eccl. From Hellenism - the syncretism of Judaism, Greek culture and philosophy, and elements of Egyptian culture we produced Christianity. 54 Princ. 74 Platonic Opera (ed. 2.3.4; Cels. (2) Edwards notes that the sun, moon, and stars have been subjected to embodiment but that this did not happen as a result of previous sins (see Princ. See as well, Athanasius, Decr. The opposition of the Jews to them led to breaches of the peace. 82 See also Princ. 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. See as well Edwards, Mark, Origen's Platonism. In their homeland they were inextricably tied to local loyalties and ambitions. 6.19.58); Epiphanius, Pan. Oonn? A key factor in the confluence of Hellenism and Christianity came in the first century, with the apostolic church's shift of focus "from the closed world of the Synagogue and the Law to the cosmopolitan society of the Roman-Hellenistic world," writes Christopher Dawson in "The Formation of Christendom.". This essay examines a cultural phenomenon which began in the intertestamentary period and because of its increased impact greatly influenced the New Testament and Early Christian periods- the role of Hellenism in the The term "Hellenistic Judaism" is a conventional one, long used, but a misnomer according to many contemporary scholars. The persecutions had two lasting consequences. Today the consensus is that this did not occur. 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. 3.1.2, Origen writes that living or ensouled things ( ) are moved from within themselves when there arises within them an image [] which calls forth an impulse [] (GK 464, 196.14197.1). Byers, Sarah C., Perception, Sensibility, and Moral Motivation in Augustine: A Stoic-Platonic Synthesis (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2012)CrossRefGoogle Scholar. and those who have thought or continue to think things resembling the aforementioned heretics . For a larger discussion of how philosophy engendered heresy for Origen, but could also be assessed positively, see Martens, Peter W., Origen and Scripture: The Contours of the Exegetical Life (Oxford Early Christian Studies; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012) 7277 and 11926CrossRefGoogle Scholar. I offer only quick responses. ; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1995) 1:4145Google Scholar; Gruen, Erich S., Jews and Greeks, in A Companion to the Hellenistic World (ed. 2.18892. 1516; Cels. Has data issue: false Christologische Forschungen und Perspektiven (Freiburg: Herder, 1975)Google Scholar; Scheffczyk, Leo, Tendenzen und Brennpunkte der neueren Problematik um die Hellenisierung des Christentums (Sitzungsberichte der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften; Munich: Verlag der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1982)Google Scholar; Meijering, E. P., Die Hellenisierung des Christentums im Urteil Adolf von Harnacks (Verhandelingen der Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Afd. Iamblichus, De Anima 26: Another set of Platonists . Gen. 13.3; Cels. Early persecutions were sporadic, caused by local conditions and dependent on the attitude of the governor. He customarily mentioned Marcion, Valentinus and Basilides by name, or grouped them together as heretics (Princ. "useRatesEcommerce": false Herwig Grgemanns and Heinrich Karpp; Texte zur Forschung 24; 3rd ed. We do not know just what is meant by "the link between the Palestinian and hellenistic development of Judaism." The clearest discussion of human reason and free will is at Princ. 45 Princ. This empire was so vast as truly to stagger the imagination. See the extensive recent discussion of this topic by Blosser, Become Like the Angels, 60141. 2.6.3). translator's preface to book 3). Thanks to Gretchen Reydams-Schils, as well as the graduate students, fellows, and faculty affiliated with the Center, who provided valuable critique. It was visible in several other cities around Galilee. let him be anathema (ACO 4.1, 242.3237transl. For further discussion, see Williams, Michael A., Rethinking Gnosticism: An Argument for Dismantling a Dubious Category (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996)Google Scholar; King, Karen L., What is Gnosticism? Richard Price; 2 vols. 77 The theory of recollection is used in Phaed. 71 See, for example, Bigg, Charles, Christian Platonists of Alexandria (Bampton Lectures, 1886; Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1886) 198Google Scholar (Origen adopted the Platonic doctrine of pre-existence); Hatch, The Influence of Greek Ideas, 204; Karpp, Probleme altchristlicher Anthropologie, 195. maps, archaeology & sources. teachers' guide. 12 Tzamalikos, Panayiotis, Origen: Cosmology and Ontology of Time (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae 77; Leiden: Brill, 2006) 8081Google Scholar. To summarize, the influence of Hellenism made the Christian philosophy substantially more transcendent as compared to the version present in the scriptures. (allusions at 4.40; 6.43; 6.44). Upon the Jews' return from exile in Babylon, they endeavored to protect their national identity by following the law closely. For the first time, Rome was conscious that Christians were distinct from Jews. Soon thereafter, however, the profession of Christianity was defined as a capital crimethough of a special kind, because one gained pardon by apostasy (rejection of a faith once confessed) demonstrated by offering sacrifice to the pagan gods or to the emperor. Glen Bowersock, Peter Brown and Oleg Grabar; Cambridge, Mass. While many Hellenistic Christians accepted Christ, it was difficult for some to accept the idea of Jesus as intermediary between God and the people. Jo. Extending from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Indus River, from the forests of Germany and the steppes of Russia to the Sahara Desert and the Indian Ocean, it took in an area of some 1.5 million square miles (3.9 million square kilometres; most of Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Africa, Persia, and the borderlands of India) and had a total population of more than 54 million. Gen. 1.13; Comm. This essay obviously does not allow for a fully developed comparison of Origen's teaching on the soul's embodiment with the panoply of views on pre-existence that were in circulation in antiquity. That became the lingua franca of all of these subject peoples. The Christians were not respectful toward ancestral pagan customs, and their preaching of a new king sounded like revolution. Embodiment, Heresy, and the Hellenization of Christianity: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0017816015000401, Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. 39.5; Comm. 2, Issue 1, February 2015. . *zYH!Q]{M{XX Princ. 5 See Harnack's distinction between Jewish and Hellenistic views of pre-existence and Origen's illustration of the latter variety (History of Dogma, 1:31831). It is usually by concentrating on the diaspora that the Hellenistic character of a cult has been described. 1.8.2. Cant. of Byzantine Hellenism that takes into account its geographical, linguistic, and cultural origins, as well as its influence on education, literature, art, religion, and society in the Empire, it is possible to gain a fuller, more complete understanding of the way in which it shaped not only the ; 2 vols. 12.41. Bacchylides raises the problem why rationalist culture in its first Hellenic embodiment met with an arrest. F. Rothwell; London: George Allen & Unwin, 1926) 92; see also 94, as well as his Origne: sa vie . Today, much of modern Christianity has become inseparable from Greek philosophy and thought. The fundamental cause of persecution was the Christians conscientious rejection of the gods whose favour was believed to have brought success to the empire. Can you give just a general definition of what's meant by the term the Hellenistic world? For additional passages where Origen is contrasted with an invariably deficient Plato, see: 45; 25; 2829; 3638; 4142; 61; 6869; 72; 87; 88 n. 146; 9395. We now come to the heart of the issue. Ti. Jo. 1.pref.5 (GK 90, 11.1112.9/Butterworth, 4). Cant. 4(14); Somn. discussion. There follows (4) a brief argument against the pre-existence of the soul of Christ (ibid., 9394), an error attributed to the English translation of the phrase ab initio creaturae (Princ. 3(1214); Plant. 3; see as well Apol. : Harvard University Press, 1999] 76). From this basis I trace the development of Christology to the end of the second century, demonstrating how Christian thought moved from its primitive understanding of Jesus to the foundations of the doctrine of the Trinity. 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. The paper surveys the sources and emergence of Messianic Jewish Christology, examining five representative Christologies. Justin and other Christian apologists certainly argued that the tradition of polytheistic belief and practice that was current in the Greco-Roman world was wrong, was immoral, and was philosophically deficient. Galerius died shortly after ending the persecution. We have some ideas in common with them, he plainly announces (Cels. Ancient sacred books were translated or paraphrased into Greeke.g., the 4th3rd-century-bc Babylonian priest Berosus version of Babylonian materials, the 4th3rd-century-bc Egyptian priest Manethos Egyptian accounts, the Jewish Septuagint (Greek version of the Old Testament), or the 1st-century-ad Jewish historian Josephus Antiquities of the Jews, and the ethnic histories of the 1st-century-bc Greek writer Alexander Polyhistor. Thus, the Christians could very well be unpopular, and they often were. Neros persecution, which was local and short, was condemned by Tacitus as an expression of the emperors cruelty rather than as a service to the public good. The Hellenic spirita concept Harnack usually left undefinedconstituted a threat to the undogmatic gospel of Jesus. Significant statements on pre-existence in Plato's writings surface at Meno 80d81c; 85e86b; Phaed. My field is New Testament studies-in essence the continuation of his interest. View all Google Scholar citations 5.61; Comm. 1: a person living in Hellenistic times who was Greek in language, outlook, and way of life but was not Greek in ancestry especially: a hellenized Jew. Note as well the claim that in the doctrine of the faith of the early church there resided the philosophic spirit of the Greeks (ibid., 45). in n. 61 above). 10 Henri Crouzel, Origen (trans. 2.1.13; Comm. 166.27 (where he rejects it); Retract. 1.10.1; Comm. Ronald E. Heine; FC 80; Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1989] 14344). Marmodoro, Anna 63 Princ. 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. Paris: tudes augustiniennes, 1985)Google Scholar. Jo. During the second century and beyond there's a continuing engagement over a variety of issues. The Hellenization of Christianity is a long-standing and notoriously contentious historiographical construct in early Christian studies. Hellenism, however, was not merely a favourable soil for the reception and spread of Christianity, but it also exercised a profound influence upon the theological apprehension of it. Hostname: page-component-75b8448494-m747x ; Bibliothque de lcole des hautes tudes, sciences religieuses 37, 43, 44; Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1928) 3:1056. Matt. How would all of this have influenced Jesus? 1:4. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). ISIS' growing foothold in Afghanistan is captured on film. 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 By and large, they sought both to make Christianity intelligible to members of Greco-Roman society and to define the Christian understanding of God, the divinity of Christ, and the resurrection of the body. Most notable of the Hellenists were Philo of Alexandria and the Apostle Paul. 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. 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. Is Hellenism a religion? You can download the paper by clicking the button above. Organized empire-wide persecutions occurred, however, at moments of extreme crisis and as a response to the growth of the faith. Eph. mine). See esp. 59 Princ. Note also Cels. 2.5.2223 (GCS 8, 147.18/Lawson, 13435). 1.3.1; Ep. For related statements on the capacity for choice ( )usually rendered free will in English translationssee: Princ. At Cels. The language and culture of the Hellenistic world was Greek. Jean Danilou says that the source of Origen's doctrine of the descent of souls into the body is undoubtedly Platonist, deriving (to be more precise) from Middle Platonism and especially Albinus (Gospel Message, 423). This alternative view of the soul's embodiment within the Platonic tradition is an important corrective to the tendency to make the Platonic view on embodiment stand exclusively for pre-existence. Christianity and Hellenistic philosophies experienced complex interactions during the first to the fourth centuries. The opposition of the Jews to them led to breaches of the peace. 33 All three passages are cited at Princ. And that Hellenization was most visible in a place like Sepphoris which was being reconstructed during the youth of Jesus. Violence against them could be precipitated by a bad harvest, a barbarian attack, or a public festival of the emperor cult. 2; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1901). hasContentIssue false, Copyright President and Fellows of Harvard College 2015. its literature. Both Roman Catholicism and Protestantism belong to what can be termed Hellenistic Christianity, that is, a form of Christianity heavily influenced by Greek philosophies, particularly Gnosticism. Matthew J. O'Connell; 3 vols. 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. why did christianity succeed? 7.6; Comm. 167; Jerome, Comm. Some of them having to do with issues of ethics and morality. 51 Princ. Lev. 1.32. ), History, Culture, and Religion of the Hellenistic Age, The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies. Jesus the Messiah in Messianic Jewish Theology: The Shaping of Messianic Jewish Christology Paper given at LCJE International Conference, Finland, August 9th, 2003 and published in LCJE Conference Papers. 2; cf. The present version was revised while I was a fellow at the Center for Philosophy of Religion (Notre Dame, 20122013). See esp. ; Stuttgart: Teubner, 1904] 2:63033]). Martyr was an early apologist, explaining Christianity to this new Greek flock within their own system of philosophy. A. S. Worrall; Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1989) 217 (the comment on Plato at 207). Echolls holds a B.A. 2.18182; Comm. Was monotheism a big issue in Justin's debate as well with his pagan audience? He was a philosopher and scriptural interpreter who lived in Alexandria from around 30 B.C. 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. John Burnet; vol. 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. The relation of the early church to late Judaism, The relation of the early church to the career and intentions of Jesus, The contemporary social, religious, and intellectual world, The internal development of the early Christian church, Relations between Christianity and the Roman government and the Hellenistic culture, The early liturgy, the calendar, and the arts, Theological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries, Political relations between East and West, The Photian schism and the great East-West schism, Christianity from the 16th to the 21st century, Scripture and tradition: the apostolic witness, Evangelism: the first teaching about the God of Jesus Christ, Catechesis: instructing candidates for baptism, Aversion of heresy: the establishment of orthodoxy, Restatement: respecting language and knowledge, Inculturation: respecting places and peoples, Development: the maturation of understanding, Schism: division over substantial matters, Characteristic features of the Christian concept of God, The belief in the oneness of the Father and the Son, Different interpretations of the person of Jesus, The doctrine of the Virgin Mary and holy Wisdom, Conflict between order and charismatic freedom, The basis for the doctrine of the Trinity, The new man: The human being in the light of Christ, New liturgical forms and antiliturgical attitudes, Veneration of places, objects, and people, Expectations of the kingdom of God in early Christianity, Expectations of the kingdom of God in the medieval and Reformation periods, Expectations of the kingdom of God in the post-Reformation period, The role of imminent expectation in missions and emigrations, Eschatological expectations and secularization, History of the interactions of philosophy and theology, Arguments from religious experience and miracles, Characteristics of Christian myth and legend, Messianic secrets and the mysteries of salvation, The church and the Byzantine, or Eastern, Empire, Church and state in Eastern and Western theology, Intellectualism versus anti-intellectualism, The tendency to spiritualize and individualize marriage, Missions to South East Asia and the Pacific, Ecumenism since the start of the 20th century. 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. 1.4); Porphyry (Eusebius, Hist. 5.1.35; 5.4.3; Cels. 2.20.112114; 6.12.135, Exc. 19). Note as well that Origen treated many biblical pericopes as symbolic of pre-existence. 1.6.2 (GK 220, 81.1112/Butterworth, 154). Jo. i 163) where Origen only mentions two views, traducianism and pre-existence. that only the Trinity is incorporeal (see 2.2.2; 2.3.3). endstream endobj startxref Robin Waterfield; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002). 73 Edwards's view appears to be that for Origen the soul was created by God and had an existence tethered to some sort of body for only the briefest moment of time before it was united to its earthly body. Rather, they worked with the Greek idiom. 1.6.23 (also see 1.8.1). The Christians were not respectful toward ancestral pagan customs, and their preaching of a new king sounded like revolution. Each of these native religions also had diasporic centres that exhibited marked change during the Hellenistic period. 6.73/GCS 4, 121.2930). See also Princ. 70.4 on the lost Stromateis of Origen, in which he compared Christian teachings with those of the philosophers, especially Plato, Aristotle, Numenius, and Cornutus. E n^N GEbzSA5"Z>C=rJabDaK%LfOLYp#bod?9C7. 3:1011 (= Pamphilus, Apol. 33) where Origen explains at length what is meant by a heretic, and does so exclusively in terms of the violation of the church's rule of faith. Total loading time: 0 4 For more on the Hellenization of Christianity thesis, see esp. For that reason many have been unable to comprehend what their opinion should be concerning the question of the soul. Note that this lower soul, should it be derived according to traducianist principles, exists alongside a higher soul that emerges according to the theory of pre-existence. (1) Fragment 15 in P. Koetschau's edition of Princ., which speaks of pre-existent rational beings falling (angels, human souls and demons), is not authentic (Origen against Plato, 9091). The Most Risky Job Ever. Reporting on ISIS in Afghanistan. Omissions? For other criticisms of Origen's excessive Hellenism, see Marcellus of Ancyra (Eusebius, Marc. 39 See Princ. This is FRONTLINE's old website. 3.21; C. Jul. 86 Princ. In each case the material was reinterpreted both in light of common Hellenistic ideals and in accord with the special traditions and needs of the diasporic community. Edwards's reading of Origen's relation to Plato resembles the earlier view of Heinrich Drrie, who argued that Platonism only superficially influenced Christianity through its terminology, not its underlying ideas, and that we should speak instead of christlicher Gegenplatonismus, i.e., Christian anti-Platonism (see esp. 1:4647Google Scholar (on the antagonistic model Harnack uses for Jewish and Hellenistic cultures), 1:5657 (on the irreconcilability of Paul's theology with the Greek world), and 2:333 (on the dangerous atmosphere in which Origen lived as a Christian and philosopher). The Greeks saw God as transcendent, present in everyday life and accessible to everyone, while Christianity's Saint Paul preached that "the power of God was made to work through human flesh," the savior Jesus Christ. Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults (73%) say religion should be kept separate from government policies, according to a survey conducted in spring 2022.Just 25% say government policies should support religious values and beliefs. Jerome, Ep. 17 Henry Chadwick proposes that there was a standard list of questions in philosophical schools about the soul and notes in particular Seneca's list in Ep. 1.3.81.4.1 which he claims is often said to adumbrate a fall from the incorporeal to the bodily condition (ibid., 92). The misleading tendency to present Origen as a dogmatizer on pre-existence is already clearly developed by Epiphanius (see his Ep. 41 Harnack, History of Dogma, 1:9. symposium. 4973. 1.pref.2 (GK 84, 8.1927/Origen: On First Principles [trans. He tried to effect a synthesis between scripture and Platonic philosophy. ISIS is in Afghanistan, But Who Are They Really? Luc. bible history quiz. 2.6.4 [GK 364, 143.2427]). 2.6.37). 2.9.5 (GK 410, 169.46/Butterworth, 133). Hellenization, or Hellenism, refers to the spread of Greek culture that had begun after the conquest of Alexander the Great in the fourth century, B.C.E. Jo. tapes, transcripts & events, FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of wgbh educational foundation. Princ. Questions and Caveats, ZAC 12 (2008) 2038CrossRefGoogle Scholar. 14 Cels. Thus, the Christians could very well be unpopular, and they often were. Justin Martyr was a key figure during this period who helped reconcile Hellenism with Christian teachings. Pliny executed Christians who were brought before him and who refused to worship the emperor and Roman gods but then sought the emperors advice on how to treat Christians in his province.