Broken Lights and Mended Lives

“A set of highly intelligent musings by a theologically-oriented student of early Christian life and thought.” —Journal of American Academy of Religion

“The title explains the theme of the book. The broken lives are the theological systems of three patristic theologians—Irenaeus, Gregory of Nyssa, and Augustine—‘broken lights’ because no human mind, however brilliant, can do more than hint at the divine reality. The 'mended lives’ are those of Christians in the early Church as exhibited in various relationships: in the family; in hospitality; in dealing with pagan culture and society; and in the monastic life, which supplied, in the Latin West, both a haven for refugees after the collapse of the Roman order in the sixth century, and a basis for the reordering of society in the Middle Ages. . . . Both the general reader and the theological student will obtain an outline—limited and controversial, of course, but none the less persuasive and valuable—of the thought of three major patristic theologians, together with an excellent general picture of social relations in the early Christian world, which are both important and also often undeservedly neglected in the formal study of Church history.” —Journal of Ecclesiastical History

“A delight to read. Greer helps us to probe the theological visions of such giants as Iranaeus, Gregory of Nyssa, and Augustine and to see how their teachings have informed the church’s modes of interaction with the family, the society, and the government. His mastery of historical and theological detail illuminates ancient yet perennial issues in Christian experience.” —Interpretation