Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up: A New Look at Today's Evangelical Church in the Light of Early Christianity [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

All the doctrine I was certain was true was exactly what Bercot says the early Christians disagreed with. And my new Church (the one with the really messed up doctrine) matched straight down the line what Bercot says the early Christians were willing to die for. He has a bold, yet gentle way of telling you you're wrong. Needless to say, my world was quite shaken. I am very sceptical by nature, and I'm eager to study these early Christian writings on my own before I accept Bercot's words.

How can we trust these are acruate? Where can I get a hold of them myself? If you have any info to help me with these questions please help me out. If Bercot is right them my whole family has been believeing and teaching lies for generations. I want to know the truth. What GOD'S doctine would be. Not only so I can better please God, but so I can help my friends and family do the same.

Those reviews that express concern over the authority that Bercot vests in the Fathers are misrepresenting the author's thesis. Bercot addresses these concerns in chapters 11-18. In the opening of chapter 11, titled "Who Better Understands The Apostles?", he states the following:

"We evangelical Christians today generally think that we are following apostolic Christianity. The early Christians thought they were too. Yet, as we've seen, our beliefs and practices very considerably from theirs. So how can we know which one of us is more closely following the pattern set by the apostles? A tempting, but simplistic solution is to say, "Let's simply compare their beliefs and ours to what the Bible teaches." The problem is that the early Christians based their beliefs on the Bible - the same as we do. They quoted scriptures to support their beliefs, the same as we do. The real issue is one of Bible interpretation. The most we can do is to compare their interpretations of Scripture with our interpretations of Scripture. And that in itself doesn't prove very much. So the question becomes: Whose interpretation is more likely to be correct - ours or theirs?"

Bercot then spends the next 8 chapters addressing this issue and its assoicated ramifications relative to modern Biblical interpreters. Included are excellent discussions of the Reformation, Martin Luther, Sola Scriptura (a 'myth' from the start), and issues related to the indefectibility of the Church (see Matthew 16:18-20). These chapters dispel the nonsense that the Early Church Fathers represent a departure from the 'true' gospel. This theory represents the post-Reformation paradigm and prejudice that dominates much of Evangelical theology.

This book opened the door for my own transition from 22 years of Protestant Evangelical affiliation with Calvary Chapel (strong Scripture orientation) to my embrace of the Roman Catholic Church as the visible Church that Christ so faithfully promised He would build.

History has always embodied the unfolding of God's redemptive plan since the fall of man. God is in charge, and His plans are being executed. The Church, the Bride of Christ, represents the wonderful work of Christ Himself (see reference from Matthew above). So, history cannot be ignored. It has always been important in manifesting God's workings. And as Cardinal John Henry Newman (a convert to Catholicism himself) said:

"History is not a creed or a catechism, it gives lessons rather than rules; still no one can mistake its general teaching in this matter, whether he accept it or stumble at it. Bold outlines and broad masses of color rise out of the records of the past. They may be dim, they may be incomplete; but they are definite. And this one thing at least is certain; whatever history teaches, whatever it omits, whatever it exaggerate's or extenuates, whatever it says and unsays, at least the Christianity of history is not Protestantism. If ever there were a safe truth, it is this." (Newman's, "An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine")

Read Bercot's book to enhance your journey of discovering what the apostles actually taught. As the title indicates, you may find your own theological paradigms lacking in solid Scriptural and historical support. But true disciples of Christ will pursue the Truth at all costs, knowing that the Truth will set them free.