It is a sad fact today that so few people know of the early church fathers – influential theologians who helped establish important doctrines like the Trinity. One of the most important church fathers is Athanasius. While others were bowing to political pressure from Emperors, Athanasius stood for the truth of Christian orthodoxy. He understood that to abandon essential doctrines of the faith was to abandon biblical Christianity and to lead people away from Jesus. He was prepared suffer exile after exile to uphold the truth. In today’s world where again so many seem opposed to biblical Christianity we can learn a lot from the example of Athanasius. Peter Barnes’ book on Athanasius is a short, well researched account of his life. It introduces the world in which Athanasius lived and some of the challenges he faced. The book relies heavily on other sources and at times could be more engaging, but does provide a succinct overview of the life of Athanasius and would be useful to someone beginning to explore early church history.

This book is available from Christian Focus.

Stephen Allison, Kiltarlity Free Church