Catholic Church Fathers: Patristic and Scholarly Proofs
“The historical case for Catholicism becomes stronger as the accumulation of patristic evidence piles up.” That’s Dave Armstrong’s thesis, defended across 284 pages of verbatim citation from the Church Fathers themselves — and from the Protestant scholars who, often quietly, have arrived at the same conclusions.
Seven doctrinal areas, each grounded in the Fathers’ own words: the Bible, Church, Tradition, and Apostolic Succession (the longest section, over 100 pages); justification and salvation; the Eucharist and the Sacrifice of the Mass; Purgatory and prayers for the dead; the communion and intercession of the saints; the Blessed Virgin Mary; and the Primacy and jurisdiction of the See of Rome. With a chronological list of every Father cited.
The subtitle does the lifting: patristic and scholarly proofs. Armstrong isn’t relying on Catholic readings of the Fathers — he’s documenting where Protestant historians have themselves concluded the same. Includes a notable essay arguing St. Athanasius — the proto-Protestant hero of Reformation polemics — was a Catholic right down to his rule of faith.
Inside this book
- The Bible, Tradition, Church, and Apostolic Succession in the Fathers — the longest section, over 100 pages
- Justification and salvation; the Eucharist and the Sacrifice of the Mass
- Purgatory, prayers for the dead, and the invocation of the saints
- Mary, the Papacy, and the Primacy of the Roman See
- A notable case study: St. Athanasius as a Catholic, not a proto-Protestant