Why The Church Fathers Weren’t Infallible

Why The Church Fathers Weren’t Infallible

The Church “fathers” or “babies” as Luther called them, quoted the gospels 19,368 times (Rev. H.S. Miller, Biblical Introductions, 1937, pp. 259-260).

On The Canon

Papias not only stated that John the Elder wrote the Book of Revelation (Daniel Theron, Evidence of Tradition, 1958, pgs. 30, 31) but also went on to teach that Revelation should be taken out of the canon of Scripture (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Vol. III, Section 39.

Irenaeus, Jerome and Papias thought that the Gospel of Matthew was written in Hebrew and Peter preached the Gospel in Rome. This makes no sense, for God was moving from one dispensation (Jewish) to another (Gentile), therefore Hebrew would soon become obsolete, and Greek was the tongue of the world (Irenaeus in Theron, Evidence of Tradition, p. 43).

Footnote: there are no ancient Hebrew manuscripts for the New Testament.

Irenaeus quoted the Bible 1,800 times.

Clement doubted Jude, Hebrews and Revelation as being canonical.

(He quoted the New Testament 2,400 times).

Cerinthus rejected all gospels but Matthew

Dionysius didn’t believe Revelation was apostolic in origin (Catholic Encyclopaedia, Vol. V, p. 13).

Eusebius and Origen questioned II and III John as being canonical.

Origen said the Apocrypha was inspired.

(He quotes the New Testament 17,900 times.)

Dionysius of Alexandria rejected II Peter and Jude as canonical (Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. II, p. 161).

John of Damascus thought I and II Clement should have been canonised.

On Apostolic History

Cyprian was responsible for the blunder of Peter being the rock of the Church (Philip Schaff, The History of the Christian Church, Vol. II, p. 161).

He erred by referring to Matthew 16 being Rome (Philip Schaff, Vol. III, p. 302-303).

Origen first taught Peter was crucified upside down (F.F. Bruce, The Spreading Flame, 1955).

Not only did he not believe in a literal Hell or a physical resurrection, but in universal salvation, including Satan (De. Principiis, Book 3, Section 3,5, cited by Musurillo, p. 198).

He also didn’t believe the sun was made on the 4th day and mocked Eve for eating literal fruit from the tree, calling it “childish.” (Origen, De. Principiis, Book IV, Chapter I, Section 16).

Origen and Clement believed in purgatory and baptismal regeneration (Schaff, Vol. III, p. 601).

And he believed the Apocrypha was inspired.

Clement of Alexandria believed Plato, Socrates and Aristotle’s writings were inspired by God.

Would also say how God gave Astrology and the ancient Greeks their pagan and agnostic philosophy.

Jerome and others later rejected many of Origen’s teachings as heretical (Schaff, Vol. III, pp. 698-705).

Irenaeus and Justin Martyr believed in a final annihilation of the dead as Russell and Rutherford did.

Irenaeus, Barnabus, Hermas, Ignatius, Polycarp and Justin Martyr were all premillennial in their eschatology (Leyroy Froom, Prophetic Faith of our Fathers, 1948, Vol. 1, pp. 212, 370, 478).