Ancient Christian Audiobooks

"...in the third place from the apostles, Clement was allotted the bishopric. This man, as he had seen the blessed apostles, and had been conversant with them, might be said to have the preaching of the apostles still echoing [in his ears], and their traditions before his eyes. Nor was he alone [in this], for there were many still remaining who had received instructions from the apostles. In the time of this Clement, no small dissension having occurred among the brethren at Corinth, the Church in Rome dispatched a most powerful letter to the Corinthians, exhorting them to peace, renewing their faith, and declaring the tradition which it had lately received from the apostles..." '- Irenaeus - Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 3)

The Epistle of Barnabas is a Greek epistle written between AD 70–132 (after the destruction of the Second Temple and before the Bar Kochba Revolt). The place of origin is generally taken to be Alexandria in Egypt. The Epistle was possibly written not by the same Barnabas of the New Testament. Although it is named for Barnabas, the letter itself does not mention its author. However, some of the early church Fathers insisted on considering the epistle one of the “antilegomena” books and viewed it as sacred scripture. And they accredited it to the Barnabas, the associate of Paul who is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. Of those are Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 215) and Origen (c. 184 – c. 253). Clement quoted it with phrases such as “the Apostle Barnabas says.” And Origen spoke of it as the General Epistle of Barnabas. The 4th Century Codex Sinaiticus contains a full transcript of the Epistle which is located immediately after the canonical New Testament and before the Shepherd of Hermas. It is mentioned in a perhaps third-century list in the sixth-century Codex Claromontanus and in the later Stichometry of Nicephorus appended to the ninth-century Chronography of Nikephoros I of Constantinople. 00:00:00 - Chapter 1 Greeting and introduction -- Three doctrines-- Prophecy 00:02:14 - Chapter 2 The need of virtue -- The abolition of Jewish sacrifices 00:04:35 - Chapter 3 Concerning fasting 00:06:30 - Chapter 4 Warning that the final trial is at hand -- The covenant. Christian or Jewish? -- Admonition to stedfastness 00:10:55 - Chapter 5 The reason for the Passion of Christ 00:14:20 - Chapter 6 Proofs from the Prophets 00:20:00 - Chapter 7 Fasting and the scapegoat 00:24:00 - Chapter 8 The sacrifice of a heifer 00:25:47 - Chapter 9 The circumcision 00:29:03 - Chapter 10 The Food-law of the Jews -- The explanation in the Psalter 00:33:43 - Chapter 11 Baptism -- The Cross 00:36:54 - Chapter 12 The Cross -- Joshua 00:41:00 - Chapter 13 Jews and Christians as heirs of the covenant 00:43:18 - Chapter 14 The fulfilment of the promise to the Jews 00:46:36 - Chapter 15 The Sabbath 00:49:27 - Chapter 16 The Temple 00:53:00 - Chapter 17 Summary 00:53:30 - Chapter 18 The two Ways 00:54:04 - Chapter 19 The Way of Light 00:58:30 - Chapter 20 The Way of Darkness 00:59:59 - Chapter 21 Final exhortation