Why people think the way they do? Why do we have the problems we do? What have we turned our back on? Why do people look down on 'the old'? Does progress mean leaving the past behind ? Is 'modernity' always the best way?  Learning from Jerome and Augustine.  Big debaters in the past, were the best of friends   Augustine, influenced by Platonists, believed God knows all things, all of creation was before him, Jerome believed that demeaned him, the Angels report to him, the creatures of heaven are working and God had access to all knowledge.   Learning how grow 'thick skin'.  Offending someone today may get you arrested.  If someone 'feels offence' you get into trouble -This goes back to core ideological differences between us and the ancients...  Existentialism at the route of society's struggle: all you know is yourself.  -So if someone attacks your opinion, it is personal.  If your identity is you, yourself, your lifestyle, then if anyone challenges you, your whole identity is shaken.  -This was not the view of the medieval Christians.   Jesus makes sense of everything. -We are not the centre of the universe.  -People can argue on the smallest thing - who cares!   Remedy? Lets get captivated with Jesus, and live in peace and harmony with each other, both within faith, and outside, because our value comes from Jesus, not ourselves.  The middle ages Christians were obsessed with Jesus, who didn't get caught up with silly niggles, because you are both seeking Jesus  Church - looking up to the Lord every week, getting off our own little issues which muddle us, and our problems just melt away. Our identity becomes Him, not us, and life is easier.   What is it to be a Christian? -Creeds and thinking of the early Church Fathers. -Could we produce the Nicene creed today?  -Could we sum up the meaning of the whole Bible like the Nicene creed? -Are we great thinkers like them?  Every Element of the Nicene creed is in the Bible -Serapian of Antioch (2nd century) refers to the trinity.  Clement and Ignatius talk about Jesus, Father and Holy Spirit as co-equals, God.  Trinitarian thinkers before Jesus was born - not Jesus was not created. i.e. the Stoics (Spirit who gives life. equal with the Father who creates through the Logos, the Spirit gives life).  Mark the evangelist went to Africa, and they were saved, as they understood immediatly who Jesus was.   Early Church Fathers love the Trinity, Jesus, the Old Testament, long before the Nicene creed was written in the 4th century.  Just consider Jesus painted on a cross before the book of Psalms in medieval illuminated Bibles - they got what King David, 1000 years before Jesus was born, was writing about (Read Psalms/Zabur and Acts chapter 2). They got that the old Testamant was talking about Jesus all the way through.  Consider the Orthodox Bible - with Jesus speaking in the whirlwind with Job.   Series - new Advent has the church fathers.