A Discussion on “The Spirit of Early Christian Thought ” by Robert L .Wilken Introduction For Robert L . Wilken , the book ‘depicts the pattern of Christian thinking as it took shape in the formative years of the Church ‘s history (Wilken . Specifically , the book was written for every reader Through this book , the author wishes to convey his thoughts and ideas as fruits of his learning . It offers a special message to its readers by bringing to mind the works of remarkable teachers of the early church .Wilken , a professor of the History of Christianity at the University of Virginia , conveys that these same teachers are “still our teachers today . What drove the author to write this book was his attraction with the magnitude of early Christian thoughts that went beyond the contrite .Instead of writing a sequel to his 1984 book entitled The Christians as the Romans Saw Them , Wilken showed the consideration of each of those measures .About the Book Every chapter of the book takes up an extensive argument drawn through a prolific and fine analysis of selected authors . Wilken takes us to the works of Justin , Irenaeus , Clement of Alexandria , Lactantius ,Tertullian , Basil , among others . He will also lead us to the works of Origen of Alexandria , Gregory of Nyssa , Maximus the Confessor and Augustine . This is a written illustration of early Christian thinking rather than about the early Christian life . The catch phrase of the book is the word ‘spirit ‘ which is rightly incorporated in the title . Wilken successfully discusses the five main viewpoints of early Christian thought in a language easily understood by all readers of his work . First , Wilken presented that patristic thought is not guided by reckless considerations but is based in the story of Jesus and in the veneration and prayer of the church . Wilken ‘s great work in Greco-Roman literature is evident in this book as he captures the uniqueness of the Christian claims with regard to the crucified and the resurrected Jesus , the unprecedented Christian story as found in the Bible and the embodied personality of all ancient Christian treatise . Second , Wilken illustrates how profoundly all patristic speaking and writing was wrapped up in the Scripture . He reveals to us readers that the Scripture is an ever-present and alive element . The third viewpoint the writer presented was his intense argument for the knowledgeable characteristic of the patristic writers . The same writers who bravely claimed that faith and love were essential ways of knowing reality as created by God . On his fourth treatise , Wilken shows the profoundly spiritual telos of patristic thought . Its debatable and remorseful significance were to guard the existence of salvation , meaning , a shield of the change of the human person by God ‘s own life . Its exhortation is to bring about the that such change or transformation is real in the moral predilection and ways of believers . It must be understood that Christian learning is actually seeking the face of God (Wilken . The fifth standpoint Wilken wishes…