Gnosticism And Tertullian's Development Of Christian Apologetics

He is called ‘The Father of Latin Christianity’, because he was the link between Greek-speaking Christianity and Latin-speaking Christianity. His many treatises covered his beliefs on Christian practice, human salvation, the Trinity or trinitas, his high regard of martyrs in the church, Greek philosophy, and the place of women in the church. He coined his most famous quote, “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?”, in a piece about his opinion of Pagan philosophy (Weaver). Tertullian drew inspiration from earlier Church Apologists like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and writers like Miltiades and Melito of Sardis

Historically, He did so by the way of angels, prophets and apostles, visions, and dreams: at specific times to specific persons. However, God’s ultimate special revelation was seen in His Son, Jesus Christ, as He was the physical representation of God. Through Jesus and His teachings, He reveals God to us. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 explains “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work”(ESV). In seeking His truth and understanding of God’s moral tenets, we must apply the principles of Biblical hermeneutics. This approach enables one can interpret the literal meaning of Scripture (Jones, 2016, 58). Through the process of exegesis, we eliminate the possibility of self-interpretation by examining the whole context of the verse, including the preceding and proceeding passages, to determine the meaning of the inspired text. This also includes deciphering the historical and cultural background, circumstances, and grammatical context to understand the message conveyed by the writer to the people of that time and place in history. In addition, one should carefully evaluate any parallel passages as a means to help them determine the author 's intended meaning of the text they are studying and its relevance to a specific circumstance.

We are often searching for answers to find out who Jesus was or what His teachings really meant. John includes eight different situations in which Jesus gives what are known as the “I Am” statements. Instead of continuing to simply wonder about who Jesus is, we can take an in depth look into the “I Am” statements that Jesus made while He was here on earth. Conclusions can be drawn by looking at the statements Jesus makes and looking into what they mean. He uses an emphatic “I Am” to bring out important teachings about his person. Most of these statements are known by Christians.

Scholars have not found sufficient proof, but tradition holds that Simon Magus and Cerinthus were the founders of the Gnostic faith. Tradition also holds that Paul on his second missionary journey encountered Simon and his beliefs of Gnosticism. Later we will discuss Paul’s views of Gnosticism. Cerinthus was a Jewish-Gnostic from Asia Minor who lived around 100 A.D. Gnosticism was perhaps the most well known in Alexandria because from there haled Valentinus most famous of all Alexandrian Gnostics. Valentinus wrote his Letter to Rheginos in order to clarify the standpoint of Gnostics in regards to redemption and that freeing of the spirit comes not by

The evidence that exists to prove the diversity of the early Christian community is the many other writings which have been discovered by historians from the same time period (Harris 2014). In addition, the writings reveal that each separate group of Christians from this era had their own understanding of what Jesus was teaching His followers. The “fifth gospel” of Thomas paints the picture of Jesus as a guide towards His disciples by enlightening them with the message that God’s Kingdom already rules, but many people would not believe him. The portrait that Thomas provokes is an example of the diversity of the early writers and several of his ideas are similar to Matthew, Mark, and Luke (Harris 2014).

The earliest recorded text teaching Christianity has its roots buried deep within Judaism. The birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as the Messiah, created a new ideology of worship. The Messiah is the savior for all people and of all sins. Paul carried the message of the Messiah to the Gentiles. His missionary journeys and establishment of churches enabled the spreading of the message throughout the Roman Empire. Christianity grew in acceptance; those that believed in the Messiah separated and began to worship on their own. This marked the beginning of the split of Judaism and Christianity.

Many believe that the writings of early Church Fathers were lectured to different sects. In fact, one may assume that there are Similarities and differences between Tertullian and Justin Martyr. Particularly, let’s compare Tertullian’s and Justin Martyr perspective of faith, reason, and philosophy! Justin Martyr is Known as the defender of the faith (Tony lane), (p.10) He looked for truth in Greek philosophy. Likewise, his apology is in defense of the Christian faith and belief of Christianity. Of the writings that subsist, his First Apology (c. 155 c.e.; English translation, 1861) contains a resilient appeal for justice lectured to Antoninus. In that work, he clarifies Christian morals to influence his reader of Christian faithfulness and honesty. However, also central to this writing is his claim that Hebrew prophecy and Greek philosophy, both informed by the divine Logos (the Word), pointed to the coming of Christ. Through such dispute, he facilitated to institute the early Christian theme which faith is greater than Greek philosophy and is the result of Judaic belief. In Justin’s awareness, merely those who were controlled by fears failed to recognize these facts. His Second Apology (c.

Irenaeus was born in Smyrna, Asia Minor around 120 AD (Olson, 68). He was tutored by the famous Polycarp, who learned from the Apostle John. During his life, Irenaeus spent much of his time writing to different leaders as well as writing to Christians, as a whole, dealing with the issue of Gnosticism. Adversus Haereses and Proof of the Apostolic Preaching are two works, by Irenaeus, that we have been able to receive complete transcript of (Poncelet, 2016). Irenaeus also has many works that we only have partial transcripts of. For example, On the Subject of Knowledge, On the Ogdoad, “a treatise on schism,” and letters to the Pope Victor, are a few of the partial transcripts of Irenaeus works (Poncelet, 2016). Irenaeus death was one that has a twist of mystery. One thing, known for sure, is he was killed during a Christian massacre in Lyons, during the year 202. What remains a mystery is the manner in which he died. According to Olson, “he was counted a martyr and saint by both Greek-speaking Christians of the East and Latin-speaking Christians of the Western half of the Roman Empire” (70). Irenaeus life was one of significance, especially when it came to his writings on Gnosticism and the theory of Redemption.

The aim of the Christian apologist is to appeal to the mind and to the heart of the unbeliever, with the necessary guidance and intervening of the Holy Spirit, by building a good case for the truth of Christianity. The classical method is a compelling approach because the “two-step” method establishes a strong case for the truth of theism and also creates a foundation which builds on the truth of the Christian worldview. This approach engages with natural theology but also recognizes that there are certain truths that can only be known through special revelation from God. Classical apologetics successfully provides an objective, solidified establishment of the Christian worldview in light of logic and reason through which the Holy Spirit uses those arguments and evidences to convict and convince the unbeliever.

The quest for the knowledge on the historical Jesus started as a protest against the traditional dogma of Christianity, but when the neutral historians joined the movement, all they saw was Jesus without features. Even when these scholars decided that other biblical figures such as John the evangelist, John the Baptist, Paul, and others were at home in a symbolic and richly storied world. Jesus himself

The Gnostic Gospels written by Elaine Pagel discusses the origins of the Christian faith and the true reasons behind some of the Christian’s beliefs. Pagel claims that the theological disputes between the Orthodox Church and Gnostics in the early stages of Christianity were largely motivated by the political struggle for leadership of the religion. Orthodox Christians supported texts and interpretations to strengthen their goal which was to create an organization of believers. Gnostics, who was not necessarily seeking authority over Christianity, were eventually overshadowed by the supremacy of the Orthodox. Prior to the discovery of the artifact at Nag Hammadi in Egypt 1945 there were only had texts that support the Orthodox Christians belief, now historians were able to fully evaluate the two groups in a new prospective. Some of the writings found in this newly discovered artifact are believed to be the Gospel of Thomas and Mary Magdalene. Although Mary Magdalene does not have a book in the current bible, it is believed by many gnostic Christians that Jesus came to her in spirit after his death and passed on to her the secret knowledge of enlightenment. The new gospels that were discovered in Nag Hammadi doesn’t emphases on the birth or death of Jesus as the current biblical gospels do, but focuses more on Jesus’ life. Each chapter is devoted to a major theological problem that divides the Orthodox from the Gnostic. Pagel makes a compelling case that theological beliefs

There were a handful of teachers who taught Gnosticism. They had many beliefs and teachings where they were seeking to address their ideas and problems. Some of these teachers included: Simon the Magician, Basilides, Valentinus, and Marcion.

The individual works of Porphyry and Justin gives just a glimpse of the opposing views they held of Christianity. They both had ideas about the place of Christianity in the Roman world, based on the roots and origins of Christianity. Justin chose Christianity later on in life, where he found truths in the ideas of Christianity and pursued showing how there were faults in the views that were held about Christianity. Porphyry, who is said to be someone who left Christianity, found faults and issues with concepts of Christianity that they held as critical pieces of their origins. Porphyry held issues with the idea of Christians claiming Moses or the Apostles as actual major influences on Christianity. Justin Martyr’s work was an ‘Apology’ towards the Emperor Antonius Pious and his sons, members of the Roman senate. This was Justin’s response to the mistreatment he felt was being done

The first part of this paper will explore the mystery-religions, the reasons behind their popularity, and the Hellenistic world in which they grew that began with Alexander the Great. Next, their characteristics and connections first with Judaism and later with Christianity will be more deeply discussed. In the second part it will be shown that the mystery-religions helped to clear the pathway for the Christianization of the Greco-Roman world by men such as Paul the Apostle. Finally, the Emperor Constantine’s role in this story will be mentioned, during whose reign the mystery-religions declined and Christianity became the major religion of Europe and the near east. The paper will conclude with a brief speculation about the significance of

Jesus Christ is the center of our education. It is his ambition to inspire human with principles of truth, obedience, honor, integrity and purity - principles that will make them a positive force for the stability and uplifting of society. These principles become a living power to shape the character, through the acquaintance of the soul with Christ, through an acceptance of His wisdom as the guide, His power as the strength, of heart and life. This union formed, the Student has found the source of wisdom. Jesus Crist is the teacher that was sent from the Lord which is the best and the greatest. Through Christ had been communicated every ray of divine light that had ever reached our fallen world. It was He who had spoken through everyone that throughout the ages had declared God’s word to man. Christ came to restore knowledge. He came to set aside the false teaching by which those who claimed to know God had misrepresented Him. The most complete illustration of Christ’s methods as a teacher is found in His training of the twelve first disciples. Upon these men were to rest weighty responsibilities. In the training of His disciples the Saviour followed the system of education established at the beginning. All of the disciples were trained personally by the greatest teacher and developed their personality from weakness to strengths which made them people of faith that preaches and lead in the spread of God’s gospel.