The Apologists 185

1
The Apologists185 250 A. D.

• Key source F. W. Mattox, The Eternal Kingdom A
  History of the Church of Christ, Delight,
  Arkansas Gospel Light Publishing Company, 1961

2
Introduction

• Following the persecution of Nero, Christians had
  to worship in secret.
• This resulted in various false accusations, as we
  have seen.
• Various Christians began to defend themselves by
  writing what are known as Apologies.

3
Quadratus (125 129)

• He was one of the first apologists.
• His composition was addressed and presented to
  Hadrian, the emperor, in Athens about 129 A.D.
• Though copies did not survive, he was quoted by
  Eusebius.

4
Aristides (138 147)

• His is the first complete apologetic document.
• He shows familiarity with the four gospel
  accounts, Acts, Romans and 1 Peter.

5
Justin Martyr (103 165)

• A native of ancient Shechem in Palestine, Justin
  visited philosophical schools to find answers to
  deep questions about life.
• He met an aging Christian (133) and became a
  Christian.
• Only two of his works have been preserved.

6
Justins Apology

• Apology is addressed to Antonius (150) urging
  the emperor to learn the truth about
  Christianity.
• He demonstrated/described how Christians met for
  worship on the 1st day of the week, the Lords
  day.
• Baptism was referred to as washing because
  immersion was the common form.
• Baptism was for the remission of sins unto
  regeneration.
• He referred to the bishop in charge of the
  assembly as the president.

7
Justins Dialogue with Trypho

• He presented Jesus as the Messiah foretold in the
  prophecies of the O. T.
• He used Greek philosophy and the allegorical
  method to defend Christianity.
• He believed all Christians are priests.
• He presented Christ as Gods faculty of reason,
  the Logos, who by a voluntary process was caused
  to be generated as the Christ.

8
Tatian (125 200)

• He traveled widely over Greece studying Greek
  philosophy.
• He met Justin who converted him (before 150)
• Upon his return to Greece (152-155), he wrote an
  Address to Greeks.
• Ridiculed Greek superiority and the immorality
  expressed by their sculpture and art
• Showed the superiority of Christianity
• He said Moses and the prophets were older than
  Greek religions, therefore Christianity preceded
  them.

9
Tatian

• His greatest work was Diatessaron, which was an
  account of the life of Christ.
• This was the first harmony of the gospels,
  blending four gospels into one continuous story.
• After Justins death, he became over-exalted,
  finally resulting in his becoming a gnostic.

10
Melito (169 190)

• Melito was a bishop of Sardis.
• He wrote 18-20 compositions, with three (On the
  Lords Day, On Baptism, and Apology) being
  significant.
• He strongly influenced Apologists who followed.

11
Melito

• In Apology (c. 170), he shows the emperor that
  the church was a positive force and he should
  defend it.
• He defending Christianity as Gods final
  revelation to man.
• That the final revelation was foreshadowed in the
  O.T.
• That the sacrifices were all typical of Christs
  sacrifice.
• That the Law was a forerunner of the gospel.

12
Athenagorus (177 180)

• He was a teacher in Athens and an early example
  of a person being converted to Christ through
  personal reading of Scripture.
• His Supplication for the Christians (180)
  refutes the charges against Christians.
• His On the Resurrection of the Dead sets forth
  reasons for believing in the resurrection and
  that resurrection is not only a reality but a
  necessity.

13
Theophilus (190)

• He became a Christian through his own study of
  Scripture and was the 6th bishop of Antioch.
• His defense of Christianity (190) was addressed
  to Autolycus, an educated pagan official he hoped
  to convert.
• He first dealt with the existence of God,
  absurdities of pagan gods/idolatry and a
  discussion of the fact of the resurrection.

14
Theophilus

• In the second part,
• he contrasted the defense Greeks made of their
  gods/religion with that set forth in the Old
  Testament
• In the third part,
• he went on to show Christianity is a true
  development of Gods plan of which Judaism was
  the first phase
• Christianity is superior to paganism
• Pagans were wrong in their attacks on
  Christianity
• He quoted the OT and NT, saying both were
  inspired by one Spirit of God.

15
The State of the Church

• Understanding the Apologists in light of
  developments affecting the state of the church.
• Last half of the 2nd Century was characterized by
  persecution from without and heresy from within
• Schismatic movement developed rapidly
• Canon of Scripture was not yet established
• Christian doctrine was being handed down orally,
  which gave opportunity for personal views to be
  added to uninspired gospels
• Most were anonymous or pseudonymous and were
  confused for a time with inspired writings,
  leading to rapid growth of false ideas

16
Marcion

• Born in 85 A. D., the son of Sinope, an elder of
  the church in Pontus
• He eventually became an elder, but also became a
  wealthy ship owner
• He came to Rome from Asia Minor (138), rich,
  intelligent, zealous and good organizer
• He was benevolentsaid to have given 10,000 to
  such work at the Roman church

17
Marcion

• He felt the church was drifting into a cold
  legalism
• The Christians had fallen into the casuistry they
  had practiced as Jews, putting the letter above
  the spirit
• He saw the Law as an enemy to the liberty and
  grace of the gospel
• He wanted to throw the OT out completely
• He believed the God of the OT (defined by
  justice) was different from the God of the NT
  (love and mercy)

18
Marcion

• He believed Paul was the only apostle who really
  understood the gospel, thinking the others had
  fallen into the errors of Judaism
• Today he would be called a modernist or
  liberalist because he rejected the commandments
  of Christ thinking they were no part of faith
• The church in Rome withdrew from him (144)
  because of his extremes

19
Marcionite Chruch

• Marcion formed the Marcionite Church following
  being withdrawn from.
• It lasted into the 5th Century
• He accepted only the gospel of Luke and the
  epistles of Paul as inspired
• He even cut from these books all the passages
  that seemed favorable to the Law
• About 150, he wrote a treatise called,
  Antithesis, or Contradiction

20
Gnosticism

• Gnosticism comes from the Greek word for to
  know
• At first, Christians called themselves true
  Gnostics because they had learned true wisdom
• Gnosticism is generally used to refer to those
  who rejected the revelation of God and relied on
  human wisdom
• They solved problems according to their own
  mental gymnastics and became to the early church
  what the Christian Scientists are today

21
Gnosticism

• They believed in a dualism which pronounced the
  material world evil and the spiritual good.
• For man to get above the material to the
  spiritual he must go through a heirarchy of
  intermediate beingsChrist was only one and
  angels are also a partto be worshiped
• Man was to buffet his body, rise above the
  material
• God is a spirit and therefore could not make a
  material world
• This great God breathed out emanations that
  resulted in the formation of a lesser God, the
  Jehovah of the OT

22
Gnosticism

• Gnostics had fertile imaginations and many
  schools of thought
• They mixed up a little Christianity, a little
  Judaism, philosophy, some of the mystery
  religions, pagan religions and wild dreaming
• They held the spirit was imprisoned in the body
• They divided men into 3 classes animal or
  material man predestined to destruction, psychic
  men who could attain salvation with the help of
  ordinary Christians, and spiritual men who were
  destined to eternal life

23
Gnosticism

• Gnostics put great emphasis on secret knowledge
  and traditions they claimed were handed down by
  Christ and the apostles (wrote many books
  ascribed to the inspired apostles)
• They led many astray.
• Leaders had to carefully determine which books
  were inspired and uninspired
• Leaders had to expose secret doctrines as error
• Gnosticism reached its height about 150 and
  resulted in anti-Semitism, celibacy and
  monasticism.

24
Docetism

• From the Greek word for to seem
• They believed Christ did not really suffer on the
  cross but just seemed to suffer.
• Theory based on conception that matter is
  essentially evil, therefore Christ was not
  corrupted with anything of the material world
• Neither the incarnation nor the crucifixion were
  actual facts, only the semblance of reality
• Led by Ignatius to feel the church would be
  better protected from this error if one elder
  (president) was exalted to a permanent position
  of authority

25
Montanism

• Montanus reacted to a growing formalism and
  reliance on human leadership.
• He said the Holy Spirit was guiding the church in
  a direct way.
• He said the promises Jesus made to the apostles
  applied to him, even claiming he was greater than
  the apostles.
• He even claimed he was the first to receive the
  Holy Spirit in its completeness.
• He was a priest in a pagan temple of Cybele in
  Arboda before his conversion and carried the
  emotionalism of paganism into Christian worship.

26
Montanism

• Montanus doctrine spread to many lands, even
  taking the brilliant Tertullian.
• The possession of spiritual gifts was the test of
  a true Christian.
• He taught marriage was permissible but it was
  lower than celibacy.
• Second marriages and all worldly enjoyments were
  forbidden.
• The Christian who fell back into sin could not be
  forgiven.
• He set a date for Jesus return.
• When it did not take place, his followers were
  scattered.

27
Iranaeus (130 200)

• Iranaeus, who is considered one of the later
  Apologists, was an educated man converted
  following hearing Polycarp.
• He quoted from nearly every Christian writer.
• He traveled widely, but settled at Lyons in Gaul
  where he became bishop in 177.

28
Iranaeus

• He wrote 5 books Against Heresies (c. 185).
• He gave a description of Gnosticism.
• He showed Mt., Mk., Lk. and Jn. are the only
  inspired gospel accounts.
• He defended the virgin birth of Jesus.
• He established a continuation of Gods plan from
  the OT to the NT and believed the OT sacrifices
  were continued in the Lords supper.
• In order to confirm the truth of Scripture, he
  traced the succession of bishops.

29
Iranaeus

• He said Peter and Paul established the church at
  Rome.
• He does not list Peter as the first bishop of
  Rome.
• He said congregations were independent.
• He said there was no organization outside the
  local church.

30
Clement of Alexandria (150-215)

• Titus Flavius Clement, a native of Athens, became
  known because of his writings while connected
  with the famous Alexandrian Bible School.
• He defended Scripture.
• He wrote instructions for the unconverted, A
  Hortatory Word to the Gentiles, commonly called,
  Address.
• To the newly converted, he wrote, Instruction.
• To mature Christians, he wrote, Clothes-bags.
• He combined the study of Philosophy with the
  gospel as an approach to reach the Greeks.

31
Tertullian (155 223) was born at Carthage c. 155

• While practicing law and teaching in Rome, he was
  converted and returned to Carthage to spread the
  gospel.
• When Christians were persecuted and martyred, he
  wrote a defense appealing for justice.
• Common charges (cannibalism, etc.) not true
• Although Christians could not call the Emperor
  God, they did respect him and were loyal
  citizens.
• He said persecution would not destroy the church
  the blood of Christians is seed.

32
Tertullian

• He wrote to Christians in prison to strengthen
  their faith and give encouragement in the face of
  torture.
• He wrote on many Biblical subjects to refute
  error.
• While Tertullian led to the exaltation of the
  church at Rome, he reacted in the opposite
  extreme toward Montanism.
• Note This shift from one extreme to another will
  be seen repeated throughout the history of the
  church, even to this day.

33
Tertullian

• He left the traditional church and worked with
  the Montanists until 122, but also reacted to
  their extreme.
• He formed an independent church in Carthage that
  may have been close to the NT pattern.
• Through the persuasion of Augustine, he entered
  the Catholic Church.

34
Hippolytus (170 236)

• He studied under Iranaeus in Gaul, but spent most
  of his life in Rome.
• He was a fiery preacher and a puritan in morals.
• He opposed the laxity in the Roman church the
  church split, with one part choosing him as
  bishop
• The rift was healed during persecution under
  Maximin (c. 235).
• His writing consisted of Biblical interpretation,
  opposition to laxity in the church and opposition
  to heresy.
• He was the last writer in Rome who wrote in Greek.

35
Origen (185 254)

• Origen was born into a pagan family of Alexandria
  in 185.
• At the age of 8, his parents were converted and
  became steadfast Christians.
• He attend the Bible school of Alexandria under
  Clement.
• In 202, his father was put to death.
• In 203, he was placed in charge of the school to
  train new converts.

36
Origen

• He taught 12 years until another great wave of
  persecution, when he fled to Rome.
• He went on to teach in Palestine with great
  success.
• He went back to the school in Alexandria and
  taught another 13 years.
• He converted Ambrose and obtained a wealthy
  patron who encouraged him to write and publish.
• He dictated to seven secretaries who replaced
  each other as they tired.

37
Origen

• He had seven scribes and a number of young
  assistants.
• His great work was producing an OT in six
  languages in parallel columns and in writing a
  commentary on every book in the Bible.
• Though he was brilliant, his work is filled with
  much speculation and he looked with scorn on
  anyone who took Scripture literally.

38
Origen

• He had a philosophical approach to Christianity
  which fit his philosophical theories.
• Of special note are his works
• Exhortation to Martyrdom, which was written to
  Ambrose who was in prison.
• His treatise, On Prayer, displayed a rich
  understanding of Scripture and complete trust in
  the providence of God.