Aristides Apology
missing for millenia, Aristides is still glossed by Christian Traditionalists
the concept of orthodoxy has a cruel history
Justin Martyr is generally accredited by modern Christianity as writing the first Christian Apologetic, the first defence of the Christian Faith around 150 AD. Justin was clearly proto-orthodox and anti-Gnostic. Interestingly 20 years previously there were two Christian apologetics written for the Emperor Hadrian when he visited Athens in 125 AD. These were praised by both Eusebius and Jerome in their day but nevertheless 'lost' soon after.The Church's Official historian under Constantine, Eusebius stated:
Aristides also, a man
faithfully devoted to the religion we profess, like Quadratus, has left
to posterity a defence of the faith, addressed to Hadrian. This work is
also preserved by a great number, even to the present day.
Jerome in his lives of Illustrius men writes:
Aristides a most eloquent
Athenian philosopher, and a disciple of Christ while yet retaining his
philosopher's garb, presented a work to Hadrian at the same time that
Quadratus presented his. The work contained a systematic statement of
our doctrine, that is, an Apology for the Christians, which is still
extant and is regarded by philologians as a monument to his genius.
Again how can such praisable and important documents get 'lost'?
The answer lies in their content. Fortunately the Apology of Aristides was rediscovered in th 19th Century.
The Second Edition of The New Jerome Biblical Commentary with the Nihil obstat of the Catholic Church summarises Aristides this way:
It (Aristides' Apology)
offers philosophical proofs for the existence of God and the
nonexistence of pagan gods, argues that Jews misunderstood true
worship, gives the basic elements of Christian belief, and closes with
an exposition of Christian Moral standards and practices.
However the actual content of the Apology is fascinating.
Aristides negates the Old Testament God by denying the Wrath of God and deprecating the Old Testament mode of Worship. He attributes the positive Old Testament derived virtues of the Jews to customs they received from their forefathers, but indicates they:
erred from true knowledge
(gnosis). And in their imagination they
conceive that it is God they serve; whereas by their mode of observance
it is to the angels and not to God that their service is rendered...
Like the Gnostics, Aristides does not identify the true God as Creator (demiurge), but rather
The heavens do not limit
him, but the heavens and all things, visible and invisible, receive
their bounds from him.
Ignorance and
forgetfulness are not in his nature, for he is altogether wisdom and
understanding; and in Him stands fast all that exists
He requires not aught from any, but all living creatures stand in need of him....
He requires not aught from any, but all living creatures stand in need of him....
His comments on Christianity:
But the Christians, O
King, while they went about and made search, have found the truth; and
as we learned from their writings, they have come nearer to truth and
genuine knowledge (gnosis) than the rest of the nations....
And verily whatever is spoken in the mouth of the Christians is of God; and their doctrine is the gateway of light.
The Gateway of light is a concept found more frequently in Gnostic
texts than in orthodox or proto-orthodox textsAnd verily whatever is spoken in the mouth of the Christians is of God; and their doctrine is the gateway of light.
Aristides' Apology goes to the heart of the issue of both the nature of God, the Old Testament, and Gnosis.
Having regard to the emphasised exerpts, I think both Marcion and Valentinus would be very comfortable with Aristides position!
Given the importance placed on Justin Martyr by Christian Traditionalists, what does it mean to reclaim a different witness that preceded him by decades?
What's Inside
- Orthodoxy and heresy
- Perception
- Seed and Soil - Christ and Bride
- The death of Christ
- The Word without - the Word within
- Redemption of fallen Sophia
- Coinherence and Eternity
- Eschatology
- Yahweh and the Trinity
- The Bible
- Infallible Scriptures?
- The mystery of the Kingdom
- The Missing Gospels
- The Apology of Aristides
A
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