1. Hebrew Bible, 2 Kings, 21.7, 23.6-23.7 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 40| 21.7. "וַיָּשֶׂם אֶת־פֶּסֶל הָאֲשֵׁרָה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה בַּבַּיִת אֲשֶׁר אָמַר יְהוָה אֶל־דָּוִד וְאֶל־שְׁלֹמֹה בְנוֹ בַּבַּיִת הַזֶּה וּבִירוּשָׁלִַם אֲשֶׁר בָּחַרְתִּי מִכֹּל שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אָשִׂים אֶת־שְׁמִי לְעוֹלָם׃", 23.6. "וַיֹּצֵא אֶת־הָאֲשֵׁרָה מִבֵּית יְהוָה מִחוּץ לִירוּשָׁלִַם אֶל־נַחַל קִדְרוֹן וַיִּשְׂרֹף אֹתָהּ בְּנַחַל קִדְרוֹן וַיָּדֶק לְעָפָר וַיַּשְׁלֵךְ אֶת־עֲפָרָהּ עַל־קֶבֶר בְּנֵי הָעָם׃", 23.7. "וַיִּתֹּץ אֶת־בָּתֵּי הַקְּדֵשִׁים אֲשֶׁר בְּבֵית יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר הַנָּשִׁים אֹרְגוֹת שָׁם בָּתִּים לָאֲשֵׁרָה׃", | 21.7. "And he set the graven image of Asherah, that he had made, in the house of which the LORD said to David and to Solomon his son: ‘In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put My name for ever;", 23.6. "And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the common people.", 23.7. "And he broke down the houses of the sodomites, that were in the house of the LORD, where the women wove coverings for the Asherah.", |
|
| 2. Aristobulus Cassandreus, Fragments, 3, 2 (4th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Potter Suh and Holladay (2021), Hellenistic Jewish Literature and the New Testament: Collected Essays, 171 |
| 3. Ezekiel The Tragedian, Exagoge, 12, 155, 35 (3rd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Potter Suh and Holladay (2021), Hellenistic Jewish Literature and the New Testament: Collected Essays, 171 |
4. Septuagint, 2 Maccabees, 1.10 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •monotheism, pagan resonance Found in books: Potter Suh and Holladay (2021), Hellenistic Jewish Literature and the New Testament: Collected Essays, 171 | 1.10. Those in Jerusalem and those in Judea and the senate and Judas,To Aristobulus, who is of the family of the anointed priests, teacher of Ptolemy the king, and to the Jews in Egypt,Greeting, and good health.' |
|
| 5. Philo of Alexandria, Questions On Genesis, 2.62 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 297 |
6. Philo of Alexandria, On The Special Laws, 1.13-1.14 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism 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. |
|
| 7. Philo of Alexandria, On The Creation of The World, 7.27 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 297 |
8. Philo of Alexandria, On The Eternity of The World, 46 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism 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. |
|
9. New Testament, Romans, 4.16, 11.33, 15.14 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 266| 4.16. Διὰ τοῦτο ἐκ πίστεως, ἵνα κατὰ χάριν, εἰς τὸ εἶναι βεβαίαν τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν παντὶ τῷ σπέρματι, οὐ τῷ ἐκ τοῦ νόμου μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ ἐκ πίστεως Ἀβραάμ,?̔ὅς ἐστιν πατὴρ πάντων ἡμῶν, 11.33. Ὢ βάθος πλούτου καὶ σοφίας καὶ γνώσεως θεοῦ· ὡς ἀνεξεραύνητα τὰ κρίματα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνεξιχνίαστοι αἱ ὁδοὶ αὐτοῦ. 15.14. Πέπεισμαι δέ, ἀδελφοί μου, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐγὼ περὶ ὑμῶν, ὅτι καὶ αὐτοὶ μεστοί ἐστε ἀγαθωσύνης, πεπληρωμένοι πάσης τῆς γνώσεως, δυνάμενοι καὶ ἀλλήλους νουθετεῖν. | 4.16. For this cause it is of faith, that it may be according to grace, to the end that the promise may be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. 11.33. Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out! 15.14. I myself am also persuaded about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish others. |
|
10. New Testament, Philippians, 2.6-2.11 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 266| 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. |
|
11. New Testament, Ephesians, 2.14-2.22, 3.3-3.4 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 266| 2.14. Αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ἡ εἰρήνη ἡμῶν, ὁ ποιήσας τὰ ἀμφότερα ἓν καὶ τὸ μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ λύσας, τὴν ἔχθραν 2.15. ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ αὐτοῦ, τὸν νόμον τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐν δόγμασιν καταργήσας, ἵνα τοὺς δύο κτίσῃ ἐν αὑτῷ εἰς ἕνα καινὸν ἄνθρωπον ποιῶν εἰρήνην, 2.16. καὶ ἀποκαταλλάξῃ τοὺς ἀμφοτέρους ἐν ἑνὶ σώματι τῷ θεῷ διὰ τοῦ σταυροῦ ἀποκτείνας τὴν ἔχθραν ἐν αὐτῷ· 2.17. καὶ ἐλθὼν εὐηγγελίσατο εἰρήνην ὑμῖν τοῖς μακρὰν καὶ εἰρήνην τοῖς ἐγγύς· 2.18. ὅτι διʼ αὐτοῦ ἔχομεν τὴν προσαγωγὴν οἱ ἀμφότεροι ἐν ἑνὶ πνεύματι πρὸς τὸν πατέρα. 2.19. Ἄρα οὖν οὐκέτι ἐστὲ ξένοι καὶ πάροικοι, ἀλλὰ ἐστὲ συνπολῖται τῶν ἁγίων καὶ οἰκεῖοι τοῦ θεοῦ, 2.20. ἐποικοδομηθέντες ἐπὶ τῷ θεμελίῳ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ προφητῶν, ὄντος ἀκρογωνιαίου αὐτοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ, 2.21. ἐν ᾧ πᾶσα οἰκοδομὴ συναρμολογουμένη αὔξει εἰς ναὸν ἅγιον ἐν κυρίῳ, 2.22. ἐν ᾧ καὶ ὑμεῖς συνοικοδομεῖσθε εἰς κατοικητήριον τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν πνεύματι. 3.3. [ὅτι] κατὰ ἀποκάλυψιν ἐγνωρίσθη μοι τὸ μυστήριον, καθὼς προέγραψα ἐν ὀλίγῳ, 3.4. πρὸς ὃ δύνασθε ἀναγινώσκοντες νοῆσαι τὴν σύνεσίν μου ἐν τῷ μυστηρίῳ τοῦ χριστοῦ, | 2.14. For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition, 2.15. having abolished in the flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordices, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace; 2.16. and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility thereby. 2.17. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near. 2.18. For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 2.19. So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, 2.20. being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone; 2.21. in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 2.22. in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit. 3.3. how that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before in few words, 3.4. by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ; |
|
12. New Testament, Colossians, 1.6, 4.15-4.16 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 266| 1.6. καθὼς καὶ ἐν παντὶ τῷ κόσμῳ ἐστὶν καρποφορούμενον καὶ αὐξανόμενον καθὼς καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν, ἀφʼ ἧς ἡμέρας ἠκούσατε καὶ ἐπέγνωτε τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ· 4.15. Ἀσπάσασθε τοὺς ἐν Λαοδικίᾳ ἀδελφοὺς καὶ Νύμφαν καὶ τὴν κατʼ οἶκον αὐτῆς ἐκκλησίαν. 4.16. καὶ ὅταν ἀναγνωσθῇ παρʼ ὑμῖν ἡ ἐπιστολή, ποιήσατε ἵνα καὶ ἐν τῇ Λαοδικέων ἐκκλησίᾳ ἀναγνωσθῇ, καὶ τὴν ἐκ Λαοδικίας ἵνα καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀναγνῶτε. | 1.6. which has come to you; even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit and increasing, as it does in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 4.15. Greet the brothers who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the assembly that is in his house. 4.16. When this letter has been read among you, cause it to be read also in the assembly of the Laodiceans; and that you also read the letter from Laodicea. |
|
| 13. Plutarch, On Isis And Osiris, None (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism Found in books: Manolaraki (2012), Noscendi Nilum Cupido: Imagining Egypt from Lucan to Philostratus, 256 |
14. New Testament, 2 Corinthians, 13.11 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 266| 13.11. Λοιπόν, ἀδελφοί, χαίρετε, καταρτίζεσθε, παρακαλεῖσθε, τὸ αὐτὸ φρονεῖτε, εἰρηνεύετε, καὶ ὁ θεὸς τῆς ἀγάπης καὶ εἰρήνης ἔσται μεθʼ ὑμῶν. | |
|
| 15. Aristobulus Milesius, Fragments, 2-3 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Potter Suh and Holladay (2021), Hellenistic Jewish Literature and the New Testament: Collected Essays, 171 |
16. New Testament, 1 Corinthians, 15.39-15.42 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 297| 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. | 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. |
|
17. Plutarch, Numa Pompilius, 8.7-8.8 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism Found in books: Manolaraki (2012), Noscendi Nilum Cupido: Imagining Egypt from Lucan to Philostratus, 304| 8.7. ἔστι δὲ καὶ τὰ περὶ τῶν ἀφιδρυμάτων νομοθετήματα παντάπασιν ἀδελφὰ τῶν Πυθαγόρου δογμάτων, οὔτε γὰρ ἐκεῖνος αἰσθητὸν ἢ παθητόν, ἀόρατον δὲ καὶ ἄκτιστον ἄκτιστον Sintenis 1 with AC, followed by Bekker: ἀκήρατον ( unmixed ). καὶ νοητὸν ὑπελάμβανεν εἶναι τὸ πρῶτον, οὗτός τε διεκώλυσεν ἀνθρωποειδῆ καὶ ζῳόμορφον εἰκόνα θεοῦ Ῥωμαίους νομίζειν. οὐδʼ ἦν παρʼ αὑτοῖς οὔτε γραπτὸν οὔτε πλαστὸν εἶδος θεοῦ πρότερον, 8.8. ἀλλʼ ἐν ἑκατὸν ἑβδομήκοντα τοῖς πρώτοις ἔτεσι ναοὺς μὲν οἰκοδομού μεν οι καὶ καλιάδας ἱερὰς ἱστῶντες, ἄγαλμα δὲ οὐδὲν ἔμμορφον ποιούμενοι διετέλουν, ὡς οὔτε ὅσιον ἀφομοιοῦν τὰ βελτίονα τοῖς χείροσιν οὔτε ἐφάπτεσθαι θεοῦ δυνατὸν ἄλλως ἢ νοήσει, κομιδῆ δὲ καὶ τὰ τῶν θυσιῶν ἔχεται τῆς Πυθαγορικῆς ἁγιστείας· ἀναίμακτοι γάρ ἦσαν αἵ γε πολλαί, διʼ ἀλφίτου καὶ σπονδῆς καὶ τῶν εὐτελεστάτων πεποιημέναι. | 8.7. Furthermore, his ordices concerning images are altogether in harmony with the doctrines of Pythagoras. For that philosopher maintained that the first principle of being was beyond sense or feeling, was invisible and uncreated, and discernible only by the mind. And in like manner Numa forbade the Romans to revere an image of God which had the form of man or beast. Nor was there among them in this earlier time any painted or graven likeness of Deity, 8.7. Furthermore, his ordices concerning images are altogether in harmony with the doctrines of Pythagoras. For that philosopher maintained that the first principle of being was beyond sense or feeling, was invisible and uncreated, and discernible only by the mind. And in like manner Numa forbade the Romans to revere an image of God which had the form of man or beast. Nor was there among them in this earlier time any painted or graven likeness of Deity, 8.8. but while for the first hundred and seventy years they were continually building temples and establishing sacred shrines, they made no statues in bodily form for them, convinced that it was impious to liken higher things to lower, and that it was impossible to apprehend Deity except by the intellect. Their sacrifices, too, were altogether appropriate to the Pythagorean worship; for most of them involved no bloodshed, but were made with flour, drink-offerings, and the least costly gifts. |
|
| 18. Justin, Dialogue With Trypho, 59.1, 61.1 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 297 |
19. 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 | 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. |
|
| 20. Anon., Targum Neofiti, None (2nd cent. CE - 4th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 5 |
| 21. Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies, 7.3.20.4 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 296 |
22. Philostratus The Athenian, Life of Apollonius, 2.5, 6.19, 6.26.1-6.26.2, 8.7.20-8.7.21 (2nd cent. CE - missingth cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism Found in books: Manolaraki (2012), Noscendi Nilum Cupido: Imagining Egypt from Lucan to Philostratus, 295, 304, 305| 2.5. κορυφὴν δ' ὑπερβάλλοντες τοῦ ὄρους καὶ βαδίζοντες αὐτὴν, ἐπειδὴ ἀποτόμως εἶχεν, ἤρετο οὑτωσὶ τὸν Δάμιν: “εἰπέ μοι,” ἔφη “ποῦ χθὲς ἦμεν;” ὁ δὲ “ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ” ἔφη. “τήμερον δέ, ὦ Δάμι, ποῦ;” “ἐν τῷ Καυκάσῳ,” εἶπεν “εἰ μὴ ἐμαυτοῦ ἐκλέλησμαι.” “πότε οὖν κάτω μᾶλλον ἦσθα;” πάλιν ἤρετο, ὁ δὲ “τουτὶ μὲν” ἔφη “οὐδὲ ἐπερωτᾶν ἄξιον: χθὲς μὲν γὰρ διὰ κοίλης τῆς γῆς ἐπορευόμεθα, τήμερον δὲ πρὸς τῷ οὐρανῷ ἐσμέν.” “οἴει οὖν,” ἔφη “ὦ Δάμι, τὴν μὲν χθὲς ὁδοιπορίαν κάτω εἶναι, τὴν δὲ τήμερον ἄνω;” “νὴ Δί',” εἶπεν “εἰ μὴ μαίνομαί γε.” “τί οὖν ἡγῇ” ἔφη “παραλλάττειν τὰς ὁδοὺς ἀλλήλων ἢ τί τήμερον πλέον εἶναί σοι τοῦ χθές;” “ὅτι χθὲς” ἔφη “ἐβάδιζον οὗπερ πολλοί, σήμερον δέ, οὗπερ ὀλίγοι.” “τί γάρ,” ἔφη “ὦ Δάμι, οὐ καὶ τὰς ἐν ἄστει λεωφόρους ἐκτρεπομένῳ βαδίζειν ἐστὶν ἐν ὀλίγοις τῶν ἀνθρώπων;” “οὐ τοῦτο” ἔφη “εἶπον, ἀλλ' ὅτι χθὲς μὲν διὰ κωμῶν ἐκομιζόμεθα καὶ ἀνθρώπων, σήμερον δὲ ἀστιβές τι ἀναβαίνομεν χωρίον καὶ θεῖον, ἀκούεις γὰρ τοῦ ἡγεμόνος, ὅτι οἱ βάρβαροι θεῶν αὐτὸ ποιοῦνται οἶκον” καὶ ἅμα ἀνέβλεπεν ἐς τὴν κορυφὴν τοῦ ὄρους. ὁ δὲ ἐμβιβάζων αὐτὸν ἐς ὃ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἠρώτα “ἔχεις οὖν εἰπεῖν, ὦ Δάμι, ὅ τι ξυνῆκας τοῦ θείου βαδίζων ἀγχοῦ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ;” “οὐδὲν” ἔφη. “καὶ μὴν ἐχρῆν γε” εἶπεν “ἐπὶ μηχανῆς τηλικαύτης καὶ θείας οὕτως ἑστηκότα περί τε τοῦ οὐρανοῦ σαφεστέρας ἤδη ἐκφέρειν δόξας περί τε τοῦ ἡλίου καὶ τῆς σελήνης, ὧν γε καὶ ῥάβδῳ ἴσως ἡγῇ ψαύσειν προσεστηκὼς τῷ οὐρανῷ τούτῳ.” “ἃ χθὲς” ἔφη “περὶ τοῦ θείου ἐγίγνωσκον, γιγνώσκω καὶ τήμερον καὶ οὔπω μοι ἑτέρα προσέπεσε περὶ αὐτοῦ δόξα.” “οὐκοῦν,” ἔφη “ὦ Δάμι, κάτω τυγχάνεις ὢν ἔτι καὶ οὐδὲν παρὰ τοῦ ὕψους εἴληφας ἀπέχεις τε τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὁπόσον χθές: καὶ εἰκότως σε ἠρόμην, ἃ ἐν ἀρχῇ: σὺ γὰρ ᾤου γελοίως ἐρωτᾶσθαι.” “καὶ μὴν” ἔφη “καταβήσεσθαί γε σοφώτερος ᾤμην ἀκούων, ̓Απολλώνιε, τὸν μὲν Κλαζομένιον ̓Αναξαγόραν ἀπὸ τοῦ κατὰ ̓Ιωνίαν Μίμαντος ἐπεσκέφθαι τὰ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, Θαλῆν τε τὸν Μιλήσιον ἀπὸ τῆς προσοίκου Μυκάλης, λέγονται δὲ καὶ τῷ Παγγαίῳ ἔνιοι φροντιστηρίῳ χρήσασθαι καὶ ἕτεροι τῷ ̓́Αθῳ. ἐγὼ δὲ μέγιστον τούτων ἀνελθὼν ὕψος οὐδὲν σοφώτερος ἑαυτοῦ καταβήσομαι.” “οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι,” ἔφη “αἱ γὰρ τοιαίδε περιωπαὶ γλαυκότερον μὲν τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀποφαίνουσι καὶ μείζους τοὺς ἀστέρας καὶ τὸν ἥλιον ἀνίσχοντα ἐκ νυκτός, ἃ καὶ ποιμέσιν ἤδη καὶ αἰπόλοις ἐστὶ δῆλα, ὅπη δὲ τὸ θεῖον ἐπιμελεῖται τοῦ ἀνθρωπείου γένους καὶ ὅπη χαίρει ὑπ' αὐτοῦ θεραπευόμενον, ὅ τί τε ἀρετὴ καὶ ὅ τι δικαιοσύνη τε καὶ σωφροσύνη, οὔτε ̓́Αθως ἐκδείξει τοῖς ἀνελθοῦσιν οὔτε ὁ θαυμαζόμενος ὑπὸ τῶν ποιητῶν ̓́Ολυμπος, εἰ μὴ διορῴη αὐτὰ ἡ ψυχή, ἥν, εἰ καθαρὰ καὶ ἀκήρατος αὐτῶν ἅπτοιτο, πολλῷ μεῖζον ἔγωγ' ἂν φαίην ᾅττειν τουτουὶ τοῦ Καυκάσου.” 6.19. “ἐρώτα,” ἔφασαν “ἕπεται γάρ που ἐρωτήσει λόγος.” καὶ ὁ ̓Απολλώνιος “περὶ θεῶν” εἶπεν “ὑμᾶς ἐρήσομαι πρῶτον, τί μαθόντες ἄτοπα καὶ γελοῖα θεῶν εἴδη παραδεδώκατε τοῖς δεῦρο ἀνθρώποις πλὴν ὀλίγων: ὀλίγων γάρ; πάνυ μέντοι ὀλίγων, ἃ σοφῶς καὶ θεοειδῶς ἵδρυται, τὰ λοιπὰ δ' ὑμῶν ἱερὰ ζῴων ἀλόγων καὶ ἀδόξων τιμαὶ μᾶλλον ἢ θεῶν φαίνονται.” δυσχεράνας δὲ ὁ Θεσπεσίων “τὰ δὲ παρ' ὑμῖν” εἶπεν “ἀγάλματα πῶς ἱδρῦσθαι φήσεις;” “ὥς γε” ἔφη “κάλλιστόν τε καὶ θεοφιλέστατον δημιουργεῖν θεούς.” “τὸν Δία που λέγεις” εἶπε “τὸν ἐν τῇ ̓Ολυμπίᾳ καὶ τὸ τῆς ̓Αθηνᾶς ἕδος καὶ τὸ τῆς Κνιδίας τε καὶ τὸ τῆς ̓Αργείας καὶ ὁπόσα ὧδε καλὰ καὶ μεστὰ ὥρας.” “οὐ μόνον” ἔφη “ταῦτα, ἀλλὰ καὶ καθάπαξ τὴν μὲν παρὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀγαλματοποιίαν ἅπτεσθαί φημι τοῦ προσήκοντος, ὑμᾶς δὲ καταγελᾶν τοῦ θείου μᾶλλον ἢ νομίζειν αὐτό.” “οἱ Φειδίαι δὲ” εἶπε:“καὶ οἱ Πραξιτέλεις μῶν ἀνελθόντες ἐς οὐρανὸν καὶ ἀπομαξάμενοι τὰ τῶν θεῶν εἴδη τέχνην αὐτὰ ἐποιοῦντο, ἢ ἕτερόν τι ἦν, ὃ ἐφίστη αὐτοὺς τῷ πλάττειν;” “ἕτερον” ἔφη “καὶ μεστόν γε σοφίας πρᾶγμα.” “ποῖον;” εἶπεν “οὐ γὰρ ἄν τι παρὰ τὴν μίμησιν εἴποις.” “φαντασία” ἔφη “ταῦτα εἰργάσατο σοφωτέρα μιμήσεως δημιουργός: μίμησις μὲν γὰρ δημιουργήσει, ὃ εἶδεν, φαντασία δὲ καὶ ὃ μὴ εἶδεν, ὑποθήσεται γὰρ αὐτὸ πρὸς τὴν ἀναφορὰν τοῦ ὄντος, καὶ μίμησιν μὲν πολλάκις ἐκκρούει ἔκπληξις, φαντασίαν δὲ οὐδέν, χωρεῖ γὰρ ἀνέκπληκτος πρὸς ὃ αὐτὴ ὑπέθετο. δεῖ δέ που Διὸς μὲν ἐνθυμηθέντα εἶδος ὁρᾶν αὐτὸν ξὺν οὐρανῷ καὶ ὥραις καὶ ἄστροις, ὥσπερ ὁ Φειδίας τότε ὥρμησεν, ̓Αθηνᾶν δὲ δημιουργήσειν μέλλοντα στρατόπεδα ἐννοεῖν καὶ μῆτιν καὶ τέχνας καὶ ὡς Διὸς αὐτοῦ ἀνέθορεν. εἰ δὲ ἱέρακα ἢ γλαῦκα ἢ λύκον ἢ κύνα ἐργασάμενος ἐς τὰ ἱερὰ φέροις ἀντὶ ̔Ερμοῦ τε καὶ ̓Αθηνᾶς καὶ ̓Απόλλωνος, τὰ μὲν θηρία καὶ τὰ ὄρνεα ζηλωτὰ δόξει τῶν εἰκόνων, οἱ δὲ θεοὶ παραπολὺ τῆς αὑτῶν δόξης ἑστήξουσιν.” “ἔοικας” εἶπεν “ἀβασανίστως ἐξετάζειν τὰ ἡμέτερα: σοφὸν γάρ, εἴπερ τι Αἰγυπτίων, καὶ τὸ μὴ θρασύνεσθαι ἐς τὰ τῶν θεῶν εἴδη, ξυμβολικὰ δὲ αὐτὰ ποιεῖσθαι καὶ ὑπονοούμενα, καὶ γὰρ ἂν καὶ σεμνότερα οὕτω φαίνοιτο.” γελάσας οὖν ὁ ̓Απολλώνιος “ὦ ἄνθρωποι,” ἔφη “μεγάλα ὑμῖν ἀπολέλαυται τῆς Αἰγυπτίων τε καὶ Αἰθιόπων σοφίας, εἰ σεμνότερον ὑμῶν καὶ θεοειδέστερον κύων δόξει καὶ ἶβις καὶ τράγος, ταῦτα γὰρ Θεσπεσίωνος ἀκούω τοῦ σοφοῦ. σεμνὸν δὲ δὴ ἢ ἔμφοβον τί ἐν τούτοις; τοὺς γὰρ ἐπιόρκους καὶ τοὺς ἱεροσύλους καὶ τὰ βωμολόχα ἔθνη καταφρονεῖν τῶν τοιούτων ἱερῶν εἰκὸς μᾶλλον ἢ δεδιέναι αὐτά, εἰ δὲ σεμνότερα ταῦτα ὑπονοούμενα, πολλῷ σεμνότερον ἂν ἔπραττον οἱ θεοὶ κατ' Αἴγυπτον, εἰ μὴ ἵδρυτό τι αὐτῶν ἄγαλμα, ἀλλ' ἕτερον τρόπον σοφώτερόν τε καὶ ἀπορρητότερον τῇ θεολογίᾳ ἐχρῆσθε: ἦν γάρ που νεὼς μὲν αὐτοῖς ἐξοικοδομῆσαι καὶ βωμοὺς ὁρίζειν καὶ ἃ χρὴ θύειν καὶ ἃ μὴ χρὴ καὶ ὁπηνίκα καὶ ἐφ' ὅσον καὶ ὅ τι λέγοντας ἢ δρῶντας, ἄγαλμα δὲ μὴ ἐσφέρειν, ἀλλὰ τὰ εἴδη τῶν θεῶν καταλείπειν τοῖς τὰ ἱερὰ ἐσφοιτῶσιν, ἀναγράφει γάρ τι ἡ γνώμη καὶ ἀνατυποῦται δημιουργίας κρεῖττον, ὑμεῖς δὲ ἀφῄρησθε τοὺς θεοὺς καὶ τὸ ὁρᾶσθαι καλῶς καὶ τὸ ὑπονοεῖσθαι.” πρὸς ταῦτα ὁ Θεσπεσίων, “ἐγένετό τις” ἔφη “Σωκράτης ̓Αθηναῖος ἀνόητος, ὥσπερ ἡμεῖς, γέρων, ὃς τὸν κύνα καὶ τὸν χῆνα καὶ τὴν πλάτανον θεούς τε ἡγεῖτο καὶ ὤμνυ.” “οὐκ ἀνόητος,” εἶπεν “ἀλλὰ θεῖος καὶ ἀτεχνῶς σοφός, ὤμνυ γὰρ ταῦτα οὐχ' ὡς θεούς, ἀλλ' ἵνα μὴ θεοὺς ὀμνύοι.” | 2.5. And as they were passing over the summit of the mountain, going on foot, for it was very steep, Apollonius asked of Damis the following question. Tell me, he said, where we were yesterday. And he replied: On the plain. And today, O Damis, where are we? In the Caucasus, said he, if wholly I mistake not. Then when were you lower down than you are now? he asked again, and Damis replied: That's a question hardly worth asking. For yesterday we were traveling through the valley below, while today we are close up to heaven. Then you think, said the other, O Damis, that our road yesterday lay low down, whereas our road today lies high up? Yes, by Zeus, he replied, unless at least I'm mad. In what respect then, said Apollonius, do you suppose that our roads differ from one another, and what advantage has todays' path for you over that of yesterday? Because, said Damis, yesterday I was walking along where a great many people go, but today, where are very few. Well, said the other, O Damis, can you not also in a city turn out of the main street and walk where you will find very few people? I did not say that, replied Damis, but that yesterday we were passing through villages and populations, whereas today we are ascending through an untrodden and divine region: for you heard our guide say that the barbarians declare this tract to be the home of the gods. And with that he glanced up to the summit of the mountain. But Apollonius recalled his attention to the original question by saying: Can you tell me then, O Damis, what understanding of divine mystery you get by walking so near the heavens? None whatever, he replied. And yet you ought, said Apollonius. When your feet are placed on a platform so divine and vast as this, you ought henceforth to publish more accurate conceptions of the heaven and about the sun and moon, since you think, I suppose, that you will even lay a rod to them as you stand as close to the heavens here. Whatever, said he, I knew about God's nature yesterday, I equally know today, and so far no fresh idea has occurred to me concerning him.So then, replied the other, you are, O Damis, still below, and have won nothing from being high up, and you are as far from heaven as you were yesterday. And my question which I asked you to begin with was a fair one, although you thought that I asked it in order to make fun of you. The truth is, replied Damis, that I thought I should anyhow go down from the mountain wiser than I came up it, because I had heard, O Apollonius, that Anaxagoras of Clazomenae observed the heavenly bodies from the mountain Mimas in Ionia, and Thales of Miletus from Mycale which was close by his home; and some are said to have used as their observation mount Pangaeus and others Athos. But I have come up a greater height than any of these, and yet shall go down again no wiser than I was before. For neither did they, replied Apollonius: and such lookouts show you indeed a bluer heaven and bigger stars and the sun rising out of the night; but all these phenomena were manifest long ago to shepherds and goatherds, but neither Athos will reveal to those who climb up it, nor Olympus, so much extolled by the poets, in what way God cares for the human race and how he delights to be worshipped by them, nor reveal the nature of virtue and of justice and temperance, unless the soul scan these matters narrowly, and the soul, I should say, if it engages on the task pure and undefiled, will sour much higher than this summit of Caucasus. 6.19. Ask, they said, for you know question comes first and argument follows on it. It is about the gods that I would like to ask you a question first, namely, what induced you to impart, as your tradition, to the people of this country forms of the gods that are absurd and grotesque in all but a few cases? In a few cases, do I say? I would rather say that in very few are the gods' images fashioned in a wise and god-like manner, for the mass of your shrines seem to have been erected in honor rather of irrational and ignoble animals than of gods. Thespesion, resenting these remarks, said: And your own images in Greece, how are they fashioned? In the way, he replied, in which it is best and most reverent to construct images of the gods. I suppose you allude, said the other, to the statue of Zeus in Olympia, and to the image of Athena and to that of the Cnidian goddess and to that of the Argive goddess and to other images equally beautiful and full of charm? Not only to these, replied Apollonius, but without exception I maintain, that whereas in other lands statuary has scrupulously observed decency and fitness, you rather make ridicule of the gods than really believe in them. Your artists, then, like Phidias, said the other, and like Praxiteles, went up, I suppose, to heaven and took a copy of the forms of the gods, and then reproduced these by their art or was there any other influence which presided over and guided their molding? There was, said Apollonius, and an influence pregt with wisdom and genius. What was that? said the other, for I do not think you can adduce any except imitation. Imagination, said Apollonius, wrought these works, a wiser and subtler artist by far than imitation; for imitation can only create as its handiwork what it has seen, but imagination equally what it has not seen; for it will conceive of its ideal with reference to the reality, and imitation is often baffled by terror, but imagination by nothing; for it marches undismayed to the goal which it has itself laid down. When you entertain a notion of Zeus you must, I suppose, envisage him along with heaven and seasons and stars, as Phidias in his day endeavoured to do, and if you would fashion an image of Athena you must imagine in your mind armies and cunning, and handicrafts, and how she leapt out of Zeus himself. But if you make a hawk or an owl or a wolf or a dog, and put it in your temples instead of Hermes or Athena or Apollo, your animals and your birds may be esteemed and of much price as likenesses, but the gods will be very much lowered in their dignity. I think, said the other, that you criticize our religion very superficially; for if the Egyptians have any wisdom, they show it by their deep respect and reverence in the representation of the gods, and by the circumstance that they fashion their forms as symbols of a profound inner meaning, so as to enhance their solemnity and august character. Apollonius thereon merely laughed and said: My good friends, you have indeed greatly profited by the wisdom of Egypt and Ethiopia, if your dog and your ibis and your goat seem particularly august and god-like, for this is what I learn from Thespesion the sage.But what is there that is august or awe-inspiring in these images? Is it not likely that perjurers and temple-thieves and all the rabble of low jesters will despise such holy objects rather than dread them; and if they are to be held for the hidden meanings which they convey, surely the gods in Egypt would have met with much greater reverence, if no images of them had ever been set up at all, and if you had planned your theology along other lines wiser and more mysterious. For I imagine you might have built temples for them, and have fixed the altars and laid down rules about what to sacrifice and what not, and when and on what scale, and with what liturgies and rites, without introducing any image at all, but leaving it to those who frequented the temples to imagine the images of the gods; for the mind can more or less delineate and figure them to itself better than can any artist; but you have denied to the gods the privilege of beauty both of the outer eye and of an inner suggestion. Thespesion replied and said: There was a certain Athenian, called Socrates, a foolish old man like ourselves, who thought that the dog and the goose and the plane tree were gods and used to swear by them. He was not foolish, said Apollonius, but a divine and unfeignedly wise man; for he did not swear by these objects on the understanding that they were gods, but to save himself from swearing by the gods. |
|
23. Lactantius, Divine Institutes, 1.7 (3rd cent. CE - 4th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism 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. |
|
24. Origen, Against Celsus, 7.3.20, 7.68 (3rd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 296, 297 | 7.68. After all that we have already said concerning Jesus, it would be a useless repetition for us to answer these words of Celsus: It is easy to convict them of worshipping not a god, not even demons, but a dead person. Leaving, then, this objection for the reason assigned, let us pass on to what follows: In the first place, I would ask why we are not to serve demons? Is it not true that all things are ordered according to God's will, and that His providence governs all things? Is not everything which happens in the universe, whether it be the work of God, of angels, of other demons, or of heroes, regulated by the law of the Most High God? Have these not had assigned them various departments of which they were severally deemed worthy? Is it not just, therefore, that he who worships God should serve those also to whom God has assigned such power? Yet it is impossible, he says, for a man to serve many masters. Observe here again how he settles at once a number of questions which require considerable research, and a profound acquaintance with what is most mysterious in the government of the universe. For we must inquire into the meaning of the statement, that all things are ordered according to God's will, and ascertain whether sins are or are not included among the things which God orders. For if God's government extends to sins not only in men, but also in demons and in any other spiritual beings who are capable of sin, it is for those who speak in this manner to see how inconvenient is the expression that all things are ordered by the will of God. For it follows from it that all sins and all their consequences are ordered by the will of God, which is a different thing from saying that they come to pass with God's permission. For if we take the word ordered in its proper signification, and say that all the results of sin were ordered, then it is evident that all things are ordered according to God's will, and that all, therefore, who do evil do not offend against His government. And the same distinction holds in regard to providence. When we say that the providence of God regulates all things, we utter a great truth if we attribute to that providence nothing but what is just and right. But if we ascribe to the providence of God all things whatsoever, however unjust they may be, then it is no longer true that the providence of God regulates all things, unless we refer directly to God's providence things which flow as results from His arrangements. Celsus maintains also, that whatever happens in the universe, whether it be the work of God, of angels, of other demons, or of heroes, is regulated by the law of the Most High God. But this also is incorrect; for we cannot say that transgressors follow the law of God when they transgress; and Scripture declares that it is not only wicked men who are transgressors, but also wicked demons and wicked angels. |
|
| 25. Augustine, De Consensu Evangelistarum Libri Quatuor, 1.22.30 (4th cent. CE - 5th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 40 |
| 26. Augustine, Reply To Faustus, 20.3-20.4 (4th cent. CE - 5th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •pagan monotheism Found in books: Novenson (2020), Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, 305 |
| 27. Aristobulus, T., 10, 12-15, 2, 4, 8, 3 Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Potter Suh and Holladay (2021), Hellenistic Jewish Literature and the New Testament: Collected Essays, 171 |
