Through the Church Fathers

C. Michael Patton
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Daily

Join Through the Church Fathers, a year-long journey into the writings of the early Church Fathers, thoughtfully curated by C. Michael Patton. Each episode features daily readings from key figures like Clement, Augustine, and Aquinas, accompanied by insightful commentary to help you engage with the foundational truths of the Christian faith. Join Our Community: Read along and engage with others on this journey through the Church Fathers. Visit our website. Support the Podcast: Help sustain this work and gain access to exclusive content by supporting C. Michael Patton on Patreon at patreon.com/cmichaelpatton. Dive Deeper into Theology: Explore high-quality courses taught by the world’s greatest scholars at Credo Courses. Visit credocourses.com. Let’s journey through the wisdom of the Church Fathers together—daily inspiration to deepen your faith and understanding of the Christian tradition.

  1. 8h ago

    Through the Church Fathers: July 31

    Today’s readings move from creation’s witness to the mind’s grasp of truth and the virtue needed for wise action. Tertullian continues Against Marcion by defending creation as a worthy testimony to the Creator, arguing that even the smallest creatures and ordinary elements of the world expose the inconsistency of those who despise creation while still depending on it. Augustine then reflects on mathematical truths, showing that numbers and dimensions are not received through bodily senses like colors, sounds, or smells, but are perceived inwardly by the mind itself. Aquinas closes by treating prudence as right reason applied to action, the virtue that guides courage, mercy, correction, generosity, and every moral act toward the right end, in the right way, and at the right time. Together, these readings remind us that creation bears witness to God, the mind reaches truths beyond the senses, and the Christian life requires not only good desires, but wise judgment. Today’s Readings: Tertullian — Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapters 13–14 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 12 (Section 19) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 47–48 (Prudence and Its Parts Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Tertullian #Augustine #Aquinas #Marcion #Creation #Memory #Prudence #Theology #ThroughTheChurchFathers

    Through the Church Fathers: July 31

  2. 2d ago

    Through the Church Fathers: July 30

    Today’s readings press us toward evidence, attention, and wise action. Tertullian continues Against Marcion by arguing that a god with nothing to show for himself is no god at all; the Creator is known through His works, while Marcion’s supposed higher god has no creation, no witness, and no worthy ground for faith. Augustine then reflects on learning as a gathering of the mind, showing that thought is not merely receiving images through the senses, but collecting, ordering, and bringing forward truths already held within the memory. Aquinas closes by beginning the section on prudence, teaching that virtue needs more than good desire: it needs right reason applied to action, so that courage, mercy, correction, and generosity are carried out in the right way, at the right time, and for the right end. Together, these readings remind us that the true God is not without witness, the mind must be trained to gather truth carefully, and the good life requires wisdom in action. Today’s Readings: Tertullian — Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapters 11–12 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 11 (Section 18) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 47–48 (Prudence and Its Parts Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Tertullian #Augustine #Aquinas #Marcion #Memory #Prudence #Theology #ThroughTheChurchFathers

    Through the Church Fathers: July 30

  3. 2d ago

    Through the Church Fathers: July 29

    Today’s readings move from the certainty of God to the hidden depths of the mind and the spiritual taste of wisdom. Tertullian continues Against Marcion by challenging the idea of a newly revealed and formerly unknown god, arguing that the true God could not have remained unknown, because the Creator has always borne witness to Himself through creation, conscience, and the soul’s natural knowledge of God. Augustine then reflects on truths that do not enter memory through the bodily senses, asking how realities like existence, definition, and quality are recognized by the mind as true when they seem to arise from deeper places within. Aquinas closes by joining wisdom and folly together: wisdom is the Spirit-given taste for divine things that flows from charity, while folly is the dullness that comes when the soul becomes too attached to earthly things. Together, these readings remind us that God is not a late discovery, truth is not merely sensory information, and the soul must be trained to taste what is divine rather than grow dull toward it. Today’s Readings: Tertullian — Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapters 9–10 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 10 (Section 17) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 45–46 (Wisdom and Folly Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Tertullian #Augustine #Aquinas #Marcion #Memory #Wisdom #Theology #ThroughTheChurchFathers

    Through the Church Fathers: July 29

  4. 3d ago

    Through the Church Fathers: July 28

    Today’s readings expose false gods, examine memory, and warn against careless harm to the soul of another. Tertullian continues Against Marcion by arguing that Marcion cannot make his two gods either equal or unequal, because true deity admits no rival, no diminishment, and no novelty; a “new god” is, for Tertullian, already exposed as a false one. Augustine then distinguishes memory of sensible images from the deeper knowledge retained in the mind, showing that learning, reasoning, and the liberal sciences are held not merely as pictures, but as things understood. Aquinas closes by treating scandal as a sin against charity, since love does not place needless stumbling blocks before the spiritually weak, even while truth must never be abandoned merely because the proud take offense. Together, these readings call us to confess the one eternal God, marvel at the hidden powers of the soul, and guard our neighbor’s path with truth and charity. Today’s Readings: Tertullian — Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapters 6–8 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 9 (Section 16) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Question 43 (Articles 1–8 Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Tertullian #Augustine #Aquinas #Marcion #Memory #Charity #Scandal #Theology #ThroughTheChurchFathers

    Through the Church Fathers: July 28

  5. 4d ago

    Through the Church Fathers: July 27

    Today’s readings press into the unity of God, the wonder of memory, and the danger of division. Tertullian continues Against Marcion by arguing that God must be one because God is the supreme Being, and a second supreme would destroy the very meaning of supremacy; for him, Marcion’s two-god system collapses under its own logic. Augustine then marvels at the vast power of memory, that hidden chamber within the soul where mountains, seas, stars, past actions, and inward impressions are present without the eyes seeing them. Aquinas closes by treating schism as a sin against charity, because charity does not merely unite the soul to God but also binds Christians together in the peace and communion of Christ’s body. Together, these readings remind us that Christian truth depends on the one God, that the human soul is deeper than we can measure, and that love must guard the unity it has been given. Today’s Readings: Tertullian — Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapters 3–5 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 8 (Section 15) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Question 39 (Articles 1–4 Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Tertullian #Augustine #Aquinas #Marcion #Memory #Schism #Theology #ThroughTheChurchFathers

    Through the Church Fathers: July 27

  6. 5d ago ·  Bonus

    Introduction to Tertullian, Against Marcion and Against Heretics

    Today we turn from Cyprian to Tertullian, one of the most fiery and forceful polemicists of the early Church. After working through Cyprian’s battles over the lapsed and heretical baptism, we now move into the larger landscape of early Christian heresies, beginning with Marcionism and the question of whether the God of the Old Testament is the same God revealed in Jesus Christ. In this new section, we will read an abridged version of Tertullian’s Against Marcion, Book 1, with selected supplemental passages, along with the whole of Prescription Against Heretics. Together, these works show the Church defending the unity of God, the unity of Scripture, and the apostolic rule of faith against teachings that threatened to cut Christianity loose from creation, Israel, prophecy, and the God of Abraham. Today’s Readings: Introduction — Tertullian, Against Marcion, Book 1, with Selected Supplemental Readings, and Prescription Against Heretics Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Tertullian #Marcion #Marcionism #ChurchHistory #Theology #Heresy #Scripture #ThroughTheChurchFathers

    Introduction to Tertullian, Against Marcion and Against Heretics

  7. 5d ago

    Through the Church Fathers: July 26

    Today’s readings begin Tertullian’s attack on Marcion and continue Augustine’s inward exploration of memory and Aquinas’s treatment of charity’s distortions. Tertullian opens Against Marcion with his characteristic fire, presenting Marcion as a dangerous innovator who divided God in two: the Creator whom he could not deny, and a supposedly higher god whom he could never prove. Augustine then turns to the vast inner chamber of memory, where past actions, places, feelings, future hopes, and imagined possibilities are gathered and recalled within the soul. Aquinas closes by treating envy as a sin opposed to charity, since charity rejoices in the neighbor’s good while envy grieves over it as though another’s blessing were one’s own loss. Together, these readings confront us with the need to guard the truth about God, understand the mystery of the soul, and resist the corruption of love into rivalry. Today’s Readings: Tertullian — Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapters 1–2 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 8 (Section 14) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Question 36 (Articles 1–4 Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Tertullian #Augustine #Aquinas #Marcion #Memory #Charity #Envy #Theology #ThroughTheChurchFathers

    Through the Church Fathers: July 26

  8. 6d ago

    Through the Church Fathers: July 25

    Today’s readings move from the Church’s discipline to the soul’s inner struggle against spiritual weariness. Cyprian continues Epistle 73 by challenging Stephen’s position on heretical baptism, arguing that baptism cannot be separated from the Spirit, the Church, and the truth of Christ; for Cyprian, to recognize baptism outside the Church is to grant heresy what belongs only to Christ’s bride. Augustine then rises beyond the senses and enters the vast chambers of memory, where images, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures are stored and recalled, showing how deeply mysterious the human soul is even to itself. Aquinas closes by treating sloth as sorrow over spiritual good—not mere tiredness, but the heart’s heaviness toward God Himself, where prayer, holiness, and communion begin to feel like burdens instead of joy. Together, these readings call us to guard the truth, examine the soul honestly, and resist the quiet danger of treating God’s good gifts as weight rather than life. Today’s Readings: Cyprian — Epistle 73: To Pompeius, Against the Letter of Stephen Concerning the Baptism of Heretics, Sections 6–9 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 7 (Section 11); Chapter 8 (Sections 12–13) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Question 35 (Articles 1–4 Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Cyprian #Augustine #Aquinas #Theology #ChurchHistory #ChristianDoctrine #Baptism #Charity #ThroughTheChurchFathers

    Through the Church Fathers: July 25
See All (609)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Join Through the Church Fathers, a year-long journey into the writings of the early Church Fathers, thoughtfully curated by C. Michael Patton. Each episode features daily readings from key figures like Clement, Augustine, and Aquinas, accompanied by insightful commentary to help you engage with the foundational truths of the Christian faith. Join Our Community: Read along and engage with others on this journey through the Church Fathers. Visit our website. Support the Podcast: Help sustain this work and gain access to exclusive content by supporting C. Michael Patton on Patreon at patreon.com/cmichaelpatton. Dive Deeper into Theology: Explore high-quality courses taught by the world’s greatest scholars at Credo Courses. Visit credocourses.com. Let’s journey through the wisdom of the Church Fathers together—daily inspiration to deepen your faith and understanding of the Christian tradition.

Information

  • Creator
    C. Michael Patton
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    609
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © C Michael Patton 2024
  • Show Website
    Through the Church Fathers