This is Book four in The Swans are not Silent series. This book contains mini-biographies of 3 of our early church fathers. These 3 are Athanasius, John Owen, and J. Gresham Machen. All of these defended Truth and treasured Christ in their lives.
Athanasius devoted his life to defending the deity of Christ. The great enemy was the Arian heresy. Arianism stated that if Christ was truly the Son of God then He had to have a beginning. Therefore there was a time when Christ did not exist. This controversy divided the Roman Empire under Constantine. Constantine called the Council at Nicea. What came out of this council is what today is known as the Nicene Creed. This creed settled the issue by stating that Christ was one being with the Father. Athanasius lived from 298-373 A.D.
John Owen’s focus was battling Christ belittling errors of the mind and heart. John Owen believed that the deeper you grew in your understanding of Christ the deeper your fellowship with Him. Owen was born in 1616 in England and died in 1683. He was a contemporary of John Bunyan who wrote the “Pilgrims Progress”. Owen’s all encompassing aim was: Holiness – his own and others. He wrote a book titled “Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers”. The cost of public faithfulness for the cause of Christ was criticism. Owen grew in knowledge by obeying what he knew and passionately pursued a personal relationship with God.
J. Gresham Machen lived from 1881-Jan. 1, 1937. Machen spent his life standing for the Truth of the Gospel against the forces of liberalism, which, according to Piper, he saw as another religion. Machen also emphasize that the facts of history are relevant to our times.
I really enjoyed this little book. It makes you aware of the people and thoughts that have shaped Christianity in our day.