Through the Church Fathers – Details, episodes & analysis

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Through the Church Fathers

C. Michael Patton

Religion & Spirituality

History

Frequency: 1 episode/3d. Total Eps: 174

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.

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🇫🇷 France - Christianity
14/06/2025
#95

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https://www.credocourses.com
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https://www.credoministries.org
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https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com
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https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton
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http://patreon.com/cmichaelpatton
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https://patreon.com/cmichaelpatton
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https://www.youtube.com/@credohouse
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Score global : 68%

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Through the Church Fathers: June 13

Season 1 · Episode 173

Friday, June 13, 2025 • Duration 09:29

Truth and deception collide in today’s readings. Irenaeus lays out the rule of faith—a single Creator God who made all things—and then contrasts this with the blasphemous teachings of Simon Magus and his successors, who used magic, idols, and false myths to enslave minds. Augustine reflects on how nothing lost can be found unless it’s remembered—reminding us that memory is the thread connecting our past to the present moment of recognition. Aquinas tackles whether the will is superior to the intellect, concluding that while the will is more active, the intellect reigns supreme in dignity because it is drawn to the highest good: divine truth (John 1:3; Acts 8:9–24; Luke 15:8).

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

#Irenaeus #SimonMagus #Confessions #SummaTheologica #FalseTeachers #Memory #IntellectAndWill #ChurchFathers #HistoricalTheology

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Through the Church Fathers: June 12

Season 1 · Episode 172

Thursday, June 12, 2025 • Duration 11:04

Today’s readings explore the competing currents of divine power, human desire, and spiritual memory. Irenaeus exposes the strange, scattered rituals and myths of the heretics, whose “redemption” is more magical confusion than true salvation. Augustine wrestles with how even beasts possess memory—and yet only man can long to soar past memory into God’s presence. And Aquinas explains how the will, though often shaped by the intellect, can also move the intellect—prompting it to reflect and attend to what the heart desires (Luke 12:50; Psalm 32:9; Romans 8:7).

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

#Irenaeus #Confessions #SummaTheologica #Redemption #SpiritualMemory #WillAndIntellect #ChurchFathers #HistoricalTheology

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Through the Church Fathers: June 11

Season 1 · Episode 171

Wednesday, June 11, 2025 • Duration 09:02

Certainly! Here's the updated podcast description including your three readings—Aquinas, Augustine, and Irenaeus—along with properly formatted hashtags at the end.

Today’s readings explore the mystery of human will, memory, and heresy. Aquinas addresses whether the will necessarily desires whatever it desires, concluding that while the will is drawn necessarily to happiness, it retains freedom in choosing the means. Augustine dives into a paradox: how can he remember forgetfulness itself, when forgetfulness is the absence of memory? He finds himself baffled by the mysteries within his own soul. Irenaeus confronts the Valentinians for claiming Christ revealed a hidden Father unknown to the prophets. He exposes how they twist Scripture and fabricate stories to separate Jesus from the Creator. Together, these readings call us to clarity in will, humility in mind, and faithfulness in doctrine.

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 #ThomasAquinas #Augustine #Irenaeus #EarlyChurch #SystematicTheology #MemoryAndWill #AgainstHeresies #Patristics #TheologyPodcast #MysteryAndMind #BiblicalOrthodoxy

Through the Church Fathers: June 10

Season 1 · Episode 170

Tuesday, June 10, 2025 • Duration 08:46

Today’s journey through the Church Fathers brings us a sobering and hope-filled trio of reflections. Irenaeus exhorts us to examine the reality of demonic influence and the nature of Christ’s victory over the spirits of wickedness, reminding us that demons are not merely allegorical but are real and active—and that Christ truly conquered them. Augustine takes us into the mystery of memory itself, reflecting on how we remember pain, pleasure, and even memory itself. It's a philosophical yet deeply personal meditation on the human soul. Then, Aquinas explores the nature of the will, asking whether we desire by necessity. He helps us think through freedom, nature, and grace in a way that grounds the conversation in both Scripture and reason. Each reading today points us toward the heart of Christian faith: that God sees, knows, remembers, and redeems.

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 #Irenaeus #Augustine #Aquinas #ThroughTheChurchFathers #TheologyPodcast #HistoricalTheology #ChristianPhilosophy #SystematicTheology #MemoryAndWill #Patristics#EarlyChurch#CatholicTradition#BiblicalTruth #SpiritualWarfare #ConfessionsOfAugustine#SummaTheologica#DailyTheology #ChristianFormation#CredoHouse

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Through the Church Fathers: June 9

Season 1 · Episode 159

Monday, June 9, 2025 • Duration 09:21

In today’s episode, we hear three distinct voices wrestling with the human condition. Thomas Aquinas, in Summa Theologica, asks whether sensuality belongs only to the appetitive part of the soul. He explains that while sensuality presupposes sense perception, it properly belongs to the lower appetite—the part that responds to pleasure and pain apart from reason. Meanwhile, Augustine, in Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 14, explores the strange power of memory: how we can recall past emotions without presently feeling them, and how the mind stores joy, sorrow, fear, and desire as experiences to be remembered but not re-suffered. Finally, Irenaeus exposes the mystical numerology of the Marcosian Gnostics. In Against Heresies, Book 1, Chapter 16, he shows how they twist parables and letters into arbitrary systems, turning the Gospel into a cipher and undermining the simplicity of God’s mercy. Together, these readings show the Church's commitment to sober-minded theology, embodied experience, and rejection of speculative fictions.

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

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Through the Church Fathers: June 8

Season 1 · Episode 158

Sunday, June 8, 2025 • Duration 10:31

Today’s readings explore the depth of heretical distortions, the allure of poetic falsehoods, and the nature of the soul’s longing. Irenaeus continues his critique of Valentinian Gnosticism, exposing its mythical layers and tracing how error multiplies once the truth of the Incarnation is abandoned. Augustine, in Confessions, Book 1, Chapter 13, reflects on his youthful love for Latin poetry—mourning for Dido but not for his own soul—and how vanity made him prefer the fables of men over the discipline of truth. Aquinas, in Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 80, Article 1, clarifies that the appetite is a distinct power of the soul: a real movement toward the good, shaped by knowledge but not reducible to it. These three voices challenge us to love what is truly good and to beware the substitutes that charm but destroy.

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

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Through the Church Fathers: June 7

Season 1 · Episode 157

Saturday, June 7, 2025 • Duration 10:04

Today’s episode explores one of the most bizarre and imaginative distortions of Christian theology recorded in early church history. In Against Heresies, Book 1, Chapter 14, Irenaeus recounts the wild teachings of Marcus, a Gnostic heretic who spiritualized the Greek alphabet, invented divine beings made of letters, and claimed secret revelations from a feminine figure he called the “Tetrad.” From a mystical alphabetic “Truth” with a body of letters to claims that Jesus’ name contains hidden numerical power, Marcus’s teachings blend linguistic mysticism, numerology, and occult speculation. Irenaeus exposes it all—not just to ridicule it, but to show how far false teachers would go in their attempts to remake Christianity into a mystery cult. Alongside this, we read Augustine’s reflections on his early education, where he confesses his childish resistance to learning and how God used even forced study for his eventual good. Aquinas rounds out the reading by clarifying the natural moral habit called synderesis, that deep, instinctive knowledge to do good and avoid evil, which cannot be mistaken even when conscience falters.

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

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Through the Church Fathers: June 6

Season 1 · Episode 156

Friday, June 6, 2025 • Duration 10:08

Today’s readings uncover three visions of memory, truth, and deception. Irenaeus of Lyons confronts the tangled myths of Gnostic systems and the seductive manipulations of Marcus the Magician, showing how false teaching can infect even the faithful. Augustine reflects on the mysterious delay of his baptism—why a mother’s piety, a father’s resistance, and divine providence allowed cleansing to wait. And Thomas Aquinas makes a careful distinction between sensitive and intellectual memory, affirming that memory does indeed belong to the soul’s rational part—not through images, but through retained truth. Together, these voices confront the power of false knowledge, the pain of spiritual delay, and the grace of the intellect to remember what is eternal (John 17:3; Proverbs 10:7; Romans 1:21).

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

#Irenaeus #AgainstHeresies #Confessions #Augustine #SummaTheologica #Aquinas #Gnosticism #Baptism #Theology #ChurchFathers #HistoricalTheology

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Through the Church Fathers: June 5

Season 1 · Episode 155

Thursday, June 5, 2025 • Duration 08:42

Today’s journey takes us from Valentinian Gnosticism to the paradox of forgetfulness, and finally to the structure of the human soul. In Against Heresies, Irenaeus steps into the chaotic world of Gnostic speculation and exposes just how inconsistent—and downright absurd—the teachings of Valentinus and his followers had become. From shadowy Aeons to spiritual produce like cucumbers and melons, the satire practically writes itself. Then Augustine, in Confessions 10.16, invites us into the strange world of memory, asking how we can even remember something like forgetfulness—which by definition erases memory. And finally, Aquinas in Summa Theologica, Part I, Question 79, Article 1, answers a foundational question: is the intellect a power of the soul, or something separate? His answer reminds us of what makes human beings capable of grasping the eternal. Three distinct voices—each digging deep into the nature of truth, knowledge, and the soul.

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

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Through the Church Fathers: June 4

Season 1 · Episode 154

Wednesday, June 4, 2025 • Duration 07:55

In today’s episode, we consider three powerful reflections on the nature of authority, memory, and the soul. Irenaeus gives us a sweeping vision of apostolic succession—not as a relic of history, but as a living witness grounded in truth and discernment. Aquinas outlines five distinct kinds of power in the soul, helping us see how our faculties—vegetative, sensitive, appetitive, locomotive, and intellectual—are ordered toward both nature and grace. And Augustine wrestles with the enigma of memory, marveling at how even the image of the sun, or the concept of health, can remain vividly present even when physically absent. Together, these voices remind us that the true Church is marked not just by hands laid on but by what is held in those hands—the Word of God. And they call us to revere the gifts of the soul, to guard the mind, and to seek the light that no shadow can erase.

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

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Through the Church Fathers – Details, episodes & analysis

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Through the Church Fathers – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

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Other16

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