Take Up and Read: St. Augustine, the Bible, and the Church Fathers

“Take up and read.”

These are the words that launched St. Augustine on his path to becoming one of the greatest Fathers of the Church and most influential biblical scholars of all time. Augustine didn’t just discover the treasure of the Bible for himself when he followed God’s prompting to take up and read—he helped countless Christians over the millennia.

Best known for his Confessions and City of God, Augustine was primarily a Scripture scholar. In fact, the last three chapters of his Confessions is essentially an interpretation of the creation story in Genesis.

Augustine is one of the most famous Fathers who contributed to Catholic Scripture study, but he was joined by a multitude of other men and women.

The St. Paul Center is launching a new study devoted to learning more about these important men and women. In The Bible and the Church Fathers, a new video study launching in winter of this year, you’ll learn who the Early Church Fathers were and how they shaped the way we read Scripture.  

The Bible and the Church Fathers will teach you everything you need to know about how the Bible took form. You’ll learn powerful tools for reading it, and you’ll understand Scripture’s relationship to Tradition and, in particular, to the Sacraments.  

What’s more, you’ll recognize the powerful effect of Scripture on the Church Fathers. For them, this was no academic pursuit. Their love of God’s Word transformed their lives—just as it has the power to transform ours today.