Overview

The fatherhood of God has had a central, if increasingly controversial, place in Christian thinking about God. Yet, although Christians referred to God as Father from the earliest days of the faith, it was not until Athanasius in the 4th century that the idea of God as Father became a topic of sustained analysis. Looking at the genesis of Athanasius' understanding of divine fatherhood against the background of Alexandrian tradition, Dr Widdicombe demonstrates how the concept came to occupy such a prominent place in Christian theology. He argues that there is a continuity in the Alexandrian tradition which runs from Origen to Athanasius, and shows how, in the detail of their language and in the structure of their arguments, the 3rd- and 4th-century Alexandrians, Arius excepted, drew on Origen's portrayal of God as Father. For Origen, the fatherhood of God lay at the heart of the Christian faith: to know God fully and thus to be saved is to know God as Father. For Athanasius, the fatherhood of God was integral to the defence of the divinity of the Son against the Arian challenge. Fatherhood identified God as the loving and fruitful source of all things, and as the one who has sought to meet us in his Son Jesus Christ. The book makes a significant contribution to understanding the place of the Arian controversy in the development of early-Christian doctrine by showing that on this fundamental topic, Arius lies outside the mainstream of Alexandrian thought. Whilst for Arius it was logically possible to refer to God without calling him Father, this was not possible for either Origen or Athanasius. In the context of modern debates about describing God as Father, this examination of early-Christian thinking should help people to consider whether it is desirable or possible to call God Father if an intelligible doctrine of God is to be maintained.

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9780198267515

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YA very readable work....Widdicombe's thoroughness gives the book a synthetic dimension that some other treatments of Origen and Athanasius lack: the reader has a clear sense of both Origen's and Athansius' theologies of God over-all, and how the specific doctrine of the fatherhood of God figures in each of those theologies....YA work of first-class scholarship. --Theological Studies The author must be thanked for his clarity of style and his determination not to wear his learning heavily'....The work is well crafted, accurate and useful at the right level of study. --Regent's Review A technical but eminently lucid investigation....This book should be required reading for those who seek to dismiss traditional Christian language about God as Father and Son without first understanding what its classic formulations meant to those who articulated them. --Religious Studies Review I would highly recommend this book. --Pro Ecclesia Subtly, this is a very good book. It is a good book because of its clear, sure-handed scholarship. --Church History [A] very readable work....Widdicombe's thoroughness gives the book a synthetic dimension that some other treatments of Origen and Athanasius lack: the reader has a clear sense of both Origen's and Athansius' theologies of God over-all, and how the specific doctrine of the fatherhood of God figures in each of those theologies....[A] work of first-class scholarship. --Theological Studies The author must be thanked for his clarity of style and his determination not to wear his learning heavily'....The work is well crafted, accurate and useful at the right level of study. --Regent's Review A technical but eminently lucid investigation....This book should be required reading for those who seek to dismiss traditional Christian language about God as Father and Son without first understanding what its classic formulations meant to those who articulated them. --Religious Studies Review I would highly recommend this book. --Pro Ecclesia Subtly, this is a very good book. It is a good book because of its clear, sure-handed scholarship. --Church History [A] very readable work....Widdicombe's thoroughness gives the book a synthetic dimension that some other treatments of Origen and Athanasius lack: the reader has a clear sense of both Origen's and Athansius' theologies of God over-all, and how the specific doctrine of the fatherhood of God figures in each of those theologies....[A] work of first-class scholarship. --Theological Studies The author must be thanked for his clarity of style and his determination not to wear his learning heavily'....The work is well crafted, accurate and useful at the right level of study. --Regent's Review A technical but eminently lucid investigation....This book should be required reading for those who seek to dismiss traditional Christian language about God as Father and Son without first understanding what its classic formulations meant to those who articulated them. --Religious Studies Review I would highly recommend this book. --Pro Ecclesia Subtly, this is a very good book. It is a good book because of its clear, sure-handed scholarship. --Church History [A] very readable work....Widdicombe's thoroughness gives the book a synthetic dimension that some other treatments of Origen and Athanasius lack: the reader has a clear sense of both Origen's and Athansius' theologies of God over-all, and how the specific doctrine of the fatherhood of God figures in each of those theologies....[A] work of first-class scholarship. --Theological Studies The author must be thanked for his clarity of style and his determination not to wear his learning heavily'....The work is well crafted, accurate and useful at the right level of study. --Regent's Review A technical but eminently lucid investigation....This book should be required reading for those who seek to dismiss traditional Christian language about God as Father and Son without first understanding what its classic formulations meant to those who articulated them. --Religious Studies Review I would highly recommend this book. --Pro Ecclesia Subtly, this is a very good book. It is a good book because of its clear, sure-handed scholarship. --Church History [A] very readable work....Widdicombe's thoroughness gives the book a synthetic dimension that some other treatments of Origen and Athanasius lack: the reader has a clear sense of both Origen's and Athansius' theologies of God over-all, and how the specific doctrine of the fatherhood of God figures in each of those theologies....[A] work of first-class scholarship. --Theological Studies The author must be thanked for his clarity of style and his determination not to wear his learning heavily'....The work is well crafted, accurate and useful at the right level of study. --Regent's Review A technical but eminently lucid investigation....This book should be required reading for those who seek to dismiss traditional Christian language about God as Father and Son without first understanding what its classic formulations meant to those who articulated them. --Religious Studies Review I would highly recommend this book. --Pro Ecclesia Subtly, this is a very good book. It is a good book because of its clear, sure-handed scholarship. --Church History

<br> [A] very readable work....Widdicombe's thoroughness gives the book a synthetic dimension that some other treatments of Origen and Athanasius lack: the reader has a clear sense of both Origen's and Athansius' theologies of God over-all, and how the specific doctrine of the fatherhood of God figures in each of those theologies....[A] work of first-class scholarship. --Theological Studies<br> The author must be thanked for his clarity of style and his determination not to wear his learning heavily'....The work is well crafted, accurate and useful at the right level of study. --Regent's Review<br> A technical but eminently lucid investigation....This book should be required reading for those who seek to dismiss traditional Christian language about God as Father and Son without first understanding what its classic formulations meant to those who articulated them. --Religious Studies Review<br> I would highly recommend this book. --Pro Ecclesia<br> Subtly, this is a very good book. It i

[A] very readable work....Widdicombe's thoroughness gives the book a synthetic dimension that some other treatments of Origen and Athanasius lack: the reader has a clear sense of both Origen's and Athansius' theologies of God over-all, and how the specific doctrine of the fatherhood of God figures in each of those theologies....[A] work of first-class scholarship. --Theological Studies<br> The author must be thanked for his clarity of style and his determination not to wear his learning heavily'....The work is well crafted, accurate and useful at the right level of study. --Regent's Review<br> A technical but eminently lucid investigation....This book should be required reading for those who seek to dismiss traditional Christian language about God as Father and Son without first understanding what its classic formulations meant to those who articulated them. --Religious Studies Review<br> I would highly recommend this book. --Pro Ecclesia<br> Subtly, this is a very good book. It is a good book because of its clear, sure-handed scholarship. --Church History<br>

[A] very readable work....Widdicombe's thoroughness gives the book a synthetic dimension that some other treatments of Origen and Athanasius lack: the reader has a clear sense of both Origen's and Athansius' theologies of God over-all, and how the specific doctrine of the fatherhood of God figures in each of those theologies....[A] work of first-class scholarship. --Theological Studies The author must be thanked for his clarity of style and his determination not to wear his learning heavily'....The work is well crafted, accurate and useful at the right level of study. --Regent's Review A technical but eminently lucid investigation....This book should be required reading for those who seek to dismiss traditional Christian language about God as Father and Son without first understanding what its classic formulations meant to those who articulated them. --Religious Studies Review I would highly recommend this book. --Pro Ecclesia Subtly, this is a very good book. It is a good book because of its clear, sure-handed scholarship. --Church History [A] very readable work....Widdicombe's thoroughness gives the book a synthetic dimension that some other treatments of Origen and Athanasius lack: the reader has a clear sense of both Origen's and Athansius' theologies of God over-all, and how the specific doctrine of the fatherhood of God figures in each of those theologies....[A] work of first-class scholarship. --Theological Studies The author must be thanked for his clarity of style and his determination not to wear his learning heavily'....The work is well crafted, accurate and useful at the right level of study. --Regent's Review A technical but eminently lucid investigation....This book should be required reading for those who seek to dismiss traditional Christian language about God as Father and Son without first understanding what its classic formulations meant to those who articulated them. --Religious Studies Review I would highly recommend this book. --Pro Ecclesia Subtly, this is a very good book. It is a good book because of its clear, sure-handed scholarship. --Church History [A] very readable work....Widdicombe's thoroughness gives the book a synthetic dimension that some other treatments of Origen and Athanasius lack: the reader has a clear sense of both Origen's and Athansius' theologies of God over-all, and how the specific doctrine of the fatherhood of God figures in each of those theologies....[A] work of first-class scholarship. --Theological Studies The author must be thanked for his clarity of style and his determination not to wear his learning heavily'....The work is well crafted, accurate and useful at the right level of study. --Regent's Review A technical but eminently lucid investigation....This book should be required reading for those who seek to dismiss traditional Christian language about God as Father and Son without first understanding what its classic formulations meant to those who articulated them. --Religious Studies Review I would highly recommend this book. --Pro Ecclesia Subtly, this is a very good book. It is a good book because of its clear, sure-handed scholarship. --Church History [A] very readable work....Widdicombe's thoroughness gives the book a synthetic dimension that some other treatments of Origen and Athanasius lack: the reader has a clear sense of both Origen's and Athansius' theologies of God over-all, and how the specific doctrine of the fatherhood of God figures in each of those theologies....[A] work of first-class scholarship. --Theological Studies The author must be thanked for his clarity of style and his determination not to wear his learning heavily'....The work is well crafted, accurate and useful at the right level of study. --Regent's Review A technical but eminently lucid investigation....This book should be required reading for those who seek to dismiss traditional Christian language about God as Father and Son without first understanding what its classic formulations meant to those who articulated them. --Religious Studies Review I would highly recommend this book. --Pro Ecclesia Subtly, this is a very good book. It is a good book because of its clear, sure-handed scholarship. --Church History A very readable work....Widdicombe's thoroughness gives the book a synthetic dimension that some other treatments of Origen and Athanasius lack: the reader has a clear sense of both Origen's and Athansius' theologies of God over-all, and how the specific doctrine of the fatherhood of God figures in each of those theologies.... A work of first-class scholarship. --Theological Studies The author must be thanked for his clarity of style and his determination not to wear his learning heavily'....The work is well crafted, accurate and useful at the right level of study. --Regent's Review A technical but eminently lucid investigation....This book should be required reading for those who seek to dismiss traditional Christian language about God as Father and Son without first understanding what its classic formulations meant to those who articulated them. --Religious Studies Review I would highly recommend this book. --Pro Ecclesia Subtly, this is a very good book. It is a good book because of its clear, sure-handed scholarship. --Church History

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