For others, however, for other people in the Jewish tradition, it probably was more of a problem that Herod, supposedly a Jewish king, would have been so willing to turn himself over, as it were, to Roman religious interests and Roman imperial ideology. See esp. A similar argument occurs at Meno 80d. 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). Was Early Christianity Corrupted by 'Hellenism'? - Wilmington For Christ Here I look at the way that Paul confronts, adapts, and "Christianizes" Greco-Roman theo-philosophical God-language in order to better communicate the unique reality of the gospel and the Christian God in his theologizing and evangelism into the Hellenistic world. 39.5; Comm. 1.pref.4. 6.19.58); Epiphanius, Pan. It is difficult (2) to explain how such a wide spectrum of figures fluent in Greek, both foe and friend to Origen, erroneously attributed pre-existence to him (e.g., Pamphilus, Epiphanius, Rufinus, Jerome, Theophilus, John of Jerusalem, Theodore of Mopsuestia, among others). 139 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[]/Index[126 23]/Info 125 0 R/Length 72/Prev 639192/Root 127 0 R/Size 149/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream 20.182) (so also Brke, Georg, Des Origenes Lehre vom Urstand des Menschen, ZKT 72 [1950] 3033Google Scholar; Crouzel, Henri, Thologie de l'image de dieu chez Origne [Thologie (Aubier) 34; Paris: Aubier, 1956], 14853Google Scholar; Giulia Sfameni Gasparro, Doppia creazione e peccato di Adamo nel Peri Archon: Fondamenti biblici e presupposti Platonici dell esegesi Origeniana, in Origeniana Secunda: Second Colloque international des tudes origniennes, Bari 2023 septembre 1977 [ed. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). 2.1.13; Comm. 2.9.3 (GK 406, 166.21167.9/Butterworth, 131). 4.40 (SC 156, 290.25/Origen: Contra Celsum [trans. 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. On two souls: Tatian, Oratio ad Graecos 12 and 16; Tertullian, De Anima 10; Clement, Strom. 59 Princ. Beginning in February 303, under the co-emperors Diocletian and Galerius the church faced the worst of all persecutions. There was already in Paul an unmistakably Hellenistic element. { _ &g&>|{K]T 7)Z*"7pScB`UK A 2.7(23). Angelo Di Berardino and Basil Studer; trans. St. Paul could quote such pagan poets as Aratus, Menander, and Epimenides. It was to that world what English is to the modern world in many ways, what French was to the world of the 19th century. The attitude of the earliest Christians toward paganism and the imperial government was complicated by their close association with Greco-Roman literary and artistic culture: it was difficult to attack the former without seeming to criticize the latter. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. But there probably was no formal senatorial enactment proscribing Christianity at this time. Almost every religion in this period occurred in both its homeland and in diasporic centresthe foreign cities in which its adherents lived as minority groups. 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. While many Hellenistic Christians accepted Christ, it was difficult for some to accept the idea of Jesus as intermediary between God and the people. Glen Bowersock, Peter Brown and Oleg Grabar; Cambridge, Mass. 22 Galen, de semine 2.2 (on Athenaeus, founder of the pneumatic school of physicians, who followed Aristotle); Alexander of Aphrodisias, de anima, 36.2223. for this article. Corrections? 1.4; 6.3; 6.1314; 7.6; 7.4547; 7.71; Princ. 88 Hom. Justin Martyr was a key figure during this period who helped reconcile Hellenism with Christian teachings. 5.29, with commentary by Martens, Peter W., On the Confusion of Tongues and Origen's Allegory of the Dispersion of Nations, SPhilo 24 (2011) 10727Google Scholar. Thanks to Gretchen Reydams-Schils, as well as the graduate students, fellows, and faculty affiliated with the Center, who provided valuable critique. Educated Christians shared this literary tradition with educated pagans. Edwards correctly notes that there is no corresponding Greek or Rufinian Latin translation to this pastiche of texts, and most scholars would follow him in considering it a misleading editorial interpolation. 12 Tzamalikos, Panayiotis, Origen: Cosmology and Ontology of Time (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae 77; Leiden: Brill, 2006) 8081Google Scholar. 88.34 that parallels Origen's lists (Philosophical Tradition and the Self, in Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World [ed. On Stoic definitions, see esp. Origen defines the soul as an existence possessing imagination and desire [ ] (Princ. Pick who will make the biggest immediate impact. 27 Givens, Terryl L., When Souls Had Wings: Pre-Mortal Existence in Western Thought (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010) esp. 30 See Her. 246bc. 18 Comm. And his conquest, which extended from India all the way through Egypt, [was] divided into three main areas within 20 years after his death. See as well, Athanasius, Decr. 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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. Other positive statements on the value of philosophy: Hom. See esp. Early persecutions were sporadic, caused by local conditions and dependent on the attitude of the governor. 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. See as well his comment about transmigration as derived from their [i.e., Jews] fathers and that this is not alien to their secret teaching (Comm. 2; cf. 64.72. And that Hellenization was most visible in a place like Sepphoris which was being reconstructed during the youth of Jesus. Matt. 2.8.1/GK 380, 152.20). But to go back a little. See the bibliographic essay by Ulrich Berner, Origenes (Ertrge der Forschung 147; Darmstadt, Germany: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1981), for the divisive Bible versus philosophy portrait that has informed so much writing about Origen over the last two hundred years. He expresses reserve about the value of philosophy, particular philosophical doctrines, or philosophers at Hom. Jo. Both the inner and outer circles fostered esotericism (secrets to be known only by initiates)the former by its use of native language and its oral recollection of traditions from the homeland; the latter by its use of allegory and other similar methods to radically reinterpret the sacred texts. In the English-speaking world, this thesis has been put forward most clearly by Hatch, Edwin, The Influence of Greek Ideas on Christianity (Library of Religion and Culture; London: Williams and Norgate, 1891; repr., New York: Harper & Row, 1957)Google Scholar. That impact extends far beyond scripture, and we see during the Hellenistic period Jews adopting literary forms of the Greek tradition, and writing plays, epic poems, lyric poems, all in the Greek language. : Peter Smith, 1973] 2). In the history of Christianity Adolf von Harnack popularized its use for a paganizing . 60 Princ. 86 Princ. Omissions? John Austin Baker; 3 vols. eccl. Gerald Bostock claims that Origen's doctrine of pre-existence stems essentially from Philo rather than from Plato, but this is too strong a contrast and overlooks that Origen also cites Plato when discussing his own account of pre-existence (The Sources of Origen's Doctrine of Pre-Existence, in Origeniana Quarta [ed. 6.73/GCS 4, 121.2930). Philo was an example of the intense Hellenization of Judaism. St. Clement of Rome cited the dramatists Sophocles and Euripides. $3012``$@gL ` I This empire was so vast as truly to stagger the imagination. 3.5.4; Comm. translator's preface to book 3). ; A History of Early Christian Doctrine Before the Council of Nicaea; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1972) 2:415. 1.pref.5 (GK 92, 13.711/Butterworth, 4). See as well Edwards, Mark, Origen's Platonism. What is Hellenism, and how did it influence the early church? 51 Princ. 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. For other places where Origen describes or defines souls, see esp. 5.62 for Origen's open acknowledgment that he read philosophical texts. The first version of this essay was delivered during the Logos Conference (University of Notre Dame, 2012) at the invitation of Michael Rea. 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. Le Boulluec, Alain, La notion d'hrsie dans la littrature grecque, IIeIIIe sicles (2 vols. ; Translated Texts for Historians 51; Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2009) 2:28384 (Georgius Monachus, Chronicon [ed. Glawe, Walter, Die Hellenisierung des Christentums in der Geschichte der Theologie von Luther bis auf die Gegenwart (Neue Studien zur Geschichte der Theologie und der Kirche 15; Berlin: Trowitzsch und Sohn, 1912)Google Scholar; Grillmeier, Aloys, HellenisierungJudaisierung des Christentums als Deuteprinzipien der Geschichte des kirchlichen Dogmas: Mit ihm und in ihm. For more on the Aristotelian and Stoic views of embodiment, and their presence in Christian circles, see; Waszink, J. H., Quinti Septimi Florentis Tertulliani De Anima (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae 100; Leiden: Brill, 2010) 34247Google Scholar. Salvation History and Religious Competition during the First Millenium AD, in: D. Engels / P. Van Nuffelen (eds. A common criticism of historic orthodox Christianity is the claim that early Christianity was corrupted by the intellectual forces of 'Hellenism.' (Hellenism, of course, refers to the influence of ancient Greek philosophy and culture, which spread throughout the Mediterranean world after the conquests of Alexander the Great in the fourth century BC.) 4.40; 6.43; 6.44. Like the Jews, the Christians (unless they were gnostic) were opposed to syncretism. *zYH!Q]{M{XX Hellenism is the term used to describe the influence of Greek culture on the peoples the Greek and Roman Empires conquered or interacted with. During the 3rd century, economic collapse, political chaos, military revolt, and barbarian invasion nearly destroyed the empire. the following claim about Jesus's pre-existent soul: To prove that it was the perfection of his love and the sincerity of his true affection which gained for him this inseparable unity with God, so that the taking up of his soul was neither accidental nor the result of personal preference, but was a privilege conferred upon it as a reward for its virtues (Princ. Hom. Eph. For similar lists of questions about the soul, see Princ. Hellenization in the Byzantine Empire - Wikipedia 1.3233; 5.2933). 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. 3.1.3/GK 466, 197.9468, 198.2). For many Jews, it seemed not to be a problem at all. You may be asking whether it is necessary to consider as heretics those who hold various opinions on these matters, or who investigate them in various ways. 2.18182; Comm. 1, Divine Impassibility: A Definition and Defense, Martin Hengel, the New Tubingen School, and the Study of Christian Origins, Paul and the Metaphysics of Wisdom: An Exegetical Study of Pauline God-Language, Justin's Life and Logos Christology: Pivotal Lenses for Today, Jesus the Messiah in Messianic Jewish Theology: The Shaping of Messianic Jewish Christology, The Jewish Nature of the Doctrine of the Trinity, A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF JEWISH COMMENTARIES AND PATRISTIC LITERATURE ON THE BOOK OF RUTH, Proto-Trinity: the development of the doctrine of the Trinity in the first and second Christian centuries, The Use of "Hellenistic Judaism" in Pauline Studies, HOW THE PROCESS OF DOCTRINAL STANDARDIZATION DURING THE LATER ROMAN EMPIRE RELATES TO CHRISTIAN TRIUMPHALISM, De Lange_Jewish and Christian Messianic Hopes in pre-Islamic Byzantium_TTClark_2007.pdf, Nicholas de Lange, Jewish and Christian Messianic Hopes in Pre-Islamic Byzantium, in Markus Bockmuehl and James Carleton Paget, eds., Redemption and Resistance: The Messianic Hopes of Jews and Christians in Antiquity (London: T&T Clark, 2007), 274284, Wisdom and Word among the Hellenistic Saviors: The Function of Literacy (JSP forthcoming), What Christ Does, God Does: Surveying Recent Scholarship on Christological Monotheism, Irikefe, Odhe - 2013 - THE HUMANITY OF CHRIST IN JOHN 114 IN THE CONTEXT OF THE DIOCESE OF OLEH, ANGLICAN COMMUNION.pdf, CH 6010 Studies in the History of the Early Church Fall 2019, Evaluating Postmissionary Messianic Judaism: Authority, Christology and the Church of God, Prophet Jesus(pbuh): A Prophet, Not a Son of God, THE IMPACT OF CHRISTIANITY ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF MESSIANIC JEWISH THOUGHT, DER EINFLUSS DES CHRISTENTUMS AUF DIE ENTWICKLUNG DES MESSIANISCH JDISCHEN DENKEN S- THE IMPACT OF CHRISTIANITY ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF MESSIANIC JEWISH THOUGHT, East Meets West: An Exploration and Analysis of Eastern and Western Traditions, Gregory E. Lamb, "Literary Survey of the Second Temple Period (Including an Introduction to Greco-Roman Literature)", The Trinity A Hebrew concept presented in a Graeco-Roman context, Gnostic Origins and the Apocryphon of John, An Introduction to Presuppositional Apologetics. 0 4(14); Somn. And how would the Hellenistic world have influenced Jesus? Questions and Caveats, ZAC 12 (2008) 2038CrossRefGoogle Scholar. 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. symposium. 5 See Harnack's distinction between Jewish and Hellenistic views of pre-existence and Origen's illustration of the latter variety (History of Dogma, 1:318-31).Note as well the perspective by one of Origen's most important modern biographers, Eugne de Faye, in his Origen and His Work (trans. h 1, with entire article on 2 Pet 1:4, Controversy, Mythicism, and the Historical Jesus, Origen's Commentary on John Spiritual Interpretation, Polemics, and Transformation, Eusebius' Use of the Jewish Authors' Citations in the Apodeixis, Theosis: Deification in Christian Theology - Edited by Stephen Finlan and Vladimir Kharlamov. 3.81 [SC 136, 182.34]). 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. 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. Yet, there were also long periods of peace, and the stability provided by the empire and its network of roads and communications may have facilitated Christianitys growth. I know of no one who reads these passages as pointing to a pre-existent fallthey read far more obviously (with Edwards) as falls that transpire either in this life or in the eschatological life. E n^N GEbzSA5"Z>C=rJabDaK%LfOLYp#bod?9C7. ), Christian Origins and Hellenistic Judaism (TENTS 10; Early Christianity in its Hellenistic Context 2; Leiden: Brill, 2013), 135-76. Jo. 53 Princ. F. Rothwell; London: George Allen & Unwin, 1926) 92; see also 94, as well as his Origne: sa vie, son oeuvre, sa pense (3 vols. How Hellenized was the Jewish religious culture of the time? 166.27 (where he rejects it); Retract. Today, much of modern Christianity has become inseparable from Greek philosophy and thought. More than a half-century later, the movie adaptation, due April 28, is putting that . At least in Phaedrus, Plato only describes this pre-existent activity as contemplative. 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. Lev. F. Rothwell; London: George Allen & Unwin, 1926) 92; see also 94, as well as his Origne: sa vie . Paris: tudes augustiniennes, 1985)Google Scholar. See, for instance, Pamphilus, Apol.
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