David W. Bercot - A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs

Suppose a reader wants to know what the early Christians believed about the fall of man. Under the entry Fall of Man, a number of early Christian texts are cited. Note, though, that selected Scriptures precede the early Christian quotations. The intent is not to include every biblical passage concerning the fall of man. Rather, these are some of the key texts used by the early church.

Following the Scripture passages are quotations from early Christians, listed in approximately chronological order:

The human race... from Adam had fallen under the power of death and the guile of the serpent. Each one had committed personal transgression. Justin Martyr (c. 160, E), 1.243.

The citation identifies the source as Justin Martyr. His name is followed by (c. 160, E). The parenthetical information indicates that Justin wrote around the year A.D. 160; the E verifies that he was an Eastern writer. This affords brief information about the writer, but more information is required to place his statement in a proper perspective. A section entitled Whos Who in the Early Church following this introductory chapter furnishes the added information.

Justin Martyr (JS-tn MRT-r) c. 100165. Philosopher who converted to Christianity and became a tireless evangelist and apologist. Justin wrote more concerning Christianity than any other person prior to his time. He is classified herein as eastern, since he was a native of Samaria and his thought patterns were eastern. However, he spent the last years of his life in Rome, where he was executed as a martyr (c. 165). See JUSTIN MARTYR herein.

The closing statement, See JUSTIN MARTYR herein, indicates that the main section contains an entry under Justin Martyr. That entry contains quotations from other early Christians concerning Justin Martyr.

For a fuller understanding of Justin Martyrs remarks concerning the topic the fall of man, the quotation can be consulted in its full context in the Ante-Nicene Fathers. (In fact, one of the primary purposes of this dictionary is to serve as an index to the Ante-Nicene Fathers.) The citation ends with the reference, 1.243, which refers to volume one, page 243 in the Ante-Nicene Fathers. In Ante-Nicene Fathers 1.243, the source of the quotation is identified as Justins Dialogue with Trypho, a Jew. The preface to Dialogue with Trypho, a Jew explains that it is an apologetic work written to the Jews. This procedure can be followed with each citation within a given entry.

A careful reader will discover that the Dictionarys translation does not exactly match that in the Ante-Nicene Fathers. That is because I rendered the citations into contemporary English. I endeavored, however, not to alter the meaning. My basic procedures in making these adaptations were as follows: (1) I have replaced archaic and academic words with contemporary, common words. (2) I have broken down long sentences into two or more smaller sentences. In doing so, I sometimes reused certain nouns and verbs to make complete sentences. (3) When appropriate, I have rearranged sentence structures to follow a contemporary English pattern. (4) Where the antecedent of a pronoun lies outside the passage being quoted, I have supplied it. For example, in the course of discussing the heretical teachings of Marcion, a writer may begin a sentence: He also teaches.... In such an instance, I would render the quotation, Marcion also teaches.... (5) Some early Christian writers used the editorial we when speaking about themselves. When it is clear that the writer is speaking only for himself, I have rendered his plural pronouns in the singular.