David Brattston

By examining the bible, the ante-Nicene fathers, and the essence of Christianity itself, this article affirms thevalue of long-term or full time Christian scholarship. It dispels doubts about the place of extended teaching, writing, and study in Christianity as a relgion which stresses direct, tangible assistance to the unfortunate.

Relying on ante-Nicene sources, this article demonstrates that (1) the average early Christian was no more dedicated or loving than today, and (2) even in the earliest centuries church writers longed for a bygone hypothetical age of greater faithfulness among believers. The author cautions against basing reforms on the idealized past.