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Christian Apologist
Christian apologetics (, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity. Christian apologetics have taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in the early church and Patristic writers such as Origen, Augustine of Hippo, Justin Martyr and Tertullian, then continuing with writers such as Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, William of Ockham and Anselm of Canterbury during Scholasticism. Blaise Pascal was an active Christian apologist during the 17th century. In the modern period, Christianity was defended through the efforts of many authors such as John Henry Newman, G. K. Chesterton and C. S. Lewis, as well as G. E. M. Anscombe. History Jewish precursors According to Edgar J. Goodspeed in the first century CE Jewish apologetic elements could be seen in works such as The Wisdom of Solomon, Philo's ''On the Contemplative Life'' and more explicitly in Josephus' '' Against Apion''. Apostolic and post-apost ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Theology
Christian theology is the theology – the systematic study of the divine and religion – of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. It concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theologians use biblical exegesis, rationality, rational analysis and argument. Theologians may undertake the study of Christian theology for a variety of reasons, such as in order to: * help them better understand Christian tenets * make comparative religion, comparisons between Christianity and other traditions * Christian apologetics, defend Christianity against objections and criticism * facilitate reforms in the Christian church * assist in the evangelism, propagation of Christianity * draw on the resources of the Christian tradition to address some present situation or perceived need * education in Christian philosophy, especially in Neoplatonism, Neoplatonic philosophyLouth, Andrew. The Origins of the Ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Henry Newman
John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. He was previously an Anglican priest and after his conversion became a cardinal. He was an important and controversial figure in the religious history of England in the 19th century and was known nationally by the mid-1830s. He was canonised as a Catholic saint in 2019. He was a member of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri. Originally an evangelical academic at the University of Oxford and priest in the Church of England, Newman was drawn to the high church tradition of Anglicanism. He became one of the more notable leaders of the Oxford Movement, an influential and controversial grouping of Anglicans who wished to restore to the Church of England many Catholic beliefs and liturgical rituals from before the English Reformation. In this, the movement had some success. After publishing his controversial Tract 90 in 1841, Newman la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contra Celsum
''Against Celsus'' ( Greek: Κατὰ Κέλσου, ''Kata Kelsou''; Latin: ''Contra Celsum''), preserved entirely in Greek, is a major apologetics work by the Church Father Origen of Alexandria, written in around 248 AD, countering the writings of Celsus, a pagan philosopher and controversialist who had written a scathing attack on Christianity in his treatise ''The True'' ''Word'' (Λόγος Ἀληθής, ''Logos Alēthēs''). Among a variety of other charges, Celsus had denounced many Christian doctrines as irrational and criticized Christians themselves as uneducated, deluded, unpatriotic, close-minded towards reason, and too accepting of sinners. He had accused Jesus of performing his miracles using black magic rather than actual divine powers and of plagiarizing his teachings from Plato. Celsus had warned that Christianity itself was drawing people away from traditional religion and claimed that its growth would lead to a collapse of traditional, conservative valu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The True Word
''The True Word'' (or ''Discourse'', ''Account'', or ''Doctrine''; , ''Logos Alēthēs'') is a lost treatise in which the ancient Greek philosopher Celsus addressed many principal points of early Christianity and argued against their validity. In ''The True Word'', Celsus attacked Christianity in three ways: by attacking its philosophical claims, by marking it as a phenomenon associated with the uneducated and lower class, and by cautioning his audience that it was a danger to the Roman Empire. Information concerning the work exists only in the extensive quotations from it in the ''Contra Celsum'' ("Against Celsus"), written some seventy years later by the Christian Origen. These are believed to be accurate as far as they go, but may not give a fully comprehensive picture of the original work. Criticism of Christianity before Celsus Celsus was only one writer in a long tradition of Roman writers and philosophers who wrote and spoke out against Christianity, feeling that its doctrin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celsus
Celsus (; , ''Kélsos''; ) was a 2nd-century Greek philosopher and opponent of early Christianity. His literary work '' The True Word'' (also ''Account'', ''Doctrine'' or ''Discourse''; Greek: )Hoffmann p.29 survives exclusively via quotations in '' Contra Celsum'', a refutation written in 248 by Origen of Alexandria. ''The True Word'' is the earliest known comprehensive criticism of Christianity and Judaism. Hanegraaff has argued that ''The True Word'' was written shortly after the death of Justin Martyr (who was possibly the first Christian apologist), and was probably a response to his work.Hanegraaff p.22 Origen stated that Celsus was from the first half of the 2nd century AD, although the majority of modern scholars have come to a general consensus that Celsus probably wrote around AD 170 to 180.Chadwick, H., ''Origen: Contra Celsum'', CUP (1965), p. xxviii. The arguments for the date depend on factors such as the state of the art of gnosticism, possible references ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. Together with Pamphilus, Eusebius was a scholar of the biblical canon and is regarded as one of the most learned Christians during late antiquity. He wrote the ''Demonstrations of the Gospel'', '' Preparations for the Gospel'' and ''On Discrepancies between the Gospels'', studies of the biblical text. His work '' Onomasticon'' is an early geographical lexicon of places in the Holy Land mentioned in the Bible. As "Father of Church History" (not to be confused with the title of Church Father), he produced the ''Ecclesiastical History'', ''On the Life of Pamphilus'', the ''Chronicle'' and ''On the Martyrs''. He also produced a biographical work on Constantine the Great, the first Christian Roman emperor, who was ''Augustus'' between A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hadrian
Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia ''gens'', the ''Aeli Hadriani'', came from the town of Atri, Abruzzo, Hadria in eastern Italy. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Early in his political career, Hadrian married Vibia Sabina, grandniece of the ruling emperor, Trajan, and his second cousin once removed. The marriage and Hadrian's later succession as emperor were probably promoted by Trajan's wife Pompeia Plotina. Soon after his own succession, Hadrian had four leading senators unlawfully put to death, probably because they seemed to threaten the security of his reign; this earned him the senate's lifelong enmity. He earned further disapproval by abandoning Trajan's expansionist policies and territorial gains in Mesopotamia (Roman province), Mesopotamia, Assyria ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quadratus Of Athens
Quadratus of Athens (; fl. 2nd century) was an early Christian apologist, traditionally regarded as a disciple of the Apostles and one of the Seventy Apostles. He is celebrated as one of the earliest Christian apologists, best known for presenting an apology to Emperor Hadrian during his visit to Athens around 124–125 CE. His work, which defended the Christian faith against its critics, highlighted what he saw as the enduring impact of Jesus' miracles. Quadratus is also associated with the apostolic tradition and is recognized as the Bishop of Athens, succeeding Saint Publius. His feast day is observed on May 26 in the Catholic Church and September 21 in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Life Background Quadratus was born near the end of the first century CE, likely in the region of Asia Minor.Roller, J. H. (2009). ''The doctrine of immortality in the early church''. Afterlife. https://www.afterlife.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/john20roller20-20doctrine20of20immortalit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gospel Of Peter
The Gospel of Peter (), or the Gospel according to Peter, is an ancient text concerning Jesus Christ (title), Christ, only partially known today. Originally written in Koine Greek, it is a non-canonical gospel and was rejected as apocryphal by the Church's Synod of Carthage, synods of Carthage and Synod of Rome, Rome, which contributed to the establishment of the Development of the New Testament canon, New Testament canon. It was the first of the apocryphal gospels to be rediscovered, preserved in the dry sands of Egypt. A major focus of the surviving fragment of the Gospel of Peter is the Passion (Christianity), Passion narrative, which ascribes responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus to Herod Antipas rather than to Pontius Pilate. Composition Authorship The Gospel of Peter explicitly claims to be the work of Saint Peter: According to bible scholar Craig Blomberg, the Gospel of Peter is pseudepigraphy, pseudepigraphical (bearing the name of an author who did not act ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apostolic Fathers
The Apostolic Fathers, also known as the Ante-Nicene Fathers, were core Christian theologians among the Church Fathers who lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD who are believed to have personally known some of the Twelve Apostles or to have been significantly influenced by them. Their writings, though widely circulated in early Christianity, were not included in the canon of the New Testament. Many of the writings derive from the same time period and geographical location as other works of early Christian literature which came to be part of the New Testament. Background The label ''Apostolic Fathers'' has been applied to these writers only since the 17th century, to indicate that they were thought of as representing the generation that had personal contact with the Twelve Apostles. The earliest known use of the term "Apostolic(al) Fathers" was by William Wake in 1693, when he was chaplain in ordinary to King William and Queen Mary of England. According to the ''Catholic Enc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Against Apion
''Against Apion'' ( ''Peri Archaiotētos Ioudaiōn Logos''; Latin ''Contra Apionem'' or ''In Apionem'') is a work written by Flavius Josephus (c. 37 CE – c. 100 CE ) as a defense of Judaism against criticism by the Egyptian author Apion. Josephus was a Roman–Jewish historian, defector, and courtier to the emperors of the Flavian dynasty; Apion was a Hellenized Egyptian grammarian and sophist. The work is dated to after 94 CE. Purpose In the centuries of imperial conquests in the Eastern Mediterranean, first by Alexander and his successors (see Hellenistic period) and then by the Romans, a phenomenon arose among the literate elites of the various civilizations that were incorporated into the newly formed imperial states. This took the form of historians from different cultures (typically Egyptian, Jewish, or Greek) writing histories in the form of polemics, with each author claiming his own civilization as the world's oldest, a designation that—to the authors a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of priestly descent and a mother who claimed Hasmonean royal ancestry. He initially fought against the Roman Empire during the First Jewish–Roman War as general of the Jewish forces in Galilee, until surrendering in AD 67 to the Roman army led by military commander Vespasian after the six-week siege of Yodfat. Josephus claimed the Jewish messianic prophecies that initiated the First Jewish–Roman War made reference to Vespasian becoming Roman emperor. In response, Vespasian decided to keep him as a slave and presumably interpreter. After Vespasian became emperor in AD 69, he granted Josephus his freedom, at which time Josephus assumed the Emperor's family name of '' Flavius''. Flavius Josephus fully defected to the Roman s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
