’s reading from presses that clarity from three directions. Theophilus argues that Christian truth stands on fulfilled history and divine revelation, not speculation—exposing the uncertainty of pagan philosophy and grounding faith in what has actually happened (Isaiah 46:9–10). Augustine then dismantles the idea that our inner conflict comes from two different natures; instead, it is one soul torn between competing desires, pulled between eternal truth and temporal habit (Galatians 5:17). Aquinas completes the picture by showing that sorrow itself is not simply good or evil—it reveals the order of our loves, becoming good when directed toward what truly matters and destructive wh ... 

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Keywords
Apostolic FathersThomas AquinasSumma TheologicaThrough the Church Fathers in a YearAugustineC Michael PattonCredo HouseTheologyChurch HistoryTheophilus of Antioch