Ancient Sources

A quote on human nature

2007-07-11T00:07:00.000+01:00

From the preface to Book 4

"Now man is a mixed organization of soul and flesh, who was formed after the likeness of God, and moulded by His hands, that is, by the Son and Holy Spirit, to whom also He said, “Let
Us make man"

Mercy for Adam

2007-07-06T00:22:00.000+01:00

In chapter 22 I was surprised by the passion with which Irenaeus attacks Tatian's teaching that Adam was not saved. Amongst Irenaeus' arguments are:

1) To do so is to deny the power of God to save.
2) To do so is to limit the mercy of God. This is a major theme in this chapter. God was merciful towards Adam and Eve and hence they were not cursed for their sin, in fact this curse was transferred to the land and to the serpent. God was merciful and provided them with animal skin to cover their genitals rather than itchy fig leaves [there is unintentional humour in this section]. Even the punishment of being expelled from Paradise and subject to death is a sign of God's mercy. As Irenaeus affirms:

"Wherefore also He drove him out of Paradise, and removed him far from the tree of life, not
because He envied him the tree of life, as some venture to assert, but because He pitied him, [and did not desire] that he should continue a sinner for ever, nor that the sin which surrounded him should be immortal, and evil interminable and irremediable. But He set a bound to his [state of] sin, by interposing death, and thus causing sin to cease, putting an end to it by the dissolution
of the flesh, which should take place in the earth, so that man, ceasing at length to live to sin, and dying to it, might begin to live to God."

It may be due to such reflections on God's mercy that after ending the book summarizing the teachings of the heretics and their imminent punishment, Irenaeus ends with a prayer for their salvation.

The virgin birth

2007-07-05T23:37:00.001+01:00

After referring in chapter 20 to our dependence on God for salvation, in chapter 21 Irenaeus seeks to defend the doctrine of the virgin birth:

Amongst the arguments he uses are:

1) The priority of the Septuagint version of the OT, the weakness of which I have already commented on when discussing Justin.
2) If Jesus was truly the son of Joseph, then he could not be king, as Joseph descended from the discontinued line of Jehoiachim.
3) For Jesus to truly recapitulate what Adam did, he had to be born without a human father as was the case with Adam

The importance of christology

2007-07-05T23:20:00.000+01:00

In chapter 19 we see that christology is so important for Irenaeus because it is intrinsically linked to salvation.

"For it was for this end that the Word of God was made man, and He who was the Son of God became the Son of man, that man, having been taken into the Word, and receiving the adoption, might become the son of God."

If Jesus did not genuinely share in the divine life, or was not truly human, then salvation as Irenaeus understands it would be impossible.

Incarnation and Salvation

2007-07-04T23:45:00.001+01:00

Irenaeus stresses strongly in chapter 18 the reality of the incarnation, and is particularly critical of adoptionist and docetic christologies. Some reasons for this concern are:

(1) For Irenaeus salvation requires a genuine incarnation. "For unless man had overcome the enemy of man, the enemy would not have been legitimately vanquished. And again: unless it had been God who had freely given salvation, we could never have possessed it securely."

(2) The suffering of Christians makes sense if Christ genuinely suffered. If not, it becomes a mockery and Christ can be seen to mislead them.

Irenaeus sees salvation as communion with God involving a process in which "God recapitulated in Himself the ancient formation of man, that He might kill sin, deprive death of its power, and vivify man; and thereforeHis works are true."

There are also links between Irenaeus Christology and Trinitarian theology in this chapter, as when he says:

"For in the name of Christ is implied, He that anoints, He that is anointed, and the unction
itself with which He is anointed. And it is the Father who anoints, but the Son who is anointed by
the Spirit, who is the unction, as the Word declares by Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because He hath anointed me,”pointing out both the anointing Father, the anointed Son, and the unction, which is the Spirit."

Spirit and Christ

2007-06-27T23:53:00.000+01:00

In chapter 17 to deny the heretic claim that "the Christ" descended upon Jesus at baptism, Irenaeus insists that it was the Holy Spirit whom descended upon Christ. In describing Pentecost, Irenaeus comments:

"This Spirit did David ask for the human race, saying, “And stablish me with Thine
all-governing Spirit;” who also, as Luke says, descended at the day of Pentecost upon the disciples after the Lord’s ascension, having power to admit all nations to the entrance of life, and to the opening of the new covenant; from whence also, with one accord in all languages, they uttered praise to God, the Spirit bringing distant tribes to unity, and offering to the Father the first-fruits of all nations."

Jesus and Christ

2007-06-27T00:07:00.000+01:00

In a lengthy argument, due to the seriousness of the heresy with which he is dealing, Irenaeus seeks to provide an exhaustive rebuttal of those who would draw a cleavage between the human Jesus and the divine Christ, descending from the Pleroma.

Irenaeus demonstrates that the united NT witness is of the unity of the person of Jesus Christ. One of the most interesting quotes of chapter 16 is the following:

"His only-begotten Word, who is always present with the human race, united to and mingled with His own creation, according to the Father’s pleasure, and who became flesh, is Himself Jesus Christ our Lord, who did also suffer for us, and rose again on our behalf, and who will come again in the glory of His Father, to raise up all flesh, and for the manifestation of salvation, and to apply the rule of just judgment to all who were made by Him. There is therefore, as I have pointed out, one God the Father, and one Christ Jesus, who came by means of the whole dispensational arrangements [connected with Him], and gathered together all things in Himself. But in every respect, too, He is man, the formation of God; and thus He took up man into Himself, the invisible becoming visible, the incomprehensible being made comprehensible, the impassible becoming capable of suffering, and the Word being made man, thus summing up all things in Himself: so that as in super-celestial, spiritual, and invisible things, the Word of God is supreme, so also in things visible and corporeal He might possess the supremacy, and, taking to Himself the pre-eminence, as well as constituting Himself Head of the Church, He might draw all things to Himself at the proper time."

Paul and the other apostles

2007-06-26T22:54:00.000+01:00

The Marcionites claimed that Paul alone knew the truth about Jesus whilst more contemporary heretics believe that Paul distorted the pure and simple truth of the Gospel. Against this kind of claim Irenaeus affirms:

(1) Paul himself affirms a continuity between himself and the other apostles.
(2) Luke was Paul's close companion and Luke presents a continuity between Paul and the other apostles. Luke also shows that Paul preached the "counsel of God" in public to the church, there was no secret material.

[chapters 13-14]

In chapter 15 Irenaeus tackles the Ebionites, who would deny Paul's status as an apostle. He points to their incoherence of using the Gospel of Luke when Luke himself is the one who in Acts presents Paul as an apostle.

One God continued

2007-06-25T23:07:00.000+01:00

In the lengthy chapter 12, Irenaeus continues to deny that there is a higher god above the creator, and points to considerable evidence in the Bible to support his statement.

Against the argument that the apostles were accomodating to the desires of their Jewish audience Irenaeus effectively argues that (i) a similar message was preached to Greek audiences (ii) the fact that they preached the crucified Jesus as Messiah and Son of God indicates that the disciples were not adverse to offending Jewish sensibilities.

Chapters 9-11 Soteriology

2007-06-23T00:17:00.000+01:00

One issue that really struck me in these chapters was how, for Irenaeus' salvation involves participating in the life of God.

Chapters 9-11: Christology

2007-06-23T00:05:00.000+01:00

How does Christ fit in to Irenaeus' strong monotheism:

Well, on the negative side Irenaeus denies the adoptionist and the docetic Christologies of his opponents, rather he affirms that

(1) "The word of God...was made Jesus Christ...For inasmuch as the Word of God was man from the root of Jesse, and son of Abraham, in this respect did the Spirit of God rest upon Him, and anoint Him to preach the Gospel to the lowly. But inasmuch as He was God, He did not judge according to glory, nor reprove after the manner of speech." (ch 9)
(2) "John relates His original, effectual, and glorious generation from the Father"

Chapters 9-11: Doctrine of God

2007-06-23T00:02:00.000+01:00

Irenaeus' main concern in these chapters is to refute the heretic contention that there is another God above the creator of the world. Hence we often read a strong declaration of monotheism expressed in terms such as:

"He, the Father, is the only God and Lord,
who alone is God and ruler of all" (ch 9)

Exegesis?

2007-06-22T23:45:00.000+01:00

In chapters 7-8 Irenaeus rebukes the dodgy exegesis of his opponents with some rather suspect ideas of his own, partly because he refuses to accept that Paul could refer to Satan as "the god of this world" without lending credence to the speculation of the heretics.

Apostolic tradition

2007-06-16T00:25:00.001+01:00

Irenaeus sees the church as the true guardian of not only the writings but also the teaching and the tradition of the apostles. He illustrates this by indicating the existence of "barbarian" Christians who unable to read the Scriptures, nonetheless hold on to orthodox Christianity. (ch 4) Irenaeus then draws on the tradition to deny heretic speculation regarding the demiurge. (ch 5-6)

Amidst his refutation of the heretics we get a glimpse of Irenaeus' trinitarian theology:

"For the Spirit designates both [of them] by the name, of God—both Him who is anointed as Son, and Him who does anoint, that is, the Father."

And as he refutes the heretics we have the following prayer:

Wherefore I do also call upon thee, Lord God of Abraham, and God of Isaac, and God of
Jacob and Israel, who art the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God who, through the abundance of Thy mercy, hast had a favour towards us, that we should know Thee, who hast made heaven and earth, who rulest over all, who art the only and the true God, above whom there is none other God; grant, by our Lord Jesus Christ, the governing power of the Holy Spirit; give to every reader of this book to know Thee, that Thou art God alone, to be strengthened in Thee, and to avoid every heretical, and godless, and impious doctrine.

The Apostolic Succession

2007-06-12T23:59:00.000+01:00

Against the heretics claims to secret knowledge and revelation, Irenaeus points to the public teaching and tradition of the church. Essentially he defends the following sequence:

Jesus--->Apostles--->Bishops

To support his claims he points to:

(1) The apostolic succession in the church of Rome, deriving from Peter and Paul. Of particular significance is our old friend Clement, whom Irenaeus believes to have known the apostles and whose epistle to Corinth he cites.
(2) Polycarp: He is presented as someone who knew the apostles, and who Irenaeus knew personally. Such was Polycarp's authority that on a visit to Rome many "heretics" were converted due to his teaching. [It is from Polycarp that Irenaeus claims to know the story of John fleeing a bath house when the heretic Cerenthius arrived]
(3) The antiquity of the church in Ephesus points to the apostolic tradition.

On Scripture (Book 3)

2007-06-12T23:48:00.000+01:00

Irenaeus begins Book 3 by outlining his understanding of Scripture. For him the Written Scripture is linked to the oral proclamation of the Gospel and is granted through the power of the Holy Spirit.

On the Gospels Irenaeus claims that

Matthew wrote a "written Gospel among the Hebrews"

Peter and Paul were laying the foundations of the Church in Rome.

Mark wrote down Peter's preaching

Luke wrote down Paul's preaching

John wrote his Gospel whilst in Ephesus.

In contrast Heretics downplay the value of the Scriptures and of the apostolic tradition.

[chs 1-2]

The immortality of the Soul

2007-06-08T23:54:00.000+01:00

From the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Irenaeus deduces that the soul, although created, is immortal, for "souls continue to exist, that they do not pass from body to body, that they possess the form of a man, so that they may be recognised, and retain the memory of things in this world; moreover, that the gift of prophecy was possessed by Abraham, and that each class of souls] receives a habitation such as it has deserved, even before the judgement."

Nonetheless, the soul is not immortal in its own right, but because it shares in life given to it by God.

Transmigration of Souls

2007-06-06T00:50:00.000+01:00

In chapter 33 Irenaeus seeks to refute the doctrine of the transmigration of the soul based on the point that the soul does not remember its existence in other bodies other than its own.

Nonetheless, Irenaeus shares certain common ideas with his opponents which not all Christians would agree with. He definitely sees the soul as distinct from the body and to a certain extent superior to the body. Thus the body is the instrument, although the skilful working of God, is still the "instrument" with the soul being the artist which possesses it and has power over it.

Irenaeus also believes that the number of souls are forordained by God and that when this number is reached, then the end will come.

Not greater than the creator

2007-05-29T00:18:00.000+01:00

In chapters 29-32 Irenaeus focuses on the blasphemous claims made by some heretics that being spiritual they are greater than the Creator God (Demiurge) who is animal.

In this section we also get some interesting opinions on:

The Role and future of the Body

"those acts which are deemed righteous are performed in bodies...God, when He resuscitates our mortal bodies which preserved righteousness, will render them incorruptible and immortal."

Statement of Apostolic Tradition

"But there is one only God, the Creator...He it is whom the law proclaims, whom the prophets preach, whom Christ reveals, whom the apostles make known to us, and in whom the Church believes. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: through His Word, who is His Son, through Him He is revealed and manifested to all to whom He is revealed; for those [only] know Him to whom the Son has revealed Him. But the Son, eternally co-existing with the Father, from of old, yea, from the beginning, always reveals the Father to Angels, Archangels, Powers, Virtues, and all to whom He wills that God should be revealed."

On the Contemporary Nature of the Miraculous Spiritual Gifts

"Wherefore, also, those who are in truth His disciples, receiving grace from Him, do in His name perform [miracles]... For some do certainly and truly drive out devils...Others have foreknowledge of things to come: they see visions, and utter prophetic expressions. Others still, heal the sick by laying their hands upon them, and they are made whole. Yea, moreover, as I have said, the dead even have been raised up, and remained among us for many years."

Humble epistemology continued

2007-05-28T23:41:00.000+01:00

In chapter 28 we see Irenaeus continue in his defence of a humble epistemology. That which is not clear in Scripture should be entrusted to God and not lead to idle speculation. From this perspective the problem with heretics is that they seek to know too much.

Is Irenaeus' christology subordinationist? Certainly this chapter seems to lead us in that direction.

Humble Epistemology

2007-05-24T23:52:00.000+01:00

In chapter 24 Ireneaus argues for a form of humble epistemology recognising that one "
"cannot have experience or form a conception of all things like God;" and mocks a biblical literalism, of which fundamentalists are enamoured, that would deeply investigate passages such as “even the hairs of your head are all numbered,” (Mat_10:30) or “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and not one of them falls to the ground without the will of your Father,” (Mat_10:29) .

Esoteric Hermeneutics

2007-05-24T23:26:00.000+01:00

In chapters 21-24 Ireneaus protests against the habit of his opponents of reading references to the Aeons in the NT. He also objects to their focus on numbers, syllables and letters in the Biblical text.

Chapter 22 is the most curious in this section. Ireneaus is arguing against the claim that Jesus exerted his ministry for one year. Against what he sees as a literalistic interpretation of Isaiah 61:2 he claims:
(i) That "the prophets have very often expressed themselves in parables and allegories, and [are] not [to be understood] according to the mere sound of the words."
(ii) The year of the Lord is to be understood as the whole period of time during which men here and receive the Gospel in faith.
(iii) That Jesus celebrated the Passover on more than one occasion, according to the Gospel of John and therefore his ministry lasted more than one year.
(iv) In a more bizarre fashion that Jesus died at the age of 50. Amongst his arguments for this are:
(a) That to redeem mankind Jesus had to go through all the ages up to old age [50 in his context]. Yet by that argument Jesus would also have to be a woman to redeem women.
(b) That when his opponents complained that Jesus was not yet 50 but claimed to have seen Abraham this suggests that he was over 40, otherwise they would have said that Jesus was not yet 40. In this argument he also declares that Jesus was not "a mere phantasm, but an actual being of flesh and blood"
(c) That to be considered a Master and a Teacher Jesus could not have been 30.
(d) That there was a tradition going back to John and other apostles that Jesus was crucified at 50.

Deconstructing heresy

2007-05-21T22:49:00.000+01:00

In chapters 15-20 of Book 2 Ireneaus continues to deconstruct his opponents ideas, at times showing a sense of humour as when he replies to his critics claims that he is ignorant because he is in a lower Aeon, he replies that anyone can postulate an unlimited number of Aeons and place their opponents in the lower realms.

In contrast to the gnostic complexity, his view of creation is that "this God, the Creator, who formed the world, is the only God, and that there is no other God besides Him — He Himself receiving from Himself the model and figure of those things which have been made".

Thinking just a bit outside the box, I started to wonder whether the later classical insistence on the impassibility of God was not in part a reaction to the simply bizarre nature of the gnostic theogenies.

At the end of this section Ireneaus deals with bizarre claims trying to link Judas and the suffering of Christ to the sufferings of a twelfth Aeon. In reply he presents his understanding of Christ's death as:
"but the Lord suffered that He might bring those who have wandered from the Father, back to knowledge and to His fellowship...but the Lord, having suffered, and bestowing the knowledge of the Father, conferred on us salvation...His passion gave rise to strength and power. For the Lord, through means of suffering, “ascending into the lofty place, led captivity captive, gave gifts to men,” (Psa_68:18; Eph_4:8) and conferred on those that believe in Him the power “to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and on all the power of the enemy,” (Luk_10:19; [Mar_16:17, Mar_16:18]) that is, of the leader of apostasy. Our Lord also by His passion destroyed death, and dispersed error, and put an end to corruption, and destroyed ignorance, "

Not so new

2007-05-17T23:28:00.000+01:00

In chapters 8-14 Irenaeus continues his process of deconstructing his gnostic opponents, including pointing out how some of their "novel" ideas were in fact present in Greek poets, philosophers and other types.
Nonetheless, there are a few moments when his own theology shines, as the following quotations illustrate:

"yet God is in this point pre-eminently superior to men, that He Himself called into being the substance of His creation, when previously it had no existence."
"He is a simple, uncompounded Being, without diverse members, and altogether like, and equal to himself, since He is wholly understanding, and wholly spirit, and wholly thought, and wholly intelligence, and wholly reason, and wholly hearing, and wholly seeing, and wholly light, and the whole source of all that is good."

Book 2 Opens

2007-05-17T00:47:00.000+01:00

Book 2 Opens with Irenaeus categorically stating that this world was not created by a demiurge or by angels against the will of God, but by the one God through his Word. Much of his argument in the opening seven chapters is to seek to deconstruct his gnostic opponents by pushing their perspective to its logical extremities. One of his favourite arguments is that to suggest that creation is evil questions the goodness or the greatness of the One God,
" If again, as some say, their Father permitted these things without approving of them, then He gave the permission on account of some necessity, being either able to prevent [such procedure], or not able. But if indeed He could not [hinder it], then He is weak and powerless; while, if He could, He is a seducer, a hypocrite, and a slave of necessity, inasmuch as He does not consent [to such a course], and yet allows it as if He did consent."
Note however, how this is very close to the classical problem of evil and raises the question of how Irenaeus will account for the presence of evil in the universe created by the one great God.

On a different subject altogether, Irenaeus also claims that angels and demons have never seen God, but respect/fear Him due to His reputation.

Book 1 Closes

2007-05-16T00:09:00.000+01:00

Book 1 closes its anatomy of heresy. Here we also have the doctrine of the Cainites, where Irenaeus refers to the mysterious "fictitious Gospel of Judas", where Judas is made into the hero. [Scholars are still debating whether this is the same Gospel of Judas recently discovered/published].

Although there is little way of knowing how accurate Irenaeus is in his description of his opponents, he certainly is exhaustive. He also seems to have read them in their original writings, even going as far as to claim that he compiled a collection of their teachings. His belief is that if one exposes their teaching, than truth will come through.

Marcion

2007-05-14T22:26:00.000+01:00

Marcion is singled out as the worst of heretics by Irenaeus, mainly through the way that he chooses to multilate the Scriptures.

Adoptionist Christology

2007-05-14T22:22:00.000+01:00

One of the interesting things that can be gauged from the overview of heresies is how the adoptionist Christologies that Irenaeus had to deal with (e..g. the Ebionites) were the fruit of a negative understanding of material, bodily existence. As such it was considered unacceptable that the Christ had become truly incarnate, and especially unacceptable that the same Christ had suffered and died. Hence, some explanation, in which Jesus is reduced to being the son of Joseph and Mary and the "Spirit" of Christ abandoned him when he went to the cross had to be developed.

Unless of course one claims like one of these groups that it was actually Simon Cyrene who died on the cross, and Jesus took on the corporeal form of Simon in the mean time and laughed at those who believed that it was him on the cross.

Somethings remain the same

2007-05-14T22:20:00.000+01:00

As heresy after heresy is listed, I felt the following comment by Irenaeus had some contemporary parallel:

"These men, even as the Gentiles, have been sent forth by Satan to bring dishonour upon the Church, so that, in one way or another, men hearing the things which they speak, and imagining that we all are such as they, may turn away their ears from the preaching of the truth; or, again, seeing the things they practise, may speak evil of us all"

Or even the following:
"Many offshoots of numerous heresies have already been formed from those heretics we have described. This arises from the fact that numbers of them — indeed, we may say all — desire themselves to be teachers, and to break off from the particular heresy in which they have been involved. "

Against Marconites ctd...

2007-05-14T21:57:00.000+01:00

Irenaeus continues his critique of the Marconites summarizing two key themes:
(1) Their belief that the creator of the world is not the "invisible father"
(2) Their complex schemes of redemption which centre around the concept of salvation through knowledge from ignorance towards perfection.

Against this Irenaeus sets the "rule of truth" which affirms God as the creator.

Marconites

2007-05-14T00:27:00.000+01:00

To take craziness to frontiers it has never reached before, seems to have been the motto of the followers of Marcus. Irenaeus describes him as a gnostic magician, who used his tricks to seduce and take advantage of rich women, single or married. Marcus' follows the Valentinus system, adding in a greater concern with numerology, especially Gematria.

In his rebuke of Marcus, it is important to note that Irenaeus does not refute his prophecy by claiming that the gift of prophecy had ceased, rather he refers to it as a fraud or demon-inspired.

Drawing Distinctions

2007-05-12T22:53:00.000+01:00

In chapters 10-12 Irenaeus explores, with a bit of sarcasm, the distinctions between different "Gnostic" systems. We also have the following understanding of God:
"He, as soon as He thinks, also performs what He has willed; and as soon as He wills, also thinks that which He has willed; then thinking when He wills, and then willing when He thinks, since He is all thought, [all will, all mind, all light,] all eye, all ear, the one entire fountain of all good things."

Irenaeus' Refutation

2007-05-12T22:41:00.000+01:00

Irenaeus is relatively brief in his refutation of his opponents. Basically:

(1) He questions their hermeneutic, applying it to Homer to show what ridiculous results could be reached.
(2) He also refers to the apostolic tradition, the faith he claims is common to all churches of his time in all languages.
(3) In Irenaeus, although he does not use this terminology, we see a distinction made between the faith, which is considered unique, and its formulations, which may vary according to the skills and the approach of different theologians.

Brain in a Knot

2007-05-12T21:14:00.000+01:00

Trying to disentagle myself from the aenoic confusion of the Valentians. Some key points:

(i) Note how they divide humanity into three groups: spiritual, material and animal, only the first group will be saved, to marry the angels in heaven.
(ii) Their christology is adoptionist and they deny that the heavenly saviour shared in the sufferings of the human Christ.
(iii) Their hermeneutics involves bringing in ideas from outside of scripture, chopping scripture about and re-interpreting it in an esoteric manner. Once again, this reminds me of the methodology of many fundamentalist groups on the fringe of conservative evangelicalism.

Valentinus' ideas

2007-05-11T00:09:00.000+01:00

Having encountered sectarian and esoterically fundamentalist groups, I must admit I saw traces of their approach in the outline of Valentinus' complex, and bizarre ideas. To get a grasp of these ideas, of 30 different Aeons with multiple names and intersecting offspring one needs to be a Sudoku lover on Red Bull and caffeine pills. Some comments, however:

(1) The very incomprehensibility of the system seems to be part of its mystique, attracting people as a revelation of heavenly, esoteric mysteries.
(2) A key theme is that "material substance had its beginning from ignorance and grief, and fear and bewilderment." This has implications for soteriology, christology, and ethics.

Soteriology: Salvation comes from knowledge of the "spiritual nature." They further hold that the consummation of all things will take place when all that is spiritual has been formed and perfected by Gnosis (knowledge); and by this they mean spiritual men who have attained to the perfect knowledge of God, and been initiated into these mysteries by Achamoth."

Christology: Jesus, who is somehow related to one of 2 Christs and somewhere fits into the whole system, did not assume a material nature, only a spiritual nature.

Ethics: For the "spiritual man" what one does with the material body is of no use.

(3) Hermeneutics: Valentinus' gang's hermeneutics is of "Bible Code" methodology, seeking secret symbols and numerical codes in Scripture.
(note --for the really enthusiastic--Achamoth is mother of the demiurge, she is also known Ogdoad, Sophia; Terra, Jerusalem, Holy Spirit, and, with a masculine reference, Lord, she herself is not an Aeon, but daughter of Sophia an Aeon who in turn was the youngest of 12 aeons coming from Anthopos and Ecclesia, and who fell due to an attack of passion...told you it was bizarre!)

Irenaeus: Against Heresies Book 1

2007-05-10T23:45:00.000+01:00

Arguably the most complicated to spell of church fathers, is also one who is becoming increasingly popular. Could be an interesting ride.

In his preface he expresses concern over "blasphemous and impious opinions respecting the Demiurge" which he links to "disciples of Ptolemaeus" coming from Valentinus.

What is of interest is that Irenaeus seeks to study his opponents in their primary sources and seek personal interaction with them. He has studied enough of their material to recognise the plausibility of their system, as well as its dangers.

Resurrection Fragments

2007-05-10T00:46:00.000+01:00

Fragmentary response to a fragmentary document.

(1) Justin adopts what can be called a christological hermeneutic. Christ is the Word, proceeding from the Father who is the truth. Hence, Jesus needs no proof to back him up, for he is the proof by which all else is judged.

(2) In many ways Justin sings from the emerging/missional choir. He denies that there is any "secular" sphere "because to God nothing is secular, not even the world itself, for it is His workmanship;" and hence he feels free to employ philosophical arguments. On the same line, he emphasises the goodness of the body as God's creation. Nonetheless, there is some of the anti-sexual ascetism of later Christian tradition in his claim that some refuse to marry, (and Jesus was born of a virgin) to abolish "lawless desire". This seems to be a reference to marriage not for the sake of having children and suggest that maybe not all the blame can be laid upon Augustine after all.

(3) Justin points to the futility of arguments between trichotomists and dichotomists, for at times he is able to speak of humans as "Body and Soul" and at other times as "body, soul and spirit."

(4) The arguments against the resurrection that Justin faced seem to be similar to ones we see today (i) it is impossible (ii) it is undesirable (iii) Jesus' resurrection was spiritual.

Justin and the Sole Government of God

2007-05-09T00:55:00.000+01:00

This short tract typifies Justin's love-hate relationship with his Greek heritage. On the one hand, he attacks Greek idolatry, but on the other hand this attack is mediated through Greek poets.

Again there is an interesting theological point to ponder. How much truth is there to his suggestion that it is in the poetry of other religions that we may yet find the truth concerning the One God still present, albeit in an oblique form?

Justin and Greek culture ctd...

2007-05-08T00:26:00.000+01:00

The rest of Justin's address carries on his love-hate relationship with Greek culture. Whilst on the one hand he can be quite disparaging, even to state that most if not all the philosophers are suffering in Hades and of no use, on the other hand he tries to find links between that culture and the Bible.

Hence Plato is said to have learned from Moses. Why is this not clearer in Plato's writings? At times, Justin suggests it is because Plato misinterpreted Moses, at others because he was afraid of suffering the same fate as Socrates.

Finally, Justin ends with a very enigmatic statement that the ancient Sybil prophesied the coming of Christ.

Link on Justin and OT

2007-05-08T00:02:00.000+01:00

A more detailed look, by Brandon Watson, at how Justin uses a specific OT passage can be found here

Hortatory Address to the Greeks

2007-05-07T00:15:00.000+01:00

Chapters 1-18 are a rather strange bunch. Justin begins by demolishing Greek religion, poetry and philosophy (not even the great Plato and Aristotle escape) by pointing to its internal contradictions and ridiculous features, yet in the end, still appeals to the same tradition to support the notion of monotheism.

Justin also engages in a rather weak argument concerning the antiquity of Moses. He obviously believes in the Septuagint legend, and places great value on it.

On a theological level it is interesting to note that Justin describes the inspiration of scripture as the Holy Spirit using the Biblical authors as a musician would use an instrument. I wonder whether he would allow the shape and nature of the instrument to effect the music played, i.e. move away from a dictation-theory of inspiration?

Discourse to the Greeks

2007-05-04T23:26:00.000+01:00

After the long marathon of "Dialogue with Trypho" the fast sprint of "Discourse to the Greeks" in which Justin savages his Greek heritage, especially the immorality present in much of the mythology.

Concluding the "dialogue"

2007-05-04T22:56:00.000+01:00

Justin concludes by going over many familiar points to establish that Church>Israel. One new argument is a typology by which Leah becomes Israel and Rachel the Church.

After some of the heat generated in the dialogue it was touching to see the cordial, even friendly tone on which it concluded.

Christology

2007-05-04T22:24:00.000+01:00

In chapters 126-129 Justin rehashes familiar ground, claiming that appearances of God in the OT refer to the Son rather than the Father who is ineffable.

Clues of his christology lie in his insistence that whilst Father and Son are numerically distinct, they share in the same essence such as two flames coming from the same fire [in this case the Father being the original fire/flame]

Israel?

2007-05-02T00:15:00.000+01:00

In chapters 122-125 Justin seeks to argue that the church is the true Israel, as Christ is the true Israel. In a rather bizarre line of argument he claims that Israel is originally a name belonging to Christ, which he granted to Jacob.

Justin repeats himself

2007-05-01T00:32:00.000+01:00

As I read through chapters 103-121 of the dialogue (rather a generous term as Trypho does not get much of a say!) I must admit to sharing in Trypho's comment:

“You do well; and though you repeat the same things at considerable length, be assured that I and my companions listen with pleasure.”

Most of these chapters are devoted to reading references to Christ and Christians in the OT. Although I sympathise with Justin on this point, I am not so content with those passages where he seeks to establish this from what seems to be an "objective" point of view; but more at ease when he admits that "Would you suppose, sirs, that we could ever have understood these matters in the Scriptures, if we had not received grace to discern by the will of Him whose pleasure it was?"reminding us of the vital role of the Holy Spirit in any genuinely Christian hermeneutic.

In the midst of some of his more aggressive rhetoric against Jews, it is a relief to read him say
" Yet we do not hate you or those who, by your means, have conceived such prejudices against us; but we pray that even now all of you may repent and obtain mercy from God, the compassionate and long-suffering Father of all."

Justin on the cross

2007-04-26T23:25:00.000+01:00

In chapters 89-102 we see Justin dealing with another of Trypho's insightful objections. As a Jew, Trypho objects to the fact that Jesus was the Messiah, if, as someone who was crucified he was cursed.

Justin answers by (1) pointing to OT passages which he sees pointing towards the cross (2) claiming that the curse Jesus had on the cross referred to him being cursed by those who crucified him.

Considering current debates, it is interesting to see Justin's views on the atonement:

(1) Christ's death was on account of human sin.
(2) Jesus took upon himself the curse of humanity.
(3) This was according to the will of the Father.
(4) Christ's death is seen as the destruction of Satan, and evil angels and humans, but life for the righteous.

Another interesting nugget is the way in which Justin seeks to tie the virgin birth to the atonement:

" and that He became man by the Virgin, in order that the disobedience which proceeded from the serpent might receive its destruction in the same manner in which it derived its origin. For Eve, who was a virgin and undefiled, having conceived the word of the serpent, brought forth disobedience and death. But the Virgin Mary received faith and joy, when the angel Gabriel announced the good tidings to her "

Another good question from Trypho

2007-04-26T22:59:00.000+01:00

In chapter 87 Trypho asks another of his good questions. Basically he wants to know how Justin can claim that Christ is pre-existent and at the same time apply Isaiah 11:1 to him, if this verse suggests that the root of Jesse has yet to receive "the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and piety: and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill Him".

For once, Justin gives a straight (not short chs 87-89!) answer and avoids patronizing Trypho. For Justin this means not that Christ needed these gifts; but rather that they find their fulfilment in him. Rather more controversially he argues in chapter 89 that the descent of the Spirit on Christ when he was baptised was not for his sake, but for the sake of the faith of humans.

Two significant theological points to make are:

(i) Justin sees the "charismatic" spiritual gifts as still being in operation, and women being recipients of such gifts alongside men.
(ii) Justin understands both angels and humans as having free will, and that they receive blessing or punishment according to how they exercise this free will.

Justin and Prophecy

2007-04-26T02:57:00.000+01:00

In chapters 83-86 Justin continues to interpret the OT Christologically to justify the Christian faith. Whilst I sympathise with his approach, it is rather disconcerting to observe that he seems unaware that this is what he is doing. Hence, not all the arguments that he uses to defend the objectivity of his position (e.g. the superiority of the LXX over the Hebrew text of the OT) are convincing.

Justin's Eschatology

2007-04-19T23:57:00.000+01:00

Justin's eschatology can be summarized in the following words from Chapter 80

"But I and others, who are right-minded Christians on all points, are assured that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a thousand years in Jerusalem, which will then be built, adorned, and enlarged, [as] the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah and others declare."

As regards debates on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the following from Chapter 82 is of note:

"For the prophetical gifts remain with us, even to the present time."

Justin on the Virgin Birth

2007-04-19T23:50:00.000+01:00

Chapters 67-78 provide us with a lengthy rather tedious discussion on the virgin birth. Trypho objects to this teaching claiming
(1) There are parallels in Greek mythology.
(2) The prophecy from Isaiah refers to a young woman and was fulfilled in Hezekiah.

Justin answers (1) with his concept of demonic imitation of Christian teaching
(2) He begins with a very unconvincing claim that the Jews distorted the LXX. He has a stronger argument in affirming that it is hard to see the prophecy fully fulfilled in Hezekiah, leading him to search for a Christological referent.

Discussing Old Testament Monotheism

2007-04-18T23:33:00.000+01:00

In chapters 55-66 Justin continues to engage the remarkable patient Trypho, seeking to defend from the OT the divinity of Christ.

Justin builds upon certain Old Testament passages which point to a dynamic monotheism, especially those where the Angel of the Lord is referred to as God/Lord, and the passages in Proverbs where the Wisdom of God is hypostasised. He sees these as references to Christ, although he is not prepared to admit that one needs the New Testament to make such a conclusion.

However, the Christology that Justin develops is not without its own problems. His christology is subordinationist, and is worryingly concerned with insisting that the Son is "numerically distinct" from the Father. One can see how this could be pushed in an Arian direction to affirm that the Son does not share in the divine essence.

Blood?

2007-04-18T23:16:00.000+01:00

In the midst of his describing Messianic prophecies, Justin makes what seems to be a strange Christological comment in chapter 54

"Christ derives blood not from the seed of man, but from the power of God"

using this to claim that

"Christ is not man of men, begotten in the ordinary course of humanity.”

Messiah

2007-04-18T00:43:00.000+01:00

Chapters 47-52 see Justin debating Trypho on the Messiahship of Jesus. On the whole, Justin is more convincing when he seeks to claim that John the Baptist came in the Spirit of Elijah, less convincing when he tries to read a reference to two comings of Christ in Jacob's blessing of Judah in Genesis.

Another line of argument I do not know what to make of is the claim that Jesus' messiahship is supported by the fact that after John the Baptist no new prophet emerged amongst the people of Israel.

Can one keep the law

2007-04-18T00:35:00.000+01:00

Chapters 46-47 deal with Justin's answer to Trypho's next question, concerning whether a Christian can keep the Mosaic law and still be saved. Justin's answer is that they could, but they shouldn't. In this he claims to be more moderate than many other Christians who cast off completely those who seek to keep the law.

Justin also views apostasy as a real possibility. That is, for Justin it is possible for someone who believed in Christ to reject him and thus no longer be saved.

Trypho inquires

2007-04-17T00:39:00.000+01:00

Whatever one may think of Trypho, it is difficult to deny that he is able to ask good questions. His next question is what happens to those who died before Christ came.

Justin's answer is that they are saved according to their righteousness, but through Christ, who destroyed the power of the devil and of death.

Salvation and Jesus

2007-04-17T00:23:00.000+01:00

In chapters 43-44 Justin is quite clear that Jesus is the only means of salvation for Jews and Gentiles, for Jesus is the end of the OT law bringing "everlasting law", "everlasting covenant" and "spiritual circumcision."

However, he is on exegetically weak ground when he seeks to argue for the reading "virgin" in Isaiah 9 against the "young woman" of his Jewish opponents.

Justin and Typology

2007-04-17T00:17:00.000+01:00

In chapters 40-42 Justin engages in typological exegesis, reading the New Testament into the Old. In my "salad days when I was green in judgement" when I was more enamoured with the Historical-Critical Method I would have rubbished such an approach. However, these days I acknowledge that at least Justin makes the offering of fine flour which was offered by the lepers be of relevance to his contemporaries by linking it to the Eucharist.

Justin and Hermeneutics ctd...

2007-04-14T00:21:00.000+01:00

In chapters 36-39 the dialogue takes an interesting turn. Justin justifies the Christian faith, especially the adoration of Jesus, by interpreting the Old Testament Christologically. Naturally, for Trypho, this is blasphemy, and he worries that Justin may, to quote the first dog to visit this blog, be "barking mad."

The role of heresy

2007-04-14T00:10:00.000+01:00

For Justin, the existence of heresy, in a funny sort of way, confirms the truth of the Gospel, as the coming of heretics was predicted by Jesus and the New Testament. (Ch 35)

Hermeneutical controversies

2007-04-11T00:47:00.000+01:00

In chapters 32-34 we see Trypho and Justin exchanging hermeneutical arguments.

Trypho quite understandably objects to Justin's use of scripture, and especially to his equating of Jesus with the Messiah when from the Jewish perspective Jesus was a failure.

Justin responds by interpreting Isaiah 53 christologically, and reiterating two comings of Christ, one in humility, another in glory. He also argues at length why Old Testament Psalms [which he believes were dictated to David by the Holy Spirit] should be interpreted christologically.

Justin's power evangelism?

2007-04-11T00:41:00.000+01:00

Chapters 30-31 raised my eyebrows concerning Justin's apologetic use of spiritual warfare. An argument for the Christian faith is the power of the name of Jesus in the casting out of demons. Justin then quotes from the book of Daniel to emphasise that Jesus' power will be even greater at his second coming.

A good question

2007-04-11T00:31:00.000+01:00

In chapters 26-29 Justin has to face a good question from Trypho concerning his rather selective use of the Old Testament. Trypho is particularly annoyed at the way in which Justin seems to overlook those passages which do not support Justin's perspective.

Justin's reply is to repeat his argument that the law was given due to the hardness of the heart of the Jews. His hermeneutics can be summarized in the following quote:

"They are contained in your scriptures, or rather not yours, but ours. For we believe them but you... do not catch the spirit that is in them."

Law and Hard Hearts

2007-04-04T00:19:00.000+01:00

In chapters 14-25 Justin continues with his barrage on law-keeping. His main arguments are:

(1) The Jews err by not realising the spiritual meaning that the law pointed to.
(2) Prior to Moses there was no law, nonetheless there were still many considered righteous before God.
(3) Justin also explores considerably the concept of the law being given due to the hardness of the hearts of the Jews. Hence, the law is not presented as being essential to God's will, but more of an emergency measure to avoid more sinning and idolatry. To back up his argument Justin makes use of the OT prophetic rhetoric against Israel. However, the tone takes an unfortunate direction when it moves from being a Jewish critique of fellow countrymen, to being appropriated by an "outsider", a Christian.
(4) A more bizarre argument is developed concerning circumcision, which for Justin was established by God to set the Jews aside as the ones who crucified Jesus (therefore, Justin has to ignore the role played by the "uncircumcised" Romans, an unfortunately too common move in Christian theology).

Jesus the New Law

2007-04-03T00:50:00.000+01:00

Briefly:
Chapters 10-13 introduce the division between Trypho and Justin. For Trypho, Christians are in error for not keeping the law. For Justin, Jews are in error for not recognising the new law, the new covenant, Jesus and seeks to quote the OT to prove his point.

Dialogue with Trypho

2007-03-28T01:01:00.000+01:00

As this is a very extensive document my blogging on it will resemble Match of the Day, focusing really on the bits that struck me as interesting.

In chapters 1-9 Justin narrates how he meets Trypho, a Jew, and tells him the story of his conversion. Some key points:

(1) The old man who witnessed to Justin emphasises that the prophets did not need to use demonstration as they were witnesses, of events but especially the revelation of the Holy Spirit.
(2) Justin's conversion is described in terms of a fire being kindled. Echoes of Wesley and other charismatic conversions?
(3) So far the portrayal of Trypho is positive. He refuses to scorn Justin as those with him did, rather he chooses to engage in intellectual debate. He criticises Christians for ignoring OT law and for setting up a false Christ, as he believes the true Christ needs to be anointed by Elijah.

Christians and death

2007-03-24T01:16:00.000Z

Before concluding his apology, Justin gives some indication of how he moved from being a Platonist to being a Christian. For him, a significant factor was the faithfulness of Christians when faced with death, which points to them as people committed to the truth.

Justin did not so much reject platonism, as see this philosophy having but part of the "spermatic word" revealed fully in Christ.

More clues regarding Justin's Christology: Christ is worshipped and loved "next to God" and through his sufferings brought healing.

Justin and Socrates

2007-03-24T01:10:00.000Z

In chapter 10 Justin once again comments on Socrates as an example of a pagan philosopher who apprehended part of the Word. In fact, for Justin, all wisdom outside of Christianity comes when people are able to know the Word in a partial manner.

In terms of his Christology, Justin affirms that Christ became "the whole rational being, both body, and reason, and soul"

Justin on free will

2007-03-23T00:57:00.000Z

In chapter 7, after claiming that the destruction of the whole world is delayed due to the "seed of the Christians", Justin goes on to affirm his belief in human free will. In fact, it is only due to the fact that "each man by free choice acts rightly or sins" that God can be said to be just in punishing evil with eternal punishment.

Both chapter 7 and 8 see Justin develop also his "seed of the Logos" concept. Not only is Socrates honoured through this principle, but others from the Stoic school such as Heraclitus. However, before we push Justin into a pomo pluralist direction, in chapter 9 he points to Jesus as the "right Reason" who proved that not all opinions nor all doctrines are good.

Names of God and Christ

2007-03-21T22:51:00.000Z

Chapter 6 has many theological points:

(1) God, the Father, has no name, only apellations as there is no one superior to him to name him.
(2) The Word/Son named as Christ to refer to his anointing, named as Jesus to refer to his status as saviour and man.
(3) Christ came for the sake of believing men and for the destruction of demons. Christus Victor!
(4) John Wimber you have a friend! Justin points to the significance of Christian exorcists healing numberless demoniacs, even in Rome itself.

Justin and the Watcher Tradition

2007-03-21T22:41:00.000Z

After pointing out in chapter 4 that Christians do not kill themselves because they do not wish to block God's purposes, Justin explains the origin of evil and persecution of Christians in the world.

In a nutshell, Justin refers to the watcher tradition (Genesis 6 via 1 Enoch) in which fallen angels have intercourse with women, their offspring being demons. These demons are the source of evil and of paganism. Particularly surprising is Justin's claim that the names given to pagan gods by "poets and mythologists" are the very names the fallen angels chose for themselves and their offspring.

Spiritual warfare was the subject of my MA dissertation, and the Watcher tradition was one of the more entertaining stories to explore. Although the bulk of the tradition is fantasy, and lacks Biblical support, one should not discard this awareness of non-human evil to readily.

The Second Apology of Justin: Persecution

2007-03-21T22:36:00.000Z

In chapters 1-3 Justin reminds us of the context of his teaching: persecution. It is particularly poignant to read that: "I expect to be plotted against and fixed to the stake". This, sadly, is the background that church members and students I live with who come from Pakistan and Myanmar live with on an everyday basis. If, at times Justin's words about paganism come across harsh, it is important to remember that these are the people who are endangering their lives (just as many Pakistani Christians find it harder to be "moderate" about Islam).

The weekly worship of Christians

2007-03-15T23:20:00.000Z

Chapters 67-68 draw the apology to a close. In chapter 67 Justin describes the worship of the Christians. Some points:

(1) Help for the poor and those in need is given a central position.
(2) Strong role for the Eucharist and prayer.
(3) Great emphasis is on teaching, including the "memoirs of the apostles."
(4) The main service is on Sunday.

Couldn't help reflecting that so many of the more positive concerns of the Emerging church and missional churches are encapsulated here.

Justin on the Eucharist

2007-03-15T23:13:00.000Z

After one of his rants on deceiving demons in chapter 64, in chapters 65-66 Justin describes the Christian eucharist. Some points:

(1) Justin does seem to see some relationship between works and salvation.
(2) The wine is mixed with water.
(3) Justin points again to receiving this teaching from the apostles.

One major question is what does Justin believe happens to the bread and the wine? What does he mean when he says "not as common bread and common drink do we receive these"? Although transubstantiation or consubstantiation fit this passage well, it is also possible, though less likely that he saw identifying the body and blood of Christ in the elements as an act of faith.

Justin's Christology

2007-03-15T23:05:00.000Z

Chapters 62-63 although us to see a bit more of Justin's Christology. For Justin it was Christ who spoke to Moses from the burning bush, and he also takes OT references to the Angel of the Lord to be references to Christ. The logic for this seems to come from Justin's close identification of Christ with the "Word of God".

Also, some questions I was having previously are being clarified as Christ is clearly referred to as "being the first-begotten Word of God, is even God." Nonetheless, the status of nameless/ineffable God is reserved by Justin for the Father.

Justin on Baptism

2007-03-15T22:57:00.000Z

Chapter 61 introduces Justin's teaching on Christian baptism. Some key features:

(1) Baptism of those who are persuaded and believe
(2) Baptism associated with regeneration
(3) Baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
(4) Claim that this tradition is handed down from the apostles.

Plato and Moses

2007-03-15T22:39:00.000Z

Justin in chapter 59-60 seeks to develop the historically inaccurate argument that Plato read and was influenced by Moses. Although wrong, this argument is nonetheless interesting as it balances out the negative attitude to paganism expressed in the previous chapters.

Justin and the demons

2007-03-15T22:18:00.000Z

In chapters 54-58 we have Justin present his rather interesting take on spiritual warfare. For Justin similarities between paganism and Christianity come because demons have sought to cause confusion and launch what could best be described as a pre-emptive strike. Demons are also behind the persecution of the church, and also for raising heretics such as Marcion.

In between, Justin claims that demons have failed to replicate the cross, the structure of which God has placed in many areas of creation.

The logic of prophecy

2007-03-14T22:53:00.000Z

In chapter 51-52 Justin argues that because prophecies concerning the first coming of Christ proved to be true, we can trust in prophecies concerning the second coming. His vision of hell is grim, not only do the condemned suffer eternal punishment, they also receive eternal sensibility.

Prophecy also provides a rational grounding for the Christian faith, Justin argues in chapter 53. The fulfilment of prophecy is what allows one to overcome the scandal of the claims made about the person of Jesus.

Prophecy ctd...

2007-03-13T00:27:00.000Z

Chapters 46-50 continue Justin's theme of Old Testament prophecy being fulfilled in Christ. Of particular significance is the claim that the Word was in the world before the birth of Jesus so that every race in the world can be seen as partakers of the Word. Another enigmatic claim, as regards Justin's christology, is his reference to an "ineffable origin" of Christ.

Free Will and Determinism

2007-03-09T00:23:00.000Z

Chapters 44-45 lead Justin to deal with the issue of free will, possibly because his stress on prophecy might lead to determinism.

Justin rejects determinism, as he sees it eroding moral accountability. For Justin, humans choose freely, and denies that God's knowledge of the future is linked to his decreeing what will happen. Rather God knows what will happen, but only decrees that virtue will be rewarded with recompense and vice with punishment. His vision on predestination is also made clear, as Justin claims that the return of Christ is delayed until those who are foreknown to be virtuous and good have their number complete.

Significantly, Justin ties this in with Plato's teaching, whilst making the claim that Plato was inspired by Moses in this sense. Although historically inaccurate, there may be a sense in which this is spiritually acceptable. If there is a seed of truth in all men, than it is not mistaken to follow Justin and say that this comes from the same Spirit that inspired Moses.

Prophecy continued

2007-03-09T00:19:00.000Z

In chapters 40-42 Justin continues the same theme, indicating how David prophesised concerning Jesus. He also seeks to retort to a possible objection, that David spoke about many things as if they had already happened. For Justin, this is due to the prophetic certainty that these things would take place.

Justin on the Bible

2007-03-09T00:15:00.000Z

Chapters 36-39 provide us with more insight on Justin's perspective regarding scripture. He sees the Spirit inspiring different prophetic utterances, some through the Son/Word, some through the Father and some through direct predictions from the Spirit.

The prophesised Christ

2007-03-07T23:37:00.000Z

Justin continues his apology in chapters 30-35 by quoting Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ. On the whole he covers the same ground that the NT covers, whilst providing 1-2 examples of his own.

Still much to unpack regarding Justin's Christology. Jesus is described as being the "first power" after God the Father and whilst taking human flesh the blood was not of human seed but of divine power. In narrating the virgin birth Justin takes great care to point out there is no link with pagan myths of intercourse between gods and humans, although his statement that the Spirit and the power of God in the OT are the Word, the first-born of God made me raise my eyebrows.

Children, family and soteriology

2007-03-06T00:40:00.000Z

In chapters 27 and 29 Justin condemns the practice of exposing children, which from the context I deduce to be the custom of abandoning children to be picked up by others. He sees marriage as centred on having and caring for children, and celibacy the only option for those who are not married.

In chapter 28 we get some insights into Justin's understanding of salvation. Eternal damnation is reserved for the devil and those who follow him. Yet God delays from carrying out this punishment, due to his concern for all those that he foreknows will be saved. Humans are created "rational and contemplative", with the power to choose the truth and know right, and thus there is no excuse before God.

The irrationality of persecution

2007-03-03T01:29:00.000Z

In Chapters 24-26 Justin emphasises the irrationality of persecution of Christians, in the light of the beliefs which are tolerated in the Roman Empire. Justin is particularly scathing of the immorality of many pagan gods.

Justin also refers to "magicians" who are tolerated. He refers to Simon, probably the same one from Acts, and also to a disciple of his Menander. Here we also have a reference to Marcion, who is described as denying that God created the universe for there "is a God greater than the creator."

Justin and paganism

2007-03-03T01:19:00.000Z

Chapters 20-23 are fascinating in that we see Justin seek to argue for the plausibility of Christian faith, and hence for the arbitrary nature of persecution, by indicating parallels with pagan religion and pagan philosophy. At times, the parallels one rather close for comfort, as when he relates the sonship of Christ to the sons of God in pagan literature. Later, however, he will claim that this is due to demons distorting Christian doctrine in advance.

Justin's christology appears ambiguous at the moment. Does he believe in the eternity of the Son? On one occasion he refers to Christ as "first-born", on another as "first begotten".

Justin on the resurrection

2007-03-01T00:57:00.000Z

Rather appropriate theme considering the claims of titanic proportions being made elsewhere...

Ch. 18-19
Justin clearly defends the resurrection of the body, and sees the wicked as being condemned to hell. What is interesting is the way he tries to establish links with pagan philosophy, and even religion to strengthen his position. Although this is anachronistic, his arguments in chapter 19 reminded me of statements by one of my teachers Rob Cook, [quoting K. Ward if I am not mistaken], of the resurrection being not a breaking of the "laws" of nature, but the operation of a higher law.

Justin quotes Jesus

2007-02-28T00:30:00.000Z

Chapters 13-17

Justin sets the persecution faced by Christians in the context of spiritual warfare, it is due to the influence of demons that the Roman authorities oppose them, although they do no evil.

Justin then quotes Jesus extensively (apparently from his memory of the Gospels) to indicate the quality of the Christian faith. His main emphasis is on holiness, for he wishes to persuade his readers that Christians are no threat, in fact, although they only worship God and not Caesar in all else they are law-abiding.

Some interesting points:

1. Justin rejects double marriage.
2. Justin claims that there are many men and women who although now are old have led moral and pure lives.
3. Justin affirms that those who do not live holy lives are not genuine Christians. In fact, "not those who make profession, but those who do the works, will be saved."

Justin Christian worship and mini creed

2007-02-27T00:23:00.000Z

Chapter 13 is another theological gem. Here Justin sets Christian worship and the rejection of sacrifices and other forms of religious ritual in the context of God desiring prayers and the good use of the creation that he has established.

Here we also have a proto-trinitarian mini-creed where Christ is worshipped as the son of God and the prophetic Spirit is referred to. The nature of Justin's belief is still unclear here as he refers to Christ as "second to the eternal and unchangeable God".

Justin on government, salvation and Trinity

2007-02-26T23:54:00.000Z

Chapter 12 is full of interesting theological themes.

(1) Justin emphasises that the authorities should be content with Christians as they are allies in promoting peace. But this is no free cheque for politicians, for Justin also claims that the power of rulers who esteem opinion over truth is that of robbers in a desert.

(2) The emphasis in this chapter is strongly on the link between good works and salvation. Eternal punishment comes to those who do evil, eternal salvation to those who do good.

(3) Here we have language of the son being begotten of the Father.

Justin, the Kingdom and Death

2007-02-25T00:59:00.000Z

In chapter 10 Justin emphasises that Christians are not looking for a human kingdom, an important point to make when one faces potential persecution. Nonetheless, persecution does not intimidate Christians after all :

"death is a debt which must at all events be paid."

Idols and serving God

2007-02-25T00:56:00.000Z

In chapter 9 Justin follows the traditional OT polemic against idol worship, adding that there is demonic inspiration behind such worship.

In contrast, the true God, who cannot be represented in any form, and has no personal name, is to be worshipped through the imitation of his "excellences", especially "temperance...justice...philanthropy."

Justin on faith in God

2007-02-25T00:52:00.000Z

According to Justin, Christians do not deny their faith in God, even though this could save their lives because they would rather die than choose to live a lie. Although Justin does not go as far as to teach salvation through works in chapter 8 he does declare that "pure and eternal life" will come to those who have proved to God that they have followed him.

In contrast, eternal punishment will come to those who are wicked, their spirits being re-united with their bodies. Justin draws a comparison to a similar teaching in Plato, although the philosopher restricted the punishment to a thousand years.

Responding to the charge of atheism

2007-02-24T00:30:00.000Z

Christians are being condemned for "atheism", as evildoers, which Justin considers injust as they are being condemned on account of the name "Christian" as opposed to any evidence against them.

Justin accepts that Christians are atheists concerning the pagan gods, which he links to demons. Nonetheless, they believe in "the most true God, the Father of righteousness..." and in trinitarian language he refers also to the Son who proceeds from the Father and the "prophetic Spirit."

Justin justifies Christian rejection of the pagan gods by claiming that the same rejection of these demons can be seen in the great philosopher Socrates. In fact, the "logos" at work in Socrates is the same that "took shape, and became a man and was called Jesus Christ;". No wonder that Justin is such a mine (field?) for christology and the debate concerning Christianity and other religions.

Justin Martyr

2007-02-24T00:23:00.000Z

Moving now onto the writings of Justin Martyr, starting with his first apology.

One of the significant statements of the introduction to this apology, addressed to the Emperor and his son, is Justin's suggestion of the ideal relationship between ruler and ruled:

subjects render an unexceptional account of their life and doctrine...rulers should give their decision in obedience, not to violence and tyranny, but to piety and philosophy.

This suggests some form of allegience to Plato's concept of the philosopher-king.

Walter Wink anyone?

2007-02-22T00:03:00.000Z

According to Papias:

"To some of them [angels] he gave dominion over the arrangement of the world, and he commissioned them to exercise their dominion well. ...but it happened that their arrangement came to nothing."

Papias and eschatology

2007-02-22T00:01:00.000Z

Papias believed in a future millenium when Christ would rule over the earth after the resurrection from the dead. Papias also believed in a grading of eternal life: heaven, paradise, the city according to our merits.

Papias, apostolic tradition and traditions

2007-02-21T23:54:00.000Z

Papias is quoted by other authors as a very early witness to the concept of the apostolic tradition. He seems also to have been responsible for developing "traditions" concerning the family of Jesus.

De-fragmenting Papias

2007-02-21T23:50:00.000Z

Reading through the fragments of Papias preserved in other authors. Pity that his five books seem to have gone AWOL.

Papias is a name which crops up quite regularly in Biblical studies with his theories on the composition of NT books, especially Mark and Matthew. Is the story in the Gospel of the Hebrews of the woman caught in a multitude of sins the mysterious passage of the woman's gospel now [kind of] in the Gospel of John? Is his reference to a presbyter called John significant for the composition of Revelation?