1. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 1.26-1.28, 21.25 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
1.26. וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ וְיִרְדּוּ בִדְגַת הַיָּם וּבְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּבַבְּהֵמָה וּבְכָל־הָאָרֶץ וּבְכָל־הָרֶמֶשׂ הָרֹמֵשׂ עַל־הָאָרֶץ׃ 1.27. וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אֹתוֹ זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה בָּרָא אֹתָם׃ 1.28. וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתָם אֱלֹהִים וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם אֱלֹהִים פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ וּמִלְאוּ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ וְכִבְשֻׁהָ וּרְדוּ בִּדְגַת הַיָּם וּבְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּבְכָל־חַיָּה הָרֹמֶשֶׂת עַל־הָאָרֶץ׃ 21.25. וְהוֹכִחַ אַבְרָהָם אֶת־אֲבִימֶלֶךְ עַל־אֹדוֹת בְּאֵר הַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר גָּזְלוּ עַבְדֵי אֲבִימֶלֶךְ׃ | 1.26. And God said: ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.’" 1.27. And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them." 1.28. And God blessed them; and God said unto them: ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth.’" 21.25. And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of the well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away." |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Leviticus, 19.17 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
19.17. לֹא־תִשְׂנָא אֶת־אָחִיךָ בִּלְבָבֶךָ הוֹכֵחַ תּוֹכִיחַ אֶת־עֲמִיתֶךָ וְלֹא־תִשָּׂא עָלָיו חֵטְא׃ | 19.17. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart; thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbour, and not bear sin because of him." |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Proverbs, 3.9 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
3.9. כַּבֵּד אֶת־יְהוָה מֵהוֹנֶךָ וּמֵרֵאשִׁית כָּל־תְּבוּאָתֶךָ׃ | 3.9. Honour the LORD with thy substance, And with the first-fruits of all thine increase;" |
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4. Hebrew Bible, Amos, 5.10 (8th cent. BCE - 6th cent. BCE)
| 5.10. They hate him that reproveth in the gate, And they abhor him that speaketh uprightly." |
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5. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 2.4 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
2.4. וְשָׁפַט בֵּין הַגּוֹיִם וְהוֹכִיחַ לְעַמִּים רַבִּים וְכִתְּתוּ חַרְבוֹתָם לְאִתִּים וַחֲנִיתוֹתֵיהֶם לְמַזְמֵרוֹת לֹא־יִשָּׂא גוֹי אֶל־גּוֹי חֶרֶב וְלֹא־יִלְמְדוּ עוֹד מִלְחָמָה׃ | 2.4. And He shall judge between the nations, And shall decide for many peoples; And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruninghooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war any more." |
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6. Hebrew Bible, Jeremiah, 29.8, 29.10, 29.13, 29.17-29.18, 29.23 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
29.8. כִּי כֹה אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אַל־יַשִּׁיאוּ לָכֶם נְבִיאֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר־בְּקִרְבְּכֶם וְקֹסְמֵיכֶם וְאַל־תִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶל־חֲלֹמֹתֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם מַחְלְמִים׃ 29.13. וּבִקַּשְׁתֶּם אֹתִי וּמְצָאתֶם כִּי תִדְרְשֻׁנִי בְּכָל־לְבַבְכֶם׃ 29.17. כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת הִנְנִי מְשַׁלֵּחַ בָּם אֶת־הַחֶרֶב אֶת־הָרָעָב וְאֶת־הַדָּבֶר וְנָתַתִּי אוֹתָם כַּתְּאֵנִים הַשֹּׁעָרִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא־תֵאָכַלְנָה מֵרֹעַ׃ 29.18. וְרָדַפְתִּי אַחֲרֵיהֶם בַּחֶרֶב בָּרָעָב וּבַדָּבֶר וּנְתַתִּים לזועה [לְזַעֲוָה] לְכֹל מַמְלְכוֹת הָאָרֶץ לְאָלָה וּלְשַׁמָּה וְלִשְׁרֵקָה וּלְחֶרְפָּה בְּכָל־הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר־הִדַּחְתִּים שָׁם׃ 29.23. יַעַן אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ נְבָלָה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וַיְנַאֲפוּ אֶת־נְשֵׁי רֵעֵיהֶם וַיְדַבְּרוּ דָבָר בִּשְׁמִי שֶׁקֶר אֲשֶׁר לוֹא צִוִּיתִם וְאָנֹכִי הוידע [הַיּוֹדֵעַ] וָעֵד נְאֻם־יְהוָה׃ | 29.8. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your prophets that are in the midst of you, and your diviners, beguile you, neither hearken ye to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed." 29.10. For thus saith the LORD: After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, I will remember you, and perform My good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place." 29.13. And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart." 29.17. thus saith the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad." 29.18. And I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will make them a horror unto all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them;" 29.23. because they have wrought vile deeds in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours’wives, and have spoken words in My name falsely, which I commanded them not; but I am He that knoweth, and am witness, saith the LORD." |
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7. Hebrew Bible, 2 Chronicles, 30.24, 35.7-35.9 (5th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
30.24. כִּי חִזְקִיָּהוּ מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה הֵרִים לַקָּהָל אֶלֶף פָּרִים וְשִׁבְעַת אֲלָפִים צֹאן וְהַשָּׂרִים הֵרִימוּ לַקָּהָל פָּרִים אֶלֶף וְצֹאן עֲשֶׂרֶת אֲלָפִים וַיִּתְקַדְּשׁוּ כֹהֲנִים לָרֹב׃ 35.7. וַיָּרֶם יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ לִבְנֵי הָעָם צֹאן כְּבָשִׂים וּבְנֵי־עִזִּים הַכֹּל לַפְּסָחִים לְכָל־הַנִּמְצָא לְמִסְפַּר שְׁלֹשִׁים אֶלֶף וּבָקָר שְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים אֵלֶּה מֵרְכוּשׁ הַמֶּלֶךְ׃ 35.8. וְשָׂרָיו לִנְדָבָה לָעָם לַכֹּהֲנִים וְלַלְוִיִּם הֵרִימוּ חִלְקִיָּה וּזְכַרְיָהוּ וִיחִיאֵל נְגִידֵי בֵּית הָאֱלֹהִים לַכֹּהֲנִים נָתְנוּ לַפְּסָחִים אַלְפַּיִם וְשֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת וּבָקָר שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת׃ 35.9. וכונניהו [וְכָנַנְיָהוּ] וּשְׁמַעְיָהוּ וּנְתַנְאֵל אֶחָיו וַחֲשַׁבְיָהוּ וִיעִיאֵל וְיוֹזָבָד שָׂרֵי הַלְוִיִּם הֵרִימוּ לַלְוִיִּם לַפְּסָחִים חֲמֵשֶׁת אֲלָפִים וּבָקָר חֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת׃ | 30.24. For Hezekiah king of Judah did give to the congregation for offerings a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep; and the princes gave to the congregation a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep; and priests sanctified themselves in great numbers." 35.7. And Josiah gave to the children of the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all of them for the passover-offerings, unto all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bullocks; these were of the king’s substance." 35.8. And his princes gave willingly unto the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, the rulers of the house of God, gave unto the priests for the passover-offerings two thousand and six hundred [small cattle], and three hundred oxen." 35.9. Coiah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brethren, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the chiefs of the Levites, gave unto the Levites for the passover-offerings five thousand [small cattle], and five hundred oxen." |
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8. Plato, Apology of Socrates, None (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 24b. this now or hereafter, you will find that it is so.Now so far as the accusations are concerned which my first accusers made against me, this is a sufficient defence before you; but against Meletus, the good and patriotic, as he says, and the later ones, I will try to defend myself next. So once more, as if these were another set of accusers, let us take up in turn their sworn statement. It is about as follows: it states that Socrates is a wrongdoer because he corrupts the youth and does not believe in the gods the state believes in, but in other |
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9. Plato, Euthyphro, None (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 3b. Socrates. Absurd things, my friend, at first hearing. For he says I am a maker of gods; and because I make new gods and do not believe in the old ones, he indicted me for the sake of these old ones, as he says. Euthyphro. I understand, Socrates; it is because you say the divine monitor keeps coming to you. So he has brought the indictment against you for making innovations in religion, and he is going into court to slander you, knowing that slanders on such subjects are readily accepted by the people. Why, they even laugh at me and say I am crazy |
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10. Xenophon, Memoirs, 1.1.1 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 1.1.1. I have often wondered by what arguments those who drew up the indictment against Socrates could persuade the Athenians that his life was forfeit to the state. The indictment against him was to this effect: Socrates is guilty of rejecting the gods acknowledged by the state and of bringing in strange deities: he is also guilty of corrupting the youth. |
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11. Dead Sea Scrolls, Epistle of Jeremiah, 30, 4, 57, 11 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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12. Septuagint, 1 Maccabees, 1.3, 1.5 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 1.3. He advanced to the ends of the earth, and plundered many nations. When the earth became quiet before him, he was exalted, and his heart was lifted up. 1.5. After this he fell sick and perceived that he was dying. |
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13. Septuagint, 2 Maccabees, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10-2.18, 1.24, 1.25, 1.27, 1.28, 1.29, 2.18 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 1.1. The Jewish brethren in Jerusalem and those in the land of Judea, To their Jewish brethren in Egypt, Greeting, and good peace.' |
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14. Septuagint, Wisdom of Solomon, 12.2 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 12.2. Therefore thou dost correct little by little those who trespass,and dost remind and warn them of the things wherein they sin,that they may be freed from wickedness and put their trust in thee, O Lord. |
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15. Philo of Alexandria, On The Sacrifices of Cain And Abel, 74 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 74. It is right therefore to offer the first fruits of these things: and the first fruits are the language of gratitude sent up from sincere truth of mind. And this language divides itself according to appropriate divisions in the same manner as the lyre and the other musical instruments are divided. For in each of those instruments each sound is by itself harmonious, and also exceedingly adapted to making a symphony with the rest. As in grammar also those of the elements which are called vowels are both capable of being uttered by themselves, and they also make a complete sound in conjunction with other letters. |
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16. Anon., 2 Baruch, 85.3 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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17. Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, 13 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
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18. New Testament, 1 Corinthians, 2.1-2.5, 2.8, 8.6, 14.24, 15.20, 15.23, 16.15 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.1. When I came to you, brothers, I didn't come with excellence ofspeech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2.2. ForI determined not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ, andhim crucified. 2.3. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in muchtrembling. 2.4. My speech and my preaching were not in persuasivewords of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power 2.5. that your faith wouldn't stand in the wisdom of men, but in thepower of God. 2.8. which none of the rulers of this worldhas known. For had they known it, they wouldn't have crucified the Lordof glory. 8.6. yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are allthings, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom areall things, and we live through him. 14.24. But if all prophesy, and someoneunbelieving or unlearned comes in, he is reproved by all, and he isjudged by all. 15.20. But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became thefirst fruits of those who are asleep. 15.23. Buteach in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who areChrist's, at his coming. 16.15. Now I beg you, brothers (you know the house of Stephanas,that it is the first fruits of Achaia, and that they have setthemselves to minister to the saints) |
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19. New Testament, 1 Thessalonians, 1.4-1.5, 1.9-1.10 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.4. We know, brothers loved by God, that you are chosen 1.5. and that our gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and with much assurance. You know what kind of men we showed ourselves to be among you for your sake. 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 1.10. and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead -- Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. |
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20. New Testament, 2 Corinthians, 4.5, 11.6 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
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21. New Testament, 2 Thessalonians, 2.13 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.13. But we are bound to always give thanks to God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth; |
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22. New Testament, Acts, 17.28, 22.3, 24.14, 28.17 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 17.28. 'For in him we live, and move, and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also his offspring.' 22.3. I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as you all are this day. 24.14. But this I confess to you, that after the Way, which they call a sect, so I serve the God of our fathers, believing all things which are according to the law, and which are written in the prophets; 28.17. It happened that after three days Paul called together those who were the leaders of the Jews. When they had come together, he said to them, "I, brothers, though I had done nothing against the people, or the customs of our fathers, still was delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans |
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23. New Testament, Apocalypse, 14.4 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 14.4. These are those who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed by Jesus from among men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. |
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24. New Testament, James, 1.1-1.6, 1.8, 1.11-1.17, 1.19, 1.21-1.27, 2.1, 2.5-2.26, 3.1-3.6, 3.8-3.9, 3.13-3.18, 4.8, 5.1-5.11, 5.14 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.1. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are in the Dispersion: Greetings. 1.2. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations 1.3. knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 1.4. Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 1.5. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach; and it will be given to him. 1.6. But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. 1.8. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 1.11. For the sun arises with the scorching wind, and withers the grass, and the flower in it falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in his pursuits. 1.12. Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love him. 1.13. Let no man say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God," for God can't be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. 1.14. But each one is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. 1.15. Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death. 1.16. Don't be deceived, my beloved brothers. 1.17. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow. 1.19. So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; 1.21. Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 1.22. But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves. 1.23. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man beholding his natural face in a mirror; 1.24. for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 1.25. But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continues, not being a hearer who forgets but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does. 1.26. If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious while he doesn't bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this man's religion is worthless. 1.27. Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. 2.1. My brothers, don't hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory with partiality. 2.5. Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn't God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to those who love him? 2.6. But you have dishonored the poor man. Don't the rich oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts? 2.7. Don't they blaspheme the honorable name by which you are called? 2.8. However, if you fulfill the royal law, according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well. 2.9. But if you show partiality, you commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. 2.10. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he has become guilty of all. 2.11. For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," said also, "Do not commit murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 2.12. So speak, and so do, as men who are to be judged by a law of freedom. 2.13. For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 2.14. What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can that faith save him? 2.15. And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food 2.16. and one of you tells them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled;" and yet you didn't give them the things the body needs, what good is it? 2.17. Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself. 2.18. Yes, a man will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. 2.19. You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder. 2.20. But do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead? 2.21. Wasn't Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 2.22. You see that faith worked with his works, and by works faith was perfected; 2.23. and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness;" and he was called the friend of God. 2.24. You see then that by works, a man is justified, and not only by faith. 2.25. In like manner wasn't Rahab the prostitute also justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? 2.26. For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead. 3.1. Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment. 3.2. For in many things we all stumble. If anyone doesn't stumble in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also. 3.3. Indeed, we put bits into the horses' mouths so that they may obey us, and we guide their whole body. 3.4. Behold, the ships also, though they are so big and are driven by fierce winds, are yet guided by a very small rudder, wherever the pilot desires. 3.5. So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest! 3.6. And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by Gehenna. 3.8. But nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 3.9. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the image of God. 3.13. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good conduct that his deeds are done in gentleness of wisdom. 3.14. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, don't boast and don't lie against the truth. 3.15. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, sensual, and demonic. 3.16. For where jealousy and selfish ambition are, there is confusion and every evil deed. 3.17. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 3.18. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. 4.8. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 5.1. Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you. 5.2. Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. 5.3. Your gold and your silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be for a testimony against you, and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up your treasure in the last days. 5.4. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Hosts. 5.5. You have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter. 5.6. You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn't resist you. 5.7. Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receives the early and late rain. 5.8. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 5.9. Don't grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won't be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door. 5.10. Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of patience, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 5.11. Behold, we call them blessed who endured. You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the Lord in the outcome, and how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. 5.14. Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord |
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25. New Testament, Romans, 8.23, 11.16, 16.5 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 8.23. Not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption, the redemption of our body. 11.16. If the first fruit is holy, so is the lump. If the root is holy, so are the branches. 16.5. Greet the assembly that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first fruits of Achaia to Christ. |
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26. New Testament, Luke, 3.19, 6.20 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 3.19. but Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done 6.20. He lifted up his eyes to his disciples, and said, "Blessed are you poor, For yours is the Kingdom of God. |
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27. New Testament, Matthew, 5.3, 18.15 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 5.3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 18.15. If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother. |
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28. Minucius Felix, Octavius, 6.1 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
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29. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, 7.24.6 (3rd cent. CE - 4th cent. CE)
| 7.24.6. When I was in the district of Arsinoë, where, as you know, this doctrine has prevailed for a long time, so that schisms and apostasies of entire churches have resulted, I called together the presbyters and teachers of the brethren in the villages — such brethren as wished being also present — and I exhorted them to make a public examination of this question. |
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30. Origen, Against Celsus, 2.4, 3.50, 5.25-5.26, 5.33, 5.61, 5.65 (3rd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 2.4. The Jew, then, continues his address to converts from his own nation thus: Yesterday and the day before, when we visited with punishment the man who deluded you, you became apostates from the law of your fathers; showing by such statements (as we have just demonstrated) anything but an exact knowledge of the truth. But what he advances afterwards seems to have some force, when he says: How is it that you take the beginning of your system from our worship, and when you have made some progress you treat it with disrespect, although you have no other foundation to show for your doctrines than our law? Now, certainly the introduction to Christianity is through the Mosaic worship and the prophetic writings; and after the introduction, it is in the interpretation and explanation of these that progress takes place, while those who are introduced prosecute their investigations into the mystery according to revelation, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest in the Scriptures of the prophets, and by the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ. But they who advance in the knowledge of Christianity do not, as you allege, treat the things written in the law with disrespect. On the contrary, they bestow upon them greater honour, showing what a depth of wise and mysterious reasons is contained in these writings, which are not fully comprehended by the Jews, who treat them superficially, and as if they were in some degree even fabulous. And what absurdity should there be in our system - that is, the Gospel- having the law for its foundation, when even the Lord Jesus Himself said to those who would not believe upon Him: If you had believed Moses, you would have believed Me, for he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how shall you believe My words? Nay, even one of the evangelists- Mark - says: The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as it is written in the prophet Isaiah, Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who shall prepare Your way before You, which shows that the beginning of the Gospel is connected with the Jewish writings. What force, then, is there in the objection of the Jew of Celsus, that if any one predicted to us that the Son of God was to visit mankind, he was one of our prophets, and the prophet of our God? Or how is it a charge against Christianity, that John, who baptized Jesus, was a Jew? For although He was a Jew, it does not follow that every believer, whether a convert from heathenism or from Judaism, must yield a literal obedience to the law of Moses. 3.50. But let us see what those statements of his are which follow next in these words: Nay, we see, indeed, that even those individuals, who in the market-places perform the most disgraceful tricks, and who gather crowds around them, would never approach an assembly of wise men, nor dare to exhibit their arts among them; but wherever they see young men, and a mob of slaves, and a gathering of unintelligent persons, there they thrust themselves in, and show themselves off. Observe, now, how he slanders us in these words, comparing us to those who in the market-places perform the most disreputable tricks, and gather crowds around them! What disreputable tricks, pray, do we perform? Or what is there in our conduct that resembles theirs, seeing that by means of readings, and explanations of the things read, we lead men to the worship of the God of the universe, and to the cognate virtues, and turn them away from contemning Deity, and from all things contrary to right reason? Philosophers verily would wish to collect together such hearers of their discourses as exhort men to virtue - a practice which certain of the Cynics especially have followed, who converse publicly with those whom they happen to meet. Will they maintain, then, that these who do not gather together persons who are considered to have been educated, but who invite and assemble hearers from the public street, resemble those who in the market-places perform the most disreputable tricks, and gather crowds around them? Neither Celsus, however, nor any one who holds the same opinions, will blame those who, agreeably to what they regard as a feeling of philanthropy, address their arguments to the ignorant populace. 5.25. Let us next notice the statements of Celsus, which follow the preceding, and which are as follow: As the Jews, then, became a peculiar people, and enacted laws in keeping with the customs of their country, and maintain them up to the present time, and observe a mode of worship which, whatever be its nature, is yet derived from their fathers, they act in these respects like other men, because each nation retains its ancestral customs, whatever they are, if they happen to be established among them. And such an arrangement appears to be advantageous, not only because it has occurred to the mind of other nations to decide some things differently, but also because it is a duty to protect what has been established for the public advantage; and also because, in all probability, the various quarters of the earth were from the beginning allotted to different superintending spirits, and were thus distributed among certain governing powers, and in this manner the administration of the world is carried on. And whatever is done among each nation in this way would be rightly done, wherever it was agreeable to the wishes (of the superintending powers), while it would be an act of impiety to get rid of the institutions established from the beginning in the various places. By these words Celsus shows that the Jews, who were formerly Egyptians, subsequently became a peculiar people, and enacted laws which they carefully preserve. And not to repeat his statements, which have been already before us, he says that it is advantageous to the Jews to observe their ancestral worship, as other nations carefully attend to theirs. And he further states a deeper reason why it is of advantage to the Jews to cultivate their ancestral customs, in hinting dimly that those to whom was allotted the office of superintending the country which was being legislated for, enacted the laws of each land in co-operation with its legislators. He appears, then, to indicate that both the country of the Jews, and the nation which inhabits it, are superintended by one or more beings, who, whether they were one or more, co-operated with Moses, and enacted the laws of the Jews. 5.26. We must, he says, observe the laws, not only because it has occurred to the mind of others to decide some things differently, but because it is a duty to protect what has been enacted for the public advantage, and also because, in all probability, the various quarters of the earth were from the beginning allotted to different superintending spirits, and were distributed among certain governing powers, and in this manner the administration of the world is carried on. Thus Celsus, as if he had forgotten what he had said against the Jews, now includes them in the general eulogy which he passes upon all who observe their ancestral customs, remarking: And whatever is done among each nation in this way, would be rightly done whenever agreeable to the wishes (of the superintendents). And observe here, whether he does not openly, so far as he can, express a wish that the Jew should live in the observance of his own laws, and not depart from them, because he would commit an act of impiety if he apostatized; for his words are: It would be an act of impiety to get rid of the institutions established from the beginning in the various places. Now I should like to ask him, and those who entertain his views, who it was that distributed the various quarters of the earth from the beginning among the different superintending spirits; and especially, who gave the country of the Jews, and the Jewish people themselves, to the one or more superintendents to whom it was allotted? Was it, as Celsus would say, Jupiter who assigned the Jewish people and their country to a certain spirit or spirits? And was it his wish, to whom they were thus assigned, to enact among them the laws which prevail, or was it against his will that it was done? You will observe that, whatever be his answer, he is in a strait. But if the various quarters of the earth were not allotted by some one being to the various superintending spirits, then each one at random, and without the superintendence of a higher power, divided the earth according to chance; and yet such a view is absurd, and destructive in no small degree of the providence of the God who presides over all things. 5.33. The remarks which we have made not only answer the statements of Celsus regarding the superintending spirits, but anticipate in some measure what he afterwards brings forward, when he says: Let the second party come forward; and I shall ask them whence they come, and whom they regard as the originator of their ancestral customs. They will reply, No one, because they spring from the same source as the Jews themselves, and derive their instruction and superintendence from no other quarter, and notwithstanding they have revolted from the Jews. Each one of us, then, has come in the last days, when one Jesus has visited us, to the visible mountain of the Lord, the Word that is above every word, and to the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And we notice how it is built upon the tops of the mountains, i.e., the predictions of all the prophets, which are its foundations. And this house is exalted above the hills, i.e., those individuals among men who make a profession of superior attainments in wisdom and truth; and all the nations come to it, and the many nations go forth, and say to one another, turning to the religion which in the last days has shone forth through Jesus Christ: Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in them. For the law came forth from the dwellers in Sion, and settled among us as a spiritual law. Moreover, the word of the Lord came forth from that very Jerusalem, that it might be disseminated through all places, and might judge in the midst of the heathen, selecting those whom it sees to be submissive, and rejecting the disobedient, who are many in number. And to those who inquire of us whence we come, or who is our founder, we reply that we have come, agreeably to the counsels of Jesus, to cut down our hostile and insolent 'wordy' swords into ploughshares, and to convert into pruning-hooks the spears formerly employed in war. For we no longer take up sword against nation, nor do we learn war any more, having become children of peace, for the sake of Jesus, who is our leader, instead of those whom our fathers followed, among whom we were strangers to the covet, and having received a law, for which we give thanks to Him that rescued us from the error (of our ways), saying, Our fathers honoured lying idols, and there is not among them one that causes it to rain. Our Superintendent, then, and Teacher, having come forth from the Jews, regulates the whole world by the word of His teaching. And having made these remarks by way of anticipation, we have refuted as well as we could the untrue statements of Celsus, by subjoining the appropriate answer. 5.61. After the above remarks he proceeds as follows: Let no one suppose that I am ignorant that some of them will concede that their God is the same as that of the Jews, while others will maintain that he is a different one, to whom the latter is in opposition, and that it was from the former that the Son came. Now, if he imagine that the existence of numerous heresies among the Christians is a ground of accusation against Christianity, why, in a similar way, should it not be a ground of accusation against philosophy, that the various sects of philosophers differ from each other, not on small and indifferent points, but upon those of the highest importance? Nay, medicine also ought to be a subject of attack, on account of its many conflicting schools. Let it be admitted, then, that there are among us some who deny that our God is the same as that of the Jews: nevertheless, on that account those are not to be blamed who prove from the same Scriptures that one and the same Deity is the God of the Jews and of the Gentiles alike, as Paul, too, distinctly says, who was a convert from Judaism to Christianity, I thank my God, whom I serve from my forefathers with a pure conscience. And let it be admitted also, that there is a third class who call certain persons carnal, and others spiritual,- I think he here means the followers of Valentinus - yet what does this avail against us, who belong to the Church, and who make it an accusation against such as hold that certain natures are saved, and that others perish in consequence of their natural constitution? And let it be admitted further, that there are some who give themselves out as Gnostics, in the same way as those Epicureans who call themselves philosophers: yet neither will they who annihilate the doctrine of providence be deemed true philosophers, nor those true Christians who introduce monstrous inventions, which are disapproved of by those who are the disciples of Jesus. Let it be admitted, moreover, that there are some who accept Jesus, and who boast on that account of being Christians, and yet would regulate their lives, like the Jewish multitude, in accordance with the Jewish law - and these are the twofold sect of Ebionites, who either acknowledge with us that Jesus was born of a virgin, or deny this, and maintain that He was begotten like other human beings - what does that avail by way of charge against such as belong to the Church, and whom Celsus has styled those of the multitude? He adds, also, that certain of the Christians are believers in the Sibyl, having probably misunderstood some who blamed such as believed in the existence of a prophetic Sibyl, and termed those who held this belief Sibyllists. 5.65. But since he asserts that you may hear all those who differ so widely saying, 'The world is crucified to me, and I unto the world,' we shall show the falsity of such a statement. For there are certain heretical sects which do not receive the Epistles of the Apostle Paul, as the two sects of Ebionites, and those who are termed Encratites. Those, then, who do not regard the apostle as a holy and wise man, will not adopt his language, and say, The world is crucified to me, and I unto the world. And consequently in this point, too, Celsus is guilty of falsehood. He continues, moreover, to linger over the accusations which he brings against the diversity of sects which exist, but does not appear to me to be accurate in the language which he employs, nor to have carefully observed or understood how it is that those Christians who have made progress in their studies say that they are possessed of greater knowledge than the Jews; and also, whether they acknowledge the same Scriptures, but interpret them differently, or whether they do not recognise these books as divine. For we find both of these views prevailing among the sects. He then continues: Although they have no foundation for the doctrine, let us examine the system itself; and, in the first place, let us mention the corruptions which they have made through ignorance and misunderstanding, when in the discussion of elementary principles they express their opinions in the most absurd manner on things which they do not understand, such as the following. And then, to certain expressions which are continually in the mouths of the believers in Christianity, he opposes certain others from the writings of the philosophers, with the object of making it appear that the noble sentiments which Celsus supposes to be used by Christians have been expressed in better and clearer language by the philosophers, in order that he might drag away to the study of philosophy those who are caught by opinions which at once evidence their noble and religious character. We shall, however, here terminate the fifth book, and begin the sixth with what follows. |
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