That became the lingua franca of all of these subject peoples. Hellenistic Christianity is notable for its combination of Greek philosophy, ethics and morality with Christian belief. The Christian Apologists of the 2nd century were a group of writers who sought to defend the faith against Jewish and Greco-Roman critics. On the opening chapters of Genesis as an allegory of the drama of pre-existent souls and their fall, see Peter W. Martens, Origen's Doctrine of Pre-Existence and the Opening Chapters of Genesis, ZAC 16 (2012) 51649. 2018. 2.6.4); Eph 1:4 (Princ. Both of those strands of Hellenistic tradition as appropriated by Jewish philosophers like Philo, did, however, have an impact on Christians of a later generation who tried to make sense of Jesus and his teaching within the broader framework of Greek and Roman culture. . Cartwright, Sophie Justin Martyr was a key figure during this period who helped reconcile Hellenism with Christian teachings. h The first German . %PDF-1.6 % 3.1.3/GK 466, 197.9468, 198.2). 1.4; 6.3; 6.1314; 7.6; 7.4547; 7.71; Princ. Because among Greek philosophers there was a growing appreciation for the unity of the divine and for the notion that there may be a single simple divine principle underlying all things. Lothar Lies; Innsbrucker theologische Studien 19; Innsbruck: Tyrolia Verlag, 1987] 260). posit that the soul is always in a body (as Eratosthenes, Ptolemy the Platonist, and others do) and make it pass from subtler bodies into dense bodies (John F. Finamore and John M. Dillon, Iamblichus De Anima: Text, Translation, and Commentary [Philosophia antiqua 92; Boston: Brill, 2002], 55). Many Christians also rejected the literary traditions of the Classical world, denouncing the immoral and unethical behaviour of the deities and heroes of ancient myth and literature. 166.1617 Augustine openly acknowledges the inability of the creationist view to adequately address the sufferings of infants and the diversity of their talents, precisely the existential problem Origen's view of pre-existence was attempting to address. press reaction. The nature of God was another tricky bridge between two schools of thought for Hellenistic Christianity to overcome. Patriots 2023 NFL Draft takeaways: A stud early, but some odd picks on Many of these certificates have survived. berlegungen zur Grenzziehung zwischen Platonismus und Christentum, TRu36 [1971] 285302). It's Me, Margaret.". And increasingly in the philosophical environment of the second and third centuries belief was becoming widespread that God was a very transcendent kind of being, that is, a being who is very distant from human kind. 46 See esp. Today, much of modern Christianity has become inseparable from Greek philosophy and thought. The misleading tendency to present Origen as a dogmatizer on pre-existence is already clearly developed by Epiphanius (see his Ep. 970Google Scholar. Io. It was a time of spiritual revolution in the Greek and Roman empires, when old cults died or were fundamentally transformed and when new religious movements came into being. 7.6; Comm. 2.1; 2.3 (736a316); 2.4.25 (738b). 27.12, on the research-quality of Origen's theology. Rom. Consider for instanceand I mean this as an examplewhether one should be considered a heretic who investigates the question of the human soul, since concerning it the Church's rule has handed down neither that it is derived from the propagation of the seed, nor that it is more honorable and more ancient than the structure of bodies. The term "Hellenistic Judaism" is a conventional one, long used, but a misnomer according to many contemporary scholars. E n^N GEbzSA5"Z>C=rJabDaK%LfOLYp#bod?9C7. 51 Princ. See also Princ. why did christianity succeed? Thus, the Christians could very well be unpopular, and they often were. 19 asserts that our souls are produced by God alone and in no way can be attributed to our parents, but it is not clear whether this creation happens with the emergence of the body or precedes it. To learn more, view ourPrivacy Policy. teachers' guide. Commentaire sur le Cantique des Cantiques, SC 375 (Paris: Cerf, 1991) 4089, n. 1. Jewish culture and civilization during the Hellenistic period was in intense dialogue with Hellenistic culture and civilization, beginning with the translation of Hebrew scriptures into Greek, a translation which survives and which we know as the Septuagint. *zYH!Q]{M{XX Harvey, Susan Ashbrook and Hunter, David G.; Oxford Handbooks; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008) 67290Google Scholar; Markschies, Christoph, Does it Make Sense to Speak of a Hellenization of Christianity in Antiquity? Church History and Religious Culture 92 (2012) 3334CrossRefGoogle Scholar. In the history of Christianity Adolf von Harnack popularized its use for a paganizing . In Dawson's words, this "synthesis has remained the foundation of Western culture and has never been destroyed.". 2.9.5 (GK 410, 169.46/Butterworth, 133). 79 For Origen, this comes close to the imitation of Christ's soul contemplating its Maker (see esp. 77 The theory of recollection is used in Phaed. For additional passages on the creation of these rational beings, including their potential existence in God's Wisdom (i.e., Son), see Comm. Paris: tudes augustiniennes, 1985)Google Scholar. For more on the distinction between the church's teaching and the scholar's research, see esp., Kettler, Franz Heinrich, Der ursprngliche Sinn der Dogmatik des Origenes (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fr die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der lteren Kirche 31; Berlin: Alfred Tpelmann, 1966)Google Scholar. And therefore to say that Jesus was in some way God incarnate presents a philosophical conundrum, because it's impossible to conceive of the transcendent as immanent, as embodied in human flesh, the way that Christians were coming to proclaim. The study of Hellenistic religions is a study of the dynamics of religious persistence and change in this vast and culturally varied area. Cant. 5.62 for Origen's open acknowledgment that he read philosophical texts. Religions | Free Full-Text | Christianity and Its Impact on the Lives ; 3rd German edition; London: Williams and Norgate, 1897) esp. Byers, Sarah C., Perception, Sensibility, and Moral Motivation in Augustine: A Stoic-Platonic Synthesis (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2012)CrossRefGoogle Scholar. 12 Tzamalikos, Panayiotis, Origen: Cosmology and Ontology of Time (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae 77; Leiden: Brill, 2006) 8081Google Scholar. Offers a definition to be defended and addresses objections to the doctrine from theodicy, history, and divine relationality. For Origen, a just and good God would not assign blame to a soul that had not committed sin itself. It is primarily a devotional or votive religion, based on the exchange of gifts between the divine and mortals typically through correctly performed sacrificial rituals. 1.pref.2, but esp. What do you mean when you say Hellenistic? Heinrich Karpp, Probleme altchristlicher Anthropologie: Biblische Anthropologie und philosophische Psychologie bei den Kirchenvtern des dritten Jahrhunderts (Beitrge zur Frderung christlicher Theologie 44. The prophet or saviour replaced the priest and king as the chief religious figure. The Christians should be left alone as long as they did not stir up trouble. Clement of Alexandria, the second known head of the catechetical school at Alexandria, possessed a wide erudition in the main classics and knew the works of Plato and Homer intimately. Things like Platonic philosophy and Stoic philosophy at the level it was appropriated by a person like Philo, probably would not have had a direct impact on Jesus. Corrections? 1.6.4; 1.7.1).Beyond these points, I think there are three additional worries with Edwards's reconstruction: (1) he does not address the full range of passages in Origen's corpus where he speaks of souls or minds existing before their bodies, including those passages that speak of these rational creatures falling in the primordial realm prior to their embodiment (among others, Princ. Many thanks to the respondent, Trenton Merricks, as well as to the helpful comments of the conference participants. 1.6.23 (also see 1.8.1). 11 Mark Edwards, Origen against Plato (Ashgate Studies in Philosophy & Theology in Late Antiquity; Aldershot: Ashgate, 2002) 159 (and 114). While the Latin phrase is ambiguous, the larger context clarifies how it should be understood: in the lines that immediately follow, Origen says that Jesus's soul had already (iam) completely entered the Word before it was united to the body (GK 362, 143.12). de Boor; 2 vols. The two following essays deal with the ancient Hellenism. My thesis is that one of the earliest understandings of Jesus nature is found in the infancy narratives and that this understanding is presupposed by the earliest Christian writers (including the writers of the New Testament texts). What is the meaning of Hellenists? Christianity and Hellenistic philosophies experienced complex interactions during the first to the fourth centuries. You can download the paper by clicking the button above. Judy Blume described it in print, in her seminal 1970 novel, "Are You There God? 86 Princ. Origen defines the soul as an existence possessing imagination and desire [ ] (Princ. hom. 1.6.2; 2.9.12; 2.9.6; 3.5.4; Hom. Although Judaism and early Christianity were affected by the surrounding culture in certain ways, they diligently guarded their religious beliefs and practices from Hellenistic pagan influences, even to the point of martyrdom. For a good rehearsal of Origen's expertise in philosophy, see Dorival, Gilles, L'apport d'Origne pour la connaissance de la philosophie grecque, in Origeniana Quinta (ed. Religion from the death of Alexander to the reformation of Augustus: 32327, Religion from the Augustan reformation to the death of Marcus Aurelius: 27, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hellenistic-religion, ReligionFacts - Hellenic Reconstructionism. ), Religion and Competition in Antiquity, Bruxelles 2014,, 237-284. But, Rome didn't immediately transform everything into a kind of Latin-Roman culture. The present version was revised while I was a fellow at the Center for Philosophy of Religion (Notre Dame, 20122013). } For a concise and balanced discussion of how Origen interacted with particular philosophical positions, see Chadwick, Henry, Origen, in Cambridge History of Later Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy (ed. See as well Edwards, Mark, Origen's Platonism. Most notable was the shift from elements characteristic of native religion in its definition of religion (e.g., local tradition and custom, informal knowledge orally transmitted, and birth) to formulated dogma, creeds, law codes, and rules for conversion and admission that were characteristic of diasporic religion. The New Testament and other parts of the Bible are considered Hellenistic in form, and much of Christian art throughout the centuries has been based on a Greek artistic and sculptural sensibility. Pamphilus continued this observation, noting that Origen spoke hesitantly about the issue of the pre-existent soul (Apol. Christian culture has been built, almost from the very first, on a double foundation, that of both Hebraism and Hellenism, to use Matthew Arnold's terms; and it was precisely the development of Greek culture toward certain religious and philosophical ideas which made this possible. The Stoics (for whom the soul of the embryo derived from the souls of both parents) also accepted the theory of simultaneous origins, and apparently so too did some Platonists. Christians were blamed for the desperate situation because they denied the gods who were thought to protect Rome, thereby bringing down their wrath. . tapes, transcripts & events, FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of wgbh educational foundation. 1.32. Cant. Moreover, in many of these passages Origen speaks of a contrast between a discarnate and incarnate existence, and this distinction seems to lose its force if discarnate does not really mean discarnate (e.g., Princ. My field is New Testament studies-in essence the continuation of his interest. He has written for the "Valley Citizen" newspaper, where his work won first- and second-place awards in sports and outdoor features from the Idaho Press Club. The Hellenistic world is that world that was created after the conquests of the near east by Alexander the Great at the end of the fourth century B.C. eccl. Comm. 2.9.2 (GK 404, 166.610/Butterworth, 13031). Pamphilus: Apology for Origen, with the Letter of Rufinus: On the Falsification of the Books of Origen [trans. Hom. Eph. Platonism and Christianity: A Mere Antagonism or a Profound Common Ground. 1.10.1; Comm. 75cd). For many others, both before and after Harnack, the Hellenization of Christianity has signaled a similar narrative of decline. 6.6; 6.14.810). The reasons for this persecution are uncertain but have been ascribed, among other things, to the influence of Galerius, a fanatic follower of the traditional Roman religion; Diocletians own devotion to traditional religion and his desire to use Roman religion to restore complete unity in the empire; and the fear of an alienation of rebellious armies from emperor worship. Jean Hering, tude sur la doctrine de la chute et de la prexistence des mes chez Clment d'Alexandrie (Bibliothque de lcole des hautes tudes, sciences religieuses 38; Paris: E. Leroux, 1923) 2834. 15 Below I focus on Phaedrus since Origen specifically alludes to this work when discussing pre-existence. 40 Givens, When Souls Had Wings, 46. The two excerpts illustrate how the God, who probably used to be seen as a one of a human-like nature, turned into an unconditioned entity. ; London: A. 160. The clearest discussion of human reason and free will is at Princ. Gen. 1.13; Comm. Also see Hom. In Porter and Pitts (eds. 1.3.81.4.1 which he claims is often said to adumbrate a fall from the incorporeal to the bodily condition (ibid., 92). Hft; Gtersloh, Germany: C. Berteslmann, 1950) 92185. G. W. Butterworth; Gloucester, Mass. 2.8; Hom. II.147.13 (IX.147). first christians. 'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret': Judy Blume's Novel Is Finally Erskine, Andrew; Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World; Oxford: Blackwell, 2003) 26479Google Scholar; Drobner, Hubertus R., Christian Philosophy, in The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies (ed. See the extensive recent discussion of this topic by Blosser, Become Like the Angels, 60141. 82 See also Princ. For instance, in saying that the word of God that we encounter in scripture is the logos or the divine reason, by which he meant a combination of the ideas, Plato's ideas, which by that time were conceived by philosophers as being in the mind of God. 2.6.3). . We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Much of this activity would have centered in Alexandria, the capital of Egypt, but there was similar activity going on in Palestine, and some of these literary products that survive in some cases only in fragments, were probably written in Palestine, by Jews who were adopting these Hellenistic literary modes.