| 1. Septuagint, Psalms, 93.11, 146.5-146.6 (th cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 237 |
2. Hebrew Bible, Exodus, 12.12 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 299| 12.12. "וְעָבַרְתִּי בְאֶרֶץ־מִצְרַיִם בַּלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה וְהִכֵּיתִי כָל־בְּכוֹר בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מֵאָדָם וְעַד־בְּהֵמָה וּבְכָל־אֱלֹהֵי מִצְרַיִם אֶעֱשֶׂה שְׁפָטִים אֲנִי יְהוָה׃", | 12.12. "For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.", |
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| 3. Septuagint, Jeremiah, 49.3 (8th cent. BCE - 6th cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 299 |
4. Cicero, On The Nature of The Gods, 3.49 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 299 | 3.49. Or if we allow Ino, are we going to make Amphiaraus and Trophonius divine? The Roman tax‑farmers, finding that lands in Boeotia belonging to the immortal gods were exempted by the censor's regulations, used to maintain that nobody was immortal who had once upon a time been a human being. But if these are divine, so undoubtedly is Erechtheus, whose shrine and whose priest also we saw when at Athens. And if we make him out to be divine, what doubts can we feel about Codrus or any other persons who fell fighting for their country's freedom? if we stick at this, we must reject the earlier cases too, from which these follow. |
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5. Philo of Alexandria, On The Eternity of The World, 46 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 297 | 46. Therefore, on the same principle, if the heaven is destroyed, the sun and moon will also be destroyed, and all the other planets likewise will be destroyed, and all the fixed stars, and all that host of gods visible to the outward senses which was formerly considered so happy; and to imagine this is nothing else than to fancy the gods themselves in a process of destruction, for this is equivalent to considering men immortal. And yet in a comparison between different objects devoid of honour, if you were to consider the matter, you would find it more consistent with probability to look on men as immortal than to believe that the gods are perishable, since it might happen through the grace of God, for it is not improbable that a mortal might receive immortality, but it is impossible for gods to lose their immortality even if the sophistries of mankind should run on to ever such a degree of wicked insanity. |
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| 6. Philo of Alexandria, On The Creation of The World, 7.27 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 297 |
| 7. Philo of Alexandria, Questions On Genesis, 2.62 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 297 |
8. Philo of Alexandria, On Dreams, 2.189 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 298 | 2.189. "for when," the scripture say, "the high priest goes into the Holy of Holies he will not be a Man." What then will he be if he is not a man? Will he be a God? I would not venture to say that (for the chief prophet, Moses, did receive the inheritance of this name while he was still in Egypt, being called "the god of Pharaoh;") nor again is he man, but he touches both these extremities as if he touched both the feet and the head. XXIX. |
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9. Philo of Alexandria, On The Special Laws, 1.13-1.14 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 297 | 1.13. Some persons have conceived that the sun, and the moon, and the other stars are independent gods, to whom they have attributed the causes of all things that exist. But Moses was well aware that the world was created, and was like a very large city, having rulers and subjects in it; the rulers being all the bodies which are in heaven, such as planets and fixed stars; 1.14. and the subjects being all the natures beneath the moon, hovering in the air and adjacent to the earth. But that the rulers aforesaid are not independent and absolute, but are the viceroys of one supreme Being, the Father of all, in imitation of whom they administer with propriety and success the charge committed to their care, as he also presides over all created things in strict accordance with justice and with law. Others, on the contrary, who have not discovered the supreme Governor, who thus rules everything, have attributed the causes of the different things which exist in the world to the subordinate powers, as if they had brought them to pass by their own independent act. |
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10. Philo of Alexandria, On The Life of Moses, 1.158 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 298 | 1.158. What more shall I say? Has he not also enjoyed an even greater communion with the Father and Creator of the universe, being thought unworthy of being called by the same appellation? For he also was called the god and king of the whole nation, and he is said to have entered into the darkness where God was; that is to say, into the invisible, and shapeless, and incorporeal world, the essence, which is the model of all existing things, where he beheld things invisible to mortal nature; for, having brought himself and his own life into the middle, as an excellently wrought picture, he established himself as a most beautiful and Godlike work, to be a model for all those who were inclined to imitate him. |
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11. Philo of Alexandria, On The Sacrifices of Cain And Abel, 10, 9 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 298 | 9. Not but what, when he gave him the use of all earthly things and suffered him to dwell among them, he assigned to him not such a power as he might exercise in common with an earthly governor or monarch, by which he should forcibly rule over the passions of the soul, but he appointed him to be a sort of god, making the whole of the body, and the mind, which is the ruler of the body, subjects and slaves to him; "For I give thee," says he, "as a god to Pharaoh." But God is not susceptible of any subtraction or addition, inasmuch as he is complete and entirely equal to himself. |
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12. New Testament, Apocalypse, 1.5, 17.14, 19.6 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 229| 1.5. καὶ ἀπὸ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστός,ὁπρωτότοκοςτῶν νεκρῶν καὶ ὁἄρχων τῶν βασιλέων τῆς γῆς.Τῷ ἀγαπῶντι ἡμᾶς καὶλύσαντιἡμᾶςἐκ τῶν αμαρτιῶν[ἡμῶν] ἐν τῷ αἵματι αὐτοῦ, 17.14. οὗτοι μετὰ τοῦ ἀρνίου πολεμήσουσιν, καὶ τὸ ἀρνίον νικήσει αὐτούς, ὅτικύριος κυρίων ἐστὶν καὶ βασιλεὺς βασιλέων,καὶ οἱ μετʼ αὐτοῦ κλητοὶ καὶ ἐκλεκτοὶ καὶ πιστοί. 19.6. Καὶ ἤκουσαὡς φωνὴν ὄχλου πολλοῦκαὶὡς φωνὴν ὑδάτων πολλῶνκαὶ ὡς φωνὴν βροντῶν ἰσχυρῶν, λεγόντων Ἁλληλουιά, ὅτι ἐβασίλευσεν Κύριος, ὁ θεὸς [ἡμῶν], ὁ παντοκράτωρ. | 1.5. and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood; 17.14. These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings. They also will overcome who are with him, called and chosen and faithful." 19.6. I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of mighty thunders, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns! |
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13. New Testament, Matthew, 5.37 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 237| 5.37. ἔστω δὲ ὁ λόγος ὑμῶν ναὶ ναί, οὒ οὔ· τὸ δὲ περισσὸν τούτων ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ ἐστίν. | 5.37. But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'no.' Whatever is more than these is of the evil one. |
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14. New Testament, Romans, 8.38, 9.4-9.5 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 121, 298| 8.38. πέπεισμαι γὰρ ὅτι οὔτε θάνατος οὔτε ζωὴ οὔτε ἄγγελοι οὔτε ἀρχαὶ οὔτε ἐνεστῶτα οὔτε μέλλοντα οὔτε δυνάμεις 9.4. ὧν ἡ υἱοθεσία καὶ ἡ δόξα καὶ αἱ διαθῆκαι καὶ ἡ νομοθεσία καὶ ἡ λατρεία καὶ αἱ ἐπαγγελίαι, 9.5. ὧν οἱ πατέρες, καὶ ἐξ ὧν ὁ χριστὸς τὸ κατὰ σάρκα, ὁ ὢν ἐπὶ πάντων, θεὸς εὐλογητὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας· ἀμήν. | 8.38. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 9.4. who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, the glory, the covets, the giving of the law, the service, and the promises; 9.5. of whom are the fathers, and from whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God, blessed forever. Amen. |
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15. New Testament, Philippians, 2.6-2.11 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 24, 298| 2.6. ὃς ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ ὑπάρχων οὐχ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγήσατο τὸ εἶναι ἴσα θεῷ, 2.7. ἀλλὰ ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσεν μορφὴν δούλου λαβών, ἐν ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπων γενόμενος· καὶ σχήματι εὑρεθεὶς ὡς ἄνθρωπος 2.8. ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτὸν γενόμενος ὑπήκοος μέχρι θανάτου, θανάτου δὲ σταυροῦ· 2.9. διὸ καὶ ὁ θεὸς αὐτὸν ὑπερύψωσεν, καὶ ἐχαρίσατο αὐτῷ τὸ ὄνομα τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶν ὄνομα, 2.10. ἵνα ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦπᾶν γόνυ κάμψῃἐπουρανίων καὶ ἐπιγείων καὶ καταχθονίων, 2.11. καὶ πᾶσα γλῶσσα ἐξομολογήσηταιὅτι ΚΥΡΙΟΣ ΙΗΣΟΥΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ εἰς δόξανθεοῦπατρός. | 2.6. who, existing in the form of God, didn't consider it robbery to be equal with God, 2.7. but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. 2.8. And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross. 2.9. Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; 2.10. that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, 2.11. and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. |
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16. New Testament, Galatians, 4.8-4.9 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 298| 4.8. Ἀλλὰ τότε μὲν οὐκ εἰδότες θεὸν ἐδουλεύσατε τοῖς φύσει μὴ οὖσι θεοῖς· 4.9. νῦν δὲ γνόντες θεόν, μᾶλλον δὲ γνωσθέντες ὑπὸ θεοῦ, πῶς ἐπιστρέφετε πάλιν ἐπὶ τὰ ἀσθενῆ καὶ πτωχὰ στοιχεῖα, οἷς πάλιν ἄνωθεν δουλεῦσαι θέλετε; | 4.8. However at that time, not knowing God, youwere in bondage to those who by nature are not gods. 4.9. But now thatyou have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, why do youturn back again to the weak and miserable elements, to which you desireto be in bondage all over again? |
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17. New Testament, Ephesians, 3.10, 6.12 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 298| 3.10. ἵνα γνωρισθῇ νῦν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς καὶ ταῖς ἐξουσίαις ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις διὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἡ πολυποίκιλος σοφία τοῦ θεοῦ, 6.12. ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἡ πάλη πρὸς αἷμα καὶ σάρκα, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰς ἀρχάς, πρὸς τὰς ἐξουσίας, πρὸς τοὺς κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ σκότους τούτου, πρὸς τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις. | 3.10. to the intent that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places, 6.12. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world's rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. |
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| 18. New Testament, Jude, 25 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 121 |
19. New Testament, James, 5.12 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 237| 5.12. Πρὸ πάντων δέ, ἀδελφοί μου, μὴ ὀμνύετε, μήτε τὸν οὐρανὸν μήτε τὴν γῆν μήτε ἄλλον τινὰ ὅρκον· ἤτω δὲ ὑμῶν τό Ναί ναὶ καὶ τό Οὔ οὔ, ἵνα μὴ ὑπὸ κρίσιν πέσητε. | 5.12. But above all things, my brothers, don't swear, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath; but let your "yes" be "yes," and your "no," "no;" so that you don't fall into hypocrisy. |
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20. New Testament, 2 Corinthians, 4.4 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 298| 4.4. ἐν οἷς ὁ θεὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἐτύφλωσεν τὰ νοήματα τῶν ἀπίστων εἰς τὸ μὴ αὐγάσαι τὸν φωτισμὸν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς δόξης τοῦ χριστοῦ, ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ. | |
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21. Polycarp of Smyrna, Letter To The Philippians, 12.3 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 229| 12.3. προ ομνιβυς σανξτις I Tim. 2, 1. 2 Mt. 5, 44; Luke 6, 27 Phil. 8, 18 Joh. 15, 16; 1 Tim. 4, 15 James 1, 4 ορατε. ορατε ετιαμ προ ρεγιβυς ετ ποτεστατιβυς ετ πρινξιπιβυς ατ#3υε προ περσε#3υεντιβυς ετ οδιεντιβυς ϝος ετ προ ινιμιξις ξρυξις, υτ φρυξτυς ϝεστερ μανιφεστυς σιτ ιν ομνιβυς, υτ σιτις ιν ιλλο περφεξτι. | 12.3. |
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22. New Testament, 1 Thessalonians, 1.9 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 229| 1.9. αὐτοὶ γὰρ περὶ ἡμῶν ἀπαγγέλλουσιν ὁποίαν εἴσοδον ἔσχομεν πρὸς ὑμᾶς, καὶ πῶς ἐπεστρέψατε πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλων δουλεύειν θεῷ ζῶντι καὶ ἀληθινῷ, | 1.9. For they themselves report concerning us what kind of a reception we had from you; and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, |
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23. New Testament, 1 Corinthians, 2.8, 8.5, 10.20-10.21, 15.24-15.27, 15.39-15.42 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 297, 298| 2.8. ἣν οὐδεὶς τῶν ἀρχόντων τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἔγνωκεν, εἰ γὰρ ἔγνωσαν, οὐκ ἂν τὸν κύριον τῆς δόξης ἐσταύρωσαν· 8.5. καὶ γὰρ εἴπερ εἰσὶν λεγόμενοι θεοὶ εἴτε ἐν οὐρανῷ εἴτε ἐπὶ γῆς, ὥσπερ εἰσὶν θεοὶ πολλοὶ καὶ κύριοι πολλοί, 10.20. ἀλλʼ ὅτι ἃ θύουσιν [τὰ ἔθνη],δαιμονίοις καὶ οὐ θεῷ θύουσιν,οὐ θέλω δὲ ὑμᾶς κοινωνοὺς τῶν δαιμονίων γίνεσθαι. 10.21. οὐ δύνασθε ποτήριον Κυρίου πίνειν καὶ ποτήριον δαιμονίων· οὐ δύνασθετραπέζης Κυρίουμετέχειν καὶ τραπέζης δαιμονίων. 15.24. εἶτα τὸ τέλος, ὅταν παραδιδῷ τὴν βασιλείαν τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρί, ὅταν καταργήσῃ πᾶσαν ἀρχὴν καὶ πᾶσαν ἐξουσίαν καὶ δύναμιν, 15.25. δεῖ γὰρ αὐτὸν βασιλεύεινἄχρι οὗθῇπάνταςτοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδαςαὐτοῦ. 15.26. ἔσχατος ἐχθρὸς καταργεῖται ὁ θάνατος, 15.27. πάνταγὰρὑπέταξεν ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ.ὅταν δὲ εἴπῃ ὅτι πάντα ὑποτέτακται, δῆλον ὅτι ἐκτὸς τοῦ ὑποτάξαντος αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα. 15.39. οὐ πᾶσα σὰρξ ἡ αὐτὴ σάρξ, ἀλλὰ ἄλλη μὲν ἀνθρώπων, ἄλλη δὲ σὰρξ κτηνῶν, ἄλλη δὲ σὰρξ πτηνῶν, ἄλλη δὲ ἰχθύων. 15.40. καὶ σώματα ἐπουράνια, καὶ σώματα ἐπίγεια· ἀλλὰ ἑτέρα μὲν ἡ τῶν ἐπουρανίων δόξα, ἑτέρα δὲ ἡ τῶν ἐπιγείων. 15.41. ἄλλη δόξα ἡλίου, καὶ ἄλλη δόξα σελήνης, καὶ ἄλλη δόξα ἀστέρων, ἀστὴρ γὰρ ἀστέρος διαφέρει ἐν δόξῃ. 15.42. οὕτως καὶ ἡ ἀνάστασις τῶν νεκρῶν. | 2.8. which none of the rulers of this worldhas known. For had they known it, they wouldn't have crucified the Lordof glory. 8.5. For though there are things that are called "gods,"whether in the heavens or on earth; as there are many "gods" and many"lords;" 10.20. But I say that thethings which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and notto God, and I don't desire that you would have communion with demons. 10.21. You can't both drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons.You can't both partake of the table of the Lord, and of the table ofdemons. 15.24. Then the end comes, when he willdeliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will haveabolished all rule and all authority and power. 15.25. For he mustreign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 15.26. The lastenemy that will be abolished is death. 15.27. For, "He put all thingsin subjection under his feet." But when he says, "All things are put insubjection," it is evident that he is excepted who subjected all thingsto him. 15.39. All flesh is not the same flesh, butthere is one flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish,and another of birds. 15.40. There are also celestial bodies, andterrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial differs from that ofthe terrestrial. 15.41. There is one glory of the sun, another gloryof the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs fromanother star in glory. 15.42. So also is the resurrection of the dead.It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. |
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24. New Testament, 1 Peter, 4.11 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 121| 4.11. εἴ τις λαλεῖ, ὡς λόγιαθεοῦ· εἴ τις διακονεῖ, ὡς ἐξ ἰσχύος ἧς χορηγεῖ ὁ θεός· ἵνα ἐν πᾶσιν δοξάζηται ὁ θεὸς διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ἐστὶν ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· ἀμήν. | 4.11. If any man speaks, let it be as it were oracles of God. If any man serves, let it be as of the strength which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. |
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| 25. Anon., Didache, 8.2, 10.5 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 121 |
26. Clement of Rome, 1 Clement, 32.4, 58.2, 61.3 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 121| 32.4. καὶ ἡμεῖς οὖν, διὰ θελήματος αὐτοῦ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ κληθέντες, οὐ δἰ ἑαυτῶν δικαιούμεθα, οὐδὲ διὰ τῆς ἡμετέρας σοφίας ἢ συνέσεως ἢ εὐσεβείας ἢ ἔργων ὦν κατειργασάμεθα ἐν ὁσιότητι καρδίας, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς πίστεως, δἰ ἦς πάντας τοὺς ἀπ̓ αἰῶνος ʽ??ʼ παντοκράτωρ θεὸς ἐδικαίωσεν: ᾧ ἔστω ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ἀμήν. 58.2. δέξασθε τὴν συμβουλὴν ἡμῶν, καὶ ἔσται ἀμεταμέλητα ὑμῖν. ζῇ γὰρ ὁ θεὸς καὶ ζῇ zh| 2 CS, om. LK and #3uotation by Basil. ὁ κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ἥ τε πίστις καὶ ἡ ἐλπὶς τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν, ὅτι ὁ ποιήσας ἐν ταπεινοφροσύνῃ μετ̓ ἐκτενοῦς ἐπιεικείας ἀμεταμελήτως τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ δεδομένα δικαιώματα καὶ προστάγματα, οὗτος ἐντεταγμένος καὶ ἐλλόγιμος ἔσται εἰς τὸν ἀριθμὸν τῶν σωζομένων διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, δἰ οὖ ἐστὶν αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ἀμήν. 61.3. ὁ μόνος δυνατὸς ποιῆσαι ταῦτα καὶ περισσότερα ἀγαθὰ μεθ̓ ἡμῶν, σοὶ ἐξομολογούμεθα διὰ τοῦ ἀρχιερέως καὶ προστάτου τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, δἰ οὗ σοι ἡ δόξα καὶ ἡ μεγαλωσύνη καὶ νῦν καὶ εἰς γενεὰν γενεῶν καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ἀμήν. | |
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27. New Testament, 2 Peter, 3.18 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 121| 3.18. αὐξάνετε δὲ ἐν χάριτι καὶ γνώσει τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν καὶ σωτῆρος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ νῦν καὶ εἰς ἡμέραν αἰῶνος. | 3.18. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. |
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| 28. Justin, Dialogue With Trypho, 48.1, 59.1, 61.1 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 237, 297 |
29. Justin, First Apology, 60, 63 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 297, 298 | 63. And all the Jews even now teach that the nameless God spoke to Moses; whence the Spirit of prophecy, accusing them by Isaiah the prophet mentioned above, said The ox knows his owner, and the ass his master's crib; but Israel does not know Me, and My people do not understand. Isaiah 1:3 And Jesus the Christ, because the Jews knew not what the Father was, and what the Son, in like manner accused them; and Himself said, No one knows the Father, but the Son; nor the Son, but the Father, and they to whom the Son reveals Him. Matthew 11:27 Now the Word of God is His Son, as we have before said. And He is called Angel and Apostle; for He declares whatever we ought to know, and is sent forth to declare whatever is revealed; as our Lord Himself says, He that hears Me, hears Him that sent Me. Luke 10:16 From the writings of Moses also this will be manifest; for thus it is written in them, And the Angel of God spoke to Moses, in a flame of fire out of the bush, and said, I am that I am, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of your fathers; go down into Egypt, and bring forth My people. Exodus 3:6 And if you wish to learn what follows, you can do so from the same writings; for it is impossible to relate the whole here. But so much is written for the sake of proving that Jesus the Christ is the Son of God and His Apostle, being of old the Word, and appearing sometimes in the form of fire, and sometimes in the likeness of angels; but now, by the will of God, having become man for the human race, He endured all the sufferings which the devils instigated the senseless Jews to inflict upon Him; who, though they have it expressly affirmed in the writings of Moses, And the angel of God spoke to Moses in a flame of fire in a bush, and said, I am that I am, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, yet maintain that He who said this was the Father and Creator of the universe. Whence also the Spirit of prophecy rebukes them, and says, Israel does not know Me, my people have not understood Me. Isaiah 1:3 And again, Jesus, as we have already shown, while He was with them, said, No one knows the Father, but the Son; nor the Son but the Father, and those to whom the Son will reveal Him. Matthew 11:27 The Jews, accordingly, being throughout of opinion that it was the Father of the universe who spoke to Moses, though He who spoke to him was indeed the Son of God, who is called both Angel and Apostle, are justly charged, both by the Spirit of prophecy and by Christ Himself, with knowing neither the Father nor the Son. For they who affirm that the Son is the Father, are proved neither to have become acquainted with the Father, nor to know that the Father of the universe has a Son; who also, being the first-begotten Word of God, is even God. And of old He appeared in the shape of fire and in the likeness of an angel to Moses and to the other prophets; but now in the times of your reign, having, as we before said, become Man by a virgin, according to the counsel of the Father, for the salvation of those who believe in Him, He endured both to be set at nought and to suffer, that by dying and rising again He might conquer death. And that which was said out of the bush to Moses, I am that I am, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and the God of your fathers, Exodus 3:6 this signified that they, even though dead, are yet in existence, and are men belonging to Christ Himself. For they were the first of all men to busy themselves in the search after God; Abraham being the father of Isaac, and Isaac of Jacob, as Moses wrote. |
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| 30. Anon., Marytrdom of Polycarp, 1.1, 9.2-9.3, 10.1, 14.1, 20.2, 22.3 (2nd cent. CE - missingth cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 121, 229 |
31. Origen, Against Celsus, 5.2-5.8, 7.3.20 (3rd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 297, 298 | 5.2. We have now, then, to refute that statement of his which runs as follows: O Jews and Christians, no God or son of a God either came or will come down (to earth). But if you mean that certain angels did so, then what do you call them? Are they gods, or some other race of beings? Some other race of beings (doubtless), and in all probability demons. Now as Celsus here is guilty of repeating himself (for in the preceding pages such assertions have been frequently advanced by him), it is unnecessary to discuss the matter at greater length, seeing what we have already said upon this point may suffice. We shall mention, however, a few considerations out of a greater number, such as we deem in harmony with our former arguments, but which have not altogether the same bearing as they, and by which we shall show that in asserting generally that no God, or son of God, ever descended (among men), he overturns not only the opinions entertained by the majority of mankind regarding the manifestation of Deity, but also what was formerly admitted by himself. For if the general statement, that no God or son of God has come down or will come down, be truly maintained by Celsus, it is manifest that we have here overthrown the belief in the existence of gods upon the earth who had descended from heaven either to predict the future to mankind or to heal them by means of divine responses; and neither the Pythian Apollo, nor Æsculapius, nor any other among those supposed to have done so, would be a god descended from heaven. He might, indeed, either be a god who had obtained as his lot (the obligation) to dwell on earth for ever, and be thus a fugitive, as it were, from the abode of the gods, or he might be one who had no power to share in the society of the gods in heaven; or else Apollo, and Æsculapius, and those others who are believed to perform acts on earth, would not be gods, but only certain demons, much inferior to those wise men among mankind, who on account of their virtue ascend to the vault of heaven. 5.3. But observe how, in his desire to subvert our opinions, he who never acknowledged himself throughout his whole treatise to be an Epicurean, is convicted of being a deserter to that sect. And now is the time for you, (reader), who peruse the works of Celsus, and give your assent to what has been advanced, either to overturn the belief in a God who visits the human race, and exercises a providence over each individual man, or to grant this, and prove the falsity of the assertions of Celsus. If you, then, wholly annihilate providence, you will falsify those assertions of his in which he grants the existence of God and a providence, in order that you may maintain the truth of your own position; but if, on the other hand, you still admit the existence of providence, because you do not assent to the dictum of Celsus, that neither has a God nor the son of a God come down nor is to come down to mankind, why not rather carefully ascertain from the statements made regarding Jesus, and the prophecies uttered concerning Him, who it is that we are to consider as having come down to the human race as God, and the Son of God?- whether that Jesus who said and ministered so much, or those who under pretence of oracles and divinations, do not reform the morals of their worshippers, but who have besides apostatized from the pure and holy worship and honour due to the Maker of all things, and who tear away the souls of those who give heed to them from the one only visible and true God, under a pretence of paying honour to a multitude of deities? 5.4. But since he says, in the next place, as if the Jews or Christians had answered regarding those who come down to visit the human race, that they were angels: But if you say that they are angels, what do you call them? he continues, Are they gods, or some other race of beings? and then again introduces us as if answering, Some other race of beings, and probably demons,- let us proceed to notice these remarks. For we indeed acknowledge that angels are ministering spirits, and we say that they are sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation; and that they ascend, bearing the supplications of men, to the purest of the heavenly places in the universe, or even to supercelestial regions purer still; and that they come down from these, conveying to each one, according to his deserts, something enjoined by God to be conferred by them upon those who are to be the recipients of His benefits. Having thus learned to call these beings angels from their employments, we find that because they are divine they are sometimes termed god in the sacred Scriptures, but not so that we are commanded to honour and worship in place of God those who minister to us, and bear to us His blessings. For every prayer, and supplication, and intercession, and thanksgiving, is to be sent up to the Supreme God through the High Priest, who is above all the angels, the living Word and God. And to the Word Himself shall we also pray and make intercessions, and offer thanksgivings and supplications to Him, if we have the capacity of distinguishing between the proper use and abuse of prayer. 5.5. For to invoke angels without having obtained a knowledge of their nature greater than is possessed by men, would be contrary to reason. But, conformably to our hypothesis, let this knowledge of them, which is something wonderful and mysterious, be obtained. Then this knowledge, making known to us their nature, and the offices to which they are severally appointed, will not permit us to pray with confidence to any other than to the Supreme God, who is sufficient for all things, and that through our Saviour the Son of God, who is the Word, and Wisdom, and Truth, and everything else which the writings of God's prophets and the apostles of Jesus entitle Him. And it is enough to secure that the holy angels of God be propitious to us, and that they do all things on our behalf, that our disposition of mind towards God should imitate as far as it is within the power of human nature the example of these holy angels, who again follow the example of their God; and that the conceptions which we entertain of His Son, the Word, so far as attainable by us, should not be opposed to the clearer conceptions of Him which the holy angels possess, but should daily approach these in clearness and distinctness. But because Celsus has not read our holy Scriptures, he gives himself an answer as if it came from us, saying that we assert that the angels who come down from heaven to confer benefits on mankind are a different race from the gods, and adds that in all probability they would be called demons by us: not observing that the name demons is not a term of indifferent meaning like that of men, among whom some are good and some bad, nor yet a term of excellence like that of the gods, which is applied not to wicked demons, or to statues, or to animals, but (by those who know divine things) to what is truly divine and blessed; whereas the term demons is always applied to those wicked powers, freed from the encumbrance of a grosser body, who lead men astray, and fill them with distractions and drag them down from God and supercelestial thoughts to things here below. 5.6. He next proceeds to make the following statement about the Jews:- The first point relating to the Jews which is fitted to excite wonder, is that they should worship the heaven and the angels who dwell therein, and yet pass by and neglect its most venerable and powerful parts, as the sun, the moon, and the other heavenly bodies, both fixed stars and planets, as if it were possible that 'the whole' could be God, and yet its parts not divine; or (as if it were reasonable) to treat with the greatest respect those who are said to appear to such as are in darkness somewhere, blinded by some crooked sorcery, or dreaming dreams through the influence of shadowy spectres, while those who prophesy so clearly and strikingly to all men, by means of whom rain, and heat, and clouds, and thunder (to which they offer worship), and lightnings, and fruits, and all kinds of productiveness, are brought about - by means of whom God is revealed to them - the most prominent heralds among those beings that are above - those that are truly heavenly angels - are to be regarded as of no account! In making these statements, Celsus appears to have fallen into confusion, and to have penned them from false ideas of things which he did not understand; for it is patent to all who investigate the practices of the Jews, and compare them with those of the Christians, that the Jews who follow the law, which, speaking in the person of God, says, You shall have no other gods before Me: you shall not make unto you an image, nor a likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth; you shall not bow down to them, nor serve them, worship nothing else than the Supreme God, who made the heavens, and all things besides. Now it is evident that those who live according to the law, and worship the Maker of heaven, will not worship the heaven at the same time with God. Moreover, no one who obeys the law of Moses will bow down to the angels who are in heaven; and, in like manner, as they do not bow down to sun, moon, and stars, the host of heaven, they refrain from doing obeisance to heaven and its angels, obeying the law which declares: Lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, should be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord your God has divided unto all nations. 5.7. Having, moreover, assumed that the Jews consider the heaven to be God, he adds that this is absurd; finding fault with those who bow down to the heaven, but not also to the sun, and moon, and stars, saying that the Jews do this, as if it were possible that the whole should be God, and its several parts not divine. And he seems to call the heaven a whole, and sun, moon, and stars its several parts. Now, certainly neither Jews nor Christians call the heaven God. Let it be granted, however, that, as he alleges, the heaven is called God by the Jews, and suppose that sun, moon, and stars are parts of heaven,- which is by no means true, for neither are the animals and plants upon the earth any portion of it - how is it true, even according to the opinions of the Greeks, that if God be a whole, His parts also are divine? Certainly they say that the Cosmos taken as the whole is God, the Stoics calling it the First God, the followers of Plato the Second, and some of them the Third. According to these philosophers, then, seeing the whole Cosmos is God, its parts also are divine; so that not only are human beings divine, but the whole of the irrational creation, as being portions of the Cosmos; and besides these, the plants also are divine. And if the rivers, and mountains, and seas are portions of the Cosmos, then, since the whole Cosmos is God, are the rivers and seas also gods? But even this the Greeks will not assert. Those, however, who preside over rivers and seas (either demons or gods, as they call them), they would term gods. Now from this it follows that the general statement of Celsus, even according to the Greeks, who hold the doctrine of Providence, is false, that if any whole be a god, its parts necessarily are divine. But it follows from the doctrine of Celsus, that if the Cosmos be God, all that is in it is divine, being parts of the Cosmos. Now, according to this view, animals, as flies, and gnats, and worms, and every species of serpent, as well as of birds and fishes, will be divine, - an assertion which would not be made even by those who maintain that the Cosmos is God. But the Jews, who live according to the law of Moses, although they may not know how to receive the secret meaning of the law, which is conveyed in obscure language, will not maintain that either the heaven or the angels are God. 5.8. As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. You will find at least in the book of Jeremiah the words of God censuring by the mouth of the prophet the Jewish people for doing obeisance to such objects, and for sacrificing to the queen of heaven, and to all the host of heaven. The writings of the Christians, moreover, show, in censuring the sins committed among the Jews, that when God abandoned that people on account of certain sins, these sins (of idol-worship) also were committed by them. For it is related in the Acts of the Apostles regarding the Jews, that God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O you house of Israel, have you offered to Me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness? Yea, you took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which you made to worship them. And in the writings of Paul, who was carefully trained in Jewish customs, and converted afterwards to Christianity by a miraculous appearance of Jesus, the following words may be read in the Epistle to the Colossians: Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind; and not holding the Head, from which all the body by joint and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increases with the increase of God. But Celsus, having neither read these verses, nor having learned their contents from any other source, has represented, I know not how, the Jews as not transgressing their law in bowing down to the heavens, and to the angels therein. |
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| 32. Origen, Commentary On Romans, 2.10 (3rd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 298 |
| 33. Origen, Commentary On Romans, 2.10 (3rd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 298 |
34. Lactantius, Divine Institutes, 1.7 (3rd cent. CE - 4th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 297 | 1.7. Apollo, indeed, whom they think divine above all others, and especially prophetic, giving responses at Colophon - I suppose because, induced by the pleasantness of Asia, he had removed from Delphi - to some one who asked who He was, or what God was at all, replied in twenty-one verses, of which this is the beginning:- Self-produced, untaught, without a mother, unshaken, A name not even to be comprised in word, dwelling in fire, This is God; and we His messengers are a slight portion of God.Can any one suspect that this is spoken of Jupiter, who had both a mother and a name? Why should I say that Mercury, that thrice greatest, of whom I have made mention above, not only speaks of God as without a mother, as Apollo does, but also as without a father, because He has no origin from any other source but Himself? For He cannot be produced from any one, who Himself produced all things. I have, as I think, sufficiently taught by arguments, and confirmed by witnesses, that which is sufficiently plain by itself, that there is one only King of the universe, one Father, one God. But perchance some one may ask of us the same question which Hortensius asks in Cicero: If God is one only, what solitude can be happy? As though we, in asserting that He is one, say that He is desolate and solitary. Undoubtedly He has ministers, whom we call messengers. And that is true, which I have before related, that Seneca said in his Exhortations that God produced ministers of His kingdom. But these are neither gods, nor do they wish to be called gods or to be worshipped, inasmuch as they do nothing but execute the command and will of God. Nor, however, are they gods who are worshipped in common, whose number is small and fixed. But if the worshippers of the gods think that they worship those beings whom we call the ministers of the Supreme God, there is no reason why they should envy us who say that there is one God, and deny that there are many. If a multitude of gods delights them, we do not speak of twelve, or three hundred and sixty-five as Orpheus did; but we convict them of innumerable errors on the other side, in thinking that they are so few. Let them know, however, by what name they ought to be called, lest they do injury to the true God, whose name they set forth, while they assign it to more than one. Let them believe their own Apollo, who in that same response took away from the other gods their name, as he took away the dominion from Jupiter. For the third verse shows that the ministers of God ought not to be called gods, but angels. He spoke falsely respecting himself, indeed; for though he was of the number of demons, he reckoned himself among the angels of God, and then in other responses he confessed himself a demon. For when he was asked how he wished to be supplicated, he thus answered:- O all-wise, all-learned, versed in many pursuits, hear, O demon.And so, again, when at the entreaty of some one he uttered an imprecation against the Sminthian Apollo, he began with this verse:- O harmony of the world, bearing light, all-wise demon. What therefore remains, except that by his own confession he is subject to the scourge of the true God and to everlasting punishment? For in another response he also said:- The demons who go about the earth and about the sea Without weariness, are subdued beneath the scourge of God.We speak on the subject of both in the second book. In the meantime it is enough for us, that while he wishes to honour and place himself in heaven, he has confessed, as the nature of the matter is, in what manner they are to be named who always stand beside God. Therefore let men withdraw themselves from errors; and laying aside corrupt superstitions, let them acknowledge their Father and Lord, whose excellence cannot be estimated, nor His greatness perceived, nor His beginning comprehended. When the earnest attention of the human mind and its acute sagacity and memory has reached Him, all ways being, as it were, summed up and exhausted, it stops, it is at a loss, it fails; nor is there anything beyond to which it can proceed. But because that which exists must of necessity have had a beginning, it follows that since there was nothing before Him, He was produced from Himself before all things. Therefore He is called by Apollo self-produced, by the Sibyl self-created, uncreated, and unmade. And Seneca, an acute man, saw and expressed this in his Exhortations. We, he said, are dependent upon another. Therefore we look to some one to whom we owe that which is most excellent in us. Another brought us into being, another formed us; but God of His own power made Himself. |
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| 35. Origen, Commentary On Romans, 2.10 (3rd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 298 |
36. Augustine, The City of God, 9.23 (4th cent. CE - 5th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 298 | 9.23. If the Platonists prefer to call these angels gods rather than demons, and to reckon them with those whom Plato, their founder and master, maintains were created by the supreme God, they are welcome to do so, for I will not spend strength in fighting about words. For if they say that these beings are immortal, and yet created by the supreme God, blessed but by cleaving to their Creator and not by their own power, they say what we say, whatever name they call these beings by. And that this is the opinion either of all or the best of the Platonists can be ascertained by their writings. And regarding the name itself, if they see fit to call such blessed and immortal creatures gods, this need not give rise to any serious discussion between us, since in our own Scriptures we read, The God of gods, the Lord has spoken; and again, Confess to the God of gods; and again, He is a great King above all gods. And where it is said, He is to be feared above all gods, the reason is immediately added, for it follows, for all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. He said, above all gods, but added, of the nations; that is to say, above all those whom the nations count gods, in other words, demons. By them He is to be feared with that terror in which they cried to the Lord, Have You come to destroy us? But where it is said, the God of gods, it cannot be understood as the god of the demons; and far be it from us to say that great King above all gods means great King above all demons. But the same Scripture also calls men who belong to God's people gods: I have said, You are gods, and all of you children of the Most High. Accordingly, when God is styled God of gods, this may be understood of these gods; and so, too, when He is styled a great King above all gods. Nevertheless, some one may say, if men are called gods because they belong to God's people, whom He addresses by means of men and angels, are not the immortals, who already enjoy that felicity which men seek to attain by worshipping God, much more worthy of the title? And what shall we reply to this, if not that it is not without reason that in holy Scripture men are more expressly styled gods than those immortal and blessed spirits to whom we hope to be equal in the resurrection, because there was a fear that the weakness of unbelief, being overcome with the excellence of these beings, might presume to constitute some of them a god? In the case of men this was a result that need not be guarded against. Besides, it was right that the men belonging to God's people should be more expressly called gods, to assure and certify them that He who is called God of gods is their God; because, although those immortal and blessed spirits who dwell in the heavens are called gods, yet they are not called gods of gods, that is to say, gods of the men who constitute God's people, and to whom it is said, I have said, You are gods, and all of you the children of the Most High. Hence the saying of the apostle, Though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there be gods many and lords many, but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him. 1 Corinthians 8:5-6 We need not, therefore, laboriously contend about the name, since the reality is so obvious as to admit of no shadow of doubt. That which we say, that the angels who are sent to announce the will of God to men belong to the order of blessed immortals, does not satisfy the Platonists, because they believe that this ministry is discharged, not by those whom they call gods, in other words, not by blessed immortals, but by demons, whom they dare not affirm to be blessed, but only immortal, or if they do rank them among the blessed immortals, yet only as good demons, and not as gods who dwell in the heaven of heavens remote from all human contact. But, though it may seem mere wrangling about a name, yet the name of demon is so detestable that we cannot bear in any sense to apply it to the holy angels. Now, therefore, let us close this book in the assurance that, whatever we call these immortal and blessed spirits, who yet are only creatures, they do not act as mediators to introduce to everlasting felicity miserable mortals, from whom they are severed by a twofold distinction. And those others who are mediators, in so far as they have immortality in common with their superiors, and misery in common with their inferiors (for they are justly miserable in punishment of their wickedness), cannot bestow upon us, but rather grudge that we should possess, the blessedness from which they themselves are excluded. And so the friends of the demons have nothing considerable to allege why we should rather worship them as our helpers than avoid them as traitors to our interests. As for those spirits who are good, and who are therefore not only immortal but also blessed, and to whom they suppose we should give the title of gods, and offer worship and sacrifices for the sake of inheriting a future life, we shall, by God's help, endeavor in the following book to show that these spirits, call them by what name, and ascribe to them what nature you will, desire that religious worship be paid to God alone, by whom they were created, and by whose communications of Himself to them they are blessed. |
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| 37. Anon., Martyrdom of Apollonius, 15, 2, 8-9, 6 Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 237 |
| 38. Dead Sea Scrolls, 4Q405, 20.2 Tagged with subjects: •emperor cult, emperor worship Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 121 |
| 39. Anon., The Acts of The Scillitan Martyrs Or The Passion of Speratus And Companions, 3, 6 Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 235 |
