Ancient and Modern

About this book

What can we learn from an ancient church for a modern world? Christianity in the western world is facing its most significant challenges since the early Christians confronted a hostile Roman empire. Yet during that early period of struggle and uncertainty, the church expanded rapidly and formed the most characteristic aspects of its ongoing identity. The canon of the scripture, the sacraments, and the creeds all came to be in a church yet to manifest the now familiar divisions between East and West, Catholic and Protestant. The character of Anglicanism in particular has been shaped by attention to those early centuries. In these essays and sermons, Australian Anglican priest and scholar Andrew McGowan explores the most pressing challenges of the contemporary world and the church, drawing on the resources of ancient Christianity. With biblical and patristic resources to hand, he demonstrates in fresh ways how ancient authors such as Augustine and Athanasius, and, of course, the Bible itself, speak to contemporary questions and needs. The subjects range from the environment to restorative justice, and from racism to higher education ; while the contemporary meaning and practice of ancient Christian creeds and sacraments, and the Bible itself, are also explored.