Download Christian Thought in Late Antiquity

America University of Beirut
Civilization Sequence Program
CVSP 202
The Monotheistic Traditions from Late Antiquity to the Thirteenth Century
Lecture 2 (10th February 2014)
Christian Thought in Late Antiquity
[Professor Bill Merrifield}
[email protected]
Outline of Lecture
1. Definition of Late Antiquity
2. The development of Christian Identity
3. Early Christian attitudes towards philosophy and challenges to the Church
4. The impacts of the political changes in Augustine’s time
5. Why Confessions?
Late Antiquity
 Traditionally Late Antiquity is understood to represent the period from the rule of the Roman Emperor
Diocletian (284 CE) up until the time of the Arab conquests (between 634-750 CE)
 This is the period of transition between “Classical Antiquity” which is represented by the dominance of a
pagan Greco-Roman culture AND the Middle Ages/Medieval period which was a time of dominance of
an established and state-enforced set of Christian beliefs.
Christian Identity
 After the death of Jesus, the Kerygma or the message that Jesus’ disciples taught was centered on his
resurrection and his sacrifice or atonement for sin.
 The followers of Jesus did not believe that they were starting a new religion.
 The sect was most likely first called Christian by their opponents in the city of Antioch. They were called
Christians because they considered Jesus the Christ, which is the Greek term for Messiah.
Council of Jerusalem
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Recorded in the New Testament book of Acts and is claimed to have taken place around 50 CE.
This event came to be known in later Christian tradition as the Council of Jerusalem
The followers of Jesus taught that the message of Jesus was for all people, a universal message.
The question raised was “do you have to follow Jewish ceremonial law to follow Jesus?”
The issues raised at the time were:
o Food deemed unclean by Jewish Law.
o The practice of circumcision.
 It was decided that non-Jews did not have to follow Jewish food laws or be circumcised.
Implications
 Jewish followers of Jesus found themselves rejected by their Jewish culture and misunderstood by nonJewish who saw no need for the Jewish law.
 By the time of Augustine, the overwhelming majority of Christians were non-Jews.
 This laid the foundation for the idea of the authority of the council. That the leaders of the larger Christian
Church should gather and make decisions on questions of importance in the Church.
 This opened the door for trying to define and understand Christian notions outside of a Jewish framework.
Early Christian Questions
 Who was Jesus?
 Why did Jesus die?
 Why did Jesus rise again?
The question of Christology/The person of Jesus
The question of Atonement/The state of Humanity
The question of Redemption/The means of Human Perfection
Christian Thought from Jesus to Constantine
Justin Martyr (100-165 CE)
Justin believed that the truths that were partially apprehended in philosophy find their fulfillment and
correction in the framework of Christian faith.
Tertullian (160-225 CE)
“What indeed has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” The divine character of Christianity is shown to be true not
by its reasonableness, but by the fact that it was the kind of thing that no ordinary mind could have invented.
Origen (184-254 CE)
Origen used the Platonists’ division of the cosmos into matter, soul, and mind to interpret the Bible.
He taught that Scripture has three levels of meaning corresponding to the three levels of reality: (a) a literal
historical sense, (b) a moral meaning, and (c) a spiritual interpretation.
Challenges in the Church
Marcion (85-160 CE)
 Marcion claimed that the God of the Old Testament was different than the New Testament God of Jesus.
 This was a challenge to the Christianities relationship to Judaism.
Montanus
 Montanus claimed to receive direct revelations from the Holy Spirit.
 This was a question of whether God’s revelation had ended or reached its fulfillment in Christ.
Gnosticism (Manichaeism)
Manichaeism claimed.
1. Access to secret traditions or knowledge that Jesus had taught his disciples in private.
2. Emphasizes a dualism between matter and spirit with matter being evil and spirit good.
3. Claimed special knowledge about the creation of the world
4. Mankind needs to be awakened by secret knowledge.
Response of Christian Thought
 Establishments of local assemblies to address these issues in an attempt to maintain unity.
 Establishment of a collection of accepted writings. (The Bible).
Political changes in the Roman Empire
The fourth century began with an attempt to exterminate Christianity and ended with Christianity being
adopted as the official religion of the Roman Empire.
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In 303 CE the Roman Emperor Diocletian lead a fierce empire wide persecution of Christians.
In 306 CE the Roman Emperor Constantine came to power in Western Roman Empire
In 312 Constantine converts to Christianity after a military victory.
In 313 he issued the Edit of Milan and legalized Christianity.
In 324 Constantine becomes to sole ruler of the Roman Empire.
In 380 Christianity becomes the official state religion of the Roman Empire.
Why Confessions?
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The Confessions is more than a philosophical or religious work.
It is considered by many as the first true autobiography.
It is an expression of human reflection, a personal reflection of Augustine’s search for truth.
In Confessions Augustine raises important universal questions about evil, humanity, our perceptions of
time, ourselves as will, memory, understanding.