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Second Century Vindications of the Faith According to Jerome Tatian

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Second Century Vindications of the Faith According to Jerome Tatian Second Century Vindications of the Faith 09:00 - 10:20 Thursday, 22nd August, 2019 Room 1 Presentation type Short Communications Paul 285 Tatianus Grammaticus?Tatian’s discordant voices about the achievements of Greek grammarians László Perendy Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest, Hungary Abstract According to Jerome Tatian became famous as a rhetorician. Eusebius writes about his erudition less specifically. Tatian’s Oratio contains immense information about the activities of grammarians. Ch. 26 is completely dedicated to their criticism, but also other chapters make disapproving statements of their idiosyncratic views. They are called the first adulterators of wisdom. But why can grammarians do much harm in Tatian’s view? In the Hellenistic period expounding myths incited many debates. Some saw the key in allegoric interpretation. For others – grammarians among them – the acceptable solution seemed to be euhemerism: the theory that the so-called gods were in fact kings of ancient times. Tatian names some grammarians (e.g. Apion), who gave a euhemeristic explanation to the myths. In his opinion by teaching the elements of grammar with illustrative texts taken from Homer and interpreting them in a seemingly rational way they disseminate false knowledge about the true nature of God. For Tatian neither the allegoric, nor the euhemeristic interpretation of the myths was acceptable. Just like Justin, he identified the pagan gods with evil demons, who incited the Roman authorities to persecute Christians. I argue that Tatian was trained as a grammarian and practised this profession before his conversion. Then he left his professional association, joined Justin’s school, and supported his master’s efforts to demonstrate the true nature of pagan gods with his expertize. However, despite his harsh criticism of Hellenic culture he was often unable to break away from the literary conventions of his times. 410 Tatian’s Diatessaron as “Canonical” Gospel: Walter Bauer and the Reception of Christian “Apocrypha” Ian Mills Duke University, Durham, NC, USA Abstract Up through the fifth century, the life of Jesus was known in the Syriac speaking east not from the four canonical gospels but a single, continuous narrative – Tatian’s so-called Diatessaron. This gospel was used liturgically, became the object of commentaries, and rivaled the subsequently introduced “separate gospels.” As such, Tatian’s Diatessaron is often ignored by scholars attempting to reify canonical boundaries. In Ancient Apocryphal Gospels, Markus Bockmeuhl argues that certain characteristics distinguish apocryphal gospels from the canonical four. Tatian's gospel, however, boasts every feature reserved for the canon. Furthermore, Tatian’s gospel is the best documented instance of the formal suppression of once-authoritative Christian scripture – a phenomenon now widely denied. While the Diatessaron is not unique among “apocryphal” books in any of these particulars, its third through thirteenth century reception history offers unrecognized support for Walter Bauer’s account of the origins of Christian scripture. 488 On the Existence of "the Encratites" Andrew Guffey Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, Chicago, USA Abstract Did "the Encratites," as a defined social group in early Christianity, exist? Skepticism is warranted, just as skepticism regarding the existence of "the Gnostics" or "the Therapeutae" is warranted. The early Christian heresiologists had vivid imaginations, after all, as did Philo, perhaps. And yet, there is enough evidence from literary sources beyond the heresiologists, and even some very meager epigraphic evidence to suggest that there was a relatively coherent and identifiable network of early Christians who identified strongly with enkrateia, and may have identified themselves as "Encratites." While acknowledging the limitations of our sources, this paper sets out evidence for the existence of an Encratite network, if not a distinct social group or sect, in early Christianity. The paper will suggest that a common set of practices (prohibitions, actually) in connection with the term enkrateia points to a relatively stable, though not sectarian, group of Christians who associated by affinity. The paper briefly argues further that, taken together, the sources allow us to trace a basic geography for Encratites and the development of Encratites' relationship to what eventually emerged as "orthodox" Christianity..
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