CELSUS (178ECE) Wrote"On the True Doctrine, known primarily from the polemical book, "Contra Celsum," written br Origen of Alexandria in response the Celsus's questions. This article looks at some of the criticisms the ancient Greek writer Celsus posited against Christianity and Jesus Christ. CELSUS 4 arguments against Christianity Misty Fleming Paper 1 The first of 4 arguments I believe to be of importance is that of the virgin birth. Around the year 240 CE, a copy of Celsus’s work found its way to Origen who was requested to write a refutation of it. 2000. Aspirations to teach Religion Studies, World Religion, Philosophy of Religion. Celsus’s value as testimony is limited because of his strong anti-Christian agenda, which suggests him not to have been particularly impartial when authoring his material. James Bishop is from South Africa. He was a Greek philosopher and tried to use argument in the logical sense to show the Christians how depraved and faulty their thinking was. Music: Interested in learning music theory? 3. ascribed to Jesus a knowledge of future events . Celsus's late second century "On the True Doctrine: A Discourse Against the Christians," is one of the most remarkable and thorough-going arguments ever written against the core beliefs and practices of Christianity, ancient or modern. Yet, he has no suspicion of the distinction between the universally accepted teachings of the "great Church" of the Christians and the doctrines peculiar to Ophites, Marcionites , and other heretical sects . "What is said by a few who are considered as Christians, concerning the doctrine of Jesus and the precepts of Christianity, is not designed for the wiser, but for the more unlearned and ignorant part of mankind. In fact, Celsus was writing later than some other very legendary and embellished Christian texts, such as some of the Apocrypha, that few deem historically reliable. I would have liked to read a book on his work that felt more organized. Celsus Arguments Against Christianity Essay 1677 Words | 7 Pages. “[T]he value of Celsus’s comments about the historical Jesus is limited. His assertion of divine dignity is disproved by his poverty and his miserable end. Scholars Tom Holmén and Stanley E. Porter explain that “Sometime around 175 CE, the Neo-Platonist thinker Celsus wrote a comprehensive attack on Christianity entitled True Doctrine. b. Sabb 104b. Welcome to r/atheism, the web's largest atheist forum. The following is one such passage. Celsus claims that many of the ideas Christians have are expressed better and earlier by the Greeks who were “modest enough to refrain from saying that their ideas came from a god or a son of god” (14). “God is good, and beautiful, and blessed, and that in the best and most beautiful degree. Language: english. but also testified that the result corresponded to His predictions.” (Origen Against Celsus, Book 2, Chapter 14) “And with regard to the eclipse in the time of Tiberius Caesar, in whose reign Jesus Celsus’s criticisms attempted to discredit Christ’s conception, birth, childhood, ministry, death, resurrection, and continuing influence (2). Is it not the case that far from being born in the royal David’s city of bethlehem, you were born in a poor country town, and of a woman who earned her living by spinning?” (11). Yet, he has no suspicion of the distinction between the universally accepted teachings of the "great Church" of the Christians and the doctrines peculiar to Ophites, Marcionites , and other heretical sects . He's also criticized for writting after the time of Christ by over 100 years (late second century). p. 2165. The miracles are just fables invented by the disciples. Celsus on the True Doctrine: A Discourse Against the Christians: Celsus: Amazon.com.au: Books He returned home Celsus, a anti-Christian scholar around 2nd century wrote on Jesus… Since the time in which he is said to have lived, a number of noted individuals have criticised Jesus. Christ Divinity, Miracles, and Resurrection. Jesus and the Christian Doctrine Jesus' life as told by its followers is for Celsus `monstrous fiction'. Celsus' writings no longer survive in tact, but we have access to some of his work when Origen quotes passages for the purpose of refutation. Look at An introduction to popular music theory. Pages: 158. 1980. I would have liked to read a book on his work that felt more organized. Celsus divided the work into two sections, the one in which objections are put in the mouth of a Jewish interlocutor and the other in which Celsus speaks as the pagan philosopher that he is. It was said that Jesus was born to a virgin and God himself. soldier named Panthéra (i.32)]. Even during his public ministry, Christ could not convince his fellow countrymen of his divine mission. James Bishop, South Africa, graduate Multimedia, Brand Marketing (CBC), Theology, Psychology, TESOL. This work perished, but not before a large amount variously estimated at between 60 and 90 percent was incorporated into Origen’s vigorous response, Against Celsus, about 250 CE.” (1). If they refuse to render due service to the gods, and to respect those who are set over this service, let them not come to manhood, or marry wives, or have children, or indeed take any share in the affairs of life; but let them depart hence with all speed, and leave no posterity behind them, that such a race may become extinct from the face of the … Celsus was the author of a work titled On The True Doctrine (Logos Alēthēs). Please read our short guide how to send a book to Kindle. Celsus took pains to make himself acquainted with the beliefs of his Christian contemporaries, and he is unquestionably conscious of his knowledge of Christianity. [AH] Origen, Contra Celsum 1.28 Translation, quoted from Mead. A Discourse Against the Christians Celsus, R. Joseph Hoffman (transl.) I don't have the quote right now you can google it, but here is the summary of the quote Celsus claimed that Jesus's virgin birth was not Devine but adultery, he says that some Jews were saying that Jesus real father was a Roman solider that Mary cheated on Joseph with. Van Voorst, Robert., Evans, Craig A., and Chilton, Bruce. google_ad_slot = "3121617375"; Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. her husband, and wandering about in disgrace, she gave birth to 2. ( Log Out /  Such is not the company that befits a god, argues Celsus. Celsus invites the Christians to leave their “cult” and embrace reason and the religion of the majority. Since Jesus' conception occurred roughly around 6 BCE, he was in the right region at the right time, though that doesn't prove anything. Celsus points out that Jesus was a Jew: "The Jews, like other separate nationalities, have established laws according to their national genius, and preserve a form of worship which has at least the merit of being ancestral and national, - for each nation has its own institutions, whatever they may chance to be. . But if he come down among men, he must undergo a change, and a change from good to evil, from virtue to vice, from happiness to misery, and from best to worst” (5). Celsus demonstrates a connection to the material of the Talmud, indicating that that material about Jesus was around in a least the second century. Please login to your account first; Need help? Celsus' writings no longer survive in tact, but we have access to some of his work when Origen quotes passages for the purpose of refutation. Indeed, among pagan authors Celsus is unique in relaying both Jewish and Greco-Roman objections to Christianity… Polemical and tendencious, his treatment of Christ is of little value in our knowledge of the historical Jesus” (19). We will attempt to engage the value of Celsus’s testimony and the various points and contentions he raises. Archived. Celsus' writing is one of the few writings made in response to christian claims that survives today in any form; … Bishop's Encyclopedia of Religion, Society and Philosophy, Follow Bishop's Encyclopedia of Religion, Society and Philosophy on WordPress.com. “Let us imagine what a Jew — let alone a philosopher— might say to Jesus: ‘Is it not true, good sir, that you fabricated the story of your birth from a virgin to quiet rumours about the true and insavoury circumstances of your origins? Celsus was a harsh critic of Jesus and Christianity. Celsus' books, along with those of Porphry and others, were condemned by order of Valentinian III and Theodosious in 448CE. De medicina, now considered one of the finest medical classics, was largely ignored by contemporaries. Celsus (Early Second Century) Date: "And we have heard that there were two individuals of the name of Celsus, both of whom were Epicureans; the earlier of the two having lived in the time of Nero, but this one in that of Adrian, and later." /* 728x90, created 12/15/10 */ Origen's work has survived and thereby preserved Celsus' w… There are very few paragraph breaks in this book and many run-on sentences. "Jesus had come from a village in Judea, and was the son of a poor Jewess who gained her living by the work of her own hands. Celsus uses more elements from the life of Jesus against the Christians here. 1. Further, Celsus provides historians with valuable information on Jewish responses to Christianity in the second century given his extensive use of Jewish polemic reflected in his criticisms. What is the value of Celsus’s testimony and the various claims he makes about Jesus? Although his works, which he wrote between the years 175 and 180, have been lost to history we are fortunate to have him quoted carefully and extensively in the writings of the third-century theologian Origen of Alexandria. Lucian was not an expert on Christianity 3. These observers report Christians worshipping Jesus Christ as God. Send-to-Kindle or Email . He thinks that most of Jesus's best points were already said by Plato and Jesus … 3, § 1). "What is said by a few who are considered as Christians, concerning the doctrine of Jesus and the precepts of Christianity, is not designed for the wiser, but for the more unlearned and ignorant part of mankind. 2000. p. 67, 17. p. 68. When it was time for Mary to give birth she and her husband set off to have God’s son. Celsus, moreover, unable to resist the miracles which Jesus is recorded to have performed, has already on several occasions spoken of them slanderously as works of sorcery; and we also on several occasions have, to the best of our ability, replied to his statements. He also appealed to Christians to adopt paganism instead of Christianity. On the contrary to what the Christian religion believes Celsus Jesus' existence and crucifixion are presented as a historical fact, not as an unbelievable myth. Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars, 25.4. Pliny the Younger, Letters, 10.96. Netherlands: BRILL. As a Neo-Platonic philosopher, Celsus believed God, the Logos, to be ineffable and the Source of all things. Origen is refuting him in the 3rd century. His The words that likely derive from Celsus are italicized: He portrays the Jew having a conversation with Jesus himself, refuting him on many charges. 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