DOCSLIB.ORG

The Use of the Jewish Scriptures by Early Christian Greek Apologists 140-190 CE: Justin Martyr, Tatian and Theophilus of Antioch

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Use of the Jewish Scriptures by Early Christian Greek Apologists 140-190 CE: Justin Martyr, Tatian and Theophilus of Antioch The use of the Jewish Scriptures by Early Christian Greek Apologists 140-190 CE: Justin Martyr, Tatian and Theophilus of Antioch Jeremy Andrew Hudson Wolfson College, Cambridge This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy November 2018 Contents Preface……………………………………………………………i Abbreviations……………………………………………………iii Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………...1 Chapter 2: The Proof from Prophecy in Justin Martyr’s Apologia Maior………………………………………39 Chapter 3: Tatian’s Oratio and the Barbarian Writings………….120 Chapter 4: The Ad Autolycum of Theophilus of Antioch: history and commentary…………………………….177 Chapter 5: Conclusion………………………………………….229 Bibliography……………………………………………………241 Preface This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It is not substantially the same as any that I have submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for a degree or diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. I further state that no substantial part of my dissertation has already been submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for any such degree, diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It does not exceed the prescribed word limit for the relevant Degree Committee. i ii Abbreviations 1A Justin Martyr’s Apologia Maior. 2A Justin Martyr’s Apologia Minor. AA Theophilus of Antioch’s Ad Autolycum. AC In Theaetetum [Anonymous Commentary]. AH Heraclitus, Homeric Problems [Allegoriae Homericae]. Aristeas Letter of Aristeas. BCE Before the Christian era. BETS Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society. BJRL Bulletin of the John Rylands Library. BNJ Worthington, I ed: Brill’s New Jacoby (Brill, Leiden 2007-). Accessed via Online ed 2007- . BNP Cancik, H & Schneider, H eds: Brill’s New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World English edition ed C F Salazar (Brill, Leiden 2002-). Accessed via Online ed 2006-. C Century. CE Christian Era. CAH9 Bowman, A K, Garnsey, P & Rathbone, D eds: The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 9 The High Empire, A.D. 70-192 Second ed (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2000). CAH12 Bowman, A K, Garnsey P & Cameron, A eds: The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 12 The Crisis of Empire A.D. 193-337 Second ed (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2005). CHC1 Mitchell, M M & Young, F M eds: The Cambridge History of Christianity Volume 1: Origins to Constantine (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2006). DT Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho. ed(s) editor /edited by. EstEcl Estudios Eclesiásticos. iii HE Eusebius: The History of the Church from Christ to Constantine (Historia Ecclesiastica). HTR Harvard Theological Review. JBL Journal of Biblical Literature. JECS Journal of Early Christian Studies. JEH Journal of Ecclesiastical History. JJS Journal of Jewish Studies. JTS Journal of Theological Studies. LCL Loeb Classical Library. LSJ Liddell, Scott & Jones: Greek-English Lexicon. NCHB1 Carleton Paget, J & Schaper, J: The New Cambridge History of the Bible Volume 1 From the beginnings to 600 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2013). NETS New English Translation of the Septuagint. NT New Testament. Oratio Tatian’s Oratio ad Graecos. OT Old Testament. RAC Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum. rev revised. RevScRel Revue des Sciences Religieuses. RHE Revue d’histoire ecclésiastique. SBL Society of Biblical Literature. SecCent Second Century. SMSR Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni. SP Studia Patristica. ST Studia Theologica. TLG Thesaurus Linguae Graecae. TLZ Theologische Literaturzeitung. trans translation /translated by. iv VC Vigiliae Christianae. ZAC Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum. ZNW Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche. v vi Chapter 1: Introduction Background By the mid 2C the movement inaugurated by followers of the crucified Jesus of Nazareth had existed for over a century. Emerging from its Palestinian Jewish roots, it had spread widely across the Roman Empire and established itself in a number of locations.1 From the outset Christianity sought to make converts and was consequently brought into close contact with the wider non-Jewish population of the Empire.2 Its adherents were few in number compared with the total population and Christian communities were small-scale when set against those of the Jews.3 Christians inherited from their Jewish origins authoritative texts, referred to here as the Jewish Scriptures,4 and from an early date also produced their own texts. Some of these were later gathered together to form the collection now known as the NT, while other Christian texts were written, 1 M M Mitchell et al, ‘Part IV: Regional Varieties of Christianity in the First Three Centuries’ in CHC1 295-412 & M J Edwards ‘Christianity A.D. 70-192’ in CAH12 573- 588. 2 CHC1 314-412 & R MacMullen, Christianizing the Roman Empire (A.D. 100-400) (Yale University Press, New Haven 1984). 3 For the size of the Jewish population in antiquity: M Simon, Verus Israel, a Study of the Relations between Christians and Jews in the Roman Empire (135-425) trans H McKeating (Oxford University Press, Oxford 1986) 33-34; for numbers of Christians: R Stark, The Rise of Christianity: a Sociologist Reconsiders History (Princeton University Press, Princeton 1996) & F Trombley, ‘Overview: the Geographical Spread of Christianity’ in CHC1 302-313. 4 This term describes the Jewish scriptures translated into Greek which were used by early Christians (sometimes referred to as the Septuagint or the LXX). 1 copied and preserved.5 It has therefore fairly been said that ‘the earliest Christians...created a literary culture.’6 A number of texts extant from the mid 2C onwards, commonly referred to as apologetic, mark a new stage in Christian literature. They were, at least ostensibly, addressed to Graeco-Roman7 audiences, although whether these were their real audiences will be considered below. At least some of their authors were converts to Christianity who had previously received a Graeco-Roman literary education. A striking feature of some of these texts is the extent to which they refer to the Jewish scriptures8 and it is not immediately obvious why this should be so. In debates with Jews, Christian writers, understandably, discussed the Jewish scriptures; both parties were familiar with the texts concerned, and how they should be interpreted was part of their dialogue.9 The position was not the same when the Christian gaze moved from the Jewish to the broader Graeco- Roman world. For if knowledge of the Jewish scriptures did not extend beyond Jewish communities before the advent of Christianity -- an assumption which will be tested below -- it is reasonable to ask why a Christian apologist in debate with non-Jewish non-Christians would refer to these texts so extensively.10 5 E.g. B D Ehrman ed, The Apostolic Fathers LCL (Harvard University Press, Cambridge Mass 2003). 6 M M Mitchell, ‘The Emergence of the Written Record’ in CHC1 177-194, 191. 7 The term ‘Graeco-Roman’ is used throughout to describe the people and culture of the Roman Empire in the 2C CE (excluding Jews and Christians) and denoting, somewhat imprecisely, the mainstream culture of the time. It can be criticized on grounds of accuracy -– Jews and Christians may also be described as Graeco-Romans -- but is preferred to the term ‘pagans’ which has too many extraneous connotations. 8 Noted in J Carleton Paget, ‘The Interpretation of the Bible in the Second Century’ in NCHB1 549-583, 562 but not pursued further. 9 J M Lieu, Image and Reality: the Jews in the World of the Christians in the Second Century (T&T Clark, London 1996) 280-281. 10 E Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 6 Volumes (Dent, London 1910) 1 498 asserted long ago that such an argument would be ineffective: ‘But this mode of persuasion loses much of its weight and influence when it is addressed to those who neither understand nor respect the Mosaic dispensation.’ 2 The Greek Apologists Apologetic works either promote Christianity to non-Jewish non-Christians or defend it against criticism from them. Such a text cannot stand alone since it must form part of a dialogue between a Christian writer and a person or persons located outside the Christian community, even if there were no other written element(s) in the dialogue, or if whatever did exist does not survive. The emphasis in this study is on the arguments put forward in apologetic texts, so it is the contents of the works and the intentions behind them that are important, rather than the form in which a text is framed and the identity of the addressee(s) named in it. Scholars have debated how the term apologetic should be used, which works should be included within the scope of the term and which authors should be referred to as apologists, and they have reached different conclusions. The earliest works of which notice survives, by Quadratus and Aristides, were addressed to the Emperor Hadrian on behalf of Christians.11 Later works were also addressed to the Emperor, notably Justin Martyr’s Apologiae, and the term apologetic can be restricted to petitions on behalf of Christians addressed to emperors or others in authority. Thus Parvis defines apologetic texts as works ‘…that address those with the power to decide policy concerning the execution of Christians, at either an empire-wide or a local level…’12 She restricts the term to a series of texts beginning with Justin Martyr and ending with Tertullian, excluding works by Tatian and Theophilus of Antioch which are not addressed to authority figures. In contrast with this focus on the form of a text, however, other scholars emphasise the intentions of the authors.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Politics of Roman Memory in the Age of Justinian DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the D
    The Politics of Roman Memory in the Age of Justinian DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Marion Woodrow Kruse, III Graduate Program in Greek and Latin The Ohio State University 2015 Dissertation Committee: Anthony Kaldellis, Advisor; Benjamin Acosta-Hughes; Nathan Rosenstein Copyright by Marion Woodrow Kruse, III 2015 ABSTRACT This dissertation explores the use of Roman historical memory from the late fifth century through the middle of the sixth century AD. The collapse of Roman government in the western Roman empire in the late fifth century inspired a crisis of identity and political messaging in the eastern Roman empire of the same period. I argue that the Romans of the eastern empire, in particular those who lived in Constantinople and worked in or around the imperial administration, responded to the challenge posed by the loss of Rome by rewriting the history of the Roman empire. The new historical narratives that arose during this period were initially concerned with Roman identity and fixated on urban space (in particular the cities of Rome and Constantinople) and Roman mythistory. By the sixth century, however, the debate over Roman history had begun to infuse all levels of Roman political discourse and became a major component of the emperor Justinian’s imperial messaging and propaganda, especially in his Novels. The imperial history proposed by the Novels was aggressivley challenged by other writers of the period, creating a clear historical and political conflict over the role and import of Roman history as a model or justification for Roman politics in the sixth century.
    [Show full text]
  • Persuasive Rhetoric in Origen's Contra Celsum
    University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 8-2003 Persuasive Rhetoric in Origen’s Contra Celsum. Daniel Charles Headrick University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Headrick, Daniel Charles, "Persuasive Rhetoric in Origen’s Contra Celsum.. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2003. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/1972 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Daniel Charles Headrick entitled "Persuasive Rhetoric in Origen’s Contra Celsum.." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Philosophy. David Dungan, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: David Linge, James Fitzgerald Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Daniel Charles Headrick entitled “Persuasive Rhetoric in Origen’s Contra Celsum.” I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Philosophy.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nous: a Globe of Faces1
    THE NOUS: A GLOBE OF FACES1 Theodore Sabo, North-West University, South Africa ([email protected]) Abstract: Plotinus inherited the concept of the Nous from the Middle Platonists and ultimately Plato. It was for him both the Demiurge and the abode of the Forms, and his attempts at describing it, often through the use of arresting metaphors, betray substantial eloquence. None of these metaphors is more unusual than that of the globe of faces which is evoked in the sixth Ennead and which is found to possess a notable corollary in the prophet Ezekiel’s vision of the four living creatures. Plotinus’ metaphor reveals that, as in the case of Ezekiel, he was probably granted such a vision, and indeed his encounters with the Nous were not phenomena he considered lightly. Defining the Nous Plotinus’ Nous was a uniquely living entity of which there is a parallel in the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel. The concept of the Nous originated with Anaxagoras. 2 Although Empedocles’ Sphere was similarly a mind,3 Anaxagoras’ idea would win the day, and it would be lavished with much attention by the Middle and Neoplatonists. For Xenocrates the Nous was the supreme God, but for the Middle Platonists it was often the second hypostasis after the One.4 Plotinus, who likewise made the Nous his second hypostasis, equated it with the Demiurge of Plato’s Timaeus.5 He followed Antiochus of Ascalon rather than Plato in regarding it as not only the Demiurge but the Paradigm, the abode of the Forms.6 1 I would like to thank Mark Edwards, Eyjólfur Emilsson, and Svetla Slaveva-Griffin for their help with this article.
    [Show full text]
  • The Protrepticus of Clement of Alexandria: a Commentary
    Miguel Herrero de Jáuregui THE PROTREPTICUS OF CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: A COMMENTARY to; ga;r yeu'do" ouj yilh'/ th'/ paraqevsei tajlhqou'" diaskedavnnutai, th'/ de; crhvsei th'" ajlhqeiva" ejkbiazovmenon fugadeuvetai. La falsedad no se dispersa por la simple comparación con la verdad, sino que la práctica de la verdad la fuerza a huir. Protréptico 8.77.3 PREFACIO Una tesis doctoral debe tratar de contribuir al avance del conocimiento humano en su disciplina, y la pretensión de que este comentario al Protréptico tenga la máxima utilidad posible me obliga a escribirla en inglés porque es la única lengua que hoy casi todos los interesados pueden leer. Pero no deja de ser extraño que en la casa de Nebrija se deje de lado la lengua castellana. La deuda que contraigo ahora con el español sólo se paliará si en el futuro puedo, en compensación, “dar a los hombres de mi lengua obras en que mejor puedan emplear su ocio”. Empiezo ahora a saldarla, empleándola para estos agradecimientos, breves en extensión pero no en sinceridad. Mi gratitud va, en primer lugar, al Cardenal Don Gil Álvarez de Albornoz, fundador del Real Colegio de España, a cuya generosidad y previsión debo dos años provechosos y felices en Bolonia. Al Rector, José Guillermo García-Valdecasas, que administra la herencia de Albornoz con ejemplar dedicación, eficacia y amor a la casa. A todas las personas que trabajan en el Colegio y hacen que cumpla con creces los objetivos para los que se fundó. Y a mis compañeros bolonios durante estos dos años. Ha sido un honor muy grato disfrutar con todos ellos de la herencia albornociana.
    [Show full text]
  • Medieval Representations of Satan Morgan A
    Rollins College Rollins Scholarship Online Master of Liberal Studies Theses 2011 The aS tanic Phenomenon: Medieval Representations of Satan Morgan A. Matos [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.rollins.edu/mls Part of the Christianity Commons, and the History of Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Matos, Morgan A., "The aS tanic Phenomenon: Medieval Representations of Satan" (2011). Master of Liberal Studies Theses. 28. http://scholarship.rollins.edu/mls/28 This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by Rollins Scholarship Online. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master of Liberal Studies Theses by an authorized administrator of Rollins Scholarship Online. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Satanic Phenomenon: Medieval Representations of Satan A Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Liberal Studies By Morgan A. Matos July, 2011 Mentor: Dr. Steve Phelan Rollins College Hamilton Holt School Winter Park Master of Liberal Studies Program The Satanic Phenomenon: Medieval Representations of Satan Project Approved: _________________________________________ Mentor _________________________________________ Seminar Director _________________________________________ Director, Master of Liberal Studies Program ________________________________________ Dean, Hamilton Holt School Rollins College i Table of Contents Table of Contents i Table of Illustrations ii Introduction 1 1. Historical Development of Satan 4 2. Liturgical Drama 24 3. The Corpus Christi Cycle Plays 32 4. The Morality Play 53 5. Dante, Marlowe, and Milton: Lasting Satanic Impressions 71 Conclusion 95 Works Consulted 98 ii Table of Illustrations 1. Azazel from Collin de Plancy’s Dictionnaire Infernal, 1825 11 2. Jesus Tempted in the Wilderness, James Tissot, 1886-1894 13 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Eternal Damnation in the Fragments of Clement of Alexandria? Daniel J
    Bryn Mawr College Scholarship, Research, and Creative Work at Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Students 2017 The yT ranny of Authority: Eternal Damnation in the Fragments of Clement of Alexandria? Daniel J. Crosby Bryn Mawr College, [email protected] Let us know how access to this document benefits ouy . Follow this and additional works at: http://repository.brynmawr.edu/gsas_pubs Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Ancient Philosophy Commons, Christianity Commons, History of Christianity Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Citation Crosby, Daniel J., "The yT ranny of Authority: Eternal Damnation in the Fragments of Clement of Alexandria?" (2017). Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. 4. http://repository.brynmawr.edu/gsas_pubs/4 This paper is posted at Scholarship, Research, and Creative Work at Bryn Mawr College. http://repository.brynmawr.edu/gsas_pubs/4 For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Tyranny of Authority: Eternal Damnation in the Fragments of Clement of Alexandria? In the year 1715, John Potter published the most comprehensive edition of the extant writings of the Clement of Alexandria, the second-century Church Father who is most famous for his apologetic Protrepticus and intensely philosophical Stromata. Potter’s edition includes a collection of fragments, and among these fragments, this one is conspicuous: Ἀθάνατοι πᾶσαι αἱ ψυχαὶ, καὶ τῶν ἀσεβῶν, αἷς ἄμεινον ἦν μὴ ἀφθάρτους εἶναι. Κολαζόμεναι γὰρ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀσβέτου πυρὸς ἀπεράντῳ τιμωρίᾳ καὶ μὴ θνήσκουσαι, ἐπὶ κακῷ τῷ ἑαυτῶν τέλος λαβεῖν οὐκ ἔχουσιν.1 All souls are immortal, even those of the wicked, for whom it is better that they were not deathless.
    [Show full text]
  • Automatic Action in Plotinus
    Created on 26 November 2007 at 17.13 hours page 373 AUTOMATIC ACTION IN PLOTINUS JAMES WILBERDING 1. Introduction Plotinus scholars have recently called attention to a kind of action in the sensible world, which one could call ‘spontaneous’ or ‘automatic’ action, that is supposed to result automatically from the contemplation of the intelligible.1 Such action is meant to be opposed to actions that result from reason, calculation, and plan- ning, and has been put to work to provide a way for Plotinus’ sage to act, and in particular to act morally, without compromising his ã James Wilberding 2008 A version of this paper was presented at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in 2006, where it received a helpful discussion. For comments and suggestions I am par- ticularly indebted to Peter Adamson, Julie Cassiday, Christoph Helmig, Christoph Horn, Jan Opsomer, David Sedley, and Carlos Steel. I have also profited greatly from a reading group held in autumn 2005 at King’s College London on Ennead 3. 8 with Peter Adamson, Verity Harte, M. M. McCabe, and others. I would like to thank Williams College and the Humboldt-Stiftung for funding the research leave during which this paper was written, and Andreas Speer for welcoming me into the Thomas-Institut for this period. 1 e.g. A. Schniewind, L’Ethique‹ du sage chez Plotin [L’Ethique‹ ] (Paris, 2003), 190 with n. 7: ‘les actions du sage sont l’expression (παρακολοýθηµα) de sa propre con- templation . Plotin evoque‹ deux possibilites:‹ d’une part, les actions par faiblesse (èσθÝνεια) de contemplation, pour ceux qui ne parviennent pas a› l’Un; d’autre part — et c’est la› ce qui correspond au sage — les actions en tant qu’activites‹ secondaires (παρακολοýθηµα), issues de la contemplation’; D.
    [Show full text]
  • Depending on Evil an Analysis of Late Antique Christian Demonologies
    Depending on Evil An Analysis of Late Antique Christian Demonologies Thomas Andruszewski 2/17/2008 Table of Contents Preface ........................................................................................................................................................... i Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................1 Part I - In Support of Apocalypse Chapter I - Justin Martyr, Athenagoras and Tertullian................................................................................7 Chapter II - Origen .....................................................................................................................................23 Chapter III - Augustine of Hippo ................................................................................................................33 Part II - Demonizing Demons: the Construction of Evil in Late Antiquity Chapter IV - Taking Aim, the Role of Demons in the Polemical Arsenal of Early Church Fathers...........39 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................55 1 Preface This thesis provides an analysis of the demonologies included in the writings of some of the early Church Fathers. They include: Justin Martyr’s Apology (150 CE),1 Athenagoras’ Legatio (177 CE),2 Tertullian’s Apology (197 CE),3 Origen’s On First Principles (218 CE)4 and Against Celsus (248 CE),5
    [Show full text]
  • The Figure of Joseph the Patriarch in the New Testament and the Early Church
    ABSTRACT “Much More Ours Than Yours”: The Figure of Joseph the Patriarch in the New Testament and the Early Church by John Lee Fortner This paper investigates the figure of Joseph the patriarch in early Christian interpretation, demonstrating the importance of such figures in articulating a Christian reading of the history of Israel, and the importance of this reading in the identity formation of early Christianity. The paper also illumines the debt of this Christian reading of Israel’s history to the work of Hellenistic Judaism. The figure of Joseph the patriarch is traced through early Christian interpretation, primarily from the Eastern Church tradition up to the 4th century C.E. The key methodological approach is an analysis of how the early church employed typological, allegorical, and moral exegesis in its construction of Joseph as a “Christian saint of the Old Testament.” A figure who, to borrow Justin Martyr’s phrase, became in the Christian identity “much more ours than yours.” “Much More Ours Than Yours”: The Figure of Joseph the Patriarch in the New Testament and the Early Church A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of History by John Lee Fortner Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2004 Advisor ________________________ Dr. Edwin Yamauchi Reader ________________________ Dr. Charlotte Goldy Reader _________________________ Dr. Wietse de Boer Table of Contents Introduction 1 Early Christian Hermeneutics 1 The Aura of Antiquity 6 Apologetics of Hellenistic Judaism 8 Scope and Purpose of Study 12 1. Joseph in the New Testament 13 Acts 7 14 Heb 11 15 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Numenius and the Hellenistic Sources of the Central Christian Doctrine
    ! Numenius and the Hellenistic Sources ! of the Central Christian Doctrine Marian Hillar Center for Philosophy and Socinian Studies Houston, TX 77004 Paper published in A Journal from the Radical Reformation. A testimony to Biblical Unitarianism. Vol. 14, No.! 1, Spring 2007, pp. 3-31. Quis obsecro, nisi penitus amens logomachias has sine risu toleraret? Nec in Thalmud, nec in Alchoran, sunt tam horrendae blasfemiae. Haec nos hactenus audire ita sumus alsuefacti, ut nihil miremur. Futurae vero generationes stupenda haec iudicabunt. Stupenda sunt vere, plusquam ea daemonum inventa, quae Valentinianis tribuit Irenaeus. I implore you, who in his sane mind could tolerate such logomachias without bursting into laughter? Not in the Talmud, nor in the Qu’ran can one find such horrendous blasphemies. But we are accustomed to hear them to the point that nothing astonishes us. Future generations will judge them obscure. Indeed, they are obscure, much more than the diabolic inventions which Irenaeus attributed to the Valentinians. ! Michael Servetus Christianismi Restitutio, De Trinitate, lib. I. p. 46. Si locum mihi aliquem ostendas, quo verbum illud filius olim vocetur, fatebor me victum. Christianismi Restitutio, If you show me a single passage in which the Son was called the Word, I will give up. Michael Servetus, Christianismi Restitutio, De Trinitate, lib. III p. 108. ! Abstract This paper attempts to explain the sources of the central Christian doctrine about the nature of deity. We can trace a continuous line of thought from the Greek philosophy to the development of the doctrine of the Trinity. The first Christian doctrine was developed by Justin Martyr (114-165 C.E.).
    [Show full text]
  • Eusebius and Hadrian's Founding of Aelia Capitolina in Jerusalem
    ELECTRUM * Vol. 26 (2019): 119–128 doi: 10.4467/20800909EL.19.007.11210 www.ejournals.eu/electrum EUSEBIUS AND HADRIAN’S FOUNDING OF AELIA CAPItoLINA IN JERUSALEM Miriam Ben Zeev Hofman Ben Gurion University of the Negev Abstract: From numismatic findings and recent excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem it emerges that the preparatory work on Aelia Capitolina started at the very beginning of Hadrian’ reign, most probably in the 120s, more than a decade before the Bar Kokhba war. The question then arises as how it happened that Eusebius mentions the founding of this colony as a conse- quence of the war. The answer lies both in the source he depends upon, possibly Ariston of Pella, and also in Eusebius’ own conception of Jewish history. Keywords: Bar Kokhba’s coins, Jerusalem excavations, Ariston of Pella, Eusebius’ view of Jewish history. The military colony of Aelia Capitolina which Hadrian founded in Jerusalem constitutes a traumatic event and a turning point in Jewish history. The holy city of Jerusalem turned into a pagan site inhabited by Roman soldiers, where idolatrous shrines were built and pagan religious rites were held. Jews were prohibited from entering it. The meaning of this event has been variously interpreted in modern scholarship,1 and its very timing within the context of the Bar Kokhba war has long been debated in view of the conflicting testimonies provided by the extant sources. At the beginning of the third century CE, Cassius Dio records the founding of the colony as preceding the Bar 1 For example, scholars are found who consider it usual Roman praxis and attribute it to technical and logistical considerations (Bowersock 1980, 134–135, 138; Mildenberg 1980, 332–334; Schäfer 1981, 92; Schäfer 1990, 287–288, 296; Schäfer 2003, 147; see also Tameanko 1999, 21; Bieberstein 2007, 143–144; Bazzana 2010, 98–99), while others contend that the founding was meant to put an end to Jewish expectations of a Temple by founding a miniature Rome explicitly intended for the settlement of foreign races and for- eign religious rites.
    [Show full text]
  • Arethas of Caesarea and the Scholia On
    Ryan Bailey ARETHAS OF CAESAREA AND THE SCHOLIA ON PHILOSTRATUS’ VITA APOLLONII IN LAUR. 69.33 MA Thesis in Medieval Studies Central European University CEU eTD Collection Budapest May 2012 ARETHAS OF CAESAREA AND THE SCHOLIA ON PHILOSTRATUS’ VITA APOLLONII IN LAUR. 69.33 by Ryan Bailey (USA) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Medieval Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ Chair, Examination Committee ____________________________________________ Thesis Supervisor ____________________________________________ Examiner ____________________________________________ CEU eTD Collection Examiner Budapest May 2012 ii ARETHAS OF CAESAREA AND THE SCHOLIA ON PHILOSTRATUS’ VITA APOLLONII IN LAUR. 69.33 by Ryan Bailey (USA) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Medieval Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ External Reader CEU eTD Collection Budapest May 2012 iii ARETHAS OF CAESAREA AND THE SCHOLIA ON PHILOSTRATUS’ VITA APOLLONII IN LAUR. 69.33 by Ryan Bailey (USA) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Medieval Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ________________________ Supervisor ____________________________________________ External Supervisor CEU eTD Collection Budapest May 2012 iv I, the undersigned, Ryan Bailey , candidate for the MA degree in Medieval Studies, declare herewith that the present thesis is exclusively my own work, based on my research and only such external information as properly credited in notes and bibliography.
    [Show full text]