Born in the year of our Lord 1982, I originally began my walk with Christ in my youth as a Lutheran of the Missouri Synod. My paradigm shifting introduction to the writings of the early Christians actually happened by happy accident. One of the interests I had in my teen years was in the books which are mentioned in the Scriptures without being contained therein. While perusing the shelves at the used bookstore which my mother worked at, I noticed a volume entitled The Lost Books of the Bible
, and upon skimming the table of contents I noticed Laodiceans and promptly purchased the book. I was disappointed at what was an obviously spurious work pseudonymously attributed to the Apostle Paul, but the purchase would prove to be quite serendipitous as it would be my first reading of Clement of Rome's epistle To the Corinthians , Polycarp's epistle To the Smyrnaeans , Ignatius' epistles to the Romans, Ephesians, etc., and other significantly early patristic texts.
Why hadn't these works and their importance previously been brought to my attention? Thus began my journey to find the historic faith.
I must admit that initially my interests in the early Christians were more academic, essentially reducing them to a list of names, dates, and attributed theological beliefs. That all changed, however, when my searches broadened on the internet and I became aware of the efforts of David Bercot. Reading Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up and listening to brother Bercot's lectures available at the time allowed me to revisit the early Christians with a new eye.
They weren't just names on dusty old pages anymore, but my living brothers in Christ who I quickly came to know and love.
Grace and peace.
