,,theological ,,translation ,,library ,,edited ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,t4 ,k4 ,,cheyne ,,ma ,,dd1 ,,oriet ,,professor ,,of ,,interpretation ,,oxford ,,and ,,the ,,rev4 ,a4 ,b4 ,,bruce1 ,,dd ,,professor ,,of ,,apologetics ,,and ,,new ,,testament3 ,,exegesis1 ,,free ,,church ,,college ,,glasgow ,,vol ,,ii ,,harnacks ,,history ,,of ,,dogma4 ,,vol4 ,i ,greek3 ,to dogmatos onoma tes anthropines echetai boules te kai gnomes4 ,hoti de touth' houtos echei1 marturei men hikanos he dogmatike ton iatron techne1 martyrei de kai ta ton philosophon kaloumena dogmata4 ,hoti de kai ta synkleto doxanta eti kai nun dogmata synkletou legetai1 oudena agnoein oimai4 ,,marcellus ,,of ,,ancyra4 ,die ,christliche ,religion hat nichts in der ,philosophie zu thun1 ,sie ist ein machtiges ,wesen fuer sich1 woran die gesunkene und leidende ,menschheit von ,zeit zu ,zeit sich immer wieder emporgearbeitet hat1 und indem man ihr diese ,wirkung zugesteht1 ist sie ueber aller ,philosophie erhaben und bedarf von ihr keine ,stuetze4 ,gesprache mit ,,goethe von ,,eckermann1 #b ,th p #ci4 ,,history ,,of ,,dogma ,,by ,,dr4 ,,adolph ,,harnack ,,ordinary ,,prof4 ,,of ,,church ,,history ,,in ,,the ,,university1 ,,and ,,fellow ,,of ,,the ,,royal ,,academy ,,of ,,science1 ,,berlin ,,translated ,,from ,,the ,,third ,,german ,,edition ,,by ,,neil ,,buchanan ,,vol4 ,i4 ,,boston ,,little1 ,,brown1 ,,and ,,company #aija ,,vorwort ,,zur ,,englischen ,,ausgabe4 ,ein theologisches ,buch erhaelt erst dadurch einen ,platz in der ,weltlitteratur1 dass es ,deutsch und ,englisch gelesen werden kann4 ,diese beiden ,sprachen zusammen haben auf dem ,gebiete der ,wissenschaft vom ,christenthum das ,lateinische abgeloest4 ,es ist mir daher eine grosse ,freude1 dass mein ,lehrbuch der ,dogmengeschichte in das ,englische uebersetzt worden ist1 und ich sage dem ,uebersetzer sowie den ,verlegern meinen besten ,dank4 ,der schwierigste ,theil der ,dogmengeschichte ist ihr ,anfang1 nicht nur weil in dem ,anfang die ,keime fuer alle spaeteren ,entwickelungen liegen1 und daher ein ,beobachtungsfehler beim ,beginn die ,richtigkeit der ganzen folgenden ,darstellung bedroht1 sondern auch desshalb1 weil die ,auswahl des wichtigsten ,stoffs aus der ,geschichte des ,urchristenthums und der biblischen ,theologie ein schweres ,problem ist4 ,der ,eine wird finden1 dass ich zu viel in das ,buch aufgenommen habe1 und der ,andere zu wenig--vielleicht haben ,beide recht2 ich kann dagegen nur anfuehren1 dass sich mir die getroffene ,auswahl nach wiederholtem ,nachdenken und ,experimentiren auf's ,neue erprobt hat4 ,wer ein theologisches ,buch aufschlaegt1 fragt gewoehnlich zuerst nach dem ,standpunkt des ,verfassers4 ,bei geschichtlichen ,darstellungen sollte man so nicht fragen4 ,hier handelt es sich darum1 ob der ,verfasser einen ,sinn hat fuer den ,gegenstand den er darstellt1 ob er ,originales und ,abgeleitetes zu unterscheiden versteht1 ob er seinen ,stoff volkommen kennt1 ob er sich der ,grenzen des geschichtlichen ,wissens bewusst ist1 und ob er wahrhaftig ist4 ,diese ,forderungen enthalten den kategorischen ,imperativ fuer den ,historiker2 aber nur indem man rastlos an sich selber arbeitet1 sind sie zu erfullen1--so ist jede geschichtliche ,darstellung eine ethische ,aufgabe4 ,der ,historiker soll in jedem ,sinn treu sein3 ob er das gewesen ist1 darnach soll mann fragen4 ,berlin1 am #a4 ,mai1 #ahid4 ,,adolf ,,harnack4 ,,the ,,author',s ,,preface ,,to ,,the ,,english ,,edition4 ,no theological book can obtain a place in the literature of the world unless it can be read both in ,german and in ,english4 ,these two languages combined have taken the place of ,latin in the sphere of ,christian ,science4 ,i am therefore greatly pleased to learn that my ,history of ,dogma has been translated into ,english1 and ,i offer my warmest thanks both to the translator and to the publishers4 ,the most difficult part of the history of dogma is the beginning1 not only because it contains the germs of all later developments1 and therefore an error in observation here endangers the correctness of the whole following account1 but also because the selection of the most important material from the history of primitive ,christianity and biblical theology is a hard problem4 ,some will think that ,i have admitted too much into the book1 others too little4 ,perhaps both are right4 ,i can only reply that after repeated consideration and experiment ,i continue to be satisfied with my selection4 ,in taking up a theological book we are in the habit of enquiring first of all as to the stand-point of the ,author4 ,in a historical work there is no room for such enquiry4 ,the question here is1 whether the ,author is in sympathy with the subject about which he writes1 whether he can distinguish original elements from those that are derived1 whether he has a thorough acquaintance with his material1 whether he is conscious of the limits of historical knowledge1 and whether he is truthful4 ,these requirements constitute the categorical imperative for the historian3 but they can only be fulfilled by an unwearied self-discipline4 ,hence every historical study is an ethical task4 ,the historian ought to be faithful in every sense of the word2 whether he has been so or not is the question on which his readers have to decide4 ,berlin1 #ast ,may1 #ahid4 ,,adolf ,,harnack4 ,,from ,,the ,,author',s ,,preface ,,to ,,the ,,first ,,edition4 ,the task of describing the genesis of ecclesiastical dogma which ,i have attempted to perform in the following pages1 has hitherto been proposed by very few scholars1 and1 properly speaking1 undertaken by one only4 ,i must therefore crave the indulgence of those acquainted with the subject for an attempt which no future historian of dogma can avoid4 ,at first ,i meant to confine myself to narrower limits1 but ,i was unable to carry out that intention1 because the new arrangement of the material required a more detailed justification4 ,yet no one will find in the book1 which presupposes the knowledge of ,church history so far as it is given in the ordinary manuals1 any repertory of the theological thought of ,christian antiquity4 ,the diversity of ,christian ideas1 or of ideas closely related to ,christianity1 was very great in the first centuries4 ,for that very reason a selection was necessary2 but it was required1 above all1 by the aim of the work4 ,the history of dogma has to give an account1 only of those doctrines of ,christian writers which were authoritative in wide circles1 or which furthered the advance of the development2 otherwise it would become a collection of monographs1 and thereby lose its proper value4 ,i have endeavoured to subordinate everything to the aim of exhibiting the development which led to the ecclesiastical dogmas1 and therefore have neither1 for example1 communicated the details of the gnostic systems1 nor brought forward in detail the theological ideas of ,clemens ,romanus1 ,ignatius1 etc4 ,even a history of ,paulinism will be sought for in the book in vain4 ,it is a task by itself1 to trace the aftereffects of the theology of ,paul in the post-,apostolic age4 ,the ,history of ,dogma can only furnish fragments here2 for it is not consistent with its task to give an accurate account of the history of a theology the effects of which were at first very limited4 ,it is certainly no easy matter to determine what was authoritative in wide circles at the time when dogma was first being developed1 and ,i may confess that ,i have found the working out of the third chapter of the first book very difficult4 ,but ,i hope that the severe limitation in the material will be of service to the subject4 ,if the result of this limitation should be to lead students to read connectedly the manual which has grown out of my lectures1 my highest wish will be gratified4 ,there can be no great objection to the appearance of a text-book on the history of dogma at the present time4 ,we now know in what direction we have to work2 but we still want a history of ,christian theological ideas in their relation to contemporary philosophy4 ,above all1 we have not got an exact knowledge of the ,hellenistic philosophical terminologies in their development up to the fourth century4 ,i have keenly felt this want1 which can only be remedied by well-directed common labour4 ,i have made a plentiful use of the controversial treatise of ,celsus against ,christianity1 of which little use has hitherto been made for the history of dogma4 ,on the other hand1 except in a few cases1 ,i have deemed it inadmissible to adduce parallel passages1 easy to be got1 from ,philo1 ,seneca1 ,plutarch1 ,epictetus1 ,marcus ,aurelius1 ,porphyry1 etc42 for only a comparison strictly carried out would have been of value here4 ,i have been able neither to borrow such from others1 nor to furnish it myself4 ,yet ,i have ventured to submit my work1 because1 in my opinion1 it is possible to prove the dependence of dogma on the ,greek spirit1 without being compelled to enter into a discussion of all the details4 ,the ,publishers of the ,encyclopaedia ,britannica have allowed me to print here1 in a form but slightly altered1 the articles on ,neoplatonism and ,manichaeism which ,i wrote for their work1 and for this ,i beg to thank them4 ,it is now eighty-three years since my grandfather1 ,gustav ,ewers1 edited in ,german the excellent manual on the earliest history of dogma by ,muenter1 and thereby got his name associated with the history of the founding of the new study4 ,may the work of the grandson be found not unworthy of the clear and disciplined mind which presided over the beginnings of the young science4 ,giessen1 #ast ,august1 #ahhe4 ,,author',s ,,preface ,,to ,,the ,,second ,,edition4 ,in the two years that have passed since the appearance of the first edition ,i have steadily kept in view the improvement of this work1 and have endeavoured to learn from the reviews of it that have appeared4 ,i owe most to the study of ,weizsaecker's work1 on the ,apostolic ,age1 and his notice of the first edition of this volume in the ,goettinger gelehrte ,anzeigen1 #ahhf1 ,no4 #ba4 ,the latter1 in several decisive passages concerning the general conception1 drew my attention to the fact that ,i had emphasised certain points too strongly1 but had not given due prominence to others of equal importance1 while not entirely overlooking them4 ,i have convinced myself that these hints were1 almost throughout1 well founded1 and have taken pains to meet them in the new edition4 ,i have also learned from ,heinrici's commentary on the ,second ,epistle to the ,corinthians1 and from ,bigg's ,lectures on the ,christian ,platonists of ,alexandria4 ,apart from these works there has appeared very little that could be of significance for my historical account2 but ,i have once more independently considered the main problems1 and in some cases1 after repeated reading of the sources1 checked my statements1 removed mistakes and explained what had been too briefly stated4 ,thus1 in particular1 ,chapter ,,ii4 ,sec4,sec4 #a-c of the ,presuppositions1 also the ,third ,chapter of the ,first ,book 7especially ,section #f71 also in the ,second ,book1 ,chapter ,i4 and ,chapter ,,ii4 7under ,b71 the ,third ,chapter 7,supplement #c and excursus on ,catholic and ,romish71 the ,fifth ,chapter 7under #a and #c7 and the ,sixth ,chapter 7under #b7 have been subjected to changes and greater additions4 ,finally1 a new excursus has been added on the various modes of conceiving pre-existence1 and in other respects many things have been improved in detail4 ,the size of the book has thereby been increased by about fifty pages4 ,as ,i have been misrepresented by some as one who knew not how to appreciate the uniqueness of the ,gospel history and the evangelic faith1 while others have conversely reproached me with making the history of dogma proceed from an apostasy from the ,gospel to ,hellenism1 ,i have taken pains to state my opinions on both these points as clearly as possible4 ,in doing so ,i have only wrought out the hints which were given in the first edition1 and which1 as ,i supposed1 were sufficient for readers4 ,but it is surely a reasonable desire when ,i request the critics in reading the paragraphs which treat of the ,presuppositions1 not to forget how difficult the questions there dealt with are1 both in themselves and from the nature of the sources1 and how exposed to criticism the historian is who attempts to unfold his position towards them in a few pages4 ,as is self-evident1 the centre of gravity of the book lies in that which forms its subject proper1 in the account of the origin of dogma within the ,graeco-,roman empire4 ,but one should not on that account1 as many have done1 pass over the beginning which lies before the beginning1 or arbitrarily adopt a starting-point of his own2 for everything here depends on where and how one begins4 ,i have not therefore been able to follow the well-meant counsel to simply strike out the ,presuppositions4 ,i would gladly have responded to another advice to work up the notes into the text2 but ,i would then have been compelled to double the size of some chapters4 ,the form of this book1 in many respects awkward1 may continue as it is so long as it represents the difficulties by which the subject is still pressed4 ,when they have been removed--and the smallest number of them lie in the subject matter--,i will gladly break up this form of the book and try to give it another shape4 ,for the friendly reception given to it ,i have to offer my heartiest thanks4 ,but against those who1 believing themselves in possession of a richer view of the history here related1 have called my conception meagre1 ,i appeal to the beautiful words of ,tertullian2 ,malumus in scripturis minus1 si forte1 sapere quam contra4 ,marburg1 #bdth ,december1 #ahhg4 ,,author',s ,,preface ,,to ,,the ,,third ,,edition4 ,in the six years that have passed since the appearance of the second edition ,i have continued to work at the book1 and have made use of the new sources and investigations that have appeared during this period1 as well as corrected and extended my account in many passages4 ,yet ,i have not found it necessary to make many changes in the second half of the work4 ,the increase of about sixty pages is almost entirely in the first half4 ,berlin1 #cast ,december1 #ahic ,,contents ,,introductory ,,division4 ,,chapter ,i4--,,prolegomena ,,to ,,the ,,study ,,of ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,dogma ,sec4 #a4 ,the ,idea and ,task of the ,history of ,dogma ,definition ,limits and ,divisions ,dogma and ,theology ,factors in the formation of ,dogma ,explanation as to the conception and task of the ,history of ,dogma ,sec4 #b4 ,history of the ,history of ,dogma ,the ,early1 the ,mediaeval1 and the ,roman ,catholic ,church ,the ,reformers and the #agth ,century ,mosheim1 ,walch1 ,ernesti ,lessing1 ,semler1 ,lange1 ,muenscher1 ,baumgarten-,crusius1 ,meier ,baur1 ,neander1 ,kliefoth1 ,thomasius1 ,nitzsch1 ,ritschl1 ,renan1 ,loofs ,,chapter ,,ii4--,,the ,,presuppositions ,,of ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,dogma ,sec4 #a4 ,introductory ,the ,gospel and the ,old ,testament ,the ,detachment of the ,christians from the ,jewish ,church ,the ,church and the ,graeco-,roman ,world ,the ,greek spirit an element of the ,ecclesiastical ,doctrine of ,faith ,the ,elements connecting ,primitive ,christianity and the growing ,catholic ,church ,the ,presuppositions of the origin of the ,apostolic ,catholic ,doctrine of ,faith ,sec4 #b4 ,the ,gospel of ,jesus ,christ according to ,his own ,testimony concerning ,himself ,fundamental ,features ,details ,supplements ,literature ,sec4 #c4 ,the ,common ,preaching concerning ,jesus ,christ in the first generation of believers4 ,general ,outline ,the faith of the first ,disciples ,the beginnings of ,christology ,conceptions of the ,work of ,jesus ,belief in the ,resurrection ,righteousness and the ,law ,paul ,the ,self-consciousness of being the ,church of ,god ,supplement #a4 ,universalism ,supplement #b4 ,questions as to the value of the ,law2 the four main tendencies at the close of the ,apostolic ,age ,supplement #c4 ,the ,pauline ,theology4 ,supplement #d4 ,the ,johannine ,writings ,supplement #e4 ,the ,authorities in the ,church ,sec4 #d4 ,the current ,exposition of the ,old ,testament and the ,jewish hopes of the future in their significance for the ,earliest types of ,christian preaching ,the ,rabbinical and ,exegetical ,methods ,the ,jewish ,apocalyptic literature ,mythologies and poetical ideas1 notions of pre-existence and their application to ,messiah ,the limits of the explicable ,literature ,sec4 #e4 ,the ,religious ,conceptions and the ,religious ,philosophy of the ,hellenistic ,jews in their significance for the later formulation of the ,gospel ,spiritualising and ,moralising of the ,jewish ,religion ,philo ,the ,hermeneutic principles of ,philo ,sec4 #f4 ,the religious dispositions of the ,greeks and ,romans in the first two centuries1 and the current ,graeco-,roman philosophy of religion ,the new religious needs and the old worship 7,excursus on ,greek3 theos7 ,the ,system of associations1 and the ,empire ,philosophy and its acquisitions ,platonic and ,stoic ,elements in the philosophy of religion ,greek culture and ,roman ideas in the ,church ,the ,empire and philosophic schools 7the ,cynics7 ,literature ,,supplementary4 7#a7 ,the twofold conception of the blessing of ,salvation in its significance for the following period 7#b7 ,obscurity in the origin of the most important ,christian ideas and ,ecclesiastical forms 7#c7 ,significance of the ,pauline theology for the legitimising and reformation of the doctrine of the ,church in the following period ,,division ,i4--,,the ,,genesis ,,of ,,ecclesiastical ,,dogma1 ,,or ,,the ,,genesis ,,of ,,the ,,catholic ,,apostolic ,,dogmatic ,,theology1 ,,and ,,the ,,first ,,scientific ,,ecclesiastical ,,system ,,of ,,doctrine4 ,,book ,i4 ,,the ,,preparation4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,historical ,,survey ,,chapter ,,ii4--,,the ,,element ,,common ,,to ,,all ,,christians ,,and ,,the ,,breach ,,with ,,judaism ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,common ,,faith ,,and ,,the ,,beginnings ,,of ,,knowledge ,,in ,,gentile ,,christianity ,,as ,,it ,,was ,,being ,,developed ,,into ,,catholicism 7#a7 ,the ,communities and the ,church 7#b7 ,the ,foundations of the ,faith2 the ,old ,testament1 and the traditions about ,jesus 7sayings of ,jesus1 the ,kerygma about ,jesus71 the significance of the ,apostolic 7#c7 ,the main articles of ,christianity and the conceptions of salvation4 ,the new law4 ,eschatology4 7#d7 ,the ,old ,testament as source of the knowledge of faith 7#e7 ,the knowledge of ,god and of the world1 estimate of the world 7,demons7 7#f7 ,faith in ,jesus ,christ ,jesus the ,lord4 ,jesus the ,christ ,jesus the ,son of ,god1 the ,theologia ,christi ,the ,adoptian and the ,pneumatic ,christology ,ideas of ,christ's work 7#g7 ,the ,worship1 the sacred actions1 and the organisation of the ,churches ,the ,worship and ,sacrifice ,baptism and the ,lord's ,supper ,the organisation ,,supplementary4 ,the premises of ,catholicism ,doctrinal diversities of the ,apostolical ,fathers ,,chapter ,,iv4--,,the ,,attempts ,,of ,,the ,,gnostics ,,to ,,create ,,an ,,apostolic ,,dogmatic1 ,,and ,a ,,christian ,,theology2 ,,or ,,the ,,acute ,,secularising ,,of ,,christianity 7#a7 ,the conditions for the rise of ,gnosticism4 7#b7 ,the nature of ,gnosticism 7#c7 ,history of ,gnosticism and the forms in which it appeared 7#d7 ,the most important ,gnostic doctrines ,,chapter ,v4--,,the ,,attempt ,,of ,,marcion ,,to ,,set ,,aside ,,the ,,old ,,testament ,,foundation ,,of ,,christianity1 ,,to ,,purify ,,the ,,tradition ,,and ,,reform ,,christendom ,,on ,,the ,,basis ,,of ,,the ,,pauline ,,gospel ,characterisation of ,marcion's attempt 7#a7 ,his estimate of the ,old ,testament and the god of the ,jews 7#b7 ,the ,god of the ,gospel 7#c7 ,the relation of the two ,gods according to ,marcion4 ,the ,gnostic woof in ,marcion's ,christianity 7#d7 ,the ,christology 7#e7 ,eschatology and ,ethics 7#f7 ,criticism of the ,christian tradition1 the ,marcionite ,church ,remarks ,,chapter ,,vi4--,,the ,,christianity ,,of ,,jewish ,,christians1 ,,definition ,,of ,,the ,,notion ,,jewish ,,christianity 7#a7 ,general conditions for the development of ,jewish ,christianity 7#b7 ,jewish ,christianity and the ,catholic ,church1 insignificance of ,jewish ,christianity1 ,judaising in ,catholicism ,alleged documents of ,jewish ,christianity 7,apocalypse of ,john1 ,acts of the ,apostles1 ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 ,hegesippus7 ,history of ,jewish ,christianity ,the witness of ,justin ,the witness of ,celsus ,the witness of ,irenaeus and ,origen ,the witness of ,eusebius and ,jerome ,the ,gnostic ,jewish ,christianity ,the ,elkesaites and ,ebionites of ,epiphanius ,estimate of the ,pseudo-,clementine ,recognitions and ,homilies1 their want of significance for the question as to the genesis of ,catholicism and its doctrine ,,appendices4 ,i4 ,on the different notions of ,pre-existence4 ,,ii4 ,on ,liturgies and the genesis of ,dogma4 ,,iii4 ,on ,neoplatonism ,literature ,i ,,prolegomena ,,to ,,the ,,discipline ,,of ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,dogma4 ,,ii ,,the ,,presuppositions ,,of ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,dogma4 ,,chapter ,i ,,prolegomena ,,to ,,the ,,discipline ,,of ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,dogma4 ,sec4 #a4 ,the ,idea and ,task of the ,history of ,dogma4 #a4 ,the ,history of ,dogma is a discipline of general ,church ,history1 which has for its object the dogmas of the ,church4 ,these dogmas are the doctrines of the ,christian faith logically formulated and expressed for scientific and apologetic purposes1 the contents of which are a knowledge of ,god1 of the world1 and of the provisions made by ,god for man's salvation4 ,the ,christian ,churches teach them as the truths revealed in ,holy ,scripture1 the acknowledgment of which is the condition of the salvation which religion promises4 ,but as the adherents of the ,christian religion had not these dogmas from the beginning1 so far1 at least1 as they form a connected system1 the business of the history of dogma is1 in the first place1 to ascertain the origin of ,dogmas 7of ,dogma71 and then secondly1 to describe their development 7their variations74 #b4 ,we cannot draw any hard and fast line between the time of the origin and that of the development of dogma2 they rather shade off into one another4 ,but we shall have to look for the final point of division at the time when an article of faith logically formulated and scientifically expressed1 was first raised to the articulus constitutivus ecclesiae1 and as such was universally enforced by the ,church4 ,now that first happened when the doctrine of ,christ1 as the pre-existent and personal ,logos of ,god1 had obtained acceptance everywhere in the confederated ,churches as the revealed and fundamental doctrine of faith1 that is1 about the end of the third century or the beginning of the fourth4 ,we must therefore1 in our account1 take this as the final point of division4#a ,as to the development of dogma1 it seems to have closed in the ,eastern ,church with the seventh ,oecumenical ,council 7#ghg74 ,after that time no further dogmas were set up in the ,east as revealed truths4 ,as to the ,western ,catholic1 that is1 the ,romish ,church1 a new dogma was promulgated as late as the year #ahgj1 which claims to be1 and in point of form really is1 equal in dignity to the old dogmas4 ,here1 therefore1 the ,history of ,dogma must extend to the present time4 ,finally1 as regards the ,protestant ,churches1 they are a subject of special difficulty in the sphere of the history of dogma2 for at the present moment there is no agreement within these ,churches as to whether1 and in what sense1 dogmas 7as the word was used in the ancient ,church7 are valid4 ,but even if we leave the present out of account and fix our attention on the ,protestant ,churches of the #afth century1 the decision is difficult4 ,for1 on the one hand1 the ,protestant faith1 the ,lutheran as well as the ,reformed 7and that of ,luther no less71 presents itself as a doctrine of faith which1 resting on the ,catholic canon of scripture1 is1 in point of form1 quite analogous to the ,catholic doctrine of faith1 has a series of dogmas in common with it1 and only differs in a few4 ,on the other hand1 ,protestantism has taken its stand in principle on the ,gospel exclusively1 and declared its readiness at all times to test all doctrines afresh by a true understanding of the ,gospel4 ,the ,reformers1 however1 in addition to this1 began to unfold a conception of ,christianity which might be described1 in contrast with the ,catholic type of religion1 as a new conception1 and which indeed draws support from the old dogmas1 but changes their original significance materially and formally4 ,what this conception was may still be ascertained from those writings received by the ,church1 the ,protestant symbols of the #afth century1 in which the larger part of the traditionary dogmas are recognised as the appropriate expression of the ,christian religion1 nay1 as the ,christian religion itself4#b ,accordingly1 it can neither be maintained that the expression of the ,christian faith in the form of dogmas is abolished in the ,protestant ,churches--the very acceptance of the ,catholic canon as the revealed record of faith is opposed to that view--nor that its meaning has remained absolutely unchanged4#c ,the history of dogma has simply to recognise this state of things1 and to represent it exactly as it lies before us in the documents4 ,but the point to which the historian should advance here still remains an open question4 ,if we adhere strictly to the definition of the idea of dogma given above1 this much is certain1 that dogmas were no longer set up after the ,formula of ,concord1 or in the case of the ,reformed ,church1 after the decrees of the ,synod of ,dort4 ,it cannot1 however1 be maintained that they have been set aside in the centuries that have passed since then2 for apart from some ,protestant ,national and independent ,churches1 which are too insignificant and whose future is too uncertain to be taken into account here1 the ecclesiastical tradition of the #afth century1 and along with it the tradition of the early ,church1 have not been abrogated in authoritative form4 ,of course1 changes of the greatest importance with regard to doctrine have appeared everywhere in ,protestantism from the #agth century to the present day4 ,but these changes cannot in any sense be taken into account in a history of dogma1 because they have not as yet attained a form valid for the ,church4 ,however we may judge of these changes1 whether we regard them as corruptions or improvements1 or explain the want of fixity in which the ,protestant ,churches find themselves1 as a situation that is forced on them1 or the situation that is agreeable to them and for which they are adapted1 in no sense is there here a development which could be described as history of dogma4 ,these facts would seem to justify those who1 like ,thomasius and ,schmid1 carry the history of dogma in ,protestantism to the ,formula of ,concord1 or1 in the case of the ,reformed ,church1 to the decrees of the ,synod of ,dort4 ,but it may be objected to this boundary line2 7#a7 ,that those symbols have at all times attained only a partial authority in ,protestantism2 7#b7 ,that as noted above1 the dogmas1 that is1 the formulated doctrines of faith have different meanings on different matters in the ,protestant and in the ,catholic ,churches4 ,accordingly1 it seems advisable within the frame-work of the history of dogma1 to examine ,protestantism only so far as this is necessary for obtaining a knowledge of its deviations from the ,catholic dogma materially and formally1 that is1 to ascertain the original position of the ,reformers with regard to the doctrine of the ,church1 a position which is beset with contradictions4 ,the more accurately we determine the relation of the ,reformers to ,catholicism1 the more intelligible will be the developments which ,protestantism has passed through in the course of its history4 ,but these developments themselves 7retrocession and advance7 do not belong to the sphere of the history of dogma1 because they stand in no comparable relation to the course of the history of dogma within the ,catholic ,church4 ,as history of ,protestant doctrines they form a peculiar independent province of ,church history4 ,as to the division of the history of dogma1 it consists of two main parts4 ,the first has to describe the origin of dogma1 that is1 of the ,apostolic ,catholic system of doctrine based on the foundation of the tradition authoritatively embodied in the creeds and ,holy scripture1 and extends to the beginning of the fourth century4 ,this may be conveniently divided into two parts1 the first of which will treat of the preparation1 the second of the establishment of the ecclesiastical doctrine of faith4 ,the second main part1 which has to portray the development of dogma1 comprehends three stages4 ,in the first stage the doctrine of faith appears as ,theology and ,christology4 ,the ,eastern ,church has never got beyond this stage1 although it has to a large extent enriched dogma ritually and mystically 7see the decrees of the seventh council74 ,we will have to shew how the doctrines of faith formed in this stage have remained for all time in the ,church dogmas ,greek3 kat' exochen4 ,the second stage was initiated by ,augustine4 ,the doctrine of faith appears here on the one side completed1 and on the other re-expressed by new dogmas1 which treat of the relation of sin and grace1 freedom and grace1 grace and the means of grace4 ,the number and importance of the dogmas that were1 in the middle ages1 really fixed after ,augustine's time1 had no relation to the range and importance of the questions which they raised1 and which emerged in the course of centuries in consequence of advancing knowledge1 and not less in consequence of the growing power of the ,church4 ,accordingly1 in this second stage which comprehends the whole of the middle ages1 the ,church as an institution kept believers together in a larger measure than was possible to dogmas4 ,these in their accepted form were too poor to enable them to be the expression of religious conviction and the regulator of ,church life4 ,on the other hand1 the new decisions of ,theologians1 ,councils and ,popes1 did not yet possess the authority which could have made them incontestable truths of faith4 ,the third stage begins with the ,reformation1 which compelled the ,church to fix its faith on the basis of the theological work of the middle ages4 ,thus arose the ,roman ,catholic dogma which has found in the ,vatican decrees its provisional settlement4 ,this ,roman ,catholic dogma1 as it was formulated at ,trent1 was moulded in express opposition to the ,theses of the ,reformers4 ,but these ,theses themselves represent a peculiar conception of ,christianity1 which has its root in the theology of ,paul and ,augustine1 and includes either explicitly or implicitly a revision of the whole ecclesiastical tradition1 and therefore of dogma also4 ,the ,history of ,dogma in this last stage1 therefore1 has a twofold task4 ,it has1 on the one hand1 to present the ,romish dogma as a product of the ecclesiastical development of the middle ages under the influence of the ,reformation faith which was to be rejected1 and on the other hand1 to portray the conservative new formation which we have in original ,protestantism1 and determine its relation to dogma4 ,a closer examination1 however1 shews that in none of the great confessions does religion live in dogma1 as of old4 ,dogma everywhere has fallen into the background2 in the ,eastern ,church it has given place to ritual1 in the ,roman ,church to ecclesiastical instructions1 in the ,protestant ,churches1 so far as they are mindful of their origin1 to the ,gospel4 ,at the same time1 however1 the paradoxical fact is unmistakable that dogma as such is nowhere at this moment so powerful as in the ,protestant ,churches1 though by their history they are furthest removed from it4 ,here1 however1 it comes into consideration as an object of immediate religious interest1 which1 strictly speaking1 in the ,catholic ,church is not the case4#d ,the ,council of ,trent was simply wrung from the ,romish ,church1 and she has made the dogmas of that council in a certain sense innocuous by the ,vatican decrees4#e ,in this sense1 it may be said that the period of development of dogma is altogether closed1 and that therefore our discipline requires a statement such as belongs to a series of historical phenomena that has been completed4 #c4 ,the church has recognised her faith1 that is religion itself1 in her dogmas4 ,accordingly1 one very important business of the ,history of ,dogma is to exhibit the unity that exists in the dogmas of a definite period1 and to shew how the several dogmas are connected with one another and what leading ideas they express4 ,but1 as a matter of course1 this undertaking has its limits in the degree of unanimity which actually existed in the dogmas of the particular period4 ,it may be shewn without much difficulty1 that a strict though by no means absolute unanimity is expressed only in the dogmas of the ,greek ,church4 ,the peculiar character of the western post-,augustinian ecclesiastical conception of ,christianity1 no longer finds a clear expression in dogma1 and still less is this the case with the conception of the ,reformers4 ,the reason of this is that ,augustine1 as well as ,luther1 disclosed a new conception of ,christianity1 but at the same time appropriated the old dogmas4#f ,but neither ,baur's nor ,kliefoth's method of writing the history of dogma has done justice to this fact4 ,not ,baur's1 because1 notwithstanding the division into six periods1 it sees a uniform process in the development of dogma1 a process which begins with the origin of ,christianity and has run its course1 as is alleged1 in a strictly logical way4 ,not ,kliefoth's1 because1 in the dogmas of the ,catholic ,church which the ,east has never got beyond1 it only ascertains the establishment of one portion of the ,christian faith1 to which the parts still wanting have been successively added in later times4#g ,in contrast with this1 we may refer to the fact that we can clearly distinguish three styles of building in the history of dogma1 but only three2 the style of ,origen1 that of ,augustine1 and that of the ,reformers4 ,but the dogma of the post-,augustinian ,church1 as well as that of ,luther1 does not in any way represent itself as a new building1 not even as the mere extension of an old building1 but as a complicated rebuilding1 and by no means in harmony with former styles1 because neither ,augustine nor ,luther ever dreamed of building independently4#h ,this perception leads us to the most peculiar phenomenon which meets the historian of dogma1 and which must determine his method4 ,dogmas arise1 develop themselves and are made serviceable to new aims2 this in all cases takes place through ,theology4 ,but ,theology is dependent on innumerable factors1 above all1 on the spirit of the time2 for it lies in the nature of theology that it desires to make its object intelligible4 ,dogmas are the product of theology1 not inversely2 of a theology of course which1 as a rule1 was in correspondence with the faith of the time4 ,the critical view of history teaches this3 first we have the ,apologists and ,origen1 then the councils of ,nice and ,chalcedon2 first the ,scholastics1 then the ,council of ,trent4 ,in consequence of this1 dogma bears the mark of all1 the factors on which the theology was dependent4 ,that is one point4 ,but the moment in which the product of theology became dogma1 the way which led to it must be obscured2 for1 according to the conception of the ,church1 dogma can be nothing else than the revealed faith itself4 ,dogma is regarded not as the exponent1 but as the basis of theology1 and therefore the product of theology having passed into dogma limits1 and criticises the work of theology both past and future4#i ,that is the second point4 ,it follows from this that the history of the ,christian religion embraces a very complicated relation of ecclesiastical dogma and theology1 and that the ecclesiastical conception of the significance of theology cannot at all do justice to this significance4 ,the ecclesiastical scheme which is here formed and which denotes the utmost concession that can be made to history1 is to the effect that theology gives expression only to the form of dogma1 while so far as it is ecclesiastical theology1 it presupposes the unchanging dogma1 i4e41 the substance of dogma4 ,but this scheme1 which must always leave uncertain what the form really is1 and what the substance1 is in no way applicable to the actual circumstances4 ,so far1 however1 as it is itself an article of faith it is an object of the history of dogma4 ,ecclesiastical dogma when put on its defence must at all times take up an ambiguous position towards theology1 and ecclesiastical theology a corresponding position towards dogma2 for they are condemned to perpetual uncertainty as to what they owe each other1 and what they have to fear from each other4 ,the theological ,fathers of dogma have almost without exception failed to escape being condemned by dogma1 either because it went beyond them1 or lagged behind their theology4 ,the ,apologists1 ,origen and ,augustine may be cited in support of this2 and even in ,protestantism1 mutatis mutandis1 the same thing has been repeated1 as is proved by the fate of ,melanchthon and ,schleiermacher4 ,on the other hand1 there have been few theologians who have not shaken some article of the traditional dogma4 ,we are wont to get rid of these fundamental facts by hypostatising the ecclesiastical principle or the common ecclesiastical spirit1 and by this normal hypostasis1 measuring1 approving or condemning the doctrines of the theologians1 unconcerned about the actual conditions and frequently following a hysteron-proteron4 ,but this is a view of history which should in justice be left to the ,catholic ,church1 which indeed cannot dispense with it4 ,the critical history of dogma has1 on the contrary1 to shew above all how an ecclesiastical theology has arisen2 for it can only give account of the origin of dogma in connection with this main question4 ,the horizon must be taken here as wide as possible2 for the question as to the origin of theology can only be answered by surveying all the relations into which the ,christian religion has entered in naturalising itself in the world and subduing it4 ,when ecclesiastical dogma has once been created and recognised as an immediate expression of the ,christian religion1 the history of dogma has only to take the history of theology into account so far as it has been active in the formation of dogma4 ,yet it must always keep in view the peculiar claim of dogma to be a criterion and not a product of theology4 ,but it will also be able to shew how1 partly by means of theology and partly by other means--for dogma is also dependent on ritual1 constitution1 and the practical ideals of life1 as well as on the letter1 whether of ,scripture1 or of tradition no longer understood--dogma in its development and re-expression has continually changed1 according to the conditions under which the ,church was placed4 ,if dogma is originally the formulation of ,christian faith as ,greek culture understood it and justified it to itself1 then dogma has never indeed lost this character1 though it has been radically modified in later times4 ,it is quite as important to keep in view the tenacity of dogma as its changes1 and in this respect the ,protestant way of writing history1 which1 here as elsewhere in the history of the ,church1 is more disposed to attend to differences than to what is permanent1 has much to learn from the ,catholic4 ,but as the ,protestant historian1 as far possible1 judges of the progress of development in so far as it agrees with the ,gospel in its documentary form1 he is still able to shew1 with all deference to that tenacity1 that dogma has been so modified and used to the best advantage by ,augustine and ,luther1 that its ,christian character has in many respects gained1 though in other respects it has become further and further alienated from that character4 ,in proportion as the traditional system of dogmas lost its stringency it became richer4 ,in proportion as it was stripped by ,augustine and ,luther of its apologetic philosophic tendency1 it was more and more filled with ,biblical ideas1 though1 on the other hand1 it became more full of contradictions and less impressive4 ,this outlook1 however1 has already gone beyond the limits fixed for these introductory paragraphs and must not be pursued further4 ,to treat in abstracto of the method of the history of dogma in relation to the discovery1 grouping and interpretation of the material is not to be recommended2 for general rules to preserve the ignorant and half instructed from overlooking the important1 and laying hold of what is not important1 cannot be laid down4 ,certainly everything depends on the arrangement of the material2 for the understanding of history is to find the rules according to which the phenomena should be grouped1 and every advance in the knowledge of history is inseparable from an accurate observance of these rules4 ,we must1 above all1 be on our guard against preferring one principle at the expense of another in the interpretation of the origin and aim of particular dogmas4 ,the most diverse factors have at all times been at work in the formation of dogmas4 ,next to the effort to determine the doctrine of religion according to the finis religionis1 the blessing of salvation1 the following may have been the most important4 7#a7 ,the conceptions and sayings contained in the canonical scriptures4 7#b7 ,the doctrinal tradition originating in earlier epochs of the church1 and no longer understood4 7#c7 ,the needs of worship and organisation4 7#d7 ,the effort to adjust the doctrine of religion to the prevailing doctrinal opinions4 7#e7 ,political and social circumstances4 7#f7 ,the changing moral ideals of life4 7#g7 ,the so-called logical consistency1 that is the abstract analogical treatment of one dogma according to the form of another4 7#h7 ,the effort to adjust different tendencies and contradictions in the church4 7#i7 ,the endeavour to reject once for all a doctrine regarded as erroneous4 7#aj7 ,the sanctifying power of blind custom4 ,the method of explaining everything wherever possible by the impulse of dogma to unfold itself1 must be given up as unscientific1 just as all empty abstractions whatsoever must be given up as scholastic and mythological4 ,dogma has had its history in the individual living man and nowhere else4 ,as soon as one adopts this statement in real earnest1 that mediaeval realism must vanish to which a man so often thinks himself superior while imbedded in it all the time4 ,instead of investigating the actual conditions in which believing and intelligent men have been placed1 a system of ,christianity has been constructed from which1 as from a ,pandora's box1 all doctrines which in course of time have been formed1 are extracted1 and in this way legitimised as ,christian4 ,the simple fundamental proposition that that only is ,christian which can be established authoritatively by the ,gospel1 has never yet received justice in the history of dogma4 ,even the following account will in all probability come short in this point2 for in face of a prevailing false tradition the application of a simple principle to every detail can hardly succeed at the first attempt4 ,explanation as to the ,conception and ,task of the ,history of ,dogma4 ,no agreement as yet prevails with regard to the conception of the history of dogma4 ,muenscher 7,handbuch der ,christl4 ,d4,g4 #crd ed4 ,i4 p4 #c f47 declared that the business of the history of dogma is ,to represent all the changes which the theoretic part of the ,christian doctrine of religion has gone through from its origin up to the present1 both in form and substance1 and this definition held sway for a long time4 ,then it came to be noted that the question was not about changes that were accidental1 but about those that were historically necessary1 that dogma has a relation to the church1 and that it represents a rational expression of the faith4 ,emphasis was put sometimes on one of these elements and sometimes on the other4 ,baur1 in particular1 insisted on the first2 ,v4 ,hofmann1 after the example of ,schleiermacher1 on the second1 and indeed exclusively 7,encyklop4 der theol4 p4 #beg f43 ,the history of dogma is the history of the ,church confessing the faith in words74 ,nitzsch 7,grundriss der ,christl4 ,d4,g4 ,i4 p4 #a7 insisted on the third3 ,the history of dogma is the scientific account of the origin and development of the ,christian system of doctrine1 or that part of historical theology which presents the history of the expression of the ,christian faith in notions1 doctrines and doctrinal systems4 ,thomasius has combined the second and third by conceiving the history of dogma as the history of the development of the ecclesiastical system of doctrine4 ,but even this conception is not sufficiently definite1 inasmuch as it fails to do complete justice to the special peculiarity of the subject4 ,ancient and modern usage does certainly seem to allow the word dogma to be applied to particular doctrines1 or to a uniform system of doctrine1 to fundamental truths1 or to opinions1 to theoretical propositions or practical rules1 to statements of belief that have not been reached by a process of reasoning1 as well as to those that bear the marks of such a process4 ,but this uncertainty vanishes on closer examination4 ,we then see that there is always an authority at the basis of dogma1 which gives it to those who recognise that authority the signification of a fundamental truth quae sine scelere prodi non poterit 7,cicero ,quaest4 ,acad4 ,,iv4 #i74 ,but therewith at the same time is introduced into the idea of dogma a social element 7see ,biedermann1 ,christl4 ,dogmatik4 #b4 ,edit4 ,i4 p4 #b f472 the confessors of one and the same dogma form a community4 ,there can be no doubt that these two elements are also demonstrable in ,christian dogma1 and therefore we must reject all definitions of the history of dogma which do not take them into account4 ,if we define it as the history of the understanding of ,christianity by itself1 or as the history of the changes of the theoretic part of the doctrine of religion or the like1 we shall fail to do justice to the idea of dogma in its most general acceptation4 ,we cannot describe as dogmas1 doctrines such as the ,apokatastasis1 or the ,kenosis of the ,son of ,god1 without coming into conflict with the ordinary usage of language and with ecclesiastical law4 ,if we start1 therefore1 from the supposition that ,christian dogma is an ecclesiastical doctrine which presupposes revelation as its authority1 and therefore claims to be strictly binding1 we shall fail to bring out its real nature with anything like completeness4 ,that which ,protestants and ,catholics call dogmas1 are not only ecclesiastical doctrines1 but they are also3 7#a7 theses expressed in abstract terms1 forming together a unity1 and fixing the contents of the ,christian religion as a knowledge of ,god1 of the world1 and of the sacred history under the aspect of a proof of the truth4 ,but 7#b7 they have also emerged at a definite stage of the history of the ,christian religion2 they show in their conception as such1 and in many details1 the influence of that stage1 viz41 the ,greek period1 and they have preserved this character in spite of all their reconstructions and additions in after periods4 ,this view of dogma cannot be shaken by the fact that particular historical facts1 miraculous or not miraculous are described as dogmas2 for here they are regarded as such1 only in so far as they have got the value of doctrines which have been inserted in the complete structure of doctrines and are1 on the other hand1 members of a chain of proofs1 viz41 proofs from prophecy4 ,but as soon as we perceive this1 the parallel between the ecclesiastical dogmas and those of ancient schools of philosophy appears to be in point of form complete4 ,the only difference is that revelation is here put as authority in the place of human knowledge1 although the later philosophic schools appealed to revelation also4 ,the theoretical as well as the practical doctrines which embraced the peculiar conception of the world and the ethics of the school1 together with their rationale1 were described in these schools as dogmas4 ,now1 in so far as the adherents of the ,christian religion possess dogmas in this sense1 and form a community which has gained an understanding of its religious faith by analysis and by scientific definition and grounding1 they appear as a great philosophic school in the ancient sense of the word4 ,but they differ from such a school in so far as they have always eliminated the process of thought which has led to the dogma1 looking upon the whole system of dogma as a revelation and therefore1 even in respect of the reception of the dogma1 at least at first1 they have taken account not of the powers of human understanding1 but of the ,divine enlightenment which is bestowed on all the willing and the virtuous4 ,in later times1 indeed1 the analogy was far more complete1 in so far as the ,church reserved the full possession of dogma to a circle of consecrated and initiated individuals4 ,dogmatic ,christianity is therefore a definite stage in the history of the development of ,christianity4 ,it corresponds to the antique mode of thought1 but has nevertheless continued to a very great extent in the following epochs1 though subject to great transformations4 ,dogmatic ,christianity stands between ,christianity as the religion of the ,gospel1 presupposing a personal experience and dealing with disposition and conduct1 and ,christianity as a religion of cultus1 sacraments1 ceremonial and obedience1 in short of superstition1 and it can be united with either the one or the other4 ,in itself and in spite of all its mysteries it is always intellectual ,christianity1 and therefore there is always the danger here that as knowledge it may supplant religious faith1 or connect it with a doctrine of religion1 instead of with ,god and a living experience4 ,if then the discipline of the history of dogma is to be what its name purports1 its object is the very dogma which is so formed1 and its fundamental problem will be to discover how it has arisen4 ,in the history of the canon our method of procedure has for long been to ask first of all1 how the canon originated1 and then to examine the changes through which it has passed4 ,we must proceed in the same way with the history of dogma1 of which the history of the canon is simply a part4 ,two objections will be raised against this4 ,in the first place1 it will be said that from the very first the ,christian religion has included a definite religious faith as well as a definite ethic1 and that therefore ,christian dogma is as original as ,christianity itself1 so that there can be no question about a genesis1 but only as to a development or alteration of dogma within the ,church4 ,again it will be said1 in the second place1 that dogma as defined above1 has validity only for a definite epoch in the history of the ,church1 and that it is therefore quite impossible to write a comprehensive history of dogma in the sense we have indicated4 ,as to the first objection1 there can of course be no doubt that the ,christian religion is founded on a message1 the contents of which are a definite belief in ,god and in ,jesus ,christ whom he has sent1 and that the promise of salvation is attached to this belief4 ,but faith in the ,gospel and the later dogmas of the ,church are not related to each other as theme and the way in which it is worked out1 any more than the dogma of the ,new ,testament canon is only the explication of the original reliance of ,christians on the word of their ,lord and the continuous working of the ,spirit2 but in these later dogmas an entirely new element has entered into the conception of religion4 ,the message of religion appears here clothed in a knowledge of the world and of the ground of the world which had already been obtained without any reference to it1 and therefore religion itself has here become a doctrine which has1 indeed1 its certainty in the ,gospel1 but only in part derives its contents from it1 and which can also be appropriated by such as are neither poor in spirit nor weary and heavy laden4 ,now1 it may of course be shewn that a philosophic conception of the ,christian religion is possible1 and began to make its appearance from the very first1 as in the case of ,paul4 ,but the ,pauline gnosis has neither been simply identified with the ,gospel by ,paul himself 7#a ,cor4 ,,iii4 #b f42 ,,xii4 #c2 ,phil4 ,i4 #ah7 nor is it analogous to the later dogma1 not to speak of being identical with it4 ,the characteristic of this dogma is that it represents itself in no sense as foolishness1 but as wisdom1 and at the same time desires to be regarded as the contents of revelation itself4 ,dogma in its conception and development is a work of the ,greek spirit on the soil of the ,gospel4 ,by comprehending in itself and giving excellent expression to the religious conceptions contained in ,greek philosophy and the ,gospel1 together with its ,old ,testament basis2 by meeting the search for a revelation as well as the desire for a universal knowledge2 by subordinating itself to the aim of the ,christian religion to bring a ,divine life to humanity as well as to the aim of philosophy to know the world3 it became the instrument by which the ,church conquered the ancient world and educated the modern nations4 ,but this dogma--one cannot but admire its formation or fail to regard it as a great achievement of the spirit1 which never again in the history of ,christianity has made itself at home with such freedom and boldness in religion--is the product of a comparatively long history which needs to be deciphered2 for it is obscured by the completed dogma4 ,the ,gospel itself is not dogma1 for belief in the ,gospel provides room for knowledge only so far as it is a state of feeling and course of action1 that is a definite form of life4 ,between practical faith in the ,gospel and the historico-critical account of the ,christian religion and its history1 a third element can no longer be thrust in without its coming into conflict with faith1 or with the historical data--the only thing left is the practical task of defending the faith4 ,but a third element has been thrust into the history of this religion1 viz41 dogma1 that is1 the philosophical means which were used in early times for the purpose of making the ,gospel intelligible have been fused with the contents of the ,gospel and raised to dogma4 ,this dogma1 next to the ,church1 has become a real world power1 the pivot in the history of the ,christian religion4 ,the transformation of the ,christian faith into dogma is indeed no accident1 but has its reason in the spiritual character of the ,christian religion1 which at all times will feel the need of a scientific apologetic4#aj ,but the question here is not as to something indefinite and general1 but as to the definite dogma formed in the first centuries1 and binding even yet4 ,this already touches on the second objection which was raised above1 that dogma1 in the given sense of the word1 was too narrowly conceived1 and could not in this conception be applied throughout the whole history of the ,church4 ,this objection would only be justified1 if our task were to carry the history of the development of dogma through the whole history of the ,church4 ,but the question is just whether we are right in proposing such a task4 ,the ,greek ,church has no history of dogma after the seven great ,councils1 and it is incomparably more important to recognise this fact than to register the theologoumena which were later on introduced by individual ,bishops and scholars in the ,east1 who were partly influenced by the ,west4 ,roman ,catholicism in its dogmas1 though1 as noted above1 these at present do not very clearly characterise it1 is to-day essentially--that is1 so far as it is religion--what it was #aejj years ago1 viz41 ,christianity as understood by the ancient world4 ,the changes which dogma has experienced in the course of its development in western ,catholicism are certainly deep and radical3 they have1 in point of fact1 as has been indicated in the text above1 modified the position of the ,church towards ,christianity as dogma4 ,but as the ,catholic ,church herself maintains that she adheres to ,christianity in the old dogmatic sense1 this claim of hers cannot be contested4 ,she has embraced new things and changed her relations to the old1 but still preserved the old4 ,but she has further developed new dogmas according to the scheme of the old4 ,the decrees of ,trent and of the ,vatican are formally analogous to the old dogmas4 ,here1 then1 a history of dogma may really be carried forward to the present day without thereby shewing that the definition of dogma given above is too narrow to embrace the new doctrines4 ,finally1 as to ,protestantism1 it has been briefly explained above why the changes in ,protestant systems of doctrine are not to be taken up into the history of dogma4 ,strictly speaking1 dogma1 as dogma1 has had no development in ,protestantism1 inasmuch as a secret note of interrogation has been here associated with it from the very beginning4 ,but the old dogma has continued to be a power in it1 because of its tendency to look back and to seek for authorities in the past1 and partly in the original unmodified form4 ,the dogmas of the fourth and fifth centuries have more influence to-day in wide circles of ,protestant ,churches than all the doctrines which are concentrated around justification by faith4 ,deviations from the latter are borne comparatively easy1 while as a rule1 deviations from the former are followed by notice to quit the ,christian communion1 that is1 by excommunication4 ,the historian of to-day would have no difficulty in answering the question whether the power of ,protestantism as a ,church lies at present in the elements which it has in common with the old dogmatic ,christianity1 or in that by which it is distinguished from it4 ,dogma1 that is to say1 that type of ,christianity which was formed in ecclesiastical antiquity1 has not been suppressed even in ,protestant ,churches1 has really not been modified or replaced by a new conception of the ,gospel4 ,but1 on the other hand1 who could deny that the ,reformation began to disclose such a conception1 and that this new conception was related in a very different way to the traditional dogma from that of the new propositions of ,augustine to the dogmas handed down to him8 ,who could further call in question that1 in consequence of the reforming impulse in ,protestantism1 the way was opened up for a conception which does not identify ,gospel and dogma1 which does not disfigure the latter by changing or paring down its meaning while failing to come up to the former8 ,but the historian who has to describe the formation and changes of dogma can take no part in these developments4 ,it is a task by itself more rich and comprehensive than that of the historian of dogma1 to portray the diverse conceptions that have been formed of the ,christian religion1 to portray how strong men and weak men1 great and little minds have explained the ,gospel outside and inside the frame-work of dogma1 and how under the cloak1 or in the province of dogma1 the ,gospel has had its own peculiar history4 ,but the more limited theme must not be put aside4 ,for it can in no way be conducive to historical knowledge to regard as indifferent the peculiar character of the expression of ,christian faith as dogma1 and allow the history of dogma to be absorbed in a general history of the various conceptions of ,christianity4 ,such a liberal view would not agree either with the teaching of history or with the actual situation of the ,protestant ,churches of the present day3 for it is1 above all1 of crucial importance to perceive that it is a peculiar stage in the development of the human spirit which is described by dogma4 ,on this stage1 parallel with dogma and inwardly united with it1 stands a definite psychology1 metaphysic and natural philosophy1 as well as a view of history of a definite type4 ,this is the conception of the world obtained by antiquity after almost a thousand years' labour1 and it is the same connection of theoretic perceptions and practical ideals which it accomplished4 ,this stage on which the ,christian religion has also entered we have in no way as yet transcended1 though science has raised itself above it4#aa ,but the ,christian religion1 as it was not born of the culture of the ancient world1 is not for ever chained to it4 ,the form and the new contents which the ,gospel received when it entered into that world have only the same guarantee of endurance as that world itself4 ,and that endurance is limited4 ,we must indeed be on our guard against taking episodes for decisive crises4 ,but every episode carries us forward1 and retrogressions are unable to undo that progress4 ,the ,gospel since the ,reformation1 in spite of retrograde movements which have not been wanting1 is working itself out of the forms which it was once compelled to assume1 and a true comprehension of its history will also contribute to hasten this process4 #a4 ,the definition given above1 p4 #ag3 ,dogma in its conception and development is a work of the ,greek spirit on the soil of the ,gospel1 has frequently been distorted by my critics1 as they have suppressed the words on the soil of the ,gospel4 ,but these words are decisive4 ,the foolishness of identifying dogma and ,greek philosophy never entered my mind2 on the contrary1 the peculiarity of ecclesiastical dogma seemed to me to lie in the very fact that1 on the one hand1 it gave expression to ,christian ,monotheism and the central significance of the person of ,christ1 and1 on the other hand1 comprehended this religious faith and the historical knowledge connected with it in a philosophic system4 ,i have given quite as little ground for the accusation that ,i look upon the whole development of the history of dogma as a pathological process within the history of the ,gospel4 ,i do not even look upon the history of the origin of the ,papacy as such a process1 not to speak of the history of dogma4 ,but the perception that everything must happen as it has happened does not absolve the historian from the task of ascertaining the powers which have formed the history1 and distinguishing between original and later1 permanent and transitory1 nor from the duty of stating his own opinion4 #b4 ,sabatier has published a thoughtful treatise on ,christian ,dogma3 its ,nature and its ,development4 ,i agree with the author in this1 that in dogma--rightly understood--two elements are to be distinguished1 the religious proceeding from the experience of the individual or from the religious spirit of the ,church1 and the intellectual or theoretic4 ,but ,i regard as false the statement which he makes1 that the intellectual element in dogma is only the symbolical expression of religious experience4 ,the intellectual element is itself again to be differentiated4 ,on the one hand1 it certainly is the attempt to give expression to religious feeling1 and so far is symbolical2 but1 on the other hand1 within the ,christian religion it belongs to the essence of the thing itself1 inasmuch as this not only awakens feeling1 but has a quite definite content which determines and should determine the feeling4 ,in this sense ,christianity without dogma1 that is1 without a clear expression of its content1 is inconceivable4 ,but that does not justify the unchangeable permanent significance of that dogma which has once been formed under definite historical conditions4 #c4 ,the word dogmas 7,christian dogmas7 is1 if ,i see correctly1 used among us in three different senses1 and hence spring all manner of misconceptions and errors4 ,by dogmas are denoted3 7#a7 ,the historical doctrines of the ,church4 7#b7 ,the historical facts on which the ,christian religion is reputedly or actually founded4 7#c7 ,every definite exposition of the contents of ,christianity is described as dogmatic4 ,in contrast with this the attempt has been made in the following presentation to use dogma only in the sense first stated4 ,when ,i speak1 therefore1 of the decomposition of dogma1 ,i mean by that1 neither the historical facts which really establish the ,christian religion1 nor do ,i call in question the necessity for the ,christian and the ,church to have a creed4 ,my criticism refers not to the general genus dogma1 but to the species1 viz41 the defined dogma1 as it was formed on the soil of the ancient world1 and is still a power1 though under modifications4 #b4 ,history of the ,history of ,dogma4 ,the history of dogma as a historical and critical discipline had its origin in the last century through the works of ,mosheim1 ,c4 ,w4 ,f4 ,walch1 ,ernesti1 ,lessing and ,semler4 ,lange gave to the world in #agif the first attempt at a history of dogma as a special branch of theological study4 ,the theologians of the ,early and ,mediaeval ,churches have only transmitted histories of ,heretics and of ,literature1 regarding dogma as unchangeable4#ab ,this presupposition is so much a part of the nature of ,catholicism that it has been maintained till the present day4 ,it is therefore impossible for a ,catholic to make a free1 impartial and scientific investigation of the history of dogma4#ac ,there have1 indeed1 at almost all times before the ,reformation1 been critical efforts in the domain of ,christianity1 especially of western ,christianity1 efforts which in some cases have led to the proof of the novelty and inadmissibility of particular dogmas4 ,but1 as a rule1 these efforts were of the nature of a polemic against the dominant ,church4 ,they scarcely prepared the way for1 far less produced a historical view of1 dogmatic tradition4#ad ,the progress of the sciences#ae and the conflict with ,protestantism could here1 for the ,catholic ,church1 have no other effect than that of leading to the collecting1 with great learning1 of material for the history of dogma1 the establishing of the consensus patrum et doctorum1 the exhibition of the necessity of a continuous explication of dogma1 and the description of the history of heresies pressing in from without1 regarded now as unheard-of novelties1 and again as old enemies in new masks4 ,the modern ,jesuit-,catholic historian indeed exhibits1 in certain circumstances1 a manifest indifference to the task of establishing the semper idem in the faith of the ,church1 but this indifference is at present regarded with disfavour1 and1 besides1 is only an apparent one1 as the continuous though inscrutable guidance of the ,church by the infallible teaching of the ,pope is the more emphatically maintained4#af ,it may be maintained that the ,reformation opened the way for a critical treatment of the history of dogma4#ag ,but even in ,protestant ,churches1 at first1 historical investigations remained under the ban of the confessional system of doctrine and were used only for polemics4#ah ,church history itself up to the #ahth century was not regarded as a theological discipline in the strict sense of the word1 and the history of dogma existed only within the sphere of dogmatics as a collection of testimonies to the truth1 theologia patristica4 ,it was only after the material had been prepared in the course of the #afth and #agth centuries by scholars of the various ,church parties1 and1 above all1 by excellent editions of the ,fathers1#ai and after ,pietism had exhibited the difference between ,christianity and ,ecclesiasticism1 and had begun to treat the traditional confessional structure of doctrine with indifference1#bj that a critical investigation was entered on4 ,the man who was the ,erasmus of the #ahth century1 neither orthodox nor pietistic1 nor rationalistic1 but capable of appreciating all these tendencies1 familiar with ,english1 ,french and ,italian literature1 influenced by the spirit of the new ,english ,science1#ba while avoiding all statements of it that would endanger positive ,christianity4 ,john ,lorenz ,mosheim1 treated ,church history in the spirit of his great teacher ,leibnitz1#bb and by impartial analysis1 living reproduction1 and methodical artistic form raised it for the first time to the rank of a science4 ,in his monographic works also1 he endeavours to examine impartially the history of dogma1 and to acquire the historic stand-point between the estimate of the orthodox dogmatists and that of ,gottfried ,arnold ,mosheim1 averse to all fault-finding and polemic1 and abhorring theological crudity as much as pietistic narrowness and undevout ,illuminism1 aimed at an actual correct knowledge of history1 in accordance with the principle of ,leibnitz1 that the valuable elements which are everywhere to be found in history must be sought out and recognised4 ,and the richness and many-sidedness of his mind qualified him for gaining such a knowledge4 ,but his latitudinarian dogmatic stand-point as well as the anxiety to awaken no controversy or endanger the gradual naturalising of a new science and culture1 caused him to put aside the most important problems of the history of dogma and devote his attention to political ,church history as well as to the more indifferent historical questions4 ,the opposition of two periods which he endeavoured peacefully to reconcile could not in this way be permanently set aside4#bc ,in ,mosheim's sense1 but without the spirit of that great man1 ,c4,w4,f4 ,walch taught on the subject and described the religious controversies of the ,church with an effort to be impartial1 and has thus made generally accessible the abundant material collected by the diligence of earlier scholars4#bd ,walch1 moreover1 in the ,gedanken von der ,geschichte der ,glaubenslehre1 #agef1 gave the impulse that was needed to fix attention on the history of dogma as a special discipline4 ,the stand-point which he took up was still that of subjection to ecclesiastical dogma1 but without confessional narrowness4 ,ernesti in his programme of the year #agei4 ,de theologiae historicae et dogmaticae conjungendae necessitate1 gave eloquent expression to the idea that ,dogmatic is a positive science which has to take its material from history1 but that history itself requires a devoted and candid study1 on account of our being separated from the earlier epochs by a complicated tradition4#be ,he has also shewn in his celebrated ,antimuratorius that an impartial and critical investigation of the problems of the history of dogma1 might render the most effectual service to the polemic against the errors of ,romanism4 ,besides1 the greater part of the dogmas were already unintelligible to ,ernesti1 and yet during his lifetime the way was opened up for that tendency in theology1 which prepared in ,germany by ,chr4 ,thomasius1 supported by ,english writers1 drew the sure principles of faith and life from what is called reason1 and therefore was not only indifferent to the system of dogma1 but felt it more and more to be the tradition of unreason and of darkness4 ,of the three requisites of a historian1 knowledge of his subject1 candid criticism1 and a capacity for finding himself at home in foreign interests and ideas1 the ,rationalistic ,theologians who had outgrown ,pietism and passed through the school of the ,english ,deists and of ,wolf1 no longer possessed the first1 a knowledge of the subject1 to the same extent as some scholars of the earlier generation4 ,the second1 free criticism1 they possessed in the high degree guaranteed by the conviction of having a rational religion2 the third1 the power of comprehension1 only in a very limited measure4 ,they had lost the idea of positive religion1 and with it a living and just conception of the history of religion4 ,in the history of thought there is always need for an apparently disproportionate expenditure of power1 in order to produce an advance in the development4 ,and it would appear as if a certain self-satisfied narrow-mindedness within the progressing ideas of the present1 as well as a great measure of inability even to understand the past and recognise its own dependence on it1 must make its appearance1 in order that a whole generation may be freed from the burden of the past4 ,it needed the absolute certainty which ,rationalism had found in the religious philosophy of the age1 to give sufficient courage to subject to historical criticism the central dogmas on which the ,protestant system as well as the ,catholic finally rests1 the dogmas of the canon and inspiration on the one hand1 and of the ,trinity and ,christology on the other4 ,the work of ,lessing in this respect had no great results4 ,we to-day see in his theological writings the most important contribution to the understanding of the earliest history of dogma1 which that period supplies2 but we also understand why its results were then so trifling4 ,this was due1 not only to the fact that ,lessing was no theologian by profession1 or that his historical observations were couched in aphorisms1 but because like ,leibnitz and ,mosheim1 he had a capacity for appreciating the history of religion which forbade him to do violence to that history or to sit in judgment on it1 and because his philosophy in its bearings on the case allowed him to seek no more from his materials than an assured understanding of them1 in a word again1 because he was no theologian4 ,the ,rationalists1 on the other hand1 who within certain limits were no less his opponents than the orthodox1 derived the strength of their opposition to the systems of dogma1 as the ,apologists of the second century had already done with regard to polytheism1 from their religious belief and their inability to estimate these systems historically4 ,that1 however1 is only the first impression which one gets here from the history1 and it is everywhere modified by other impressions4 ,in the first place1 there is no mistaking a certain latitudinarianism in several prominent theologians of the rationalistic tendency4 ,moreover1 the attitude to the canon was still frequently1 in virtue of the ,protestant principle of scripture1 an uncertain one1 and it was here chiefly that the different types of rational supernaturalism were developed4 ,then1 with all subjection to the dogmas of ,natural religion1 the desire for a real true knowledge was unfettered and powerfully excited4 ,finally1 very significant attempts were made by some rationalistic theologians to explain in a real historical way the phenomena of the history of dogma1 and to put an authentic and historical view of that history in the place of barren pragmatic or philosophic categories4 ,the special zeal with which the older rationalism applied itself to the investigation of the canon1 either putting aside the history of dogma1 or treating it merely in the frame-work of ,church history1 has only been of advantage for the treatment of our subject4 ,it first began to be treated with thoroughness when the historical and critical interests had become more powerful than the rationalistic4 ,after the important labours of ,semler which here1 above all1 have wrought in the interests of freedom1#bf and after some monographs on the history of dogma1#bg ,s4,g4 ,lange for the first time treated the history of dogma as a special subject4#bh ,unfortunately1 his comprehensively planned and carefully written work1 which shews a real understanding of the early history of dogma1 remains incomplete4 ,consequently1 ,w4 ,muenscher1 in his learned manual1 which was soon followed by his compendium of the history of dogma1 was the first to produce a complete presentation of our subject4#bi ,muenscher's compendium is a counterpart to ,giesler's ,church history2 it shares with that the merit of drawing from the sources1 intelligent criticism and impartiality1 but with a thorough knowledge of details it fails to impart a real conception of the development of ecclesiastical dogma4 ,the division of the material into particular loci1 which1 in three sections1 is carried through the whole history of the ,church1 makes insight into the whole ,christian conception of the different epochs impossible1 and the prefixed ,general ,history of ,dogma1 is far too sketchily treated to make up for that defect4 ,finally1 the connection between the development of dogma and the general ideas of the time is not sufficiently attended to4 ,a series of manuals followed the work of ,muenscher1 but did not materially advance the study4#cj ,the compendium of ,baumgarten ,crusius1#ca and that of ,f4,k4 ,meier1#cb stand out prominently among them4 ,the work of the former is distinguished by its independent learning as well as by the discernment of the author that the centre of gravity of the subject lies in the so-called general history of dogma4#cc ,the work of ,meier goes still further1 and accurately perceives that the division into a general and special history of dogma must be altogether given up1 while it is also characterised by an accurate setting and proportional arrangement of the facts4#cd ,the great spiritual revolution at the beginning of our century1 which must in every respect be regarded as a reaction against the efforts of the rationalistic epoch1 changed also the conceptions of the ,christian religion and its history4 ,it appears therefore plainly in the treatment of the history of dogma4 ,the advancement and deepening of ,christian life1 the zealous study of the past1 the new philosophy which no longer thrust history aside1 but endeavoured to appreciate it in all its phenomena as the history of the spirit1 all these factors co-operated in begetting a new temper1 and accordingly1 a new estimate of religion proper and of its history4 ,there were three tendencies in theology that broke up rationalism2 that which was identified with the names of ,schleiermacher and ,neander1 that of the ,hegelians1 and that of the ,confessionalists4 ,the first two were soon divided into a right and a left1 in so far as they included conservative and critical interests from their very commencement4 ,the conservative elements have been used for building up the modern confessionalism1 which in its endeavours to go back to the ,reformers has never actually got beyond the theology of the ,formula of ,concord1 the stringency of which it has no doubt abolished by new theologoumena and concessions of all kinds4 ,all these tendencies have in common the effort to gain a real comprehension of history and be taught by it1 that is1 to allow the idea of development to obtain its proper place1 and to comprehend the power and sphere of the individual4 ,in this and in the deeper conception of the nature and significance of positive religion1 lay the advance beyond ,rationalism4 ,and yet the wish to understand history1 has in great measure checked the effort to obtain a true knowledge of it1 and the respect for history as the greatest of teachers1 has not resulted in that supreme regard for facts which distinguished the critical rationalism4 ,the speculative pragmatism1 which1 in the ,hegelian ,school1 was put against the lower pragmatism1 and was rigorously carried out with the view of exhibiting the unity of history1 not only neutralised the historical material1 in so far as its concrete definiteness was opposed1 as phenomenon1 to the essence of the matter1 but also curtailed it in a suspicious way1 as may be seen1 for example1 in the works of ,baur4 ,moreover1 the universal historical suggestions which the older history of dogma had given were not at all1 or only very little regarded4 ,the history of dogma was1 as it were1 shut out by the watchword of the immanent development of the spirit in ,christianity4 ,the disciples of ,hegel1 both of the right and of the left1 were1 and still are1 agreed in this watch-word1#ce the working out of which1 including an apology for the course of the history of dogma1 must be for the advancement of conservative theology4 ,but at the basis of the statement that the history of ,christianity is the history of the spirit1 there lay further a very one-sided conception of the nature of religion1 which confirmed the false idea that religion is theology4 ,it will always1 however1 be the imperishable merit of ,hegel's great disciple1 ,f4 ,chr4 ,baur1 in theology1 that he was the first who attempted to give a uniform general idea of the history of dogma1 and to live through the whole process in himself1 without renouncing the critical acquisitions of the #ahth century4#cf ,his brilliantly written manual of the history of dogma1 in which the history of this branch of theological science is relatively treated with the utmost detail1 is1 however1 in material very meagre1 and shews in the very first proposition of the historical presentation an abstract view of history4#cg ,neander1 whose ,christliche ,dogmengeschichte1 #aheg1 is distinguished by the variety of its points of view1 and keen apprehension of particular forms of doctrine1 shews a far more lively and therefore a far more just conception of the ,christian religion4 ,but the general plan of the work1 7,general history of dogma--loci1 and these according to the established scheme71 proves that ,neander has not succeeded in giving real expression to the historical character of the study1 and in attaining a clear insight into the progress of the development4#ch ,kliefoth's thoughtful and instructive1 ,einleitung in die ,dogmengeschichte1 #ahci1 contains the programme for the conception of the history of dogma characteristic of the modern confessional theology4 ,in this work the ,hegelian view of history1 not without being influenced by ,schleiermacher1 is so represented as to legitimise a return to the theology of the ,fathers4 ,in the successive great epochs of the ,church several circles of dogmas have been successively fixed1 so that the respective doctrines have each time been adequately formulated4#ci ,disturbances of the development are due to the influence of sin4 ,apart from this1 ,kliefoth's conception is in point of form equal to that of ,baur and ,strauss1 in so far as they also have considered the theology represented by themselves as the goal of the whole historical development4 ,the only distinction is that1 according to them1 the next following stage always cancels the preceding1 while according to ,kliefoth1 who1 moreover1 has no desire to give effect to mere traditionalism1 the new knowledge is added to the old4 ,the new edifice of true historical knowledge1 according to ,kliefoth1 is raised on the ruins of ,traditionalism1 ,scholasticism1 ,pietism1 ,rationalism and ,mysticism4 ,thomasius 7,das ,bekenntniss der evang-luth4 ,kirche in der ,consequenz seines ,princips1 #ahdh7 has1 after the example of ,sartorius1 attempted to justify by history the ,lutheran confessional system of doctrine from another side1 by representing it as the true mean between ,catholicism and the ,reformed ,spiritualism4 ,this conception has found much approbation in the circles of ,theologians related to ,thomasius1 as against the ,union ,theology4 ,but ,thomasius is entitled to the merit of having produced a ,manual of the history of dogma which represents in the most worthy manner1#dj the ,lutheran confessional view of the history of dogma4 ,the introduction1 as well as the selection and arrangement of his material1 shews that ,thomasius has learned much from ,baur4 ,the way in which he distinguishes between central and peripheral dogmas is1 accordingly1 not very appropriate1 especially for the earliest period4 ,the question as to the origin of dogma and theology is scarcely even touched by him4 ,but he has an impression that the central dogmas contain for every period the whole of ,christianity1 and that they must therefore be apprehended in this sense4#da ,the presentation is dominated throughout by the idea of the self-explication of dogma1 though a malformation has to be admitted for the middle ages2#db and therefore the formation of dogma is almost everywhere justified as the testimony of the ,church represented as completely hypostatised1 and the outlook on the history of the time is put into the background4 ,but narrow and insufficient as the complete view here is1 the excellences of the work in details are great1 in respect of exemplary clearness of presentation1 and the discriminating knowledge and keen comprehension of the author for religious problems4 ,the most important work done by ,thomasius is contained in his account of the history of ,christology4 ,in his outlines of the history of ,christian dogma 7,grundriss der ,christl4 ,dogmengesch4 #ahgj71 which unfortunately has not been carried beyond the first part 7,patristic period71 ,f4 ,nitzsch1 marks an advance in the history of our subject4 ,the advance lies1 on the one hand1 in the extensive use he makes of monographs on the history of dogma1 and on the other hand1 in the arrangement4 ,nitzsch has advanced a long way on the path that was first entered by ,f4,k4 ,meier1 and has arranged his material in a way that far excels all earlier attempts4 ,the general and special aspects of the history of dogma are here almost completely worked into one1#dc and in the main divisions1 ,grounding of the old ,catholic ,church doctrine1 and ,development of the old ,catholic ,church doctrine1 justice is at last done to the most important problem which the history of dogma presents1 though in my opinion the division is not made at the right place1 and the problem is not so clearly kept in view in the execution as the arrangement would lead one to expect4#dd ,nitzsch has freed himself from that speculative view of the history of dogma which reads ideas into it4 ,no doubt idea and motive on the one hand1 form and expression on the other1 must be distinguished for every period4 ,but the historian falls into vagueness as soon as he seeks and professes to find behind the demonstrable ideas and aims which have moved a period1 others of which1 as a matter of fact1 that period itself knew nothing at all4 ,besides1 the invariable result of that procedure is to concentrate the attention on the theological and philosophical points of dogma1 and either neglect or put a new construction on the most concrete and important1 the expression of the religious faith itself4 ,rationalism has been reproached with throwing out the child with the bath1 but this is really worse1 for here the child is thrown out while the bath is retained4 ,every advance in the future treatment of our subject will further depend on the effort to comprehend the history of dogma without reference to the momentary opinions of the present1 and also on keeping it in closest connection with the history of the ,church1 from which it can never be separated without damage4 ,we have something to learn on this point from rationalistic historians of dogma4#de ,but progress is finally dependent on a true perception of what the ,christian religion originally was1 for this perception alone enables us to distinguish that which sprang out of the inherent power of ,christianity from that which it has assimilated in the course of its history4 ,for the historian1 however1 who does not wish to serve a party1 there are two standards in accordance with which he may criticise the history of dogma4 ,he may either1 as far as this is possible1 compare it with the ,gospel1 or he may judge it according to the historical conditions of the time and the result4 ,both ways can exist side by side1 if only they are not mixed up with one another4 ,protestantism has in principle expressly recognised the first1 and it will also have the power to bear its conclusions2 for the saying of ,tertullian still holds good in it2 ,nihil veritas erubescit nisi solummodo abscondi4 ,the historian who follows this maxim1 and at the same time has no desire to be wiser than the facts1 will1 while furthering science1 perform the best service also to every ,christian community that desires to build itself upon the ,gospel4 ,after the appearance of the first and second editions of this ,work1 ,loofs published1 ,leitfaden fuer seine ,vorlesungen ueber ,dogmengeschichte1 ,halle1 #ahhi1 and in the following year1 ,leitfaden zum ,studium der ,dogmengeschichte1 zunaechst fuer seine ,vorlesungen1 7second and enlarged edition of the first-named book74 ,the work in its conception of dogma and its history comes pretty near that stated above1 and it is distinguished by independent investigation and excellent selection of material4 ,i myself have published a ,grundriss der ,dogmengeschichte1 #b ,edit1 in one vol4 #ahic4 7,outlines of the history of dogma1 ,english translation1 ,hodder and ,stoughton74 ,that this has not been written in vain1 ,i have the pleasure of seeing from not a few notices of professional colleagues4 ,i may mention the ,church history of ,herzog in the new revision by ,koffmane1 the first vol4 of the ,church history of ,karl ,mueller1 the first vol4 of the ,symbolik of ,kattenbusch1 and ,kaftan's work1 ,the truth of the ,christian religion4 ,wilhelm ,schmidt1 ,der alte ,glaube und die ,wahrheit des ,christenthums1 #ahia1 has attempted to furnish a refutation in principle of ,kaftan's work4 ,footnote #a3 ,weizsaecker1 ,goett4 ,gel4 ,anz4 #ahhf1 p4 #hbc f41 says1 ,it is a question whether we should limit the account of the genesis of ,dogma to the ,antenicene period and designate all else as a development of that4 ,this is undoubtedly correct so long as our view is limited to the history of dogma of the ,greek ,church in the second period1 and the development of it by the ,oecumenical ,synods4 ,on the other hand1 the ,latin ,church1 in its own way and in its own province1 becomes productive from the days of ,augustine onwards2 the formal signification of dogma in the narrower sense becomes different in the middle ages4 ,both are repeated in a much greater measure through the ,reformation4 ,we may therefore1 in opposition to that division into genesis and development1 regard the whole as a continuous process1 in which the contents as well as the formal authority of dogma are in process of continuous development4 ,this view is certainly just1 and ,i think is indicated by myself in what follows4 ,we have to decide here1 as so often elsewhere in our account1 between rival points of view4 ,the view favoured by me has the advantage of making the nature of dogma clearly appear as a product of the mode of thought of the early church1 and that is what it has remained1 in spite of all changes both in form and substance1 till the present day4 ,footnote #b3 ,see ,kattenbusch4 ,luther's ,stellung zu den oekumenischen ,symbolen1 #ahhc4 ,footnote #c3 ,see ,ritschl1 ,geschichte des ,pietismus4 ,i4 p4 #hj ff41 #ic ff4 ,,ii4 p4 #fj f43 #hh f4 ,the ,lutheran view of life did not remain pure and undefiled1 but was limited and obscured by the preponderance of dogmatic interests4 ,protestantism was not delivered from the womb of the western ,church of the middle ages in full power and equipment1 like ,athene from the head of ,jupiter4 ,the incompleteness of its ethical view1 the splitting up of its general conceptions into a series of particular dogmas1 the tendency to express its beliefs as a hard and fast whole2 are defects which soon made ,protestantism appear to disadvantage in comparison with the wealth of ,mediaeval theology and asceticism 444 ,the scholastic form of pure doctrine is really only the provisional1 and not the final form of ,protestantism4 ,footnote #d3 ,it is very evident how the mediaeval and old catholic dogmas were transformed in the view which ,luther originally took of them4 ,in this view we must remember that he did away with all the presuppositions of dogma1 the infallible ,apostolic ,canon of ,scripture1 the infallible teaching function of the ,church1 and the infallible ,apostolic doctrine and constitution4 ,on this basis dogmas can only be utterances which do not support faith1 but are supported by it4 ,but1 on the other hand1 his opposition to all the ,apocryphal saints which the ,church had created1 compelled him to emphasise faith alone1 and to give it a firm basis in scripture1 in order to free it from the burden of tradition4 ,here then1 very soon1 first by ,melanchthon1 a summary of articuli fidei was substituted for the faith1 and the scriptures recovered their place as a rule4 ,luther himself1 however1 is responsible for both1 and so it came about that very soon the new evangelic standpoint was explained almost exclusively by the abolition of abuses1 and by no means so surely by the transformation of the whole doctrinal tradition4 ,the classic authority for this is the ,augsburg confession 7haec fere summa est doctrina apud suos1 in qua cerni potest nihil inesse1 quod discrepet a scripturis vel ab ecclesia ,catholica vel ab ecclesia ,romana 444 sed dissensio est de quibusdam abusibus74 ,the purified catholic doctrine has since then become the palladium of the ,reformation ,churches4 ,the refuters of the ,augustana have justly been unwilling to admit the mere purifying1 but have noted in addition that the ,augustana does not say everything that was urged by ,luther and the ,doctors 7see ,ficker1 ,die ,konfutation des ,augsburgischen ,bekenntnisse1 #ahia74 ,at the same time1 however1 the ,lutheran ,church1 though not so strongly as the ,english1 retained the consciousness of being the true ,catholics4 ,but1 as the history of ,protestantism proves1 the original impulse has not remained inoperative4 ,though ,luther himself all his life measured his personal ,christian standing by an entirely different standard than subjection to a law of faith2 yet1 however presumptuous the words may sound1 we might say that in the complicated struggle that was forced on him1 he did not always clearly understand his own faith4 ,footnote #e3 ,in the modern ,romish ,church1 ,dogma is1 above all1 a judicial regulation which one has to submit to1 and in certain circumstances submission alone is sufficient1 fides implicita4 ,dogma is thereby just as much deprived of its original sense and its original authority as by the demand of the ,reformers1 that every thing should be based upon a clear understanding of the ,gospel4 ,moreover1 the changed position of the ,romish ,church towards dogma is also shewn by the fact that it no longer gives a plain answer to the question as to what dogma is4 ,instead of a series of dogmas definitely defined1 and of equal value1 there is presented an infinite multitude of whole and half dogmas1 doctrinal directions1 pious opinions1 probable theological propositions1 etc4 ,it is often a very difficult question whether a solemn decision has or has not already been taken on this or that statement1 or whether such a decision is still necessary4 ,everything that must be believed is nowhere stated1 and so one sometimes hears in ,catholic circles the exemplary piety of a cleric praised with the words that he believes more than is necessary4 ,the great dogmatic conflicts within the ,catholic ,church1 since the ,council of ,trent1 have been silenced by arbitrary ,papal pronouncements and doctrinal directions4 ,since one has simply to accommodate oneself to these as laws1 it once more appears clear that dogma has become a judicial regulation1 administered by the ,pope1 which is carried out in an administrative way and loses itself in an endless casuistry4 ,we do not mean by this to deny that dogma has a decided value for the pious ,catholic as a ,summary of the faith4 ,but in the ,catholic ,church it is no longer piety1 but obedience that is decisive4 ,the solidarity with the orthodox ,protestants may be explained by political reasons1 in order from political reasons again1 to condemn1 where it is necessary1 all ,protestants as heretics and revolutionaries4 ,footnote #f3 ,see the discussions of ,biedermann 7,christliche ,dogmatik4 #b ,ed4 p4 #aej f47 about what he calls the law of stability in the history of religion4 ,footnote #g3 ,see ,ritschl's discussion of the methods of the early histories of dogma in the ,jahrb4 f4 ,deutsche ,theologie4 #ahga1 p4 #aha ff4 ,footnote #h3 ,in ,catholicism1 the impulse which proceeded from ,augustine has finally proved powerless to break the traditional conception of ,christianity1 as the ,council of ,trent and the decrees of the ,vatican have shewn4 ,for that very reason the development of the ,roman ,catholic ,church doctrine belongs to the history of dogma4 ,protestantism must1 however1 under all circumstances be recognised as a new thing1 which indeed in none of its phases has been free from contradictions4 ,footnote #i3 ,here then begins the ecclesiastical theology which takes as its starting-point the finished dogma it strives to prove or harmonise1 but very soon1 as experience has shewn1 loses its firm footing in such efforts and so occasions new crises4 ,footnote #aj3 ,weizsaecker1 ,apostolic ,age1 ,vol4 ,i4 p4 #abc4 ,christianity as religion is absolutely inconceivable without theology2 first of all1 for the same reasons which called forth the ,pauline theology4 ,as a religion it cannot be separated from the religion of its founder1 hence not from historical knowledge4 ,and as ,monotheism and belief in a world purpose1 it is the religion of reason with the inextinguishable impulse of thought4 ,the first gentile ,christians therewith gained the proud consciousness of a gnosis4 ,but of ecclesiastical ,christianity which rests on dogma ready made1 as produced by an earlier epoch1 this conception holds good only in a very qualified way2 and of the vigorous ,christian piety of the earliest and of every period1 it may also be said that it no less feels the impulse to think against reason than with reason4 ,footnote #aa3 ,in this sense it is correct to class dogmatic theology as historical theology1 as ,schleiermacher has done4 ,if we maintain that for practical reasons it must be taken out of the province of historical theology1 then we must make it part of practical theology4 ,by dogmatic theology here1 we understand the exposition of ,christianity in the form of ,church doctrine1 as it has been shaped since the second century4 ,as distinguished from it1 a branch of theological study must be conceived which harmonises the historical exposition of the ,gospel with the general state of knowledge of the time4 ,the ,church can as little dispense with such a discipline as there can be a ,christianity which does not account to itself for its basis and spiritual contents4 ,footnote #ab3 ,see ,eusebius' preface to his ,church ,history4 ,eusebius in this work set himself a comprehensive task1 but in doing so he never in the remotest sense thought of a history of dogma4 ,in place of that we have a history of men who from generation to generation proclaimed the word of ,god orally or by writing1 and a history of those who by their passion for novelties1 plunged themselves into the greatest errors4 ,footnote #ac3 ,see for example1 ,b4 ,schwane1 ,dogmengesch4 d4 ,vornicaenischen ,zeit1 #ahfb1 where the sense in which dogmas have no historical side is first expounded1 and then it is shewn that dogmas1 notwithstanding1 present a certain side which permits a historical consideration1 because in point of fact they have gone through historical developments4 ,but these historical developments present themselves simply either as solemn promulgations and explications1 or as private theological speculations4 ,footnote #ad3 ,if we leave out of account the ,marcionite gnostic criticism of ecclesiastical ,christianity1 ,paul of ,samosata and ,marcellus of ,ancyra may be mentioned as men who1 in the earliest period1 criticised the apologetic ,alexandrian theology which was being naturalised 7see the remarkable statement of ,marcellus in ,euseb4 ,c4 ,marc4 ,i4#d3 ,greek3 to tou dogmatos onoma tes anthropines echetai boules te kai gnomes k4t4l4 which ,i have chosen as the motto of this book74 ,we know too little of ,stephen ,gobarus 7,,vi4 cent47 to enable us to estimate his review of the doctrine of the ,church and its development 7,photius ,bibl4 #bcb74 ,with regard to the middle ages 7,abelard ,sic et ,non71 see ,reuter1 ,gesch4 der relig4 ,aufklaerung im ,,ma41 #ahge4 ,hahn ,gesch1 der ,ketzer1 especially in the #aath1 #abth and #acth centuries1 #c vols41 #ahde4 ,keller1 ,die ,reformation und die alteren ,reform-,parteien1 #ahhe4 ,footnote #ae3 ,see ,voigt1 ,die ,wiederbelebung des classischen ,alterthums4 #b vols41 #ahha1 especially vol4 ,,ii p4 #a ff4 #cfc ff4 #did ff4 7,humanism and the science of history74 ,the direct importance of humanism for illuminating the history of the middle ages is very little1 and least of all for the history of the ,church and of dogma4 ,the only prominent works here are those of ,saurentius ,valla and ,erasmus4 ,the criticism of the scholastic dogmas of the ,church and the ,pope began as early as the #abth century4 ,for the attitude of the ,renaissance to religion1 see ,burckhardt1 ,die ,cultur der ,renaissance4 #b vols41 #ahgg4 ,footnote #af3 ,see ,holtzmann1 ,kanon und ,tradition1 #ahei1 ,hase1 ,handbuch der protest4 ,polemik1 #ahgh4 ,joh ,delitszch1 ,das ,lehrsystem der roem4 ,kirche1 #ahge4 ,new revelations1 however1 are rejected1 and bold assumptions leading that way are not favoured3 ,see ,schwane1 above work p4 #aa3 ,the content of revelation is not enlarged by the decisions or teaching of the ,church1 nor are new revelations added in course of time 444 ,christian truth cannot therefore in its content be completed by the ,church1 nor has she ever claimed the right of doing so1 but always where new designations or forms of dogma became necessary for the putting down of error or the instruction of the faithful1 she would always teach what she had received in ,holy scripture or in the oral tradition of the ,apostles4 ,recent ,catholic accounts of the history of dogma are ,klee1 ,lehrbuch der ,d4,g4 #b vols1 #ahcg1 7,speculative74 ,schwane1 ,dogmengesch4 der ,vornicaenischen ,zeit1 #ahfb1 der patrist ,zeit1 #ahfi2 der ,mittleren ,zeit1 #ahhb4 ,bach1 ,die ,d4,g4 des ,,ma4 #ahgc4 ,there is a wealth of material for the history of dogma in ,kuhn's ,dogmatik1 as well as in the great controversial writings occasioned by the celebrated work of ,bellarmin2 ,disputationes de controversiis ,christianae fidei adversus hujus temporis haereticos1 #aeha-aeic4 ,it need not be said that1 in spite of their inability to treat the history of dogma historically and critically1 much may be learned from these works1 and some other striking monographs of ,roman ,catholic scholars4 ,but everything in history that is fitted to shake the high antiquity and unanimous attestation of the ,catholic dogmas1 becomes here a problem1 the solution of which is demanded1 though indeed its carrying out often requires a very exceptional intellectual subtlety4 ,footnote #ag3 ,historical interest in ,protestantism has grown up around the questions as to the power of the ,pope1 the significance of ,councils1 or the ,scripturalness of the doctrines set up by them1 and about the meaning of the ,lord's supper1 of the conception of it by the ,church ,fathers2 7see ,oecolampadius and ,melanchthon47 ,protestants were too sure that the doctrine of justification was taught in the scriptures to feel any need of seeking proofs for it by studies in the history of dogma1 and ,luther also dispensed with the testimony of history for the dogma of the ,lord's supper4 ,the task of shewing how far and in what way ,luther and the ,reformers compounded with history has not even yet been taken up4 ,and yet there may be found in ,luther's writings surprising and excellent critical comments on the history of dogma and the theology of the ,fathers1 as well as genial conceptions which have certainly remained inoperative2 see especially the treatise ,von den ,conciliis und ,kirchen1 and his judgment on different ,church ,fathers4 ,in the first edition of the ,loci of ,melanchthon we have also critical material for estimating the old systems of dogma4 ,calvin's depreciatory estimate of the ,trinitarian and ,christological ,formula1 which1 however1 he retracted at a later period is well known4 ,footnote #ah3 ,protestant ,church history was brought into being by the ,interim1 ,flacius being its father1 see his ,catalogus ,testium ,veritatis1 and the so called ,magdeburg ,centuries #aeei-aegd1 also ,jundt ,les ,centuries de ,magdebourg ,paris1 #ahhc ,von ,engelhardt 7,christenthum ,justins1 p4 #i ff47 has drawn attention to the estimate of ,justin in the ,centuries1 and has justly insisted on the high importance of this first attempt at a criticism of the ,church ,fathers ,khefoth 7,eml4 in4 d4 ,d4,g4 #ahci7 has the merit of pointing out the somewhat striking judgment of ,a4 ,hyperius on the history of dogma ,chemnitz1 ,examen concilii ,tridentini1 #aefe ,forbesius a ,corse 7a ,scotsman7 ,instructiones historico-theologiae de doctrina ,christiana #afde4 ,footnote #ai3 ,the learning1 the diligence in collecting1 and the carefulness of the ,benedictines and ,maurians1 as well as of ,english ,dutch and ,french theologians1 such as ,casaubon1 ,vossius1 ,pearson1 ,dallaus ,spanheim1 ,grabe1 ,basnage1 etc4 have never since been equalled1 far less surpassed4 ,even in the literary historical and higher criticism these scholars have done splendid work1 so far as the confessional dogmas did not come into question ,footnote #bj3 ,see especially1 ,g4 ,arnold1 ,unpartheyische ,kirchen- und ,ketzerhistorie1 #afii1 also ,baur1 ,epochen der kirchlichen ,geschichtsschreibung p4 #hd ff41 ,floring ,g4 ,arnold als ,kirchenhistoriker ,darmstadt1 #ahhc4 ,the latter determines correctly the measure of ,arnold's importance4 ,his work was the direct preparation for an impartial examination of the history of dogma however partial it was in itself ,pietism1 here and there1 after ,spener1 declared war against scholastic dogmatics as a hindrance to piety1 and in doing so broke the ban under which the knowledge of history lay captive4 ,footnote #ba3 ,the investigations of the so-called ,english ,deists about the ,christian religion contain the first1 and to some extent a very significant free-spirited attempt at a critical view of the history of dogma 7see ,lechler1 ,history of ,english ,deism1 #ahda74 ,but the criticism is an abstract rarely a historical one4 ,some very learned works bearing on the history of dogma were written in ,england against the position of the ,deists especially by ,lardner2 see also at an earlier time ,bull1 ,defensio fidei nic4 ,footnote #bb3 ,calixtus of ,helmstadt was the forerunner of ,leibnitz with regard to ,church history4 ,but the merit of having recognised the main problem of the history of dogma does not belong to ,calixtus4 ,by pointing out what ,protestantism and ,catholicism had in common he did not in any way clear up the historico-critical problem4 ,on the other hand1 the ,consensus repetitus of the ,wittenberg theologians shews what fundamental questions ,calixtus had already stirred4 ,footnote #bc3 ,among the numerous historical writings of ,mosheim may be mentioned specially his ,dissert ad hist ,eccles pertinentes #b vols4 #agca-agda1 as well as the work ,de rebus ,christianorum ante ,constantinum ,m ,commentarii1 #agec2 see also ,institutiones hist ,eccl last ,edition1 #agee4 ,footnote #bd3 ,walch1 ,entwurf einer vollstaendigen ,historie der ,ketzereien1 ,spaltungen und ,religionsstreitigkeiten bis auf die ,zeiten der ,reformation4 #aa ,thle 7incomplete71 #agfb-aghe4 ,see also his ,entwurf einer vollstaendigen ,historie der ,kirchenversammlungen #agei1 as well as numerous monographs on the history of dogma4 ,such were already produced by the older ,walch1 whose ,histor4 theol ,einleitung in die ,religionsstreitigkeiten der ,ev4 ,luth4 ,kirche1 #e vols4 #agcj-agci1 and ,histor4-theol4 ,einleit4 in die ,religionsstreitigkeiten welche sonderlich ausser der ,ev ,luth4 ,kirche entstanden sind #e ,thle1 #agcc-agcf1 had already put polemics behind the knowledge of history 7see ,gass4 ,gesch4 der protest4 ,dogmatik1 #crd ,vol4 p4 #bje ff74 ,footnote #be3 ,opusc4 p4 #egf f43 ,ex quo fit1 ut nullo modo in theologicis1 quae omnia e libris antiquis hebraicis1 grascis1 latinis ducuntur1 possit aliquis bene in definiendo versari et a peccatis multis et magnis sibi cavere1 nisi litteras et historiam assumat4 ,the title of a programme of ,crusius1 ,ernesti's opponent1 ,de dogmatum ,christianorum historia cum probatione dogmatum non confundenda1 #aggj1 is significant of the new insight which was steadily making way4 ,footnote #bf3 ,semler1 ,einleitung zu ,baumgartens evang4 ,glaubenslehre1 #agei3 also ,geschichte der ,glaubenslehre1 zu ,baumgartens ,untersuch4 theol4 ,streitigkeiten1 #agfb-agfd4 ,semler paved the way for the view that dogmas have arisen and been gradually developed under definite historical conditions4 ,he was the first to grasp the problem of the relation of ,catholicism to early ,christianity1 because he freed the early ,christian documents from the fetters of the ,canon4 ,schroeckh 7,christl4 ,kirchengesch41 #aghf17 in the spirit of ,semler described with impartiality and care the changes of the dogmas4 ,footnote #bg3 ,roessler1 ,lehrbegriff der ,christlichen ,kirche in den #c ersten ,jahrh4 #agge2 also1 ,arbeiten by ,burscher1 ,heinrich1 ,staeudlin1 etc41 see especially1 ,loeffler's ,abhandlung welche eine kurze ,darstellung der ,entstehungsart der ,dreieinigkeit enthaelt1 #agib1 in the translation of ,souverain's ,le ,platonisme devoile1 #agjj4 ,the question as to the ,platonism of the ,fathers1 this fundamental question of the history of dogma1 was raised even by ,luther and ,flacius1 and was very vigorously debated at the end of the #agth and beginning of the #ahth centuries1 after the ,socinians had already affirmed it strongly4 ,the question once more emerges on ,german soil in the church history of ,g4 ,arnold1 but cannot be said to have received the attention it deserves in the #aej years that have followed 7see the literature of the controversy in ,tzschirner1 ,fall des ,heidenthums1 p4 #ehj f474 ,yet the problem was first thrust aside by the speculative view of the history of ,christianity4 ,footnote #bh3 ,lange4 ,ausfuehr4 ,gesch4 der ,dogmen1 oder der ,glaubenslehre der ,christl4 ,kirche nach den ,kirchenvaeter ausgearbeitet4 #agif4 ,footnote #bi3 ,muenscher1 ,handb4 d4 ,christl4 ,d4,g4 #d vols4 first #f ,centuries #agig-ahji2 ,lehrbuch1 #ast ,edit4 #ahaa2 #crd4 ,edit4 edited by v ,coelln1 ,hupfeld and ,neudecker1 #ahcb-ahch4 ,planck's epoch-making work3 ,gesch4 der ,veraenderungen und der ,bildung unseres protestantischen ,lehrbegriffs4 #f vols4 #agia-ahjj1 had already for the most part appeared4 ,contemporary with ,muenscher are ,wundemann1 ,gesch4 d4 ,christl4 ,glaubenslehren vom ,zeitalter des ,athanasius bis auf ,gregor4 d4 ,gr4 #b ,thle4 #aghi-agii2 ,muenter1 ,handbuch der alteren ,christl4 ,d4,g4 hrsg4 von ,ewers1 #b vols4 #ahjb-ahjd2 ,staeudlin1 ,lehrbuch der ,dogmatik und ,dogmengeschichte1 #ahjj1 last ,edition #ahbb1 and ,beck1 ,comment1 hist4 decretorum religionis ,christianae1 #ahja4 ,footnote #cj3 ,augusti1 ,lehrb4 d4 ,christl4 ,d4,g4 #ahje4 #d ,edit4 #ahce4 ,berthold1 ,handb4 der ,d4,g4 #b vols4 #ahbb-ahbc4 ,schickedanz1 ,versuch einer ,gesch4 d4 ,christl4 ,glaubenslehre etc4 #ahbg4 ,ruperti1 ,geschichte der ,dogmen1 #ahca4 ,lenz1 ,gesch4 der ,christl4 ,dogmen4 #b parts4 #ahcd-ahce4 ,j4,g4,v4 ,engelhardt1 ,dogmengesch4 #ahci4 ,see also ,giesler1 ,dogmengesch4 #b vols4 edited by ,redepenning1 #ahee3 also ,illgen1 ,ueber den ,werth der ,christl4 ,d4,g4 #ahag4 ,footnote #ca3 ,baumgarten ,crusius1 ,lehrb4 d4 ,christl4 ,d4,g4 #aheb3 also compendium d4 ,christl4 ,d4,g4 #b parts #ahcj-ahdf1 the second part edited by ,hase4 ,footnote #cb3 ,meier1 ,lehrb4 d4 ,d4,g4 #ahdj4 #bnd ,edit4 revised by ,g4 ,baur #ahed4 ,footnote #cc3 ,the ,special ,history of ,dogma in ,baumgarten ,crusius1 in which every particular dogma is by itself pursued through the whole history of the ,church1 is of course entirely unfruitful4 ,but even the opinions which are given in the ,general ,history of ,dogma1 are frequently very far from the mark1 7,cf41 e4g41 ,sec4 #ad and p4 #fg71 which is the more surprising as no one can deny that he takes a scholarly view of history4 ,footnote #cd3 ,meier's ,lehrbuch is formally and materially a very important piece of work1 the value of which has not been sufficiently recognised1 because the author followed neither the track of ,neander nor of ,baur4 ,besides the excellences noted in the text1 may be further mentioned1 that almost everywhere ,meier has distinguished correctly between the history of dogma and the history of theology1 and has given an account only of the former4 ,footnote #ce3 ,biedermann 7,christl ,dogmatik #b ,edit #a vol4 p4 #ccb f7 says1 ,the history of the development of the ,dogma of the ,person of ,christ will bring before us step by step the ascent of faith in the ,gospel of ,jesus ,christ to its metaphysical basis in the nature of his person4 ,this was the quite normal and necessary way of actual faith and is not to be reckoned as a confused mixture of heterogeneous philosophical opinions4 ,the only thing taken from the ideas of contemporary philosophy was the special material of consciousness in which the doctrine of ,christ's ,divinity was at any time expressed4 ,the process of this doctrinal development was an inward necessary one4 ,footnote #cf3 ,baur1 ,lehrbuch der ,christl ,d4,g4 #ahdg #crd ,edit4 #ahfg1 also ,vorles uber die ,christl ,d4,g4 edited by ,f4 ,baur #ahfe-fh4 ,further the ,monographs1 ,ueber die ,christl ,lehre v4d4 ,versohnung in ihrergesch ,entw4 #ahch4 ,ueber die ,christl ,lehre v4d4 ,dreieinigkeit u4d4 ,menschwerdung1 #ahda1 etc4 ,d4,f4 ,strauss preceded him with his work ,die ,christl ,glaubenslehre in ihrer gesch ,entw #b vols #ahdj-da4 ,from the stand-point of the ,hegelian right we have ,marheineke ,christl ,d4,g4 edited by ,matthias and ,vatke #ahdi4 ,from the same stand-point though at the same time influenced by ,schleiermacher ,dorner wrote ,the ,history of the ,person of ,christ4 ,footnote #cg3 ,see p4 #fc3 ,as ,christianity appeared in contrast with ,judaism and ,heathenism1 and could only represent a new and peculiar form of the religious consciousness in distinction from both reducing the contrasts of both to a unity in itself1 so also the first difference of tendencies developing themselves within ,christianity1 must be determined by the relation in which it stood to ,judaism on the one hand1 and to ,heathenism on the other4 ,compare also the very characteristic introduction to the first volume of the ,vorlesungen4 ,footnote #ch3 ,hagenbach's ,manual of the history of dogma might be put alongside of ,neander's work4 ,it agrees with it both in plan and spirit4 ,but the material of the history of dogma which it offers in superabundance1 seems far less connectedly worked out than by ,neander4 ,in ,shedd's history of ,christian doctrine the ,americans possess a presentation of the history of dogma worth noting #b vols #c ,edit #ahhc4 ,the work of ,fr4 ,bonifas ,hist des ,dogmes #b vols #ahhf appeared after the death of the author and is not important4 ,footnote #ci3 ,no doubt ,kliefoth also maintains for each period a stage of the disintegration of dogma but this is not to be understood in the ordinary sense of the word4 ,besides there are ideas in this introduction which hardly obtain the approval of their author to-day4 ,footnote #dj3 ,thomasius' ,die ,christl4 ,dogmengesch4 als ,entwickel4 ,gesch4 des ,kirchl4 ,lehrbegriffs4 #b vols4 #ahgd-gf4 #bnd ,edit intelligently and carefully edited by ,bonwetsch4 and ,seeberg1 #ahhg4 7,seeberg has produced almost a new work in vol4 ,,ii74 ,from the same stand-point is the manual of the history of dogma by ,h4 ,schmid1 #ahei1 7in #dth ,ed4 revised and transformed into an excellent collection of passages from the sources by ,hauck1 #ahhg71 as well as the ,luther4 ,dogmatik 7,vol4 ,,ii #ahfd3 ,der ,kirchenglaube7 of ,kahnis1 which1 however1 subjects particular dogmas to a freer criticism4 ,footnote #da3 ,see ,vol4 #a4 p4 #ad4 ,footnote #db3 ,see ,vol4 #a4 p4 #aa4 ,the first period treats of the development of the great main dogmas which were to become the basis of the further development 7the ,patristic age74 ,the problem of the second period was1 partly to work up this material theologically1 and partly to develop it4 ,but this development1 under the influence of the ,hierarchy1 fell into false paths1 and became partly1 at least1 corrupt 7the age of ,scholasticism71 and therefore a reformation was necessary4 ,it was reserved for this third period to carry back the doctrinal formation which had become abnormal1 to the old sound paths1 and on the other hand1 in virtue of the regeneration of the ,church which followed1 to deepen it and fashion it according to that form which it got in the doctrinal systems of the ,evangelic ,church1 while the remaining part fixed its own doctrine in the decrees of ,trent 7period of the ,reformation74 ,this view of history1 which1 from the ,christian stand-point1 will allow absolutely nothing to be said against the doctrinal formation of the early ,church1 is a retrogression from the view of ,luther and the writers of the ,centuries1 for these were well aware that the corruption did not first begin in the middle ages4 ,footnote #dc3 ,this fulfils a requirement urged by ,weizsaecker 7,jahrb4 f4 ,deutsche ,theol #ahff p4 #agj ff47 ,footnote #dd3 ,see ,ritschl's ,essay1 ,ueber die ,methode der aelteren ,dogmengeschichte 7,jahrb4 f4 deutsche ,theol4 #ahga p4 #aia ff47 in which the advance made by ,nitzsch is estimated1 and at the same time1 an arrangement proposed for the treatment of the earlier history of dogma which would group the material more clearly and more suitably than has been done by ,nitzsch4 ,after having laid the foundation for a correct historical estimate of the development of early ,christianity in his work ,entstehung der ,alt-,katholischen ,kirche1 #aheg1 ,ritschl published an epoch-making study in the history of dogma in his ,history of the doctrine of justification and reconciliation #b edit4 #ahhc4 ,we have no superabundance of good monographs on the history of dogma4 ,there are few that give such exact information regarding the ,patristic period as that of ,von ,engelhardt ,ueber das ,christenthum ,justin's1 #ahgh1 and ,zahn's work on ,marcellus1 #ahfg4 ,among the investigators of our age1 ,renan above all has clearly recognised that there are only two main periods in the history of dogma1 and that the changes which ,christianity experienced after the establishment of the ,catholic ,church bear no proportion to the changes which preceded4 ,his words are as follows 7,hist4 des origin4 du ,christianisme ,t4 ,,vii4 p4 #ejc f473--the division about the year #ahj is certainly placed too early1 regard being had to what was then really authoritative in the ,church4--,si nous comparons maintenant le ,christianisme1 tel qu'il existait vers l'an #ahj1 au ,christianisme du ,i,ve et du ,ve1 siecle1 au ,christianisme du moyen age1 au ,christianisme de nos jours1 nous trouvons qu'en realite il s'est augmente des tres peu de chose dans les siecles qui ont suivis4 ,en #ahj1 le ,nouveau ,testament est clos3 il ne s'y ajoutera plus un seul livre nouveau7874 ,lentement1 les ,epitres de ,paul out conquis leur place a la suite des ,evangiles1 dans le code sacre et dans la liturgie4 ,quant aux dogmes1 rien n'est fixe2 mais le germe de tout existe2 presque aucune idee n'apparaitra qui ne puisse faire valoir des autorites du #a;er et du #b;e siecles4 ,il y a du trop1 il y a des contradictions2 le travail theologique consistera bien plus a emonder1 a ecarter des superfluites qu'a inventer du nouveau4 ,l',eglise laissera tomber une foule de choses mal commencees1 elle sortira de bien des impasses4 ,elle a encore deux coeurs1 pour ainsi dire2 elle a plusieurs tetes2 ces anomalies tomberont2 mais aucun dogme vraiment original ne se formera plus4 ,also the discussions in chapters #bh-cd1 of the same volume4 ,h4 ,thiersch 7,die ,kirche im ,apostolischen ,zeitalter1 #aheb7 reveals a deep insight into the difference between the spirit of the ,new ,testament writers and the post-,apostolic ,fathers1 but he has overdone these differences and sought to explain them by the mythological assumption of an ,apostasy4 ,a great amount of material for the history of dogma may be found in the great work of ,boehringer1 ,die ,kirche ,christi und ihre ,zeugen1 oder die ,kirchengeschichte in ,biographien4 #b ,edit4 #ahfd4 ,footnote #de3 ,by the connection with general church history we must1 above all1 understand1 a continuous regard to the world within which the church has been developed4 ,the most recent works on the history of the church and of dogma1 those of ,renan1 ,overbeck 7,anfaenge der patristischen ,litteratur71 ,aube1 ,von ,engelhardt 7,justin71 ,kuehn 7,minucius ,felix74 ,hatch 7,organization of the early church1 and especially his posthumous work ,the influence of ,greek ideas and usages upon the ,christian ,church1 #ahij1 in which may be found the most ample proof for the conception of the early history of dogma which is set forth in the following pages71 are in this respect worthy of special note4 ,deserving of mention also is ,r4 ,rothe1 who1 in his ,vorlesungen ueber ,kirchengeschichte1 edited by ,weingarten1 #ahge1 #b vols1 gave most significant suggestions towards a really historical conception of the history of the church and of dogma4 ,to ,rothe belongs the undiminished merit of realising thoroughly the significance of nationality in church history4 ,but the theology of our century is also indebted for the first scientific conception of ,catholicism1 not to ,marheineke or ,winer1 but to ,rothe4 7,see ,vol ,,ii4 pp4 #a-aa especially p4 #g f474 ,the development of the ,christian ,church in the ,graeco-,roman world was not at the same time a development of that world by the ,church and further by ,christianity4 ,there remained1 as the result of the process1 nothing but the completed ,church4 ,the world which had built it had made itself bankrupt in doing so4 ,with regard to the origin and development of the ,catholic cultus and constitution1 nay1 even of the ,ethic 7see ,luthardt1 ,die antike ,ethik1 #ahhg1 preface71 that has been recognised by ,protestant scholars1 which one always hesitates to recognise with regard to catholic dogma3 see the excellent remarks of ,schwegler1 ,nachapostolisches ,zeitalter4 ,vol4 #a4 p4 #c ff4 ,it may be hoped that an intelligent consideration of early ,christian literature will form the bridge to a broad and intelligent view of the history of dogma4 ,the essay of ,overbeck mentioned above 7,histor4 ,zeitschrift4 ,n4 ,f4 ,,xii p4 #dag ff47 may be most heartily recommended in this respect4 ,it is very gratifying to find an investigator so conservative as ,sohm1 now fully admitting that ,christian theology grew up in the second and third centuries1 when its foundations were laid for all time 7871 the last great production of the ,hellenic ,spirit4 7,kirchengeschichte im ,grundriss1 #ahhh4 p4 #cg74 ,the same scholar in his very important ,kirchenrecht4 ,bd4 ,i4 #ahib1 has transferred to the history of the origin of ,church law and ,church organization1 the points of view which ,i have applied in the following account to the consideration of dogma4 ,he has thereby succeeded in correcting many old errors and prejudices2 but in my opinion he has obscured the truth by exaggerations connected with a conception1 not only of original ,christianity1 but also of the ,gospel in general1 which is partly a narrow legal view1 partly an enthusiastic one4 ,he has arrived ex errore per veritatem ad errorem2 but there are few books from which so much may be learned about early church history as from this paradoxical ,kirchenrecht4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,presuppositions ,,of ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,dogma ,sec4 #a4 ,introductory4 ,the ,gospel presents itself as an ,apocalyptic message on the soil of the ,old ,testament1 and as the fulfilment of the law and the prophets1 and yet is a new thing1 the creation of a universal religion on the basis of that of the ,old ,testament4 ,it appeared when the time was fulfilled1 that is1 it is not without a connection with the stage of religious and spiritual development which was brought about by the intercourse of ,jews and ,greeks1 and was established in the ,roman ,empire2 but still it is a new religion because it cannot be separated from ,jesus ,christ4 ,when the traditional religion has become too narrow the new religion usually appears as something of a very abstract nature2 philosophy comes upon the scene1 and religion withdraws from social life and becomes a private matter4 ,but here an overpowering personality has appeared--the ,son of ,god4 ,word and deed coincide in that personality1 and as it leads men into a new communion with ,god1 it unites them at the same time inseparably with itself1 enables them to act on the world as light and leaven1 and joins them together in a spiritual unity and an active confederacy4 #b4 ,jesus ,christ brought no new doctrine1 but he set forth in his own person a holy life with ,god and before ,god1 and gave himself in virtue of this life to the service of his brethren in order to win them for the ,kingdom of ,god1 that is1 to lead them out of selfishness and the world to ,god1 out of the natural connections and contrasts to a union in love1 and prepare them for an eternal kingdom and an eternal life4 ,but while working for this ,kingdom of ,god he did not withdraw from the religious and political communion of his people1 nor did he induce his disciples to leave that communion4 ,on the contrary1 he described the ,kingdom of ,god as the fulfilment of the promises given to the nation1 and himself as the ,messiah whom that nation expected4 ,by doing so he secured for his new message1 and with it his own person1 a place in the system of religious ideas and hopes1 which by means of the ,old ,testament were then1 in diverse forms1 current in the ,jewish nation4 ,the origin of a doctrine concerning the ,messianic hope1 in which the ,messiah was no longer an unknown being1 but ,jesus of ,nazareth1 along with the new temper and disposition of believers was a direct result of the impression made by the person of ,jesus4 ,the conception of the ,old ,testament in accordance with the analogia fidei1 that is1 in accordance with the conviction that this ,jesus of ,nazareth is the ,christ1 was therewith given4 ,whatever sources of comfort and strength ,christianity1 even in its ,new ,testament1 has possessed or does possess up to the present1 is for the most part taken from the ,old ,testament1 viewed from a ,christian stand-point1 in virtue of the impression of the person of ,jesus4 ,even its dross was changed into gold2 its hidden treasures were brought forth1 and while the earthly and transitory were recognised as symbols of the heavenly and eternal1 there rose up a world of blessings1 of holy ordinances1 and of sure grace prepared by ,god from eternity4 ,one could joyfully make oneself at home in it2 for its long history guaranteed a sure future and a blessed close1 while it offered comfort and certainty in all the changes of life to every individual heart that would only raise itself to ,god4 ,from the positive position which ,jesus took up towards the ,old ,testament1 that is1 towards the religious traditions of his people1 his ,gospel gained a footing which1 later on1 preserved it from dissolving in the glow of enthusiasm1 or melting away in the ensnaring dream of antiquity1 that dream of the indestructible ,divine nature of the human spirit1 and the nothingness and baseness of all material things4#df ,but from the positive attitude of ,jesus to the ,jewish tradition1 there followed also1 for a generation that had long been accustomed to grope after the ,divine active in the world1 the summons to think out a theory of the media of revelation1 and so put an end to the uncertainty with which speculation had hitherto been afflicted4 ,this1 like every theory of religion1 concealed in itself the danger of crippling the power of faith2 for men are ever prone to compound with religion itself by a religious theory4 #c4 ,the result of the preaching of ,jesus1 however1 in the case of the believing ,jews1 was not only the illumination of the ,old ,testament by the ,gospel and the confirmation of the ,gospel by the ,old ,testament1 but not less1 though indirectly1 the detachment of believers from the religious community of the ,jews from the ,jewish ,church4 ,how this came about cannot be discussed here3 we may satisfy ourselves with the fact that it was essentially accomplished in the first two generations of believers4 ,the ,gospel was a message for humanity even where there was no break with ,judaism3 but it seemed impossible to bring this message home to men who were not ,jews in any other way than by leaving the ,jewish ,church4 ,but to leave that ,church was to declare it to be worthless1 and that could only be done by conceiving it as a malformation from its very commencement1 or assuming that it had temporarily or completely fulfilled its mission4 ,in either case it was necessary to put another in its place1 for1 according to the ,old ,testament1 it was unquestionable that ,god had not only given revelations1 but through these revelations had founded a nation1 a religious community4 ,the result1 also1 to which the conduct of the unbelieving ,jews and the social union of the disciples of ,jesus required by that conduct1 led1 was carried home with irresistible power3 believers in ,christ are the community of ,god1 they are the true ,israel1 the ,greek3 ekklesia tou theou3 but the ,jewish ,church persisting in its unbelief is the ,synagogue of ,satan4 ,out of this consciousness sprang--first as a power in which one believed1 but which immediately began to be operative1 though not as a commonwealth--the christian church1 a special communion of hearts on the basis of a personal union with ,god1 established by ,christ and mediated by the ,spirit2 a communion whose essential mark was to claim as its own the ,old ,testament and the idea of being the people of ,god1 to sweep aside the ,jewish conception of the ,old ,testament and the ,jewish ,church1 and thereby gain the shape and power of a community that is capable of a mission for the world4 #d4 ,this independent ,christian community could not have been formed had not ,judaism1 in consequence of inner and outer developments1 then reached a point at which it must either altogether cease to grow or burst its shell4 ,this community is the presupposition of the history of dogma1 and the position which it took up towards the ,jewish tradition is1 strictly speaking1 the point of departure for all further developments1 so far as with the removal of all national and ceremonial peculiarities it proclaimed itself to be what the ,jewish ,church wished to be4 ,we find the ,christian ,church about the middle of the third century1 after severe crisis1 in nearly the same position to the ,old ,testament and to ,judaism as it was #aej or #bjj years earlier4#dg ,it makes the same claim to the ,old ,testament1 and builds its faith and hope upon its teaching4 ,it is also1 as before1 strictly anti-national2 above all1 anti-judaic1 and sentences the ,jewish religious community to the abyss of hell4 ,it might appear1 then1 as though the basis for the further development of ,christianity as a church was completely given from the moment in which the first breach of believers with the synagogue and the formation of independent ,christian communities took place4 ,the problem1 the solution of which will always exercise this church1 so far as it reflects upon its faith1 will be to turn the ,old ,testament more completely to account in its own sense1 so as to condemn the ,jewish ,church with its particular and national forms4 #e4 ,but the rule even for the ,christian use of the ,old ,testament lay originally in the living connection in which one stood with the ,jewish people and its traditions1 and a new religious community1 a religious commonwealth1 was not yet realised1 although it existed for faith and thought4 ,if again we compare the ,church about the middle of the third century with the condition of ,christendom #aej or #bjj years before1 we shall find that there is now a real religious commonwealth1 while at the earlier period there were only communities who believed in a heavenly ,church1 whose earthly image they were1 endeavoured to give it expression with the simplest means1 and lived in the future as strangers and pilgrims on the earth1 hastening to meet the ,kingdom of whose existence they had the surest guarantee4 ,we now really find a new commonwealth1 politically formed and equipped with fixed forms of all kinds4 ,we recognise in these forms few ,jewish1 but many ,graeco-,roman features1 and finally1 we perceive also in the doctrine of faith on which this commonwealth is based1 the philosophic spirit of the ,greeks4 ,we find a ,church as a political union and worship institute1 a formulated faith and a sacred learning2 but one thing we no longer find1 the old enthusiasm and individualism which had not felt itself fettered by subjection to the authority of the ,old ,testament4 ,instead of enthusiastic independent ,christians1 we find a new literature of revelation1 the ,new ,testament1 and ,christian priests4 ,when did these formations begin8 ,how and by what influence was the living faith transformed into the creed to be believed1 the surrender to ,christ into a philosophic ,christology1 the ,holy ,church into the corpus permixtum1 the glowing hope of the ,kingdom of heaven into a doctrine of immortality and deification1 prophecy into a learned exegesis and theological science1 the bearers of the spirit into clerics1 the brethren into laity held in tutelage1 miracles and healings into nothing1 or into priestcraft1 the fervent prayers into a solemn ritual1 renunciation of the world into a jealous dominion over the world1 the spirit into constraint and law8 ,there can be no doubt about the answer3 these formations are as old in their origin as the detachment of the ,gospel from the ,jewish ,church4 ,a religious faith which seeks to establish a communion of its own in opposition to another1 is compelled to borrow from that other what it needs4 ,the religion which is life and feeling of the heart cannot be converted into a knowledge determining the motley multitude of men without deferring to their wishes and opinions4 ,even the holiest must clothe itself in the same existing earthly forms as the profane if it wishes to found on earth a confederacy which is to take the place of another1 and if it does not wish to enslave1 but to determine the reason4 ,when the ,gospel was rejected by the ,jewish nation1 and had disengaged itself from all connection with that nation1 it was already settled whence it must take the material to form for itself a new body and be transformed into a ,church and a theology4 ,national and particular1 in the ordinary sense of the word1 these forms could not be3 the contents of the ,gospel were too rich for that2 but separated from ,judaism1 nay1 even before that separation1 the ,christian religion came in contact with the ,roman world and with a culture which had already mastered the world1 viz41 the ,greek4 ,the ,christian ,church and its doctrine were developed within the ,roman world and ,greek culture in opposition to the ,jewish ,church4 ,this fact is just as important for the history of dogma as the other stated above1 that this ,church was continuously nourished on the ,old ,testament4 ,christendom was of course conscious of being in opposition to the empire and its culture1 as well as to ,judaism2 but this from the beginning--apart from a few exceptions--was not without reservations4 ,no man can serve two masters2 but in setting up a spiritual power in this world one must serve an earthly master1 even when he desires to naturalise the spiritual in the world4 ,as a consequence of the complete break with the ,jewish ,church there followed not only the strict necessity of quarrying the stones for the building of the ,church from the ,graeco-,roman world1 but also the idea that ,christianity has a more positive relation to that world than to the synagogue4 ,and1 as the ,church was being built1 the original enthusiasm must needs vanish4 ,the separation from ,judaism having taken place1 it was necessary that the spirit of another people should be admitted1 and should also materially determine the manner of turning the ,old ,testament to advantage4 #f4 ,but an inner necessity was at work here no less than an outer4 ,judaism and ,hellenism in the age of ,christ were opposed to each other1 not only as dissimilar powers of equal value1 but the latter having its origin among a small people1 became a universal spiritual power1 which1 severed from its original nationality1 had for that very reason penetrated foreign nations4 ,it had even laid hold of ,judaism1 and the anxious care of her professional watchmen to hedge round the national possession1 is but a proof of the advancing decomposition within the ,jewish nation4 ,israel1 no doubt1 had a sacred treasure which was of greater value than all the treasures of the ,greeks1--the living ,god--but in what miserable vessels was this treasure preserved1 and how much inferior was all else possessed by this nation in comparison with the riches1 the power1 the delicacy and freedom of the ,greek spirit and its intellectual possessions4 ,a movement like that of ,christianity1 which discovered to the ,jew the soul whose dignity was not dependent on its descent from ,abraham1 but on its responsibility to ,god1 could not continue in the framework of ,judaism however expanded1 but must soon recognise in that world which the ,greek spirit had discovered and prepared1 the field which belonged to it3 ,greek3 eikotos ,ioudaiois men nomos1 ,hellesi de philosophia mechris tes parousias enteuthen de he klesis he katholike to the ,jews the law1 to the ,greeks ,philosophy1 up to the ,parousia2 from that time the catholic invitation4 ,but the ,gospel at first was preached exclusively to the lost sheep of the house of ,israel1 and that which inwardly united it with ,hellenism did not yet appear in any doctrine or definite form of knowledge4 ,on the contrary1 the ,church doctrine of faith1 in the preparatory stage1 from the ,apologists up to the time of ,origen1 hardly in any point shews the traces1 scarcely even the remembrance of a time in which the ,gospel was not detached from ,judaism4 ,for that very reason it is absolutely impossible to understand this preparation and development solely from the writings that remain to us as monuments of that short earliest period4 ,the attempts at deducing the genesis of the ,church's doctrinal system from the theology of ,paul1 or from compromises between ,apostolic doctrinal ideas1 will always miscarry2 for they fail to note that to the most important premises of the ,catholic doctrine of faith belongs an element which we cannot recognise as dominant in the ,new ,testament1#dh viz41 the ,hellenic spirit4#di ,as far backwards as we can trace the history of the propagation of the ,church's doctrine of faith1 from the middle of the third century to the end of the first1 we nowhere perceive a leap1 or the sudden influx of an entirely new element4 ,what we perceive is rather the gradual disappearance of an original element1 the ,enthusiastic and ,apocalyptic1 that is1 of the sure consciousness of an immediate possession of the ,divine ,spirit1 and the hope of the future conquering the present2 individual piety conscious of itself and sovereign1 living in the future world1 recognising no external authority and no external barriers4 ,this piety became ever weaker and passed away3 the utilising of the ,codex of ,revelation1 the ,old ,testament1 proportionally increased with the ,hellenic influences which controlled the process1 for the two went always hand in hand4 ,at an earlier period the ,churches made very little use of either1 because they had in individual religious inspiration on the basis of ,christ's preaching and the sure hope of his ,kingdom which was near at hand1 much more than either could bestow4 ,the factors whose co-operation we observe in the second and third centuries1 were already operative among the earliest ,gentile ,christians4 ,we nowhere find a yawning gulf in the great development which lies between the first ,epistle of ,clement and the work of ,origen1 ,greek3 ,peri archon4 ,even the importance which the ,apostolic was to obtain1 was already foreshadowed by the end of the first century1 and enthusiasm always had its limits4#ej ,the most decisive division1 therefore1 falls before the end of the first century2 or more correctly1 the relatively new element1 the ,greek1 which is of importance for the forming of the ,church as a commonwealth1 and consequently for the formation of its doctrine1 is clearly present in the churches even in the ,apostolic age4 ,two hundred years1 however1 passed before it made itself completely at home in the ,gospel1 although there were points of connection inherent in the ,gospel4 #g4 ,the cause of the great historical fact is clear4 ,it is given in the fact that the ,gospel1 rejected by the majority of the ,jews1 was very soon proclaimed to those who were not ,jews1 that after a few decades the greater number of its professors were found among the ,greeks1 and that1 consequently1 the development leading to the ,catholic dogma took place within ,graeco-,roman culture4 ,but within this culture there was lacking the power of understanding either the idea of the completed ,old ,testament theocracy1 or the idea of the ,messiah4 ,both of these essential elements of the original proclamation1 therefore1 must either be neglected or remodelled4#ea ,but it is hardly allowable to mention details however important1 where the whole aggregate of ideas1 of religious historical perceptions and presuppositions1 which were based on the old ,testament1 understood in a ,christian sense1 presented itself as something new and strange4 ,one can easily appropriate words1 but not practical ideas4 ,side by side with the ,old ,testament religion as the presupposition of the ,gospel1 and using its forms of thought1 the moral and religious views and ideals dominant in the world of ,greek culture could not but insinuate themselves into the communities consisting of ,gentiles4 ,from the enormous material that was brought home to the hearts of the ,greeks1 whether formulated by ,paul or by any other1 only a few rudimentary ideas could at first be appropriated4 ,for that very reason1 the ,apostolic ,catholic doctrine of faith in its preparation and establishment1 is no mere continuation of that which1 by uniting things that are certainly very dissimilar1 is wont to be described as ,biblical ,theology of the ,new ,testament4 ,biblical ,theology1 even when kept within reasonable limits1 is not the presupposition of the history of dogma4 ,the ,gentile ,christians were little able to comprehend the controversies which stirred the ,apostolic age within ,jewish ,christianity4 ,the presuppositions of the history of dogma are given in certain fundamental ideas1 or rather motives of the ,gospel1 7in the preaching concerning ,jesus ,christ1 in the teaching of ,evangelic ethics and the future life1 in the ,old ,testament capable of any interpretation1 but to be interpreted with reference to ,christ and the ,evangelic history71 and in the ,greek spirit4#eb #h4 ,the foregoing statements involve that the difference between the development which led to the ,catholic doctrine of religion and the original condition1 was by no means a total one4 ,by recognising the ,old ,testament as a book of ,divine revelation1 the ,gentile ,christians received along with it the religious speech which was used by ,jewish ,christians1 were made dependent upon the interpretation which had been used from the very beginning1 and even received a great part of the ,jewish literature which accompanied the ,old ,testament4 ,but the possession of a common religious speech and literature is never a mere outward bond of union1 however strong the impulse be to introduce the old familiar contents into the newly acquired speech4 ,the ,jewish1 that is1 the ,old ,testament element1 divested of its national peculiarity1 has remained the basis of ,christendom4 ,it has saturated this element with the ,greek spirit1 but has always clung to its main idea1 faith in ,god as the creator and ruler of the world4 ,it has in the course of its development rejected important parts of that ,jewish element1 and has borrowed others at a later period from the great treasure that was transmitted to it4 ,it has also been able to turn to account the least adaptable features1 if only for the external confirmation of its own ideas4 ,the ,old ,testament applied to ,christ and his universal ,church has always remained the decisive document1 and it was long ere ,christian writings received the same authority1 long ere individual doctrines and sayings of ,apostolic writings obtained an influence on the formation of ecclesiastical doctrine4 #i4 ,from yet another side there makes its appearance an agreement between the circles of ,palestinian believers in ,jesus and the ,gentile ,christian communities1 which endured for more than a century1 though it was of course gradually effaced4 ,it is the enthusiastic element which unites them1 the consciousness of standing in an immediate union with ,god through the ,spirit1 and receiving directly from ,god's hand miraculous gifts1 powers and revelations1 granted to the individual that he may turn them to account in the service of the ,church4 ,the depotentiation of the ,christian religion1 where one may believe in the inspiration of another1 but no longer feels his own1 nay1 dare not feel it1 is not altogether coincident with its settlement on ,greek soil4 ,on the contrary1 it was more than two centuries ere weakness and reflection suppressed1 or all but suppressed1 the forms in which the personal consciousness of ,god originally expressed itself4#ec ,now it certainly lies in the nature of enthusiasm1 that it can assume the most diverse forms of expression1 and follow very different impulses1 and so far it frequently separates instead of uniting4 ,but so long as criticism and reflection are not yet awakened1 and a uniform ideal hovers before one1 it does unite1 and in this sense there existed an identity of disposition between the earliest ,jewish ,christians and the still enthusiastic ,gentile ,christian communities4 #aj4 ,but1 finally1 there is a still further uniting element between the beginnings of the development to ,catholicism1 and the original condition of the ,christian religion as a movement within ,judaism1 the importance of which cannot be overrated1 although we have every reason to complain here of the obscurity of the tradition4 ,between the ,graeco-,roman world which was in search of a spiritual religion1 and the ,jewish commonwealth which already possessed such a religion as a national property1 though vitiated by exclusiveness1 there had long been a ,judaism which1 penetrated by the ,greek spirit1 was1 ex professo1 devoting itself to the task of bringing a new religion to the ,greek world1 the ,jewish religion1 but that religion in its kernel ,greek1 that is1 philosophically moulded1 spiritualised and secularised4 ,here then was already consummated an intimate union of the ,greek spirit with the ,old ,testament religion1 within the ,empire and to a less degree in ,palestine itself4 ,if everything is not to be dissolved into a grey mist1 we must clearly distinguish this union between ,judaism and ,hellenism and the spiritualising of religion it produced1 from the powerful but indeterminable influences which the ,greek spirit exercised on all things ,jewish1 and which have been a historical condition of the ,gospel4 ,the alliance1 in my opinion1 was of no significance at all for the origin of the ,gospel1 but was of the most decided importance1 first1 for the propagation of ,christianity1 and then1 for the development of ,christianity to ,catholicism1 and for the genesis of the ,catholic doctrine of faith4#ed ,we cannot certainly name any particular personality who was specially active in this1 but we can mention three facts which prove more than individual references4 7#a7 ,the propaganda of ,christianity in the ,diaspora followed the ,jewish propaganda and partly took its place1 that is1 the ,gospel was at first preached to those ,gentiles who were already acquainted with the general outlines of the ,jewish religion1 and who were even frequently viewed as a ,judaism of a second order1 in which ,jewish and ,greek elements had been united in a peculiar mixture4 7#b7 ,the conception of the ,old ,testament1 as we find it even in the earliest ,gentile ,christian teachers1 the method of spiritualising it1 etc41 agrees in the most surprising way with the methods which were used by the ,alexandrian ,jews4 7#c7 ,there are ,christian documents in no small number and of unknown origin1 which completely agree in plan1 in form and contents with ,graeco-,jewish writings of the ,diaspora1 as for example1 the ,christian ,sibylline ,oracles1 and the pseudo-,justinian treatise1 de ,monarchia4 ,there are numerous tractates of which it is impossible to say with certainty whether they are of ,jewish or of ,christian origin4 ,the ,alexandrian and non-,palestinian ,judaism is still ,judaism4 ,as the ,gospel seized and moved the whole of ,judaism1 it must also have been operative in the non ,palestinian ,judaism4 ,but that already foreshadowed the transition of the ,gospel to the non-,jewish ,greek region1 and the fate which it was to experience there4 ,for that non-,palestinian ,judaism formed the bridge between the ,jewish ,church and the ,roman ,empire1 together with its culture4#ee ,the ,gospel passed into the world chiefly by this bridge4 ,paul indeed had a large share in this1 but his own ,churches did not understand the way he led them1 and were not able on looking back to find it4#ef ,he indeed became a ,greek to the ,greeks1 and even began the undertaking of placing the treasures of ,greek knowledge at the service of the ,gospel4 ,but the knowledge of ,christ crucified1 to which he subordinated all other knowledge as only of preparatory value1 had nothing in common with ,greek philosophy1 while the idea of justification and the doctrine of the ,spirit 7,rom4 ,,viii71 which together formed the peculiar contents of his ,christianity1 were irreconcilable with the moralism and the religious ideals of ,hellenism4 ,but the great mass of the earliest ,gentile ,christians became ,christians because they perceived in the ,gospel the sure tidings of the benefits and obligations which they had already sought in the fusion of ,jewish and ,greek elements4 ,it is only by discerning this that we can grasp the preparation and genesis of the ,catholic ,church and its dogma4 ,from the foregoing statements it appears that there fall to be considered as presuppositions of the origin of the ,catholic ,apostolic doctrine of faith1 the following topics1 though of unequal importance as regards the extent of their influence3 7a7 ,the ,gospel of ,jesus ,christ4 7b7 ,the common preaching of ,jesus ,christ in the first generation of believers4 7c7 ,the current exposition of the ,old ,testament1 the ,jewish speculations and hopes of the future1 in their significance for the earliest types of ,christian preaching4#eg 7d7 ,the religious conceptions1 and the religious philosophy of the ,hellenistic ,jews1 in their significance for the later restatement of the ,gospel4 7e7 ,the religious dispositions of the ,greeks and ,romans of the first two centuries1 and the current ,graeco-,roman philosophy of religion4 ,sec4 #b4 ,the ,gospel of ,jesus ,christ according to ,his own testimony concerning ,himself4 ,i4 ,the ,fundamental ,features4 ,the ,gospel entered into the world as an apocalyptic eschatological message1 apocalyptical and eschatological not only in its form1 but also in its contents4 ,but ,jesus announced that the kingdom of ,god had already begun with his own work1 and those who received him in faith became sensible of this beginning2 for the apocalyptical was not merely the unveiling of the future1 but above all the revelation of ,god as the ,father1 and the eschatological received its counterpoise in the view of ,jesus' work as ,saviour1 in the assurance of being certainly called to the kingdom1 and in the conviction that life and future dominion is hid with ,god the ,lord and preserved for believers by him4 ,consequently1 we are following not only the indications of the succeeding history1 but also the requirement of the thing itself1 when1 in the presentation of the ,gospel1 we place in the foreground1 not that which unites it with the contemporary disposition of ,judaism1 but that which raises it above it4 ,instead of the hope of inheriting the kingdom1 ,jesus had also spoken simply of preserving the soul1 or the life4 ,in this one substitution lies already a transformation of universal significance1 of political religion into a religion that is individual and therefore holy2 for the life is nourished by the word of ,god1 but ,god is the ,holy ,one4 ,the ,gospel is the glad message of the government of the world and of every individual soul by the almighty and holy ,god1 the ,father and ,judge4 ,in this dominion of ,god1 which frees men from the power of the ,devil1 makes them rulers in a heavenly kingdom in contrast with the kingdoms of the world1 and which will also be sensibly realised in the future aeon just about to appear1 is secured life for all men who yield themselves to ,god1 although they should lose the world and the earthly life4 ,that is1 the soul which is pure and holy in connection with ,god1 and in imitation of the ,divine perfection is eternally preserved with ,god1 while those who would gain the world1 and preserve their life1 fall into the hands of the ,judge who sentences them to ,hell4 ,this dominion of ,god imposes on men a law1 an old and yet a new law1 viz41 that of the ,divine perfection and therefore of undivided love to ,god and to our neighbour4 ,in this love1 where it sways the inmost feeling1 is presented the better righteousness 7better not only with respect to the ,scribes and ,pharisees1 but also with respect to ,moses1 see ,matt4 ,v471 which corresponds to the perfection of ,god4 ,the way to attain it is a change of mind1 that is1 self-denial1 humility before ,god1 and heartfelt trust in him4 ,in this humility and trust in ,god there is contained a recognition of one's own unworthiness2 but the ,gospel calls to the kingdom of ,god those very sinners who are thus minded1 by promising the forgiveness of the sins which hitherto have separated them from ,god4 ,but the ,gospel which appears in these three elements1 the dominion of ,god1 a better righteousness embodied in the law of love1 and the forgiveness of sin1 is inseparably connected with ,jesus ,christ2 for in preaching this ,gospel ,jesus ,christ everywhere calls men to himself4 ,in him the ,gospel is word and deed2 it has become his food1 and therefore his personal life1 and into this life of his he draws all others4 ,he is the ,son who knows the ,father4 ,in him men are to perceive the kindness of the ,lord2 in him they are to feel ,god's power and government of the world1 and to become certain of this consolation2 they are to follow him the meek and lowly1 and while he1 the pure and holy one1 calls sinners to himself1 they are to receive the assurance that ,god through him forgiveth sin4 ,jesus ,christ has by no express statement thrust this connection of his ,gospel with his ,person into the foreground4 ,no words could have certified it unless his life1 the overpowering impression of his ,person1 had created it4 ,by living1 acting and speaking from the riches of that life which he lived with his ,father1 he became for others the revelation of the ,god of whom they formerly had heard1 but whom they had not known4 ,he declared his ,father to be their ,father and they understood him4 ,but he also declared himself to be ,messiah1 and in so doing gave an intelligible expression to his abiding significance for them and for his people4 ,in a solemn hour at the close of his life1 as well as on special occasions at an earlier period1 he referred to the fact that the surrender to his ,person which induced them to leave all and follow him1 was no passing element in the new position they had gained towards ,god the ,father4 ,he tells them1 on the contrary1 that this surrender corresponds to the service which he will perform for them and for the many1 when he will give his life a sacrifice for the sins of the world4 ,by teaching them to think of him and of his death in the breaking of bread and the drinking of wine1 and by saying of his death that it takes place for the remission of sins1 he has claimed as his due from all future disciples what was a matter of course so long as he sojourned with them1 but what might fade away after he was parted from them4 ,he who in his preaching of the kingdom of ,god raised the strictest self-examination and humility to a law1 and exhibited them to his followers in his own life1 has described with clear consciousness his life crowned by death as the imperishable service by which men in all ages will be cleansed from their sin and made joyful in their ,god4 ,by so doing he put himself far above all others1 although they were to become his brethren2 and claimed a unique and permanent importance as ,redeemer and ,judge4 ,this permanent importance as the ,lord he secured1 not by disclosures about the mystery of his ,person1 but by the impression of his life and the interpretation of his death4 ,he interprets it1 like all his sufferings1 as a victory1 as the passing over to his glory1 and in spite of the cry of ,god-forsakenness upon the cross1 he has proved himself able to awaken in his followers the real conviction that he lives and is ,lord and ,judge of the living and the dead4 ,the religion of the ,gospel is based on this belief in ,jesus ,christ1 that is1 by looking to him1 this historical person1 it becomes certain to the believer that ,god rules heaven and earth1 and that ,god1 the ,judge1 is also ,father and ,redeemer4 ,the religion of the ,gospel is the religion which makes the highest moral demands1 the simplest and the most difficult1 and discloses the contradiction in which every man finds himself towards them4 ,but it also procures redemption from such misery1 by drawing the life of men into the inexhaustible and blessed life of ,jesus ,christ1 who has overcome the world and called sinners to himself4 ,in making this attempt to put together the fundamental features of the ,gospel1 ,i have allowed myself to be guided by the results of this ,gospel in the case of the first disciples4 ,i do not know whether it is permissible to present such fundamental features apart from this guidance4 ,the preaching of ,jesus ,christ was in the main so plain and simple1 and in its application so manifold and rich1 that one shrinks from attempting to systematise it1 and would much rather merely narrate according to the ,gospel4 ,jesus searches for the point in every man on which he can lay hold of him and lead him to the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,the distinction of good and evil--for ,god or against ,god--he would make a life question for every man1 in order to shew him for whom it has become this1 that he can depend upon the ,god whom he is to fear4 ,at the same time he did not by any means uniformly fall back upon sin1 or even the universal sinfulness1 but laid hold of individuals very diversely1 and led them to ,god by different paths4 ,the doctrinal concentration of redemption on sin was certainly not carried out by ,paul alone2 but1 on the other hand1 it did not in any way become the prevailing form for the preaching of the ,gospel4 ,on the contrary1 the antitheses1 night1 error1 dominion of demons1 death and light1 truth1 deliverance1 life1 proved more telling in the ,gentile ,churches4 ,the consciousness of universal sinfulness was first made the negative fundamental frame of mind of ,christendom by ,augustine4 ,,ii4 ,details4 #a4 ,jesus announced the ,kingdom of ,god which stands in opposition to the kingdom of the devil1 and therefore also to the kingdom of the world1 as a future ,kingdom1 and yet it is presented in his preaching as present2 as an invisible1 and yet it was visible--for one actually saw it4 ,he lived and spoke within the circle of eschatological ideas which ,judaism had developed more than two hundred years before3 but he controlled them by giving them a new content and forcing them into a new direction4 ,without abrogating the law and the prophets he1 on fitting occasions1 broke through the national1 political and sensuous eudaemonistic forms in which the nation was expecting the realisation of the dominion of ,god1 but turned their attention at the same time to a future near at hand1 in which believers would be delivered from the oppression of evil and sin1 and would enjoy blessedness and dominion4 ,yet he declared that even now1 every individual who is called into the kingdom may call on ,god as his ,father1 and be sure of the gracious will of ,god1 the hearing of his prayers1 the forgiveness of sin1 and the protection of ,god even in this present life4#eh ,but everything in this proclamation is directed to the life beyond3 the certainty of that life is the power and earnestness of the ,gospel4 #b4 ,the conditions of entrance to the kingdom are1 in the first place1 a complete change of mind1 in which a man renounces the pleasures of this world1 denies himself1 and is ready to surrender all that he has in order to save his soul2 then1 a believing trust in ,god's grace which he grants to the humble and the poor1 and therefore hearty confidence in ,jesus as the ,messiah chosen and called by ,god to realise his kingdom on the earth4 ,the announcement is therefore directed to the poor1 the suffering1 those hungering and thirsting for righteousness1 not to those who live1 but to those who wish to be healed and redeemed1 and finds them prepared for entrance into1 and reception of the blessings of the kingdom of ,god1#ei while it brings down upon the self-satisfied1 the rich and those proud of their righteousness1 the judgment of obduracy and the damnation of ,hell4 #c4 ,the commandment of undivided love to ,god and the brethren1 as the main commandment1 in the observance of which righteousness is realised1 and forming the antithesis to the selfish mind1 the lust of the world1 and every arbitrary impulse1#fj corresponds to the blessings of the ,kingdom of ,god1 viz41 forgiveness of sin1 righteousness1 dominion and blessedness4 ,the standard of personal worth for the members of the ,king is self-sacrificing labour for others1 not any technical mode of worship or legal preciseness4 ,renunciation of the world together with its goods1 even of life itself in certain circumstances1 is the proof of a man's sincerity and earnest in seeking the ,kingdom of ,god2 and the meekness which renounces every right1 bears wrong patiently1 requiting it with kindness1 is the practical proof of love to ,god1 the conduct that answers to ,god's perfection4 #d4 ,in the proclamation and founding of this kingdom1 ,jesus summoned men to attach themselves to him1 because he had recognised himself to be the helper called by ,god1 and therefore also the ,messiah who was promised4#fa ,he gradually declared himself to the people as such by the names he assumed1#fb for the names ,anointed1 ,king1 ,lord1 ,son of ,david1 ,son of ,man1 ,son of ,god1 all denote the ,messianic office1 and were familiar to the greater part of the people4#fc ,but though1 at first1 they express only the call1 office1 and power of the ,messiah1 yet by means of them and especially by the designation ,son of ,god1 ,jesus pointed to a relation to ,god the ,father1 then and in its immediateness unique1 as the basis of the office with which he was entrusted4 ,he has1 however1 given no further explanation of the mystery of this relation than the declaration that the ,son alone knoweth the ,father1 and that this knowledge of ,god and ,sonship to ,god are secured for all others by the sending of the ,son4#fd ,in the proclamation of ,god as ,father1#fe as well as in the other proclamation that all the members of the kingdom following the will of ,god in love1 are to become one with the ,son and through him with the ,father1#ff the message of the realised kingdom of ,god receives its richest1 inexhaustible content3 the ,son of the ,father will be the first-born among many brethren4 #e4 ,jesus as the ,messiah chosen by ,god has definitely distinguished himself from ,moses and all the ,prophets3 as his preaching and his work are the fulfilment of the law and the prophets1 so he himself is not a disciple of ,moses1 but corrects that law-giver2 he is not a ,prophet1 but ,master and ,lord4 ,he proves this ,lordship during his earthly ministry in the accomplishment of the mighty deeds given him to do1 above all in withstanding the ,devil and his kingdom1#fg and--according to the law of the ,kingdom of ,god--for that very reason in the service which he performs4 ,in this service ,jesus also reckoned the sacrifice of his life1 designating it as a ,greek3 lutron which he offered for the redemption of man4#fh ,but he declared at the same time that his ,messianic work was not yet fulfilled in his subjection to death4 ,on the contrary1 the close is merely initiated by his death2 for the completion of the kingdom will only appear when he returns in glory in the clouds of heaven to judgment4 ,jesus seems to have announced this speedy return a short time before his death1 and to have comforted his disciples at his departure1 with the assurance that he would immediately enter into a supramundane position with ,god4#fi #f4 ,the instructions of ,jesus to his disciples are accordingly dominated by the thought that the end1 the day and hour of which1 however1 no one knows1 is at hand4 ,in consequence of this1 also1 the exhortation to renounce all earthly good takes a prominent place4 ,but ,jesus does not impose ascetic commandments as a new law1 far less does he see in asceticism as such1 sanctification#gj--;he himself did not live as an ascetic1 but was reproached as a wine-bibber--but he prescribed a perfect simplicity and purity of disposition1 and a singleness of heart which remains invariably the same in trouble and renunciation1 in possession and use of earthly good4 ,a uniform equality of all in the conduct of life is not commanded3 ,to whom much is given1 of him much shall be required4 ,the disciples are kept as far from fanaticism and overrating of spiritual results as from asceticism4 ,rejoice not that the spirits are subject to you1 but rejoice that your names are written in heaven4 ,when they besought him to teach them to pray1 he taught them the ,lord's prayer1 a prayer which demands such a collected mind1 and such a tranquil1 childlike elevation of the heart to ,god1 that it cannot be offered at all by minds subject to passion or preoccupied by any daily cares4 #g4 ,jesus himself did not found a new religious community1 but gathered round him a circle of disciples1 and chose ,apostles whom he commanded to preach the ,gospel4 ,his preaching was universalistic inasmuch as it attributed no value to ceremonialism as such1 and placed the fulfilment of the ,mosaic law in the exhibition of its moral contents1 partly against or beyond the letter4 ,he made the law perfect by harmonising its particular requirements with the fundamental moral requirements which were also expressed in the ,mosaic law4 ,he emphasised the fundamental requirements more decidedly than was done by the law itself1 and taught that all details should be referred to them and deduced from them4 ,the external righteousness of ,pharisaism was thereby declared to be not only an outer covering1 but also a fraud1 and the bond which still united religion and nationality in ,judaism was sundered4#ga ,political and national elements may probably have been made prominent in the hopes of the future1 as ,jesus appropriated them for his preaching4 ,but from the conditions to which the realising of the hopes for the individual was attached1 there already shone the clearer ray which was to eclipse those elements1 and one saying such as ,matt4 ,,xxii4 #ba1 annulled at once political religion and religious politics4 ,supplement #a4--,the idea of the inestimable inherent value of every individual human soul1 already dimly appearing in several psalms1 and discerned by ,greek ,philosophers1 though as a rule developed in contradiction to religion1 stands out plainly in the preaching of ,jesus4 ,it is united with the idea of ,god as ,father1 and is the complement to the message of the communion of brethren realising itself in love4 ,in this sense the ,gospel is at once profoundly individualistic and ,socialistic4 ,the prospect of gaining life1 and preserving it for ever1 is therefore also the highest which ,jesus has set forth1 it is not1 however1 to be a motive1 but a reward of grace4 ,in the certainty of this prospect1 which is the converse of renouncing the world1 he has proclaimed the sure hope of the resurrection1 and consequently the most abundant compensation for the loss of the natural life4 ,jesus put an end to the vacillation and uncertainty which in this respect still prevailed among the ,jewish people of his day4 ,the confession of the ,psalmist1 ,whom have ,i in heaven but thee1 and there is none upon the earth that ,i desire beside thee1 and the fulfilling of the ,old ,testament commandment1 ,love thy neighbour as thyself1 were for the first time presented in their connection in the person of ,jesus4 ,he himself therefore is ,christianity1 for the impression of his person convinced the disciples of the facts of forgiveness of sin and the second birth1 and gave them courage to believe in and to lead a new life4 ,we cannot therefore state the doctrine of ,jesus2 for it appears as a supramundane life which must be felt in the person of ,jesus1 and its truth is guaranteed by the fact that such a life can be lived4 ,supplement #b4--,the history of the ,gospel contains two great transitions1 both of which1 however1 fall within the first century2 from ,christ to the first generation of believers1 including ,paul1 and from the first1 ,jewish ,christian1 generation of these believers to the ,gentile ,christians1 in other words3 from ,christ to the brotherhood of believers in ,christ1 and from this to the incipient ,catholic ,church4 ,no later transitions in the ,church can be compared with these in importance4 ,as to the first1 the question has frequently been asked1 ,is the ,gospel of ,christ to be the authority or the ,gospel concerning ,christ8 ,but the strict dilemma here is false4 ,the ,gospel certainly is the ,gospel of ,christ4 ,for it has only1 in the sense of ,jesus1 fulfilled its ,mission when the ,father has been declared to men as he was known by the ,son1 and where the life is swayed by the realities and principles which ruled the life of ,jesus ,christ4 ,but it is in accordance with the mind of ,jesus and at the same time a fact of history1 that this ,gospel can only be appropriated and adhered to in connection with a believing surrender to the person of ,jesus ,christ4 ,yet every dogmatic formula is suspicious1 because it is fitted to wound the spirit of religion2 it should not at least be put before the living experience in order to evoke it2 for such a procedure is really the admission of the half belief which thinks it necessary that the impression made by the person must be supplemented4 ,the essence of the matter is a personal life which awakens life around it as the fire of one torch kindles another4 ,early as weakness of faith is in the ,church of ,christ1 it is no earlier than the procedure of making a formulated and ostensibly proved confession the foundation of faith1 and therefore demanding1 above all1 subjection to this confession4 ,faith assuredly is propagated by the testimony of faith1 but dogma is not in itself that testimony4 ,the peculiar character of the ,christian religion is conditioned by the fact that every reference to ,god is at the same time a reference to ,jesus ,christ1 and vice versa4 ,in this sense the ,person of ,christ is the central point of the religion1 and inseparably united with the substance of piety as a sure reliance on ,god4 ,such a union does not1 as is supposed1 bring a foreign element into the pure essence of religion4 ,the pure essence of religion rather demands such a union2 for the reverence for persons1 the inner bowing before the manifestation of moral power and goodness is the root of all true religion 7,w4 ,herrmann74 ,but the ,christian religion knows and names only one name before which it bows4 ,in this rests its positive character1 in all else1 as piety1 it is by its strictly spiritual and inward attitude1 not a positive religion alongside of others1 but religion itself4 ,but just because the ,person of ,christ has this significance is the knowledge and understanding of the historical ,christ required3 for no other comes within the sphere of our knowledge4 ,the historical ,christ that1 to be sure1 is not the powerless ,christ of contemporary history shewn to us through a coloured biographical medium1 or dissipated in all sorts of controversies1 but ,christ as a power and as a life which towers above our own life1 and enters into our life as ,god's ,spirit and ,god's ,word1 7see ,herrmann1 ,der ,verkehr des ,christen mit ,gott4 #b4 ,edit4 #ahib1 7i4e41 ,the ,fellowship of the ,christian with ,god1 an important work included in the present series of translations4 ,ed47 ,kaehler1 ,der sog4 historische ,jesus und der geschichtliche biblische ,christus1 #ahib74 ,but historical labour and investigation are needed in order to grasp this ,jesus ,christ ever more firmly and surely4 ,as to the second transition1 it brought with it the most important changes1 which1 however1 became clearly manifest only after the lapse of some generations4 ,they appear1 first1 in the belief in holy consecrations1 efficacious in themselves1 and administered by chosen persons2 further1 in the conviction1 that the relation of the individual to ,god and ,christ is1 above all1 conditioned on the acceptance of a definite divinely attested law of faith and holy writings2 further1 in the opinion that ,god has established ,church arrangements1 observance of which is necessary and meritorious1 as well as in the opinion that a visible earthly community is the people of a new covenant4 ,these assumptions1 which formally constitute the essence of ,catholicism as a religion1 have no support in the teaching of ,jesus1 nay1 offend against that teaching4 ,supplement #c4--,the question as to what new thing ,christ has brought1 answered by ,paul in the words1 ,if any man be in ,christ he is a new creature1 old things are passed away1 behold all things are become new1 has again and again been pointedly put since the middle of the second century by ,apologists1 ,theologians and religious ,philosophers1 within and without the ,church1 and has received the most varied answers4 ,few of the answers have reached the height of the ,pauline confession4 ,but where one cannot attain to this confession1 one ought to make clear to oneself that every answer which does not lie in the line of it is altogether unsatisfactory2 for it is not difficult to set over against every article from the preaching of ,jesus an observation which deprives it of its originality4 ,it is the ,person1 it is the fact of his life that is new and creates the new4 ,the way in which he called forth and established a people of ,god on earth1 which has become sure of ,god and of eternal life2 the way in which he set up a new thing in the midst of the old and transformed the religion of ,israel into the religion that is the mystery of his ,person1 in which lies his unique and permanent position in the history of humanity4 ,supplement #d4--,the conservative position of ,jesus towards the religious traditions of his people had the necessary result that his preaching and his ,person were placed by believers in the frame-work of this tradition1 which was thereby very soon greatly expanded4 ,but1 though this way of understanding the ,gospel was certainly at first the only possible way1 and though the ,gospel itself could only be preserved by such means 7see ,sec4 #a71 yet it cannot be mistaken that a displacement in the conception of the ,person and preaching of ,jesus1 and a burdening of religious faith1 could not but forthwith set in1 from which developments followed1 the premises of which would be vainly sought for in the words of the ,lord 7see ,sec4,sec4 #c1 #d74 ,but here the question arises as to whether the ,gospel is not inseparably connected with the eschatological world-renouncing element with which it entered into the world1 so that its being is destroyed where this is omitted4 ,a few words may be devoted to this question4 ,the ,gospel possesses properties which oppose every positive religion1 because they depreciate it1 and these properties form the kernel of the ,gospel4 ,the disposition which is devoted to ,god1 humble1 ardent and sincere in its love to ,god and to the brethren1 is1 as an abiding habit1 law1 and at the same time1 a gift of the ,gospel1 and also finally exhausts it4 ,this quiet1 peaceful element was at the beginning strong and vigorous1 even in those who lived in the world of ecstasy and expected the world to come4 ,one may be named for all1 ,paul4 ,he who wrote #a ,cor4 ,,xiii4 and ,rom4 ,,viii4 should not1 in spite of all that he has said elsewhere1 be called upon to witness that the nature of the ,gospel is exhausted in its world-renouncing1 ecstatic and eschatological elements1 or at least1 that it is so inseparably united with these as to fall along with them4 ,he who wrote those chapters1 and the greater than he who promised the kingdom of heaven to children1 and to those who were hungering and thirsting for righteousness1 he to whom tradition ascribes the words3 ,rejoice not that the spirits are subject to you1 but rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven--both attest that the ,gospel lies above the antagonisms between this world and the next1 work and retirement from the world1 reason and ecstasy1 ,judaism and ,hellenism4 ,and because it lies above them it may be united with either1 as it originally unfolded its powers under the ruins of the ,jewish religion4 ,but still more2 it not only can enter into union with them1 it must do so if it is otherwise the religion of the living and is itself living4 ,it has only one aim2 that man may find ,god and have him as his own ,god1 in order to gain in him humility and patience1 peace1 joy and love4 ,how it reaches this goal through the advancing centuries1 whether with the co-efficients of ,judaism or ,hellenism1 of renunciation of the world or of culture1 of mysticism or the doctrine of predestination1 of ,gnosticism or ,agnosticism1 and whatever other incrustations there may yet be which can defend the kernel1 and under which alone living elements can grow--all that belongs to the centuries4 ,however each individual ,christian may reckon to the treasure itself the earthly vessel in which he hides his treasure2 it is the duty and the right1 not only of the religious1 but also of the historical estimate to distinguish between the vessel and the treasure2 for the ,gospel did not enter into the world as a positive statutory religion1 and cannot therefore have its classic manifestation in any form of its intellectual or social types1 not even in the first4 ,it is therefore the duty of the historian of the first century of the ,church1 as well as that of those which follow1 not to be content with fixing the changes of the ,christian religion1 but to examine how far the new forms were capable of defending1 propagating and impressing the ,gospel itself4 ,it would probably have perished if the forms of primitive ,christianity had been scrupulously maintained in the ,church2 but now primitive ,christianity has perished in order that the ,gospel might be preserved4 ,to study this progress of the development1 and fix the significance of the newly received forms for the kernel of the matter1 is the last and highest task of the historian who himself lives in his subject4 ,he who approaches from without must be satisfied with the general view that in the history of the ,church some things have always remained1 and other things have always been changing4 ,literature4--,weiss4 ,biblical ,theology of the ,new ,testament4 ,t4 and ,t4 ,clark4 ,wittichen4 ,beitr4 z4 bibl4 ,theol4 #c4 ,thle4 #ahfd-gb4 ,schuereer4 ,die ,predigt ,jesu in ihrem ,verhaltniss z4 ,a4,t4u4 z4 ,judenthum1 #ahhb4 ,wellhausen4 ,abriss der ,gesch4 ,israels u4 ,juda's 7,skizzen u4 ,vorarbeiten7 ,i4 ,heft4 #ahhd4 ,baldensperger4 ,das ,selbstbewusstsein ,jesu im ,licht der ,messianischen ,hoffnungen seiner ,zeit1 #ahhh1 7#b ,aufl4 #ahia74 ,the prize essays of ,schmoller and ,issel1 ,ueber die ,lehre vom ,reiche ,gottes im ,n4 ,test4 #ahia 7besides ,gunkel in d4 ,theol4 ,lit4 ,ztg4 #ahic4 ,n deg44 #b74 ,wendt4 ,die ,lehre ,jesu4 7,the teaching of ,jesus4 ,t4 and ,t4 ,clark4 ,english translation47 ,joh4 ,weiss4 ,die ,predigt ,jesu vom ,reiche ,gottes1 #ahib4 ,bousset4 ,jesu ,predigt in ihrem ,gegensatz zum ,judenthum1 #ahib4 ,c4 ,holtzman4 ,die ,offenbarung durch ,christus und das ,neue ,testament 7,zeitschr4 f4 ,theol4 und ,kirche ,i4 p4 #cfg ff47 ,the special literature in the above work of ,weiss1 and in the recent works on the life of ,jesus1 and the ,biblical ,theology of the ,new ,testament by ,beyschlag4 7,t4,t4 ,clark7 ,sec4 #c4 ,the ,common ,preaching concerning ,jesus ,christ in the ,first ,generation of ,believers4 ,men had met with ,jesus ,christ and in him had found the ,messiah4 ,they were convinced that ,god had made him to be wisdom and righteousness1 sanctification and redemption4 ,there was no hope that did not seem to be certified in him1 no lofty idea which had not become in him a living reality4 ,everything that one possessed was offered to him4 ,he was everything lofty that could be imagined4 ,everything that can be said of him was already said in the first two generations after his appearance4 ,nay1 more3 he was felt and known to be the ever living one1 ,lord of the world and operative principle of one's own life4 ,to me to live is ,christ and to die is gain2 ,he is the way1 the truth and the life4 ,one could now for the first time be certain of the resurrection and eternal life1 and with that certainty the sorrows of the world melted away like mist before the sun1 and the residue of this present time became as a day4 ,this group of facts which the history of the ,gospel discloses in the world1 is at the same time the highest and most unique of all that we meet in that history2 it is its seal and distinguishes it from all other universal religions4 ,where in the history of mankind can we find anything resembling this1 that men who had eaten and drunk with their ,master should glorify him1 not only as the revealer of ,god1 but as the ,prince of life1 as the ,redeemer and ,judge of the world1 as the living power of its existence1 and that a choir of ,jews and ,gentiles1 ,greeks and ,barbarians1 wise and foolish1 should along with them immediately confess that out of the fulness of this one man they have received grace for grace8 ,it has been said that ,islam furnishes the unique example of a religion born in broad daylight1 but the community of ,jesus was also born in the clear light of day4 ,the darkness connected with its birth is occasioned not only by the imperfection of the records1 but by the uniqueness of the fact1 which refers us back to the uniqueness of the ,person of ,jesus4 ,but though it certainly is the first duty of the historian to signalise the overpowering impression made by the ,person of ,jesus on the disciples1 which is the basis of all further developments1 it would little become him to renounce the critical examination of all the utterances which have been connected with that ,person with the view of elucidating and glorifying it2 unless he were with ,origen to conclude that ,jesus was to each and all whatever they fancied him to be for their edification4 ,but this would destroy the personality4 ,others are of opinion that we should conceive him1 in the sense of the early communities1 as the second ,god who is one in essence with the ,father1 in order to understand from this point of view all the declarations and judgments of these communities4 ,but this hypothesis leads to the most violent distortion of the original declarations1 and the suppression or concealment of their most obvious features4 ,the duty of the historian rather consists in fixing the common features of the faith of the first two generations1 in explaining them as far as possible from the belief that ,jesus is ,messiah1 and in seeking analogies for the several assertions4 ,only a very meagre sketch can be given in what follows4 ,the presentation of the matter in the frame-work of the history of dogma does not permit of more1 because as noted above1 ,sec4 #a1 the presupposition of dogma forming itself in the ,gentile ,church is not the whole infinitely rich abundance of early ,christian views and perceptions4 ,that presupposition is simply a proclamation of the one ,god and of ,christ transferred to ,greek soil1 fixed merely in its leading features and otherwise very plastic1 accompanied by a message regarding the future1 and demands for a holy life4 ,at the same time the ,old ,testament and the early ,christian ,palestinian writings with the rich abundance of their contents1 did certainly exercise a silent mission in the earliest communities1 till by the creation of the canon they became a power in the ,church4 ,i4 ,the contents of the faith of the disciples1#gb and the common proclamation which united them1 may be comprised in the following propositions4 ,jesus of ,nazareth is the ,messiah promised by the prophets4 ,jesus after his death is by the ,divine awakening raised to the right hand of ,god1 and will soon return to set up his kingdom visibly upon the earth4 ,he who believes in ,jesus1 and has been received into the community of the disciples of ,jesus1 who1 in virtue of a sincere change of mind1 calls on ,god as ,father1 and lives according to the commandments of ,jesus1 is a saint of ,god1 and as such can be certain of the sin-forgiving grace of ,god1 and of a share in the future glory1 that is1 of redemption4#gc ,a community of ,christian believers was formed within the ,jewish national community4 ,by its organisation1 the close brotherly union of its members1 it bore witness to the impression which the ,person of ,jesus had made on it1 and drew from faith in ,jesus and hope of his return1 the assurance of eternal life1 the power of believing in ,god the ,father and of fulfilling the lofty moral and social commands which ,jesus had set forth4 ,they knew themselves to be the true ,israel of the ,messianic time 7see ,sec4 #a71 and for that very reason lived with all their thoughts and feelings in the future4 ,hence the ,apocalyptic hopes which in manifold types were current in the ,judaism of the time1 and which ,jesus had not demolished1 continued to a great extent in force 7see ,sec4 #d74 ,one guarantee for their fulfilment was supposed to be possessed in the various manifestations of the ,spirit1#gd which were displayed in the members of the new communities at their entrance1 with which an act of baptism seems to have been united from the very first#ge1 and in their gatherings4 ,they were a guarantee that believers really were the ,greek3 ekklesia tou theou1 those called to be saints1 and1 as such1 kings and priests unto ,god#gf for whom the world1 death and devil are overcome1 although they still rule the course of the world4 ,the confession of the ,god of ,israel as the ,father of ,jesus1 and of ,jesus as ,christ and ,lord#gg was sealed by the testimony of the possession of the ,spirit1 which as ,spirit of ,god assured every individual of his call to the kingdom1 united him personally with ,god himself and became to him the pledge of future glory#gh4 #b4 ,as the ,kingdom of ,god which was announced had not yet visibly appeared1 as the appeal to the ,spirit could not be separated from the appeal to ,jesus as ,messiah1 and as there was actually nothing possessed but the reality of the ,person of ,jesus1 so in preaching all stress must necessarily fall on this ,person4 ,to believe in him was the decisive fundamental requirement1 and1 at first1 under the presupposition of the religion of ,abraham and the ,prophets1 the sure guarantee of salvation4 ,it is not surprising then to find that in the earliest ,christian preaching ,jesus ,christ comes before us as frequently as the ,kingdom of ,god in the preaching of ,jesus himself4 ,the image of ,jesus1 and the power which proceeded from it1 were the things which were really possessed4 ,whatever was expected was expected only from ,jesus the exalted and returning one4 ,the proclamation that the ,kingdom of heaven is at hand must therefore become the proclamation that ,jesus is the ,christ1 and that in him the revelation of ,god is complete4 ,he who lays hold of ,jesus lays hold in him of the grace of ,god1 and of a full salvation4 ,we cannot1 however1 call this in itself a displacement3 but as soon as the proclamation that ,jesus is the ,christ ceased to be made with the same emphasis and the same meaning that it had in his own preaching1 and what sort of blessings they were which he brought1 not only was a displacement inevitable1 but even a dispossession4 ,but every dispossession requires the given forms to be filled with new contents4 ,simple as was the pure tradition of the confession3 ,jesus is the ,christ1 the task of rightly appropriating and handing down entire the peculiar contents which ,jesus had given to his self-witnessing and preaching was nevertheless great1 and in its limit uncertain4 ,even the ,jewish ,christian could perform this task only according to the measure of his spiritual understanding and the strength of his religious life4 ,moreover1 the external position of the first communities in the midst of contemporaries who had crucified and rejected ,jesus1 compelled them to prove1 as their main duty1 that ,jesus really was the ,messiah who was promised4 ,consequently1 everything united to bring the first communities to the conviction that the proclamation of the ,gospel with which they were entrusted1 resolved itself into the proclamation that ,jesus is the ,christ4 ,the ,greek3 didaskein terein panta hota eneteilato ho ,iesous 7teaching to observe all that ,jesus had commanded71 a thing of heart and life1 could not lead to reflection in the same degree1 as the ,greek3 didaskein hoti outos estin ho christos tou theou 7teaching that this is the ,christ of ,god73 for a community which possesses the ,spirit does not reflect on whether its conception is right1 but1 especially a missionary community1 on what the certainty of its faith rests4 ,the proclamation of ,jesus as the ,christ1 though rooted entirely in the ,old ,testament1 took its start from the exaltation of ,jesus1 which again resulted from his suffering and death4 ,the proof that the entire ,old ,testament points to him1 and that his person1 his deeds and his destiny are the actual and precise fulfilment of the ,old ,testament predictions1 was the foremost interest of believers1 so far as they at all looked backwards4 ,this proof was not used in the first place for the purpose of making the meaning and value of the ,messianic work of ,jesus more intelligible1 of which it did not seem to be in much need1 but to confirm the ,messiahship of ,jesus4 ,still1 points of view for contemplating the ,person and work of ,jesus could not fail to be got from the words of the ,prophets4 ,the fundamental conception of ,jesus dominating everything was1 according to the ,old ,testament1 that ,god had chosen him and through him the ,church4 ,god had chosen him and made him to be both ,lord and ,christ4 ,he had made over to him the work of setting up the ,kingdom1 and had led him through death and resurrection to a supra-mundane position of sovereignty1 in which he would soon visibly appear and bring about the end4 ,the hope of ,christ's speedy return was the most important article in the ,christology1 inasmuch as his work was regarded as only reaching its conclusion by that return4 ,it was the most difficult1 inasmuch as the ,old ,testament contained nothing of a second advent of ,messiah4 ,belief in the second advent became the specific ,christian belief4 ,but the searching in the scriptures of the ,old ,testament1 that is1 in the prophetic texts1 had already1 in estimating the ,person and dignity of ,christ1 given an important impulse towards transcending the frame-work of the idea of the theocracy completed solely in and for ,israel4 ,moreover1 belief in the exaltation of ,christ to the right hand of ,god1 caused men to form a corresponding idea of the beginning of his existence4 ,the missionary work among the ,gentiles1 so soon begun and so rich in results1 threw a new light on the range of ,christ's purpose and work1 and led to the consideration of its significance for the whole human race4 ,finally1 the self-testimony of ,jesus summoned them to ponder his relation to ,god the ,father1 with the presuppositions of that relation1 and to give it expression in intelligible statements4 ,speculation had already begun on these four points in the ,apostolic age1 and had resulted in very different utterances as to the ,person and dignity of ,jesus 7,sec4 #d74gi #c4 ,since ,jesus had appeared and was believed on as the ,messiah promised by the ,prophets1 the aim and contents of his mission seemed already to be therewith stated with sufficient clearness4 ,further1 as the work of ,christ was not yet completed1 the view of those contemplating it was1 above all1 turned to the future4 ,but in virtue of express words of ,jesus1 and in the consciousness of having received the ,spirit of ,god1 one was already certain of the forgiveness of sin dispensed by ,god1 of righteousness before him1 of the full knowledge of the ,divine will1 and of the call to the future ,kingdom as a present possession4 ,in the procuring of these blessings not a few perceived with certainty the results of the first advent of ,messiah1 that is1 his work4 ,this work might be seen in the whole activity of ,christ4 ,but as the forgiveness of sins might be conceived as the blessing of salvation which included with certainty every other blessing1 as ,jesus had put his death in express relation with this blessing1 and as the fact of this death so mysterious and offensive required a special explanation1 there appeared in the foreground from the very beginning the confession1 in #a ,cor4 ,,xv4 #c3 ,greek3 paredoxa humin en protois1 ho kai parelabon1 hoti christos apethanen huper ton hamartion hemon4 ,i delivered unto you first of all that which ,i also received1 that ,christ died for our sins4 ,not only ,paul1 for whom1 in virtue of his special reflections and experiences1 the cross of ,christ had become the central point of all knowledge1 but also the majority of believers1 must have regarded the preaching of the death of the ,lord as an essential article in the preaching of ,christ#hj1 seeing that1 as a rule1 they placed it somehow under the aspect of a sacrifice offered to ,god4 ,still1 there were very different conceptions of the value of the death as a means of procuring salvation1 and there may have been many who were satisfied with basing its necessity on the fact that it had been predicted1 7,greek3 apethanen kata tas graphas3 he died for our sins according to the scriptures71 while their real religious interests were entirely centered in the future glory to be procured by ,christ4 ,but it must have been of greater significance for the following period that1 from the first1 a short account of the destiny of ,jesus lay at the basis of all preaching about him 7see a part of this in #a ,cor4 ,,xv4 #a-aa74 ,those articles in which the identity of the ,christ who had appeared with the ,christ who had been promised stood out with special clearness1 must have been taken up into this report1 as well as those which transcended the common expectations of ,messiah1 which for that very reason appeared of special importance1 viz41 his death and resurrection4 ,in putting together this report1 there was no intention of describing the work of ,christ4 ,but after the interest which occasioned it had been obscured1 and had given place to other interests1 the customary preaching of those articles must have led men to see in them ,christ's real performance1 his work4#ha #d4 ,the firm confidence of the disciples in ,jesus was rooted in the belief that he did not abide in death1 but was raised by ,god4 ,that ,christ had risen was1 in virtue of what they had experienced in him1 certainly only after they had seen him1 just as sure as the fact of his death1 and became the main article of their preaching about him4#hb ,but in the message of the risen ,lord was contained not only the conviction that he lives again1 and now lives for ever1 but also the assurance that his people will rise in like manner and live eternally4 ,consequently1 the resurrection of ,jesus became the sure pledge of the resurrection of all believers1 that is of their real personal resurrection4 ,no one at the beginning thought of a mere immortality of the spirit1 not even those who assumed the perishableness of man's sensuous nature4 ,in conformity with the uncertainty which yet adhered to the idea of resurrection in ,jewish hopes and speculations1 the concrete notions of it in the ,christian communities were also fluctuating4 ,but this could not affect the certainty of the conviction that the ,lord would raise his people from death4 ,this conviction1 whose reverse side is the fear of that ,god who casts into hell1 has become the mightiest power through which the ,gospel has won humanity4#hc #e4 ,after the appearance of ,paul1 the earliest communities were greatly exercised by the question as to how believers obtain the righteousness which they possess1 and what significance a precise observance of the law of the ,fathers may have in connection with it4 ,while some would hear of no change in the regulations and conceptions which had hitherto existed1 and regarded the bestowal of righteousness by ,god as possible only on condition of a strict observance of the law1 others taught that ,jesus as ,messiah had procured righteousness for his people1 had fulfilled the law once for all1 and had founded a new covenant1 either in opposition to the old1 or as a stage above it4 ,paul especially saw in the death of ,christ the end of the law1 and deduced righteousness solely from faith in ,christ1 and sought to prove from the ,old ,testament itself1 by means of historical speculation1 the merely temporary validity of the law and therewith the abrogation of the ,old ,testament religion4 ,others1 and this view1 which is not everywhere to be explained by ,alexandrian influences 7see above p4 #gb f471 is not foreign to ,paul1 distinguished between spirit and letter in the ,mosaic law1 giving to everything a spiritual significance1 and in this sense holding that the whole law as ,greek3 nomos pneumatikos was binding4 ,the question whether righteousness comes from the works of the law or from faith1 was displaced by this conception1 and therefore remained in its deepest grounds unsolved1 or was decided in the sense of a spiritualised legalism4 ,but the detachment of ,christianity from the political forms of the ,jewish religion1 and from sacrificial worship1 was also completed by this conception1 although it was regarded as identical with the ,old ,testament religion rightly understood4 ,the surprising results of the direct mission to the ,gentiles would seem to have first called forth those controversies 7but see ,stephen7 and given them the highest significance4 ,the fact that one section of ,jewish ,christians1 and even some of the ,apostles1 at length recognised the right of the ,gentile ,christians to be ,christians without first becoming ,jews1 is the clearest proof that what was above all prized was faith in ,christ and surrender to him as the saviour4 ,in agreeing to the direct mission to the ,gentiles the earliest ,christians1 while they themselves observed the law1 broke up the national religion of ,israel1 and gave expression to the conviction that ,jesus was not only the ,messiah of his people1 but the redeemer of humanity4#hd ,the establishment of the universal character of the ,gospel1 that is1 of ,christianity as a religion for the world1 became now1 however1 a problem1 the solution of which1 as given by ,paul1 but few were able to understand or make their own4 #f4 ,in the conviction that salvation is entirely bound up with faith in ,jesus ,christ1 ,christendom gained the consciousness of being a new creation of ,god4 ,but while the sense of being the true ,israel was thereby1 at the same time1 held fast1 there followed1 on the one hand1 entirely new historical perspectives1 and on the other1 deep problems which demanded solution4 ,as a new creation of ,god1 ,greek3 he ekklesia tou theou1 the community was conscious of having been chosen by ,god in ,jesus before the foundation of the world4 ,in the conviction of being the true ,israel1 it claimed for itself the whole historical development recorded in the ,old ,testament1 convinced that all the divine activity there recorded had the new community in view4 ,the great question which was to find very different answers1 was how1 in accordance with this view1 the ,jewish nation1 so far as it had not recognised ,jesus as ,messiah1 should be judged4 ,the detachment of ,christianity from ,judaism was the most important preliminary condition1 and therefore the most important preparation1 for the ,mission among the ,gentile nations1 and for union with the ,greek spirit4 ,supplement #a4--,renan and others go too far when they say that ,paul alone has the glory of freeing ,christianity from the fetters of ,judaism4 ,certainly the great ,apostle could say in this connection also3 ,greek3 perissoteron auton panton ekopiasa1 but there were others beside him who1 in the power of the ,gospel1 transcended the limits of ,judaism4 ,christian communities1 it may now be considered certain1 had arisen in the empire1 in ,rome for example1 which were essentially free from the law without being in any way determined by ,paul's preaching4 ,it was ,paul's merit that he clearly formulated the great question1 established the universalism of ,christianity in a peculiar manner1 and yet in doing so held fast the character of ,christianity as a positive religion1 as distinguished from ,philosophy and ,moralism4 ,but the later development presupposes neither his clear formulation nor his peculiar establishment of universalism1 but only the universalism itself4 ,supplement #b4--,the dependence of the ,pauline ,theology on the ,old ,testament or on ,judaism is overlooked in the traditional contrasting of ,paulinism and ,jewish ,christianity1 in which ,paulinism is made equivalent to ,gentile ,christianity4 ,this theology1 as we might a priori suppose1 could1 apart from individual exceptions1 be intelligible as a whole to born ,jews1 if to any1 for its doctrinal presuppositions were strictly ,pharisaic1 and its boldness in criticising the ,old ,testament1 rejecting and asserting the law in its historical sense1 could be as little congenial to the ,gentile ,christians as its piety towards the ,jewish people4 ,this judgment is confirmed by a glance at the fate of ,pauline ,theology in the #abj years that followed4 ,marcion was the only ,gentile ,christian who understood ,paul1 and even he misunderstood him3 the rest never got beyond the appropriation of particular ,pauline sayings1 and exhibited no comprehension especially of the theology of the ,apostle1 so far as in it the universalism of ,christianity as a religion is proved1 even without recourse to ,moralism and without putting a new construction on the ,old ,testament religion4 ,it follows from this1 however1 that the scheme ,jewish ,christianity-,gentile ,christianity is insufficient4 ,we must rather1 in the ,apostolic age1 at least at its close1 distinguish four main tendencies that may have crossed each other here and there1#he 7within which again different shades appear74 7#a7 ,the ,gospel has to do with the people of ,israel1 and with the ,gentile world only on the condition that believers attach themselves to the people of ,israel4 ,the punctilious observance of the law is still necessary and the condition on which the messianic salvation is bestowed 7particularism and legalism1 in practice and in principle1 which1 however1 was not to cripple the obligation to prosecute the work of the ,mission74 7#b7 ,the ,gospel has to do with ,jews and ,gentiles3 the first1 as believers in ,christ1 are under obligation as before to observe the law1 the latter are not2 but for that reason they cannot on earth fuse into one community with the believing ,jews4 ,very different judgments in details were possible on this stand-point2 but the bestowal of salvation could no longer be thought of as depending simply on the keeping of the ceremonial commandments of the law#hf 7universalism in principle1 particularism in practice2 the prerogative of ,israel being to some extent clung to74 7#c7 ,the ,gospel has to do with both ,jews and ,gentiles2 no one is any longer under obligation to observe the law2 for the law is abolished 7or fulfilled71 and the salvation which ,christ's death has procured is appropriated by faith4 ,the law 7that is the ,old ,testament religion7 in its literal sense is of divine origin1 but was intended from the first only for a definite epoch of history4 ,the prerogative of ,israel remains1 and is shewn in the fact that salvation was first offered to the ,jews1 and it will be shewn again at the end of all history4 ,that prerogative refers to the nation as a whole1 and has nothing to do with the question of the salvation of individuals 7,paulinism3 universalism in principle and in practice1 and ,antinomianism in virtue of the recognition of a merely temporary validity of the whole law2 breach with the traditional religion of ,israel2 recognition of the prerogative of the people of ,israel2 the clinging to the prerogative of the people of ,israel was not1 however1 necessary on this stand-point3 see the epistle to the ,hebrews and the ,gospel of ,john74 7#d7 ,the ,gospel has to do with ,jews and ,gentiles3 no one need therefore be under obligation to observe the ceremonial commandments and sacrificial worship1 because these commandments themselves are only the wrappings of moral and spiritual commandments which the ,gospel has set forth as fulfilled in a more perfect form 7universalism in principle and in practice in virtue of a neutralising of the distinction between law and ,gospel1 old and new2 spiritualising and universalising of the law74#hg ,supplement #c4--,the appearance of ,paul is the most important fact in the history of the ,apostolic age4 ,it is impossible to give in a few sentences an abstract of his theology and work2 and the insertion here of a detailed account is forbidden1 not only by the external limits1 but by the aim of this investigation4 ,for1 as already indicated 7,sec4 #a71 the doctrinal formation in the ,gentile ,church is not connected with the whole phenomenon of the ,pauline theology1 but only with certain leading thoughts which were only in part peculiar to the ,apostle4 ,his most peculiar thoughts acted on the development of ,ecclesiastical doctrine only by way of occasional stimulus4 ,we can find room here only for a few general outlines4#hh 7#a7 ,the inner conviction that ,christ had revealed himself to him1 that the ,gospel was the message of the crucified and risen ,christ1 and that ,god had called him to proclaim that message to the world1 was the power and the secret of his personality and his activity4 ,these three elements were a unity in the consciousness of ,paul1 constituting his conversion and determining his after-life4 7#b7 ,in this conviction he knew himself to be a new creature1 and so vivid was this knowledge that he was constrained to become a ,jew to the ,jews1 and a ,greek to the ,greeks in order to gain them4 7#c7 ,the crucified and risen ,christ became the central point of his theology1 and not only the central point1 but the one source and ruling principle4 ,the ,christ was not in his estimation ,jesus of ,nazareth now exalted1 but the mighty personal spiritual being in divine form who had for a time humbled himself1 and who as ,spirit has broken up the world of law1 sin1 and death1 and continues to overcome them in believers4 7#d7 ,theology therefore was to him1 looking forwards1 the doctrine of the liberating power of the ,spirit 7of ,christ7 in all the concrete relations of human life and need4 ,the ,christ who has already overcome law1 sin and death1 lives as ,spirit1 and through his ,spirit lives in believers1 who for that very reason know him not after the flesh4 ,he is a creative power of life to those who receive him in faith in his redeeming death upon the cross1 that is to say1 to those who are justified4 ,the life in the ,spirit1 which results from union with ,christ1 will at last reveal itself also in the body 7not in the flesh74 7#e7 ,looking backwards1 theology was to ,paul a doctrine of the law and of its abrogation2 or more accurately1 a description of the old system before ,christ in the light of the ,gospel1 and the proof that it was destroyed by ,christ4 ,the scriptural proof1 even here1 is only a superadded support to inner considerations which move entirely within the thought that that which is abrogated has already had its due1 by having its whole strength made manifest that it might then be annulled1--the law1 the flesh of sin1 death3 by the law the law is destroyed1 sin is abolished in sinful flesh1 death is destroyed by death4 7#f7 ,the historical view which followed from this begins1 as regards ,christ1 with ,adam and ,abraham2 as regards the law1 with ,moses4 ,it closes1 as regards ,christ1 with the prospect of a time when he shall have put all enemies beneath his feet1 when ,god will be all in all2 as regards ,moses and the promises given to the ,jewish nation1 with the prospect of a time when all ,israel will be saved4 7#g7 ,paul's doctrine of ,christ starts from the final confession of the primitive ,church1 that ,christ is with the ,father as a heavenly being and as ,lord of the living and the dead4 ,though ,paul must have accurately known the proclamation concerning the historical ,christ1 his theology in the strict sense of the word does not revert to it3 but springing over the historical1 it begins with the pre-existent ,christ 7the ,man from heaven71 whose moral deed it was to assume the flesh in self-denying love1 in order to break for all men the powers of nature and the doom of death4 ,but he has pointed to the words and example of the historical ,christ in order to rule the life in the ,spirit4 7#h7 ,deductions1 proofs1 and perhaps also conceptions1 which in point of form betray the theology of the ,pharisaic schools1 were forced from the ,apostle by ,christian opponents1 who would only grant a place to the message of the crucified ,christ beside the ,greek3 dikaiosune ex ergon4 ,both as an exegete and as a typologist he appears as a disciple of the ,pharisees4 ,but his dialectic about law1 circumcision and sacrifice1 does not form the kernel of his religious mode of thought1 though1 on the other hand1 it was unquestionably his very ,pharisaism which qualified him for becoming what he was4 ,pharisaism embraced nearly everything lofty which ,judaism apart from ,christ at all possessed1 and its doctrine of providence1 its energetic insistence on making manifest the religious contrasts1 its ,messianic expectations1 its doctrines of sin and predestination1 were conditions for the genesis of a religious and ,christian character such as ,paul4#hi ,this first ,christian of the second generation is the highest product of the ,jewish spirit under the creative power of the ,spirit of ,christ4 ,pharisaism had fulfilled its mission for the world when it produced this man4 7#i7 ,but ,hellenism also had a share in the making of ,paul1 a fact which does not conflict with his ,pharisaic origin1 but is partly given with it4 ,in spite of all its exclusiveness the desire for making proselytes1 especially in the ,diaspora1 was in the blood of ,pharisaism4 ,paul continued the old movement in a new way1 and he was qualified for his work among the ,greeks by an accurate knowledge of the ,greek translation of the ,old ,testament1 by considerable dexterity in the use of the ,greek language1 and by a growing insight into the spiritual life of the ,greeks4 ,but the peculiarity of his ,gospel as a message from the ,spirit of ,christ1 which was equally near to and equally distant from every religious and moral mode of thought among the nations of the world1 signified much more than all this4 ,this ,gospel--who can say whether ,hellenism had already a share in its conception--required that the missionary to the ,greeks should become a ,greek and that believers should come to know1 all things are yours1 and ye are ,christ's4 ,paul1 as no doubt other missionaries besides him1 connected the preaching of ,christ with the ,greek mode of thought2 he even employed philosophic doctrines of the ,greeks as presuppositions in his apologetic1#ij and therewith prepared the way for the introduction of the ,gospel to the ,graeco-,roman world of thought4 ,but1 in my opinion1 he has nowhere allowed that world of thought to influence his doctrine of salvation4 ,this doctrine1 however1 was so fashioned in its practical aims that it was not necessary to become a ,jew in order to appropriate it4 7#aj7 ,yet we cannot speak of any total effect of ,paulinism1 as there was no such thing4 ,the abundance of its details was too great and the greatness of its simplicity too powerful1 its hope of the future too vivid1 its doctrine of the law too difficult1 its summons to a new life in the spirit too mighty to be comprehended and adhered to even by those communities which ,paul himself had founded4 ,what they did comprehend was its ,monotheism1 its universalism1 its redemption1 its eternal life1 its asceticism2 but all this was otherwise combined than by ,paul4 ,the style became ,hellenic1 and the element of a new kind of knowledge from the very first1 as in the ,church of ,corinth1 seems to have been the ruling one4 ,the ,pauline doctrine of the incarnate heavenly ,man was indeed apprehended2 it fell in with ,greek notions1 although it meant something very different from the notions which ,greeks had been able to form of it4 ,supplement #d4--,what we justly prize above all else in the ,new ,testament is that it is a union of the three groups1 ,synoptic ,gospels1 ,pauline ,epistles1#ia and ,johannine writings1 in which are expressed the richest contents of the earliest history of the ,gospel4 ,in the ,synoptic ,gospels and the epistles of ,paul are represented two types of preaching the ,gospel which mutually supplement each other4 ,the subsequent history is dependent on both1 and would have been other than it is had not both existed alongside of each other4 ,on the other hand1 the peculiar and lofty conception of ,christ and of the ,gospel1 which stands out in the writings of ,john1 has directly exercised no demonstrable influence on the succeeding development--with the exception of one peculiar movement1 the ,montanistic1 which1 however1 does not rest on a true understanding of these writings--and indeed partly for the same reason that has prevented the ,pauline theology as a whole from having such an influence4 ,what is given in these writings is a criticism of the ,old ,testament as religion1 or the independence of the ,christian religion1 in virtue of an accurate knowledge of the ,old ,testament through development of its hidden germs4 ,the ,old ,testament stage of religion is really transcended and overcome in the ,johannine ,christianity1 just as in ,paulinism1 and in the theology of the epistle to the ,hebrews4 ,the circle of disciples who appropriated this characterisation of ,jesus is1 says ,weizsaecker1 a revived ,christ-party in the higher sense4 ,but this transcending of the ,old ,testament religion was the very thing that was unintelligible1 because there were few ripe for such a conception4 ,moreover1 the origin of the ,johannine writings is1 from the stand-point of a history of literature and dogma1 the most marvellous enigma which the early history of ,christianity presents3 ,here we have portrayed a ,christ who clothes the indescribable with words1 and proclaims as his own self-testimony what his disciples have experienced in him1 a speaking1 acting1 ,pauline ,christ1 walking on the earth1 far more human than the ,christ of ,paul and yet far more ,divine1 an abundance of allusions to the historical ,jesus1 and at the same time the most sovereign treatment of the history4 ,one divines that the ,gospel can find no loftier expression than ,john ,,xvii43 one feels that ,christ himself put these words into the mouth of the disciple1 who gives them back to him1 but word and thing1 history and doctrine are surrounded by a bright cloud of the suprahistorical4 ,it is easy to shew that this ,gospel could as little have been written without ,hellenism1 as ,luther's treatise on the freedom of a ,christian man could have been written without the ,deutsche ,theologie4 ,but the reference to ,philo and ,hellenism is by no means sufficient here1 as it does not satisfactorily explain even one of the external aspects of the problem4 ,the elements operative in the ,johannine theology were not ,greek ,theologoumena--even the ,logos has little more in common with that of ,philo than the name1 and its mention at the beginning of the book is a mystery1 not the solution of one#ib--;but the ,apostolic testimony concerning ,christ has created from the old faith of ,psalmists and ,prophets1 a new faith in a man who lived with the disciples of ,jesus among the ,greeks4 ,for that very reason1 in spite of his abrupt ,anti-judaism1 we must without doubt regard the ,author as a born ,jew4 ,supplement #e4--,the authorities to which the ,christian communities were subjected in faith and life1 were these3 7#a7 ,the ,old ,testament interpreted in the ,christian sense4 7#b7 ,the tradition of the ,messianic history of ,jesus4 7#c7 ,the words of the ,lord3 see the epistles of ,paul1 especially #a ,corinthians4 ,but every writing which was proved to have been given by the ,spirit had also to be regarded as an authority1 and every tested ,christian ,prophet and ,teacher inspired by the ,spirit could claim that his words be received and regarded as the words of ,god4 ,moreover1 the twelve whom ,jesus had chosen had a special authority1 and ,paul claimed a similar authority for himself 7,greek3 diataxeis ton apostolon74 ,consequently1 there were numerous courts of appeal in the earliest period of ,christendom1 of diverse kinds and by no means strictly defined4 ,in the manifold gifts of the spirit was given a fluid element indefinable in its range and scope1 an element which guaranteed freedom of development1 but which also threatened to lead the enthusiastic communities to extravagance4 ,literature4--,weiss1 ,biblical ,theology of the ,new ,testament1 #ahhd4 ,beyschlag1 ,new ,testament ,theology1 #ahib4 ,ritschl1 ,entstehung der ,alt-,katholischen ,kirche1 #b ,edit4 #aheg4 ,reuss1 ,history of ,christian ,theology in the ,apostolic ,age1 #ahfd4 ,baur1 ,the ,apostle ,paul1 #ahff4 ,holsten1 ,zum ,evangelium des ,paulus und ,petrus1 #ahfh4 ,pfleiderer1 ,paulinism1 #ahgc3 also1 ,das ,urchristenthum1 #ahhg4 ,schenkel1 ,das ,christusbild der ,apostel1 #ahgi4 ,renan1 ,origins of ,christianity ,vols4 ,,ii4-,,iv4 ,havet1 ,le ,christianisme et ses orig4 ,t1 ,,iv4 #ahhd4 ,lechler1 ,the ,apostolic and ,post-,apostolic ,age1 #ahhe4 ,weizsaecker1 ,the ,apostolic ,age1 #ahib4 ,hatch1 ,article ,paul in the ,encyclopaedia ,britannica4 ,everett1 ,the ,gospel of ,paul4 ,boston1 #ahic4 ,on the origin and earliest history of the ,christian proofs from prophecy1 see my ,texte und ,unters4 z4 ,gesch4 der ,alt-,christl4 ,lit4 ,i4 #c1 p4 #ef f4 ,sec4 #d4 ,the ,current ,exposition of the ,old ,testament1 and the ,jewish hopes of the future1 in their significance for the earliest types of ,christian preaching4 ,instead of the frequently very fruitless investigations about ,jewish-,christian1 and ,gentile-,christian1 it should be asked1 ,what ,jewish elements have been naturalised in the ,christian ,church1 which were in no way demanded by the contents of the ,gospel8 have these elements been simply weakened in course of the development1 or have some of them been strengthened by a peculiar combination with the ,greek8 ,we have to do here1 in the first instance1 with the doctrine of ,demons and ,angels1 the view of history1 the growing exclusiveness1 the fanaticism2 and on the other hand1 with the cultus1 and the ,theocracy1 expressing itself in forms of law4 #a4 ,although ,jesus had in principle abolished the methods of pedantry1 the casuistic treatment of the law1 and the subtleties of prophetic interpretation1 yet the old ,scholastic exegesis remained active in the ,christian communities above all the unhistorical local method in the exposition of the ,old ,testament1 both allegoristic and ,haggadic2 for in the exposition of a sacred text--and the ,old ,testament was regarded as such--one is always required to look away from its historical limitations and to expound it according to the needs of the present4#ic ,the traditional view exercised its influence on the exposition of the ,old ,testament1 as well as on the representations of the person1 fate and deeds of ,jesus1 especially in those cases where the question was about the proof of the fulfilment of prophecy1 that is1 of the ,messiahship of ,jesus4 7,see above ,sec4 #c1 #b74 ,under the impression made by the history of ,jesus it gave to many ,old ,testament passages a sense that was foreign to them1 and1 on the other hand1 enriched the life of ,jesus with new facts1 turning the interest at the same time to details which were frequently unreal and seldom of striking importance4#id #b4 ,the ,jewish ,apocalyptic literature1 especially as it flourished since the time of ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 and was impregnated with new elements borrowed from an ethico-religious philosophy1 as well as with ,babylonian and ,persian myths 7,greek myths can only be detected in very small number71 was not banished from the circles of the first professors of the ,gospel1 but was rather held fast1 eagerly read1 and even extended with the view of elucidating the promises of ,jesus4#ie ,though their contents seem to have been modified on ,christian soil1 and especially the uncertainty about the person of the ,messiah exalted to victory and coming to judgment1#if yet the sensuous earthly hopes were in no way repressed4 ,green fat meadows and sulphurous abysses1 white horses and frightful beasts1 trees of life1 splendid cities1 war and bloodshed filled the fancy1#ig and threatened to obscure the simple and yet1 at bottom1 much more affecting maxims about the judgment which is certain to every individual soul1 and drew the confessors of the ,gospel into a restless activity1 into politics1 and abhorrence of the ,state4 ,it was an evil inheritance which the ,christians took over from the ,jews1#ih an inheritance which makes it impossible to reproduce with certainty the eschatological sayings of ,jesus4 ,things directly foreign were mixed up with them1 and1 what was most serious1 delineations of the hopes of the future could easily lead to the undervaluing of the most important gifts and duties of the ,gospel4#ii #c4 ,a wealth of mythologies and poetic ideas was naturalised and legitimised#ajj in the ,christian communities1 chiefly by the reception of the ,apocalyptic literature1 but also by the reception of artificial exegesis and ,haggada4 ,most important for the following period were the speculations about ,messiah1 which were partly borrowed from expositions of the ,old ,testament and from the ,apocalypses1 partly formed independently1 according to methods the justice of which no one contested1 and the application of which seemed to give a firm basis to religious faith4 ,some of the ,jewish ,apocalyptists had already attributed pre-existence to the expected ,messiah1 as to other precious things in the ,old ,testament history and worship1 and1 without any thought of denying his human nature1 placed him as already existing before his appearing in a series of angelic beings4#aja ,this took place in accordance with an established method of speculation1 so far as an attempt was made thereby to express the special value of an empiric object1 by distinguishing between the essence and the inadequate form of appearance1 hypostatising the essence1 and exalting it above time and space4 ,but when a later appearance was conceived as the aim of a series of preparations1 it was frequently hypostatised and placed above these preparations even in time4 ,the supposed aim was1 in a kind of real existence1 placed1 as first cause1 before the means which were destined to realise it on earth4#ajb ,some of the first confessors of the ,gospel1 though not all the writers of the ,new ,testament1 in accordance with the same method1 went beyond the declarations which ,jesus himself had made about his person1 and endeavoured to conceive its value and absolute significance abstractly and speculatively4 ,the religious convictions 7see ,sec4 #c4 #b73 7#a7 ,that the founding of the ,kingdom of ,god on earth1 and the mission of ,jesus as the perfect mediator1 were from eternity based on ,god's plan of ,salvation1 as his main purpose2 7#b7 that the exalted ,christ was called into a position of ,godlike ,sovereignty belonging to him of right2 7#c7 that ,god himself was manifested in ,jesus1 and that he therefore surpasses all mediators of the ,old ,testament1 nay1 even all angelic powers1--these convictions with some took the form that ,jesus pre-existed1 and that in him has appeared and taken flesh a heavenly being fashioned like ,god1 who is older than the world1 nay1 its creative principle4#ajc ,the conceptions of the old ,teachers1 ,paul1 the author of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 the ,apocalypse1 the author of the first ,epistle of ,peter1 the fourth ,evangelist1 differ in many ways when they attempt to define these convictions more closely4 ,the latter is the only one who has recognised with perfect clearness that the premundane ,christ must be assumed to be ,greek3 theos hon en arche pros ton theon1 so as not to endanger by this speculation the contents and significance of the revelation of ,god which was given in ,christ4 ,this1 in the earliest period1 was essentially a religious problem1 that is1 it was not introduced for the explanation of cosmological problems1 7see1 especially1 ,epistle to the ,ephesians1 ,i ,peter2 but also the ,gospel of ,john71 and there stood peacefully beside it1 such conceptions as recognised the equipment of the man ,jesus for his office in a communication of the ,spirit at his baptism1#ajd or in virtue of ,isaiah ,,vii41 found the germ of his unique nature in his miraculous origin4#aje ,but as soon as that speculation was detached from its original foundation1 it necessarily withdrew the minds of believers from the consideration of the work of ,christ1 and from the contemplation of the revelation of ,god which was given in the ministry of the historical person ,jesus4 ,the mystery of the person of ,jesus in itself1 would then necessarily appear as the true revelation4#ajf ,a series of theologoumena and religious problems for the future doctrine of ,christianity lay ready in the teaching of the ,pharisees and in the ,apocalypses 7see especially the fourth book of ,ezra71 and was really fitted for being of service to it2 e4g41 doctrines about ,adam1 universal sinfulness1 the fall1 predestination1 ,theodicy1 etc41 besides all kinds of ideas about redemption4 ,besides these spiritual doctrines there were not a few spiritualised myths which were variously made use of in the ,apocalypses4 ,a rich1 spiritual1 figurative style1 only too rich and therefore confused1 waited for the theological artist to purify1 reduce and vigorously fashion4 ,there really remained very little of the ,cosmico-,mythological in the doctrine of the great ,church4 ,supplement4--,the reference to the proof from prophecy1 to the current exposition of the ,old ,testament1 the ,apocalyptic and the prevailing methods of speculation1 does not suffice to explain all the elements which are found in the different types of ,christian preaching4 ,we must rather bear in mind here that the earliest communities were enthusiastic1 and had yet among them prophets and ecstatic persons4 ,such circumstances will always directly produce facts in the history4 ,but1 in the majority of cases1 it is absolutely impossible to account subsequently for the causes of such productions1 because their formation is subject to no law accessible to the understanding4 ,it is therefore inadmissible to regard as proved the reality of what is recorded and believed to be a fact1 when the motive and interest which led to its acceptance can no longer be ascertained4#ajg ,moreover1 if we consider the conditions1 outer and inner1 in which the preaching of ,christ in the first decades was placed1 conditions which in every way threatened the ,gospel with extravagance1 we shall only see cause to wonder that it continued to shine forth amid all its wrappings4 ,we can still1 out of the strangest fulfilments1 legends and mythological ideas1 read the religious conviction that the aim and goal of history is disclosed in the history of ,christ1 and that the ,divine has now entered into history in a pure form4 ,literature4--,the ,apocalypses of ,daniel1 ,enoch1 ,moses1 ,baruch1 ,ezra2 ,schuerer1 ,history of the ,jewish ,people in the time of ,christ2 ,baldensperger1 in the work already mentioned4 ,weber1 ,system der ,altsynagogalen palaestinischen ,theologie1 #ahhj1 ,kuenen1 ,hibbert ,lectures1 #ahhc4 ,hilgenfeld1 ,die juedische ,apokalyptik1 #aheg4 ,wellhausen1 ,sketch of the ,history of ,israel and ,judah1 #ahhg4 ,diestel1 ,gesch4 des ,a4 ,t4 in der ,christl4 ,kirche1 #ahfi4 ,other literature in ,schuerer4 ,the essay of ,hellwag in the ,theol4 ,jahrb4 von ,baur and ,zeller1 #ahdh1 ,die ,vorstellung von der ,praeexistenz ,christi in der aeltesten ,kirche1 is worth noting2 also ,joel1 ,blicke in die ,religionsgeschichte zu ,anfang des #b ,christl4 ,jahrhunderts1 #ahhj-ahhc4 ,sec4 #e4 ,the ,religious ,conceptions and the ,religious ,philosophy of the ,hellenistic ,jews1 in their significance for the later formulation of the ,gospel4 #a4 ,from the remains of the ,jewish ,alexandrian literature and the ,jewish ,sibylline writings1 also from the work of ,josephus1 and especially from the great propaganda of ,judaism in the ,graeco-,roman world1 we may gather that there was a ,judaism in the ,diaspora1 for the consciousness of which the cultus and ceremonial law were of comparatively subordinate importance2 while the monotheistic worship of ,god1 apart from images1 the doctrines of virtue and belief in a future reward beyond the grave1 stood in the foreground as its really essential marks4 ,converted ,gentiles were no longer everywhere required to be even circumcised2 the bath of purification was deemed sufficient4 ,the ,jewish religion here appears transformed into a universal human ethic and a monotheistic cosmology4 ,for that reason1 the idea of the ,theocracy as well as the ,messianic hopes of the future faded away or were uprooted4 ,the latter1 indeed1 did not altogether pass away2 but as the oracles of the ,prophets were made use of mainly for the purpose of proving the antiquity and certainty of monotheistic belief1 the thought of the future was essentially exhausted in the expectation of the dissolution of the ,roman empire1 the burning of the world1 and the eternal recompense4 ,the specific ,jewish element1 however1 stood out plainly in the assertion that the ,old ,testament1 and especially the books of ,moses1 were the source of all true knowledge of ,god1 and the sum total of all doctrines of virtue for the nations1 as well as in the connected assertion that the religious and moral culture of the ,greeks was derived from the ,old ,testament1 as the source from which the ,greek ,poets and ,philosophers had drawn their inspiration4#ajh ,these ,jews and the ,greeks converted by them formed1 as it were1 a ,judaism of a second order without law1 i4e41 ceremonial law1 and with a minimum of statutory regulations4 ,this ,judaism prepared the soil for the ,christianising of the ,greeks1 as well as for the genesis of a great ,gentile ,church in the empire1 free from the law2 and this the more that1 as it seems1 after the second destruction of ,jerusalem1 the punctilious observance of the law#aji was imposed more strictly than before on all who worshipped the ,god of the ,jews4#aaj ,the ,judaism just portrayed1 developed itself1 under the influence of the ,greek culture with which it came in contact1 into a kind of ,cosmopolitanism4 ,it divested itself1 as religion1 of all national forms1 and exhibited itself as the most perfect expression of that natural religion which the stoics had disclosed4 ,but in proportion as it was enlarged and spiritualised to a universal religion for humanity1 it abandoned what was most peculiar to it1 and could not compensate for that loss by the assertion of the thesis that the ,old ,testament is the oldest and most reliable source of that natural religion1 which in the traditions of the ,greeks had only witnesses of the second rank4 ,the vigour and immediateness of the religious feeling was flattened down to a moralism1 the barrenness of which drove some ,jews even into ,gnosis1 mysticism and asceticism4#aaa #b4 ,the ,jewish ,alexandrian philosophy of religion1 of which ,philo gives us the clearest conception1#aab is the scientific theory which corresponded to this religious conception4 ,the theological system which ,philo1 in accordance with the example of others1 gave out as the ,mosaic system revealed by ,god1 and proved from the ,old ,testament by means of the allegoric exegetic method1 is essentially identical with the system of ,stoicism1 which had been mixed with ,platonic elements and had lost its ,pantheistic materialistic impress4 ,the fundamental idea from which ,philo starts is a ,platonic one2 the dualism of ,god and the world1 spirit and matter4 ,the idea of ,god itself is therefore abstractly and negatively conceived 7,god1 the real substance which is not finite71 and has nothing more in common with the ,old ,testament conception4 ,the possibility1 however1 of being able to represent ,god as acting on matter1 which as the finite is the non-existent1 and therefore the evil1 is reached1 with the help of the ,stoic ,greek3 logos as working powers and of the ,platonic doctrine of archetypal ideas1 and in outward connection with the ,jewish doctrine of angels and the ,greek doctrine of demons1 by the introduction of intermediate spiritual beings which1 as personal and impersonal powers proceeding from ,god1 are to be thought of as operative causes and as ,archetypes4 ,all these beings are1 as it were1 comprehended in the ,logos4 ,by the ,logos ,philo understands the operative reason of ,god1 and consequently also the power of ,god4 ,the ,logos is to him the thought of ,god and at the same time the product of his thought1 therefore both idea and power4 ,but further1 the ,logos is ,god himself on that side of him which is turned to the world1 as also the ideal of the world and the unity of the spiritual forces which produce the world and rule in it4 ,he can therefore be put beside ,god and in opposition to the world2 but he can also1 so far as the spiritual contents of the world are comprehended in him1 be put with the world in contrast with ,god4 ,the ,logos accordingly appears as the ,son of ,god1 the foremost creature1 the representative1 ,viceroy1 ,high ,priest1 and ,messenger of ,god2 and again as principle of the world1 spirit of the world1 nay1 as the world itself4 ,he appears as a power and as a person1 as a function of ,god and as an active divine being4 ,had ,philo cancelled the contradiction which lies in this whole conception of the ,logos1 his system would have been demolished2 for that system with its hard antithesis of ,god and the world1 needed a mediator who was1 and yet was not ,god1 as well as world4 ,from this contrast1 however1 it further followed that we can only think of a world-formation by the ,logos1 not of a world-creation4#aac ,within this world man is regarded as a microcosm1 that is1 as a being of ,divine nature according to his spirit1 who belongs to the heavenly world1 while the adhering body is a prison which holds men captive in the fetters of sense1 that is1 of sin4 ,the ,stoic and ,platonic ideals and rules of conduct 7also the ,neo-pythagorean7 were united by ,philo in the religious ,ethic as well as in the ,cosmology4 ,rationalistic moralism is surmounted by the injunction to strive after a higher good lying above virtue4 ,but here1 at the same time1 is the point at which ,philo decidedly goes beyond ,platonism1 and introduces a new thought into ,greek ,ethics1 and also in correspondence therewith into theoretic philosophy4 ,this thought1 which indeed lay altogether in the line of the development of ,greek philosophy1 was not1 however1 pursued by ,philo into all its consequences1 though it was the expression of a new frame of mind4 ,while the highest good is resolved by ,plato and his successors into knowledge of truth1 which truth1 together with the idea of ,god1 lies in a sphere really accessible to the intellectual powers of the human spirit1 the highest good1 the ,divine original being1 is considered by ,philo1 though not invariably1 to be above reason1 and the power of comprehending it is denied to the human intellect4 ,this assumption1 a concession which ,greek speculation was compelled to make to positive religion for the supremacy which was yielded to it1 was to have far-reaching consequences in the future4 ,a place was now for the first time provided in philosophy for a mythology to be regarded as revelation4 ,the highest truths which could not otherwise be reached1 might be sought for in the oracles of the ,deity2 for knowledge resting on itself had learnt by experience its inability to attain to the truth in which blessedness consists4 ,in this very experience the intellectualism of ,greek ,ethics was1 not indeed cancelled1 but surmounted4 ,the injunction to free oneself from sense and strive upwards by means of knowledge1 remained2 but the wings of the thinking mind bore it only to the entrance of the sanctuary4 ,only ecstasy produced by ,god himself was able to lead to the reality above reason4 ,the great novelties in the system of ,philo1 though in a certain sense the way had already been prepared for them1 are the introduction of the idea of a philosophy of revelation and the advance beyond the absolute intellectualism of ,greek philosophy1 an advance based on scepticism1 but also on the deep-felt needs of life4 ,only the germs of these are found in ,philo1 but they are already operative4 ,they are innovations of world-wide importance3 for in them the covenant between the thoughts of reason on the one hand1 and the belief in revelation and mysticism on the other1 is already so completed that neither by itself could permanently maintain the supremacy4 ,thought about the world was henceforth dependent1 not only on practical motives1 it is always that1 but on the need of a blessedness and peace which is higher than all reason4 ,it might1 perhaps1 be allowable to say that ,philo was the first who1 as a philosopher1 plainly expressed that need1 just because he was not only a ,greek1 but also a ,jew4#aad ,apart from the extremes into which the ethical counsels of ,philo run1 they contain nothing that had not been demanded by philosophers before him4 ,the purifying of the affections1 the renunciation of sensuality1 the acquisition of the four cardinal virtues1 the greatest possible simplicity of life1 as well as a cosmopolitan disposition are enjoined4#aae ,but the attainment of the highest morality by our own strength is despaired of1 and man is directed beyond himself to ,god's assistance4 ,redemption begins with the spirit reflecting on its own condition2 it advances by a knowledge of the world and of the ,logos1 and it is perfected1 after complete asceticism1 by mystic ecstatic contemplation in which a man loses himself1 but in return is entirely filled and moved by ,god4#aaf ,in this condition man has a foretaste of the blessedness which shall be given him when the soul1 freed from the body1 will be restored to its true existence as a heavenly being4 ,this system1 notwithstanding its appeal to revelation1 has1 in the strict sense of the word1 no place for ,messianic hopes1 of which nothing but very insignificant rudiments are found in ,philo4 ,but he was really animated by the hope of a glorious time to come for ,judaism4 ,the synthesis of the ,messiah and the ,logos did not lie within his horizon4#aag #c4 ,neither ,philo's philosophy of religion1 nor the mode of thought from which it springs1 exercised any appreciable influence on the first generation of believers in ,christ4#aah ,but its practical ground-thoughts1 though in different degrees1 must have found admission very early into the ,jewish ,christian circles of the ,diaspora1 and through them to ,gentile ,christian circles also4 ,philo's philosophy of religion became operative among ,christian teachers from the beginning of the second century1#aai and at a later period actually obtained the significance of a standard of ,christian theology1 ,philo gaining a place among ,christian writers4 ,the systems of ,valentinus and ,origen presuppose that of ,philo4 ,it can no longer1 however1 be shewn with certainty how far the direct influence of ,philo reached1 as the development of religious ideas in the second century took a direction which necessarily led to views similar to those which ,philo had anticipated 7see ,sec4 #f1 and the whole following account74 ,supplement4--,the hermeneutic principles 7the ,biblicalalchemy71 above all1 became of the utmost importance for the following period4 ,these were partly invented by ,philo himself1 partly traditional1--the ,haggadic rules of exposition and the hermeneutic principles of the ,stoics having already at an earlier period been united in ,alexandria4 ,they fall into two main classes2 first1 those according to which the literal sense is excluded1 and the allegoric proved to be the only possible one1 and then1 those according to which the allegoric sense is discovered as standing beside and above the literal sense4#abj ,that these rules permitted the discovery of a new sense by minute changes within a word1 was a point of special importance4#aba ,christian teachers went still further in this direction1 and1 as can be proved1 altered the text of the ,septuagint in order to make more definite what suggested itself to them as the meaning of a passage1 or in order to give a satisfactory meaning to a sentence which appeared to them unmeaning or offensive4#abb ,nay1 attempts were not wanting among ,christians in the second century--they were aided by the uncertainty that existed about the extent of the ,septuagint1 and by the want of plain predictions about the death upon the cross--to determine the ,old ,testament canon in accordance with new principles2 that is1 to alter the text on the plea that the ,jews had corrupted it1 and to insert new books into the ,old ,testament1 above all1 ,jewish ,apocalypses revised in a ,christian sense4 ,tertullian 7de cultu fem4 ,i4 #c17 furnishes a good example of the latter4 ,scio scipturam ,enoch1 quae hunc ordinem angelis dedit1 non recipi a quibusdam1 quia nee in armorium ,judaicum admittitur 444 sed cum ,enoch eadem scriptura etiam de domino praedicarit1 a nobis quidem nihil omnino reiciendum est quod pertinet ad nos4 ,et legimus omnem scripturam aedificationi habilem divinitus inspirari4 ,a ,judaeis potest jam videri propterea reiecta1 sicut et cetera fere quae ,christum sonant4444 ,eo accedit quod ,enoch apud ,judam apostolum testimonium possidet4 ,compare also the history of the ,apocalypse of ,ezra in the ,latin ,bible 7,old ,testament74 ,not only the genuine ,greek portions of the ,septuagint1 but also many ,apocalypses were quoted by ,christians in the second century as of equal value with the ,old ,testament4 ,it was the ,new ,testament that slowly put an end to these tendencies towards the formation of a ,christian ,old ,testament4 ,to find the spiritual meaning of the sacred text1 partly beside the literal1 partly by excluding it1 became the watchword for the scientific ,christian theology which was possible only on this basis1 as it endeavoured to reduce the immense and dissimilar material of the ,old ,testament to unity with the ,gospel1 and both with the religious and scientific culture of the ,greeks1--yet without knowing a relative standard1 the application of which would alone have rendered possible in a loyal way the solution of the task4 ,here1 ,philo was the master2 for he first to a great extent poured the new wine into old bottles4 ,such a procedure is warranted by its final purpose2 for history is a unity4 ,but applied in a pedantic and stringently dogmatic way it is a source of deception1 of untruthfulness1 and finally of total blindness4 ,literature4--,gefroerer1 ,das ,jahr des ,heils1 #ahch4 ,parthey1 ,das ,alexandr4 ,museum1 #ahch4 ,matter1 ,hist4 de l'ecole d',alex4 #ahdj4 ,daehne1 ,gesch4 ,darstellung der jued4-alex4 ,religions-philos4 #ahcd4 ,zeller1 ,die ,philosophie der ,griechen1 ,,iii4 #b4 #crd ,edition4 ,mommsen1 ,history of ,rome1 ,vol4 ,v4 ,siegfried1 ,philo von ,alex4 #ahge4 ,massebieau1 ,le ,classement des ,oeuvres de ,philon4 #ahhi4 ,hatch1 ,essays in ,biblical ,greek1 #ahhi4 ,drummond1 ,philo ,judaeus1 #ahhh4 ,bigg1 ,the ,christian ,platonists of ,alexandria1 #ahhf4 ,schuerer1 ,history of the ,jewish ,people4 ,the investigations of ,freudenthal 7,hellenistische ,studien71 and ,bernays 7,ueber das phokylideische ,gedicht2 ,theophrastos' ,schrift ueber ,froemmigkeit2 ,die heraklitischen ,briefe74 ,kuenen1 ,hibbert ,lectures3 ,christian ,theology could have made and has made much use of ,hellenism4 ,but the ,christian religion cannot have sprung from this source4 ,havet thinks otherwise1 though in the fourth volume of his ,origines he has made unexpected admissions4 ,sec4 #f4 ,the ,religious ,dispositions of the ,greeks and ,romans in the first two centuries1 and the current ,graeco-,roman ,philosophy of ,religion4 #a4 ,after the national religion and the religious sense generally in cultured circles had been all but lost in the age of ,cicero and ,augustus1 there is noticeable in the ,graeco-,roman world from the beginning of the second century a revival of religious feeling which embraced all classes of society1 and appears1 especially from the middle of that century1 to have increased from decennium to decennium4#abc ,parallel with it went the not altogether unsuccessful attempt to restore the old national worship1 religious usages1 oracles1 etc4 ,in these attempts1 however1 which were partly superficial and artificial1 the new religious needs found neither vigorous nor clear expression4 ,these needs rather sought new forms of satisfaction corresponding to the wholly changed conditions of the time1 including intercourse and mixing of the nations2 decay of the old republican orders1 divisions and ranks2 monarchy and absolutism and social crises2 pauperism2 influence of philosophy on the domain of public morality and law2 cosmopolitanism and the rights of man2 influx of ,oriental cults into the ,west2 knowledge of the world and disgust with it4 ,the decay of the old political cults and syncretism produced a disposition in favour of monotheism both among the cultured classes who had been prepared for it by philosophy1 and also gradually among the masses4 ,religion and individual morality became more closely connected4 ,there was developed a corresponding attempt at spiritualising the worship alongside of and within the ceremonial forms1 and at giving it a direction towards the moral elevation of man through the ideas of moral personality1 conscience1 and purity4 ,the ideas of repentance and of expiation and healing of the soul became of special importance1 and consequently such ,oriental cults came to the front as required the former and guaranteed the latter4 ,but what was sought above all1 was to enter into an inner union with the ,deity1 to be saved by him and become a partaker in the possession and enjoyment of his life4 ,the worshipper consequently longed to find a praesens numen and the revelation of him in the cultus1 and hoped to put himself in possession of the ,deity by asceticism and mysterious rites4 ,this new piety longed for health and purity of soul1 and elevation above earthly things1 and in connection with these a divine1 that is1 a painless and eternal life beyond the grave 7renatus in aeternum taurobolio74 ,a world beyond was desired1 sought for and viewed with an uncertain eye4 ,by detachment from earthly things and the healing of its diseases 7the passions7 the freed1 new born soul should return to its divine nature and existence4 ,it is not a hope of immortality such as the ancients had dreamed of for their heroes1 where they continue1 as it were1 their earthly existence in blessed enjoyment4 ,to the more highly pitched self-consciousness this life had become a burden1 and in the miseries of the present1 one hoped for a future life in which the pain and vulgarity of the unreal life of earth would be completely laid aside 7,greek3 ,enkrateia and ,greek3 anastasis74 ,if the new moralistic feature stood out still more emphatically in the piety of the second century1 it vanished more and more behind the religious feature1 the longing after life#abd and after a ,redeemer ,god4 ,no one could any longer be a ,god who was not also a saviour4#abe ,with all this ,polytheism was not suppressed1 but only put into a subordinate place4 ,on the contrary1 it was as lively and active as ever4 ,for the idea of a numen supremum did not exclude belief in the existence and manifestation of subordinate deities4 ,apotheosis came into currency4 ,the old state religion first attained its highest and most powerful expression in the worship of the emperor1 7the emperor glorified as dominus ac deus noster1#abf as praesens et corporalis deus1 the ,antinous cult1 etc4741 and in many circles an incarnate ideal in the present or the past was sought1 which might be worshipped as revealer of ,god and as ,god1 and which might be an example of life and an assurance of religious hope4 ,apotheosis became less offensive in proportion as1 in connection with the fuller recognition of the spiritual dignity of man1 the estimate of the soul1 the spirit1 as of supramundane nature1 and the hope of its eternal continuance in a form of existence befitting it1 became more general4 ,that was the import of the message preached by the ,cynics and the ,stoics1 that the truly wise man is ,lord1 ,messenger of ,god1 and ,god upon the earth4 ,on the other hand1 the popular belief clung to the idea that the gods could appear and be visible in human form1 and this faith1 though mocked by the cultured1 gained numerous adherents1 even among them1 in the age of the ,antonines4#abg ,the new thing which was here developed1 continued to be greatly obscured by the old forms of worship which reasons of state and pious custom maintained4 ,and the new piety1 dispensing with a fixed foundation1 groped uncertainly around1 adapting the old rather than rejecting it4 ,the old religious practices of the ,fathers asserted themselves in public life generally1 and the reception of new cults by the state1 which was certainly effected1 though with many checks1 did not disturb them4 ,the old religious customs stood out especially on state holidays1 in the games in honour of the ,gods1 frequently degenerating into shameless immorality1 but yet protecting the institutions of the state4 ,the patriot1 the wise man1 the sceptic1 and the pious man compounded with them1 for they had not really at bottom outgrown them1 and they knew of nothing better to substitute for the services they still rendered to society 7see the ,greek3 logos alethes of ,celsus74 #b4 ,the system of associations1 naturalised centuries before among the ,greeks1 was developed under the social and political pressure of the empire1 and was greatly extended by the change of moral and religious ideas4 ,the free unions1 which1 as a rule1 had a religious element and were established for mutual help1 support1 or edification1 balanced to some extent the prevailing social cleavage1 by a free democratic organisation4 ,they gave to many individuals in their small circle the rights which they did not possess in the great world1 and were frequently of service in obtaining admission for new cults4 ,even the new piety and cosmopolitan disposition seem to have turned to them in order to find within them forms of expression4 ,but the time had not come for the greater corporate unions1 and of an organised connection of societies in one city with those of another we know nothing4 ,the state kept these associations under strict control4 ,it granted them only to the poorest classes 7collegia tenuiorum7 and had the strictest laws in readiness for them4 ,these free unions1 however1 did not in their historical importance approach the fabric of the ,roman state in which they stood4 ,that represented the union of the greater part of humanity under one head1 and also more and more under one law4 ,its capital was the capital of the world1 and also1 from the beginning of the third century1 of religious syncretism4 ,hither migrated all who desired to exercise an influence on the great scale3 ,jew1 ,chaldean1 ,syrian priest1 and ,neoplatonic teacher4 ,law and ,justice radiated from ,rome to the provinces1 and in their light nationalities faded away1 and a cosmopolitanism was developed which pointed beyond itself1 because the moral spirit can never find its satisfaction in that which is realised4 ,when that spirit finally turned away from all political life1 and after having laboured for the ennobling of the empire1 applied itself1 in ,neoplatonism1 to the idea of a new and free union of men1 this certainly was the result of the felt failure of the great creation1 but it nevertheless had that creation for its presupposition4 ,the ,church appropriated piecemeal the great apparatus of the ,roman state1 and gave new powers1 new significance and respect to every article that had been depreciated4 ,but what is of greatest importance is that the ,church by her preaching would never have gained whole circles1 but only individuals1 had not the universal state already produced a neutralising of nationalities and brought men nearer each other in temper and disposition4 #c4 ,perhaps the most decisive factor in bringing about the revolution of religious and moral convictions and moods1 was philosophy1 which in almost all its schools and representatives1 had deepened ethics1 and set it more and more in the foreground4 ,after ,possidonius1 ,seneca1 ,epictetus1 and ,marcus ,aurelius of the ,stoical school1 and men like ,plutarch of the ,platonic1 attained to an ethical view1 which1 though not very clear in principle 7knowledge1 resignation1 trust in ,god71 is hardly capable of improvement in details4 ,common to them all1 as distinguished from the early ,stoics1 is the value put upon the soul1 7not the entire human nature71 while in some of them there comes clearly to the front a religious mood1 a longing for divine help1 for redemption and a blessed life beyond the grave1 the effort to obtain and communicate a religious philosophical therapeutic of the soul4 ,from the beginning of the second century1 however1 already announced itself that eclectic philosophy based on ,platonism which after two or three generations appeared in the form of a school1 and after three generations more was to triumph over all other schools4 ,the several elements of the ,neoplatonic philosophy1 as they were already foreshadowed in ,philo1 are clearly seen in the second century1 viz41 the dualistic opposition of the divine and the earthly1 the abstract conception of ,god1 the assertion of the unknowableness of ,god1 scepticism with regard to sensuous experience1 and distrust with regard to the powers of the understanding1 with a greater readiness to examine things and turn to account the result of former scientific labour2 further1 the demand of emancipation from sensuality by means of asceticism1 the need of authority1 belief in a higher revelation1 and the fusion of science and religion4 ,the legitimising of religious fancy in the province of philosophy was already begun4 ,the myth was no longer merely tolerated and re-interpreted as formerly1 but precisely the mythic form with the meaning imported into it was the precious element4#abh ,there were1 however1 in the second century numerous representatives of every possible philosophic view4 ,to pass over the frivolous writers of the day1 the ,cynics criticised the traditional mythology in the interests of morality and religion4#abi ,but there were also men who opposed the ne quid nimis to every form of practical scepticism1 and to religion at the same time1 and were above all intent on preserving the state and society1 and on fostering the existing arrangements which appeared to be threatened far more by an intrusive religious than by a nihilistic philosophy4#acj ,yet men whose interest was ultimately practical and political1 became ever more rare1 especially as from the death of ,marcus ,aurelius1 the maintenance of the state had to be left more and more to the sword of the ,generals4 ,the general conditions from the end of the second century were favourable to a philosophy which no longer in any respect took into real consideration the old forms of the state4 ,the theosophic philosophy which was prepared for in the second century1#aca was1 from the stand-point of enlightenment and knowledge of nature1 a relapse3 but it was the expression of a deeper religious need1 and of a self-knowledge such as had not been in existence at an earlier period4 ,the final consequences of that revolution in philosophy which made consideration of the inner life the starting-point of thought about the world1 only now began to be developed4 ,the ideas of a divine1 gracious providence1 of the relationship of all men1 of universal brotherly love1 of a ready forgiveness of wrong1 of forbearing patience1 of insight into one's own weakness--affected no doubt with many shadows--became1 for wide circles1 a result of the practical philosophy of the ,greeks as well as1 the conviction of inherent sinfulness1 the need of redemption1 and the eternal value and dignity of a human soul which finds rest only in ,god4 ,these ideas1 convictions and rules1 had been picked up in the long journey from ,socrates to ,ammonius ,saccas3 at first1 and for long afterwards1 they crippled the interest in a rational knowledge of the world2 but they deepened and enriched the inner life1 and therewith the source of all knowledge4 ,those ideas1 however1 lacked as yet the certain coherence1 but1 above all1 the authority which could have raised them above the region of wishes1 presentiments1 and strivings1 and have given them normative authority in a community of men4 ,there was no sure revelation1 and no view of history which could be put in the place of the no longer prized political history of the nation or state to which one belonged4#acb ,there was1 in fact1 no such thing as certainty4 ,in like manner1 there was no power which might overturn idolatry and abolish the old1 and therefore one did not get beyond the wavering between self-deification1 fear of ,god1 and deification of nature4 ,the glory is all the greater of those statesmen and jurists who1 in the second and third centuries1 introduced human ideas of the ,stoics into the legal arrangements of the empire1 and raised them to standards4 ,and we must value all the more the numerous undertakings and performances1 in which it appeared that the new view of life was powerful enough in individuals to beget a corresponding practice even without a sure belief in revelation4#acc ,supplement4--,for the correct understanding of the beginning of ,christian theology1 that is1 for the ,apologetic and ,gnosis1 it is important to note where they are dependent on ,stoic1 and where on ,platonic lines of thought4 ,platonism and ,stoicism1 in the second century1 appeared in union with each other3 but up to a certain point they may be distinguished in the common channel in which they flow4 ,wherever ,stoicism prevailed in religious thought and feeling1 as for example1 in ,marcus ,aurelius1 religion gains currency as natural religion in the most comprehensive sense of the word4 ,the idea of revelation or redemption scarcely emerges4 ,to this rationalism1 the objects of knowledge are unvarying1 ever the same3 even cosmology attracts interest only in a very small degree4 ,myth and history are pageantry and masks4 ,moral ideas 7virtues and duties7 dominate even the religious sphere1 which in its final basis has no independent authority4 ,the interest in psychology and apologetic is very pronounced4 ,on the other hand1 the emphasis1 which1 in principle1 is put on the contrast of spirit and matter1 ,god and the world1 had for results3 inability to rest in the actual realities of the cosmos1 efforts to unriddle the history of the universe backwards and forwards1 recognition of this process as the essential task of theoretic philosophy1 and a deep1 yearning conviction that the course of the world needs assistance4 ,here were given the conditions for the ideas of revelation1 redemption1 etc41 and the restless search for powers from whom help might come1 received here also a scientific justification4 ,the rationalistic apologetic interests thereby fell into the background3 contemplation and historical description predominated4#acd ,the stages in the ecclesiastical history of dogma1 from the middle of the first to the middle of the fifth century1 correspond to the stages in the history of the ancient religion during the same period4 ,the ,apologists1 ,irenaeus1 ,tertullian1 ,hippolytus2 the ,alexandrians2 ,methodius1 and the ,cappadocians2 ,dionysius1 the ,areopagite1 have their parallels in ,seneca1 ,marcus ,aurelius2 ,plutarch1 ,epictetus1 ,numenius2 ,plotinus1 ,porphyry2 ,iamblichus and ,proclus4 ,but it is not only ,greek philosophy that comes into question for the history of ,christian dogma4 ,the whole of ,greek culture must be taken into account4 ,in his posthumous work1 ,hatch has shewn in a masterly way how that is to be done4 ,he describes the ,grammar1 the ,rhetoric1 the learned ,profession1 the ,schools1 the ,exegesis1 the ,homilies1 etc41 of the ,greeks1 and everywhere shews how they passed over into the ,church1 thus exhibiting the ,philosophy1 the ,ethic1 the speculative ,theology1 the ,mysteries1 etc41 of the ,greeks1 as the main factors in the process of forming the ecclesiastical mode of thought4 ,but1 besides the ,greek1 there is no mistaking the special influence of ,romish ideas and customs upon the ,christian ,church4 ,the following points specially claim attention3 7#a7 ,the conception of the contents of the ,gospel and its application as salus legitima1 with the results which followed from the naturalising of this idea4 7#b7 ,the conception of the word of ,revelation1 the ,bible1 etc41 as lex4 7#c7 ,the idea of tradition in its relation to the ,romish idea4 7#d7 ,the ,episcopal constitution of the ,church1 including the idea of succession1 of the ,primateship and universal ,episcopate1 in their dependence on ,romish ideas and institutions 7the ,ecclesiastical organisation in its dependence on the ,roman ,empire74 7#e7 ,the separation of the idea of the sacrament from that of the mystery1 and the development of the forensic discipline of penance4 ,the investigation has to proceed in a historical line1 described by the following series of chapters3 ,rome and ,tertullian2 ,rome and ,cyprian2 ,rome1 ,optatus and ,augustine2 ,rome and the ,popes of the fifth century4 ,we have1 to shew how1 by the power of her constitution and the earnestness and consistency of her policy1 ,rome a second time1 step by step1 conquered the world1 but this time the ,christian world4#ace ,greek philosophy exercised the greatest influence not only on the ,christian mode of thought1 but also through that1 on the institutions of the ,church4 ,the ,church never indeed became a philosophic school3 but yet in her was realised in a peculiar way1 that which the ,stoics and the ,cynics had aimed at4 ,the ,stoic 7,cynic7 ,philosopher also belonged to the factors from which the ,christian ,priests or ,bishops were formed4 ,that the old bearers of the ,spirit--,apostles1 ,prophets1 ,teachers--have been changed into a class of professional moralists and preachers1 who bridle the people by counsel and reproof ,greek3 nouthetein kai elenchein1 that this class considers itself and desires to be considered as a mediating ,kingly ,divine class1 that its representatives became ,lords and let themselves be called ,lords1 all this was prefigured in the ,stoic wise man and in the ,cynic ,missionary4 ,but so far as these several ,kings and ,lords are united in the idea and reality of the ,church and are subject to it1 the ,platonic idea of the republic goes beyond the ,stoic and ,cynic ideals1 and subordinates them to it4 ,but this ,platonic ideal has again obtained its political realisation in the ,church through the very concrete laws of the ,roman ,empire1 which were more and more adopted1 or taken possession of4 ,consequently1 in the completed ,church we find again the philosophic schools and the ,roman ,empire4 ,literature4--,besides the older works of ,tzschirner1 ,doellinger1 ,burckhardt1 ,preller1 see ,friedlaender1 ,darstellungen aus der ,sittengesch4 ,roms4 in der ,zeit von ,august bis zum ,ausgang der ,antonine1 #c ,bd4 ,aufl4 ,boissier1 ,la ,religion ,romaine d',auguste aux ,antonins1 #b ,bd4 #ahgd4 ,ramsay1 ,the ,church in the ,roman ,empire before #agj4 ,london1 #ahic4 ,reville1 ,la ,religion a ,rome sous les ,severes1 #ahhf4 ,schiller1 ,geschichte der ,roem4 ,kaiserzeit1 #ahhc4 ,marquardt1 ,roemische ,staatsverwaltung1 #c ,bde4 #ahgh4 ,foucart1 ,les ,associations ,relig4 chez les ,grecs1 #ahgc4 ,liebeman1 ,z4 ,gesch4 u4 ,organisation d4 ,roem4 ,vereinswesen1 #ahij4 ,k4,j4 ,neumann1 ,der ,roem4 ,staat und die allg4 ,kirche1 ,bd4 ,i4 #ahij4 ,leopold ,schmidt1 ,die ,ethik der alten ,griechen1 #b ,bd4 #ahhb4 ,heinrici1 ,die ,christengemeinde ,korinth's und die religioesen ,genossenschaften der ,griechen1 in der ,ztschr4 f4 wissensch4 ,theol4 #ahgf-gg4 ,hatch1 ,the ,influence of ,greek ,ideas and ,usages upon the ,christian ,church4 ,buechner1 ,de neocoria1 #ahhh4 ,hirschfeld1 ,z4 ,gesch4 d4 roem4 ,kaisercultus4 ,the ,histories of ,philosophy by ,zeller1 ,erdmann1 ,ueberweg1 ,struempell1 ,windelband1 etc4 ,heinze1 ,die ,lehre vom ,logos in der ,griech4 ,philosophie1 #ahgb4 ,by same ,author1 ,der ,eudaemonismus in der ,griech4 ,philosophie1 #ahhc4 ,hirzel1 ,untersuchungen zu ,cicero's philos4 ,schriften1 #c ,thle4 #ahgg-ahhc4 ,these investigations are of special value for the history of dogma1 because they set forth with the greatest accuracy and care1 the later developments of the great ,greek philosophic schools1 especially on ,roman soil4 ,we must refer specially to the discussions on the influence of the ,roman on the ,greek ,philosophy4 ,volkmann1 ,die ,rhetorik der ,griechen und ,roemer1 #ahgb4 ,supplementary4 ,perhaps the most important fact for the following development of the history of ,dogma1 the way for which had already been prepared in the ,apostolic age1 is the twofold conception of the aim of ,christ's appearing1 or of the religious blessing of salvation4 ,the two conceptions were indeed as yet mutually dependent on each other1 and were twined together in the closest way1 just as they are presented in the teaching of ,jesus himself2 but they began even at this early period to be differentiated4 ,salvation1 that is to say1 was conceived1 on the one hand1 as sharing in the glorious kingdom of ,christ soon to appear1 and everything else was regarded as preparatory to this sure prospect2 on the other hand1 however1 attention was turned to the conditions and to the provisions of ,god wrought by ,christ1 which first made men capable of attaining that portion1 that is1 of becoming sure of it4 ,forgiveness of sin1 righteousness1 faith1 knowledge1 etc41 are the things which come into consideration here1 and these blessings themselves1 so far as they have as their sure result life in the kingdom of ,christ1 or more accurately eternal life1 may be regarded as salvation4 ,it is manifest that these two conceptions need not be exclusive4 ,the first regards the final effect as the goal and all else as a preparation1 the other regards the preparation1 the facts already accomplished by ,christ and the inner transformation of men as the main thing1 and all else as the natural and necessary result4 ,paul1 above all1 as may be seen especially from the arguments in the epistle to the ,romans1 unquestionably favoured the latter conception and gave it vigorous expression4 ,the peculiar conflicts with which he saw himself confronted1 and1 above all1 the great controversy about the relation of the ,gospel and the new communities to ,judaism1 necessarily concentrated the attention on questions as to the arrangements on which the community of those sanctified in ,christ should rest1 and the conditions of admission to this community4 ,but the centre of gravity of ,christian faith might also for the moment be removed from the hope of ,christ's second advent1 and would then necessarily be found in the first advent1 in virtue of which salvation was already prepared for man1 and man for salvation 7,rom4 ,,iii4-,,viii474 ,the dual development of the conception of ,christianity which followed from this1 rules the whole history of the ,gospel to the present day4 ,the eschatological view is certainly very severely repressed1 but it always breaks out here and there1 and still guards the spiritual from the secularisation which threatens it4 ,but the possibility of uniting the two conceptions in complete harmony with each other1 and on the other hand1 of expressing them antithetically1 has been the very circumstance that has complicated in an extraordinary degree the progress of the development of the history of dogma4 ,from this follows the antithesis1 that from that conception which somehow recognises salvation itself in a present spiritual possession1 eternal life in the sense of immortality may be postulated as final result1 though not a glorious kingdom of ,christ on earth2 while1 conversely1 the eschatological view must logically depreciate every blessing which can be possessed in the present life4 ,it is now evident that the theology1 and1 further1 the ,hellenising1 of ,christianity1 could arise and has arisen in connection1 not with the eschatological1 but only with the other conception4 ,just because the matters here in question were present spiritual blessings1 and because1 from the nature of the case1 the ideas of forgiveness of sin1 righteousness1 knowledge1 etc41 were not so definitely outlined in the early tradition1 as the hopes of the future1 conceptions entirely new and very different1 could1 as it were1 be secretly naturalised4 ,the spiritual view left room especially for the great contrast of a religious and a moralistic conception1 as well as for a frame of mind which was like the eschatological in so far as1 according to it1 faith and knowledge were to be only preparatory blessings in contrast with the peculiar blessing of immortality1 which of course was contained in them4 ,in this frame of mind the illusion might easily arise that this hope of immortality was the very kernel of those hopes of the future for which old concrete forms of expression were only a temporary shell4 ,but it might further be assumed that contempt for the transitory and finite as such1 was identical with contempt for the kingdom of the world which the returning ,christ would destroy4 ,the history of dogma has to shew how the old eschatological view was gradually repressed and transformed in the ,gentile ,christian communities1 and how there was finally developed and carried out a spiritual conception in which a strict moralism counterbalanced a luxurious mysticism1 and wherein the results of ,greek practical philosophy could find a place4 ,but we must here refer to the fact1 which is already taught by the development in the ,apostolic age1 that ,christian dogmatic did not spring from the eschatological1 but from the spiritual mode of thought4 ,the former had nothing but sure hopes and the guarantee of these hopes by the ,spirit1 by the words of prophecy and by the apocalyptic writings4 ,one does not think1 he lives and dreams1 in the eschatological mode of thought2 and such a life was vigorous and powerful till beyond the middle of the second century4 ,there can be no external authorities here2 for one has at every moment the highest authority in living operation in the ,spirit4 ,on the other hand1 not only does the ecclesiastical christology essentially spring from the spiritual way of thinking1 but very specially also the system of dogmatic guarantees4 ,the co-ordination of ,greek3 logos theou1 didache kuriou1 kerygma ton dodeka apostolon word of ,god1 teaching of the ,lord1 preaching of the twelve ,apostles1 which lay at the basis of all ,gentile ,christian speculation almost from the very beginning1 and which was soon directed against the enthusiasts1 originated in a conception which regarded as the essential thing in ,christianity1 the sure knowledge which is the condition of immortality4 ,if1 however1 in the following sections of this historical presentation1 the pervading and continuous opposition of the two conceptions is not everywhere clearly and definitely brought into prominence1 that is due to the conviction that the historian has no right to place the factors and impelling ideas of a development in a clearer light than they appear in the development itself4 ,he must respect the obscurities and complications as they come in his way4 ,a clear discernment of the difference of the two conceptions was very seldom attained to in ecclesiastical antiquity1 because they did not look beyond their points of contact1 and because certain articles of the eschatological conception could never be suppressed or remodelled in the ,church4 ,goethe 7,dichtung und ,wahrheit1 ,,ii4 #h17 has seen this very clearly4 ,the ,christian religion wavers between its own historic positive element and a pure ,deism1 which1 based on morality1 in its turn offers itself as the foundation of morality4 ,the difference of character and mode of thought shew themselves here in infinite gradations1 especially as another main distinction cooperates with them1 since the question arises1 what share the reason1 and what the feelings1 can and should have in such convictions4 ,see1 also1 what immediately follows4 #b4 ,the origin of a series of the most important ,christian customs and ideas is involved in an obscurity which in all probability will never be cleared up4 ,though one part of those ideas may be pointed out in the epistles of ,paul1 yet the question must frequently remain unanswered1 whether he found them in existence or formed them independently1 and accordingly the other question1 whether they are exclusively indebted to the activity of ,paul for their spread and naturalisation in ,christendom4 ,what was the original conception of baptism8 ,did ,paul develop independently his own conception8 ,what significance had it in the following period8 ,when and where did baptism in the name of the ,father1 ,son and ,holy ,spirit arise1 and how did it make its way in ,christendom8 ,in what way were views about the saving value of ,christ's death developed alongside of ,paul's system8 ,when and how did belief in the birth of ,jesus from a ,virgin gain acceptance in ,christendom8 ,who first distinguished ,christendom1 as ,greek3 ekklesia tou theou1 from ,judaism1 and how did the concept ,greek3 ekklesia become current8 ,how old is the triad3 ,apostles1 ,prophets and ,teachers8 ,when were ,baptism and the ,lord's ,supper grouped together8 ,how old are our first three ,gospels8 ,to all these questions and many more of equal importance there is no sure answer4 ,but the greatest problem is presented by ,christology1 not indeed in its particular features doctrinally expressed1 these almost everywhere may be explained historically1 but in its deepest roots as it was preached by ,paul as the principle of a new life 7#b ,cor4 ,v4 #ag71 and as it was to many besides him the expression of a personal union with the exalted ,christ 7,rev4 ,,ii4 #c74 ,but this problem exists only for the historian who considers things only from the outside1 or seeks for objective proofs4 ,behind and in the ,gospel stands the ,person of ,jesus ,christ who mastered men's hearts1 and constrained them to yield themselves to him as his own1 and in whom they found their ,god4 ,theology attempted to describe in very uncertain and feeble outline what the mind and heart had grasped4 ,yet it testifies of a new life which1 like all higher life1 was kindled by a ,person1 and could only be maintained by connection with that ,person4 ,i can do all things through ,christ who strengtheneth me4 ,i live1 yet not ,i1 but ,christ liveth in me4 ,these convictions are not dogmas and have no history1 and they can only be propagated in the manner described by ,paul1 ,gal4 ,i4 #ae1 #af4 #c4 ,it was of the utmost importance for the legitimising of the later development of ,christianity as a system of doctrine1 that early ,christianity had an ,apostle who was a theologian1 and that his ,epistles were received into the canon4 ,that the doctrine about ,christ has become the main article in ,christianity is not of course the result of ,paul's preaching1 but is based on the confession that ,jesus is the ,christ4 ,the theology of ,paul was not even the most prominent ruling factor in the transformation of the ,gospel to the ,catholic doctrine of faith1 although an earnest study of the ,pauline ,epistles by the earliest ,gentile ,christian theologians1 the ,gnostics1 and their later opponents1 is unmistakable4 ,but the decisive importance of this theology lies in the fact that1 as a rule1 it formed the boundary and the foundation--just as the words of the ,lord himself--for those who in the following period endeavoured to ascertain original ,christianity1 because the ,epistles attesting it stood in the canon of the ,new ,testament4 ,now1 as this theology comprised both speculative and apologetic elements1 as it can be thought of as a system1 as it contained a theory of history and a definite conception of the ,old ,testament1 finally1 as it was composed of objective and subjective ethical considerations and included the realistic elements of a national religion 7wrath of ,god1 sacrifice1 reconciliation1 ,kingdom of glory71 as well as profound psychological perceptions and the highest appreciation of spiritual blessings1 the ,catholic doctrine of faith as it was formed in the course of time1 seemed1 at least in its leading features1 to be related to it1 nay1 demanded by it4 ,for the ascertaining of the deep-lying distinctions1 above all for the perception that the question in the two cases is about elements quite differently conditioned1 that even the method is different1 in short1 that the ,pauline ,gospel is not identical with the original ,gospel and much less with any later doctrine of faith1 there is required such historical judgment and such honesty of purpose not to be led astray in the investigation by the canon of the ,new ,testament1#acf that no change in the prevailing ideas can be hoped for for long years to come4 ,besides1 critical theology has made it difficult1 to gain an insight into the great difference that lies between the ,pauline and the ,catholic theology1 by the one-sided prominence it has hitherto given to the antagonism between ,paulinism and ,judaistic ,christianity4 ,in contrast with this view the remark of ,havet1 though also very one-sided1 is instructive1 ,quand on vient de relire ,paul1 on ne peut meconnaitre le caractere eleve de son oeuvre4 ,je dirai en un mot1 qu'il a agrandi dans une proportion extraordinaire l'attrait que le judaisme exercait sur le monde ancien 7,le ,christianisme1 ,t4 ,,iv4 p4 #baf74 ,that1 however1 was only very gradually the case and within narrow limits4 ,the deepest and most important writings of the ,new ,testament are incontestably those in which ,judaism is understood as religion1 but spiritually overcome and subordinated to the ,gospel as a new religion1--the ,pauline ,epistles1 the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 and the ,gospel and ,epistle of ,john4 ,there is set forth in these writings a new and exalted world of religious feelings1 views and judgments1 into which the ,christians of succeeding centuries got only meagre glimpses4 ,strictly speaking1 the opinion that the ,new ,testament in its whole extent comprehends a unique literature is not tenable2 but it is correct to say that between its most important constituent parts1 and the literature of the period immediately following there is a great gulf fixed4 ,but ,paulinism especially has had an immeasurable and blessed influence on the whole course of the history of dogma1 an influence it could not have had1 if the ,pauline ,epistles had not been received into the canon4 ,paulinism is a religious and ,christocentric doctrine1 more inward and more powerful than any other which has ever appeared in the ,church4 ,it stands in the clearest opposition to all merely natural moralism1 all righteousness of works1 all religious ceremonialism1 all ,christianity without ,christ4 ,it has therefore become the conscience of the ,church1 until the ,catholic ,church in ,jansenism killed this her conscience4 ,the ,pauline reactions describe the critical epochs of theology and the ,church4#acg ,one might write a history of dogma as a history of the ,pauline reactions in the ,church1 and in doing so would touch on all the turning points of the history4 ,marcion after the ,apostolic ,fathers2 ,irenaeus1 ,clement and ,origen after the ,apologists2 ,augustine after the ,fathers of the ,greek ,church2#ach the great ,reformers of the middle ages from ,agobard to ,wessel in the bosom of the mediaeval ,church2 ,luther after the ,scholastics2 ,jansenism after the council of ,trent3--,everywhere it has been ,paul1 in these men1 who produced the ,reformation4 ,paulinism has proved to be a ferment in the history of dogma1 a basis it has never been4#aci ,just as it had that significance in ,paul himself1 with reference to ,jewish ,christianity1 so it has continued to work through the history of the ,church4 ,footnote #df3 ,the ,old ,testament of itself alone could not have convinced the ,graeco-,roman world4 ,but the converse question might perhaps be raised as to what results the ,gospel would have had in that world without its union with the ,old ,testament4 ,the ,gnostic ,schools and the ,marcionite ,church are to some extent the answer4 ,but would they ever have arisen without the presupposition of a ,christian community which recognised the ,old ,testament8 ,footnote #dg3 ,we here leave out of account learned attempts to expound ,paulinism4 ,nor do we take any notice of certain truths regarding the relation of the ,old ,testament to the ,new1 and regarding the ,jewish religion1 stated by the ,antignostic church teachers1 truths which are certainly very important1 but have not been sufficiently utilised4 ,footnote #dh3 ,there is indeed no single writing of the new ,testament which does not betray the influence of the mode of thought and general conditions of the culture of the time which resulted from the ,hellenising of the east3 even the use of the ,greek translation of the ,old ,testament attests this fact4 ,nay1 we may go further1 and say that the ,gospel itself is historically unintelligible1 so long as we compare it with an exclusive ,judaism as yet unaffected by any foreign influence4 ,but on the other hand1 it is just as clear that1 specifically1 ,hellenic ideas form the presuppositions neither for the ,gospel itself1 nor for the most important ,new ,testament writings4 ,it is a question rather as to a general spiritual atmosphere created by ,hellenism1 which above all strengthened the individual element1 and with it the idea of completed personality1 in itself living and responsible4 ,on this foundation we meet with a religious mode of thought in the ,gospel and the early ,christian writings1 which so far as it is at all dependent on an earlier mode of thought1 is determined by the spirit of the ,old ,testament 7,psalms and ,prophets7 and of ,judaism4 ,but it is already otherwise with the earliest ,gentile ,christian writings4 ,the mode of thought here is so thoroughly determined by the ,hellenic spirit that we seem to have entered a new world when we pass from the synoptists1 ,paul and ,john1 to ,clement1 ,barnabas1 ,justin or ,valentinus4 ,we may therefore say1 especially in the frame-work of the history of dogma1 that the ,hellenic element has exercised an influence on the ,gospel first on ,gentile ,christian soil1 and by those who were ,greek by birth1 if only we reserve the general spiritual atmosphere above referred to4 ,even ,paul is no exception2 for in spite of the well-founded statements of ,weizsaecker 7,apostolic ,age1 vol4 ,i4 ,book #aa7 and ,heinrici 7,das #b ,sendschreiben an die ,korinthier1 #ahhg1 p4 #egh ff71 as to the ,hellenism of ,paul1 it is certain that the ,apostle's mode of religious thought1 in the strict sense of the word1 and therefore also the doctrinal formation peculiar to him1 are but little determined by the ,greek spirit4 ,but it is to be specially noted that as a missionary and an ,apologist he made use of ,greek ideas 7,epistles to the ,romans and ,corinthians74 ,he was not afraid to put the ,gospel into ,greek modes of thought4 ,to this extent we can already observe in him the beginning of the development which we can trace so clearly in the ,gentile ,church from ,clement to ,justin1 and from ,justin to ,irenaeus4 ,footnote #di3 ,the complete universalism of salvation is given in the ,pauline conception of ,christianity4 ,but this conception is singular4 ,because3 7#a7 the ,pauline universalism is based on a criticism of the ,jewish religion as religion1 including the ,old ,testament1 which was not understood and therefore not received by ,christendom in general4 7#b7 ,because ,paul not only formulated no national anti-,judaism1 but always recognised the prerogative of the people of ,israel as a people4 7#c7 ,because his idea of the ,gospel1 with all his ,greek culture1 is independent of ,hellenism in its deepest grounds4 ,this peculiarity of the ,pauline ,gospel is the reason why little more could pass from it into the common consciousness of ,christendom than the universalism of salvation1 and why the later development of the ,church cannot be explained from ,paulinism4 ,baur1 therefore1 was quite right when he recognised that we must exhibit another and more powerful element in order to comprehend the post-,pauline formations4 ,in the selection of this element1 however1 he has made a fundamental mistake1 by introducing the narrow national ,jewish ,christianity1 and he has also given much too great scope to ,paulinism by wrongly conceiving it as ,gentile ,christian doctrine4 ,one great difficulty for the historian of the early ,church is that he cannot start from ,paulinism1 the plainest phenomenon of the ,apostolic age1 in seeking to explain the following development1 that in fact the premises for this development are not at all capable of being indicated in the form of outlines1 just because they were too general4 ,but1 on the other hand1 the ,pauline ,theology1 this theology of one who had been a ,pharisee1 is the strongest proof of the independent and universal power of the impression made by the ,person of ,jesus4 ,footnote #ej3 ,in the main writings of the ,new ,testament itself we have a twofold conception of the ,spirit4 ,according to the one he comes upon the believer fitfully1 expresses himself in visible signs1 deprives men of self-consciousness1 and puts them beside themselves4 ,according to the other1 the spirit is a constant possession of the ,christian1 operates in him by enlightening the conscience and strengthening the character1 and his fruits are love1 joy1 peace1 patience1 gentleness1 etc4 7,gal4 ,v4 #bb74 ,paul above all taught ,christians to value these fruits of the spirit higher than all the other effects of his working4 ,but he has not by any means produced a perfectly clear view on this point3 for he himself spoke with more tongues than they all4 ,as yet ,spirit lay within ,spirit4 ,one felt in the spirit of sonship a completely new gift coming from ,god and recreating life1 a miracle of ,god2 further1 this spirit also produced sudden exclamations--,abba1 ,father2 and thus shewed himself in a way patent to the senses4 ,for that very reason1 the spirit of ecstasy and of miracle appeared identical with the spirit of sonship4 7,see ,gunkel1 ,die ,wirkungen d4 h4 ,geistes nach der populaeren ,anschauung der ,apostol4 ,zeit4 ,goettingen1 #ahhh74 ,footnote #ea3 ,it may even be said here that the ,greek3 athanasia 7zoe aionios71 on the one hand1 and the ,greek3 ekklesia1 on the other1 have already appeared in place of the ,greek3 ,basileia tou theou1 and that the idea of ,messiah has been finally replaced by that of the ,divine ,teacher and of ,god manifest in the flesh4 ,footnote #eb3 ,it is one of the merits of ,bruno ,bauer 7,christus und die ,caesaren1 #ahgg71 that he has appreciated the real significance of the ,greek element in the ,gentile ,christianity which became the ,catholic ,church and doctrine1 and that he has appreciated the influence of the ,judaism of the ,diaspora as a preparation for this ,gentile ,christianity4 ,but these valuable contributions have unfortunately been deprived of their convincing power by a baseless criticism of the early ,christian literature1 to which ,christ and ,paul have fallen a sacrifice4 ,somewhat more cautious are the investigations of ,havet in the fourth volume of ,le ,christianisme1 #ahhd2 ,le ,nouveau ,testament4 ,he has won great merit by the correct interpretation of the elements of ,gentile ,christianity developing themselves to catholicism1 but his literary criticism is often unfortunately entirely abstract1 reminding one of the criticism of ,voltaire1 and therefore his statements in detail are1 as a rule1 arbitrary and untenable4 ,there is a school in ,holland at the present time closely related to ,bruno ,bauer and ,havet1 which attempts to banish early ,christianity from the world4 ,christ and ,paul are creations of the second century3 the history of ,christianity begins with the passage of the first century into the second--a peculiar phenomenon on the soil of ,hellenised ,judaism in quest of a ,messiah4 ,this ,judaism created ,jesus ,christ just as the later ,greek religious philosophers created their ,saviour 7,apollonius1 for example74 ,the ,marcionite ,church produced ,paul and the growing ,catholic ,church completed him4 ,see the numerous treatises of ,loman1 the ,verisimilia of ,pierson and ,naber 7#ahhf71 and the anonymous ,english work ,antiqua ,mater 7#ahhg71 also the works of ,steck 7see especially his ,untersuchung ueber den ,galaterbrief74 ,against these works see ,p4,v4 ,schmidt's1 ,der ,galaterbrief1 #ahib4 ,it requires a deep knowledge of the problems which the first two centuries of the ,christian ,church present1 in order not to thrust aside as simply absurd these attempts1 which as yet have failed to deal with the subject in a connected way4 ,they have their strength in the difficulties and riddles which are contained in the history of the formation of the ,catholic tradition in the second century4 ,but the single circumstance that we are asked to regard as a forgery such a document as the first ,epistle of ,paul to the ,corinthians1 appears to me1 of itself1 to be an unanswerable argument against the new hypotheses4 ,footnote #ec3 ,it would be a fruitful task1 though as yet it has not been undertaken1 to examine how long visions1 dreams and apocalypses1 on the one hand1 and the claim of speaking in the power and name of the ,holy ,spirit1 on the other1 played a role in the early ,church2 and further to shew how they nearly died out among the laity1 but continued to live among the clergy and the monks1 and how1 even among the laity1 there were again and again sporadic outbreaks of them4 ,the material which the first three centuries present is very great4 ,only a few may be mentioned here3 ,ignat4 ad4 ,rom4 ,,vii4 #b2 ad4 ,philad4 ,,vii2 ad ,eph4 ,,xx4 #a1 etc42 #a ,clem4 ,,lxiii4 #b2 ,martyr4 ,polyc42 ,acta ,perpet4 et ,felic2 ,tertull de animo ,,xlvii42 ,major paene vis hominum e visionibus deum discunt4 ,orig4 c4 ,celsum4 i4 #df3 ,greek3 polloi hosperei akontes proseleluthasi christianismo1 pneumatos tinos trepsantos 444 kai phantasiosantos autous hupar e onar 7even ,arnobius was ostensibly led to ,christianity by a dream74 ,cyprian makes the most extensive use of dreams1 visions1 etc41 in his letters1 see for example ,ep4 ,,xi4 #c-e2 ,,xvi4 #d 7praeter nocturnas visiones per dies quoque impletur apud nos spiritu sancto puerorum innocens aetas1 quae in ecstasi videt1 etc472 ,,xxxix4 #a2 ,,lxvi #aj 7very interesting3 quamquam sciam somnia ridicula et visiones ineptas quibusdam videri1 sed utique illis1 qui malunt contra sacerdotes credere quam sacerdoti1 sed nihil mirum1 quando de ,joseph fratres sui dixerunt3 ecce somniator ille1 etc474 ,one who took part in the baptismal controversy in the great ,synod of ,carthage writes1 secundum motum animi mei et spiritus sancti4 ,the enthusiastic element was always evoked with special power in times of persecution1 as the genuine ,african martyrdoms1 from the second half of the third century1 specially shew4 ,cf4 especially the passio ,jacobi1 ,mariani1 etc4 ,but where the enthusiasm was not convenient it was called1 as in the case of the ,montanists1 daemonic4 ,even ,constantine operated with dreams and visions of ,christ 7see his ,vita74 ,footnote #ed3 ,as to the first1 the recently discovered ,teaching of the ,apostles in its first moral part1 shews a great affinity with the moral philosophy which was set up by ,alexandrian ,jews and put before the ,greek world as that which had been revealed3 see ,massebieau1 ,l'enseignement des ,,xii4 ,apotres1 ,paris1 #ahhd1 and in the ,journal ,le ,temoignage1 #g ,febr4 #ahhe4 ,usener1 in his ,preface to the ,ges4 ,abhandl4 ,jacob ,bernays'1 which he edited1 #ahhe1 p4v4f41 has1 independently of ,massebieau1 pointed out the relationship of chapters #a-e of the ,teaching of the ,apostles with the ,phocylidean poem 7see ,bernays' above work1 p4 #aib ff474 ,later ,taylor1 ,the teaching of the twelve ,apostles1 #ahhf1 threw out the conjecture that the ,didache had a ,jewish foundation1 and ,i reached the same conclusion independently of him3 see my ,treatise3 ,die ,apostellehre und die judischen beiden ,wege1 #ahhf4 ,footnote #ee3 ,it is well known that ,judaism at the time of ,christ embraced a great many different tendencies4 ,beside ,pharisaic ,judaism as the stem proper there was a motley mass of formations which resulted from the contact of ,judaism with foreign ideas1 customs1 and institutions 7even with ,babylonian and ,persian71 and which attained importance for the development of the predominant church as well as for the formation of the so-called gnostic ,christian communions4 ,hellenic elements found their way even into ,pharisaic theology4 ,orthodox ,judaism itself has marks which shew that no spiritual movement was able to escape the influence which proceeded from the victory of the ,greeks over the east4 ,besides who would venture to exhibit definitely the origin and causes of that spiritualising of religions and that limitation of the moral standard of which we can find so many traces in the ,alexandrian age8 ,the nations who inhabited the eastern shore of the ,mediterranean sea had from the fourth century ,b4,c4 a common history and therefore had similar convictions4 ,who can decide what each of them acquired by its own exertions and what it obtained through interchange of opinions8 ,but in proportion as we see this we must be on our guard against jumbling the phenomena together and effacing them4 ,there is little meaning in calling a thing ,hellenic1 as that really formed an element in all the phenomena of the age4 ,all our great political and ecclesiastical parties to-day are dependent on the ideas of #aghi and again on romantic ideas4 ,it is just as easy to verify this as it is difficult to determine the measure and the manner of the influence for each group4 ,and yet the understanding of it turns altogether on this point4 ,to call ,pharisaism or the ,gospel or the old ,jewish ,christianity ,hellenic is not paradox but confusion4 ,footnote #ef3 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles is in this respect a most instructive book4 ,it as well as the ,gospel of ,luke is a document of ,gentile ,christianity developing itself to ,catholicism2 ,cf4 ,overbeck in his ,commentar z ,apostelgesch4 ,but the comprehensive judgment of ,havet in the work above mentioned 7,,iv4 p4 #cie7 is correct3 ,l hellenisme tient assez peu de place dans le ,n4,t4 du moins l hellenisme voulu et reflechi4 ,ces livres sont ecrits en grec et leurs auteurs vivaient en pays grec1 il y a donc eu chez eux infiltration des idees et des sentiments helleniques1 quelquefois meme l imagination hellenique y a penetre comme dans le #c evangile et dans les ,actes4 ,dans son ensemble le ,n4,t4 garde le caractere d un livre hebraique4 ,le christianisme ne commence avoir une litterature et des doctrines vraiment helleniques qu au milieu du second siecle4 ,mais il y avait un judaisme celui d ,alexandrie qui avait faite alliance avec l hellenisme avant meme qu il y eut des chretiens4 ,footnote #eg3 ,the right of distinguishing 7b7 and 7c7 may be contested4 ,but if we surrender this we therewith surrender the right to distinguish kernel and husk in the original proclamation of the ,gospel4 ,the dangers to which the attempt is exposed should not frighten us from it for it has its justification in the fact that the ,gospel is neither doctrine nor law4 ,footnote #eh3 ,therewith are1 doubtless1 heavenly blessings bestowed in the present4 ,historical investigation has1 notwithstanding1 every reason for closely examining whether1 and in how far1 we may speak of a present for the ,kingdom of ,god1 in the sense of ,jesus4 ,but even if the question had to be answered in the negative1 it would make little or no difference for the correct understanding of ,jesus' preaching4 ,the ,gospel viewed in its kernel is independent of this question4 ,it deals with the inner constitution and mood of the soul4 ,footnote #ei3 ,the question whether1 and in what degree1 a man of himself can earn righteousness before ,god is one of those theoretic questions to which ,jesus gave no answer4 ,he fixed his attention on all the gradations of the moral and religious conduct of his countrymen as they were immediately presented to him1 and found some prepared for entrance into the kingdom of ,god1 not by a technical mode of outward preparation1 but by hungering and thirsting for it1 and at the same time unselfishly serving their brethren4 ,humility and love unfeigned were always the decisive marks of these prepared ones4 ,they are to be satisfied with righteousness before ,god1 that is1 are to receive the blessed feeling that ,god is gracious to them as sinners1 and accepts them as his children4 ,jesus1 however1 allows the popular distinction of sinners and righteous to remain1 but exhibits its perverseness by calling sinners to him and by describing the opposition of the righteous to his ,gospel as a mark of their godlessness and hardness of heart4 ,footnote #fj3 ,the blessings of the kingdom were frequently represented by ,jesus as a reward for work done4 ,but this popular view is again broken through by reference to the fact that all reward is the gift of ,god's free grace4 ,footnote #fa3 ,some ,critics--most recently ,havet1 ,le ,christianisme et ses origines1 #ahhd4 ,t4 ,,iv4 p4 #ae ff4--have called in question the fact that ,jesus called himself ,messiah4 ,but this article of the ,evangelic tradition seems to me to stand the test of the most minute investigation4 ,but1 in the case of ,jesus1 the consciousness of being the ,messiah undoubtedly rested on the certainty of being the ,son of ,god1 therefore of knowing the ,father and being constrained to proclaim that knowledge4 ,footnote #fb3 ,we can gather with certainty from the ,gospels that ,jesus did not enter on his work with the announcement3 ,believe in me for ,i am the ,messiah4 ,on the contrary1 he connected his work with the baptising movement of ,john1 but carried that movement further1 and thereby made the ,baptist his forerunner 7,mark ,i4 #ae3 ,greek3 peplerotai ho kairos kai engiken he basileia tou theou1 metanoeite kai pisteuete en toi euaggelioi74 ,he was in no hurry to urge anything that went beyond that message1 but gradually prepared1 and cautiously required of his followers an advance beyond it4 ,the goal to which he led them was to believe in him as ,messiah without putting the usual political construction on the ,messianic ideal4 ,footnote #fc3 ,even ,son of ,man probably means ,messiah3 we do not know whether ,jesus had any special reason for favouring this designation which springs from ,dan4 ,,vii4 ,the objection to interpreting the word as ,messiah really resolves itself into this1 that the disciples 7according to the ,gospels7 did not at once recognise him as ,messiah4 ,but that is explained by the contrast of his own peculiar idea of ,messiah with the popular idea4 ,the confession of him as ,messiah was the keystone of their confidence in him1 inasmuch as by that confession they separated themselves from old ideas4 ,footnote #fd3 ,the distinction between the ,father and the ,son stands out just as plainly in the sayings of ,jesus1 as the complete obedient subordination of the ,son to the ,father4 ,even according to ,john's ,gospel1 ,jesus finishes the work which the ,father has given him1 and is obedient in everything even unto death4 ,he declares ,matt4 ,,xix4 #ag3 ,greek3 heis estin ho agathos4 ,special notice should be given to ,mark ,,xiii4 #cb1 7,matt4 ,,xxiv4 #cf74 ,behind the only manifested life of ,jesus1 later speculation has put a life in which he wrought1 not in subordination and obedience1 but in like independence and dignity with ,god4 ,that goes beyond the utterances of ,jesus even in the fourth ,gospel4 ,but it is no advance beyond these1 especially in the religious view and speech of the time1 when it is announced that the relation of the ,father to the ,son lies beyond time4 ,it is not even improbable that the sayings in the fourth ,gospel referring to this1 have a basis in the preaching of ,jesus himself4 ,footnote #fe3 ,paul knew that the designation of ,god as the ,father of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 was the new ,evangelic confession4 ,origen was the first among the ,fathers 7though before him ,marcion7 to recognise that the decisive advance beyond the ,old ,testament stage of religion1 was given in the preaching of ,god as ,father2 see the exposition of the ,lord's prayer in his treatise ,de oratione4 ,no doubt the ,old ,testament1 and the later ,judaism knew the designation of ,god as ,father2 but it applied it to the ,jewish nation1 it did not attach the evangelic meaning to the name1 and it did not allow itself in any way to be guided in its religion by this idea4 ,footnote #ff3 ,see the farewell discourses in ,john1 the fundamental ideas of which are1 in my opinion1 genuine1 that is1 proceed from ,jesus4 ,footnote #fg3 ,the historian cannot regard a miracle as a sure given historical event3 for in doing so he destroys the mode of consideration on which all historical investigation rests4 ,every individual miracle remains historically quite doubtful1 and a summation of things doubtful never leads to certainty4 ,but should the historian1 notwithstanding1 be convinced that ,jesus ,christ did extraordinary things1 in the strict sense miraculous things1 then1 from the unique impression he has obtained of this person1 he infers the possession by him of supernatural power4 ,this conclusion itself belongs to the province of religious faith3 though there has seldom been a strong faith which would not have drawn it4 ,moreover1 the healing miracles of ,jesus are the only ones that come into consideration in a strict historical examination4 ,these certainly cannot be eliminated from the historical accounts without utterly destroying them4 ,but how unfit are they of themselves1 after #ahjj years1 to secure any special importance to him to whom they are attributed1 unless that importance was already established apart from them4 ,that he could do with himself what he would1 that he created a new thing without overturning the old1 that he won men to himself by announcing the ,father1 that he inspired without fanaticism1 set up a kingdom without politics1 set men free from the world without asceticism1 was a teacher without theology1 at a time of fanaticism and politics1 asceticism and theology1 is the great miracle of his person1 and that he who preached the ,sermon on the ,mount declared himself in respect of his life and death1 to be the ,redeemer and ,judge of the world1 is the offence and foolishness which mock all reason4 ,footnote #fh3 ,see ,mark ,x4 #de4--,that ,jesus at the celebration of the first ,lord's supper described his death as a sacrifice which he should offer for the forgiveness of sin1 is clear from the account of ,paul4 ,from that account it appears to be certain1 that ,jesus gave expression to the idea of the necessity and saving significance of his death for the forgiveness of sins1 in a symbolical ordinance 7based on the conclusion of the covenant1 ,exod4 ,,xxiv4 #c ff41 perhaps1 as ,paul presupposes1 on the ,passover71 in order that ,his disciples by repeating it in accordance with the will of ,jesus1 might be the more deeply impressed by it4 ,certain observations based on ,john ,,vi41 on the supper prayer in the ,didache1 nay1 even on the report of ,mark1 and supported at the same time by features of the earliest practice in which it had the character of a real meal1 and the earliest theory of the supper1 which viewed it as a communication of eternal life and an anticipation of the future existence1 have for years made me doubt very much whether the ,pauline account and the ,pauline conception of it1 were really either the oldest1 or the universal and therefore only one4 ,i have been strengthened in this suspicion by the profound and remarkable investigation of ,spitta 7z4 ,gesch4 u4 ,litt4 d4 ,urchristenthums3 ,die urchristl4 ,traditionen ue4 den ,urspr4 u4 ,sinnd4 ,abendmahls1 #ahic74 ,he sees in the supper as not instituted1 but celebrated by ,jesus1 the festival of the ,messianic meal1 the anticipated triumph over death1 the expression of the perfection of the ,messianic work1 the symbolic representation of the filling of believers with the powers of the ,messianic kingdom and life4 ,the reference to the ,passover and the death of ,christ was attached to it later1 though it is true very soon4 ,how much is thereby explained that was hitherto obscure--critical1 historical1 and dogmatico-historical questions--cannot at all be stated briefly4 ,and yet ,i hesitate to give a full recognition to ,spitta's exposition3 the words #a ,cor4 ,,xi4 #bc3 ,greek3 ego gar parelabon apo tou kuriou1 ho kai paredoka humin k4t4l4 are too strong for me4 ,cf4 besides1 ,weizsaecker's investigation in ,the ,apostolic ,age4 ,lobstein1 ,la doctrine de la s4 cene4 #ahhi4 ,a4 ,harnack i4d4 ,texten u4 ,unters4 ,,vii4 #b4 p4 #aci ff4 ,schuerer1 ,theol4 ,lit4 ,ztg4 #ahia1 p4 #bi ff4 ,juelicher ,abhandl4 f ,weizsaecker1 #ahib1 p4 #bae ff4 ,footnote #fi3 ,with regard to the eschatology1 no one can say in detail what proceeds from ,jesus1 and what from the disciples4 ,what has been said in the text does not claim to be certain1 but only probable4 ,the most important1 and at the same time the most certain point1 is that ,jesus made the definitive fate of the individual depend on faith1 humility and love4 ,there are no passages in the ,gospel which conflict with the impression that ,jesus reserved day and hour to ,god1 and wrought in faith and patience as long as for him it was day4 ,footnote #gj3 ,he did not impose on every one1 or desire from every one even the outward following of himself3 see ,mark ,v4 #ah-ai4 ,the imitation of ,jesus1 in the strict sense of the word1 did not play any noteworthy role either in the ,apostolic or in the old ,catholic period4 ,footnote #ga3 ,it is asserted by well-informed investigators1 and may be inferred from the ,gospels 7,mark ,,xii4 #cb-cd2 ,luke ,x4 #bg1 #bh71 perhaps also from the ,jewish original of the ,didache1 that some representatives of ,pharisaism1 beside the pedantic treatment of the law1 attempted to concentrate it on the fundamental moral commandments4 ,consequently1 in ,palestinian and ,alexandrian ,judaism at the time of ,christ1 in virtue of the prophetic word and the ,thora1 influenced also1 perhaps1 by the ,greek spirit which everywhere gave the stimulus to inwardness1 the path was indicated in which the future development of religion was to follow4 ,jesus entered fully into the view of the law thus attempted1 which comprehended it as a whole and traced it back to the disposition4 ,but he freed it from the contradiction that adhered to it1 7because1 in spite of and alongside the tendency to a deeper perception1 men still persisted in deducing righteousness from a punctilious observance of numerous particular commandments1 because in so doing they became self-satisfied1 that is1 irreligious1 and because in belonging to ,abraham they thought they had a claim of right on ,god74 ,for all that1 so far as a historical understanding of the activity of ,jesus is at all possible1 it is to be obtained from the soil of ,pharisaism1 as the ,pharisees were those who cherished and developed the ,messianic expectations1 and because1 along with their care for the ,thora1 they sought also to preserve1 in their own way1 the prophetic inheritance4 ,if everything does not deceive us1 there were already contained in the ,pharisaic theology of the age1 speculations which were fitted to modify considerably the narrow view of history1 and to prepare for universalism4 ,the very men who tithed mint1 anise and cummin1 who kept their cups and dishes outwardly clean1 who1 hedging round the ,thora1 attempted to hedge round the people1 spoke also of the sum total of the law4 ,they made room in their theology for new ideas which are partly to be described as advances1 and on the other hand1 they have already pondered the question even in relation to the law1 whether submission to its main contents was not sufficient for being numbered among the people of the covenant 7see ,renan3 ,paul74 ,in particular the whole sacrificial system1 which ,jesus also essentially ignored1 was therewith thrust into the background4 ,baldensperger 7,selbstbewusstsein ,jesu4 p4 #df7 justly says4 ,there lie before us definite marks that the certainty of the nearness of ,god in the ,temple 7from the time of the ,maccabees7 begins to waver1 and the efficacy of the temple institutions to be called in question4 ,its recent desecration by the ,romans1 appears to the author of the ,psalms of ,solomon 7,,ii4 #b7 as a kind of ,divine requital for the sons of ,israel1 themselves having been guilty of so grossly profaning the sacrificial gifts4 ,enoch calls the shewbread of the second ,temple polluted and unclean4 ,there had crept in among the pious a feeling of the insufficiency of their worship1 and from this side the ,essenic schism will certainly represent only the open outbreak of a disease which had already begun to gnaw secretly at the religious life of the nation3 see here the excellent explanations of the origin of ,essenism in ,lucius 7,essenism #ge ff4 #aji ff47 ,the spread of ,judaism in the world1 the secularization and apostacy of the priestly caste1 the desecration of the ,temple1 the building of the ,temple at ,leontopolis1 the perception brought about by the spiritualising of religion in the empire of ,alexander the ,great1 that no blood of beast can be a means of reconciling ,god--all these circumstances must have been absolutely dangerous and fatal1 both to the local centralisation of worship1 and to the statutory sacrificial system4 ,the proclamation of ,jesus 7and of ,stephen7 as to the overthrow of the ,temple1 is therefore no absolutely new thing1 nor is the fact that ,judaism fell back upon the law and the ,messianic hope1 a mere result of the destruction of the ,temple4 ,this change was rather prepared by the inner development4 ,whatever point in the preaching of ,jesus we may fix on1 we shall find1 that--apart from the writings of the ,prophets and the ,psalms1 which originated in the ,greek ,maccabean periods--parallels can be found only in ,pharisaism1 but at the same time that the sharpest contrasts must issue from it4 ,talmudic ,judaism is not in every respect the genuine continuance of ,pharisaic ,judaism1 but a product of the decay which attests that the rejection of ,jesus by the spiritual leaders of the people had deprived the nation1 and even the ,virtuosi of ,religion of their best part 7see for this the expositions of ,kuenen ,judaismus und ,christenthum1 in his 7,hibbert7 lectures on national religions and world religions74 ,the ever recurring attempts to deduce the origin of ,christianity from ,hellenism1 or even from the ,roman ,greek culture1 are there also rightly1 briefly and tersely rejected4 ,also the hypotheses1 which either entirely eliminate the person of ,jesus or make him an ,essene1 or subordinate him to the person of ,paul1 may be regarded as definitively settled4 ,those who think they can ascertain the origin of ,christian religion from the origin of ,christian ,theology will1 indeed1 always think of ,hellenism3 ,paul will eclipse the person of ,jesus with those who believe that a religion for the world must be born with a universalistic doctrine4 ,finally1 ,essenism will continue in authority with those who see in the position of indifference which ,jesus took to the ,temple worship1 the main thing1 and who1 besides1 create for themselves an ,essenism of their own finding4 ,hellenism1 and also ,essenism1 can of course indicate to the historian some of the conditions by which the appearance of ,jesus was prepared and rendered possible2 but they explain only the possibility1 not the reality of the appearance4 ,but this with its historically not deducible power is the decisive thing4 ,if some one has recently said that the historical speciality of the person of ,jesus is not the main thing in ,christianity1 he has thereby betrayed that he does not know how a religion that is worthy of the name is founded1 propagated1 and maintained4 ,for the latest attempt to put the ,gospel in a historical connection with ,buddhism 7,seydel1 ,das ,ev von ,jesus in seinen ,verhaeltnissen zur ,buddha-,sage1 #ahhb3 likewise1 ,die ,buddha-,legende und das ,leben ,jesu1 #ahhd71 see1 ,oldenburg1 ,theol4 ,lit-,z'g #ahhb4 ,col4 #dae f4 #ahhd4 #ahe f4 ,however much necessarily remains obscure to us in the ministry of ,jesus when we seek to place it in a historical connection1--what is known is sufficient to confirm the judgment that his preaching developed a germ in the religion of ,israel 7see the ,psalms7 which was finally guarded and in many respects developed by the ,pharisees1 but which languished and died under their guardianship4 ,the power of development which ,jesus imported to it was not a power which he himself had to borrow from without2 but doctrine and speculation were as far from him as ecstasy and visions4 ,on the other hand1 we must remember we do not know the history of ,jesus up to his public entrance on his ministry1 and that therefore we do not know whether in his native province he had any connection with ,greeks4 ,footnote #gb3 ,see the brilliant investigations of ,weizsaecker 7,apost4 ,zeitalter4 p4 #cf7 as to the earliest significant names1 self-designations1 of the disciples4 ,the twelve were in the first place ,greek3 mathetai1 7disciples and family-circle of ,jesus1 see also the significance of ,james and the brethren of ,jesus71 then witnesses of the resurrection and therefore ,apostles2 very soon there appeared beside them1 even in ,jerusalem1 ,prophets and ,teachers4 ,footnote #gc3 ,the ,christian preaching is very pregnantly described in ,acts ,,xxviii4 #ca4 as ,greek3 kerussein ten ,basileian tou ,theou1 kai didaskein ta peri tou ,iesou ,christou4 ,footnote #gd3 ,on the spirit of ,god 7of ,christ7 see note1 p4 #ej4 ,the earliest ,christians felt the influence of the spirit as one coming on them from without4 ,footnote #ge3 ,it cannot be directly proved that ,jesus instituted baptism1 for ,matth4 ,,xxviii4 #ai1 is not a saying of the ,lord4 ,the reasons for this assertion are3 7#a7 ,it is only a later stage of the tradition that represents the risen ,christ as delivering speeches and giving commandments4 ,paul knows nothing of it4 7#b7 ,the ,trinitarian formula is foreign to the mouth of ,jesus and has not the authority in the ,apostolic age which it must have had if it had descended from ,jesus himself4 ,on the other hand1 ,paul knows of no other way of receiving the ,gentiles into the ,christian communities than by baptism1 and it is highly probable that in the time of ,paul all ,jewish ,christians were also baptised4 ,we may perhaps assume that the practice of baptism was continued in consequence of ,jesus' recognition of ,john the ,baptist and his baptism1 even after ,john himself had been removed4 ,according to ,john ,,iv4 #b1 ,jesus himself baptised not1 but his disciples under his superintendence4 ,it is possible only with the help of tradition to trace back to ,jesus a ,sacrament of ,baptism1 or an obligation to it ex necessitate salutis1 though it is credible that tradition is correct here4 ,baptism in the ,apostolic age was ,greek3 eis aphesin hamartion1 and indeed ,greek3 eis to onoma christou 7#a ,cor4 ,i4 #ac2 ,acts ,,xix4 #e74 ,we cannot make out when the formula1 ,greek3 eis to onoma tou patros1 kai tou huiou1 kai tou hagiou pneumatos1 emerged4 ,the formula ,greek3 eis to onoma expresses that the person baptised is put into a relation of dependence on him into whose name he is baptised4 ,paul has given baptism a relation to the death of ,christ1 or justly inferred it from the ,greek3 eis aphesin hamartion4 ,the descent of the spirit on the baptised very soon ceased to be regarded as the necessary and immediate result of baptism2 yet ,paul1 and probably his contemporaries also1 considered the grace of baptism and the communication of the spirit to be inseparably united4 ,see ,scholten4 ,die ,taufformel4 #ahhe4 ,holtzman1 ,die ,taufe im ,n4,t4 ,ztsch4 f4 wiss4 ,theol4 #ahgi4 ,footnote #gf3 ,the designation of the ,christian community as ,greek3 ekklesia originates perhaps with ,paul1 though that is by no means certain2 see as to this name of honour1 ,sohm1 ,kirchenrecht1 ,vol4 ,i4 p4 #af ff4 ,the words of the ,lord1 ,matt4 ,,xvi4 #ah2 ,,xviii4 #ag1 belong to a later period4 ,according to ,gal4 ,i4 #bb1 ,greek3 tais en christo is added to the ,greek3 tais ekklesiais tes ,ioudaias4 ,the independence of every individual ,christian in1 and before ,god is strongly insisted on in the ,epistles of ,paul1 and in the ,epistle of ,peter1 and in the ,christian portions of ,revelations3 ,greek3 epoiesen hemas basileian1 hiereis toi theo kai patri autou4 ,footnote #gg3 ,jesus is regarded with adoring reverence as ,messiah and ,lord1 that is1 these are regarded as the names which his ,father has given him4 ,christians are those who call on the name of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ 7#a ,cor4 ,i4 #b73 every creature must bow before him and confess him as ,lord 7,phil4 ,,ii4 #i73 see ,deissmann on the ,n4,t4 formula in ,christo ,jesu4 ,footnote #gh3 ,the confession of ,father1 ,son and ,spirit is therefore the unfolding of the belief that ,jesus is the ,christ3 but there was no intention of expressing by this confession the essential equality of the three persons1 or even the similar relation of the ,christian to them4 ,on the contrary1 the ,father1 in it1 is regarded as the ,god and ,father over all1 the ,son as revealer1 redeemer and ,lord1 the ,spirit as a possession1 principle of the new supernatural life and of holiness4 ,from the ,epistles of ,paul we perceive that the ,formula ,father1 ,son and ,spirit could not yet have been customary1 especially in ,baptism4 ,but it was approaching 7#b ,cor4 ,,xiii4 #ac74 ,footnote #gi3 ,the ,christological utterances which are found in the ,new ,testament writings1 so far as they explain and paraphrase the confession of ,jesus as the ,christ and the ,lord1 may be almost entirely deduced from one or other of the four points mentioned in the text4 ,but we must at the same time insist that these declarations were meant to be explanations of the confession that ,jesus is the ,lord1 which of course included the recognition that ,jesus by the resurrection became a heavenly being 7see ,weizsaecker in above mentioned work1 p4 #aaj7 ,the solemn protestation of ,paul1 #a ,cor4 ,,xii4 #c ,greek3 dio gnorizo humin hoti oudeis en pneumati theou lalon legei ,,anathema ,,iesous1 kai oudeis dunatai eipein ,,kurios ,,iesous ei me en pneumati hagio 7cf4 ,rom4 ,x4 #i71 shews that he who acknowledged ,jesus as the ,lord1 and accordingly believed in the resurrection of ,jesus1 was regarded as a full-born ,christian4 ,it undoubtedly excludes from the ,apostolic age the independent authority of any christological dogma besides that confession and the worship of ,christ connected with it4 ,it is worth notice1 however1 that those early ,christian men who recognised ,christianity as the vanquishing of the ,old ,testament religion 7,paul1 the ,author of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 ,john7 all held that ,christ was a being who had come down from heaven4 ,footnote #hj3 ,compare in their fundamental features the common declarations about the saving value of the death of ,christ in ,paul1 in the ,johannine writings1 in #ast ,peter1 in the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 and in the ,christian portions of the book of ,revelation3 ,greek3 to agaponti hemas kai lusanti hemas ek ton hamartion en toi haimati autou1 auto he doxa3 ,compare the reference to ,isaiah ,,liii4 and the ,passover lamb3 the utterances about the lamb generally in the early writings3 see ,westcott1 ,the ,epistles of ,john1 p4 #cd f43 ,the idea of the blood of ,christ in the ,new ,testament4 ,footnote #ha3 ,this of course could not take place otherwise than by reflecting on its significance4 ,but a dislocation was already completed as soon as it was isolated and separated from the whole of ,jesus1 or even from his future activity4 ,reflection on the meaning or the causes of particular facts might easily1 in virtue of that isolation1 issue in entirely new conceptions4 ,footnote #hb3 ,see the discriminating statements of ,weizsaecker1 ,apostolic ,age1 p4 #a f41 especially as to the significance of ,peter as first witness of the resurrection4 ,cf4 #a ,cor4 ,,xv4 #e with ,luke ,,xxiv4 #cd3 also the fragment of the ,gospel of ,peter which unfortunately breaks off at the point where one expects the appearance of the ,lord to ,peter4 ,footnote #hc3 ,it is often said that ,christianity rests on the belief in the resurrection of ,christ4 ,this may be correct1 if it is first declared who this ,jesus ,christ is1 and what his life signifies4 ,but when it appears as a naked report to which one must above all submit1 and when in addition1 as often happens1 it is supplemented by the assertion that the resurrection of ,christ is the most certain fact in the history of the world1 one does not know whether he should marvel more at its thoughtlessness or its unbelief4 ,we do not need to have faith in a fact1 and that which requires religious belief1 that is1 trust in ,god1 can never be a fact which would hold good apart from that belief4 ,the historical question and the question of faith must therefore be clearly distinguished here4 ,the following points are historically certain3 7#a7 ,that none of ,christ's opponents saw him after his death4 7#b7 ,that the disciples were convinced that they had seen him soon after his death4 7#c7 ,that the succession and number of those appearances can no longer be ascertained with certainty4 7#d7 ,that the disciples and ,paul were conscious of having seen ,christ not in the crucified earthly body1 but in heavenly glory--even the later incredible accounts of the appearances of ,christ1 which strongly emphasise the reality of the body1 speak at the same time of such a body as can pass through closed doors1 which certainly is not an earthly body4 7#e7 ,that ,paul does not compare the manifestation of ,christ given to him with any of his later visions1 but1 on the other hand1 describes it in the words 7,gal4 ,i4 #ae73 ,greek3 hote eudokesen ho theos apokalupsai ton huion autou en emoi1 and yet puts it on a level with the appearances which the earlier ,apostles had seen4 ,but1 as even the empty grave on the third day can by no means be regarded as a certain historical fact1 because it appears united in the accounts with manifest legendary features1 and further because it is directly excluded by the way in which ,paul has portrayed the resurrection #a ,cor4 ,,xv4 it follows3 7#a7 ,that every conception which represents the resurrection of ,christ as a simple reanimation of his mortal body1 is far from the original conception1 and 7#b7 that the question generally as to whether ,jesus has risen1 can have no existence for any one who looks at it apart from the contents and worth of the ,person of ,jesus4 ,for the mere fact that friends and adherents of ,jesus were convinced that they had seen him1 especially when they themselves explain that he appeared to them in heavenly glory1 gives1 to those who are in earnest about fixing historical facts not the least cause for the assumption that ,jesus did not continue in the grave4 ,history is therefore at first unable to bring any succour to faith here4 ,however firm may have been the faith of the disciples in the appearances of ,jesus in their midst1 and it was firm1 to believe in appearances which others have had is a frivolity which is always revenged by rising doubts4 ,but history is still of service to faith2 it limits its scope and therewith shews the province to which it belongs4 ,the question which history leaves to faith is this3 ,was ,jesus ,christ swallowed up of death1 or did he pass through suffering and the cross to glory1 that is1 to life1 power and honour4 ,the disciples would have been convinced of that in the sense in which ,jesus meant them to understand it1 though they had not seen him in glory 7a consciousness of this is found in ,luke ,,xxiv4 #bf ,greek3 ouchi tauta edei pathein ton christon kai eiselthein eis ten doxan autou1 and ,joh4 ,,xx4 #bi ,greek3 hoti eorakas me pepisteukas1 makarioi hoi me idontes kai pisteusantas7 and we might probably add1 that no appearances of the ,lord could permanently have convinced them of his life1 if they had not possessed in their hearts the impression of his ,person4 ,faith in the eternal life of ,christ and in our own eternal life is not the condition of becoming a disciple of ,jesus1 but is the final confession of discipleship4 ,faith has by no means to do with the knowledge of the form in which ,jesus lives1 but only with the conviction that he is the living ,lord4 ,the determination of the form was immediately dependent on the most varied general ideas of the future life1 resurrection1 restoration1 and glorification of the body1 which were current at the time4 ,the idea of the rising again of the body of ,jesus appeared comparatively early1 because it was this hope which animated wide circles of pious people for their own future4 ,faith in ,jesus1 the living ,lord1 in spite of the death on the cross1 cannot be generated by proofs of reason or authority1 but only to-day in the same way as ,paul has confessed of himself ,greek3 hote eudokesen ho theos apokalupssai ton huion autou en emoi4 ,the conviction of having seen the ,lord was no doubt of the greatest importance for the disciples and made them ,evangelists1 but what they saw cannot at first help us4 ,it can only then obtain significance for us when we have gained that confidence in the ,lord which ,peter has expressed in ,mark ,,viii4 #bi4 ,the ,christian even to-day confesses with ,paul ,greek3 ei en te zoe taute en christo elpikotes esmen monon1 eleeisteroi panton anthropon esmen4 ,he believes in a future life for himself with ,god because he believes that ,christ lives4 ,that is the peculiarity and paradox of ,christian faith4 ,but these are not convictions that can be common and matter of course to a deep feeling and earnest thinking being standing amid nature and death1 but can only be possessed by those who live with their whole hearts and minds in ,god1 and even they need the prayer1 ,i believe1 help thou mine unbelief4 ,to act as if faith in eternal life and in the living ,christ was the simplest thing in the world1 or a dogma to which one has just to submit1 is irreligious4 ,the whole question about the resurrection of ,christ1 its mode and its significance1 has thereby been so thoroughly confused in later ,christendom1 that we are in the habit of considering eternal life as certain1 even apart from ,christ4 ,that1 at any rate1 is not ,christian4 ,it is ,christian to pray that ,god would give the ,spirit to make us strong to overcome the feelings and the doubts of nature and create belief in an eternal life through the experience of dying to live4 ,where this faith obtained in this way exists1 it has always been supported by the conviction that the ,man lives who brought life and immortality to light4 ,to hold fast this faith is the goal of life1 for only what we consciously strive for is in this matter our own4 ,what we think we possess is very soon lost4 ,footnote #hd3 ,weizsaecker 7,apostolic ,age1 p4 #gc7 says very justly3 ,the rising of ,judaism against believers put them on their own feet4 ,they saw themselves for the first time persecuted in the name of the law1 and therewith for the first time it must have become clear to them1 that in reality the law was no longer the same to them as to the others4 ,their hope is the coming kingdom of heaven1 in which it is not the law1 but their ,master from whom they expect salvation4 ,everything connected with salvation is in him4 ,but we should not investigate the conditions of the faith of that early period1 as though the question had been laid before the ,apostles whether they could have part in the ,kingdom of heaven without circumcision1 or whether it could be obtained by faith in ,jesus1 with or without the observance of the law4 ,such questions had no existence for them either practically or as questions of the school4 ,but though they were ,jews1 and the law which even their ,master had not abolished1 was for them a matter of course1 that did not exclude a change of inner position towards it1 through faith in their ,master and hope of the ,kingdom4 ,there is an inner freedom which can grow up alongside of all the constraints of birth1 custom1 prejudice1 and piety4 ,but this only comes into consciousness1 when a demand is made on it which wounds it1 or when it is assailed on account of an inference drawn not by its own consciousness1 but only by its opponents4 ,footnote #he3 ,only one of these four tendencies--the ,pauline1 with the ,epistle to the ,hebrews and the ,johannine writings which are related to ,paulinism--has seen in the ,gospel the establishment of a new religion4 ,the rest identified it with ,judaism made perfect1 or with the ,old ,testament religion rightly understood4 ,but ,paul1 in connecting ,christianity with the promise given to ,abraham1 passing thus beyond the law1 that is1 beyond the actual ,old ,testament religion1 has not only given it a historical foundation1 but also claimed for the ,father of the ,jewish nation a unique significance for ,christianity4 ,as to the tendencies named #a and #b1 see ,book ,i4 chap4 #f4 ,footnote #hf3 ,it is clear from ,gal4 ,,ii4 #aa ff4 that ,peter then and for long before occupied in principle the stand-point of ,paul3 see the judicious remarks of ,weizsaecker in the book mentioned above1 p4 #ge f4 ,footnote #hg3 ,these four tendencies were represented in the ,apostolic age by those who had been born and trained in ,judaism1 and they were collectively transplanted into ,greek territory4 ,but we cannot be sure that the third of the above tendencies found intelligent and independent representatives in this domain1 as there is no certain evidence of it4 ,only one who had really been subject to it1 and therefore understood it1 could venture on a criticism of the ,old ,testament religion4 ,still1 it may be noted that the majority of non-,jewish converts in the ,apostolic age1 had probably come to know the ,old ,testament beforehand--not always the ,jewish religion1 7see ,havet1 ,le ,christianisme1 ,t4 ,,iv4 p4 #abj3 ,je ne sais s'il y est entre1 du vivant de ,paul1 un seul paien3 je veux dire un homme1 qui ne connut pas deja1 avant d'y entrer1 le judaisme et la ,bible74 ,these indications will shew how mistaken and misleading it is to express the different tendencies in the ,apostolic age and the period closely following by the designations ,jewish ,christianity-,gentile ,christianity4 ,short watchwords are so little appropriate here that one might even with some justice reverse the usual conception1 and maintain that what is usually understood by ,gentile ,christianity 7criticism of the ,old ,testament religion7 was possible only within ,judaism1 while that which is frequently called ,jewish ,christianity is rather a conception which must have readily suggested itself to born ,gentiles superficially acquainted with the ,old ,testament4 ,footnote #hh3 ,the first edition of this volume could not appeal to ,weizsaecker's work1 ,das ,apostolische ,zeitalter der ,christlichen ,kirche1 #ahhf1 7second edition translated in this series74 ,the author is now in the happy position of being able to refer the readers of his imperfect sketch to this excellent presentation1 the strength of which lies in the delineation of ,paulinism in its relation to the early ,church1 and to early ,christian theology 7p4 #gi-agb74 ,the truth of ,weizsaecker's expositions of the inner relations 7p4 #he f471 is but little affected by his assumptions concerning the outer relations1 which ,i cannot everywhere regard as just4 ,the work of ,weizsaecker as a whole is1 in my opinion1 the most important work on ,church history we have received since ,ritschl's ,entstehung der alt-katholischen ,kirche4 7#b ,aufl4 #aheg47 ,footnote #hi3 ,kabisch1 ,die ,eschatologie des ,paulus1 #ahic1 has shewn how strongly the eschatology of ,paul was influenced by the later ,pharisaic ,judaism4 ,he has also called attention to the close connection between ,paul's doctrine of sin and the fall1 and that of the ,rabbis4 ,footnote #ij3 ,some of the ,church ,fathers 7see ,socr4 ,h4 ,e4 ,,iii4 #af7 have attributed to ,paul an accurate knowledge of ,greek literature and philosophy3 but that cannot be proved4 ,the references of ,heinrici 7#b ,kor4-,brief4 p4 #ecg-fjd7 are worthy of our best thanks2 but no certain judgment can be formed about the measure of the ,apostles' ,greek culture1 so long as we do not know how great was the extent of spiritual ideas which were already precipitated in the speech of the time4 ,footnote #ia3 ,the epistle to the ,hebrews and the first epistle of ,peter1 as well as the ,pastoral epistles belong to the ,pauline circle2 they are of the greatest value because they shew that certain fundamental features of ,pauline theology took effect afterwards in an original way1 or received independent parallels1 and because they prove that the cosmic ,christology of ,paul made the greatest impression and was continued4 ,in ,christology1 the epistle to the ,ephesians in particular1 leads directly from ,paul to the pneumatic ,christology of the post-apostolic period4 ,its non-genuineness is by no means certain to me4 ,footnote #ib3 ,in the ,ztschr4 fuer ,theol und ,kirche1 ,,ii4 p4 #ahi ff4 ,i have discussed the relation of the prologue of the fourth ,gospel to the whole work and endeavoured to prove the following3 ,the prologue of the ,gospel is not the key to its comprehension4 ,it begins with a well-known great object1 the ,logos1 re-adapts and transforms it--implicitly opposing false ,christologies--in order to substitute for it ,jesus ,christ1 the ,greek3 monogenes theos1 or in order to unveil it as this ,jesus ,christ4 ,the idea of the ,logos is allowed to fall from the moment that this takes place4 ,the author continues to narrate of ,jesus only with the view of establishing the belief that he is the ,messiah1 the son of ,god4 ,this faith has for its main article the recognition that ,jesus is descended from ,god and from heaven2 but the author is far from endeavouring to work out this recognition from cosmological1 philosophical considerations4 ,according to the ,evangelist1 ,jesus proves himself to be the ,messiah1 the ,son of ,god1 in virtue of his self-testimony1 and because he has brought a full knowledge of ,god and of life--purely supernatural divine blessings 7,cf4 besides1 and partly in opposition1 ,holtzmann1 i4d4 ,ztschr4 f4 wissensch4 ,theol4 #ahic74 ,the author's peculiar world of theological ideas1 is not1 however1 so entirely isolated in the early ,christian literature as appears on the first impression4 ,if1 as is probable1 the ,ignatian ,epistles are independent of the ,gospel of ,john1 further1 the ,supper prayer in the ,didache1 finally1 certain mystic theological phrases in the ,epistle of ,barnabas1 in the second epistle of ,clement1 and in ,hermas1 a complex of ,theologoumena may be put together1 which reaches back to the primitive period of the ,church1 and may be conceived as the general ground for the theology of ,john4 ,this complex has on its side a close connection with the final development of the ,jewish ,hagiographic literature under ,greek influence4 ,footnote #ic3 ,the ,jewish religion1 especially since the 7relative7 close of the canon1 had become more and more a religion of the ,book4 ,footnote #id3 ,examples of both in the ,new ,testament are numerous4 ,see1 above all1 ,matt4 ,i4 #aa4 ,even the belief that ,jesus was born of a ,virgin sprang from ,isaiah ,,vii4 #ad4 ,it cannot1 however1 be proved to be in the writings of ,paul 7the two genealogies in ,matt4 and ,luke directly exclude it3 according to ,dillmann1 ,jahrb4 f4 protest4 ,theol4 p4 #aib ff4 ,luke ,i4 #cd1 #ce would be the addition of a redactor72 but it must have arisen very early1 as the ,gentile ,christians of the second century would seem to have unanimously confessed it 7see the ,romish ,symbol1 ,ignatius1 ,aristides1 ,justin1 etc47 ,for the rest1 it was long before theologians recognised in the ,virgin birth of ,jesus more than fulfilment of a prophecy1 viz41 a fact of salvation4 ,the conjecture of ,usener1 that the idea of the birth from a ,virgin is a heathen myth which was received by the ,christians1 contradicts the entire earliest development of ,christian tradition which is free from heathen myths1 so far as these had not already been received by wide circles of ,jews1 7above all1 certain ,babylonian and ,persian ,myths71 which in the case of that idea is not demonstrable4 ,besides1 it is in point of method not permissible to stray so far when we have near at hand such a complete explanation as ,isaiah ,,vii4 #ad4 ,those who suppose that the reality of the ,virgin birth must be held fast1 must assume that a misunderstood prophecy has been here fulfilled 7on the true meaning of the passage see ,dillmann 7,jesajas1 #e ,aufl4 p4 #fi73 of the birth by a ,virgin 7i4e41 of one who at the birth was still a ,virgin47 the ,hebrew text says nothing 444 ,immanuel as beginning and representative of the new generation1 from which one should finally take possession of the king's throne74 ,the application of an unhistorical local method in the exposition of the ,old ,testament--,haggada and ,rabbinic allegorism--may be found in many passages of ,paul 7see1 e4g41 ,gal4 ,,iii4 #af1 #ai2 ,,iv4 #bb-ca2 #a ,cor4 ,,ix4 #i2 ,x4 #d2 ,,xi4 #aj2 ,rom4 ,,iv4 etc474 ,footnote #ie3 ,the proof of this may be found in the quotations in early ,christian writings from the ,apocalypses of ,enoch1 ,ezra1 ,eldad and ,modad1 the assumption of ,moses and other ,jewish ,apocalypses unknown to us4 ,they were regarded as ,divine revelations beside the ,old ,testament2 see the proofs of their frequent and long continued use in ,schuerer's ,history of the ,jewish people in the time of our ,lord4 ,but the ,christians in receiving these ,jewish ,apocalypses did not leave them intact1 but adapted them with greater or less ,christian additions 7see ,ezra1 ,enoch1 ,ascension of ,isaiah74 ,even the ,apocalypse of ,john is1 as ,vischer 7,texte u4 ,unters4 #c altchristl4 lit4 ,gesch4 ,bd4 ,,ii4 ,h4 #d7 has shown1 a ,jewish ,apocalypse adapted to a ,christian meaning4 ,but in this activity1 and in the production of little ,apocalyptic prophetic sayings and articles 7see in the ,epistle to the ,ephesians1 and in those of ,barnabas and ,clement7 the ,christian labour here in the earliest period seems to have exhausted itself4 ,at least we do not know with certainty of any great ,apocalyptic writing of an original kind proceeding from ,christian circles4 ,even the ,apocalypse of ,peter which1 thanks to the discovery of ,bouriant1 we now know better1 is not a completely original work as contrasted with the ,jewish ,apocalypses4 ,footnote #if3 ,the ,gospel reliance on the ,lamb who was slain1 very significantly pervades the ,revelation of ,john1 that is1 its ,christian parts4 ,even the ,apocalypse of ,peter shews ,jesus ,christ as the comfort of believers and as the ,revealer of the future4 ,in it 7v4 #c17 ,christ says2 ,then will ,god come to those who believe on me1 those who hunger and thirst and mourn1 etc4 ,footnote #ig3 ,these words were written before the ,apocalypse of ,peter was discovered4 ,that ,apocalypse confirms what is said in the text4 ,moreover1 its delineation of ,paradise and blessedness are not wanting in poetic charm and power4 ,in its delineation of ,hell1 which prepares the way for ,dante's ,hell1 the author is scared by no terror4 ,footnote #ih3 ,these ideas1 however1 encircled the earliest ,christendom as with a wall of fire1 and preserved it from a too early contact with the world4 ,footnote #ii3 ,an accurate examination of the eschatological sayings of ,jesus in the synoptists shews that much foreign matter is mixed with them 7see ,weiffenbach1 ,der ,wiederkunftsgedanke ,jesu1 #ahge74 ,that the tradition here was very uncertain because influenced by the ,jewish ,apocalyptic1 is shewn by the one fact that ,papias 7in ,iren4 ,v4 #cc7 quotes as words of the ,lord which had been handed down by the disciples1 a group of sayings which we find in the ,apocalypse of ,baruch1 about the amazing fruitfulness of the earth during the time of the ,messianic ,kingdom4 ,footnote #ajj3 ,we may here call attention to an interesting remark of ,goethe4 ,among his ,apophthegms 7no4 #ecg7 is the following3 ,apocrypha3 ,it would be important to collect what is historically known about these books1 and to shew that these very ,apocryphal writings with which the communities of the first centuries of our era were flooded1 were the real cause why ,christianity at no moment of political or ,church history could stand forth in all her beauty and purity4 ,a historian would not express himself in this way1 but yet there lies at the root of this remark a true historical insight4 ,footnote #aja3 ,see ,schuerer1 ,history of the ,jewish people4 ,div4 ,,ii4 vol4 ,,ii4 p4 #afj f41 yet the remarks of the ,jew ,trypho in the dialogue of ,justin shew that the notions of a pre-existent ,messiah were by no means very widely spread in ,judaism4 7,see also ,orig4 c4 ,cels4 ,i4 #di3 ,a ,jew would not at all admit that any ,prophet had said1 the ,son of ,god will come3 they avoided this designation and used instead the saying3 the anointed of ,god will come74 ,the ,apocalyptists and ,rabbis attributed pre-existence1 that is1 a heavenly origin to many sacred things and persons1 such as the ,patriarchs1 ,moses1 the ,tabernacle1 the ,temple vessels1 the city of ,jerusalem4 ,that the true ,temple and the real ,jerusalem were with ,god in heaven and would come down from heaven at the appointed time1 must have been a very wide-spread idea1 especially at the time of the destruction of ,jerusalem1 and even earlier than that 7see ,gal4 ,,iv4 #bf2 ,rev4 ,,xxi4 #b2 ,heb4 ,,xii4 #bb74 ,in the ,assumption of ,moses 7c4 #a7 ,moses says of himself3 ,dominus invenit me1 qui ab initio orbis terrarum praeparatus sum1 ut sim arbiter 7,greek3 mesites7 testamenti illius 7,greek3 tes diathekes autou74 ,in the ,midrasch ,bereschith rabba ,,viii4 #b4 we read1 ,r4 ,simeon ben ,lakisch says1 ',the law was in existence #bjjj years before the creation of the world4' ,in the ,jewish treatise ,greek3 ,proseuche ,ioseph1 which ,origen has several times quoted1 ,jacob says of himself 7ap4 ,orig4 tom4 ,,ii4 in ,joann4 ,c4 #be4 ,opp4 ,,iv4 #hd73 ,greek3 ho gar lalon pros humas1 ego ,iakob kai ,isrel1 angelos theou eimi ego kai pneuma archikon kai ,abraam kai ,isaak proektisthesan pro pantos ergou1 ego de ,iakob 444 ego protogonos pantos zoos zooumenou hupo theou4 ,these examples could easily be increased4 ,the ,jewish speculations about ,angels and ,mediators1 which at the time of ,christ grew very luxuriantly among the ,scribes and ,apocalyptists1 and endangered the purity and vitality of the ,old ,testament idea of ,god1 were also very important for the development of ,christian dogmatics4 ,but neither these speculations1 nor the notions of heavenly ,archetypes1 nor of pre-existence1 are to be referred to ,hellenic influence4 ,this may have co-operated here and there1 but the rise of these speculations in ,judaism is not to be explained by it2 they rather exhibit the ,oriental stamp4 ,but1 of course1 the stage in the development of the nations had now been reached1 in which the creations of ,oriental fancy and ,mythology could be fused with the ideal conceptions of ,hellenic philosophy4 ,footnote #ajb3 ,the conception of heavenly ideals of precious earthly things followed from the first naive method of speculation we have mentioned1 that of a pre-existence of persons from the last4 ,if the world was created for the sake of the people of ,israel1 and the ,apocalyptists expressly taught that1 then it follows1 that in the thought of ,god ,israel was older than the world4 ,the idea of a kind of pre-existence of the people of ,israel follows from this4 ,we can still see this process of thought very plainly in the shepherd of ,hermas1 who expressly declares that the world was created for the sake of the ,church4 ,in consequence of this he maintains that the ,church was very old1 and was created before the foundation of the world4 ,see ,vis4 ,i4 #b4 #d2 ,,ii4 #d4 #a ,greek3 ,diati oun presbutera 7scil47 ,greek3 he ekklesia3 ,hoti1 phesin1 panton prote ektisthe dia touto presbutera1 kai dia tauten ho kosmos katertisthe4 ,but in order to estimate aright the bearing of these speculations1 we must observe that1 according to them1 the precious things and persons1 so far as they are now really manifested1 were never conceived as endowed with a double nature4 ,no hint is given of such an assumption2 the sensible appearance was rather conceived as a mere wrapping which was necessary only to its becoming visible1 or1 conversely1 the pre-existence or the archetype was no longer thought of in presence of the historical appearance of the object4 ,that pneumatic form of existence was not set forth in accordance with the analogy of existence verified by sense1 but was left in suspense4 ,the idea of existence here could run through all the stages which1 according to the ,mythology and ,meta-physic of the time1 lay between what we now call valid1 and the most concrete being4 ,he who nowadays undertakes to justify the notion of pre-existence1 will find himself in a very different situation from these earlier times1 as he will no longer be able to count on shifting conceptions of existence4 ,see ,appendix ,i4 at the end of this ,vol4 for a fuller discussion of the idea of pre-existence4 ,footnote #ajc3 ,it must be observed here that ,palestinian ,judaism1 without any apparent influence from ,alexandria1 though not independently of the ,greek spirit1 had already created a multitude of intermediate beings between ,god and the world1 avowing thereby that the idea of ,god had become stiff and rigid4 ,its original aim was simply to help the ,god of ,judaism in his need4 ,among these intermediate beings should be specially mentioned the ,memra of ,god 7see also the ,shechina and the ,metatron74 ,footnote #ajd3 ,see ,justin ,dial4 #dh4 fin3 ,justin certainly is not favourably disposed towards those who regard ,christ as a man among men1 but he knows that there are such people4 ,footnote #aje3 ,the miraculous genesis of ,christ in the ,virgin by the ,holy ,spirit and the real pre-existence are of course mutually exclusive4 ,at a later period1 it is true1 it became necessary to unite them in thought4 ,footnote #ajf3 ,there is the less need for treating this more fully here1 as no ,new ,testament ,christology has become the direct starting-point of later doctrinal developments4 ,the ,gentile ,christians had transmitted to them1 as a unanimous doctrine1 the message that ,christ is the ,lord who is to be worshipped1 and that one must think of him as the ,judge of the living and the dead1 that is1 ,greek3 hos peri theou4 ,but it certainly could not fail to be of importance for the result that already many of the earliest ,christian writers1 and therefore even ,paul1 perceived in ,jesus a spiritual being come down from heaven 7,greek3 pneuma7 who was ,greek3 en morphe theou1 and whose real act of love consisted in his very descent4 ,footnote #ajg3 ,the creation of the ,new ,testament canon first paved the way for putting an end1 though only in part1 to the production of ,evangelic facts within the ,church4 ,for ,hermas 7,sim4 ,,ix4 #af7 can relate that the ,apostles also descended to the under world and there preached4 ,others report the same of ,john the ,baptist4 ,origen in his homily on #a ,kings ,,xxvii4 says that ,moses1 ,samuel and all the ,prophets descended to ,hades and there preached4 ,a series of facts of ,evangelic history which have no parallel in the accounts of our ,synoptists1 and are certainly legendary1 may be put together from the epistle of ,barnabas1 ,justin1 the second epistle of ,clement1 ,papias1 the ,gospel to the ,hebrews1 and the ,gospel to the ,egyptians4 ,but the synoptic reports themselves1 especially in the articles for which we have only a solitary witness1 shew an extensive legendary material1 and even in the ,gospel of ,john1 the free production of facts cannot be mistaken4 ,of what a curious nature some of these were1 and that they are by no means to be entirely explained from the ,old ,testament1 as for example1 ,justin's account of the ass on which ,christ rode into ,jerusalem1 having been bound to a vine1 is shewn by the very old fragment in one source of the ,apostolic constitutions 7,texte u4 ,unters ,,ii4 #e4 p4 #bh ff472 ,greek3 hote etpsen ho didaskalos ton arton kai to poterion kai eulogesen auta legon touto esti to soma mou kai to haima1 ouk epetrepse tautais 7the women7 ,greek3 sustenai hemin 444 ,martha eipen dia ,mariam1 hoti eiden auten meidiosan4 ,maria eipen ouketi egelasa4 ,narratives such as those of ,christ's descent to ,hell and ascent to heaven1 which arose comparatively late1 though still at the close of the first century 7see ,book ,i4 ,chap #c7 sprang out of short formulae containing an antithesis 7death and resurrection1 first advent in lowliness1 second advent in glory3 descensus de coelo1 ascensus in coelum2 ascensus in coelum1 descensus ad inferna7 which appeared to be required by ,old ,testament predictions1 and were commended by their naturalness4 ,just as it is still1 in the same way naively inferred3 if ,christ rose bodily he must also have ascended bodily 7visibly87 into heaven4 ,footnote #ajh3 ,the ,sibylline ,oracles1 composed by ,jews1 from #afj ,b4,c4 to #ahi ,a4,d4 are specially instructive here3 ,see the ,editions of ,friedlieb4 #aheb2 ,alexandre1 #ahfi2 ,rzach1 #ahia4 ,delaunay1 ,moines et ,sibylles dans l'antiquite judeo-grecque1 #ahgd4 ,schuerer in the work mentioned above4 ,the writings of ,josephus also yield rich booty1 especially his apology for ,judaism in the two books against ,apion4 ,but it must be noted that there were ,jews1 enlightened by ,hellenism1 who were still very zealous in their observance of the law4 ,philo urges most earnestly to the observance of the law in opposition to that party which drew the extreme inferences of the allegoristic method1 and put aside the outer legality as something not essential for the spiritual life4 ,philo thinks that by an exact observance of these ceremonies on their material side1 one will also come to know better their symbolical meaning 7,siegfried1 ,philo1 p4 #aeg74 ,footnote #aji3 ,direct evidence is certainly almost entirely wanting here1 but the indirect speaks all the more emphatically3 see ,sec4 #c1 ,supplements #a1 #b4 ,footnote #aaj3 ,the ,jewish propaganda1 though by no means effaced1 gave way very distinctly to the ,christian from the middle of the second century4 ,but from this time we find few more traces of an enlightened ,hellenistic ,judaism4 ,moreover1 the ,messianic expectation also seems to have somewhat given way to occupation with the law4 ,but the ,god of ,abraham1 ,isaac and ,jacob1 as well as other ,jewish terms certainly played a great role in ,gentile and ,gnostic magical formulae of the third century1 as may be seen1 e4g41 from many passages in ,origen c4 ,celsum4 ,footnote #aaa3 ,the prerogative of ,israel was for all that clung to2 ,israel remains the chosen people4 ,footnote #aab3 ,the brilliant investigations of ,bernays1 however1 have shewn how many-sided that philosophy of religion was4 ,the proofs of asceticism in this ,hellenistic ,judaism are especially of great interest for the history of dogma 7,see ,theophrastus' treatise on piety74 ,in the eighth ,epistle of ,heraclitus1 composed by a ,hellenistic ,jew in the first century1 it is said 7,bernays1 p4 #ahb74 ,so long a time before1 ,o ,hermodorus1 saw thee that ,sibyl1 and even then thou wert ,greek3 eide se pro posoutou aionos1 ,ermodore he ,sibulla ekeine1 kai tote estha4 ,even here then the notion is expressed that foreknowledge and predestination invest the known and the determined with a kind of existence4 ,of great importance is the fact that even before ,philo1 the idea of the wisdom of ,god creating the world and passing over to men had been hypostatised in ,alexandrian ,judaism 7see ,sirach1 ,baruch1 the wisdom of ,solomon1 ,enoch1 nay1 even the book of ,proverbs74 ,but so long as the deutero-canonical ,old ,testament1 and also the ,alexandrine and ,apocalyptic literature continue in the sad condition in which they are at present1 we can form no certain judgment and draw no decided conclusions on the subject4 ,when will the scholar appear who will at length throw light on these writings1 and therewith on the section of inner ,jewish history most interesting to the ,christian theologian8 ,as yet we have only a most thankworthy preliminary study in ,schuerer's great work1 and beside it particular or dilettante attempts which hardly shew what the problem really is1 far less solve it4 ,what disclosures even the fourth book of the ,maccabees alone yields for the connection of the ,old ,testament with ,hellenism6 ,footnote #aac3 ,so far as the sensible world is a work of the ,logos1 it is called ,greek3 neoteros huios 7quod deus immut4 #f4 ,i4#bgg71 or according to ,prov4 ,,viii4 #bb1 an offspring of ,god and wisdom3 ,greek3 he de paradexamene to tou theou sperma telesphorois odisi ton monon kai agapeton aistheton huion apekuese ton de ton kosmon 7de ebriet #h ,i4 #cfa f74 ,so far as the ,logos is ,high ,priest his relation to the world is symbolically expressed by the garment of the ,high ,priest1 to which exegesis the play on the word ,greek3 kosmos1 as meaning both ornament and world1 lent its aid4 ,this speculation 7see ,siegfried4 ,philo1 #bce7 is of special importance2 for it shews how closely the ideas ,greek3 cosmos and ,greek3 logos were connected4 ,footnote #aad3 ,of all the ,greek ,philosophers of the second century1 ,plutarch of ,chaeronea1 died c4 #abe ,a4,d41 and ,numenius of ,apamea1 second half of the second century1 approach nearest to ,philo2 but the latter of the two was undoubtedly familiar with ,jewish philosophy1 specially with ,philo1 and probably also with ,christian writings4 ,footnote #aae3 ,as to the way in which ,philo 7see also #d ,maccab4 ,v4 #bd7 learned to connect the ,stoic ethics with the authority of the ,torah1 as was also done by the ,palestinian ,midrash1 and represented the ,torah as the foundation of the world1 and therewith as the law of nature3 see ,siegfried1 ,philo1 p4 #aef4 ,footnote #aaf3 ,philo by his exhortations to seek the blessed life1 has by no means broken with the intellectualism of the ,greek philosophy1 he has only gone beyond it4 ,the way of knowledge and speculation is to him also the way of religion and morality4 ,but his formal principle is supernatural and leads to a supernatural knowledge which finally passes over into sight4 ,footnote #aag3 ,but everything was now ready for this synthesis so that it could be1 and immediately was1 completed by ,christian philosophers4 ,footnote #aah3 ,we cannot discover ,philo's influence in the writings of ,paul4 ,but here again we must remember that the scripture learning of ,palestinian teachers developed speculations which appear closely related to the ,alexandrian1 and partly are so1 but yet cannot be deduced from them4 ,the element common to them must1 for the present at least1 be deduced from the harmony of conditions in which the different nations of the ,east were at that time placed1 a harmony which we cannot exactly measure4 ,footnote #aai3 ,the conception of ,god's relation to the world as given in the fourth ,gospel is not ,philonic4 ,the ,logos doctrine there is therefore essentially not that of ,philo 7against ,kuenen and others4 ,see p4 #ic74 ,footnote #abj3 ,siegfried 7,philo4 p4 #afj-aig7 has presented in detail ,philo's allegorical interpretation of scripture1 his hermeneutic principles and their application4 ,without an exact knowledge of these principles we cannot understand the ,scripture expositions of the ,fathers1 and therefore also cannot do them justice4 ,footnote #aba3 ,see ,siegfried1 ,philo4 p4 #agf4 ,yet1 as a rule1 the method of isolating and adapting passages of scripture1 and the method of unlimited combination were sufficient4 ,footnote #abb3 ,numerous examples of this may be found in the epistle of ,barnabas 7see c4 #d-i71 and in the dialogue of ,justin with ,trypho 7here they are objects of controversy1 see cc4 #ga-gc1 #abj71 but also in many other ,christian writings1 7e4g41 ,clem4 ad4 ,cor4 ,,viii4 #c2 ,,xvii4 #f2 ,,xxiii4 #c1 #d2 ,,xxvi4 #e2 ,,xlvi4 #b2 #b ,clem4 ,,xiii4 #b74 ,these ,christian additions were long retained in the ,latin ,bible1 7see also ,lactantius and other ,latins3 ,pseudo-,cyprian de aleat4 #b etc471 the most celebrated of them is the addition a ligno to dominus regnavit in ,psalm ,,xcvi41 see ,credner1 ,beitraege ,,ii4 ,the treatment of the ,old ,testament in the epistle of ,barnabas is specially instructive1 and exhibits the greatest formal agreement with that of ,philo4 ,we may close here with the words in which ,siegfried sums up his judgment on ,philo4 ,no ,jewish writer has contributed so much as ,philo to the breaking up of particularism1 and the dissolution of ,judaism4 ,the history of his people1 though he believed in it literally1 was in its main points a didactic allegoric poem for enabling him to inculcate the doctrine that man attains the vision of ,god by mortification of the flesh4 ,the law was regarded by him as the best guide to this1 but it had lost its exclusive value1 as it was admitted to be possible to reach the goal without it1 and it had1 besides1 its aim outside itself4 ,the ,god of ,philo was no longer the old living ,god of ,israel1 but an imaginary being who1 to obtain power over the world1 needed a ,logos by whom the palladium of ,israel1 the unity of ,god1 was taken a prey4 ,so ,israel lost everything which had hitherto characterised her4 ,footnote #abc3 ,proofs in ,friedlaender1 ,sittengeschichte1 vol4 #c4 ,footnote #abd3 ,see the chapter on belief in immortality in ,friedlaender4 ,sittengesch4 ,roms4 ,bde4 #c4 ,among the numerous mysteries known to us1 that of ,mythras deserves special consideration4 ,from the middle of the second century the ,church ,fathers saw in it1 above all1 the caricature of the ,church4 ,the worship of ,mithras had its redeemer1 its mediator1 hierarchy1 sacrifice1 baptism and sacred meal4 ,the ideas of expiation1 immortality1 and the ,redeemer ,god1 were very vividly present in this cult1 which of course1 in later times1 borrowed much from ,christianity3 see the accounts of ,marquardt1 ,reville1 and the ,essay of ,sayous1 ,le ,taurobole in the ,rev4 de l',hist4 des ,religions1 #ahhg1 where the earliest literature is also utilised4 ,the worship of ,mithras in the third century became the most powerful rival of ,christianity4 ,in connection with this should be specially noted the cult of ,a,esculapius1 the ,god who helps the body and the soul2 see my essay ,medicinisches aus der aeltesten ,kirchengeschichte1 #ahib4 p4 #ic ff4 ,footnote #abe3 ,hence the wide prevalence of the cult of ,a,esculapius4 ,footnote #abf3 ,dominus in certain circumstances means more than deus2 see ,tertull4 ,apol4 ,it signifies more than ,soter3 see ,irenaeus ,i4 #a4 #c3 ,greek3 ton sotera legousin1 oude gar kurion onomazein auton thelousin--kurios and ,greek3 despotes are almost synonymous4 ,see ,philo4 ,quis4 rer4 div4 heres4 #f3 ,greek3 sunonuma tauta einai legetai4 ,footnote #abg3 ,we must give special attention here to the variability and elasticity of the concept ,greek3 theos1 and indeed among the cultured as well as the uncultured 7,orig4 prolegg4 in ,psalm1 in ,pitra1 ,anal4 ,t4 ,,ii4 p4 #dcg1 according to a ,stoic source2 ,greek3 kat' allon de tropon legesthai theon zoion athanaton logikon opoudaion1 hoste pasan asteian psychen theon huparchein1 kan periechetai1 allos de legesthai theon to kath' auto on zoion athanaton hos ta en anthropois periechomenas psychas me huparchein theous74 ,they still regarded the ,gods as passionless1 blessed men living for ever4 ,the idea therefore of a ,greek3 theopoiesis1 and on the other hand1 the idea of the appearance of the ,gods in human form presented no difficulty 7see ,acts ,,xiv4 #aa2 ,,xxviii4 #f74 ,but philosophic speculation--the ,platonic1 as well as in yet greater measure the ,stoic1 and in the greatest measure of all the ,cynic--had led to the recognition of something divine in man's spirit 7,greek3 pneuma1 nous74 ,marcus ,aurelius in his ,meditations frequently speaks of the ,god who dwells in us4 ,clement of ,alexandria 7,strom4 ,,vi4 #ad4 #aac7 says3 ,greek3 houtos dunamin labousa kuriaken he psyche meletai einai theos1 kakon men ouden allo plen agnoias einai nomizousa4 ,in ,bernays' ,heraclitian ,epistles1 pp4 #cg f4 #ace f41 will be found a valuable exposition of the ,stoic 7,heraclitian7 thesis and its history1 that men are ,gods4 ,see ,norden1 ,beitraege zur ,gesch4 d4 griech4 ,philos4 ,jahrb4 f4 klass ,philol4 ,,xix4 ,suppl4 ,bd4 p4 #cgc ff41 about the ,cynic ,philosopher who1 contemplating the life and activity of man 7,greek3 kataskopos71 becomes its ,greek3 episkopos1 and further ,greek3 kurios1 angelos theou1 theos en anthropois4 ,the passages which he adduces are of importance for the history of dogma in a twofold respect4 7#a7 ,they present remarkable parallels to ,christology 7one even finds the designations1 ,greek3 kurios1 angelos1 kataskopos1 episkopos1 theos associated with the philosophers as with ,christ1 e4g41 in ,justin2 nay1 the ,cynics and ,neoplatonics speak of ,greek3 episkopoi daimones72 cf4 also the remarkable narrative in ,laertius ,,vi4 #ajb1 concerning the ,cynic ,menedemus2 ,greek3 houtos1 katha phesin ,hippobotos1 eis tosos ton terateias elasen1 hoste ,erinuos analabon schema perieiei1 legon episkopos aphichthai ex ,haidou ton hamartomenon1 hopos palin kation tasta apangelloi tois ekei1 daimosin4 7#b7 ,they also explain how the ecclesiastical ,greek3 episkopoi came to be so highly prized1 inasmuch as these also were from a very early period regarded as mediators between ,god and man1 and considered as ,greek3 en anthropois theoi4 ,there were not a few who in the first and second centuries1 appeared with the claim to be regarded as a ,god or an organ inspired and chosen by ,god 7,simon ,magus cf4 the manner of his treatment in ,hippol4 ,philos4 ,,vi4 #h3 see also ,clem4 ,hom4 ,,ii4 #bg1 ,apollonius of ,tyana 7871 see further ,tacitus ,hist4 ,,ii4 #ea3 ,mariccus4444 iamque adsertor ,galliarum et deus1 nomen id sibi indiderat2 here belongs also the gradually developing worship of the ,emperor3 dominus ac deus noster4 cf4 ,augustus1 ,inscription of the year #be2 #bd ,b4,c4 in ,egypt where the ,ptolemies were for long described as ,gods ,greek3 ,huper ,kaisaros ,autokrattoros theou 7,zeitschrift fur ,aegypt4 ,sprache4 ,,xxxi ,bd4 p4 #c74 ,domitian3 ,greek3 theos ,adrianos1 ,kaibel ,inscr4 ,gr4 #hbi4 #ajec4 ,greek3 theos ,seoueros ,eusebes4 #ajfa--the ,antinouscult with its prophets4 ,see also ,josephus on ,herod ,agrippa4 ,antiq4 ,,xix #h4 #b4 7,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,,ii4 #aj74 ,the flatterers said to him1 ,greek3 theon prosagoreuontes2 ei kai mechri nun hos anthropon ephobethemen1 alla tounteuthen kreittona se thnetes tes phuseos homologoumen4 ,herod himself1 ,sec4 #g1 says to his friends in his sickness3 ,greek3 ho theos humin ego ede katastrephein epitattomai ton bion 444 ho kletheis athanatos huph' hemon ede thanein apagomai74 ,on the other hand1 we must mention the worship of the founder in some philosophic schools1 especially among the ,epicureans ,epictetus says 7,moral4 #ae71 ,diogenes and ,heraclitus and those like them are justly called ,gods4 ,very instructive in this connection are the reproaches of the heathen against the ,christians1 and of ,christian partisans against one another with regard to the almost divine veneration of their teachers4 ,lucian 7,peregr4 ,,ii7 reproaches the ,christians in ,syria for having regarded ,peregrinus as a ,god and a new ,socrates4 ,the heathen in ,smyrna1 after the burning of ,polycarp1 feared that the ,christians would begin to pay him divine honours 7,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,,iv4 #ae #da74 ,caecilius in ,minucius ,felix speaks of divine honours being paid by ,christians to priests 7,octav4 ,,ix4 #aj74 ,the ,antimontanist 7,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,v4 #ah4 #f7 asserts that the ,montanists worship their prophet and ,alexander the ,confessor as divine4 ,the opponents of the ,roman ,adoptians 7,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,v4 #bh7 reproach them with praying to ,galen4 ,there are many passages in which the ,gnostics are reproached with paying ,divine honours to the heads of their schools1 and for many ,gnostic schools 7the ,carpocratians1 for example7 the reproach seems to have been just4 ,all this is extremely instructive4 ,the genius1 the hero1 the founder of a new school who promises to shew the certain way to the vita beata1 the emperor1 the philosopher 7numerous ,stoic passages might be noted here7 finally1 man1 in so far as he is inhabited by ,greek3 nous--could all somehow be considered as ,greek3 theoi1 so elastic was this concept4 ,all these instances of ,apotheosis in no way endangered the ,monotheism which had been developed from the mixture of ,gods and from philosophy2 for the one supreme ,godhead can unfold his inexhaustible essence in a variety of existences1 which1 while his creatures as to their origin1 are parts of his essence as to their contents4 ,this ,monotheism does not yet exactly disclaim its ,polytheistic origin4 ,the ,christian1 ,hermas1 says to his ,mistress 7,vis4 ,i #a4 #g7 ,greek3 ou pantote se hos thean hegesamen1 and the author of the ,epistle of ,diognetus writes 7,x4 #f71 ,greek3 tauta tois epideomenois choregon1 7i4e41 the rich man7 ,greek3 theos ginetai ton lambanonton4 ,that the concept ,greek3 theos was again used only of one ,god1 was due to the fact that one now started from the definition qui vitam aeternam habet1 and again from the definition qui est super omnia et originem nescit4 ,from the latter followed the absolute unity of ,god1 from the former a plurality of ,gods4 ,both could be so harmonised 7see ,tertull4 adv4 ,prax4 and ,novat4 de ,trinit47 that one could assume that the ,god1 qui est super omnia1 might allow his monarchy to be administered by several persons1 and might dispense the gift of immortality and with it a relative divinity4 ,footnote #abh3 ,see the so-called ,neopythagorean philosophers and the so-called forerunners of ,neoplatonism 7,cf4 ,bigg1 ,the ,platonists of ,alexandria1 p4 #bej1 as to ,numenius74 ,unfortunately1 we have as yet no sufficient investigation of the question what influence1 if any1 the ,jewish ,alexandrian ,philosophy of religion had on the development of ,greek philosophy in the second and third centuries4 ,the answering of the question would be of the greatest importance4 ,but at present it cannot even be said whether the ,jewish philosophy of religion had any influence on the genesis of ,neoplatonism4 ,on the relation of ,neoplatonism to ,christianity and their mutual approximation1 see the excellent account in ,tzschirner1 ,fall des ,heidenthums1 pp4 #egd-fah4 ,cf4 also ,reville1 ,la ,religion a ,rome1 #ahhf4 ,footnote #abi3 ,the ,christians1 that is the ,christian preachers1 were most in agreement with the ,cynics 7see ,lucian's ,peregrinus ,proteus71 both on the negative and on the positive side2 but for that very reason they were hard on one another 7,justin and ,tatian against ,crescens7--not only because the ,christians gave a different basis for the right mode of life from the ,cynics1 but above all1 because they did not approve of the self-conscious1 contemptuous1 proud disposition which ,cynicism produced in many of its adherents4 ,morality frequently underwent change for the worse in the hands of ,cynics1 and became the morality of a ,gentleman1 such as we have also experience of in modern ,cynicism4 ,footnote #acj3 ,the attitude of ,celsus1 the opponent of the ,christians1 is specially instructive here4 ,footnote #aca3 ,for the knowledge of the spread of the idealistic philosophy the statement of ,origen 7c4 ,celsum ,,vi4 #b7 that ,epictetus was admired not only by scholars1 but also by ordinary people who felt in themselves the impulse to be raised to something higher1 is well worthy of notice4 ,footnote #acb3 ,this point was of importance for the propaganda of ,christianity among the cultured4 ,there seemed to be given here a reliable1 because revealed1 ,cosmology and history of the world--which already contained the foundation of everything worth knowing4 ,both were needed and both were here set forth in closest union4 ,footnote #acc3 ,the universalism as reached by the ,stoics is certainly again threatened by the self-righteous and self-complacent distinction between men of virtue1 and men of pleasure1 who1 properly speaking1 are not men4 ,aristotle had already dealt with the virtuous elite in a notable way4 ,he says 7,polit4 #c4 #ac4 p4 #abhd71 that men who are distinguished by perfect virtue should not be put on a level with the ordinary mass1 and should not be subjected to the constraints of a law adapted to the average man4 ,there is no law for these elect1 who are a law to themselves4 ,footnote #acd3 ,notions of pre-existence were readily suggested by the ,platonic philosophy2 yet this whole philosophy rests on the fact that one again posits the thing 7after stripping it of certain marks as accidental1 or worthless1 or ostensibly foreign to it7 in order to express its value in this form1 and hold fast the permanent in the change of the phenomena4 ,footnote #ace3 ,see ,tzschirn4 i4d4 ,ztschr4 f4 ,k4-,gesch4 ,,xii4 p4 #bae ff4 ,the genesis of the ,romish ,church in the second century4 ,what he presents is no doubt partly incomplete1 partly overdone and not proved3 yet much of what he states is useful4 ,footnote #acf3 ,what is meant here is the imminent danger of taking the several constituent parts of the canon1 even for historical investigation1 as constituent parts1 that is1 of explaining one writing by the standard of another and so creating an artificial unity4 ,the contents of any of ,paul's epistles1 for example1 will be presented very differently if it is considered by itself and in the circumstances in which it was written1 or if attention is fixed on it as part of a collection whose unity is presupposed4 ,footnote #acg3 ,see ,bigg1 ,the ,christian ,platonist of ,alexandria1 pp4 #ec1 #bhc ff4 ,footnote #ach3 ,reuter 7,august4 ,studien1 p4 #dib7 has drawn a valuable parallel between ,marcion and ,augustine with regard to ,paul4 ,footnote #aci3 ,marcion of course wished to raise it to the exclusive basis1 but he entirely misunderstood it4 ,,division ,i4 ,,the ,,genesis ,,of ,,the ,,ecclesiastical ,,dogma1 ,,or ,,the ,,genesis ,,of ,,the ,,catholic ,,apostolic ,,dogmatic ,,theology1 ,,and ,,the ,,first ,,scientific ,,ecclesiastical ,,system ,,of ,,doctrine4 ,,book ,i4 ,,the ,,preparation4 ,greek3 ,ean murious paidagogous echete en christoi all' ou pollous pateras4 #a ,cor ,,iv4 #ae4 ,eine jede ,idee tritt als ein fremder ,gast in die ,erscheinung1 und wie sie sich zu realisiren beginnt1 ist sie kaum von ,phantasie und ,phantasterei zu unterscheiden4 ,,goethe1 ,sprueche in ,prosa1 #eff ,,book ,i ,,the ,,preparation ,,chapter ,i ,,historical ,,survey ,the first century of the existence of ,gentile ,christian communities is particularly characterised by the following features3 ,i4 ,the rapid disappearance of ,jewish ,christianity4#adj ,,ii4 ,the enthusiastic character of the religious temper2 the ,charismatic teachers and the appeal to the ,spirit4#ada ,,iii4 ,the strength of the hopes for the future1 ,chiliasm4#adb ,,iv4 ,the rigorous endeavour to fulfil the moral precepts of ,christ1 and truly represent the holy and heavenly community of ,god in abstinence from everything unclean1 and in love to ,god and the brethren here on earth in these last days4#adc ,v4 ,the want of a fixed doctrinal form in relation to the abstract statement of the faith1 and the corresponding variety and freedom of ,christian preaching on the basis of clear formulae and an increasingly rich tradition4 ,,vi4 ,the want of a clearly defined external authority in the communities1 sure in its application1 and the corresponding independence and freedom of the individual ,christian in relation to the expression of the ideas1 beliefs and hopes of faith4#add ,,vii4 ,the want of a fixed political union of the several communities with each other--every ecclesia is an image complete in itself1 and an embodiment of the whole heavenly ,church--while the consciousness of the unity of the holy ,church of ,christ which has the spirit in its midst1 found strong expression4#ade ,,viii4 ,a quite unique literature in which were manufactured facts for the past and for the future1 and which did not submit to the usual literary rules and forms1 but came forward with the loftiest pretensions4#adf ,,ix4 ,the reproduction of particular sayings and arguments of ,apostolic ,teachers with an uncertain understanding of them4#adg ,x4 ,the rise of tendencies which endeavoured to hasten in every respect the inevitable process of fusing the ,gospel with the spiritual and religious interests of the time1 viz41 the ,hellenic1 as well as attempts to separate the ,gospel from its origins and provide for it quite foreign presuppositions4 ,to the latter belongs1 above all1 the ,hellenic idea that knowledge is not a charismatic supplement to the faith1 or an outgrowth of faith alongside of others1 but that it coincides with the essence of faith itself4#adh ,the sources for this period are few1 as there was not much written1 and the following period did not lay itself out for preserving a great part of the literary monuments of that epoch4 ,still we do possess a considerable number of writings and important fragments1#adi and further important inferences here are rendered possible by the monuments of the following period1 since the conditions of the first century were not changed in a moment1 but were partly1 at least1 long preserved1 especially in certain national ,churches and in remote communities4#aej ,supplement4--,the main features of the message concerning ,christ1 of the matter of the ,evangelic history1 were fixed in the first and second generations of believers1 and on ,palestinian soil4 ,but yet1 up to the middle of the second century1 this matter was in many ways increased in ,gentile ,christian regions1 revised from new points of view1 handed down in very diverse forms1 and systematically allegorised by individual teachers4 ,as a whole1 the ,evangelic history certainly appears to have been completed at the beginning of the second century4 ,but in detail1 much that was new was produced at a later period--and not only in ,gnostic circles--and the old tradition was recast or rejected4#aea ,footnote #adj3 ,this fact must have been apparent as early as the year #ajj4 ,the first direct evidence of it is in ,justin 7,apol4 ,i4 #ec74 ,footnote #ada3 ,every individual was1 or at least should have been conscious1 as a ,christian1 of having received the ,greek3 pneuma theou1 though that does not exclude spiritual grades4 ,a special peculiarity of the enthusiastic nature of the religious temper is that it does not allow reflection as to the authenticity of the faith in which a man lives4 ,as to the ,charismatic teaching1 see my edition of the ,didache 7,texte u ,unters4 ,,ii #a4 #b p4 #ic ff474 ,footnote #adb3 ,the hope of the approaching end of the world and the glorious kingdom of ,christ still determined men's hearts2 though exhortations against theoretical and practical scepticism became more and more necessary4 ,on the other hand1 after the ,epistles to the ,thessalonians1 there were not wanting exhortations to continue sober and diligent4 ,footnote #adc3 ,there was a strong consciousness that the ,christian ,church is1 above all1 a union for a holy life1 as well as a consciousness of the obligation to help one another1 and use all the blessings bestowed by ,god in the service of our neighbours4 ,justin 7#b ,apol4 in ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,,iv4 #ag4 #aj7 calls ,christianity ,greek3 to didaskalion tes theias aretes4 ,footnote #add3 ,the existing authorities 7,old ,testament1 sayings of the ,lord1 words of ,apostles7 did not necessarily require to be taken into account2 for the living acting ,spirit1 partly attesting himself also to the senses1 gave new revelations4 ,the validity of these authorities therefore held good only in theory1 and might in practice be completely set aside 7cf4 above all1 the ,shepherd of ,hermas74 ,footnote #ade3 ,zahn remarks 7,ignatius1 v4 ,a4 p4 ,,vii473 ,i do not believe it to be the business of that province of historical investigation which is dependent on the writings of the so-called ,apostolic ,fathers as main sources1 to explain the origin of the universal ,church in any sense of the term2 for that ,church existed before ,clement and ,hermas1 before ,ignatius and ,polycarp4 ,but an explanatory answer is needed for the question1 by what means did the consciousness of the 'universal ,church' so little favoured by outer circumstances1 maintain itself unbroken in the post-,apostolic communities8 ,this way of stating it obscures1 at least1 the problem which here lies before us1 for it does not take account of the changes which the idea universal ,church underwent up to the middle of the third century--besides1 we do not find the title before ,ignatius4 ,in so far as the universal ,church is set forth as an earthly power recognisable in a doctrine or in political forms1 the question as to the origin of the idea is not only allowable1 but must be regarded as one of the most important4 ,on the earliest conception of the ,ecclesia and its realisation1 see the fine investigations of ,sohm ,kirchenrecht1 ,i4 p4 i ff41 which1 however1 suffer from being a little overdriven4 ,footnote #adf3 ,see the important essay of ,overbeck3 ,ueber die ,anfaenge d4 patrist4 ,litteratur 7,hist4 ,ztschr4 ,n4 ,f4 ,bd4 ,,xii pp4 #dag-dgb74 ,early ,christian literature1 as a rule1 claims to be inspired writing4 ,one can see1 for example1 in the history of the resurrection in the recently discovered ,gospel of ,peter 7fragment7 how facts were remodelled or created4 ,footnote #adg3 ,the writings of men of the ,apostolic period1 and that immediately succeeding1 attained in part a wide circulation1 and in some portions of them1 often of course incorrectly understood1 very great influence4 ,how rapidly this literature was diffused1 even the letters1 may be studied in the history of the ,epistles of ,paul1 the first ,epistle of ,clement1 and other writings4 ,footnote #adh3 ,that which is here mentioned is of the greatest importance2 it is not a mere reference to the so-called ,gnostics4 ,the foundations for the ,hellenising of the ,gospel in the ,church were already laid in the first century 7#ej-aej74 ,footnote #adi3 ,we should not over-estimate the extent of early ,christian literature4 ,it is very probable that we know1 so far as the titles of books are concerned1 nearly all that was effective1 and the greater part1 by very diverse means1 has also been preserved to us4 ,we except1 of course1 the so-called ,gnostic literature of which we have only a few fragments4 ,only from the time of ,commodus1 as ,eusebius1 ,h4 ,e4 ,v4 #ba4 #bg1 has remarked1 did the great ,church preserve an extensive literature4 ,footnote #aej3 ,it is therefore important to note the locality in which a document originates1 and the more so the earlier the document is4 ,in the earliest period1 in which the history of the ,church was more uniform1 and the influence from without relatively less1 the differences are still in the background4 ,yet the spirit of ,rome already announces itself in the ,epistle of ,clement1 that of ,alexandria in the ,epistle of ,barnabas1 that of the ,east in the ,epistles of ,ignatius4 ,footnote #aea3 ,the history of the genesis of the four ,canonical ,gospels1 or the comparison of them1 is instructive on this point4 ,then we must bear in mind the old ,apocryphal ,gospels1 and the way in which the so-called ,apostolic ,fathers and ,justin attest the ,evangelic history1 and in part reproduce it independently1 the ,gospels of ,peter1 of the ,egyptians1 and of ,marcion2 the ,diatesseron of ,tatian2 the ,gnostic ,gospels and ,acts of the ,apostles1 etc4 ,the greatest gap in our knowledge consists in the fact1 that we know so little about the course of things from about the year #fa to the beginning of the reign of ,trajan4 ,the consolidating and remodelling process must1 for the most part1 have taken place in this period4 ,we possess probably not a few writings which belong to that period2 but how are we to prove this1 how are they to be arranged8 ,here lies the cause of most of the differences1 combinations and uncertainties2 many scholars1 therefore1 actually leave these #dj years out of account1 and seek to place everything in the first three decennia of the second century4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,element ,,common ,,to ,,all ,,christians ,,and ,,the ,,breach ,,with ,,judaism ,on account of the great differences among those who1 in the first century1 reckoned themselves in the ,church of ,god1 and called themselves by the name of ,christ1#aeb it seems at first sight scarcely possible to set up marks which would hold good for all1 or even for nearly all1 the groups4 ,yet the great majority had one thing in common1 as is proved1 among other things1 by the gradual expulsion of ,gnosticism4 ,the conviction that they knew the supreme ,god1 the consciousness of being responsible to him 7,heaven and ,hell71 reliance on ,jesus ,christ1 the hope of an eternal life1 the vigorous elevation above the world--these are the elements that formed the fundamental mood4 ,the author of the ,acts of ,thecla expresses the general view when he 7c4 #e-g7 co-ordinates ,greek3 ton tou christou logon with ,greek3 logos theou peri enkateias1 kai anastaseos4 ,the following particulars may here be specified4#aec ,i4 ,the ,gospel1 because it rests on revelation1 is the sure manifestation of the supreme ,god1 and its believing acceptance guarantees salvation 7,greek3 soteria74 ,,ii4 ,the essential content of this manifestation 7besides the revelation and the verification of the oneness and spirituality of ,god71#aed is1 first of all1 the message of the resurrection and eternal life 7,greek3 anastasis zoe aionios71 then the preaching of moral purity and continence 7,greek3 enkrateia71 on the basis of repentance toward ,god 7,greek3 metanoia71 and of an expiation once assured by baptism1 with eye ever fixed on the requital of good and evil4#aee ,,iii4 ,this manifestation is mediated by ,jesus ,christ1 who is the ,saviour 7,greek3 soter7 sent by ,god in these last days1 and who stands with ,god himself in a union special and unique1 7cf4 the ambiguous ,greek3 pais theou1 which was much used in the earliest period74 ,he has brought the true and full knowledge of ,god1 as well as the gift of immortality ,greek3 gnosis kai zoe1 or ,greek3 gnosis tes zoes1 as an expression for the sum of the ,gospel4 ,see the supper prayer in the ,didache1 c4 ,,ix4 an ,x42 ,greek3 eucharistoumen soi1 pater hemon huper tes zoes kai gnoseos hes egnorisas hemin dia ,iesou tou paidos sou1 and is for that very reason the redeemer 7,greek3 soter and victor over the demons7 on whom we are to place believing trust4 ,but he is1 further1 in word and walk the highest example of all moral virtue1 and therefore in his own person the law for the perfect life1 and at the same time the ,god-appointed lawgiver and judge4#aef ,,iv4 ,virtue as continence1 embraces as its highest task1 renunciation of temporal goods and separation from the common world2 for the ,christian is not a citizen1 but a stranger on the earth1 and expects its approaching destruction4#aeg ,v4 ,christ has committed to chosen men1 the ,apostles 7or to one ,apostle71 the proclamation of the message he received from ,god2 consequently1 their preaching represents that of ,christ himself4 ,but1 besides1 the ,spirit of ,god rules in ,christians1 the ,saints4 ,he bestows upon them special gifts1 and1 above all1 continually raises up among them ,prophets and spiritual ,teachers who receive revelations and communications for the edification of others1 and whose injunctions are to be obeyed4 ,,vi4 ,christian ,worship is a service of ,god in spirit and in truth 7a spiritual sacrifice71 and therefore has no legal ceremonial and statutory rules4 ,the value of the sacred acts and consecrations which are connected with the cultus1 consists in the communication of spiritual blessings4 7,didache ,x41 ,greek3 hemin de echariso1 despota1 pneumatiken trophen kai poton kai zoen aionion dia tou paidos sou74 ,,vii4 ,everything that ,jesus ,christ brought with him1 may be summed up in ,greek3 gnosis kai zoe1 or in the knowledge of immortal life4#aeh ,to possess the perfect knowledge was1 in wide circles1 an expression for the sum total of the ,gospel4#aei ,,viii4 ,christians1 as such1 no longer take into account the distinctions of race1 age1 rank1 nationality and worldly culture1 but the ,christian community must be conceived as a communion resting on a divine election4 ,opinions were divided about the ground of that election4 ,,ix4 ,as ,christianity is the only true religion1 and as it is no national religion1 but somehow concerns the whole of humanity1 or its best part1 it follows that it can have nothing in common with the ,jewish nation and its contemporary cultus4 ,the ,jewish nation in which ,jesus ,christ appeared1 has1 for the time at least1 no special relation to the ,god whom ,jesus revealed4 ,whether it had such a relation at an earlier period is doubtful 7cf4 here1 e4g41 the attitude of ,marcion1 ,ptolemaeus the disciple of ,valentinus1 the author of the ,epistle of ,barnabas1 ,aristides and ,justin72 but certain it is that ,god has now cast it off1 and that all revelations of ,god1 so far as they took place at all before ,christ1 7the majority assumed that there had been such revelations and considered the ,old ,testament as a holy record71 must have aimed solely at the call of the new people1 and in some way prepared for the revelation of ,god through his ,son4#afj ,footnote #aeb3 ,see1 as to this1 ,celsus in ,orig4 ,,iii4 #aj ff4 and ,v4 #ei ff4 ,footnote #aec3 ,the marks adduced in the text do not certainly hold good for some comparatively unimportant ,gnostic groups1 but they do apply to the great majority of them1 and in the main to ,marcion also4 ,footnote #aed3 ,most of the ,gnostic schools know only one ,god1 and put all emphasis on the knowledge of the oneness1 supramundaneness1 and spirituality of this ,god4 ,the ,a,eons1 the ,demiurgus1 the ,god of matter1 do not come near this ,god though they are called ,gods4 ,see the testimony of ,hippolytus c4 ,noet4 #aa2 ,greek3 kai gar pantes apekleisthesan eis touto akontes eipein hoti to pan eis hena anatrechei ei oun ta panta eis hena anatrechei kai kata thualentinon kai kata ,markiona1 ,kerinthon te kai pasan ten ekeinon phluarian1 kai akontes eis touto periepesan1 hina ton hena homologesosin aition ton panton houtos oun suntrechousin kai autoi me thelontes te aletheia hena theon legein poiesanta hos ethelesen4 ,footnote #aee3 ,continence was regarded as the condition laid down by ,god for the resurrection and eternal life4 ,the sure hope of this was for many1 if not for the majority1 the whole sum of religion1 in connection with the idea of the requital of good and evil which was now firmly established4 ,see the testimony of the heathen ,lucian1 in ,peregrinus ,proteus4 ,footnote #aef3 ,even where the judicial attributes were separated from ,god 7,christ7 as not suitable1 ,christ was still comprehended as the critical appearance by which every man is placed in the condition which belongs to him4 ,the ,apocalypse of ,peter expects that ,god himself will come as ,judge 7see the ,messianic expectations of ,judaism1 in which it was always uncertain whether ,god or the ,messiah would hold the judgment74 ,footnote #aeg3 ,celsus 7,orig4 c4 ,celsum1 ,v4 #ei7 after referring to the many ,christian parties mutually provoking and fighting with each other1 remarks 7,v4 #fd7 that though they differ much from each other1 and quarrel with each other1 you can yet hear from them all the protestation1 ,the world is crucified to me and ,i to the world4 ,in the earliest ,gentile ,christian communities brotherly love for reflective thought falls into the background behind ascetic exercises of virtue1 in unquestionable deviation from the sayings of ,christ1 but in fact it was powerful4 ,see the testimony of ,pliny and ,lucian1 ,aristides1 ,apol4 #ae1 ,tertull ,apol4 #ci4 ,footnote #aeh3 ,the word life comes into consideration in a double sense1 viz41 as soundness of the soul1 and as immortality4 ,neither1 of course1 is to be separated from the other4 ,but ,i have attempted to shew in my essay1 ,medicinisches aus der aeltesten ,kirchengesch 7#ahib71 the extent to which the ,gospel in the earliest ,christendom was preached as medicine and ,jesus as a ,physician1 and how the ,christian ,message was really comprehended by the ,gentiles as a medicinal religion4 ,even the ,stoic philosophy gave itself out as a soul therapeutic1 and ,a,esculapius was worshipped as a ,saviour-,god2 but ,christianity alone was a religion of healing4 ,footnote #aei3 ,heinrici1 in his commentary on the epistles to the ,corinthians1 has dealt very clearly with this matter2 see especially 7,bd4 ,,ii4 p4 #eeg ff47 the description of the ,christianity of the ,corinthians3 ,on what did the community base its ,christian character8 ,it believed in one ,god who had revealed himself to it through ,christ1 without denying the reality of the hosts of gods in the heathen world 7#a ,,viii4 #f74 ,it hoped in immortality without being clear as to the nature of the ,christian belief in the resurrection 7#a ,,xv47 ,it had no doubt as to the requital of good and evil 7#a ,,iv4 #e2 #b ,v4 #aj2 ,,xi4 #ae3 ,rom4 ,,ii4 #d71 without understanding the value of self-denial1 claiming no merit1 for the sake of important ends4 ,it was striving to make use of the ,gospel as a new doctrine of wisdom about earthly and super-earthly things1 which led to the perfect and best established knowledge 7#a ,i4 #ba3 ,,viii4 #a74 ,it boasted of special operations of the ,divine ,spirit1 which in themselves remained obscure and non-transparent1 and therefore unfruitful 7#a ,,xiv471 while it was prompt to put aside as obscure1 the word of the ,cross as preached by ,paul 7#b4 ,,iv4 #a f74 ,the hope of the near ,parousia1 however1 and the completion of all things1 evinced no power to effect a moral transformation of society ,we herewith obtain the outline of a conviction that was spread over the widest circles of the ,roman ,empire ,naturam si expellas furca1 tamen usque recurret4 ,footnote #afj3 ,nearly all ,gentile ,christian groups that we know1 are at one in the detachment of ,christianity from empiric ,judaism2 the ,gnostics1 however1 included the ,old ,testament in ,judaism1 while the greater part of ,christians did not4 ,that detachment seemed to be demanded by the claims of ,christianity to be the one1 true1 absolute and therefore oldest religion1 foreseen from the beginning4 ,the different estimates of the ,old ,testament in ,gnostic circles have their exact parallels in the different estimates of ,judaism among the other ,christians2 cf4 for example1 in this respect1 the conception stated in the ,epistle of ,barnabas with the views of ,marcion1 and ,justin with ,valentinus4 ,the particulars about the detachment of the ,gentile ,christians from the ,synagogue1 which was prepared for by the inner development of ,judaism itself1 and was required by the fundamental fact that the ,messiah1 crucified and rejected by his own people1 was recognised as ,saviour by those who were not ,jews1 cannot be given in the frame-work of a history of dogma2 though1 see ,chaps4 ,,iii4 ,,iv4 ,,vi4 ,on the other hand1 the turning away from ,judaism is also the result of the mass of things which were held in common with it1 even in ,gnostic circles4 ,christianity made its appearance in the ,empire in the ,jewish propaganda4 ,by the preaching of ,jesus ,christ who brought the gift of eternal life1 mediated the full knowledge of ,god1 and assembled round him in these last days a community1 the imperfect and hybrid creations of the ,jewish propaganda in the empire were converted into independent formations4 ,these formations were far superior to the synagogue in power of attraction1 and from the nature of the case would very soon be directed with the utmost vigour against the synagogue4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,common ,,faith ,,and ,,the ,,beginnings ,,of ,,knowledge ,,in ,,gentile ,,christianity ,,as ,,it ,,was ,,being ,,developed ,,into ,,catholicism#afb ,sec4 #a4 ,the ,communities and the ,church4 ,the confessors of the ,gospels1 belonging to organised communities who recognised the ,old ,testament as the ,divine record of revelation1 and prized the ,evangelic tradition as a public message for all1 to which1 in its undiluted form1 they wished to adhere truly and sincerely1 formed the stem of ,christendom both as to extent and importance4#afc ,the communities stood to each other in an outwardly loose1 but inwardly firm connection1 and every community by the vigour of its faith1 the certainty of its hope1 the holy character of its life1 as well as by unfeigned love1 unity and peace1 was to be an image of the holy ,church of ,god which is in heaven1 and whose members are scattered over the earth4 ,they were further1 by the purity of their walk and an active brotherly disposition1 to prove to those without1 that is to the world1 the excellence and truth of the ,christian faith4#afd ,the hope that the ,lord would speedily appear to gather into his ,kingdom the believers who were scattered abroad1 punishing the evil and rewarding the good1 guided these communities in faith and life4 ,in the recently discovered ,teaching of the ,apostles we are confronted very distinctly with ideas and aspirations of communities that are not influenced by ,philosophy4 ,the ,church1 that is the totality of all believers destined to be received into the kingdom of ,god 7,didache1 #i4 #aj71 is the holy ,church1 7,hermas7 because it is brought together and preserved by the ,holy ,spirit4 ,it is the one ,church1 not because it presents this unity outwardly1 on earth the members of the ,church are rather scattered abroad1 but because it will be brought to unity in the kingdom of ,christ1 because it is ruled by the same spirit and inwardly united in a common relation to a common hope and ideal4 ,the ,church1 considered in its origin1 is the number of those chosen by ,god1#afe the true ,israel1#aff nay1 still more1 the final purpose of ,god1 for the world was created for its sake4#afg ,there were in connection with these doctrines in the earliest period1 various speculations about the ,church3 it is a heavenly ,a,eon1 is older than the world1 was created by ,god at the beginning of things as a companion of the heavenly ,christ2#afh its members form the new nation which is really the oldest nation1#afi it is the ,greek3 laos ho tou agapemenou ho philoumenos kai philon auton1#agj the people whom ,god has prepared in the ,beloved1#aga etc4 ,the creation of ,god1 the ,church1 as it is of an antemundane and heavenly nature1 will also attain its true existence only in the ,a,eon of the future1 the ,a,eon of the kingdom of ,christ4 ,the idea of a heavenly origin1 and of a heavenly goal of the ,church1 was therefore an essential one1 various and fluctuating as these speculations were4 ,accordingly1 the exhortations1 so far as they have in view the ,church1 are always dominated by the idea of the contrast of the kingdom of ,christ with the kingdom of the world4 ,on the other hand1 he who communicated knowledge for the present time1 prescribed rules of life1 endeavoured to remove conflicts1 did not appeal to the peculiar character of the ,church4 ,the mere fact1 however1 that from nearly the beginning of ,christendom1 there were reflections and speculations not only about ,god and ,christ1 but also about the ,church1 teaches us how profoundly the ,christian consciousness was impressed with being a new people1 viz41 the people of ,god4#agb ,these speculations of the earliest ,gentile ,christian time about ,christ and the ,church1 as inseparable correlative ideas1 are of the greatest importance1 for they have absolutely nothing ,hellenic in them1 but rather have their origin in the ,apostolic tradition4 ,but for that very reason the combination very soon1 comparatively speaking1 became obsolete or lost its power to influence4 ,even the ,apologists made no use of it1 though ,clement of ,alexandria and other ,greeks held it fast1 and the ,gnostics by their ,a,eon ,church brought it into discredit4 ,augustine was the first to return to it4 ,the importance attached to morality is shewn in ,didache cc4 #a-f1 with parallels#agc4 ,but this section and the statements so closely related to it in the pseudo phocylidean poem1 which is probably of ,christian origin1 as well as in ,sibyl1 ,,ii4 v4 #ef1 #adh1 which is likewise to be regarded as ,christian1 and in many other ,gnomic paragraphs1 shews at the same time1 that in the memorable expression and summary statement of higher moral commandments1 the ,christian propaganda had been preceded by the ,judaism of the ,diaspora1 and had entered into its labours4 ,these statements are throughout dependent on the ,old ,testament wisdom1 and have the closest relationship with the genuine ,greek parts of the ,alexandrian ,canon1 as well as with ,philonic exhortations4 ,consequently1 these moral rules1 the two ways1 so aptly compiled and filled with such an elevated spirit1 represent the ripest fruit of ,jewish as well as of ,greek development4 ,the ,christian spirit found here a disposition which it could recognise as its own4 ,it was of the utmost importance1 however1 that this disposition was already expressed in fixed forms suitable for didactic purposes4 ,the young ,christianity therewith received a gift of first importance4 ,it was spared a labour in a legion1 the moral1 which experience shews1 can only be performed in generations1 viz1 the creation of simple fixed impressive rules1 the labour of the ,catechist4 ,the sayings of the ,sermon on the ,mount were not of themselves sufficient here4 ,those who in the second century attempted to rest in these alone and turned aside from the ,judaeo-,greek inheritance1 landed in ,marcionite or ,encratite doctrines4#agd ,we can see1 especially from the ,apologies of ,aristides 7c4 #ae71 ,justin and ,tatian 7see also ,lucian71 that the earnest men of the ,graeco-,roman world were won by the morality and active love of the ,christians4 ,sec4 #b4 ,the ,foundations of the ,faith4 ,the foundations of the faith--whose abridged form was1 on the one hand1 the confession of the one true ,god1 ,greek3 monos alethinos theos1#age and of ,jesus1 the ,lord1 the ,son of ,god1 the ,saviour#agf and also of the ,holy ,spirit1 and on the other hand1 the confident hope of ,christ's kingdom and the resurrection--were laid on the ,old ,testament interpreted in a ,christian sense together with the ,apocalypses1#agg and the progressively enriched traditions about ,jesus ,christ 7,greek3 he parodosis--ho paradotheis logos--ho kanon tes aletheias or ,greek3 tes paradoseos--he pistis--ho kanon tes pisteos--ho dotheisa pistis--to kerygma--ta didagmata tou christou--he didache--ta mathemata1 or ,greek3 to mathema74#agh ,the ,old ,testament revelations and oracles were regarded as pointing to ,christ2 the ,old ,testament itself1 the words of ,god spoken by the ,prophets1 as the primitive ,gospel of salvation1 having in view the new people1 which is1 however1 the oldest1 and belonging to it alone4#agi ,the exposition of the ,old ,testament1 which1 as a rule1 was of course read in the ,alexandrian ,canon of the ,bible1 turned it into a ,christian book4 ,a historical view of it1 which no born ,jew could in some measure fail to take1 did not come into fashion1 and the freedom that was used in interpreting the ,old ,testament1--so far as there was a method1 it was the ,alexandrian ,jewish--went the length of even correcting the letter and enriching the contents4#ahj ,the traditions concerning ,christ on which the communities were based1 were of a twofold character4 ,first1 there were words of the ,lord1 mostly ethical1 but also of eschatological content1 which were regarded as rules1 though their expression was uncertain1 ever changing1 and only gradually assuming a fixed form4 ,the ,greek3 didagmata tou christou are often just the moral commandments4#aha ,second1 the foundation of the faith1 that is1 the assurance of the blessing of salvation1 was formed by a proclamation of the history of ,jesus concisely expressed1 and composed with reference to prophecy4#ahb ,the confession of ,god the ,father ,almighty1 of ,christ as the ,lord and ,son of ,god1 and of the ,holy ,spirit1#ahc was at a very early period in the communities1 united with the short proclamation of the history of ,jesus1 and at the same time1 in certain cases1 referred expressly to the revelation of ,god 7the ,spirit7 through the prophets4#ahd ,the confession thus conceived had not everywhere obtained a fixed definite expression in the first century 7c4 #ej-aej74 ,it would rather seem that1 in most of the communities1 there was no exact formulation beyond a confession of ,father1 ,son and ,spirit1 accompanied in a free way by the historical proclamation4#ahe ,it is highly probable1 however1 that a short confession was strictly formulated in the ,roman community before the middle of the second century1#ahf expressing belief in the ,father1 ,son and ,spirit1 embracing also the most important facts in the history of ,jesus1 and mentioning the ,holy ,church1 as well as the two great blessings of ,christianity1 the forgiveness of sin1 and the resurrection of the dead 7,greek3 aphesis hamartion1 sarkos anastasis#ahg74 ,but1 however the proclamation might be handed down1 in a form somehow fixed1 or in a free form1 the disciples of ,jesus1 the 7twelve7 ,apostles1 were regarded as the authorities who mediated and guaranteed it4 ,to them was traced back in the same way everything that was narrated of the history of ,jesus1 and everything that was inculcated from his sayings4#ahh ,consequently1 it may be said1 that beside the ,old ,testament1 the chief court of appeal in the communities was formed by an aggregate of words and deeds of the ,lord2--for the history and the suffering of ,jesus are his deed3 ,greek3 ho ,iesous hupemeinen pathein1 k4t4l4--fixed in certain fundamental features1 though constantly enriched1 and traced back to apostolic testimony4#ahi ,the authority which the ,apostles in this way enjoyed1 did not1 in any great measure1 rest on the remembrance of direct services which the twelve had rendered to the ,gentile ,churches3 for1 as the want of reliable concrete traditions proves1 no such services had been rendered1 at least not by the twelve4 ,on the contrary1 there was a theory operative here regarding the special authority which the twelve enjoyed in the ,church at ,jerusalem1 a theory which was spread by the early missionaries1 including ,paul1 and sprang from the a priori consideration that the tradition about ,christ1 just because it grew up so quickly1#aij must have been entrusted to eye-witnesses who were commissioned to proclaim the ,gospel to the whole world1 and who fulfilled that commission4 ,the a priori character of this assumption is shewn by the fact that--with the exception of reminiscences of an activity of ,peter and ,john among the ,greek3 ethne1 not sufficiently clear to us#aia--the twelve1 as a rule1 are regarded as a college1 to which the mission and the tradition are traced back4#aib ,that such a theory1 based on a dogmatic construction of history1 could have at all arisen1 proves that either the ,gentile ,churches never had a living relation to the twelve1 or that they had very soon lost it in the rapid disappearance of ,jewish ,christianity1 while they had been referred to the twelve from the beginning4 ,but even in the communities which ,paul had founded and for a long time guided1 the remembrance of the controversies of the ,apostolic age must have been very soon effaced1 and the vacuum thus produced filled by a theory which directly traced back the status quo of the ,gentile ,christian communities to a tradition of the twelve as its foundation4 ,this fact is extremely paradoxical1 and is not altogether explained by the assumptions that the ,pauline-,judaistic controversy had not made a great impression on the ,gentile ,christians1 that the way in which ,paul1 while fully recognising the twelve1 had insisted on his own independent importance1 had long ceased to be really understood1 and that ,peter and ,john had also really been missionaries to the ,gentiles4 ,the guarantee that was needed for the teaching of the ,lord must1 finally1 be given not by ,paul1 but only by chosen eye-witnesses4 ,the less that was known about them1 the easier it was to claim them4 ,the conviction as to the unanimity of the twelve1 and as to their activity in founding the ,gentile ,churches1 appeared in these ,churches as early as the urgent need of protection against the serious consequences of unfettered religious enthusiasm and unrestrained religious fancy4 ,this urgency cannot be dated too far back4 ,in correspondence therewith1 the principle of tradition in the ,church 7,christ1 the twelve ,apostles7 in the case of those who were intent on the unity and completeness of ,christendom1 is also very old4 ,but one passed logically from the ,apostles to the disciples of the ,apostles1 the ,elders1 without at first claiming for them any other significance than that of reliable hearers 7,apostoli et discentes ipsorum74 ,in coming down to them1 one here and there betook oneself again to real historical ground1 disciples of ,paul1 of ,peter1 of ,john4#aic ,yet even here legends with a tendency speedily got mixed with facts1 and because1 in consequence of this theory of tradition1 the ,apostle ,paul must needs fall into the background1 his disciples also were more or less forgotten4 ,the attempt which we have in the ,pastoral ,epistles remained without effect1 as regards those to whom these epistles were addressed4 ,timothy and ,titus obtained no authority outside these epistles4 ,but so far as the epistles of ,paul were collected1 diffused1 and read1 there was created a complex of writings which at first stood beside the ,teaching of the ,lord by the twelve ,apostles1 without being connected with it1 and only obtained such connection by the creation of the ,new ,testament1 that is1 by the interpolation of the ,acts of the ,apostles1 between ,gospels and ,epistles4#aid ,sec4 #c4 ,the ,main ,articles of ,christianity and the ,conceptions of ,salvation4 ,eschatology4 #a4 ,the main articles of ,christianity were 7#a7 belief in ,god the ,greek3 despotes1 and in the ,son in virtue of proofs from prophecy1 and the teaching of the ,lord as attested by the ,apostles2 7#b7 discipline according to the standard of the words of the ,lord2 7#c7 baptism2 7#d7 the common offering of prayer1 culminating in the ,lord's ,supper and the holy meal1 7#e7 the sure hope of the nearness of ,christ's glorious kingdom4 ,in these appears the unity of ,christendom1 that is1 of the ,church which possesses the ,holy ,spirit4#aie ,on the basis of this unity ,christian knowledge was free and manifold4 ,it was distinguished as ,greek3 sophia1 sunesis1 episteme1 gnosis 7ton dikaiomaton71 from the ,greek3 logos theou tes pisteos1 the ,greek3 klesis tes epangelias and the ,greek3 entolai tes didaches 7,barn4 #af4 #i1 similarly ,hermas74 ,perception and knowledge of ,divine things was a ,charism possessed only by individuals1 but like all ,charisms it was to be used for the good of the whole4 ,in so far as every actual perception was a perception produced by the ,spirit1 it was regarded as important and indubitable truth1 even though some ,christians were unable to understand it4 ,while attention was given to the firm inculcation and observance of the moral precepts of ,christ1 as well as to the awakening of sure faith in ,christ1 and while all waverings and differences were excluded in respect of these1 there was absolutely no current doctrine of faith in the communities1 in the sense of a completed theory1 and the theological speculations of even closely related ,christian writers of this epoch1 exhibit the greatest differences4#aif ,the productions of fancy1 the terrible or consoling pictures of the future pass for sacred knowledge1 just as much as intelligent and sober reflections1 and edifying interpretation of ,old ,testament sayings4 ,even that which was afterwards separated as ,dogmatic and ,ethics was then in no way distinguished4#aig ,the communities gave expression in the cultus1 chiefly in the hymns and prayers1 to what they possessed in their ,god and their ,christ2 here sacred formulae were fashioned and delivered to the members4#aih ,the problem of surrendering the world in the hope of a life beyond was regarded as the practical side of the faith1 and the unity in temper and disposition resting on faith in the saving revelation of ,god in ,christ1 permitted the highest degree of freedom in knowledge1 the results of which were absolutely without control as soon as the preacher or the writer was recognised as a true teacher1 that is1 inspired by the ,spirit of ,god4#aii ,there was also in wide circles a conviction that the ,christian faith1 after the night of error1 included the full knowledge of everything worth knowing1 that precisely in its most important articles it is accessible to men of every degree of culture1 and that in it1 in the now attained truth1 is contained one of the most essential blessings of ,christianity4 ,when it is said in the ,epistle of ,barnabas 7,,ii4 #b4 #c72 ,greek3 tes pisteos hemon eisin boethoi phobos kai hupomone1 ta de summachounta hemin makrothumia kai enkrateia2 touton menonton ta pros kurion hagnos1 suneuphrainontai autois sophia1 sunesis1 episteme1 gnosis1 knowledge appears in this classic formula to be an essential element in ,christianity1 conditioned by faith and the practical virtues1 and dependent on them4 ,faith takes the lead1 knowledge follows it3 but of course in concrete cases it could not always be decided what was ,greek3 logos tes pisteos1 which implicitly contained the highest knowledge1 and what the special ,greek3 gnosis2 for in the last resort the nature of the two was regarded as identical1 both being represented as produced by the ,spirit of ,god4 #b4 ,the conceptions of ,christian salvation1 or of redemption1 were grouped around two ideas1 which were themselves but loosely connected with each other1 and of which the one influenced more the temper and the imagination1 the other the intellectual faculty4 ,on the one hand1 salvation1 in accordance with the earliest preaching1 was regarded as the glorious kingdom which was soon to appear on earth with the visible return of ,christ1 which will bring the present course of the world to an end1 and introduce for a definite series of centuries1 before the final judgment1 a new order of all things to the joy and blessedness of the saints4#bjj ,in connection with this the hope of the resurrection of the body occupied the foreground#bja4 ,on the other hand1 salvation appeared to be given in the truth1 that is1 in the complete and certain knowledge of ,god1 as contrasted with the error of heathendom and the night of sin1 and this truth included the certainty of the gift of eternal life1 and all conceivable spiritual blessings4#bjb ,of these the community1 so far as it is a community of saints1 that is1 so far as it is ruled by the ,spirit of ,god1 already possesses forgiveness of sins and righteousness4 ,but1 as a rule1 neither blessing was understood in a strictly religious sense1 that is to say1 the effect of their religious sense was narrowed4 ,the moralistic view1 in which eternal life is the wages and reward of a perfect moral life wrought out essentially by one's own power1 took the place of first importance at a very early period4 ,on this view1 according to which the righteousness of ,god is revealed in punishment and reward alike1 the forgiveness of sin only meant a single remission of sin in connection with entrance into the ,church by baptism1#bjc and righteousness became identical with virtue4 ,the idea is indeed still operative1 especially in the oldest ,gentile-,christian writings known to us1 that sinlessness rests upon a new creation 7regeneration7 which is effected in baptism2#bjd but1 so far as dissimilar eschatological hopes do not operate1 it is everywhere in danger of being supplanted by the other idea1 which maintains that there is no other blessing in the ,gospel than the perfect truth and eternal life4 ,all else is but a sum of obligations in which the ,gospel is presented as a new law4 ,the christianising of the ,old ,testament supported this conception4 ,there was indeed an opinion that the ,gospel1 even so far as it is a law1 comprehends a gift of salvation which is to be grasped by faith ,greek3 nomos aneu zugou anankes1#bje nomos t4 eleutherias1#bjf ,christ himself the law2#bjg but this notion1 as it is obscure in itself1 was also an uncertain one and was gradually lost4 ,further1 by the law was frequently meant in the first place1 not the law of love1 but the commandments of ascetic holiness1 or an explanation and a turn were given to the law of love1 according to which it is to verify itself above all in asceticism4#bjh ,the expression of the contents of the ,gospel in the concepts ,greek3 epangelia 7zoe aionios7 gnosis 7aletheia7 nomos 7enkrateia71 seemed quite as plain as it was exhaustive1 and the importance of faith which was regarded as the basis of hope and knowledge and obedience in a holy life1 was at the same time in every respect perceived4#bji ,supplement #a4--,the moralistic view of sin1 forgiveness of sin1 and righteousness1 in ,clement1 ,barnabas1 ,polycarp and ,ignatius1 gives place to ,pauline formulae2 but the uncertainty with which these are reproduced1 shews that the ,pauline idea has not been clearly seen4#baj ,in ,hermas1 however1 and in the second ,epistle of ,clement1 the consciousness of being under grace1 even after baptism1 almost completely disappears behind the demand to fulfil the tasks which baptism imposes4#baa ,the idea that serious sins1 in the case of the baptised1 no longer should or can be forgiven1 except under special circumstances1 appears to have prevailed in wide circles1 if not everywhere4#bab ,it reveals the earnestness of those early ,christians and their elevated sense of freedom and power2 but it might be united either with the highest moral intensity1 or with a lax judgment on the little sins of the day4 ,the latter1 in point of fact1 threatened to become more and more the presupposition and result of that idea--for there exists here a fatal reciprocal action4 ,supplement #b4--,the realisation of salvation--as ,greek3 basileia tou theou and as ,greek3 aphtharsia--being expected from the future1 the whole present possession of salvation might be comprehended under the title of vocation 7,greek3 klesis7 see1 for example1 the second ,epistle of ,clement4 ,in this sense gnosis itself was regarded as something only preparatory4 ,supplement #c4--;,in some circles the ,pauline formula about righteousness and salvation by faith alone1 must1 it would appear1 not infrequently 7as already in the ,apostolic age itself7 have been partly misconstrued1 and partly taken advantage of as a cloak for laxity4 ,those who resisted such a disposition1 and therefore also the formula in the post-,apostolic age1 shew indeed by their opposition how little they have hit upon or understood the ,pauline idea of faith3 for they not only issued the watchword faith and works 7though the ,jewish ceremonial law was not thereby meant71 but they admitted1 and not only hypothetically1 that one might have the true faith even though in his case that faith remained dead or united with immorality4 ,see1 above all1 the ,epistle of ,james and the ,shepherd of ,hermas2 though the first ,epistle of ,john comes also into consideration 7,,iii4 #g3 ,he that doeth righteousness is righteous74#bac ,supplement #d4--;,however similar the eschatological expectations of the ,jewish ,apocalyptists and the ,christians may seem1 there is yet in one respect an important difference between them4 ,the uncertainty about the final consummation was first set aside by the ,gospel4 ,it should be noted as highly characteristic of the ,jewish hopes of the future1 even of the most definite1 how the beginning of the end1 that is1 the overthrow of the world-powers and the setting up of the earthly kingdom of ,god1 was much more certainly expressed than the goal and the final end4 ,neither the general judgment1 nor what we1 according to ,christian tradition1 call heaven and hell1 should be described as a sure possession of ,jewish faith in the primitive ,christian period4 ,it is only in the ,gospel of ,christ1 where everything is subordinated to the idea of a higher righteousness and the union of the individual with ,god1 that the general judgment and the final condition after it are the clear1 firmly grasped goal of all meditation4 ,no doctrine has been more surely preserved in the convictions and preaching of believers in ,christ than this4 ,fancy might roam ever so much and1 under the direction of the tradition1 thrust bright and precious images between the present condition and the final end1 the main thing continued to be the great judgment of the world1 and the certainty that the saints would go to ,god in heaven1 the wicked to hell4 ,but while the judgment1 as a rule1 was connected with the ,person of ,jesus himself 7see the ,romish ,symbol3 the words ,greek3 krites zonton kai nekron1 were very frequently applied to ,christ in the earliest writings71 the moral condition of the individual1 and the believing recognition of the ,person of ,christ were put in the closest relation4 ,the ,gentile ,christians held firmly to this4 ,open the ,shepherd1 or the second ,epistle of ,clement1 or any other early ,christian writing1 and you will find that the judgment1 heaven and hell1 are the decisive objects4 ,but that shews that the moral character of ,christianity as a religion is seen and adhered to4 ,the fearful idea of hell1 far from signifying a backward step in the history of the religious spirit1 is rather a proof of its having rejected the morally indifferent point of view1 and of its having become sovereign in union with the ethical spirit4 ,sec4 #d4 ,the ,old ,testament as ,source of the ,knowledge of ,faith4#bad ,the sayings of the ,old ,testament1 the word of ,god1 were believed to furnish inexhaustible material for deeper knowledge4 ,the ,christian prophets were nurtured on the ,old ,testament1 the teachers gathered from it the revelation of the past1 present and future 7,barn4 #a4 #g71 and were therefore able as prophets to edify the ,churches2 from it was further drawn the confirmation of the answers to all emergent questions1 as one could always find in the ,old ,testament what he was in search of4 ,the different writers laid the holy book under contribution in very much the same way2 for they were all dominated by the presupposition that this book is a ,christian book1 and contains the explanations that are necessary for the occasion4 ,there were several teachers1 e4g41 ,barnabas1 who at a very early period boasted of finding in it ideas of special profundity and value--these were always an expression of the difficulties that were being felt4 ,the plain words of the ,lord as generally known1 did not seem sufficient to satisfy the craving for knowledge1 or to solve the problems that were emerging2#bae their origin and form also opposed difficulties at first to the attempt to obtain from them new disclosures by re-interpretation4 ,but the ,old ,testament sayings and histories were in part unintelligible1 or in their literal sense offensive2 they were at the same time regarded as fundamental words of ,god4 ,this furnished the conditions for turning them to account in the way we have stated4 ,the following are the most important points of view under which the ,old ,testament was used4 7#a7 ,the ,monotheistic cosmology and view of nature were borrowed from it 7see1 for example1 #a ,clem474 7#b7 ,it was used to prove that the appearance and entire history of ,jesus had been foretold centuries1 nay1 thousands of years beforehand1 and that the founding of a new people gathered out of all nations had been predicted and prepared for from the very beginning4#baf 7#c7 ,it was used as a means of verifying all principles and institutions of the ,christian ,church1--the spiritual worship of ,god without images1 the abolition of all ceremonial legal precepts1 baptism1 etc4 7#d7 ,the ,old ,testament was used for purposes of exhortation according to the formula a minori ad majus2 if ,god then punished and rewarded this or that in such a way1 how much more may we expect1 who now stand in the last days1 and have received the ,greek3 klesis tes epangelias4 7#e7 ,it was proved from the ,old ,testament that the ,jewish nation is in error1 and either never had a covenant with ,god or has lost it1 that it has a false apprehension of ,god's revelations1 and therefore has1 now at least1 no longer any claim to their possession4 ,but beyond all this1 7#f7 there were in the ,old ,testament books1 above all1 in the ,prophets and in the ,psalms1 a great number of sayings--confessions of trust in ,god and of help received from ,god1 of humility and holy courage1 testimonies of a world-overcoming faith and words of comfort1 love and communion--which were too exalted for any cavilling1 and intelligible to every spiritually awakened mind4 ,out of this treasure which was handed down to the ,greeks and ,romans1 the ,church edified herself1 and in the perception of its riches was largely rooted the conviction that the holy book must in every line contain the highest truth4 ,the point mentioned under 7#e7 needs1 however1 further explanation4 ,the self-consciousness of the ,christian community of being the people of ,god1 must have been1 above all1 expressed in its position towards ,judaism1 whose mere existence--even apart from actual assaults-- threatened that consciousness most seriously4 ,a certain antipathy of the ,greeks and ,romans towards ,judaism co-operated here with a law of self-preservation4 ,on all hands1 therefore1 ,judaism as it then existed was abandoned as a sect judged and rejected by ,god1 as a society of hypocrites1#bag as a synagogue of ,satan1#bah as a people seduced by an evil angel1#bai and the ,jews were declared to have no further right to the possession of the ,old ,testament4 ,opinions differed1 however1 as to the earlier history of the nation and its relation to the true ,god4 ,while some denied that there ever had been a covenant of salvation between ,god and this nation1 and in this respect recognised only an intention of ,god1#bbj which was never carried out because of the idolatry of the people1 others admitted in a hazy way that a relation did exist2 but even they referred all the promises of the ,old ,testament to the ,christian people4#bba ,while the former saw in the observance of the letter of the law1 in the case of circumcision1 sabbath1 precepts as to food1 etc41 a proof of the special devilish temptation to which the ,jewish people succumbed1#bbb the latter saw in circumcision a sign#bbc given by ,god1 and in virtue of certain considerations acknowledged that the literal observance of the law was for the time ,god's intention and command1 though righteousness never came from such observance4 ,yet even they saw in the spiritual the alone true sense1 which the ,jews had denied1 and were of opinion that the burden of ceremonies was a paedagogic necessity with reference to a people stiff-necked and prone to idolatry1 i4e41 a defence of monotheism1 and gave an interpretation to the sign of circumcision which made it no longer a blessing1 but rather the mark for the execution of judgment on ,israel4#bbd ,israel was thus at all times the pseudo-,church4 ,the older people does not in reality precede the younger people1 the ,christians1 even in point of time2 for though the ,church appeared only in the last days1 it was foreseen and created by ,god from the beginning4 ,the younger people is therefore really the older1 and the new law rather the original law4#bbe ,the ,patriarchs1 ,prophets1 and men of ,god1 however1 who were favoured with the communication of ,god's words1 have nothing inwardly in common with the ,jewish people4 ,they are ,god's elect who were distinguished by a holy walk1 and must be regarded as the forerunners and fathers of the ,christian people4#bbf ,to the question how such holy men appeared exclusively1 or almost exclusively1 among the ,jewish people1 the documents preserved to us yield no answer4 ,sec4 #e4 ,the ,knowledge of ,god and of the ,world4 ,estimate of the ,world4 ,the knowledge of faith was1 above all1 the knowledge of ,god as one1 supramundane1 spiritual1#bbg and almighty 7,greek3 pantokrator72 ,god is creator and governor of the world and therefore the ,lord4#bbh ,but as he created the world a beautiful ordered whole 7monotheistic view of nature7#bbi for the sake of man1#bcj he is at the same time the ,god of goodness and redemption 7,greek3 theos soter71 and the true faith in ,god and knowledge of him as the ,father1#bca is made perfect only in the knowledge of the identity of the ,god of creation and the ,god of redemption4 ,redemption1 however1 was necessary1 because at the beginning humanity and the world alike fell under the dominion of evil demons1#bcb of the evil one4 ,there was no universally accepted theory as to the origin of this dominion2 but the sure and universal conviction was that the present condition and course of the world is not of ,god1 but is of the devil4 ,those1 however1 who believed in ,god1 the almighty creator1 and were expecting the transformation of the earth1 as well as the visible dominion of ,christ upon it1 could not be seduced into accepting a dualism in principle 7,god and devil3 spirit and matter74 ,belief in ,god1 the creator1 and eschatological hopes1 preserved the communities from the theoretic dualism that so readily suggested itself1 which they slightly touched in many particular opinions1 and which threatened to dominate their feelings4 ,the belief that the world is of ,god and therefore good1 remained in force4 ,a distinction was made between the present constitution of the world1 which is destined for destruction1 and the future order of the world which will be a glorious restitutio in integrum4 ,the theory of the world as an articulated whole which had already been proclaimed by the ,stoics1 and which was strengthened by ,christian monotheism1 would not1 even if it had been known to the uncultured1 have been vigorous enough to cope with the impression of the wickedness of the course of this world1 and the vulgarity of all things material4 ,but the firm belief in the omnipotence of ,god1 and the hope of the world's transformation grounded on the ,old ,testament1 conquered the mood of absolute despair of all things visible and sensuous1 and did not allow a theoretic conclusion1 in the sense of dualism in principle1 to be drawn from the practical obligation to renounce the world1 or from the deep distrust with regard to the flesh4 ,sec4 #f4 ,faith in ,jesus ,christ4 #a4 ,as surely as redemption was traced back to ,god himself1 so surely was ,jesus 7,greek3 ho soter hemon7 held to be the mediator of it4 ,faith in ,jesus was therefore1 even for ,gentile ,christians1 a compendium of ,christianity4 ,jesus is mostly designated with the same name as ,god1#bcc ,greek3 ho kurios 7hemon71 for we must remember the ancient use of this title4 ,all that has taken place or will take place with reference to salvation1 is traced back to the ,lord4 ,the carelessness of the early ,christian writers about the bearing of the word in particular cases1#bcd shews that in a religious relation1 so far as there was reflection on the gift of salvation1 ,jesus could directly take the place of ,god4 ,the invisible ,god is the author1 ,jesus the revealer and mediator1 of all saving blessings4 ,the final subject is presented in the nearest subject1 and there is frequently no occasion for expressly distinguishing them1 as the range and contents of the revelation of salvation in ,jesus coincide with the range and contents of the will of salvation in ,god himself4 ,yet prayers1 as a rule1 were addressed to ,god3 at least1 there are but few examples of direct prayers to ,jesus belonging to the first century 7apart from the prayers in the ,act4 ,joh4 of the so-called ,leucius74 ,the usual formula rather reads3 ,greek3 theoi exomologoumetha dia ',i4 ,chr4--theoi doxa dio ',i4 ,chr4#bce #b4 ,as the ,gentile ,christians did not understand the significance of the idea that ,jesus is the ,christ 7,messiah71 the designation ,greek3 christos had either to be given up in their communities1 or to subside into a mere name4#bcf ,but even where1 through the ,old ,testament1 one was reminded of the meaning of the word1 and allowed a value to it1 he was far from finding in the statement that ,jesus is the ,lord's anointed1 a clear expression of the dignity peculiar to him4 ,that dignity had therefore to be expressed by other means4 ,nevertheless the eschatological series of ideas connected the ,gentile ,christians very closely with the early ,christian ideas of faith1 and therefore also with the earliest ideas about ,jesus4 ,in the confession that ,god chose#bcg and prepared#bch ,jesus1 that ,jesus is the ,angel#bci and the servant of ,god1#bdj that he will judge the living and the dead1#bda etc41 expression is given to ideas about ,jesus1 in the ,gentile ,christian communities1 which are borrowed from the thought that he is the ,christ called of ,god and entrusted with an office4#bdb ,besides1 there was a very old designation handed down from the circle of the disciples1 and specially intelligible to ,gentile ,christians1 though not frequent and gradually disappearing1 viz41 the ,master4#bdc #c4 ,but the earliest tradition not only spoke of ,jesus as ,greek3 kurios1 soter1 and ,greek3 didaskalos1 but as ,greek3 ho huios tou theou1 and this name was firmly adhered to in the ,gentile ,christian communities4#bdd ,it followed immediately from this that ,jesus belongs to the sphere of ,god1 and that1 as is said in the earliest preaching known to us1#bde one must think of him ,greek3 hos peri theou4 ,this formula describes in a classic manner the indirect theologia ,christi which we find unanimously expressed in all witnesses of the earliest epoch4#bdf ,we must think about ,christ as we think about ,god1 because1 on the one hand1 ,god had exalted him1 and committed to him as ,lord1 judgment over the living and the dead1 and because1 on the other hand1 he has brought the knowledge of the truth1 called sinful men1 delivered them from the dominion of demons1 and hath led1 or will lead them1 out of the night of death and corruption to eternal life4 ,jesus ,christ is our faith1 our hope1 our life1 and in this sense our ,god4 ,the religious assurance that he is this1 for we find no wavering on this point1 is the root of the theologia ,christi2 but we must also remember that the formula ,greek3 theos was inserted beside ,greek3 kurios1 that the dominus ac deus1 was very common at that time1#bdg and that a ,saviour ,greek3 soter could only be represented somehow as a ,divine being4#bdh ,yet ,christ never was1 as ,greek3 theos1 placed on an equality with the ,father1#bdi--monotheism guarded against that4 ,whether he was intentionally and deliberately identified with ,him the following paragraph will shew4 #d4 ,the common confession did not go beyond the statements that ,jesus is the ,lord1 the ,saviour1 the ,son of ,god1 that one must think of him as of ,god1 that dwelling now with ,god in heaven1 he is to be adored as ,greek3 prostates kai boethos tes astheneias1 and as ,greek3 archiereus ton prosphoron hemon as guardian and helper of the weak and as ,high ,priest of our oblations1 to be feared as the future ,judge1 to be esteemed most highly as the bestower of immortality1 that he is our hope and our faith4 ,there are found rather1 on the basis of that confession1 very diverse conceptions of the ,person1 that is1 of the nature of ,jesus1 beside each other1#bej which collectively exhibit a certain analogy with the ,greek theologies1 the naive and the philosophic4#bea ,there was as yet no such thing here as ecclesiastical doctrines in the strict sense of the word1 but rather conceptions more or less fluid1 which were not seldom fashioned ad hoc4#beb ,these may be reduced collectively to two4#bec ,jesus was either regarded as the man whom ,god hath chosen1 in whom the ,deity or the ,spirit of ,god dwelt1 and who1 after being tested1 was adopted by ,god and invested with dominion1 7,adoptian ,christology72#bed or ,jesus was regarded as a heavenly spiritual being 7the highest after ,god7 who took flesh1 and again returned to heaven after the completion of his work on earth 7pneumatic ,christology74#bee ,these two ,christologies which are1 strictly speaking1 mutually exclusive--the man who has become a ,god1 and the ,divine being who has appeared in human form--yet came very near each other when the ,spirit of ,god implanted in the man ,jesus was conceived as the pre-existent ,son of ,god1#bef and when1 on the other hand1 the title1 ,son of ,god1 for that pneumatic being1 was derived only from the miraculous generation in the flesh2 yet both these seem to have been the rule4#beg ,yet1 in spite of all transitional forms1 the two ,christologies may be clearly distinguished4 ,characteristic of the one is the development through which ,jesus is first to become a ,godlike ,ruler1#beh and connected therewith1 the value put on the miraculous event at the baptism2 of the other1 a naive docetism4#bei ,for no one as yet thought of affirming two natures in ,jesus3#bfj the ,divine dignity appeared rather1 either as a gift1#bfa or the human nature 7,greek3 sarx7 as a veil assumed for a time1 or as the metamorphosis of the ,spirit4#bfb ,the formula that ,jesus was a mere man 7,greek3 psilos anthropos71 was undoubtedly always1 and from the first1 regarded as offensive4#bfc ,but the converse formulae1 which identified the person of ,jesus in its essence with the ,godhead itself1 do not seem to have been rejected with the same decision4#bfd ,yet such formulae may have been very rare1 and even objects of suspicion1 in the leading ecclesiastical circles1 at least until after the middle of the second century we can point to them only in documents which hardly found approbation in wide circles4 ,the assumption of the existence of at least one heavenly and eternal spiritual being beside ,god1 was plainly demanded by the ,old ,testament writings1 as they were understood2 so that even those whose ,christology did not require them to reflect on that heavenly being were forced to recognise it4#bfe ,the pneumatic ,christology1 accordingly1 meets us wherever there is an earnest occupation with the ,old ,testament1 and wherever faith in ,christ as the perfect revealer of ,god1 occupies the foreground1 therefore not in ,hermas1 but certainly in ,barnabas1 ,clement1 etc4 ,the future belonged to this ,christology1 because the current exposition of the ,old ,testament seemed directly to require it1 because it alone permitted the close connection between creation and redemption1 because it furnished the proof that the world and religion rest upon the same ,divine basis1 because it was represented in the most valuable writings of the early period of ,christianity1 and finally1 because it had room for the speculations about the ,logos4 ,on the other hand1 no direct and natural relation to the world and to universal history could be given to the ,adoptian ,christology1 which was originally determined eschatologically4 ,if such a relation1 however1 were added to it1 there resulted formulae such as that of two ,sons of ,god1 one natural and eternal1 and one adopted1 which corresponded neither to the letter of the ,holy ,scriptures1 nor to the ,christian preaching4 ,moreover1 the revelations of ,god in the ,old ,testament made by ,theophanies1 must have seemed1 because of this their form1 much more exalted than the revelations made through a man raised to power and glory1 which ,jesus constantly seemed to be in the ,adoptian ,christology4 ,nay1 even the mysterious personality of ,melchisedec1 without father or mother1 might appear more impressive than the ,chosen ,servant1 ,jesus1 who was born of ,mary1 to a mode of thought which1 in order to make no mistake1 desired to verify the ,divine by outer marks4 ,the ,adoptian ,christology1 that is1 the ,christology which is most in keeping with the self-witness of ,jesus 7the ,son as the chosen ,servant of ,god71 is here shewn to be unable to assure to the ,gentile ,christians those conceptions of ,christianity which they regarded as of highest value4 ,it proved itself insufficient when confronted by any reflection on the relation of religion to the cosmos1 to humanity1 and to its history4 ,it might1 perhaps1 still have seemed doubtful about the middle of the second century1 as to which of the two opposing formulae ,jesus is a man exalted to a ,godlike dignity1 and ,jesus is a divine spiritual being incarnate1 would succeed in the ,church4 ,but one only needs to read the pieces of writing which represent the latter thesis1 and to compare them1 say1 with the ,shepherd of ,hermas1 in order to see to which view the future must belong4 ,in saying this1 however1 we are anticipating2 for the ,christological reflections were not yet vigorous enough to overcome enthusiasm and the expectation of the speedy end of all things1 and the mighty practical tendency of the new religion to a holy life did not allow any theory to become the central object of attention4 ,but1 still1 it is necessary to refer here to the controversies which broke out at a later period2 for the pneumatic ,christology forms an essential article1 which cannot be dispensed with1 in the expositions of ,barnabas1 ,clement and ,ignatius1 and ,justin shews that he cannot conceive of a ,christianity without the belief in a real pre-existence of ,christ4 ,on the other hand1 the liturgical formulae1 the prayers1 etc41 which have been preserved1 scarcely ever take notice of the pre-existence of ,christ4 ,they either comprise statements which are borrowed from the ,adoptian ,christology1 or they testify in an unreflective way to the ,dominion and ,deity of ,christ4 #e4 ,the ideas of ,christ's work which were influential in the communities--,christ as ,teacher3 creation of knowledge1 setting up of the new law2 ,christ as ,saviour3 creation of life1 overcoming of the demons1 forgiveness of sins committed in the time of error1--were by some1 in conformity with ,apostolic tradition and following the ,pauline ,epistles1 positively connected with the death and resurrection of ,christ1 while others maintained them without any connection with these events4 ,but one nowhere finds independent thorough reflections on the connection of ,christ's saving work with the facts proclaimed in the preaching1 above all1 with the death on the cross and the resurrection as presented by ,paul4 ,the reason of this undoubtedly is that in the conception of the work of salvation1 the procuring of forgiveness fell into the background1 as this could only be connected by means of the notion of sacrifice1 with a definite act of ,jesus1 viz41 with the surrender of his life4 ,consequently1 the facts of the destiny of ,jesus combined in the preaching1 formed1 only for the religious fancy1 not for reflection1 the basis of the conception of the work of ,christ1 and were therefore by many writers1 ,hermas1 for example1 taken no notice of4 ,yet the idea of suffering freely accepted1 of the cross and of the blood of ,christ1 operated in wide circles as a holy mystery1 in which the deepest wisdom and power of the ,gospel must somehow lie concealed4#bff ,the peculiarity and uniqueness of the work of the historical ,christ seemed1 however1 to be prejudiced by the assumption that ,christ1 essentially as the same person1 was already in the ,old ,testament the ,revealer of ,god4 ,all emphasis must therefore fall on this--without a technical reflection which cannot be proved--that the ,divine revelation has now1 through the historical ,christ1 become accessible and intelligible to all1 and that the life which was promised will shortly be made manifest4#bfg ,as to the facts of the history of ,jesus1 the real and the supposed1 the circumstance that they formed the ever repeated proclamation about ,christ gave them an extraordinary significance4 ,in addition to the birth from the ,holy ,spirit and the ,virgin1 the death1 the resurrection1 the exaltation to the right hand of ,god1 and the coming again1 there now appeared more definitely the ascension to heaven1 and also1 though more uncertainly1 the descent into the kingdom of the dead4 ,the belief that ,jesus ascended into heaven forty days after the resurrection1 gradually made way against the older conception1 according to which resurrection and ascension really coincided1 and against other ideas which maintained a longer period between the two events4 ,that probably is the result of a reflection which sought to distinguish the first from the later manifestations of the exalted ,christ1 and it is of the utmost importance as the beginning of a demarcation of the times4 ,it is also very probable that the acceptance of an actual ascensus in coelum1 not a mere assumptio1 was favourable to the idea of an actual descent of ,christ de coelo1 therefore to the pneumatic ,christology and vice versa4 ,but there is also closely connected with the ascensus in coelum1 the notion of a descensus ad inferna1 which commended itself on the ground of ,old ,testament prediction4 ,in the first century1 however1 it still remained uncertain1 lying on the borders of those productions of religious fancy which were not able at once to acquire a right of citizenship in the communities4#bfh ,one can plainly see that the articles contained in the ,kerygma were guarded and defended in their reality 7,greek3 kat' aletheian7 by the professional teachers of the ,church1 against sweeping attempts at explaining them away1 or open attacks on them4#bfi ,but they did not yet possess the value of dogmas1 for they were neither put in an indissoluble union with the idea of salvation1 nor were they stereotyped in their extent1 nor were fixed limits set to the imagination in the concrete delineation and conception of them4#bgj ,sec4 #g4 ,the ,worship1 the ,sacred ,ordinances1 and the ,organisation of the ,churches4 ,it is necessary to examine the original forms of the worship and constitution1 because of the importance which they acquired in the following period even for the development of doctrine4 #a4 ,in accordance with the purely spiritual idea of ,god1 it was a fixed principle that only a spiritual worship is well pleasing to ,hun1 and that all ceremonies are abolished1 ,greek3 hina ho kainos nomos tou kuriou hemon ,iesou ,christou me anthropopoieton echei ten prosphoran4#bga ,but as the ,old ,testament and the ,apostolic tradition made it equally certain that the worship of ,god is a sacrifice1 the ,christian worship of ,god was set forth under the aspect of the spiritual sacrifice4 ,in the most general sense it was conceived as the offering of the heart and of obedience1 as well as the consecration of the whole personality1 body and soul 7,rom ,,xiii4 #a7 to ,god4#bgb ,here1 with a change of the figure1 the individual ,christian and the whole community were described as a temple of ,god4#bgc ,in a more special sense1 prayer as thanksgiving and intercession1#bgd was regarded as the sacrifice which was to be accompanied1 without constraint or ceremony1 by fasts and acts of compassionate love4#bge ,finally1 prayers offered by the worshipper in the public worship of the community1 and the gifts brought by them1 out of which were taken the elements for the ,lord's supper1 and which were used partly in the common meal1 and partly in support of the poor1 were regarded as sacrifice in the most special sense 7,greek3 prosphora1 dora74#bgf ,for the following period1 however1 it became of the utmost importance1 7#a7 that the idea of sacrifice ruled the whole worship1 7#b7 that it appeared in a special manner in the celebration of the ,lord's supper1 and consequently invested that ordinance with a new meaning1 7#c7 that the support of the poor1 alms1 especially such alms as had been gained by prayer and fasting1 was placed under the category of sacrifice 7,heb4 ,,xiii4 #af71 for this furnished the occasion for giving the widest application to the idea of sacrifice1 and thereby substituting for the original ,semitic ,old ,testament idea of sacrifice with its spiritual interpretation1 the ,greek idea with its interpretation4#bgg ,it may1 however1 be maintained that the changes imposed on the ,christian religion by ,catholicism1 are at no point so obvious and far-reaching1 as in that of sacrifice1 and especially in the solemn ordinance of the ,lord's supper1 which was placed in such close connection with the idea of sacrifice4 #b4 ,when in the ,teaching of the ,apostles1 which may be regarded here as a classic document1 the discipline of life in accordance with the words of the ,lord1 ,baptism1 the order of fasting and prayer1 especially the regular use of the ,lord's prayer1 and the ,eucharist are reckoned the articles on which the ,christian community rests1 and when the common ,sunday offering of a sacrifice made pure by a brotherly disposition1 and the mutual exercise of discipline are represented as decisive for the stability of the individual community1#bgh we perceive that the general idea of a pure spiritual worship of ,god has nevertheless been realised in definite institutions1 and that1 above all1 it has included the traditional sacred ordinances1 and adjusted itself to them as far as that was possible4#bgi ,this could only take effect under the idea of the symbolical1 and therefore this idea was most firmly attached to these ordinances4 ,but the symbolical of that time is not to be considered as the opposite of the objectively real1 but as the mysterious1 the ,god produced 7,greek3 mysterion7 as contrasted with the natural1 the profanely clear4 ,as to ,baptism1 which was administered in the name of the ,father1 ,son and ,spirit1 though ,cyprian1 ,ep4 #gc4 #af-ah1 felt compelled to oppose the custom of baptising in the name of ,jesus1 we noted above 7,chap4 ,,iii4 p4 #afa f47 that it was regarded as the bath of regeneration1 and as renewal of life1 inasmuch as it was assumed that by it the sins of the past state of blindness were blotted out4#bhj ,but as faith was looked upon as the necessary condition1#bha and as on the other hand1 the forgiveness of the sins of the past was in itself deemed worthy of ,god1#bhb the asserted specific result of baptism remained still very uncertain1 and the hard tasks which it imposed1 might seem more important than the merely retrospective gifts which it proffered4#bhc ,under such circumstances the rite could not fail to lead believers about to be baptized1 to attribute value here to the mysterious as such4#bhd ,but that always creates a state of things which not only facilitates1 but positively prepares for the introduction of new and strange ideas4 ,for neither fancy nor reflection can long continue in the vacuum of mystery4 ,the names ,greek3 sphragis and ,greek3 photismos1 which at that period came into fashion for baptism1 are instructive1 inasmuch as neither of them is a direct designation of the presupposed effect of baptism1 the forgiveness of sin1 and as besides1 both of them evince a ,hellenic conception4 ,baptism in being called the seal1#bhe is regarded as the guarantee of a blessing1 not as the blessing itself1 at least the relation to it remains obscure2 in being called enlightenment1#bhf it is placed directly under an aspect that is foreign to it4 ,it would be different if we had to think of ,greek3 photismos as a gift of the ,holy ,spirit1 which is given to the baptised as real principle of a new life and miraculous powers4 ,but the idea of a necessary union of baptism with a miraculous communication of the ,spirit1 seems to have been lost very early1 or to have become uncertain1 the actual state of things being no longer favourable to it2#bhg at any rate1 it does not explain the designation of baptism as ,greek3 photismos4 ,as regards the ,lord's ,supper1 the most important point is that its celebration became more and more the central point1 not only for the worship of the ,church1 but for its very life as a ,church4 ,the form of this celebration1 the common meal1 made it appear to be a fitting expression of the brotherly unity of the community 7on the public confession before the meal1 see ,didache1 #ad1 and my notes on the passage74 ,the prayers which it included presented themselves as vehicles for bringing before ,god1 in thanksgiving and intercession1 every thing that affected the community2 and the presentation of the elements for the holy ordinance was naturally extended to the offering of gifts for the poor brethren1 who in this way received them from the hand of ,god himself4 ,in all these respects1 however1 the holy ordinance appeared as a sacrifice of the community1 and indeed1 as it was also named1 ,greek3 eucharistia1 sacrifice of thanksgiving4#bhh ,as an act of sacrifice1 termini technici which the ,old ,testament applied to sacrifice could be applied to it1 and all the wealth of ideas which the ,old ,testament connects with sacrifice1 could be transferred to it4 ,one cannot say that anything absolutely foreign was therewith introduced into the ordinance1 however doubtful it may be whether in the idea of its founder the meal was thought of as a sacrificial meal4 ,but it must have been of the most wide-reaching significance1 that a wealth of ideas was in this way connected with the ordinance1 which had nothing whatever in common1 either with the purpose of the meal as a memorial of ,christ's death1#bhi or with the mysterious symbols of the body and blood of ,christ4 ,the result was that the one transaction obtained a double value4 ,at one time it appeared as the ,greek3 prosphora and ,greek3 thusia of the ,church1#bij as the pure sacrifice which is presented to the great king by ,christians scattered over the world1 as they offer to him their prayers1 and place before him again what he has bestowed in order to receive it back with thanks and praise4 ,but there is no reference in this to the mysterious words that the bread and wine are the body of ,christ broken1 and the blood of ,christ shed for the forgiveness of sin4 ,these words1 in and of themselves1 must have challenged a special consideration4 ,they called forth the recognition in the sacramental action1 or rather in the consecrated elements1 of a mysterious communication of ,god1 a gift of salvation1 and this is the second aspect4 ,but on a purely spiritual conception of the ,divine gift of salvation1 the blessings mediated through the ,holy ,supper could only be thought of as spiritual 7faith1 knowledge1 or eternal life71 and the consecrated elements could only be recognised as the mysterious vehicles of these blessings4 ,there was yet no reflection on the distinction between symbol and vehicle2 the symbol was rather regarded as the vehicle1 and vice versa4 ,we shall search in vain for any special relation of the partaking of the consecrated elements to the forgiveness of sin4 ,that was made impossible by the whole current notions of sin and forgiveness4 ,that on which value was put was the strengthening of faith and knowledge1 as well as the guarantee of eternal life1 and a meal in which there was appropriated not merely common bread and wine1 but a ,greek3 trophe pneumatike1 seemed to have a bearing upon these4 ,there was as yet little reflection2 but there can be no doubt that thought here moved in a region bounded1 on the one hand1 by the intention of doing justice to the wonderful words of institution which had been handed down1 and on the other hand1 by the fundamental conviction that spiritual things can only be got by means of the ,spirit4#bia ,there was thus attached to the ,supper the idea of sacrifice1 and of a sacred gift guaranteed by ,god4 ,the two things were held apart1 for there is as yet no trace of that conception1 according to which the body of ,christ represented in the bread#bib is the sacrifice offered by the community4 ,but one feels almost called upon here to construe from the premises the later development of the idea1 with due regard to the ancient ,hellenic ideas of sacrifice4 #c4 ,the natural distinctions among men1 and the differences of position and vocation which these involve1 were not to be abolished in the ,church1 notwithstanding the independence and equality of every individual ,christian1 but were to be consecrated3 above all1 every relation of natural piety was to be respected4 ,therefore the elders also acquired a special authority1 and were to receive the utmost deference and due obedience4 ,but1 however important the organisation that was based on the distinction between ,greek3 presbuteroi and ,greek3 neoteroi1 it ought not to be considered as characteristic of the ,churches1 not even where there appeared at the head of the community a college of chosen elders1 as was the case in the greater communities and perhaps soon everywhere4 ,on the contrary1 only an organisation founded on the gifts of the ,spirit ,greek3 charismata1 bestowed on the ,church by ,god1#bic corresponded to the original peculiarity of the ,christian community4 ,the ,apostolic age therefore transmitted a twofold organisation to the communities4 ,the one was based on the ,greek3 diakonia tou logou1 and was regarded as established directly by ,god2 the other stood in the closest connection with the economy of the church1 above all with the offering of gifts1 and so with the sacrificial service4 ,in the first were men speaking the word of ,god1 commissioned and endowed by ,god1 and bestowed on ,christendom1 not on a particular community1 who as ,greek3 apostoloi1 prophetai1 and ,greek3 didaskaloi had to spread the ,gospel1 that is to edify the ,church of ,christ4 ,they were regarded as the real ,greek3 hegoumenoi in the communities1 whose words given them by the ,spirit all were to accept in faith4 ,in the second were ,greek3 episkopoi1 and ,greek3 diakonoi1 appointed by the individual congregation and endowed with the charisms of leading and helping1 who had to receive and administer the gifts1 to perform the sacrificial service 7if there were no prophets present71 and take charge of the affairs of the community4#bid ,it lay in the nature of the case that as a rule the ,greek3 episkopoi1 as independent officials1 were chosen from among the elders1 and might thus coincide with the chosen ,greek3 presbyteroi4 ,but a very important development takes place in the second half of our epoch4 ,the prophets and teachers--as the result of causes which followed the naturalising of the ,churches in the world--fell more and more into the background1 and their function1 the solemn service of the word1 began to pass over to the officials of the community1 the bishops1 who already played a great role in the public worship4 ,at the same time1 however1 it appeared more and more fitting to entrust one official1 as chief leader 7superintendent of public worship71 with the reception of gifts and their administration1 together with the care of the unity of public worship1 that is1 to appoint one bishop instead of a number of bishops1 leaving1 however1 as before1 the college of presbyters1 as ,greek3 proistamenoi tes ekklesias1 a kind of senate of the community4#bie ,moreover1 the idea of the chosen bishops and deacons as the antitypes of the ,priests and ,levites1 had been formed at an early period in connection with the idea of the new sacrifice4 ,but we find also the idea1 which is probably the earlier of the two1 that the prophets and teachers1 as the commissioned preachers of the word1 are the priests4 ,the hesitancy in applying this important allegory must have been brought to an end by the disappearance of the latter view4 ,but it must have been still more important that the bishops1 or bishop1 in taking over the functions of the old ,greek3 lalountes ton logon1 who were not ,church officials1 took over also the profound veneration with which they were regarded as the special organs of the ,spirit4 ,but the condition of the organisation in the communities about the year #adj1 seems to have been a very diverse one4 ,here and there1 no doubt1 the convenient arrangement of appointing only one bishop was carried out1 while his functions had not perhaps been essentially increased1 and the prophets and teachers were still the great spokesmen4 ,conversely1 there may still have been in other communities a number of bishops1 while the prophets and teachers no longer played regularly an important role4 ,a fixed organisation was reached1 and the ,apostolic episcopal constitution established1 only in consequence of the so-called ,gnostic crisis1 which was epoch-making in every respect4 ,one of its most important presuppositions1 and one that has struck very deep into the development of doctrine must1 however1 be borne in mind here4 ,as the ,churches traced back all the laws according to which they lived1 and all the blessings they held sacred1 to the tradition of the twelve ,apostles1 because they regarded them as ,christian only on that presupposition1 they also in like manner1 as far as we can discover1 traced back their organisation of presbyters1 i4e41 of bishops and deacons1 to ,apostolic appointment4 ,the notion which followed quite naturally1 was that the ,apostles themselves had appointed the first church officials4#bif ,that idea may have found support in some actual cases of the kind1 but this does not need to be considered here2 for these cases would not have led to the setting up of a theory4 ,but the point in question here is a theory1 which is nothing else than an integral part of the general theory1 that the twelve ,apostles were in every respect the middle term between ,jesus and the present ,churches 7see above1 p4 #aeh74 ,this conception is earlier than the great ,gnostic crisis1 for the ,gnostics also shared it4 ,but no special qualities of the officials1 but only of the ,church itself1 were derived from it1 and it was believed that the independence and sovereignty of the ,churches were in no way endangered by it1 because an institution by ,apostles was considered equivalent to an institution by the ,holy ,spirit1 whom they possessed1 and whom they followed4 ,the independence of the ,churches rested precisely on the fact that they had the ,spirit in their midst4 ,the conception here briefly sketched1 was completely transformed in the following period by the addition of another idea--that of ,apostolic succession1#big and then became1 together with the idea of the specific priesthood of the leader of the ,church1 the most important means of exalting the office above the community4#bih ,supplementary4 ,this review of the common faith and the beginnings of knowledge1 worship and organisation1 in the earliest ,gentile ,christianity1 will have shewn that the essential premises for the development of ,catholicism were already in existence before the middle of the second century1 and before the burning conflict with ,gnosticism4 ,we may see this1 whether we look at the peculiar form of the ,kerygma1 or at the expression of the idea of tradition1 or at the theology with its moral and philosophic attitude4 ,we may therefore conclude that the struggle with ,gnosticism hastened the development1 but did not give it a new direction4 ,for the ,greek spirit1 the element which was most operative in ,gnosticism1 was already concealed in the earliest ,gentile ,christianity itself3 it was the atmosphere which one breathed2 but the elements peculiar to ,gnosticism were for the most part rejected4#bii ,we may even go back a step further 7see above1 pp4 #da1 #gf74 ,the great ,apostle to the ,gentiles himself1 in his epistle to the ,romans1 and in those to the ,corinthians1 transplanted the ,gospel into ,greek modes of thought4 ,he attempted to expound it with ,greek ideas1 and not only called the ,greeks to the ,old ,testament and the ,gospel1 but also introduced the ,gospel as a leaven into the religious and philosophic world of ,greek ideas4 ,moreover1 in his pneumatico-cosmic ,christology he gave the ,greeks an impulse towards a theologoumenon1 at whose service they could place their whole philosophy and mysticism4 ,he preached the foolishness of ,christ crucified1 and yet in doing so1 proclaimed the wisdom of the nature-vanquishing ,spirit1 the heavenly ,christ4 ,from this moment was established a development which might indeed assume very different forms1 but in which all the forces and ideas of ,hellenism must gradually pass over to the ,gospel4 ,but even with this the last word has not been said2 on the contrary1 we must remember that the ,gospel itself belonged to the fulness of the times1 which is indicated by the inter-action of the ,old ,testament and the ,hellenic religions 7see above1 pp4 #da1 #ef74 ,the documents which have been preserved from the first century of the ,gentile ,church are1 in their relation to the history of ,dogma1 very diverse4 ,in the ,didache we have a ,catechism for ,christian life1 dependent on a ,jewish ,greek ,catechism1 and giving expression to what was specifically ,christian in the prayers1 and in the order of the ,church4 ,the ,epistle of ,barnabas1 probably of ,alexandrian origin1 teaches the correct1 ,christian1 interpretation of the ,old ,testament1 rejects the literal interpretation and ,judaism as of the devil1 and in ,christology essentially follows ,paul4 ,the ,romish first ,epistle of ,clement1 which also contains other ,pauline reminiscences 7reconciliation and justification7 represents the same ,christology1 but it set it in a moralistic mode of thought4 ,this is a most typical writing in which the spirit of tradition1 order1 stability1 and the universal ecclesiastical guardianship of ,rome is already expressed4 ,the moralistic mode of thought is classically represented by the ,shepherd of ,hermas1 and the second ,epistle of ,clement1 in which1 besides1 the eschatological element is very prominent4 ,we have in the ,shepherd the most important document for the ,church ,christianity of the age1 reflected in the mirror of a prophet who1 however1 takes into account the concrete relations4 ,the theology of ,ignatius is the most advanced1 in so far as he1 opposing the ,gnostics1 brings the facts of salvation into the foreground1 and directs his ,gnosis not so much to the ,old ,testament as to the history of ,christ4 ,he attempts to make ,christ ,greek3 kata pneuma and ,greek3 kata sarka the central point of ,christianity4 ,in this sense his theology and speech is ,christocentric1 related to that of ,paul and the fourth ,evangelist1 7specially striking is the relationship with ,ephesians71 and is strongly contrasted with that of his contemporaries4 ,of kindred spirit with him are ,melito and ,irenaeus1 whose forerunner he is4 ,he is related to them as ,methodius at a later period was related to the classical orthodox theology of the fourth and fifth centuries4 ,this parallel is appropriate1 not merely in point of form3 it is rather one and the same tendency of mind which passes over from ,ignatius to ,melito1 ,irenaeus1 ,methodius1 ,athanasius1 ,gregory of ,nyssa 7here1 however1 mixed with ,origenic elements71 and to ,cyril of ,alexandria4 ,its characteristic is that not only does the person of ,christ as the ,god-man form the central point and sphere of theology1 but also that all the main points of his history are mysteries of the world's redemption4 7,ephes4 #ai74 ,but ,ignatius is also distinguished by the fact that behind all that is enthusiastic1 pathetic1 abrupt1 and again all that pertains to liturgical form1 we find in his epistles a true devotion to ,christ 7,greek3 ho theos mou74 ,he is laid hold of by ,christ3 ,cf4 ,ad4 ,rom4 #f3 ,greek3 ekeinon zeto1 ton hyper hemon apothanonta1 ekeinon thelo ton di' hemas anastanta2 ,rom4 #g3 ,greek3 ho emos eros estaurotai kai ouk estin en emoi pur philoulon4 ,as a sample of his theological speech and his rule of faith1 see ad4 ,smyrn4 #a3 ,greek3 enoesa humas katertismenous en akineto pistei1 hosper kathelomenous en to stauro tou kuriou ,iesou ,christou sarki te kai pneumati kai hedrasmenous en agape en to haimati ,christou1 peplerophoremenous eis ton kuriou hemon1 alethos onta ek genous ,dabid kata sarka1 huion theou kata thelema kai dunamin theou1 gegenemenon alethos ek parthenou1 bebaptismenon hypo ,ioannou1 hina plerothe pasa dikaiosune hup' autou1 alethos epi ,pontiou ,pilatou kai ,herodou tetrarchou kathelomenon huper hemon en sarki--aph' hou karpou hemeis1 apo tou theomakaritou autou pathous--hina are sussemon eis tous aionas dia tes anastaseos eis tous agious kai pistous autou eite en ,ioudaious eite en ethnesin en heni somati tes ekklesias autou4 ,the ,epistle of ,polycarp is characterised by its dependence on earlier ,christian writings 7,epistles of ,paul1 #a ,peter1 #a ,john71 consequently1 by its conservative attitude with regard to the most valuable traditions of the ,apostolic period4 ,the ,kerygma of ,peter exhibits the transition from the early ,christian literature to the apologetic 7,christ as ,greek3 nomos and as ,greek3 logos74 ,it is manifest that the lineage1 ,ignatius1 ,polycarp1 ,melito1 ,irenaeus1 is in characteristic contrast with all others1 has deep roots in the ,apostolic age1 as in ,paul and in the ,johannine writings1 and contains in germ important factors of the future formation of dogma1 as it appeared in ,methodius1 ,athanasius1 ,marcellus1 ,cyril of ,jerusalem4 ,it is very doubtful therefore1 whether we are justified in speaking of an ,asia ,minor theology4 7,ignatius does not belong to ,asia ,minor47 ,at any rate1 the expression1 ,asia ,minor-,romish ,theology1 has no justification4 ,but it has its truth in the correct observation1 that the standards by which ,christianity and ,church matters were measured and defined1 must have been similar in ,rome and ,asia ,minor during the second century4 ,we lack all knowledge of the closer connections4 ,we can only again refer to the journey of ,polycarp to ,rome1 to that of ,irenaeus by ,rome to ,gaul1 to the journey of ,abercius and others 7cf4 also the application of the ,montanist communities in ,asia ,minor for recognition by the ,roman bishop74 ,in all probability1 ,asia ,minor1 along with ,rome1 was the spiritual centre of ,christendom from about #fj-bjj3 but we have but few means for describing how this centre was brought to bear on the circumference4 ,what we do know belongs more to the history of the ,church than to the special history of dogma4 ,literature4--,the writings of the so-called ,apostolic ,fathers4 ,see the edition of v4 ,gebhardt1 ,harnack1 ,zahn1 #ahgf4 ,hilgenfeld1 ,nov4 ,test4 extra ,can4 recept4 fasc4 ,,iv4 #b edit4 #ahhd1 has collected further remains of early ,christian literature4 ,the ,teaching of the twelve ,apostles4 ,fragments of the ,gospel and ,apocalypse of ,peter 7my edition1 #ahic74 ,also the writings of ,justin and other apologists1 in so far as they give disclosures about the faith of the communities of his time1 as well as statements in ,celsus ,greek3 ,alethes ,logos1 in ,irenaeus1 ,clement of ,alexandria1 and ,tertullian4 ,even ,gnostic fragments may be cautiously turned to profit4 ,ritschl1 ,entstehung der altkath4 ,kirche #b ,aufl4 #aheg4 ,pfleiderer1 ,das ,urchristenthum1 #ahhg4 ,renan1 ,origins of ,christianity1 vol4 ,v4 ,v4 ,engelhardt1 ,das ,christenthum ,justin's1 d4 ,m4 #ahgh1 p4 #cge ff4 ,schenkel1 ,das ,christusbild der ,apostel1 etc41 #ahgi4 ,zahn1 ,gesch4 des ,n4-,tlichen ,kanons1 #b ,bde4 #ahhh4 ,behm1 ,das ,christliche ,gesetzthum der ,apostolischen ,vaeter 7,zeitschr4 f4 kirchl4 ,wissensch4 #ahhf74 ,dorner1 ,history of the doctrine of the ,person of ,christ1 #ahde4 ,schultz1 ,die ,lehre von der ,gottheit ,christi1 #ahha1 p4 #bb ff4 ,hoefling4 ,die ,lehre der aeltesten ,kirche vom ,opfer1 #ahea4 ,hoefling1 ,das ,sacrament d4 ,taufe1 #ahdh4 ,kahnis1 ,die ,lehre vom ,abendmahl1 #ahea4 ,th4 ,harnack1 ,der ,christliche ,gemeindegottedienst im ,apost4 u4 ,altkath4 ,zeitalter1 #ahed4 ,hatch1 ,organisation of the ,early ,church1 #ahhc4 ,my ,prolegomena to the ,didache 7,texte u4 ,unters4 ,,ii4 ,bd4 ,h4 #a1 #b74 ,diestel1 ,gesch4 des ,a4,t4 in der ,christi4 ,kirche1 #ahfi4 ,sohm1 ,kirchenrecht1 #ahib1 ,monographs on the ,apostolic ,fathers3 on #a ,clem43 ,lipsius1 ,lightfoot 7most accurate commentary71 ,wrede2 on #b ,clem43 ,a4 ,harnack 7,ztschr4 f4 ,k4 ,gesch4 #ahhg72 on ,barnabas3 ,j4 ,mueller2 on ,hermas3 ,zahn1 ,hueckstaedt1 ,link2 on ,papias3 ,weiffenbach1 ,leimbach1 ,zahn1 ,lightfoot2 on ,ignatius and ,polycarp3 ,lightfoot 7accurate commentary7 and ,zahn2 on the ,gospel and ,apocalypse of ,peter3 ,a4 ,harnack3 on the ,kerygma of ,peter3 von ,dobschuetz2 on ,acts of ,thecla3 ,schlau4 ,footnote #afb3 ,the statements made in this chapter need special forbearance1 especially as the selection from the rich and motley material--cf4 only the so-called ,apostolic ,fathers--the emphasising of this1 the throwing into the background of that element1 cannot here be vindicated4 ,it is not possible1 in the compass of a brief account1 to give expression to that elasticity and those oscillations of ideas and thoughts which were peculiar to the ,christians of the earliest period4 ,there was indeed1 as will be shewn1 a complex of tradition in many respects fixed1 but this complex was still under the dominance of an enthusiastic fancy1 so that what at one moment seemed fixed1 in the next had disappeared4 ,finally1 attention must be given to the fact that when we speak of the beginnings of knowledge1 the members of the ,christian community in their totality are no longer in question1 but only individuals who of course were the leaders of the others4 ,if we had no other writings from the times of the ,apostolic ,fathers than the first ,epistle of ,clement and the ,epistle of ,polycarp1 it would be comparatively easy to sketch a clear history of the development connecting ,paulinism with the old-,catholic ,theology as represented by ,irenaeus1 and so to justify the traditional ideas4 ,but besides these two ,epistles which are the classic monuments of the mediating tradition1 we have a great number of documents which shew us how manifold and complicated the development was4 ,they also teach us how careful we should be in the interpretation of the post-,apostolic documents that immediately followed the ,pauline ,epistles1 and that we must give special heed to the paragraphs and ideas in them1 which distinguish them from ,paulinism4 ,besides1 it is of the greatest importance that those two ,epistles originated in ,rome and ,asia ,minor1 as these are the places where we must seek the embryonic stage of old-,catholic doctrine4 ,numerous fine threads1 in the form of fundamental ideas and particular views1 pass over from the ,asia ,minor theology of the post-,apostolic period into the old-,catholic theology4 ,footnote #afc3 ,the ,epistle to the ,hebrews 7,x4 #be71 the ,epistle of ,barnabas 7,,iv4 #aj71 the ,shepherd of ,hermas 7,sim4 ,,ix4 #bf1 #c71 but especially the ,epistles of ,ignatius and still later documents1 shew that up to the middle of the second ,century1 and even later1 there were ,christians who1 for various reasons1 stood outside the union of communities1 or wished to have only a loose and temporary relation to them4 ,the exhortation3 ,greek3 epi to auto sunerchomenoi sunzeteite peri tou koine sumpherontos 7see my note on ,didache1 ,,xvi4 #b1 and cf47 for the expression the interesting ,state ,inscription which was found at ,magnesia on the ,meander4 ,bull1 ,corresp4 ,hellen #ahhc1 p4 #ejf3 ,greek3 apagoreuo mete sunerchesthai tous artokokous kat' hetairian mete parestekotas thrasunesthai1 peitharchein de pantos tois huper tou koine sumpherontos epitattomenois k4t4l4 or the exhortation3 ,greek3 kollasthe tois hagiois1 hoti hoi kollomenoi autois hagiasthesontai 7#a ,clem4 #df4 #b1 introduced as ,greek3 graphe7 runs through most of the writings of the post-,apostolic and pre-catholic period4 ,new doctrines were imported by wandering ,christians who1 in many cases1 may not themselves have belonged to a community1 and did not respect the arrangements of those they found in existence1 but sought to form conventicles4 ,if we remember how the ,greeks and ,romans were wont to get themselves initiated into a mystery cult1 and took part for a long time in the religious exercises1 and then1 when they thought they had got the good of it1 for the most part or wholly to give up attending1 we shall not wonder that the demand to become a permanent member of a ,christian community was opposed by many4 ,the statements of ,hermas are specially instructive here4 ,footnote #afd3 ,corpus sumus1 says ,tertullian at a time when this description had already become an anachronism1 de conscientia religionis et disciplinae unitate et spei foedere4 7,apol4 #ci3 cf4 ,ep4 ,petri ad ,jacob4 ,i43 ,greek3 eis theos1 eis nomos1 mia elpis74 ,the description was applicable to the earlier period1 when there was no such thing as a federation with political forms1 but when the consciousness of belonging to a community and of forming a brotherhood 7,greek3 adelphotes7 was all the more deeply felt3 ,see1 above all1 #a ,clem ad ,corinth41 the ,didache 7#i-ae71 ,aristides1 ,apol #ae3 and when they have become ,christians1 they call them 7the slaves7 brethren without hesitation 444 for they do not call them brethren according to the flesh1 but according to the spirit and in ,god2 cf4 also the statements on brotherhood in ,tertullian and ,minucius ,felix 7also ,lucian74 ,we have in #a ,clem4 ,i4 #b1 the delineation of a perfect ,christian ,church4 ,the ,epistles of ,ignatius are specially instructive as to the independence of each individual community3 #a ,clem4 and ,didache1 as to the obligation to assist stranger communities by counsel and action1 and to support the travelling brethren4 ,as every ,christian is a ,greek3 paroikos so every community is a ,greek3 paroikousa ten polin but it is under obligation to give an example to the world1 and must watch that the name be not blasphemed4 ,the importance of the social element in the oldest ,christian communities1 has been very justly brought into prominence in the latest works on the subject 7,renan1 ,heinrici1 ,hatch74 ,the historian of dogma must also emphasise it1 and put the fluid notions of the faith in contrast with the definite consciousness of moral tasks4 ,see #a ,clem4 #dg-ej2 ,polyc4 ,ep4 #c2 ,didache #a ff42 ,ignat4 ad ,eph4 #ad1 on ,greek3 agape as the main requirement ,love demands that everyone ,greek3 zetei to koinopheles pasin kai me to heautou 7#a ,clem4 #dh4 #f1 with parallels2 ,didache #af4 #c2 ,barn4 #d4 #aj2 ,ignatius74 ,footnote #afe3 #a ,clem4 #ei4 #b4 in the ,church prayer2 ,greek3 hopos ton arithmon ton katerithmenon ton eklekton autou en holo toi kosmo diaphulaxe athrauston ho demiourgos ton hapanton dia tou egapemenou paidos autou ,iesou ,christou4 ,footnote #aff3 ,see #a ,clem41 #b ,clem41 ,ignatius 7on the basis of the ,pauline view2 but see also ,rev4 ,,ii4 #i74 ,footnote #afg3 ,see ,hermas 7the passage is given above1 p4 #ajc1 note74 ,footnote #afh3 ,see ,hermas ,vis4 ,i-,,iii4 ,papias4 ,fragm4 ,,vi4 and ,,vii4 of my edition4 #b ,clem4 #ad3 ,greek3 poiountes to thelema tou patros hemon esometha ek tes ekklesias tes protes tes pneumatikes1 tes pro heliou kai selenes ektismenes4444 ekklesia zosa soma esti ,christou legei gar he graphe epoiesen ho theos ton anthropon arsen kai thelu4 to arsen estin ho ,christos1 to thelu he ekklesia4 ,footnote #afi3 ,see ,barn4 #ac 7#b ,clem4 #b74 ,footnote #agj3 ,see ,valentinus in ,clem4 ,strom4 ,,vi4 #f4 #eb4 ,holy ,church1 perhaps also in ,marcion1 if his text 7,zahn4 ,gesch4 des ,n4,t4-lichen ,kanons1 ,,ii4 p4 #ejb7 in ,gal4 ,,iv4 #ba1 read3 ,greek3 hetis estin meter humon1 gennosa eis hen epengeilametha hagian ekklesian4 ,footnote #aga3 ,barn4 #c4 #f4 ,footnote #agb3 ,we are also reminded here of the tertium genus4 ,the nickname of the heathen corresponded to the self-consciousness of the ,christians 7see ,aristides1 ,apol74 ,footnote #agc3 ,see also the letter of ,pliny the paragraphs about ,christian morality1 in the first third part of ,justin's apology and especially the apology of ,aristides c4 #ae4 ,aristides portrays ,christianity by portraying ,christian morality4 ,the ,christians know and believe in ,god the creator of heaven and of earth1 the ,god by whom all things consist1 i4e4 in him from whom they have received the commandments which they have written in their hearts commandments1 which they observe in faith and in the expectation of the world to come4 ,for this reason they do not commit adultery1 nor practise unchastity1 nor bear false witness1 nor covet that with which they are entrusted or what does not belong to them1 etc4 ,compare how in the ,apocalypse of ,peter definite penalties in hell are portrayed for the several forms of immorality4 ,footnote #agd3 ,an investigation of the ,greco ,jewish ,christian literature of norms and moral rules commencing with the ,old ,testament doctrine of wisdom on the one hand and the ,stoic collections on the other then passing beyond the ,alexandrian and ,evangelic norms up to the ,didache1 the ,pauline tables of domestic duties1 the ,sibylline sayings1 ,phocylides1 the ,neopythagorean rules and to the norms of the enigmatic ,sextus1 is still an unfulfilled task4 ,the moral rules of the ,pharisaic ,rabbis should also be included4 ,footnote #age3 ,herm4 ,mand4 ,i4 has merely fixed the ,monotheistic confession ,greek3 proton panton pisteuson1 hoti eis estin ho theos1 ho ta panta ktisas kai katartisas k4t4l4 ,see ,praed ,petri in ,clem ,strom ,,vi4 #f1 #dh1 ,,vi4 #e1 #ci4 ,aristides gives in c4 #b of his ,apology the preaching of ,jesus ,christ but where he wishes to give a short expression of ,christianity he is satisfied with saying that ,christians are those who have found the one true ,god4 ,see e4g4 c4 #ae4 ,christians have found the truth4 ,they know and believe in ,god the creator of heaven and of earth by whom all things consist and from whom all things come who has no other god beside him and from whom they have received commandments which they have written on their hearts1 commandments which they observe in faith and in expectation of the world to come4 ,it is interesting to note how ,origen ,comm4 in ,joh4 ,,xxxii4 #i has brought the ,christological ,confession into approximate harmony with that of ,hermas4 ,first ,mand4 ,i4 is verbally repeated and then it is said ,greek3 chre de kai pisteuein1 hoti kurios ,iesous ,christos kai pase te peri autou kata ten theoteta kai ten anthropoteta aletheia dei de kai eis to hagion pisteuein pneuma1 kai hoti autexousioi ontes kolazometha men eph' hois hamartanomen timometha de eph' hois eu prattomen4 ,footnote #agf3 ,very instructive here is #b ,clem4 ad ,corinth4 #bj1 #e ,greek3 to mono theo aorato1 patri tes aletheias1 to exatosteilanti hemin ton sotera kai archegon tes aphtharsias1 di' ou kai ephanerosen hemin ten aletheian kai ten epouranion zoen1 auto he doxa4 ,on the ,holy ,spirit see previous note4 ,footnote #agg3 ,they were quoted as ,greek3 he graphe1 ta biblia1 or with the formula ,greek3 ho theos 7kurios7 legei1 gegraptai4 ,also ,law and ,prophets4 ,law ,prophets and ,psalms4 ,see the original of the first six books of the ,apostolic ,constitutions4 ,footnote #agh3 ,see the collection of passages in ,patr4 ,app4 ,opp4 edit4 ,gebhardt4 #a4 #b p4 #acc1 and the formula1 ,diogn4 #aa3 ,greek3 apostolon genomenos mathetes ginomai didaskalos ethnon1 ta paradothenta axios hupereton ginomenois aletheias mathetais4 ,besides the ,old ,testament and the traditions about ,jesus 7,gospels71 the ,apocalyptic writings of the ,jews1 which were regarded as writings of the ,spirit1 were also drawn upon4 ,moreover1 ,christian letters and manifestoes proceeding from ,apostles1 prophets1 or teachers1 were read4 ,the ,epistles of ,paul were early collected and obtained wide circulation in the first half of the second century2 but they were not ,holy ,scripture in the specific sense1 and therefore their authority was not unqualified4 ,footnote #agi3 ,barn4 #e4 #f1 ,greek3 hoi prophetai1 apo tou kuriou echontes ten charin1 eis auton epropheteusan4 ,ignat4 ad ,magn4 #h4 #b4 cf4 also ,clem4 ,paedag4 ,i4 #g4 #ei3 ,greek3 ho gar autos houtos paidagogos tote men phobethese kurion ton theon elegen1 hemin de agapeseis kurion ton theon sou tarenesen4 dia touto kai entelletai hemin pausasthe apo ton ergon humon ton palaion hamartion1 mathete kalon poiein1 ekklinon apo kakou kai poieson agathon1 egapesas dikaiosunen1 emisesas anomian haute mou he nea diatheke palaioi kecharagmene grammati4 ,footnote #ahj3 ,see above ,sec4 #e1 p4 #aad f4 ,footnote #aha3 ,see my edition of the ,didache4 ,prolegg4 p4 #cb ff42 ,rothe1 ,de disciplina arcani origine1 #ahda4 ,footnote #ahb3 ,the earliest example is #a ,cor4 ,,xi4 #a f4 ,it is different in #a ,tim4 ,,iii4 #af1 where already the question is about ,greek3 to tes eusebeias mysterion4 ,see ,patr4 ,app4 ,opp4 #a4 #b4 p4 #acd4 ,footnote #ahc3 ,father1 son1 and spirit3 ,paul2 ,matt ,,xxviii4 #ai2 #a ,clem4 ad4 ,cor4 #eh4 #b 7see #b4 #a4 f42 #db4 #c2 #df4 #f72 ,didache #g2 ,ignat4 ,eph4 #i4 #a2 ,magn4 #ac4 #a4 #b42 ,philad4 inscr42 ,mart4 ,polyc4 #ad4 #a4 #b2 ,ascens4 ,isai4 #h #ah3i4 #bg3aj4 #d3aa4 #cb;ff21 ,justin passim2 ,montan4 ap4 ,didym4 de trinit4 #daa2 ,excerpta ex ,theodot4 #hj2 ,pseudo ,clem4 de virg4 #a #ac4 ,yet the omission of the ,holy ,spirit is frequent1 as in ,paul1 or the ,holy ,spirit is identified with the ,spirit of ,christ4 ,the latter takes place even with such writers as are familiar with the baptismal formula4 ,ignat4 ad ,magn4 #ae2 ,greek3 kektemenoi adiakriton pneuma1 hos estin ,iesous ,christos44 ,footnote #ahd3 ,the formulae run3 ,god who has spoken through the ,prophets1 or the ,prophetic ,spirit1 etc4 ,footnote #ahe3 ,that should be assumed as certain in the case of the ,egyptian ,church1 yet ,caspari thinks he can shew that already ,clement of ,alexandria presupposes a symbol4 ,footnote #ahf3 ,also in the communities of ,asia ,minor 7,smyrna72 for a combination of ,polyc4 ,ep4 c4 #b with c4 #g1 proves that in ,smyrna the ,greek3 paradotheis logos must have been something like the ,roman ,symbol1 see ,lightfoot on the passage2 it cannot be proved that it was identical with it4 ,see1 further1 how in the case of ,polycarp the moral element is joined on to the dogmatic4 ,this reminds us of the ,didache and has its parallel even in the first homily of ,aphraates4 ,footnote #ahg3 ,see ,caspari1 ,quellen z4 ,gesch4 des ,taufsymbols1 ,,iii4 p4 #c ff4 and ,patr4 ,app4 ,opp4 #a4 #b4 p #aae-adb4 ,the old ,roman ,symbol reads3 ,greek3 ,pisteuo eis theon patera pantokratora1 kai eis ,christon ,iesoun 7ton7 huion autou ton monogene1 7on this word see ,westcott's ,excursus in his commentary on #ast ,john7 ,greek3 ton kurion hemon ton gennethenta ek pneumatos hagiou kai ,marias tes parthenou1 ton epi ,pontiou ,pilatou staurothenta kai taphenta2 te trite hemerai anastanta ek nekron1 anabanta eis tous ouranous1 kathemenon en dexia tou patros1 hothen erchetai krinai zontas kai nekrous4 kai eis pneuma hagion1 hagian ekklesian1 aphesin hamartion sarkos anastasin1 amen4 ,to estimate this very important article aright we must note the following3 7#a7 ,it is not a formula of doctrine1 but of confession4 7#b7 ,it has a liturgical form which is shewn in the rhythm and in the disconnected succession of its several members1 and is free from everything of the nature of polemic4 7#c7 ,it tapers off into the three blessings1 ,holy ,church1 forgiveness of sin1 resurrection of the body1 and in this as well as in the fact that there is no mention of ,greek3 gnosis 7aletheia7 kai zoe aionos1 is revealed an early ,christian untheological attitude4 7#d7 ,it is worthy of note1 on the other hand1 that the birth from the ,virgin occupies the first place1 and all reference to the baptism of ,jesus1 also to the ,davidic ,sonship1 is wanting4 7#e7 ,it is further worthy of note1 that there is no express mention of the death of ,jesus1 and that the ,ascension already forms a special member 7that is also found elsewhere1 ,ascens4 ,isaiah1 c4 #c4 #ac4 ed4 ,dillmann4 p4 #ac4 ,murator4 ,fragment1 etc474 ,finally1 we should consider the want of the earthly ,kingdom of ,christ and the mission of the twelve ,apostles1 as well as1 on the other hand1 the purely religious attitude1 no notice being taken of the new law4 ,zahn 7,das ,apostol4 ,symbolum1 #ahic7 assumes1 ,that in all essential respects the identical baptismal confession which ,justin learned in ,ephesus about #acj1 and ,marcion confessed in ,rome about #ade1 originated at latest somewhere about #abj4 ,in some unpretending notes 7p4 #cg ff47 he traces this confession back to a baptismal confession of the ,pauline period 7it had already assumed a more or less stereotyped form in the earlier ,apostolic period71 which1 however1 was somewhat revised1 so far as it contained1 for example1 of the house of ,david1 with reference to ,christ4 ,the original formula1 reminding us of the ,jewish soil of ,christianity1 was thus remodelled1 perhaps about #gj-abj1 with retention of the fundamental features1 so that it might appear to answer better to the need of candidates for baptism1 proceeding more and more from the ,gentiles4444 ,this changed formula soon spread on all sides4 ,it lies at the basis of all the later baptismal confessions of the ,church1 even of the ,east4 ,the first article was slightly changed in ,rome about #bjj-bbj4 ,while up till then1 in ,rome as everywhere else1 it had read ,greek3 pisteuo eis hena theon pantokratora1 it was now changed in ,greek3 pisteuo eis theon patera pantokratora4 ,this hypothesis1 with regard to the early history of the ,roman ,symbol1 presupposes that the history of the formation of the baptismal confession in the ,church1 in east and west1 was originally a uniform one4 ,this cannot be proved2 besides1 it is refuted by the facts of the following period4 ,it presupposes secondly1 that there was a strictly formulated baptismal confession outside ,rome before the middle of the second century1 which likewise cannot be proved2 7the converse rather is probable1 that the fixed formulation proceeded from ,rome47 ,moreover1 ,zahn himself retracts everything again by the expression more or less stereotyped form2 for what is of decisive interest here is the question1 when and where the fixed sacred form was produced4 ,zahn here has set up the radical thesis that it can only have taken place in ,rome between #bjj and #bbj4 ,but neither his negative nor his positive proof for a change of the ,symbol in ,rome at so late a period is sufficient4 ,no sure conclusion as to the ,symbol can be drawn from the wavering regulae fidei of ,irenaeus and ,tertullian which contain the unum2 further1 the unum is not found in the western provincial ,symbols1 which1 however1 are in part earlier than the year #bjj4 ,the ,romish correction must therefore have been subsequently taken over in the provinces 7,africa874 ,finally1 the formula ,greek3 theon patera pantokratora beside the more frequent ,greek3 theon pantokratora is attested by ,irenaeus1 ,i4 #aj4 #a1 a decisive passage4 ,with our present means we cannot attain to any direct knowledge of ,symbol formation before the ,romish ,symbol4 ,but the following hypotheses1 which ,i am not able to establish here1 appear to me to correspond to the facts of the case and to be fruitful3 7#a7 ,there were1 even in the earliest period1 separate ,kerygmata about ,god and ,christ3 see the ,apostolic writings1 ,hermas1 ,ignatius1 etc4 7#b7 ,the ,kerygma about ,god was the confession of the one ,god of creation1 the almighty ,god4 7#c7 ,the ,kerygma about ,christ had essentially the same historical contents everywhere1 but was expressed in diverse forms3 7a7 in the form of the fulfilment of prophecy1 7b7 in the form ,greek3 kata sarka1 kata pneuma1 7c7 in the form of the first and second advent1 7d7 in the form1 ,greek3 katabas-anabas2 these forms were also partly combined4 7#d7 ,the designations ,christ1 ,son of ,god and ,lord2 further1 the birth from the ,holy ,spirit1 or ,greek3 kata pneuma1 the sufferings 7the practice of exorcism contributed also to the fixing and naturalising of the formula crucified under ,pontius ,pilate71 the death1 the resurrection1 the coming again to judgment1 formed the stereotyped content of the ,kerygma about ,jesus4 ,the mention of the ,davidic ,sonship1 of the ,virgin ,mary1 of the baptism by ,john1 of the third day1 of the descent into ,hades1 of the demonstratio verae carnis post resurrectionem1 of the ascension into heaven and the sending out of the disciples1 were additional articles which appeared here and there4 ,the ,greek3 sarka labon1 and the like1 were very early developed out of the forms 7b7 and 7d74 ,all this was already in existence at the transition of the first century to the second4 7#e7 ,the proper contribution of the ,roman community consisted in this1 that it inserted the ,kerygma about ,god and that about ,jesus into the baptismal formula1 widened the clause referring to the ,holy ,spirit1 into one embracing ,holy ,church1 forgiveness of sin1 resurrection of the body1 excluded theological theories in other respects1 undertook a reduction all round1 and accurately defined everything up to the last world4 7#f7 ,the western regulae fidei do not fall back exclusively on the old ,roman ,symbol1 but also on the earlier freer ,kerygmata about ,god and about ,jesus which were common to the east and west2 not otherwise can the regulae fidei of ,irenaeus and ,tertullian1 for example1 be explained4 ,but the symbol became more and more the support of the regula4 7#g7 ,the eastern confessions 7baptismal symbols7 do not fall back directly on the ,roman ,symbol1 but were probably on the model of this symbol1 made up from the provincial ,kerygmata1 rich in contents and growing ever richer1 hardly1 however1 before the third century4 7#h7 ,it cannot be proved1 and it is not probable1 that the ,roman ,symbol was in existence before ,hermas1 that is1 about #ace4 ,footnote #ahh3 ,see the fragment in ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,,iii4 #ci1 from the work of ,papias4 ,footnote #ahi3 ,greek3 ,didache kurion dia ton ib' apostolon 7,did4 inscr47 is the most accurate expression 7similarly #b ,pet4 ,,iii4 #b74 ,instead of this might be said simply ,greek3 ho kurios 7,hegesipp474 ,hegesippus 7,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,,iv4 #bb4 #c2 ,see also ,steph4 ,gob47 comprehends the ultimate authorities under the formula3 ,greek3 hos ho nomos kerussei kai hoi prophetai kai ho kurios1 just as even ,pseudo ,clem de ,virg4 ,i4 #b3 ,sicut ex lege ac prophetis et a domino nostro ,jesu ,christo didicimus4 ,polycarp 7#f4c7 says3 ,greek3 kathos autos eneteilato kai hoi euangelisamenoi hemas apostoloi kai hoi prophetai hoi prokeruxantes ten eleusin tou kuriou hemon4 ,in the second ,epistle of ,clement 7#ad4 #b7 we read3 ,greek3 ta biblia 7,o4,t47 ,greek3 kai hoi apostoloi1 to euangelion may also stand for ,greek3 ho kurios2 7,ignat41 ,didache4 #b ,clem4 etc474 ,the ,gospel1 so far as it is described1 is quoted as ,greek3 ta apomnemoneumata t4 apostolon 7,justin1 ,tatian71 or on the other hand1 as ,greek3 hai kuriakai graphai1 7,dionys4 ,cor4 in ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,,iv4 #bc4 #ab3 at a later period in ,tertull4 and ,clem4 ,alex474 ,the words of the ,lord1 in the same way as the words of ,god1 are called simply ,greek3 ta logia 7kuriaka74 ,the declaration of ,serapion at the beginning of the third century 7,euseb41 ,h4 ,e4 ,,vi4 #ab4 #c73 ,greek3 hemeis kai ,petron kai tous allous apostolous apodechometha hos ,christon1 is an innovation in so far as it puts the words of the ,apostles fixed in writing and as distinct from the words of the ,lord1 on a level with the latter4 ,that is1 while differentiating the one from the other1 ,serapion ascribes to the words of the apostles and those of the ,lord equal authority4 ,but the development which led to this position1 had already begun in the first century4 ,at a very early period there were read in the communities1 beside the ,old ,testament1 ,gospels1 that is collections of words of the ,lord1 which at the same time contained the main facts of the history of ,jesus4 ,such notes were a necessity 7,luke #a4d2 ,greek3 hina epignos peri hon katechethes logon ten asphaleian71 and though still indefinite and in many ways unlike1 they formed the germ for the genesis of the ,new ,testament4 7,see ,weiss1 ,lehrb4 d4 ,einleit in d4 ,n4 ,t4 p4 #ba ff474 ,further there were read ,epistles and ,manifestoes by apostles1 prophets and teachers1 but1 above all1 ,epistles of ,paul4 ,the ,gospels at first stood in no connection with these ,epistles1 however high they might be prized4 ,but there did exist a connection between the ,gospels and the ,greek3 ap' arches autoptais kai huperetais tou logou1 so far as these mediated the tradition of the ,evangelic material1 and on their testimony rests the ,kerygma of the ,church about the ,lord as the ,teacher1 the crucified and risen ,one4 ,here lies the germ for the genesis of a canon which will comprehend the ,lord and the ,apostles1 and will also draw in the ,pauline ,epistles4 ,finally1 ,apocalypses were read as ,holy ,scriptures4 ,footnote #aij3 ,read1 apart from all others1 the canonical ,gospels1 the remains of the so-called ,apocryphal ,gospels1 and perhaps the ,shepherd of ,hermas3 see also the statements of ,papias4 ,footnote #aia3 ,that ,peter was in ,antioch follows from ,gal4 ,,ii42 that he laboured in ,corinth1 perhaps before the composition of the first epistle to the ,corinthians1 is not so improbable as is usually maintained 7#a ,cor42 ,dionys4 of ,corinth72 that he was at ,rome even is very credible4 ,the sojourn of ,john in ,asia ,minor cannot1 ,i think1 be contested4 ,footnote #aib3 ,see how in the three early writings of ,peter 7,gospel1 ,apocalypse1 ,kerygma7 the twelve are embraced in a perfect unity4 ,peter is the head and spokesman for them all4 ,footnote #aic3 ,see ,papias and the ,reliq4 ,presbyter1 ap4 ,iren41 collecta in ,patr4 ,opp4 ,i4 #b1 p4 #aje3 see also ,zahn1 ,forschungen4 ,,iii41 p4 #aef f4 ,footnote #aid3 ,the ,gentile-,christian conception of the significance of the twelve--a fact to be specially noted--was all but unanimous 7see above ,chap4 ,,ii473 the only one who broke through it was ,marcion4 ,the writers of ,asia ,minor1 ,rome and ,egypt coincide in this point4 ,beside the ,acts of the ,apostles1 which is specially instructive1 see #a ,clem4 #db2 ,barn #e4 #i1 #h4 #c3 ,didache inscr42 ,hermas1 ,vis4 ,,iii4 #e1 #aa2 ,sim4 ,,ix4 #ae1 #af1 #ag1 #be2 ,petrusev-,petrusapok4 ,praed4 ,petr4 ap4 ,clem4 ,strom4 ,,vi4 #f1 #dh2 ,ignat4 ad ,trall4 #c2 ad ,rom #d2 ad ,philad4 #e2 ,papias2 ,polyc41 ,aristides2 ,justin passim2 inferences from the great work of ,irenaeus1 the works of ,tertull4 and ,clem4 ,alex2 the ,valentinians4 ,the inference that follows from the eschatological hope1 that the ,gospel has already been preached to the world1 and the growing need of having a tradition mediated by eye-witnesses co-operated here1 and out of the twelve who were in great part obscure1 but who had once been authoritative in ,jerusalem and ,palestine1 and highly esteemed in the ,christian ,diaspora from the beginning1 though unknown1 created a court of appeal1 which presented itself as not only taking a second rank after the ,lord himself1 but as the medium through which alone the words of the ,lord became the possession of ,christendom1 as he neither preached to the nations nor left writings4 ,the importance of the twelve in the main body of the ,church may at any rate be measured by the facts1 that the personal activity of ,jesus was confined to ,palestine1 that he left behind him neither a confession nor a doctrine1 and that in this respect the tradition tolerated no more corrections4 ,attempts which were made in this direction1 the fiction of a semi-,gentile origin of ,christ1 the denial of the ,davidic ,sonship1 the invention of a correspondence between ,jesus and ,abgarus1 meetings of ,jesus with ,greeks1 and much else1 belong only in part to the earliest period1 and remained as really inoperative as they were uncertain 7according to ,clem4 ,alex41 ,jesus himself is the ,apostle to the ,jews2 the twelve are the ,apostles to the ,gentiles in ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,,vi4 #ada74 ,the notion about the twelve ,apostles evangelising the world in accordance with the commission of ,jesus1 is consequently to be considered as the means by which the ,gentile ,christians got rid of the inconvenient fact of the merely local activity of ,jesus 7compare how ,justin expresses himself about the ,apostles3 their going out into all the world is to him one of the main articles predicted in the ,old ,testament1 ,apol4 #a4 #ci2 compare also the ,apology of ,aristides1 c4 #b1 and the passage of similar tenor in the ,ascension of ,isaiah1 where the adventus ,,xii4 discipulorum is regarded as one of the fundamental facts of salvation1 c4 #c4 #ac1 ed4 ,dillmann1 p #ac1 and a passage such as ,iren4 fragm4 ,,xxix4 in ,harvey ,,ii41 p4 #did1 where the parable about the grain of mustard seed is applied to the ,greek3 logos epouranios and the twelve ,apostles2 the ,apostles are the branches ,greek3 hup' hon kladon skepasthentes hoi pantes hos ornea hupo kalian sunelthonta metelabon tes ex auton proerchomenes edodimou kai epouraniou trophes ,hippol4 de ,antichr4 #fa4 ,orig4 c4 ,cels4 ,,iii4 #bh74 ,this means1 as it was empty of contents1 was very soon to prove the most convenient instrument for establishing ever new historical connections1 and legitimising the status quo in the communities4 ,finally1 the whole catholic idea of tradition was rooted in that statement which was already1 at the close of the first century1 formulated by ,clement of ,rome 7c4 #db73 ,greek3 hoi apostoloi hemin euengelisthesan apo tou kuriou ,iesou ,christou1 ,iesous ho christos apo tou theou exepemphthe4 ho christos oun apo tou theou1 kai hoi apostoloi apo tou ,christou2 egenonto oun amphotera eutaktos ek thelematos theou1 k4t4l4 ,here1 as in all similar statements which elevate the ,apostles into the history of revelation1 the unanimity of all the ,apostles is always presupposed1 so that the statement of ,clem4 ,alex4 7,strom ,,vii41 #ag1 #ajh3 ,greek3 mia he panton gegone ton apostolon hosper didaskalia houtos de kai he paradosis1 see ,tertull41 de praescr4 #cb3 ,apostoli non diversa inter se docuerent1 ,iren4 alii71 contains no innovation1 but gives expression to an old idea3 ,that the twelve unitedly proclaimed one and the same message1 that they proclaimed it to the world1 that they were chosen to this vocation by ,christ1 that the communities possess the witness of the ,apostles as their rule of conduct 7,excerp4 ex ,theod4 #be ,greek3 hosper hupo ton zodion he genesis dioikeitai houtos hupo ton apostolon he anagennesis7 are authoritative theses which can be traced back as far as we have any remains of ,gentile-,chnstian literature4 ,it was thereby presupposed that the unanimous kerygma of the twelve ,apostles which the communities possess as ,greek3 kanon tes paradoseos 7#a ,clem4 #g71 was public and accessible to all4 ,yet the idea does not seem to have been everywhere kept at a distance that besides the kerygma a still deeper knowledge was transmitted by the ,apostles or by certain ,apostles to particular ,christians who were specially gifted4 ,of course we have no direct evidence of this1 but the connection in which certain ,gnostic unions stood at the beginning with the communities developing themselves to ,catholicism and inferences from utterances of later writers 7,clem4 ,alex4 ,tertull471 make it probable that this conception was present in the communities here and there even in the age of the so-called ,apostolic ,fathers4 ,it may be definitely said that the peculiar idea of tradition 7,greek3 theos--christos--hoi dodeka apostoloi--ekklesiai7 in the ,gentile ,churches is very old but that it was still limited in its significance at the beginning and was threatened 7#a7 by a wider conception of the idea ',apostle' 7besides1 the fact is important that ,asia ,minor and ,rome were the very places where a stricter idea of ,apostle made its appearance4 ,see my ,edition of the ,didache1 p4 #aag71 7#b7 by free prophets and teachers moved by the ,spirit1 who introduced new conceptions and rules and whose word was regarded as the word of ,god1 7#c7 by the assumption not always definitely rejected1 that besides the public tradition of the kerygma there was a secret tradition4 ,that ,paul as a rule was not included in this high estimate of the ,apostles is shewn by this fact among others1 that the earlier ,apocryphal ,acts of the ,apostles are much less occupied with his person than with the rest of the ,apostles4 ,the features of the old legends which make the ,apostles in their deeds1 their fate1 nay even in appearance as far as possible1 equal to the person of ,jesus himself deserve special consideration 7see1 for example the descent of the ,apostles into hell in ,herm4 ,sim4 ,,ix4 #af71 for it is just here that the fact above established that the activity of the ,apostles was to make up for the want of the activity of ,jesus himself among the nations stands clearly out 7,see ,acta ,johannis ed4 ,zahn p #bdf ,greek3 ho eklexamenos hemas eis apostolen ethnon ho ekpempsas hemas eis ten oikoumenen theos ho deixas heauton dia ton apostolon also the remarkable declaration of ,origen about the ,chronicle of ,phlegon ,hadrian1 that what holds good of ,christ1 is in that ,chronicle transferred to ,peter2 finally we may recall to mind the visions in which an ,apostle suddenly appears as ,christ74 ,between the judgment of value ,greek3 hemeis tous apostolous apodechometha hos ,christon and those creations of fancy in which the ,apostles appear as gods and demigods there is certainly a great interval but it can be proved that there are stages lying between these extreme points4 ,it is therefore permissible to call to mind here the oldest ,apocryphal ,acts of the ,apostles although they may have originated almost completely in ,gnostic circles 7see also the ,pistis ,sophia which brings a metaphysical theory to the establishment of the authority of the ,apostles1 p4 #aa1 #ad2 see ,texte u ,unters ,,vii4 #b p4 #fa ff474 ,gnosticism here as frequently elsewhere is related to common ,christianity as excess progressing to the invention of a myth with a tendency to a historical theorem determined by the effort to maintain one's own position2 cf4 the article from the kerygma of ,peter in ,clem4 ,strom4 ,,vi4 #f1 #dh ,greek3 ,exelexamen humas dodeka mathetas1 k4t4l4 the introduction to the basal writing of the first #f books of the ,apostolic ,constitutions and the introduction to the ,egyptian ritual1 ,greek3 kata keleusin tou kuriou humon k4t4l4 ,besides it must be admitted that the origin of the idea of tradition and its connection with the twelve is obscure2 what is historically reliable here has still to be investigated1 even the work of ,seufert 7,der ,urspr4 u4 d4 ,bedeutung des ,apostolats in der christl ,kirche der ersten zwei ,jahrhunderte1 #ahhg7 has not cleared up the dark points4 ,we will perhaps get more light by following the important hint given by ,weizsaecker 7,apost4 ,age p4 #ac ff47 that ,peter was the first witness of the resurrection1 and was called such in the kerygma of the communities 7see #a ,cor4 ,,xv41 #e ,luke ,,xxiv4 #cd74 ,the twelve ,apostles are also further called ,greek3 hoi peri ton ,petron 7,mrc4 fin4 in ,l ,ign4 ad ,smyrn4 #c1 cf4 ,luke ,,viii4 #de1 ,acts ,,ii4 #ad1 ,gal4 ,i4 #ah f41 #a ,cor4 ,,xv4 #e71 and it is a correct historical reminiscence when ,chrysostom says 7,hom4 in ,joh4 #hh71 ,greek3 ho ,petros ekeritos en ton apostolon kai stoma ton matheton kai koruphe tou chorou4 ,now as ,peter was really in personal relation with important ,gentile-,christian communities1 that which held good of him1 the recognized head and spokesman of the twelve1 was perhaps transferred to these4 ,one has finally to remember that besides the appeal to the twelve there was in the ,gentile ,churches an appeal to ,peter and ,paul 7but not for the evangelic kerygma7 which has a certain historical justification1 cf4 ,gal4 ,,ii4 #h1 #a ,cor4 ,i4 #ab f41 ,,ix4 #e1 #a ,clem4 ,ign4 ad ,rom4 #d and the numerous later passages4 ,paul in claiming equality with ,peter1 though ,peter was the head and mouth of the twelve and had himself been active in mission work1 has perhaps contributed most towards spreading the authority of the twelve4 ,it is notable how rarely we find any special appeal to ,john in the tradition of the main body of the ,church4 ,for the middle of the #bnd century the authority of the twelve ,apostles may be expressed in the following statements3 7#a7 ,they were missionaries for the world1 7#b7 ,they ruled the ,church and established ,church ,offices1 7#c7 ,they guaranteed the true doctrine 7a7 by the tradition going back to them1 7b7 by writings1 7#d7 ,they are the ideals of ,christian life1 7#e7 ,they are also directly mediators of salvation--though this point is uncertain4 ,footnote #aie3 ,see ,didache c4 #a-aj1 with parallel passages4 ,footnote #aif3 ,cf41 for example1 the first epistle of ,clement to the ,corinthians with the ,shepherd of ,hermas4 ,both documents originated in ,rome4 ,footnote #aig3 ,compare how dogmatic and ethical elements are inseparably united in the ,shepherd1 in first and second ,clement1 as well as in ,polycarp and ,justin4 ,footnote #aih3 ,note the hymnal parts of the ,revelation of ,john1 the great prayer with which the first epistle of ,clement closes1 the carmen dicere ,christo quasi deo1 reported by ,pliny1 the eucharist prayer in the ,greek3 ,didache1 the hymn #a ,tim4 ,,iii4 #af1 the fragments from the prayers which ,justin quotes1 and compare with these the declaration of the anonymous writer in ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,v4 #bh4 #e1 that the belief of the earliest ,christians in the ,deity of ,christ might be proved from the old ,christian hymns and odes4 ,in the epistles of ,ignatius the theology frequently consists of an aimless stringing together of articles manifestly originating in hymns and the cultus4 ,footnote #aii3 ,the prophet and teacher express what the ,spirit of ,god suggests to them4 ,their word is therefore ,god's word1 and their writings1 in so far as they apply to the whole of ,christendom1 are inspired1 holy writings4 ,further1 not only does ,acts ,,xv4 #bb f4 exhibit the formula ,greek3 edoxen toi pneumati toi hagioi kai hemin 7see similar passages in the ,acts71 but the ,roman writings also appeal to the ,holy ,spirit 7#a ,clem4 #fc4 #b73 likewise ,barnabas1 ,ignatius1 etc4 ,even in the controversy about the baptism of heretics a ,bishop gave his vote with the formula3 secundum motum animi mei et spiritus sancti 7,cypr4 ,opp4 ed4 ,hartel1 ,i4 p4 #deg74 ,footnote #bjj3 ,the so-called ,chiliasm--the designation is unsuitable and misleading--is found wherever the ,gospel is not yet ,hellenised 7see1 for example1 ,barn4 #d4 #ae2 ,hermas2 #b ,clem42 ,papias ,euseb4 ,,iii4 #ci2 ,greek3 ,didache1 #aj4 #af2 ,apoc4 ,petri2 ,justin4 ,dial4 #cb1 #ea1 #hj1 #hb1 #aaj1 #aci2 ,cerinthus71 and must be regarded as a main element of the ,christian preaching 7see my article ,millenium in the ,encycl4 ,brit47 ,in it lay not the least of the power of ,christianity in the first century1 and the means whereby it entered the ,jewish propaganda in the ,empire and surpassed it4 ,the hopes springing out of ,judaism were at first but little modified1 that is1 only so far as the substitution of the ,christian communities for the nation of ,israel made modification necessary4 ,in all else even the details of the ,jewish hopes of the future were retained1 and the extra-canonical ,jewish ,apocalypses 7,esra1 ,enoch1 ,baruch1 ,moses1 etc47 were diligently read alongside of ,daniel4 ,their contents were in part joined on to sayings of ,jesus and they served as models for similar productions 7here therefore an enduring connection with the ,jewish religion is very plain74 ,in the ,christian hopes of the future as in the ,jewish eschatology may be distinguished essential and accidental fixed and fluid elements4 ,to the former belong3 7#a7 the notion of a final fearful conflict with the powers of the world which is just about to break out ,greek3 to teleion skandalon engiken1 7#b7 belief in the speedy return of ,christ1 7#c7 the conviction that after conquering the secular power 7this was variously conceived as ,god's ,ministers as that which restrains--#b ,thess4 ,,ii4 #f1 as a pure kingdom of ,satan see the various estimates in ,justin1 ,melito1 ,irenaeus and ,hippolytus7 ,christ will establish a glorious kingdom on the earth and will raise the saints to share in that kingdom1 and 7#d7 that he will finally judge all men4 ,to the fluid elements belong the notions of the ,antichrist or of the secular power culminating in the ,antichrist as well as notions about the place1 the extent1 and the duration of ,christ's glorious kingdom4 ,but it is worthy of special note that ,justin regarded the belief that ,christ will set up his kingdom in ,jerusalem1 and that it will endure for #ajjj years1 as a necessary element of orthodoxy1 though he confesses he knew ,christians who did not share this belief1 while they did not like the pseudo ,christians reject also the resurrection of the body 7the promise of ,montanus that ,christ's kingdom would be let down at ,pepuza and ,tymion is a thing by itself and answers to the other promises and pretensions of ,montanus74 ,the resurrection of the body is expressed in the ,roman ,symbol while very notably the hope of ,christ's earthly kingdom is not there mentioned 7see above p4 #aeg74 ,the great inheritance which the ,gentile ,christian communities received from ,judaism is the eschatological hopes along with the ,monotheism assured by revelation and belief in providence4 ,the law as a national law was abolished4 ,the ,old ,testament became a new book in the hands of the ,gentile ,christians4 ,on the contrary the eschatological hopes in all their details and with all the deep shadows which they threw on the state and public life were at first received and maintained themselves in wide circles pretty much unchanged and only succumbed in some of their details--just as in ,judaism--to the changes which resulted from the constant change of the political situation4 ,but these hopes were also destined in great measure to pass away after the settlement of ,christianity on ,graeco-,roman soil4 ,we may set aside the fact that they did not occupy the foreground in ,paul1 for we do not know whether this was of importance for the period that followed4 ,but that ,christ would set up the kingdom in ,jerusalem1 and that it would be an earthly kingdom with sensuous enjoyments--these and other notions contend on the one hand with the vigorous antijudaism of the communities1 and on the other with the moralistic spiritualism1 in the pure carrying out of which the ,gentile ,christians in the ,east at least increasingly recognised the essence of ,christianity4 ,only the vigorous world renouncing enthusiasm which did not permit the rise of moralistic spiritualism and mysticism1 and the longing for a time of joy and dominion that was born of it1 protected for a long time a series of ideas which corresponded to the spiritual disposition of the great multitude of converts only at times of special oppression4 ,moreover the ,christians in opposition to ,judaism were1 as a rule1 instructed to obey magistrates whose establishment directly contradicted the judgment of the state contained in the ,apocalypses4 ,in such a conflict however that judgment necessarily conquers at last which makes as little change as possible in the existing forms of life4 ,a history of the gradual attenuation and subsidence of eschatologlcal hopes in the ,,ii4-,,iv4 centuries can only be written in fragments4 ,they have rarely--at best by fits and starts--marked out the course4 ,on the contrary if ,i may say so they only gave the smoke1 for the course was pointed out by the abiding elements of the ,gospel1 trust in ,god and the ,lord ,christ1 the resolution to a holy life1 and a firm bond of brotherhood4 ,the quiet gradual change1 in which the eschatologlcal hopes passed away fell into the background or lost important parts1 was on the other hand a result of deep reaching changes in the faith and life of ,christendom4 ,chiliasm as a power was broken up by speculative mysticism and on that account very much later in the ,west than in the ,east4 ,but speculative mysticism has its centre in christology4 ,in the earliest period this as a theory belonged more to the defence of religion than to religion itself4 ,ignatius alone was able to reflect on that transference of power from ,christ which ,paul had experienced4 ,the disguises in which the apocalyptic eschatologlcal prophecies were set forth belonged in part to the form of this literature 7in so far as one could easily be given the lie if he became too plain or in so far as the prophet really saw the future only in large outline7 partly it had to be chosen in order not to give political offence4 ,see ,hippol4 comm4 in ,daniel 7,georgiades1 p4 #di1 #ea4 ,greek3 noein opheilomen ta kata kairon sumbainonta kai eidotas siopan71 but above all ,constantine orat4 ad s4 coetum #ai1 on some verses of ,virgil which are interpreted in a ,christian sense but that none of the rulers in the capital might be able to accuse their author of violating the laws of the state with his poetry or of destroying the traditional ideas of the procedure about the gods he concealed the truth under a veil4 ,that holds good also of the ,apocalyptists and the poets of the ,christian ,sibylline sayings4 ,footnote #bja3 ,the hope of the resurrection of the body 7#a ,clem4 #bf4 #c ,greek3 anasteseis ten sarka mou tauten1 ,herm4 ,sim4 ,v4 #g4 #b ,greek3 blepe metote anabe epi ten kardian sou ten sarka sou tauten phtharten einai4 ,barn4 #e4 #f f41 #ba4 #a1 #b ,clem4 #i4 #a ,greek3 kai me legeto tis humon oti haute he sarx ou krinetai oude anistatai4 ,polyc4 ,ep4 #g4 #b1 ,justin ,dial4 #hj1 etc47 finds its place originally in the hope of a share in the glorious kingdom of ,christ4 ,it therefore disappears or is modified wherever that hope itself falls into the background4 ,but it finally asserted itself through out and became of independent importance in a new structure of eschatologlcal expectations in which it attained the significance of becoming the specific conviction of ,christian faith4 ,with the hope of the resurrection of the body was originally connected the hope of a happy life in easy blessedness under green trees in magnificent fields with joyous feeding flocks and flying angels clothed in white4 ,one must read the ,revelation of ,peter the ,shepherd or the ,acts of ,perpetua and ,felicitas in order to see how entirely the fancy of many ,christians and not merely of those who were uncultured dwelt in a fairyland in which they caught sight now of the ,ancient of days and now of the ,youthful ,shepherd ,christ4 ,the most fearful delineations of the torments of ,hell formed the reverse side to this4 ,we now know through the ,apocalypse of ,peter1 how old these delineations are4 ,footnote #bjb3 ,the perfect knowledge of the truth and eternal life are connected in the closest way 7see p4 #add1 note #a7 because the ,father of truth is also ,prince of life 7see ,diognet4 #ab3 ,greek3 oude gar zoe aneu gnoseos oude gnosis asphales aneu zoes alethous dio plesion ekateron pephyteutai1 see also what follows74 ,the classification is a ,hellenic one1 which has certainly penetrated also into ,palestinian ,jewish theology4 ,it may be reckoned among the great intuitions1 which in the fulness of the times1 united the religious and reflective minds of all nations4 ,the ,pauline formula1 ,where there is forgiveness of sin1 there also is life and salvation1 had for centuries no distinct history4 ,but the formula1 ,where there is truth1 perfect knowledge1 there also is eternal life1 has had the richest history in ,christendom from the beginning4 ,quite apart from ,john1 it is older than the theology of the ,apologists 7see1 for example1 the ,supper prayer in the ,didache1 #i4 #aj1 where there is no mention of the forgiveness of sin1 but thanks are given1 ,greek3 huper tes gnoseos kai pisteos kai athanasias hes egnorisen hemin ho theos dia ,iesou1 or ,greek3 huper tes zoes kai gnoseos1 and #a ,clem4 #cf4 #b3 ,greek3 dia touto ethelesen ho despotes tes athanatou gnoseos hemas geusasthai74 ,it is capable of a very manifold content1 and has never made its way in the ,church without reservations1 but so far as it has we may speak of a hellenising of ,christianity4 ,this is shewn most clearly in the fact that the ,greek3 athanasia1 identical with ,greek3 aphtharsia and ,greek3 zoe aionios1 as is proved by their being often interchanged1 gradually supplanted the ,greek3 basileia tou theou 7,greek3 christou7 and thrust it out of the sphere of religious intuition and hope into that of religious speech4 ,it should also be noted1 at the same time1 that in the hope of eternal life which is bestowed with the knowledge of the truth1 the resurrection of the body is by no means with certainty included4 ,it is rather added to it 7see above7 from another series of ideas4 ,conversely1 the words ,greek3 zoen aionion were first added to the words ,greek3 sarkos anastasin in the western ,symbols at a comparatively late period1 while in the prayers they are certainly very old4 ,footnote #bjc3 ,even the assumption of such a remission is fundamentally in contradiction with moralism2 but that solitary remission of sin was not called in question1 was rather regarded as distinctive of the new religion1 and was established by an appeal to the omnipotence and special goodness of ,god1 which appears just in the calling of sinners4 ,in this calling1 grace as grace is exhausted 7,barn4 #e4 #i2 #b ,clem4 #b4 #d-g74 ,but this grace itself seems to be annulled1 inasmuch as the sins committed before baptism were regarded as having been committed in a state of ignorance 7,tertull4 de bapt4 ,i43 delicta pristinae caecitatis71 on account of which it seemed worthy of ,god to forgive them1 that is1 to accept the repentance which followed on the ground of the new knowledge4 ,so considered1 everything1 in point of fact1 amounts to the gracious gift of knowledge1 and the memory of the saying1 ,jesus receiveth sinners1 is completely obscured4 ,but the tradition of this saying and many like it1 and above all1 the religious instinct1 where it was more powerfully stirred1 did not permit a consistent development of that moralistic conception4 ,see for this1 ,hermas1 ,sim4 ,v4 #g4 #c3 ,greek3 peri ton proteron agnoematon toi theoi monoi dunaton iasin dounai2 autou gar esti pasa exousia4 ,praed4 ,petri ap4 ,clem4 ,strom4 ,,vi4 #f4 #dh3 ,greek3 hosa en agnoia tis humon epoiesen me eidos saphos ton theon1 ean epignous metanoesei1 panta autoi aphethesetai ta hamartemata4 ,aristides1 ,apol4 #ag3 ,the ,christians offer prayers 7for the unconverted ,greeks7 that they may be converted from their error4 ,but when one of them is converted he is ashamed before the ,christians of the works which he has done4 ,and he confesses to ,god1 saying3 ',i have done these things in ignorance4' ,and he cleanses his heart1 and his sins are forgiven him1 because he had done them in ignorance1 in the earlier period when he mocked and jeered at the true knowledge of the ,christians4 ,exactly the same in ,tertull4 de pudic4 so4 init4 ,the statement of this same writer 7#a4 c4 fin71 ,cessatio delicti radix est veniae1 ut venia sit paenitentiae fructus1 is a pregnant expression of the conviction of the earliest ,gentile ,christians4 ,footnote #bjd3 ,this idea appears with special prominence in the ,epistle of ,barnabas 7see #f4 #aa4 #ad72 the new formation 7,greek3 anaplassein7 results through the forgiveness of sin4 ,in the moralistic view the forgiveness of sin is the result of the renewal that is spontaneously brought about on the ground of knowledge shewing itself in penitent feeling4 ,footnote #bje3 ,barn4 #b4 #f1 and my notes on the passage4 ,footnote #bjf3 ,james ,i4 #be4 ,footnote #bjg3 ,hermas4 ,sim4 ,,viii4 #c4 #b2 ,justin ,dial4 ,,ii4 #dc2 ,praed4 ,petri in ,clem41 ,strom4 ,i4 #bi4 #ahb2 ,,ii4 #ae4 #fh4 ,footnote #bjh3 ,didache1 c4 #a41 and my notes on the passage 7,prolegg4 p4 #de f474 ,footnote #bji3 ,the concepts1 ,greek3 epangelia1 gnosis1 nomos1 form the ,triad on which the later catholic conception of ,christianity is based1 though it can be proved to have been in existence at an earlier period4 ,that ,greek3 pistis must everywhere take the lead was undoubted1 though we must not think of the ,pauline idea of ,greek3 pistis4 ,when the ,apostolic ,fathers reflect upon faith1 which1 however1 happens only incidentally1 they mean a holding for true of a sum of holy traditions1 and obedience to them1 along with the hope that their consoling contents will yet be fully revealed4 ,but ,ignatius speaks like a ,christian who knows what he possesses in faith in ,christ1 that is1 in confidence in him4 ,in ,barn4 #a1 ,polyc4 ,ep4 #b1 we find faith1 hope1 love2 in ,ignatius1 faith and love4 ,tertullian1 in an excellent exposition1 has shewn how far patience is a temper corresponding to ,christian faith 7see besides the ,epistle of ,james74 ,footnote #baj3 ,see ,lipsius ,de ,clementis ,r4 ep4 ad4 ,cor4 priore disquis4 #ahee4 ,it would be in point of method inadmissible to conclude from the fact that in #a ,clem4 ,pauline formulae are relatively most faithfully produced1 that ,gentile ,christianity generally understood ,pauline theology at first1 but gradually lost this understanding in the course of two generations4 ,footnote #baa3 ,formally3 ,greek3 teresate ten sarka agnen kai ten sphragida aspilon 7#b ,clem4 #h4 #f74 ,footnote #bab3 ,hermas 7,mand4 ,,iv4 #c7 and ,justin presuppose it4 ,hermas of course sought and found a way of meeting the results of that idea which were threatening the ,church with decimation2 but he did not question the idea itself4 ,because ,christendom is a community of saints which has in its midst the sure salvation1 all its members--this is the necessary inference--must lead a sinless life4 ,footnote #bac3 ,the formula1 righteousness by faith alone1 was really repressed in the second century2 but it could not be entirely destroyed3 see my ,essay1 ,gesch4 d4 ,seligkeit allein durch den ,glauben in der alten ,k4 ,ztsch4 f4 ,theol4 u ,kirche4 ,i4 pp4 #hb-aje4 ,footnote #bad3 ,the only thorough discussion of the use of the ,old ,testament by an ,apostolic ,father1 and of its authority1 that we possess1 is ,wrede's ,untersuchungen zum #a ,clemensbrief 7#ahia74 ,excellent preliminary investigations1 which1 however1 are not everywhere quite reliable1 may be found in ,hatch's ,essays in ,biblical ,greek1 #ahhi4 ,hatch has taken up again the hypothesis of earlier scholars1 that there were very probably in the first and second centuries systematised extracts from the ,old ,testament 7see p4 #bjc-bad74 ,the hypothesis is not yet quite established 7see ,wrede1 above work1 p4 #fe71 but yet it is hardly to be rejected4 ,the ,jewish catechetical and missionary instruction in the ,diaspora needed such collections1 and their existence seem to be proved by the ,christian ,apologies and the ,sybilline books4 ,footnote #bae3 ,it is an extremely important fact that the words of the ,lord were quoted and applied in their literal sense 7that is chiefly for the statement of ,christian morality7 by ,ecclesiastical authors1 almost without exception1 up to and inclusive of ,justin4 ,it was different with the theologians of the age1 that is the ,gnostics1 and the ,fathers from ,irenaeus4 ,footnote #baf3 ,justin was not the first to do so1 for it had already been done by the so-called ,barnabas 7see especially c4 #ac7 and others4 ,on the proofs from prophecy see my ,texte und ,unters4 ,bd4 ,i4 #c4 pp4 #ef-gd4 ,the passage in the ,praed4 ,petri 7,clem4 ,strom4 ,,vi4 #ae4 #abh7 is very complete3 ,greek3 ,hemis anaptixantes tas biblous tas eichomen ton propheton1 ha men dia parabolon ha de dia ainigmaton1 ha de authentikos kai autolexei ton ,christon ,iesoun onomazonton1 euromen kai ten parousian autou kai ton thanaton kai ton stauron kai tas loipas kolaseis pasas1 hosas epoiesan auto hoi ,ioudaioi1 kai ten egersin kai ten eis ouranous analepsin pro tou ,hiersoluma krithenai1 kathos egegrapto tauta panta ha edei auton pathein kai met' auton ha estai2 tauta oun epignontes episteusamen to theo dia ton gegrammennon eis auton4 ,with the help of the ,old ,testament the teachers dated back the ,christian religion to the beginning of the human race1 and joined the preparations for the founding of the ,christian community with the creation of the world4 ,the ,apologists were not the first to do so1 for ,barnabas and ,hermas1 and before these1 ,paul1 the author of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 and others had already done the same4 ,this was undoubtedly to the cultured classes one of the most impressive articles in the missionary preaching4 ,the ,christian religion in this way got a hold which the others--with the exception of the ,jewish--lacked4 ,but for that very reason1 we must guard against turning it into a formula1 that the ,gentile ,christians had comprehended the ,old ,testament essentially through the scheme of prediction and fulfilment4 ,the ,old ,testament is certainly the book of predictions1 but for that very reason the complete revelation of ,god which needs no additions and excludes subsequent changes4 ,the historical fulfilment only proves to the world the truth of those revelations4 ,even the scheme of shadow and reality is yet entirely out of sight4 ,in such circumstances the question necessarily arises1 as to what independent meaning and significance ,christ's appearance could have1 apart from that confirmation of the ,old ,testament4 ,but1 apart from the ,gnostics1 a surprisingly long time passed before this question was raised1 that is to say1 it was not raised till the time of ,irenaeus4 ,footnote #bag3 ,see ,greek3 ,didache1 #h4 ,footnote #bah3 ,see the ,revelation of ,john ,,ii4 #i2 ,,iii4 #i2 but see also the ,jews in the ,gospels of ,john and of ,peter4 ,the latter exonerates ,pilate almost completely1 and makes the ,jews and ,herod responsible for the crucifixion4 ,footnote #bai3 ,see ,barn4 #i4 #d4 ,in the second epistle of ,clement the ,jews are called3 ,greek3 hoi dokiountes echein theon1 cf4 ,praed4 ,petri in ,clem41 ,strom4 ,,vi4 #e4 #da3 ,greek3 mede kata ,ioudaious sebesthe1 kai gar ekeinoi monoi oiomenoi ton theon gignoskein ouk epistantai1 latreuontes angelois kai archangelois1 meni kai selene1 kai ean me selene phanei1 sabbaton ouk agousi to legomenon proton1 oude neomenian agousin1 oude azuma1 oude heorten1 oude megalen hemera4 7,cf4 ,diognet4 #cd47 ,even ,justin does not judge the ,jews more favourably than the ,gentiles1 but less favourably2 see ,apol ,i4 #cg1 #ci1 #dc1 #cd1 #dg1 #ec1 #fj4 ,on the other hand1 ,aristides 7,apol4 c4 #ad1 especially in the ,syrian text7 is much more friendly disposed to the ,jews and recognises them more4 ,the words of ,pionius against and about the ,jews1 in the ,acta ,pionii1 c4 #d1 are very instructive4 ,footnote #bbj3 ,barn4 #d4 #f4 f42 #ad4 #a f4 ,the author of ,praed4 ,petri must have had a similar view of the matter4 ,footnote #bba3 ,justin in the ,dialogue with ,trypho4 ,footnote #bbb3 ,barn4 #i f4 ,it is a thorough misunderstanding of ,barnabas' position towards the ,old ,testament to suppose it possible to pass over his expositions1 c4 #f-aj1 as oddities and caprices1 and put them aside as indifferent or unmethodical4 ,there is nothing here unmethodical1 and therefore nothing arbitrary4 ,barnabas' strictly spiritual idea of ,god1 and the conviction that all 7,jewish7 ceremonies are of the devil1 compel his explanations4 ,these are so little ingenious conceits to ,barnabas that1 but for them1 he would have been forced to give up the ,old ,testament altogether4 ,the account1 for example1 of ,abraham having circumcised his slaves would have forced ,barnabas to annul the whole authority of the ,old ,testament if he had not succeeded in giving it a particular interpretation4 ,he does this by combining other passages of ,genesis with the narrative1 and then finding in it no longer circumcision1 but a prediction of the crucified ,christ4 ,footnote #bbc3 ,barn4 #i4 #f3 ,greek3 all' ereis1 kai men peritetmetai ho laos eis sphragida4 ,footnote #bbd3 ,see the expositions of ,justin in the ,dial4 7especially1 #af1 #ah1 #bj1 #cj1 #dj-df72 ,von ,engelhardt1 ,christenthum ,justin's1 p4 #dbi1 ff4 ,justin has the three estimates side by side4 7#a7 ,that the ceremonial law was a paedagogic measure of ,god with reference to a stiff-necked people1 prone to idolatry4 7#b7 ,that it--like circumcision--was to make the people conspicuous for the execution of judgment1 according to the ,divine appointment4 7#c7 ,that in the ceremonial legal worship of the ,jews is exhibited the special depravity and wickedness of the nation4 ,but ,justin conceived the ,decalogue as the natural law of reason1 and therefore definitely distinguished it from the ceremonial law4 ,footnote #bbe3 ,see ,ztschr fur ,k4,g4 ,i41 p4 #ccj f4 ,footnote #bbf3 ,this is the unanimous opinion of all writers of the post-,apostolic age4 ,christians are the true ,israel2 and therefore all ,israel's predicates of honour belong to them4 ,they are the twelve tribes1 and therefore ,abraham1 ,isaac and ,jacob1 are the ,fathers of the ,christians4 ,this idea1 about which there was no wavering1 cannot everywhere be traced back to the ,apostle ,paul4 ,the ,old ,testament men of ,god were in a certain measure ,christians4 ,see ,ignat4 ,magn4 #h4 #b3 ,greek3 hoi prophetai kata ,christon ,iesoun ezesan4 ,footnote #bbg3 ,god was naturally conceived and represented as corporeal by uncultured ,christians1 though not by these alone1 as the later controversies prove 7e4g41 ,orig4 contra ,melito2 see also ,tertull4 ,de anima74 ,in the case of the cultured1 the idea of a corporeality of ,god may be traced back to ,stoic influences2 in the case of the uncultured1 popular ideas co-operated with the sayings of the ,old ,testament literally understood1 and the impression of the ,apocalyptic images4 ,footnote #bbh3 ,see ,joh4 ,,iv4 #bb1 ,greek3 hemeis proskunoumen ho oidamen4 #a ,clem4 #ei4 #c1 #d1 ,herm4 ,mand4 ,i41 ,praed ,petri in ,clem41 ,strom4 ,,vi4 #e4 #i ,greek3 ginoskete hoti eis theos estin1 hos archen panton epoiesen1 kai telous exousian echon4 ,aristides ,apol4 #ae 7,syr7 ,the ,christians know and believe in ,god1 the creator of heaven and of earth4 ,chap4 #af ,christians as men who know ,god pray to him for things which it becomes him to give and them to receive4 ,similarly ,justin3 ,from very many old ,gentile ,christian writings we hear it as a cry of joy ',we know ,god the ,almighty1 the night of blindness is past' 7see1 e4g41 #b ,clem4 c4 #a74 ,god is ,greek3 despotes1 a designation which is very frequently used 7it is rare in the ,new ,testament74 ,still more frequently do we find ,greek3 kurios4 ,as the ,lord and ,creator ,god is also called the ,father 7of the world7 so #a ,clem4 #ai4 #b ,greek3 ho pater kai ktistes tou sumpantos kosmou2 #ce4 #c ,greek3 demiourgos kai pater ton aionon4 ,this use of the name ,father for the supreme ,god was as is well known familiar to the ,greeks1 but the ,christians alone were in earnest with the name4 ,the creation out of nothing was made decidedly prominent by ,hermas1 see ,vis4 ,i4 #a4 #f and my notes on the passage4 ,in the ,christian ,apocrypha1 in spite of the vividness of the idea of ,god1 the angels play the same role as in the ,jewish1 and as in the current ,jewish speculations4 ,according to ,hermas1 e4g41 all ,god's actions are mediated by special angels1 nay the ,son of ,god himself is represented by a special angel1 viz4 ,michael1 and works by him4 ,but outside the ,apocalypses there seems to have been little interest in the good angels4 ,footnote #bbi3 ,see1 for example #a ,clem4 #bj4 ,footnote #bcj3 ,this is frequent in the ,apologists1 see also ,diogn4 #aj4 #b2 but ,hermas1 ,vis4 ,,ii4 #d4 #a 7see also ,cels4 ap ,orig4 ,,iv4 #bc7 says ,greek3 dia ten ekklesian ho kosmos katertisthe 7cf4 ,i4 #a4 #f and my notes on the passage74 ,aristides 7,apol4 #af7 declares it as his conviction that the beautiful things1 that is1 the world are maintained only for the sake of ,christians1 see besides the words 7,i4 c471 ,i have no doubt that the earth continues to exist 7only7 on account of the prayers of the ,christians4 ,even the ,jewish ,apocalyptists wavered between the formulae1 that the world was created for the sake of man and for the sake of the ,jewish nation4 ,the two are not mutually exclusive4 ,the statement in the ,eucharistic prayer of ,didache1 #i4 #c ,greek3 ektisas ta panta heneken tou onomatos sou is singular4 ,footnote #bca3 ,god is named the ,father1 7#a7 in relation to the ,son 7very frequent7 7#b7 as ,father of the world 7see above7 7#c7 as the merciful one who has proved his goodness1 declared his will and called ,christians to be his sons 7#a ,clem4 #bc4 #a1 #bi4 #a1 #b ,clem4 #a4 #d1 #h4 #d1 #aj4 #a1 #ad4 #a1 see the index to ,zahn's edition of the ,ignatian ,epistles1 ,didache1 #a4 #e1 #i4 #b1 #c1 #aj4 #b74 ,the latter usage is not very common1 it is entirely wanting for example in the ,epistle of ,barnabas4 ,moreover ,god is also called ,greek3 pater tes aletheias as the source of all truth 7#b ,clem4 #c4 #a1 #bj4 #e ,greek3 theos to aletheias74 ,the identity of the ,almighty ,god of creation with the merciful ,god of redemption is the tacit presupposition of all declarations about ,god in the case of both the cultured and the uncultured4 ,it is also frequently expressed 7see above all the ,pastoral ,epistles71 most frequently by ,hermas 7,vis4 #a4 #c4 #d7 so far as the declaration about the creation of the world is there united in the closest way with that about the creation of the ,holy ,church4 ,as to the designation of ,god in the ,roman ,symbol as the ,father ,almighty1 that threefold exposition just given1 may perhaps allow it4 ,footnote #bcb3 ,the present dominion of evil demons or of one evil demon1 was just as generally presupposed as man's need of redemption1 which was regarded as a result of that dominion4 ,the conviction that the world's course 7the ,greek3 politeia en to kosmo1 the ,latins afterwards used the word ,saeculum7 is determined by the devil1 and that the dark one 7,barnabas7 has dominion1 comes out most prominently where eschatological hopes obtain expression4 ,but where salvation is thought of as knowledge and immortality1 it is ignorance and frailty from which men are to be delivered4 ,we may here also assume with certainty that these1 in the last instance1 were traced back by the writers to the action of demons4 ,but it makes a very great difference whether the judgment was ruled by fancy which saw a real devil everywhere active1 or whether1 in consequence of theoretic reflection1 it based the impression of universal ignorance and mortality on the assumption of demons who have produced them4 ,here again we must note the two series of ideas which intertwine and struggle with each other in the creeds of the earliest period1 the traditional religious series resting on a fanciful view of history--it is essentially identical with the ,jewish ,apocalyptic1 see1 for example ,barn #d--;and the empiric moralistic1 7see #b ,clem4 #a4 #b-g1 as a specially valuable discussion1 or ,praed4 ,petri in ,clem1 ,strom4 ,,vi4 #e1 #ci1 #dj71 which abides by the fact that men have fallen into ignorance1 weakness and death 7#b ,clem4 #a4 #f ,greek3 ho bios hemon holos allo ouden en ei me thanatos74 ,but perhaps1 in no other point1 with the exception of the ,greek3 anastasis sarkos has the religious conception remained so tenacious as in this and it decidedly prevailed1 especially in the epoch with which we are now dealing4 ,its tenacity may be explained1 among other things1 by the living impression of the polytheism that surrounded the communities on every side4 ,even where the national gods were looked upon as dead idols--and that was perhaps the rule1 see ,praed4 ,petri4 ,i4 c1 #b ,clem4 #c4 #a1 ,didache1 #f--one could not help assuming that there were mighty demons operative behind them1 as otherwise the frightful power of idolatry could not be explained4 ,but on the other hand1 even a calm reflection and a temper unfriendly to all religious excess must have welcomed the assumption of demons who sought to rule the world and man4 ,for by means of this assumption which was wide-spread even among the ,greeks1 humanity seemed to be unburdened1 and the presupposed capacity for redemption could therefore be justified in its widest range4 ,from the assumption that the need of redemption was altogether due to ignorance and mortality there was but one step1 or little more than one step1 to the assumption that the need of redemption was grounded in a condition of man for which he was not responsible1 that is1 in the flesh4 ,but this step which would have led either to dualism 7heretical ,gnosis7 or to the abolition of the distinction between natural and moral1 was not taken within the main body of the ,church4 ,the eschatological series of ideas with its thesis that death evil and sin entered into humanity at a definite historical moment when the demons took possession of the world drew a limit which was indeed overstepped at particular points but was in the end respected4 ,we have therefore the remarkable fact that1 on the one hand1 early ,christian 7,jewish7 eschatology called forth and maintained a disposition in which the ,kingdom of ,god1 and that of the world1 7,kingdom of the devil7 were felt to be absolutely opposed 7practical dualism71 while1 on the other hand1 it rejected theoretic dualism4 ,redemption through ,christ1 however1 was conceived in the eschatological ,apocalyptic series of ideas as essentially something entirely in the future1 for the power of the devil was not broken1 but rather increased 7or it was virtually broken in believers and increased in unbelievers71 by the first advent of ,christ1 and therefore the period between the first and second advent of ,christ belongs to ,greek3 houtos ho aion 7see ,barn4 #b4 #d2 ,herm4 ,sim #a2 #b ,clem4 #f4 #c3 ,greek3 estin de houtos ho aion kai ho mellon duo echthroi2 houtos legei moicheian kai phthoran kai philargourian kai apaten1 ekeinos de toutois apostassetai1 ,ignat4 ,magn4 #e4 #b74 ,for that very reason1 the second coming of ,christ must1 as a matter of course1 be at hand1 for only through it could the first advent get its full value4 ,the painful impression that nothing had been outwardly changed by ,christ's first advent 7the heathen1 moreover1 pointed this out in mockery to the suffering ,christians71 must be destroyed by the hope of his speedy coming again4 ,but the first advent had its independent significance in the series of ideas which regarded ,christ as redeeming man from ignorance and mortality2 for the knowledge was already given1 and the gift of immortality could only of course be dispensed after this life was ended1 but then immediately4 ,the hope of ,christ's return was therefore a superfluity1 but was not felt or set aside as such1 because there was still a lively expectation of ,christ's earthly ,kingdom4 ,footnote #bcc3 ,no other name adhered to ,christ so firmly as that of ,greek3 kurios2 see a specially clear evidence of this1 ,novatian de trinit4 #cj1 who argues against the ,adoptian and ,modalistic heretics thus3 ,et in primis illud retorquendum in istos1 qui duorum nobis deorum controversiam facere praesumunt4 ,scriptum est1 quod negare non possunt3 ',quoniam unus est dominus4' ,de ,christo ergo quid sentiunt8 ,dominum esse1 aut illum omnino non esse8 ,sed dominum illum omnino non dubitant4 ,ergo si vera est illorum ratiocinatio1 jam duo sunt domini4 ,on ,greek3 kurios--despotes1 see above1 p4 #aai1 note4 ,footnote #bcd3 ,specially instructive examples of this are found in the ,epistle of ,barnabas and the second ,epistle of ,clement4 ,clement 7,ep4 #a7 speaks only of faith in ,god4 ,footnote #bce3 ,see #a ,clem4 #ei-fa4 ,greek3 ,didache1 c4 #i4 #aj4 ,yet ,novatian 7de trinit4 #ad7 exactly reproduces the old idea1 ,si homo tantummodo ,christus1 cur homo in orationibus mediator invocatur1 cum invocatio hominis ad praestandam salutem inefficax judicetur4 ,as the ,mediator1 ,high ,priest1 etc41 ,christ is of course always and everywhere invoked by the ,christians1 but such invocations are one thing and formal prayer another4 ,the idea of the congruence of ,god's will of salvation with the revelation of salvation which took place through ,christ1 was further continued in the idea of the congruence of this revelation of salvation with the universal preaching of the twelve chosen ,apostles 7see above1 p4 #afb ff471 the root of the ,catholic principle of tradition4 ,but the ,apostles never became ,greek3 hoi kurioi though the concepts ,greek3 didache 7logos7 kuriou1 didache 7kerugma7 ton apostolon were just as interchangeable as ,greek3 logos theou and ,greek3 logos christou4 ,the full formula would be ,greek3 logos theou dia ,iesou ,christou dia ton apostolon4 ,but as the subjects introduced by ,greek3 dia are chosen and perfect media1 religious usage permitted the abbreviation4 ,footnote #bcf3 ,in the epistle of ,barnabas ,jesus ,christ and ,christ appear each once1 but ,jesus twelve times3 in the ,didache ,jesus ,christ once1 ,jesus three times4 ,only in the second half of the second century1 if ,i am not mistaken1 did the designation ,jesus ,christ1 or ,christ1 become the current one1 more and more crowding out the simple ,jesus4 ,yet the latter designation--and this is not surprising--appears to have continued longest in the regular prayers4 ,it is worthy of note that in the ,shepherd there is no mention either of the name ,jesus or of ,christ4 ,the ,gospel of ,peter also says ,greek3 ho kurios where the other ,gospels use these names4 ,footnote #bcg3 ,see #a ,clem4 #fd3 ,greek3 ho theos1 ho eklexamenos ton kurion ,iesoun ,christon kai hemas di' autou eis laon periousion doe1 k4t4l4 7,it is instructive to note that wherever the idea of election is expressed1 the community is immediately thought of1 for in point of fact the election of the ,messiah has no other aim than to elect or call the community2 ,barn4 #c4 #f3 ,greek3 ho laos hon hetoimasen en to egapemenoi autou74 ,herm4 ,sim4 ,v4 #b3 ,greek3 eklexamenos doulon tina piston kai euareston ,v4 #f4 #e4 ,justin1 ,dial4 #dh3 ,greek3 me arneisthai hoti houtos estin ho ,christos1 ean phainetai hos anthropos ex anthropon gennetheis kai ekloge genomenos eis to ,christon einai apodeiknuetai4 ,footnote #bch3 ,see ,barn4 #ad4 #e3 ,greek3 ,iesous eis touto hetoimasthe1 hina 444 hemas lutrosamenos ek tou skotous diathetai en hemin diatheken logoi4 ,the same word concerning the ,church1 ,i4 c4 #c4 #f4 and #e4 #g3 ,greek3 autos eauto ton laon ton kainon etoimazon #ad #f4 ,footnote #bci3 ,angel is a very old designation for ,christ 7see ,justin's ,dial47 which maintained itself up to the ,nicean controversy1 and is expressly claimed for him in ,novatian's treatise de trinit4 #aa4 #be ff4 7the word was taken from ,old ,testament passages which were applied to ,christ74 ,as a rule1 however1 it is not to be understood as a designation of the nature1 but of the office of ,christ as such1 though the matter was never very clear4 ,there were ,christians who used it as a designation of the nature1 and from the earliest times we find this idea contradicted 7see the ,apoc4 ,sophoniae1 ed4 ,stern1 #ahhf1 ,,iv4 fragment1 p #aj3 ,he appointed no ,angel to come to us1 nor ,archangel1 nor any power1 but he transformed himself into a man that he might come to us for our deliverance4 ,cf4 the remarkable parallel1 ep4 ad4 ,diagn4 #g4 #b3 444 ,greek3 ou1 kathaper an tis eikaseien anthropos1 hypereten tina pempsas e angelon e archonta e tina ton dieponton ta epigeia he tina ton pepisteumenon tas en ouranois dioikeseis1 all' auton ton techniten kai demiourgon ton holon4 k4t4l474 ,yet it never got the length of a great controversy and as the ,logos doctrine gradually made way1 the designation ,angel became harmless and then vanished4 ,footnote #bdj3 ,greek3 ,pais 7after ,isaiah73 this designation1 frequently united with ,greek3 ,iesous and with the adjectives ,greek3 hagios and ,greek3 egapemenos 7see ,barn4 #c1 #f2 #d1 #c2 #d1 #h2 ,valent4 ap4 ,clem4 ,alex41 ,strom4 ,,vi4 #f4 #eb1 and the ,ascensio ,isaiae71 seems to have been at the beginning a usual one4 ,it sprang undoubtedly from the ,messianic circle of ideas1 and at its basis lies the idea of election4 ,it is very interesting to observe how it was gradually put into the background and finally abolished4 ,it was kept longest in the liturgical prayers3 see #a ,clem4 #ei4 #b2 ,barn4 #fa4 #i4 #b2 ,acts iii4 #ac1 #bf2 iv4 #bg1 #cj2 ,didache1 #i4 #b4 #c2 ,mart4 ,polyc4 #ad4 #bj2 ,act4 ,pauli et ,theclae1 #ag1 #bd2 ,sibyl4 ,i4 v4 #cbd1 #cca1 #cfd2 ,diogn4 #h1 #i1 #aj3 ,greek3 ho hagapetos pais #i2 also ,ep4 ,orig4 ad ,afric4 init2 ,clem4 ,strom4 ,,vii4 #a4 #d3 ,greek3 ho monogenes pais1 and my note on ,barn #f4 #a4 ,in the ,didache 7#i4 #b7 ,jesus as well as ,david is in one statement called ,servant of ,god4 ,barnabas1 who calls ,christ the ,beloved1 uses the same expression for the ,church 7#d4 #a4 #i72 see also ,ignat ad ,smyrn4 inscr4 ,footnote #bda3 ,see the old ,roman ,symbol and ,acts ,x4 #db2 #b ,tim4 ,,iv4 #a2 ,barn4 #g4 #b2 ,polyc4 ,ep4 #b4 #a2 #b ,clem4 #b4 #a2 ,hegesipp4 in ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,,iii4 #bj1 #f3 ,justin ,dial4 #aah ,footnote #bdb3 ,there could of course be no doubt that ,christ meant the anointed 7even ,aristides ,apol4 #b fin41 if ,nestle's correction is right1 ,justin's ,apol4 #a4 #d and similar passages do not justify doubt on that point74 ,but the meaning and the effect of this anointing was very obscure4 ,justin says 7,apol4 ,,ii4 #f7 ,greek3 ,christos men kata to kechristhai kai kosmesai ta panta di autou ton theon legetai and therefore 7see ,dial4 #gf fin47 finds in this designation an expression of the cosmic significance of ,christ4 ,footnote #bdc3 ,see the ,apologists3 ,apost4 ,k4,o4 7,texte4 v4 ,unters4 ,,ii4 #e1 p4 #be7 ,greek3 proorontas tous logous tou didaskalou hemon1 ibid1 p4 #bh ,greek3 ote etesen ho didaskalos ton arton1 ibid4 p4 #cj ,greek3 proelegen ote edidasken1 ,apost4 ,constit4 7original writing7 ,,iii4 #f ,greek3 autos ho didaskalos hemon kai kurios1 ,,iii4 #g ,greek3 ho kurios kai didaskalos hemon eipen1 ,,iii4 #ai1 ,,iii4 #bj1 ,v4 #ab1 #a ,clem4 #ac4 #a ,greek3 ton logon tou kuriou ,iesou hous elalesen didaskon1 ,polyc4 ,ep4 #b ,greek3 mnemoneuontes hon eipen ho kurios didaskon1 ,ptolem4 ad ,floram #e ,greek3 he didaskalia tou soteros4 ,footnote #bdd3 ,the baptismal formula which had been naturalised everywhere in the communities at this period preserved it above all4 ,the addition of ,greek3 idios prototokos is worthy of notice4 ,greek3 ,monogenes 7 the only begotten and also the beloved7 is not common1 it is found only in ,john1 in ,justin1 in the ,symbol of the ,romish ,church and in ,mart4 ,polyc4 7,diogn4 #aj4 #c74 ,footnote #bde3 ,the so-called second ,epistle of ,clement begins with the words ,greek3 ,adelphoi outos dei hemas phronein peri ,iesou hos peri theou1 hos peri kritou zonton kai nekron 7this order in which the ,judge appears as the higher is also found in ,barn4 #g4 #b71 ,greek3 kai ou dei hemas mikra phronein peri tes soterias hemon2 en to gar phronein hemas mikra peri autou mikra kai elpizomen labein4 ,this argumentation 7see also the following verses up to ,,ii4 #g7 is very instructive1 for it shews the grounds on which the ,greek3 phronein peri autou os peri theou was based ,h4 ,schultz 7,l4 v4 d4 ,gottheit ,christi1 p4 #be f47 very correctly remarks4 ,in the second ,epistle of ,clement and in the ,shepherd the ,christological interest of the writer ends in obtaining the assurance1 through faith in ,christ as the world ruling ,king and ,judge that the community of ,christ will receive a glory corresponding to its moral and ascetic works4 ,footnote #bdf3 ,pliny in his celebrated letter 7#if7 speaks of a ,carmen dicere ,christo quasi deo on the part of the ,christians4 ,hermas has no doubt that the ,chosen ,servant1 after finishing his work1 will be adopted as ,god's ,son1 and therefore has been destined from the beginning1 ,greek3 eis exousian megalen kai kurioteta1 ,sim4 ,v4 #f4 #a4 ,but that simply means that he is now in a ,divine sphere and that one must think of him as of ,god4 ,but there was no unanimity beyond that4 ,the formula says nothing about the nature or constitution of ,jesus4 ,it might indeed appear from ,justin's dialogue that the direct designation of ,jesus as ,greek3 theos 7not as ,greek3 o theos7 was common in the communities1 but not only are there some passages in ,justin himself to be urged against this but also the testimony of other writers4 ,greek3 ,theos1 even without the article1 was in no case a usual designation for ,jesus4 ,on the contrary1 it was always quite definite occasions which led them to speak of ,christ as of a ,god or as ,god4 ,in the first place there were ,old ,testament passages such as ,ps4 ,,xlv4 #h1 ,,cx4 #a f4 etc4 which as soon as they were interpreted in relation to ,christ led to his getting the predicate ,greek3 theos4 ,these passages1 with many others taken from the ,old ,testament1 were used in this way by ,justin4 ,yet it is very well worth noting that the author of the ,epistle of ,barnabas avoided this expression in a passage which must have suggested it 7#ab1 #aj1 #aa on ,ps4 ,,cx4 #d7 ,the author of the ,didache calls him ,greek3 o theos ,dabid on the basis of the above psalm4 ,it is manifestly therefore in liturgical formulae of exalted paradox or living utterances of religious feeling that ,christ is called ,god4 ,see ,ignat4 ad ,rom4 #f4 #c1 ,greek3 epitrepsate moi mimeten einai tou pathous tou theou mou 7the ,greek3 mou here should be observed71 ad ,eph4 #a4 #a ,greek3 anazopuresantes en aimati theou1 ,tatian ,orat4 #ac ,greek3 diakonos tou peponthotos theou4 ,as to the celebrated passage #a ,clem4 ad ,cor4 #b4 #aj ,greek3 ta pathemata autou 7the ,greek3 autou refers to ,greek3 theos7 we may perhaps observe that that ,greek3 o theos stands far apart4 ,however1 such a consideration is hardly in place4 ,the passages just adduced shew that precisely the union of suffering 7blood1 death7 with the concept ,god--and only this union--must have been in ,christendom from a very early period1 see ,acts ,,xx4 #bh ,greek3 ten ekklaesian tou theou hen periepoiesato dia tou haimatos tou idiou1 and from a later period ,melito1 ,fragm 7in ,routh ,rel ,sacra ,i4 #abb71 ,greek3 ho theos peponthen hupo dexias ,israelitidos1 ,anonym ap ,euseb ,h4 ,e4 ,v4 #bh #aa1 ,greek3 ho eusplanchnos theos kai kurios hemon ,iesous ,christos ouk ebouleto apolesthai martura ton idion pathematon1 ,test ,,xii4 ,patriarch4 7,levi4 #d7 ,greek3 epi to pathei tou hupsistou2 ,tertull4 de carne #e1 passiones dei1 ad ,uxor4 ,,ii4 #c3 sanguine dei4 ,tertullian also speaks frequently of the crucifying of ,god1 the flesh of ,god1 the death of ,god4 7see ,lightfoot1 ,clem4 of ,rome1 p4 #djj1 sq474 ,these formulae were first subjected to examination in the ,patripassian controversy4 ,they were rejected by ,athanasius for example in the fourth century 7cf4 ,apollin4 ,,ii4 #ac1 #ad1 ,opp4 ,i4 p4 #geh7 ,greek3 pos oun gegraphate hoti theos ho dia sarkos pathon kai anastas1 444 oudamou de haima theou dicha sarkos paradedokasin hai graphai e theon dia sarkos pathonta kai anastanta4 ,they continued in use in the west and became of the utmost significance in the christological controversies of the fifth century4 ,it is not quite certain whether there is a theologia ,christi in such passages as ,tit4 ,,ii4 #ac1 #b ,pet4 ,i4 #a 7see the controversies on ,rom4 ,,ix4 #e74 ,finally ,greek3 theos and ,christus were often interchanged in religious discourse 7see above74 ,in the so called second ,epistle of ,clement 7c4 #a4 #d7 the dispensing of right knowledge is traced back to ,christ4 ,it is said of him that like a ,father1 he has called us children1 he has delivered us1 he has called us into existence out of non-existence and in this ,god himself is not thought of4 ,indeed he is called 7#b4 #b4 #c7 the hearer of prayer and the controller of history1 but immediately thereon a saying of the ,lord is introduced as a saying of ,god 7,matt4 ,,ix4 #ac74 ,on the contrary ,isaiah ,,xxix4 #ac is quoted 7#c4 #e7 as a declaration of ,jesus1 and again 7#ac4 #d7 a saying of the ,lord with the formula ,greek3 legei o theos4 ,it is ,christ who pitied us 7#c4 #a1 #af4 #b71 he is described simply as the ,lord who hath called and redeemed us 7#e4 #a1 #h4 #b1 #i4 #e etc74 ,not only is there frequent mention of the ,greek3 entolai 7,greek3 entalmata7 of ,christ1 but #f4 #g 7see #ad4 #a7 speak directly of a ,greek3 poiein to thelema tou ,christou4 ,above all1 in the entire first division 7up to #i4 #e7 the religious situation is for the most part treated as if it were something essentially between the believer and ,christ4 ,on the other hand1 7#aj4 #a71 the ,father is he who calls 7see also #af4 #a71 who brings salvation 7#i4 #g71 who accepts us as ,sons 7#i4 #aj2 #af4 #a72 he has given us promises 7#aa4 #a1 #f4 #g472 we expect his kingdom1 nay1 the day of his appearing 7#ab4 #a f42 #f4 #i2 #i4 #f2 #aa4 #g2 #ab4 #a74 ,he will judge the world1 etc42 while in #ag4 #d4 we read of the day of ,christ's appearing1 of his kingdom and of his function of ,judge1 etc4 ,where the preacher treats of the relation of the community to ,god1 where he describes the religious situation according to its establishment or its consummation1 where he desires to rule the religious and moral conduct1 he introduces1 without any apparent distinction1 now ,god himself1 and now ,christ4 ,but this religious view1 in which acts of ,god coincide with acts of ,christ1 did not1 as will be shewn later on1 influence the theological speculations of the preacher4 ,we have also to observe that the interchanging of ,god and ,christ is not always an expression of the high dignity of ,christ1 but1 on the contrary1 frequently proves that the personal significance of ,christ is misunderstood1 and that he is regarded only as the dependent revealer of ,god4 ,all this shews that there cannot have been many passages in the earliest literature where ,christ was roundly designated ,greek3 theos4 ,it is one thing to speak of the blood 7death1 suffering7 of ,god1 and to describe the gifts of salvation brought by ,christ as gifts of ,god1 and another thing to set up the proposition that ,christ is a ,god 7or ,god74 ,when1 from the end of the second century1 one began to look about in the earlier writings for passages ,greek3 en hois theologeitai ho christos1 because the matter had become a subject of controversy1 one could1 besides the ,old ,testament1 point only to the writings of authors from the time of ,justin 7to apologists and controversialists7 as well as to ,psalms and odes 7see the ,anonym4 in ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,v4 #bh4 #d-f74 ,in the following passages of the ,ignatian ,epistles ,greek3 theos appears as a designation of ,christ2 he is called ,greek3 ho theos haemon in ,ephes4 inscript42 ,rom4 inscr4 bis #c4 #b2 ,polyc4 #h4 #c2 ,eph4 #a4 #a1 ,greek3 haima theou2 ,rom4 #f4 #c1 ,greek3 to pathos tou theou mou2 ,eph4 #g4 #b1 ,greek3 en sarki genomenos theos1 in another reading1 ,greek3 en anthropo theos1 ,smyrn4 ,i4 #a1 ,i4 ,chr4 ,greek3 ho theos ho outos humas sophisas4 ,the latter passage1 in which the relative clause must he closely united with ,greek3 ho theos1 seems to form the transition to the three passages 7,trall4 #g4 #a2 ,smyrn4 #f4 #a2 #aj4 #a71 in which ,jesus is called ,greek3 theos without addition4 ,but these passages are critically suspicious1 see ,lightfoot in loco4 ,in the same way the deus ,jesus ,christus in ,polyc4 ,ep4 #ab4 #b1 is suspicious1 and indeed in both parts of the verse4 ,in the first1 all ,latin codd4 have dei filius1 and in the ,greek codd4 of the ,epistle1 ,christ is nowhere called ,greek3 theos4 ,we have a keen polemic against the designation of ,christ as ,greek3 theos in ,clem4 ,rom4 ,homil4 ,,xvi4 #ae sq42 ,greek3 ,ho ,petros apekrithae ho kurios haemon oute theous einai ephthenxato para ton ktisanta ta panta oute heauton theon einai anaegoreusen1 huion de theou tou ta panta diakosmaesantos ton eiponta auton eulogos emakarisen1 kai o ,simon apekrinato2 ou dokei soi oun ton apo theou theon einai1 kai ho ,petros ephae3 pos touto einai dunatai1 phrason haemin1 touto gar haemeis eipein soi ou dunametha1 hoti mae haekousamen par' autou4 ,footnote #bdg3 ,on the further use of the word ,greek3 theos in antiquity1 see above1 ,sec4 #h1 p4 #abj f42 the formula ,greek3 theos ek theou for ,augustus1 even #bd years before ,christ's birth2 on the formula dominus ac deus1 see ,john ,,xx4 #bh2 the interchange of these concepts in many passages beside one another in the anonymous writer 7,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,v4 #bh4 #aa74 ,domitian first allowed himself to be called dominus ac deus4 ,tertullian1 ,apol4 #aj4 #aa1 is very instructive as to the general situation in the second century4 ,here are brought forward the different causes which then moved men1 the cultured and the uncultured1 to give to this or that personality the predicate of ,divinity4 ,in the third century the designation of dominus ac deus noster for ,christ1 was very common1 especially in the west 7see ,cyprian1 ,pseudo-,cyprian1 ,novatian2 in the ,latin ,martyrology a ,greek ,greek3 ho kurios is also frequently so translated74 ,but only at this time had the designation come to be in actual use even for the ,emperor4 ,it seems at first sight to follow from the statements of ,celsus 7in ,orig4 c4 ,cels4 ,,iii4 #bb-dc7 that this ,greek had and required a very strict conception of the ,godhead2 but his whole work shews how little that was really the case4 ,the reference to these facts of the history of the time is not made with the view of discovering the theologia ,christi itself in its ultimate roots--these roots lie elsewhere1 in the person of ,christ and ,christian experience2 but that this experience1 before any technical reflection1 had so easily and so surely substituted the new formula instead of the idea of ,messiah1 can hardly be explained without reference to the general religious ideas of the time4 ,footnote #bdh3 ,the combination of ,greek3 theos and ,greek3 soter in the ,pastoral ,epistles is very important4 ,the two passages in the ,new ,testament in which perhaps a direct theologia ,christi may be recognised1 contain likewise the concept ,greek3 soter2 see ,tit4 ,,ii4 #ac2 ,greek3 prosdechomenoi ten makarian elpida kai epiphaneian tes doxes tou megalou theou kai soteros hemon ,christou ,iesou 7cf4 ,abbot1 ,journal of the ,society of ,bibl4 ,lit41 and ,exeg4 #ahha4 ,june4 p4 #c sq473 #b ,pet4 ,i4 #a3 ,greek3 en dikaiosunei tou theou hemon kai soteros ',i4 ,chr44 ,in both cases the ,greek3 hemon should be specially noted4 ,besides1 ,greek3 theos soter is also an ancient formula4 ,footnote #bdi3 ,a very ancient formula ran ,greek3 theos kai theos huios see ,cels4 ap4 ,orig ,,ii4 #cj2 ,justin1 frequently3 ,alterc4 ,sim4 et ,theoph4 #d1 etc4 ,the formula is equivalent to ,greek3 theos monogenes 7see ,joh4 ,i4 #ah74 ,footnote #bej3 ,such conceptions are found side by side in the same writer4 ,see1 for example1 the second ,epistle of ,clement1 and even the first4 ,footnote #bea3 ,see ,sec4 #f1 p4 #abj4 ,the idea of a ,greek3 theopoiesis was as common as that of the appearances of the gods4 ,in wide circles1 however1 philosophy had long ago naturalised the idea of the ,greek3 logos tou theou4 ,but now there is no mistaking a new element everywhere4 ,in the case of the ,christologies which include a kind of ,greek3 theopoiesis1 it is found in the fact that the deified ,jesus was to be recognised not as a ,demigod or ,hero1 but as ,lord of the world1 equal in power and honour to the ,deity4 ,in the case of those ,christologies which start with ,christ as the heavenly spiritual being1 it is found in the belief in an actual incarnation4 ,these two articles1 as was to be expected1 presented difficulties to the ,gentile ,christians1 and the latter more than the former4 ,footnote #beb3 ,this is usually overlooked4 ,christological doctrinal conceptions are frequently constructed by a combination of particular passages1 the nature of which does not permit of combination4 ,but the fact that there was no universally recognised theory about the nature of ,jesus till beyond the middle of the second century1 should not lead us to suppose that the different theories were anywhere declared to be of equal value1 etc41 therefore more or less equally valid2 on the contrary1 everyone1 so far as he had a theory at all1 included his own in the revealed truth4 ,that they had not yet come into conflict is accounted for1 on the one hand1 by the fact that the different theories ran up into like formulae1 and could even frequently be directly carried over into one another1 and on the other hand1 by the fact that their representatives appealed to the same authorities4 ,but we must1 above all1 remember that conflict could only arise after the enthusiastic element1 which also had a share in the formation of ,christology1 had been suppressed1 and problems were felt to be such1 that is1 after the struggle with ,gnosticism1 or even during that struggle4 ,footnote #bec3 ,both were clearly in existence in the ,apostolic age4 ,footnote #bed3 ,only one work has been preserved entire which gives clear expression to the ,adoptian ,christology1 viz41 the ,shepherd of ,hermas 7see ,sim4 ,v4 and ,,ix4 #a4 #ab74 ,according to it1 the ,holy ,spirit--it is not certain whether he is identified with the chief ,archangel--is regarded as the pre-existent ,son of ,god1 who is older than creation1 nay1 was ,god's counsellor at creation4 ,the ,redeemer is the virtuous man ,greek3 sarx chosen by ,god1 with whom that ,spirit of ,god was united4 ,as he did not defile the ,spirit1 but kept him constantly as his companion1 and carried out the work to which the ,deity had called him1 nay1 did more than he was commanded1 he was in virtue of a ,divine decree adopted as a son and exalted to ,greek3 megale exousia kai kuriotes4 ,that this ,christology is set forth in a book which enjoyed the highest honour and sprang from the ,romish community1 is of great significance4 ,the representatives of this ,christology1 who in the third century were declared to be heretics1 expressly maintained that it was at one time the ruling ,christology at ,rome and had been handed down by the ,apostles4 7,anonym1 in ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,v4 #bh4 #c1 concerning the ,artemonites3 ,greek3 phasi tous men proterous hapantas kai autous tous apostolous pareilephenai te kai dedidachenai tauta1 ha nun houtoi legousi1 kai teteresthai ten aletheian tou kerygmatos mechri ton chronon tou ,biktoros 444 apo tou diadochon auto ,zephurinou parakecharachthai ten aletheian74 ,this assertion1 though exaggerated1 is not incredible after what we find in ,hermas4 ,it cannot1 certainly1 be verified by a superficial examination of the literary monuments preserved to us1 but a closer investigation shews that the ,adoptian ,christology must at one time have been very widespread1 that it continued here and there undisturbed up to the middle of the third century 7see the ,christology in the ,acta ,archelai4 #di1 #ej71 and that it continued to exercise great influence even in the fourth and fifth centuries 7see ,book ,,ii4 c4 #g74 ,something similar is found even in some ,gnostics1 e4g41 ,valentinus himself 7see ,iren4 ,i4 #aa4 #a3 ,greek3 kai ton ,christon de ouk apo ton en toi pleromati aionon probeblesthai1 alla hupo tes metros1 exo de genomenes1 kata ten gnomen ton kreittonon apokekuesthai meta skias tinos4 ,kai touton men1 hate arrena huparchontaf1 apokopsanta huph' heautou ten skian1 anadramein eis to pleroma4 ,the same in the ,exc4 ex ,theodot ,sec4,sec4 #bb1 #bc1 #cb1 #cc71 and the ,christology of ,basilides presupposes that of the ,adoptians4 ,here also belongs the conception which traces back the genealogy of ,jesus to ,joseph4 ,the way in which ,justin 7,dialog4 #dh1 #di1 #hg ff47 treats the history of the baptism of ,jesus1 against the objection of ,trypho that a pre-existent ,christ would not have needed to be filled with the ,spirit of ,god1 is instructive4 ,it is here evident that ,justin deals with objections which were raised within the communities themselves to the pre-existence of ,christ1 on the ground of the account of the baptism4 ,in point of fact1 this account 7it had1 according to very old witnesses1 see ,resch1 ,agrapha ,christi1 p4 #cjg1 according to ,justin1 for example1 ,dial4 #hh4 #ajc1 the wording3 ,greek3 hama toi anabenai auton apo tou potamou tou ,iordanou1 tes phones autou lechtheises huios mou ei ss1 ego semeron gegenneka se2 see the ,cod4 ,d4 of ,luke4 ,clem4 ,alex1 etc47 forms the strongest foundation of the ,adoptian ,christology1 and hence it is exceedingly interesting to see how one compounds with it from the second to the fifth century1 an investigation which deserves a special monograph4 ,but1 of course1 the edge was taken off the report by the assumption of the miraculous birth of ,jesus from the ,holy ,spirit1 so that the ,adoptians in recognising this1 already stood with one foot in the camp of their opponents4 ,it is now instructive to see here how the history of the baptism1 which originally formed the beginning of the proclamation of ,jesus' history1 is suppressed in the earliest formulae1 and therefore also in the ,romish ,symbol1 while the birth from the ,holy ,spirit is expressly stated4 ,only in ,ignatius 7ad ,smyrn4 ,i2 cf4 ad ,eph4 #ah4 #b7 is the baptism taken into account in the confession2 but even he has given the event a turn by which it has no longer any significance for ,jesus himself 7just as in the case of ,justin1 who concludes from the resting of the ,spirit in his fulness upon ,jesus1 that there will be no more prophets among the ,jews1 spiritual gifts being rather communicated to ,christians2 compare also the way in which the baptism of ,jesus is treated in ,joh4 ,i474 ,finally1 we must point out that in the ,adoptian ,christology1 the parallel between ,jesus and all believers who have the ,spirit and are ,sons of ,god1 stands out very clearly 7,cf4 ,herm4 ,sim4 ,v4 with ,mand4 ,,iii4 ,v4 #a2 ,x4 #b2 most important is ,sim4 ,v4 #f4 #g74 ,but this was the very thing that endangered the whole view4 ,celsus1 ,i4 #eg1 addressing ,jesus1 asks2 ,if thou sayest that every man whom ,divine ,providence allows to be born 7this is of course a formulation for which ,celsus alone is responsible71 is a son of ,god1 what advantage hast thou then over others8 ,we can see already in the ,dialogue of ,justin1 the approach of the later great controversy1 whether ,christ is ,son of ,god ,greek3 kata gnomen1 or ,greek3 kata phusin1 that is1 had a pre-existence3 ,greek3 kai gar eisi tines1 he says1 ,greek3 apo tou humeterou genous homologountes auton ,christon einai1 anthropon de ex anthropon genomenon apophainomenoi1 hois ou suntithemai 7c4 #dh74 ,footnote #bee3 ,this ,christology which may be traced back to the ,pauline1 but which can hardly have its point of departure in ,paul alone1 is found also in the ,epistle to the ,hebrews and in the writings of ,john1 including the ,apocalypse1 and is represented by ,barnabas1 #a and #b ,clem41 ,ignatius1 ,polycarp1 the author of the ,pastoral ,epistles1 the ,authors of ,praed4 ,petri1 and the ,altercatio ,jasonis et ,papisci1 etc4 ,the ,classic formulation is in #b ,clem4 #i4 #e3 ,greek3 ,christos ho kurios ho sosas hemas on men to proton pneuma egeneto sarx kai houtos hemas ekalesen4 ,according to ,barnabas 7#e4 #c71 the pre-existent ,christ is ,greek3 pantos tou kosmou kurios3 to him ,god said1 ,greek3 apo kataboles kosmou1 ,let us make man1 etc4 ,he is 7#e4 #f7 the subject and goal of all ,old ,testament revelation4 ,he is ,greek3 ouxi huios anthropou all3 huios tou theou1 tupoi de en sarki phanerotheis 7#ab4 #aj72 the flesh is merely the veil of the ,godhead1 without which man could not have endured the light 7#e4 #aj74 ,according to #a ,clement1 ,christ is ,greek3 to skeptron tes melagosunes tou theou 7#af4 #b71 who if he had wished could have appeared on earth ,greek3 en kompoi alazoneias1 he is exalted far above the angels 7#cb71 as he is the ,son of ,god 7,greek3 pathemata tou theou1 #b4 #a72 he hath spoken through the ,holy ,spirit in the ,old ,testament 7#bb4 #a74 ,it is not certain whether ,clement understood ,christ under the ,greek3 logos megalosunes tou theou 7#bg4 #d74 ,according to #b ,clem41 ,christ and the church are heavenly spiritual existences which have appeared in the last times4 ,gen4 ,i4 #bg refers to their creation 7c4 #ad2 see my note on the passage3 ,we learn from ,origen that a very old ,theologoumenon identified ,jesus with the ideal of ,adam1 the church with that of ,eve74 ,similar ideas about ,christ are found in ,gnostic ,jewish ,christians72 one must think about ,christ as about ,god 7,i4 #a74 ,ignatius writes 7,eph4 #g-b73 ,greek3 ,eis1 iatros estin sarkikos te kai pneumatikos1 gennetos kai agennetos1 en sarki genomenos theos1 en thanatoi zoe alethine1 kai ek ,marias kai ek theou1 proton pathaetos kai tote apathes ,iesous ,christos ho kurios hemon4 ,as the human predicates stand here first1 it might appear as though1 according to ,ignatius1 the man ,jesus first became ,god 7,greek3 ho theos hemon1 ,cf4 ,eph4 inscr43 #ah4 #b74 ,in point of fact1 he regards ,jesus as ,son of ,god only by his birth from the ,spirit2 but on the other hand1 ,jesus is ,greek3 aph' henos patros proelthon 7,magn4 #g4 #b71 is ,greek3 logos theou 7,magn4 #h4 #b17 and when ,ignatius so often emphasises the truth of ,jesus' history against ,docetism 7,trall4 #i4 for example71 we must assume that he shares the thesis with the ,gnostics that ,jesus is by nature a spiritual being4 ,but it is well worthy of notice that ,ignatius1 as distinguished from ,barnabas and ,clement1 really gives the central place to the historical ,jesus ,christ1 the ,son of ,god and the ,son of ,mary1 and his work4 ,the like is found only in ,irenaeus4 ,the pre-existence of ,christ is presupposed by ,polycarp4 7,ep #g4 #a72 but1 like ,paul1 he strongly emphasises a real exaltation of ,christ 7#b4 #a74 ,the author of ,praed4 ,petri calls ,christ the ,greek3 logos 7,clem4 ,strom4 ,i4 #bi1 #ahb74 ,as ,ignatius calls him this also1 as the same designation is found in the ,gospel1 ,epistles1 and ,apocalypse of ,john 7the latter a ,christian adaptation of a ,jewish writing71 in the ,act4 ,joh4 7see ,zahn1 ,acta ,joh4 p4 #bbj71 finally1 as ,celsus 7,,ii4 #ca7 says quite generally1 ,the ,christians maintain that the ,son of ,god is at the same time his incarnate ,word1 we plainly perceive that this designation for ,christ was not first started by professional philosophers 7see the ,apologists1 for example1 ,tatian1 ,orat4 #e1 and ,melito ,apolog4 fragm4 in the ,chron4 pasch4 p4 #dhc1 ed4 ,dindorf3 ,greek3 ,christos on theou logos pro aionon4 ,we do not find in the ,johannine writings such a ,logos speculation as in the ,apologists1 but the current expression is taken up in order to shew that it has its truth in the appearing of ,jesus ,christ4 ,the ideas about the existence of a ,divine ,logos were very widely spread2 they were driven out of philosophy into wide circles4 ,the author of the ,alterc4 ,jas4 et ,papisci conceived the phrase in ,gen ,i4 #a1 ,greek3 en arche1 as equivalent to ,greek3 en huioi 7,christoi7 ,jerome4 ,quaest4 hebr4 in ,gen4 p4 #c2 see ,tatian ,orat4 #e3 ,greek3 theos en en archei ten de archen logou dunamin pareilephamen4 ,ignatius 7,eph4 #c7 also called ,christ ,greek3 he gnome tou patros 7,eph4 #ag3 ,greek3 he gnosis tou theou72 that is a more fitting expression than ,greek3 logos4 ,the subordination of ,christ as a heavenly being to the ,godhead1 is seldom or never carefully emphasised1 though it frequently comes plainly into prominence4 ,yet the author of the second ,epistle of ,clement does not hesitate to place the pre-existent ,christ and the pre-existent church on one level1 and to declare of both that ,god created them 7c4 #ad74 ,the formulae ,greek3 phanerousthai en sarki1 or1 ,greek3 gignesthai sarx1 are characteristic of this ,christology4 ,it is worthy of special notice that the latter is found in all those ,new ,testament writers1 who have put ,christianity in contrast with the ,old ,testament religions1 and proclaimed the conquest of that religion by the ,christian1 viz41 ,paul1 ,john1 and the author of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews4 ,footnote #bef3 ,hermas1 for example1 does this 7therefore ,link2 ,christologie des ,hermas1 and ,weizsaecker1 ,gott ,gel4 ,anz4 #ahhf1 p4 #hcj1 declare his ,christology to be directly pneumatic73 ,christ is then identified with this ,holy ,spirit 7see ,acta4 ,archel4 #ej71 similarly ,ignatius 7ad4 ,magn4 #ae73 ,greek3 kektemenoi adiakriton pneuma1 hos estin ,iesous ,christos4 ,this formed the transition to ,gnostic conceptions on the one hand1 to pneumatic ,christology on the other4 ,but in ,hermas the real substantial thing in ,jesus ,christ is the ,greek3 sarx4 ,footnote #beg3 ,passages may indeed be found in the earliest ,gentile ,christian literature1 in which ,jesus is designated ,son of ,god1 independently of his human birth and before it 7so in ,barnabas1 against ,zahn71 but they are not numerous4 ,ignatius very clearly deduces the predicate ,son from the birth in the flesh4 ,zahn1 ,marcellus1 p4 #baf ff4 ,footnote #beh3 ,the distinct designation ,greek3 theopoiesis is not found1 though that may be an accident4 ,hermas has the thing itself quite distinctly 7,see ,epiph4 c4 ,alog4 ,h4 #ea4 #ah3 ,greek3 nomizontes apo ,marias kai deuro ,christon auton kaleisthai kai huion theou1 kai einai men proteron psilon anthropon1 kata prokopen de eilephenai ten tou huiou tou theou prosegorian74 ,the stages of the ,greek3 prokope were undoubtedly the birth1 baptism and resurrection4 ,even the adherents of the pneumatic ,christology1 could not at first help recognising that ,jesus1 through his exaltation1 got more than he originally possessed4 ,yet in their case1 this conception was bound to become rudimentary1 and it really did so4 ,footnote #bei3 ,the settlement with ,gnosticism prepared a still always uncertain end for this naive ,docetism4 ,apart from ,barn4 #e4 #ab1 where it plainly appears1 we have to collect laboriously the evidences of it which have not accidentally either perished or been concealed4 ,in the communities of the second century there was frequently no offence taken at ,gnostic docetism 7see the ,gospel of ,peter4 ,clem4 ,alex41 ,adumbrat in ,joh4 ,ep4 ,i4 c4 #a1 ,zahn1 ,forsch4 z4 ,gesch4 des ,n4 ,t4-lichen ,kanons1 ,,iii4 p4 #hga2 ,fertur ergo in traditionibus1 quoniam ,johannes ipsum corpus1 quod erat extrinsecus1 tangens manum suam in profunda misisse et duritiam carnis nullo modo reluctatam esse1 sed locum manui praebuisse discipuli4 ,also ,acta ,joh4 p4 #bai1 ed4 ,zahn74 ,in spite of all his polemic against ,greek3 dokesis proper1 one can still perceive a moderate docetism in ,clem4 ,alex41 to which indeed certain narratives in the ,canonical ,gospels could not but lead4 ,the so-called ,apocryphal literature 7,apocryphal ,gospels and ,acts of ,apostles71 lying on the boundary between heretical and common ,christianity1 and preserved only in scanty fragments and extensive alterations1 was1 it appears1 throughout favourable to ,docetism4 ,but the later recensions attest that it was read in wide circles4 ,footnote #bfj3 ,even such a formulation as we find in ,paul 7e4g41 ,rom4 ,i4 #c f4 ,greek3 kata sarka--kata pneuma71 does not seem to have been often repeated 7yet see #a ,clem4 #cb4 #ba74 ,it is of value to ,ignatius only1 who has before his mind the full ,gnostic contrast4 ,but even to him we cannot ascribe any doctrine of two natures3 for this requires as its presupposition1 the perception that the divinity and humanity are equally essential and important for the personality of the ,redeemer ,christ4 ,such insight1 however1 presupposes a measure and a direction of reflection which the earliest period did not possess4 ,the expression ,greek3 duo ousiai ,christou first appears in a fragment of ,melito1 whose genuineness is not1 however1 generally recognised 7see my ,texte u4 ,unters4 ,i4 #a4 #b4 p4 #beg74 ,even the definite expression for ,christ ,greek3 theos on homou te kai anthropos was fixed only in consequence of the ,gnostic controversy4 ,footnote #bfa3 ,hermas 7,sim4 ,v4 #f4 #g7 describes the exaltation of ,jesus1 thus3 ,greek3 hina kai he sarx haute1 douleusasa toi pneumati amemptos1 schaei topon tina kataskenoseos1 kai me doxei ton misthon tes douleias autes apololekenai4 ,the point in question is a reward of grace which consists in a position of rank 7see ,sim4 ,v4 #f4 #a74 ,the same thing is manifest from the statements of the later ,adoptians4 7,cf4 the teaching of ,paul ,samosata74 ,footnote #bfb3 ,barnabas1 e4 g41 conceives it as a veil 7#e4 #aj3 ,greek3 ei gar me elthen en sarki1 oud' an pos hoi anthropoi esothesan blepontes auton1 hote ton mellonta me einai helion emblepontes ouk ischusousin eis tas aktinas autou antophthalmesai74 ,the formulation of the ,christian idea in ,celsus is instructive 7c4 ,cels ,,vi4 #fi73 ,since ,god is great and not easily accessible to the view1 he put his spirit in a body which is like our own1 and sent it down in order that we might be instructed by it4 ,to this conception corresponds the formula3 ,greek3 erchesthai 7phanerousthai7 en sarki 7,barnabas1 frequently2 ,polyc4 ,ep4 #g4 #a74 ,but some kind of transformation must also have been thought of 7,see #b ,clem4 #i4 #e4 and ,celsus ,,iv4 #ah3 ,either ,god1 as these suppose1 is really transformed into a mortal body4444 ,apoc4 ,sophon4 ed4 ,stern4 #d fragm4 p4 #aj2 ,he has transformed himself into a man who comes to us to redeem us74 ,this conception might grow out of the formula ,greek3 sarx egeneto 7,ignat4 ad4 ,eph4 #g1 #b is of special importance here74 ,one is almost throughout here satisfied with the ,greek3 sarx of ,christ1 that is the ,greek3 aletheia tes sarkos1 against the ,heretics 7so ,ignatius1 who was already anti-gnostic in his attitude74 ,there is very seldom any mention of the humanity of ,jesus4 ,barnabas 7#ab74 the author of the ,didache 7c4 #aj4 #f4 ,see my note on the passage71 and ,tatian questioned the ,davidic ,sonship of ,jesus1 which was strongly emphasised by ,ignatius2 nay1 ,barnabas even expressly rejects the designation ,son of ,man 7#ab4 #aj2 ,greek3 ide palin ,iesous1 ouchi huios anthropou alla huios tou theou1 tupo de en sarki phanerotheis74 ,a docetic thought1 however1 lies in the assertion that the spiritual being ,christ only assumed human flesh1 however much the reality of the flesh may be emphasised4 ,the passage #a ,clem4 #di4 #f1 is quite unique3 ,greek3 to haima autou edoken huper hemon ,iesous ,christos 444 kai ten sarka huper tes sarkos hemon kai ten psuchen huper ton psuchon humon4 ,one would fain believe this an interpolation2 the same idea is first found in ,irenaeus4 7,v4 #a4 #a74 ,footnote #bfc3 ,even ,hermas docs not speak of ,jesus as ,greek3 anthropos 7see ,link74 ,this designation was used by the representatives of the ,adoptian ,christology only after they had expressed their doctrine antithetically and developed it to a theory1 and always with a certain reservation4 ,the ,greek3 anthropos ,christos ,iesous in #a ,tim4 ,,ii4 #e is used in a special sense4 ,the expression ,greek3 anthropos for ,christ appears twice in the ,ignatian ,epistles 7the third passage ,smyrn4 #d4 #b3 ,greek3 autou me endunamountos tou teleiou anthropou genomenou1 apart from the ,greek3 genomenou1 is critically suspicious1 as well as the fourth1 ,eph4 #g4 #b2 see above71 in both passages1 however1 in connections which seem to modify the humanity2 see ,eph4 #bj4 #a3 ,greek3 oikonomia eis ton kainon anthropon ,iesoun ,christon1 ,eph4 #bj4 #b3 ,greek3 toi huioi anthropou kai huioi theou4 ,footnote #bfd3 ,see above p4 #ahe1 note2 p4 #ahi1 note4 ,we have no sure evidence that the later so-called ,modalism 7,monarchianism7 had representatives before the last third of the second century2 yet the polemic of ,justin1 ,dial4 #abh1 seems to favour the idea1 7the passage already presupposes controversies about the personal independence of the pre-existent pneumatic being of ,christ beside ,god2 but one need not necessarily think of such controversies within the communities2 ,jewish notions might be meant1 and this1 according to ,apol4 ,i4 #fc1 is the more probable74 ,the judgment is therefore so difficult1 because there were numerous formulae in practical use which could be so understood1 as if ,christ was to be completely identified with the ,godhead itself 7see ,ignat4 ad ,eph4 #g4 #b1 besides ,melito in ,otto ,corp4 ,apol4 ,,ix4 p4 #dai4 and ,noetus in the ,philos4 ,,ix4 #aj1 p4 #ddh74 ,these formulae may1 in point of fact1 have been so understood1 here and there1 by the rude and uncultivated4 ,the strongest again is presented in writings whose authority was always doubtful3 see the ,gospel of the ,egyptians 7,epiph4 ,h4 #fb4 #b71 in which must have stood a statement somewhat to this effect3 ,greek3 ton auton einai patera1 ton auton einai huion1 ton auton einai hagion pneuma1 and the ,acta ,joh4 7ed4 ,zahn1 p4 #bbj f41 #bdj f43 ,greek3 ho agathos hemon theos ho eusplanchnos1 ho eleemon1 ho hagios1 ho katharos1 ho amiantos1 ho monos1 ho heis1 ho ametabletos1 ho eilikrines1 ho adolos1 ho me orgizomenos1 ho pases hemin legomenes e nooumenes prosegorias anoteros kai hupseloteros hemon theos ,iesous74 ,in the ,act4 ,joh4 are found also prayers with the address ,greek3 thee ,iesou ,christe 7pp4 #bdb4 #bdg74 ,even ,marcion and a part the ,montanists--both bear witness to old traditions--put no value on the distinction between ,god and ,christ2 cf4 the ,apoc4 ,sophon4 ,a witness to a naive ,modalism is found also in the ,acta ,pionii #i3 ,quem deum colis8 ,respondit3 ,christum ,polemon 7judex73 ,quid ergo8 iste alter est8 the co-defendant ,christians had immediately before confessed ,god the ,creator ,respondit3 ,non2 sed ipse quem et ipsi paullo ante confessi sunt2 cf4 c4 #af4 ,yet a reasoned ,modalism may perhaps be assumed here4 ,see also the ,martyr ,acts2 e4g41 ,acta ,petri1 ,andrae1 ,pauli et ,dionysiae ,i 7,ruinart1 p4 #bje73 ,greek3 hemeis oi ,christon ton basilea echomen1 hoti alethinos theos estin kai poietes ouranou kai ges kai thalasses4 ,oportet me magis deo vivo et vero4 regi saeculorum omnium ,christo1 sacrificium offerre4 ,act4 ,nicephor4 #c 7p4 #bhe74 ,i take no note of the ,testament of the twelve ,patriarchs1 out of which one can1 of course1 beautifully verify the strict ,modalistic1 and even the ,adoptian ,christology4 ,but the ,testamenta are not a primitive or ,jewish ,christian writing which ,gentile ,christians have revised1 but a ,jewish writing christianised at the end of the second century by a ,catholic of ,modalistic views4 ,but he has given us a very imperfect work1 the ,christology of which exhibits many contradictions4 ,it is instructive to find ,modalism in the theology of the ,simonians1 which was partly formed according to ,christian ideas2 see ,irenaeus ,i4 #bc4 ,i4 hic igitur a multis quasi deus glorificatus est1 et docuit semetipsum esse qui inter ,judaeos quidem quasi filius apparuerit1 in ,samaria autem quasi pater descenderit1 in reliquis vero gentibus quasi ,spiritus ,sanctus adventaverit4 ,footnote #bfe3 ,that is a very important fact which clearly follows from the ,shepherd4 ,even the later school of the ,adoptians in ,rome1 and the later ,adoptians in general1 were forced to assume a divine hypostasis beside the ,godhead1 which of course sensibly threatened their ,christology4 ,the adherents of the pneumatic ,christology partly made a definite distinction between the pre-existent ,christ and the ,holy ,spirit 7see1 e4g41 #a ,clem4 #bb4 #a71 and partly made use of formulae from which one could infer an identity of the two4 ,the conceptions about the ,holy ,spirit were still quite fluctuating2 whether he is a power of ,god1 or personal1 whether he is identical with the pre-existent ,christ1 or is to be distinguished from him1 whether he is the servant of ,christ 7,tatian ,orat4 #ac71 whether he is only a gift of ,god to believers1 or the eternal ,son of ,god1 was quite uncertain4 ,hermas assumed the latter1 and even ,origen 7de princip4 praef4 c4 #d7 acknowledges that it is not yet decided whether or not the ,holy ,spirit is likewise to be regarded as ,god's ,son4 ,the baptismal formula prevented the identification of the ,holy ,spirit with the pre-existent ,christ1 which so readily suggested itself4 ,but so far as ,christ was regarded as a ,greek3 pneuma1 his further demarcation from the angel powers was quite uncertain1 as the ,shepherd of ,hermas proves 7though see #a ,clem4 #cf74 ,for even ,justin1 in a passage1 no doubt1 in which his sole purpose was to shew that the ,christians were not ,greek3 atheoi1 could venture to thrust in between ,god1 the ,son and the ,spirit1 the good angels as beings who were worshipped and adored by the ,christians 7,apol4 #a4 #f if the text be genuine and not an interpolation2 see also the ,suppl4 of ,athanagoras74 ,justin1 and certainly most of those who accepted a pre-existence of ,christ1 conceived of it as a real pre-existence4 ,justin was quite well acquainted with the controversy about the independent quality of the power which proceeded from ,god4 ,to him it is not merely1 ,sensus1 motus1 affectus dei1 but a personalis substantia 7,dial4 #abh74 ,footnote #bff3 ,see the remarkable narrative about the cross in the fragment of the ,gospel of ,peter1 and in ,justin1 ,apol4 #a4 #ee4 ,footnote #bfg3 ,we must1 above all things1 be on our guard here against attributing dogmas to the churches1 that is to say1 to the writers of this period4 ,the difference in the answers to the question1 ,how far and by what means1 ,jesus procured salvation8 was very great1 and the majority undoubtedly never at all raised the question1 being satisfied with recognising ,jesus as the revealer of ,god's saving will 7,didache1 #aj4 #b3 ,greek3 eucharistoi men soi1 pater hagie1 huper tou agiou onomatos sou1 ou kateskenosas en tais kardiais hemon kai huper tes gnoseos kai pisteos kai athanasias1 hes egnorisas hemin dia ,iesou tou paidos sou71 without reflecting on the fact that this saving will was already revealed in the ,old ,testament4 ,there is nowhere any mention of a saving work of ,christ in the whole ,didache1 nay1 even the ,kerygma about him is not taken notice of4 ,the extensive writing of ,hermas shews that this is not an accident4 ,there is absolutely no mention here of the birth1 death1 resurrection1 etc41 of ,jesus1 although the author in ,sim4 ,v had an occasion for mentioning them4 ,he describes the work of ,jesus as 7#a7 preserving the people whom ,god had chosen4 7#b7 purifying the people from sin1 7#c7 pointing out the path of life and promulgating the ,divine law 7c4 c4 #e4 #f74 ,this work however1 seems to have been performed by the whole life and activity of ,jesus2 even to the purifying of sin the author has only added the words3 ,greek3 7kai autos tas hamartias auton ekatharise7 polla kopiasas kai pollous kopous entlekos 7,sim4 ,v4 #f4 #b74 ,but we must further note that ,hermas held the proper and obligatory work of ,jesus to be only the preservation of the chosen people 7from demons in the last days1 and at the end71 while in the other two articles he saw a performance in excess of his duty1 and wished undoubtedly to declare therewith1 that the purifying from sin and the giving of the law are not1 strictly speaking1 integral parts of the ,divine plan of salvation1 but are due to the special goodness of ,jesus 7this idea is explained by ,moralism74 ,now1 as ,hermas1 and others1 saw the saving activity of ,jesus in his whole labours1 others saw salvation given and assured in the moment of ,jesus' entrance into the world1 and in his personality as a spiritual being become flesh4 ,this mystic conception1 which attained such wide-spread recognition later on1 has a representative in ,ignatius1 if one can at all attribute clearly conceived doctrines to this emotional confessor4 ,that something can be declared of ,jesus1 ,greek3 kata pneuma and ,greek3 kata sarka--this is the mystery on which the significance of ,jesus seems to ,ignatius essentially to rest1 but how far is not made clear4 ,but the ,greek3 pathos 7haima1 stauros7 and ,greek3 anastasis of ,jesus are to the same writer of great significance1 and by forming paradoxical formulae of worship1 and turning to account reminiscences of ,apostolic sayings1 he seems to wish to base the whole salvation brought by ,christ on his suffering and resurrection 7see ,lightfoot on ,eph4 inscr4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 p4 #be74 ,in this connection also1 he here and there regards all articles of the ,kerygma as of fundamental significance4 ,at all events1 we have in the ,ignatian ,epistles the first attempt in the post-,apostolic literature1 to connect all the theses of the ,kerygma about ,jesus as closely as possible with the benefits which he brought4 ,but only the will of the writer is plain here1 all else is confused1 and what is mainly felt is that the attempt to conceive the blessings of salvation as the fruit of the sufferings and resurrection1 has deprived them of their definiteness and clearness4 ,in proof we may adduce the following3 ,if we leave out of account the passages in which ,ignatius speaks of the necessity of repentance for the ,heretics1 or the ,heathen1 and the possibility that their sins may be forgiven 7,philad4 #c4 #b3h4 #a2 ,smyrn4 #d4 #a3 #e-c2 ,eph4 #aj4 #a71 there remains only one passage in which the forgiveness of sin is mentioned1 and that only contains a traditional formula 7,smyrn #g4 #a3 ,greek3 sarx ,iesou ,christou1 he huper ton hamartion hemon pathousa74 ,the same writer1 who is constantly speaking of the ,greek3 pathos and ,greek3 anastasis of ,christ1 has nothing to say1 to the communities to which he writes1 about the forgiveness of sin4 ,even the concept sin1 apart from the passages just quoted1 appears only once1 viz41 ,eph #ad4 #b3 ,greek3 oudeis pistin epangellomenos hamartanei4 ,ignatius has only once spoken to a community about repentance 7,smyrn4 #i4 #a74 ,it is characteristic that the summons to repentance runs exactly as in ,hermas and #b ,clem41 the conclusion only being peculiarly ,ignatian4 ,it is different with ,barnabas1 ,clement and ,polycarp4 ,they 7see #a ,clem4 #g4 #d3ab1 #g3ba1 #f3di #f2 ,barn4 #e4 #a ff47 place the forgiveness of sin procured by ,jesus in the foreground1 connect it most definitely with the death of ,christ1 and in some passages seem to have a conception of that connection1 which reminds us of ,paul4 ,but this just shews that they are dependent here on ,paul 7or on #ast ,peter71 and on a closer examination we perceive that they very imperfectly understand ,paul1 and have no independent insight into the series of ideas which they reproduce4 ,that is specially plain in ,clement4 ,for in the first place1 he everywhere passes over the resurrection 7he mentions it only twice1 once as a guarantee of our own resurrection1 along with the ,phoenix and other guarantees1 #bd4 #a1 and then as a means whereby the ,apostles were convinced that the kingdom of ,god will come1 #db4 #c74 ,in the second place1 he in one passage declares that the ,greek3 charis metanoias was communicated to the world through the shedding of ,christ's blood 7#g4 #d47 ,but this transformation of the ,greek3 aphesis hamartion into ,greek3 charis metanoias plainly shews that ,clement had merely taken over from tradition the special estimate of the death of ,christ as procuring salvation2 for it is meaningless to deduce the ,greek3 charis metanoias from the blood of ,christ4 ,barnabas testifies more plainly that ,christ behoved to offer the vessel of his spirit as a sacrifice for our sins 7#d4 #c2 #e4 #a71 nay1 the chief aim of his letter is to harmonise the correct understanding of the cross1 the blood1 and death of ,christ in connection with baptism1 the forgiveness of sin1 and sanctification 7application of the idea of sacrifice74 ,he also unites the death and resurrection of ,jesus 7#e4 #f3 ,greek3 autos de hina kataergesei ton thanaton kai ten ek nekron anastasin deixei1 hoti en sarki edei auton phanerothenai1 hupemeinen1 hina kai tois patrasin ten epangellian apodoi kai autos heautoi ton laon ton kainon hetoimazon epideixei1 epi tes ges on4 hoti ten anastasin autos poiesas krinei73 but the significance of the death of ,christ is for him at bottom1 the fact that it is the fulfilment of prophecy4 ,but the prophecy is related1 above all1 to the significance of the tree1 and so ,barnabas on one occasion says with admirable clearness 7#e4 #ac72 ,greek3 autos de ethelesen houto pathein2 edei gar hina epi xulou pathei4 ,the notion which ,barnabas entertains of the ,greek3 sarx of ,christ suggests the supposition that he could have given up all reference to the death of ,christ1 if it had not been transmitted as a fact and predicted in the ,old ,testament4 ,justin shews still less certainty4 ,to him also1 as to ,ignatius1 the cross 7the death7 of ,christ is a great1 nay1 the greatest mystery1 and he sees all things possible in it 7see ,apol4 #a4 #ce1 #ee74 ,he knows1 further1 as a man acquainted with the ,old ,testament1 how to borrow from it very many points of view for the significance of ,christ's death1 7,christ the sacrifice1 the ,paschal lamb2 the death of ,christ the means of redeeming men2 death as the enduring of the curse for us2 death as the victory over the devil2 see ,dial #dd4 #ij1 #ia1 #aaa1 #acd74 ,but in the discussions which set forth in a more intelligible way the significance of ,christ1 definite facts from the history have no place at all1 and ,justin nowhere gives any indication of seeing in the death of ,christ more than the mystery of the ,old ,testament1 and the confirmation of its trustworthiness4 ,on the other hand1 it cannot be mistaken that the idea of an individual righteous man being able effectively to sacrifice himself for the whole1 in order through his voluntary death to deliver them from evil1 was not unknown to antiquity4 ,origen 7c4 ,celsum #a4 #ca7 has expressed himself on this point in a very instructive way4 ,the purity and voluntariness of him who sacrifices himself are here the main things4 ,finally1 we must be on our guard against supposing that the expressions ,greek3 sortia1 apolutrosis and the like1 were as a rule related to the deliverance from sin4 ,in the superscription of the ,epistle from ,lyons1 for example1 7,euseb4 ,h4 ,e ,v4 #a4 #c3 ,greek3 hoi auten tes apolutroseos hemin pistin kai elpida echontes7 the future redemption is manifestly to be understood by ,greek3 apolutrosis4 ,footnote #bfh3 ,on the ,ascension1 see my edition of the ,apost4 ,fathers ,i4 #b1 p4 #ach4 ,paul knows nothing of an ,ascension1 nor is it mentioned by ,clement1 ,ignatius1 ,hermas1 or ,polycarp4 ,in no case did it belong to the earliest preaching4 ,resurrection and sitting at the right hand of ,god are frequently united in the formulae 7,eph4 ,i4 #bj2 ,acts4 ,,ii4 #cb ff47 ,according to ,luke ,,xxiv4 #ea1 and ,barn4 #ae4 #i1 the ascension into heaven took place on the day of the resurrection 7probably also according to ,joh4 ,,xx4 #ag2 see also the fragment of the ,gosp4 of ,peter71 and is hardly to be thought of as happening but once 7,joh4 ,,iii4 #ac2 ,,vi #fb2 see also ,rom4 ,x4 #f f42 ,eph4 ,,iv4 #i f2 #a ,pet4 ,,iii4 #ai f42 very instructive for the origin of the notion74 ,according to the ,valentinians and ,ophites1 ,christ ascended into heaven #ah months after the resurrection 7,iren4 ,i4 #c4 #b2 #cj4 #ad72 according to the ,ascension of ,isaiah1 #ede days 7ed4 ,dillmann1 pp4 #dc4 #eg etc472 according to ,pistis ,sophia #aa years after the resurrection4 ,the statement that the ,ascension took place #dj days after the resurrection is first found in the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,the position of the ,greek3 anelemphthe en doxei1 in the fragment of an old ,hymn1 #a ,tim4 ,,iii4 #af1 is worthy of note1 in so far as it follows the ,greek3 ophthe angelois1 ekeruchthe en ethnesin1 episteuthe en kosmoi4 ,justin speaks very frequently of the ,ascension into heaven 7see also ,aristides74 ,it is to him a necessary part of the preaching about ,christ4 ,on the descent into hell1 see the collection of passages in my edition of the ,apost4 ,fathers1 ,,iii4 p4 #bcb4 ,it is important to note that it is found already in the ,gospel of ,peter 7,greek3 ekeruxas tois koimomenois1 nai71 and that even ,marcion recognised it 7in ,iren4 ,i4 #bg4 #ca71 as well as the ,presbyter of ,irenaeus 7,,iv4 #bg4 #b71 and ,ignatius 7ad ,magn4 #i4 #c71 see also ,celsus in ,orig4 ,,ii4 #dc4 ,the witnesses to it are very numerous1 see ,huidekoper1 ,the belief of the first three centuries concerning ,christ's ,mission to the under-world4 ,new ,york1 #ahgf4 ,footnote #bfi3 ,see the ,pastoral ,epistles1 and the ,epistles of ,ignatius and ,polycarp4 ,footnote #bgj3 ,the facts of the history of ,jesus were handed down to the following period as mysteries predicted in the ,old ,testament1 but the idea of sacrifice was specially attached to the death of ,christ1 certainly without any closer definition4 ,it is very noteworthy that in the ,romish baptismal confession1 the ,davidic ,sonship of ,jesus1 the baptism1 the descent into the under-world1 and the setting up of a glorious ,kingdom on the earth1 are not mentioned4 ,these articles do not appear even in the parallel confessions which began to be formed4 ,the hesitancy that yet prevailed here with regard to details1 is manifest from the fact1 for example1 that instead of the formula1 ,jesus was born of 7,greek3 ek7 ,mary1 is found the other1 ,he was born through 7,greek3 dia7 ,mary 7see ,justin1 ,apol4 ,i4 #bb4 #ca-cc1 #ed1 #fc2 ,dial4 #bc4 #dc1 #de4 #dh1 #eg4 #ed1 #fc1 #ff1 #ge1 #he1 #hg1 #ajj1 #aje1 #abj1 #abg71 ,iren4 7,i4 #g4 #b7 and ,tertull4 7de carne #bj7 first contested the ,greek3 dia against the ,valentinians4 ,footnote #bga3 ,this was strongly emphasised see my remarks on ,barn4 #b4 #c4 ,the ,jewish cultus is often brought very close to the heathen by ,gentile ,christian writers3 ,praed4 ,petri 7,clem4 ,strom4 ,,vi4 #e4 #da7 ,greek3 kainos ton theon dia tou ,christou sebometha4 ,the statement in ,joh4 ,,iv4 #bd1 ,greek3 pneuma ho theos kai tous proskunountas auton en pneumati kai aletheias dei proskunein1 was for long the guiding principle for the ,christian worship of ,god4 ,footnote #bgb3 ,ps4 ,,li4 #ai is thus opposed to the ceremonial system 7,barn4 #b4 #aj74 ,polycarp consumed by fire is 7,mart4 #ad4 #a7 compared to a ,greek3 krios episemos ek megalou poimniou eis prosphoran olokautoma dekton toi theoi hetoimasmenon4 ,footnote #bgc3 ,see ,barn4 #f4 #ae1 #af1 #g-i1 ,tatian ,orat4 #ae1 ,ignat4 ad4 ,eph4 #i4 #ae1 ,herm ,mand4 ,v4 etc4 ,the designation of ,christians as priests is not often found4 ,footnote #bgd3 ,justin1 ,apol4 ,i4 #i4 ,dial4 #aag ,greek3 hoti men oun kai euchai ka eucharistiai1 hupo ton axion ginomenai teleiai monai kai euarestoi eisi toi theoi thusiai kai autos phemi1 see also still the later ,fathers3 ,clem4 ,strom4 ,,vii4 #f4 #ca3 ,greek3 hemeis di euches timomen ton theon kai tauten ten thusian aristen kai hagiotaten meta dikaiosunes anapempomen toi dikaioi logoi1 ,iren4 ,,iii4 #ah4 #c1 ,ptolem ad4 ,floram4 #c3 ,greek3 prosphoras prospherein prosetaxen hemin ho soter alla ouchi tas di alogon zoon he touton ton domiamaton alla dia pneumatikon ainon kai doxon kai eucharistias kai dia tes eis tous plesion koinonias kai eupoiias4 ,footnote #bge3 ,the ,jewish regulations about fastings together with the ,jewish system of sacrifice were rejected1 but on the other hand1 in virtue of words of the ,lord1 fasts were looked upon as a necessary accompaniment of prayer and definite arrangements were already made for them 7see ,barn4 #c1 ,didache #h1 ,herm4 ,sim4 ,v4 #a4 ff74 ,the fast is to have a special value from the fact that whatever one saved by means of it is to be given to the poor 7see ,hermas and ,aristides1 ,apol4 #ae1 ,and if any one among the ,christians is poor and in want1 and they have not overmuch of the means of life1 they fast two or three days in order that they may provide those in need with the food they require74 ,the statement of ,james ,i4 #bg ,greek3 threskeia kathara kai amiantos para to theo kai patri haute estin episkeptesthai orphanous kai cheras en te thlipsei auton1 was again and again inculcated in diverse phraseology 7,polycarp ,ep4 #d1 called the ,widows ,greek3 thusiasterion of the community74 ,where moralistic views preponderated as in ,hermas and #b ,clement good works were already valued in detail1 prayers1 fasts1 alms appeared separately1 and there was already introduced especially under the influence of the so-called deutero-canonical writings of the ,old ,testament the idea of a special meritoriousness of certain performances in fasts and alms 7see #b ,clem4 #af4 #d74 ,still the idea of the ,christian moral life as a whole occupied the foreground 7see ,didache cc4 #a-e7 and the exhortations to love ,god and one's neighbour1 which as exhortations to a moral life were brought forward in every conceivable relation1 supplemented the general summons to renounce the world just as the official diaconate of the churches originating in the cultus1 prevented the decomposition of them into a society of ascetics4 ,footnote #bgf3 ,for details1 see below in the case of the ,lord's ,supper4 ,it is specially important that even charity1 through its union with the cultus1 appeared as sacrificial worship 7see e4g4 ,polyc4 ,ep4 #d4 #c74 ,footnote #bgg3 ,the idea of sacrifice adopted by the ,gentile ,christian communities1 was that which was expressed in individual prophetic sayings and in the ,psalms1 a spiritualising of the ,semitic ,jewish sacrificial ritual which1 however1 had not altogether lost its original features4 ,the entrance of ,greek ideas of sacrifice cannot be traced before ,justin4 ,neither was there as yet any reflection as to the connection of the sacrifice of the ,church with the sacrifice of ,christ upon the cross4 ,footnote #bgh3 ,see my ,texte und ,unters4 z ,gesch4 d4 ,altchristl4 ,lit4 ,,ii4 #a4 #b1 p4 #hh ff41 p4 #acg ff4 ,footnote #bgi3 ,there neither was a doctrine of ,baptism and the ,lord's ,supper1 nor was there any inner connection presupposed between these holy actions4 ,they were here and there placed together as actions by the ,lord4 ,footnote #bhj3 ,melito1 ,fragm4 ,,xii4 7,otto4 ,corp4 ,apol4 ,,ix4 p4 #dah74 ,greek3 ,duo suneste ta aphesin hamartematon parechomena1 pathos dia ,xriston kai baptisma4 ,footnote #bha3 ,there is no sure trace of infant baptism in this epoch2 personal faith is a necessary condition 7see ,hermas1 ,vis4 ,,iii4 #g4 #c2 ,justin1 ,apol4 #a4 #fa74 ,prius est praedicare posterius tinguere 7,tertull4 de bapt4 #ad74 ,footnote #bhb3 ,on the basis of repentance4 ,see ,praed4 ,petri in ,clem4 ,strom4 ,,vi4 #e4 #dc1 #dh4 ,footnote #bhc3 ,see especially the second ,epistle of ,clement2 ,tertull4 de bapt4 #ae3 ,felix aqua quae semel abluit1 quas ludibrio peccatoribus non est4 ,footnote #bhd3 ,the sinking and rising in baptism1 and the immersion1 were regarded as significant1 but not indispensable symbols 7see ,didache4 #g74 ,the most important passages for baptism are ,didache #g2 ,barn4 #f4 #aa2 #aa4 #a4 #aa 7the connection in which the cross of ,christ is here placed to the water is important2 the tertium comp4 is that forgiveness of sin is the result of both72 ,herm4 ,vis4 ,,iii4 #c1 ,sim4 ,,ix #af4 ,mand4 ,,iv4 #c 7,greek3 hetera metanoia ouk estin ei me ekeine1 hote eis hudor katebemen kai elabomen aphesin hamartion hemon ton proteron72 #b ,clem4 #f4 #i2 #g4 #f2 #h4 #f4 ,peculiar is ,ignat4 ad4 ,polyc4 #f4 #b3 ,greek3 to baptisma humon meneto hos hopla4 ,specially important is ,justin1 ,apol4 ,i4 #fa4 #fe4 ,to this also belong many passages from ,tertullian's treatise de bapt42 a ,gnostic baptismal hymn in the third pseudo-,solomonic ode in the ,pistis ,sophia1 p4 #aca1 ed4 ,schwartze2 ,marcion's baptismal formula in ,irenaeus #a4 #ba4 #c4 ,it clearly follows from the seventh chapter of the ,didache1 that its author held that the pronouncing of the sacred names over the baptised1 and over the water1 was essential1 but that immersion was not2 see the thorough examination of this passage by ,schaff1 ,the oldest church manual called the teaching of the twelve ,apostles pp4 #bi-eg4 ,the controversy about the nature of ,john's baptism in its relation to ,christian baptism1 is very old in ,christendom2 see also ,tertull4 de bapt4 #aj4 ,tertullian sees in ,john's baptism only a baptism to repentance1 not to forgiveness4 ,footnote #bhe3 ,in ,hermas and #b ,clement4 ,the expression probably arose from the language of the mysteries3 see ,appuleius1 de ,magia1 #ee3 ,sacrorum pleraque initia in ,graecia participavi4 ,eorum quaedam signa et monumenta tradita mihi a sacerdotibus sedulo conservo4 ,ever since the ,gentile ,christians conceived baptism 7and the ,lord's ,supper7 according to the mysteries1 they were of course always surprised by the parallel with the mysteries themselves4 ,that begins with ,justin4 ,tertullian1 de bapt4 #e1 says3 ,sed enim nationes extraneae1 ab omni intellectu spiritalium potestatum eadem efficacia idolis suis subministrant4 ,sed viduis aquis sibi mentiuntur4 ,nam et sacris quibusdam per lavacrum initiantur1 ,isidis alicujus aut ,mithrae2 ipsos etiam deos suos lavationibus efferunt4 ,ceterum villas1 domos1 templa totasque urbes aspergine circumlatae aquae2 expiant passim4 ,certe ludis ,apollinaribus et ,eleusiniis tinguuntur1 idque se in regenerationem et impunitatem periuriorum suorum agere praesumunt4 ,item penes veteres1 quisquis se homicidio infecerat1 purgatrices aquas explorabat4 ,de praescr4 #dj3 ,diabolus ipsas quoque res sacramentorum divinorum idolorum mysteriis aemulatur4 ,tingit et ipse quosdam1 utique credentes et fideles suos2 expositionem delictorum de lavacro repromittit4 et si adhuc memini1 ,mithras signat illic in frontibus milites suos1 celebrat et panis oblationem et imaginem resurrectionis inducit 444 summum pontificem in unius nuptiis statuit1 habet et virgines1 habet et continentes4 ,the ancient notion that matter has a mysterious influence on spirit1 came very early into vogue in connection with baptism4 ,we see that from ,tertullian's treatise on baptism and his speculations about the power of the water 7c4 #a ff474 ,the water must1 of course1 have been first consecrated for this purpose 7that is1 the demons must be driven out of it74 ,but then it is holy water with which the ,holy ,spirit is united1 and which is able really to cleanse the soul4 ,see ,hatch1 ,the influence of ,greek ideas1 etc41 p4 #ai4 ,the consecration of the water is certainly very old3 though we have no definite witnesses from the earliest period4 ,even for the exorcism of the baptised before baptism ,i know of no earlier witness than the ,sentent4 ,,lxxxvii4 episcoporum 7,hartel4 ,opp4 ,cypr4 ,i4 p4 #dej1 ,no4 #cg3 primo per manus impositionem in exorcismo1 secundo per baptismi regenerationem74 ,footnote #bhf3 ,justin is the first who does so 7,i4 #fa74 ,the word comes from the ,greek mysteries4 ,on ,justin's theory of baptism1 see also ,i4 #fb4 and ,von ,engelhardt1 ,christenthum ,justin's1 p4 #ajb f4 ,footnote #bhg3 ,paul unites baptism and the communication of the ,spirit2 but they were very soon represented apart1 see the accounts in the ,acts of the ,apostles1 which are certainly very obscure1 because the author has evidently never himself observed the descent of the ,spirit1 or anything like it4 ,the ceasing of special manifestations of the ,spirit in and after baptism1 and the enforced renunciation of seeing baptism accompanied by special shocks1 must be regarded as the first stage in the sobering of the churches4 ,footnote #bhh3 ,the idea of the whole transaction of the ,supper as a sacrifice1 is plainly found in the ,didache1 7c4 #ad71 in ,ignatius1 and1 above all1 in ,justin 7,i4 #fe f47 ,but even ,clement of ,rome presupposes it1 when in 7cc4 #dj-dd7 he draws a parallel between bishops and deacons and the ,priests and ,levites of the ,old ,testament1 describing as the chief function of the former 7#dd4 #d7 ,greek3 prospherein ta dora4 ,this is not the place to enquire whether the first celebration had1 in the mind of its founder1 the character of a sacrificial meal2 but1 certainly1 the idea1 as it was already developed at the time of ,justin1 had been created by the churches4 ,various reasons tended towards seeing in the ,supper a sacrifice4 ,in the first place1 ,malachi ,i4 #aa1 demanded a solemn ,christian sacrifice3 see my notes on ,didache1 #ad4 #c4 ,in the second place1 all prayers were regarded as sacrifice1 and therefore the solemn prayers at the ,supper must be specially considered as such4 ,in the third place1 the words of institution ,greek3 touto poieite1 contained a command with regard to a definite religious action4 ,such an action1 however1 could only be represented as a sacrifice1 and this the more that the ,gentile ,christians might suppose that they had to understand ,greek3 poiein in the sense of ,greek3 thuein4 ,in the fourth place1 payments in kind were necessary for the agapae connected with the ,supper1 out of which were taken the bread and wine for the ,holy celebration2 in what other aspect could these offerings in the worship be regarded than as ,greek3 prosphorai for the purpose of a sacrifice8 ,yet the spiritual idea so prevailed that only the prayers were regarded as the ,greek3 thusia proper1 even in the case of ,justin 7,dial4 #aag74 ,the elements are only ,greek3 dora1 prosphorai which obtain their value from the prayers1 in which thanks are given for the gifts of creation and redemption1 as well as for the holy meal1 and entreaty is made for the introduction of the community into the ,kingdom of ,god 7see ,didache1 #i4 #aj74 ,therefore1 even the sacred meal itself is called ,greek3 eucharistia 7,justin1 ,apol4 ,i4 #ff3 ,greek3 he trophe haute chaleitai par' hemin eucharistia74 ,didache1 #i4 #a2 ,ignat41 because it is ,greek3 trophe eucharistetheisa4 ,it is a mistake to suppose that ,justin already understood the body of ,christ to be the object of ,greek3 poiein1 and therefore thought of a sacrifice of this body 7,i4 #ff74 ,the real sacrificial act in the ,supper consists rather1 according to ,justin1 only in the ,greek3 eucharistian poiein1 whereby the ,greek3 koinos artos becomes the ,greek3 artos tes eucharistias4 ,the sacrifice of the ,supper in its essence1 apart from the offering of alms1 which in the practice of the ,church was closely united with it1 is nothing but a sacrifice of prayer3 the sacrificial act of the ,christian here also is nothing else than an act of prayer 7see ,apol4 ,i4 #ac1 #fe-fg2 ,dial4 #bh1 #bi1 #da1 #gj1 #aaf-aah74 ,footnote #bhi3 ,justin lays special stress on this purpose4 ,on the other hand1 it is wanting in the ,supper prayers of the ,didache1 unless c4 #i4 #b be regarded as an allusion to it4 ,footnote #bij3 ,the designation ,greek3 thusia is first found in the ,didache1 c4 #ad4 ,footnote #bia3 ,the ,supper was regarded as a ,sacrament in so far as a blessing was represented in its holy food4 ,the conception of the nature of this blessing as set forth in ,john ,,vi4 #bg-eh1 appears to have been the most common4 ,it may be traced back to ,ignatius1 ad ,eph4 #bj4b3 ,greek3 hena arton klontes hos estin pharmakon athanasias1 antidotos tou me apothanein alla zen en ,iesou ,christou dia pantos4 ,cf ,didache1 #aj4c3 ,greek3 hemin echariso pneumatiken trophen kai poton kai zoen aionion1 also #aj4ba3 ,greek3 eucharistoumen soi huper tes gnoseos kai pisteos kai athanasias4 ,justin ,apol4 #a4 #ff3 ,greek3 ek tes trophes tautes haima kai sarkes kata metabolen trephontai hemon kata metabolen that is1 the holy food1 like all nourishment1 is completely transformed into our flesh2 but what ,justin has in view here is most probably the body of the resurrection4 ,the expression1 as the context shews1 is chosen for the sake of the parallel to the incarnation74 ,iren4 ,,iv4 #ah4 #e2 ,v4 #b4 #b f4 ,as to how the elements are related to the body and blood of ,christ1 ,ignatius seems to have expressed himself in a strictly realistic way in several passages1 especially ad4 ,smyr4 #g-a3 ,greek3 eucharistias kai proseuches apechontai dia to me homologein1 ten eucharistian sarka einai tou soteros hemon ,iesou ,christou1 ten huper ton hamartion hemon pathousan4 ,but many passages shew that ,ignatius was far from such a conception1 and rather thought as ,john did4 ,in ,trall4 #h1 faith is described as the flesh1 and love as the blood of ,christ2 in ,rom4 #g1 in one breath the flesh of ,christ is called the bread of ,god1 and the blood ,greek3 agape aphthartos4 ,in ,philad4 #a1 we read3 ,greek3 haima ,i4 ,chr4 hetis estin chara aionios kai paramonos4 ,in ,philad4 #e1 the ,gospel is called the flesh of ,christ1 etc4 ,hoefling is therefore right in saying 7,lehre v4 ,opfer1 p4 #ci73 ,the ,eucharist is to ,ignatius ,greek3 sarx of ,christ1 as a visible ,gospel1 a kind of ,divine institution attesting the content of ,greek3 pistis1 viz41 belief in the ,greek3 sarx pathousa1 an institution which is at the same time1 to the community1 a means of representing and preserving its unity in this belief4 ,on the other hand1 it cannot be mistaken that ,justin 7,apol4 ,i4 #ff7 presupposed the identity1 miraculously produced by the ,logos1 of the consecrated bread and the body he had assumed4 ,in this we have probably to recognise an influence on the conception of the ,supper1 of the miracle represented in the ,greek ,mysteries3 ,greek3 ,ouch hos koinon arton oude koinon poma tauta lambanomen1 all' hon tropon dia logou theou sarkopoietheis ,iesous ,christos ho soter hemon kai sarka kai haima huper soterias hemon eschen1 houtos kai ten di' euches logou tou par' autou eucharistetheisan trophen1 ex es haima ka sarkes kata metabolen trephontai hemon1 ekeinou tou sarkopoiethentos ,iesou kai sarka kai haima edidachthemen einai 7,see ,von ,otto on the passage74 ,in the ,texte u4 ,unters4 ,,vii4 #b4 p4 #aag ff41 ,i have shewn that in the different ,christian circles of the second century1 water and only water was often used in the ,supper instead of wine1 and that in many regions this custom was maintained up to the middle of the third century 7see ,cypr4 ,ep4 #fc74 ,i have endeavoured to make it further probable1 that even ,justin in his ,apology describes a celebration of the ,lord's ,supper with bread and water4 ,the latter has been contested by ,zahn1 ,bread and wine in the ,lord's ,supper1 in the early ,church1 #ahib1 and ,juelicher1 ,zur ,gesch4 der ,abendmahlsfeier in der aeltesten ,kirche 7,abhandl4 f ,weiszacker1 #ahib1 p4 #bag ff4 ,footnote #bib3 ,ignatius calls the thank-offering the flesh of ,christ1 but the concept flesh of ,christ is for him itself a spiritual one4 ,on the contrary1 ,justin sees in the bread the actual flesh of ,christ1 but does not connect it with the idea of sacrifice4 ,they are thus both as yet far from the later conception4 ,the numerous allegories which are already attached to the ,supper 7one bread equivalent to one community2 many scattered grains bound up in the one bread1 equivalent to the ,christians scattered abroad in the world1 who are to be gathered together into the ,kingdom of ,god2 one altar1 equivalent to one assembly of the community1 excluding private worship1 etc471 cannot as a group be adduced here4 ,footnote #bic3 ,cf4 for the following my arguments in the larger edition of the ,teaching of the ,apostles ,chap #e1 7,texte u4 ,unters ,,ii4 #a4 #b74 ,the numerous recent enquiries 7,loening1 ,loofs1 ,reville etc47 will be found referred to in ,sohm's ,kirchenrecht4 ,vol4 ,i4 #ahib1 where the most exhaustive discussions are given4 ,footnote #bid3 ,that the bishops and deacons were1 primarily1 officials connected with the cultus1 is most clearly seen from #a ,clem4 #dj-dd1 but also from the connection in which the #adth ,chap4 of the ,didache stands with the #aeth 7see the ,greek3 oun1 #ae4 #a7 to which ,hatch in conversation called my attention4 ,the ,greek3 philoxenia1 and the intercourse with other communities 7the fostering of the unitas7 belonged1 above all1 to the affairs of the church4 ,here1 undoubtedly1 from the beginning lay an important part of the bishop's duties4 ,ramsay 7,the ,church in the ,roman ,empire1 p4 #cfa ff47 has emphasised this point exclusively1 and therefore one-sidedly4 ,according to him1 the monarchical ,episcopate sprang from the officials who were appointed ad hoc and for a time1 for the purpose of promoting intercourse with other churches4 ,footnote #bie3 ,sohm 7in the work mentioned above7 seeks to prove that the monarchical ,episcopate originated in ,rome and is already presupposed by ,hermas4 ,i hold that the proof for this has not been adduced1 and ,i must also in great part reject the bold statements which are fastened on to the first ,epistle of ,clement4 ,they may be comprehended in the proposition which ,sohm1 p4 #aeh1 has placed at the head of his discussion of the ,epistle4 ,the first ,epistle of ,clement makes an epoch in the history of the organisation of the ,church4 ,it was destined to put an end to the early ,christian constitution of the ,church4 ,according to ,sohm 7p4 #afe71 another immediate result of the ,epistle was a change of constitution in the ,romish ,church1 the introduction of the monarchical ,episcopate4 ,that1 however1 can only be asserted1 not proved2 for the proof which ,sohm has endeavoured to bring from ,ignatius' ,epistle to the ,romans and the ,shepherd of ,hermas1 is not convincing4 ,footnote #bif3 ,see1 above all1 #a ,clem4 #db1 #dd1 ,acts of the ,apostles1 ,pastoral ,epistles1 etc4 ,footnote #big3 ,this idea is ,romish4 ,see ,book ,,ii4 chap1 #aa ,c4 ,footnote #bih3 ,we must remember here1 that besides the teachers1 elders1 and deacons1 the ascetics 7virgins1 widows1 celibates1 abstinentes7 and the martyrs 7confessors7 enjoyed a special respect in the ,churches1 and frequently laid hold of the government and leading of them4 ,hermas enjoins plainly enough the duty of esteeming the confessors higher than the presbyters 7,vis4 ,,iii4 #a4 #b74 ,the widows were soon entrusted with diaconal tasks connected with the worship1 and received a corresponding respect4 ,as to the limits of this there was1 as we can gather from different passages1 much disagreement4 ,one statement in ,tertullian shews that the confessors had special claims to be considered in the choice of a bishop 7adv4 ,valent4 #d3 ,speraverat ,episcopatum ,valentinus1 quia et ingenio poterat et eloquio4 ,sed alium ex martyrii praerogativa loci potitum indignatus de ecclesia authenticae regulae abrupit74 ,this statement is strengthened by other passages2 see ,tertull4 de fuga2 #aa4 ,hoc sentire et facere omnem servum dei oportet1 etiam minoris loci1 ut maioris fieri possit1 si quem gradum in persecutionis tolerantia ascenderit2 see ,hippol in the ,arab4 canons1 and also ,achelis1 ,texte u4 ,unters ,,vi4 #d4 pp4 #fg1 #bbj2 ,cypr4 ,epp4 #ch4 #ci4 ,the way in which confessors and ascetics1 from the end of the second century1 attempted to have their say in the leading of the ,churches1 and the respectful way in which it was sought to set their claims aside1 shew that a special relation to the ,lord1 and therefore a special right with regard to the community1 was early acknowledged to these people1 on account of their achievements4 ,on the transition of the old prophets and teachers into wandering ascetics1 later into monks1 see the ,syriac ,pseudo-,clementine ,epistles1 de virginitate1 and my ,abhandl i d4 ,sitzungsberichten d4 ,k4 ,pr4 ,akad4 d4 ,wissensch4 #ahia1 p4 #cfa ff4 ,footnote #bii3 ,see ,weizsaecker1 ,goett ,gel4 ,anz4 #ahhf1 ,no4 #ba1 whose statements ,i can almost entirely make my own4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,attempts ,,of ,,the ,,gnostics ,,to ,,create ,,an ,,apostolic ,,dogmatic1 ,,and ,a ,,christian ,,theology2 ,,or1 ,,the ,,acute ,,secularising ,,of ,,christianity4 ,sec4 #a4 ,the ,conditions for the ,rise of ,gnosticism4 ,the ,christian communities were originally unions for a holy life1 on the ground of a common hope1 which rested on the belief that the ,god who has spoken by the ,prophets has sent his ,son ,jesus ,christ1 and through him revealed eternal life1 and will shortly make it manifest4 ,christianity had its roots in certain facts and utterances1 and the foundation of the ,christian union was the common hope1 the holy life in the ,spirit according to the law of ,god1 and the holding fast to those facts and utterances4 ,there was1 as the foregoing chapter will have shewn1 no fixed ,didache beyond that4#cjj ,there was abundance of fancies1 ideas1 and knowledge1 but these had not yet the value of being the religion itself4 ,yet the belief that ,christianity guarantees the perfect knowledge1 and leads from one degree of clearness to another1 was in operation from the very beginning4 ,this conviction had to be immediately tested by the ,old ,testament1 that is1 the task was imposed on the majority of thinking ,christians1 by the circumstances in which the ,gospel had been proclaimed to them1 of making the ,old ,testament intelligible to themselves1 in other words1 of using this book as a ,christian book1 and of finding the means by which they might be able to repel the ,jewish claim to it1 and refute the ,jewish interpretation of it4 ,this task would not have been imposed1 far less solved1 if the ,christian communities in the ,empire had not entered into the inheritance of the ,jewish propaganda1 which had already been greatly influenced by foreign religions 7,babylonian and ,persian1 see the ,jewish ,apocalypses71 and in which an extensive spiritualising of the ,old ,testament religion had already taken place4 ,this spiritualising was the result of a philosophic view of religion1 and this philosophic view was the outcome of a lasting influence of ,greek philosophy and of the ,greek spirit generally on ,judaism4 ,in consequence of this view1 all facts and sayings of the ,old ,testament in which one could not find his way1 were allegorised4 ,nothing was what it seemed1 but was only the symbol of something invisible4 ,the history of the ,old ,testament was here sublimated to a history of the emancipation of reason from passion4 ,it describes1 however1 the beginning of the historical development of ,christianity1 that as soon as it wished to give account of itself1 or to turn to advantage the documents of revelation which were in its possession1 it had to adopt the methods of that fantastic syncretism4 ,we have seen above that those writers who made a diligent use of the ,old ,testament1 had no hesitation in making use of the allegorical method4 ,that was required not only by the inability to understand the verbal sense of the ,old ,testament1 presenting diverging moral and religious opinions1 but1 above all1 by the conviction1 that on every page of that book ,christ and the ,christian ,church must be found4 ,how could this conviction have been maintained1 unless the definite concrete meaning of the documents had been already obliterated by the ,jewish philosophic view of the ,old ,testament8 ,this necessary allegorical interpretation1 however1 brought into the communities an intellectual philosophic element1 a gnosis1 which was perfectly distinct from the ,apocalyptic dreams1 in which were beheld angel hosts on white horses1 ,christ with eyes as a flame of fire1 hellish beasts1 conflict and victory4#cja ,in this ,greek3 gnosis1 which attached itself to the ,old ,testament1 many began to see the specific blessing which was promised to mature faith1 and through which it was to attain perfection4 ,what a wealth of relations1 hints1 and intuitions seemed to disclose itself1 as soon as the ,old ,testament was considered allegorically1 and to what extent had the way been prepared here by the ,jewish philosophic teachers6 ,from the simple narratives of the ,old ,testament had already been developed a theosophy1 in which the most abstract ideas had acquired reality1 and from which sounded forth the ,hellenic canticle of the power of the ,spirit over matter and sensuality1 and of the true home of the soul4 ,whatever in this great adaptation still remained obscure and unnoticed1 was now lighted up by the history of ,jesus1 his birth1 his life1 his sufferings and triumph4 ,the view of the ,old ,testament as a document of the deepest wisdom1 transmitted to those who knew how to read it as such1 unfettered the intellectual interest which would not rest until it had entirely transferred the new religion from the world of feelings1 actions and hopes1 into the world of ,hellenic conceptions1 and transformed it into a metaphysic4 ,in that exposition of the ,old ,testament which we find1 for example1 in the so-called ,barnabas1 there is already concealed an important philosophic1 ,hellenic element1 and in that sermon which bears the name of ,clement 7the so-called second ,epistle of ,clement71 conceptions such as that of the ,church1 have already assumed a bodily form and been joined in marvellous connections1 while1 on the contrary1 things concrete have been transformed into things invisible4 ,but once the intellectual interest was unfettered1 and the new religion had approximated to the ,hellenic spirit by means of a philosophic view of the ,old ,testament1 how could that spirit be prevented from taking complete and immediate possession of it1 and where1 in the first instance1 could the power be found that was able to decide whether this or that opinion was incompatible with ,christianity8 ,this ,christianity1 as it was1 unequivocally excluded all polytheism1 and all national religions existing in the ,empire4 ,it opposed to them the one ,god1 the ,saviour ,jesus1 and a spiritual worship of ,god4 ,but1 at the same time1 it summoned all thoughtful men to knowledge1 by declaring itself to be the only true religion1 while it appeared to be only a variety of ,judaism4 ,it seemed to put no limits to the character and extent of the knowledge1 least of all to such knowledge as was able to allow all that was transmitted to remain1 and at the same time1 abolish it by transforming it into mysterious symbols4 ,that really was the method which every one must and did apply who wished to get from ,christianity more than practical motives and super-earthly hopes4 ,but where was the limit of the application8 ,was not the next step to see in the ,evangelic records also new material for spiritual interpretations1 and to illustrate from the narratives there1 as from ,the ,old ,testament1 the conflict of the spirit with matter1 of reason with sensuality8 ,was not the conception that the traditional deeds of ,christ were really the last act in the struggle of those mighty spiritual powers whose conflict is delineated in the ,old ,testament1 at least as evident as the other1 that those deeds were the fulfilment of mysterious promises8 ,was it not in keeping with the consciousness possessed by the new religion of being the universal religion1 that one should not be satisfied with mere beginnings of a new knowledge1 or with fragments of it1 but should seek to set up such knowledge in a complete and systematic form1 and so to exhibit the best and universal system of life as also the best and universal system of knowledge of the world8 ,finally1 did not the free and yet so rigid forms in which the ,christian communities were organised1 the union of the mysterious with a wonderful publicity1 of the spiritual with significant rites 7baptism and the ,lord's ,supper71 invite men to find here the realisation of the ideal which the ,hellenic religious spirit was at that time seeking1 viz41 a communion which in virtue of a ,divine revelation1 is in possession of the highest knowledge1 and therefore leads the holiest life1 a communion which does not communicate this knowledge by discourse1 but by mysterious efficacious consecrations1 and by revealed dogmas8 ,these questions are thrown out here in accordance with the direction which the historical progress of ,christianity took4 ,the phenomenon called ,gnosticism gives the answer to them4#cjb ,sec4 #b4 ,the ,nature of ,gnosticism4 ,the ,catholic ,church afterwards claimed as her own those writers of the first century 7#fj-afj7 who were content with turning speculation to account only as a means of spiritualising the ,old ,testament1 without1 however1 attempting a systematic reconstruction of tradition4 ,but all those who in the first century undertook to furnish ,christian practice with the foundation of a complete systematic knowledge1 she declared false ,christians1 ,christians only in name4 ,historical enquiry cannot accept this judgment4 ,on the contrary1 it sees in ,gnosticism a series of undertakings1 which in a certain way is analogous to the ,catholic embodiment of ,christianity1 in doctrine1 morals1 and worship4 ,the great distinction here consists essentially in the fact that the ,gnostic systems represent the acute secularising or hellenising of ,christianity1 with the rejection of the ,old ,testament1#cjc while the ,catholic system1 on the other hand1 represents a gradual process of the same kind with the conservation of the ,old ,testament4 ,the traditional religion on being1 as it were1 suddenly required to recognise itself in a picture foreign to it1 was yet vigorous enough to reject that picture2 but to the gradual1 and one might say indulgent remodelling to which it was subjected1 it offered but little resistance1 nay1 as a rule1 it was never conscious of it4 ,it is therefore no paradox to say that ,gnosticism1 which is just ,hellenism1 has in ,catholicism obtained half a victory4 ,we have1 at least1 the same justification for that assertion--the parallel may be permitted--as we have for recognising a triumph of #ahth century ideas in the first ,empire1 and a continuance1 though with reservations1 of the old regime4 ,from this point of view the position to be assigned to the ,gnostics in the history of dogma1 which has hitherto been always misunderstood1 is obvious4 ,they were1 in short1 the ,theologians of the first century4#cjd ,they were the first to transform ,christianity into a system of doctrines 7dogmas74 ,they were the first to work up tradition systematically4 ,they undertook to present ,christianity as the absolute religion1 and therefore placed it in definite opposition to the other religions1 even to ,judaism4 ,but to them the absolute religion1 viewed in its contents1 was identical with the result of the philosophy of religion for which the support of a revelation was to be sought4 ,they are therefore those ,christians who1 in a swift advance1 attempted to capture ,christianity for ,hellenic culture1 and ,hellenic culture for ,christianity1 and who gave up the ,old ,testament in order to facilitate the conclusion of the covenant between the two powers1 and make it possible to assert the absoluteness of ,christianity4--,but the significance of the ,old ,testament in the religious history of the world1 lies just in this1 that1 in order to be maintained at all1 it required the application of the allegoric method1 that is1 a definite proportion of ,greek ideas1 and that1 on the other hand1 it opposed the strongest barrier to the complete hellenising of ,christianity4 ,neither the sayings of ,jesus1 nor ,christian hopes1 were at first capable of forming such a barrier4 ,if1 now1 the majority of ,gnostics could make the attempt to disregard the ,old ,testament1 that is a proof that1 in wide circles of ,christendom1 people were at first satisfied with an abbreviated form of the ,gospel1 containing the preaching of the one ,god1 of the resurrection and of continence1 a law and an ideal of practical life4#cje ,in this form1 as it was realised in life1 the ,christianity which dispensed with doctrines seemed capable of union with every form of thoughtful and earnest philosophy1 because the ,jewish foundation did not make its appearance here at all4 ,but the majority of ,gnostic undertakings may also be viewed as attempts to transform ,christianity into a theosophy1 that is1 into a revealed metaphysic and philosophy of history1 with a complete disregard of the ,jewish ,old ,testament soil on which it originated1 through the use of ,pauline ideas1#cjf and under the influence of the ,platonic spirit4 ,moreover1 comparison is possible between writers such as ,barnabas and ,ignatius1 and the so-called ,gnostics1 to the effect of making the latter appear in possession of a completed theory1 to which fragmentary ideas in the former exhibit a striking affinity4 ,we have hitherto tacitly presupposed that in ,gnosticism the ,hellenic spirit desired to make itself master of ,christianity1 or more correctly of the ,christian communities4 ,this conception may be1 and really is still contested4 ,for according to the accounts of later opponents1 and on these we are almost exclusively dependent here1 the main thing with the ,gnostics seems to have been the reproduction of ,asiatic ,mythologoumena of all kinds1 so that we should rather have to see in ,gnosticism a union of ,christianity with the most remote ,oriental cults and their wisdom4 ,but with regard to the most important ,gnostic systems the words hold true1 ,the hands are the hands of ,esau1 but the voice is the voice of ,jacob4 ,there can be no doubt of the fact1 that the ,gnosticism which has become a factor in the movement of the history of dogma1 was ruled in the main by the ,greek spirit1 and determined by the interests and doctrines of the ,greek philosophy of religion1#cjg which doubtless had already assumed a syncretistic character4 ,this fact is certainly concealed by the circumstance that the material of the speculations was taken now from this1 and now from that ,oriental religious philosophy1 from astrology and the ,semitic cosmologies4 ,but that is only in keeping with the stage which the religious development had reached among the ,greeks and ,romans of that time4#cjh ,the cultured1 and these primarily come into consideration here1 no longer had a religion in the sense of a national religion1 but a philosophy of religion4 ,they were1 however1 in search of a religion1 that is1 a firm basis for the results of their speculations1 and they hoped to obtain it by turning themselves towards the very old ,oriental cults1 and seeking to fill them with the religious and moral knowledge which had been gained by the ,schools of ,plato and of ,zeno4 ,the union of the traditions and rites of the ,oriental religions1 viewed as mysteries1 with the spirit of ,greek philosophy is the characteristic of the epoch4 ,the needs1 which asserted themselves with equal strength1 of a complete knowledge of the ,all1 of a spiritual ,god1 a sure1 and therefore very old revelation1 atonement and immortality1 were thus to be satisfied at one and the same time4 ,the most sublimated spiritualism enters here into the strangest union with a crass superstition based on ,oriental cults4 ,this superstition was supposed to insure and communicate the spiritual blessings4 ,these complicated tendencies now entered into ,christianity4 ,we have accordingly to ascertain and distinguish in the prominent ,gnostic schools1 which1 in the second century on ,greek soil1 became an important factor in the history of the ,church1 the ,semitic-cosmological foundations1 the ,hellenic philosophic mode of thought1 and the recognition of the redemption of the world by ,jesus ,christ4 ,further1 we have to take note of the three elements of ,gnosticism1 viz41 the speculative and philosophical1 the mystic element connection with worship1 and the practical1 ascetic4 ,the close connection in which these three elements appear1#cji the total transformation of all ethical into cosmological problems1 the upbuilding of a philosophy of ,god and the world on the basis of a combination of popular ,mythologies1 physical observations belonging to the ,oriental 7,babylonian7 religious philosophy1 and historical events1 as well as the idea that the history of religion is the last act in the drama-like history of the ,cosmos--all this is not peculiar to ,gnosticism1 but rather corresponds to a definite stage of the general development4 ,it may1 however1 be asserted that ,gnosticism anticipated the general development1 and that not only with regard to ,catholicism1 but also with regard to ,neo-platonism1 which represents the last stage in the inner history of ,hellenism4#caj ,the ,valentinians have already got as far as ,jamblichus4 ,the name ,gnosis1 ,gnostics1 describes excellently the aims of ,gnosticism1 in so far as its adherents boasted of the absolute knowledge1 and faith in the ,gospel was transformed into a knowledge of ,god1 nature and history4 ,this knowledge1 however1 was not regarded as natural1 but in the view of the ,gnostics was based on revelation1 was communicated and guaranteed by holy consecrations1 and was accordingly cultivated by reflection supported by fancy4 ,a mythology of ideas was created out of the sensuous mythology of any ,oriental religion1 by the conversion of concrete forms into speculative and moral ideas1 such as ,abyss1 ,silence1 ,logos1 ,wisdom1 ,life1 while the mutual relation and number of these abstract ideas were determined by the data supplied by the corresponding concretes4 ,thus arose a philosophic dramatic poem1 similar to the ,platonic1 but much more complicated1 and therefore more fantastic1 in which mighty powers1 the spiritual and good1 appear in an unholy union with the material and wicked1 but from which the spiritual is finally delivered by the aid of those kindred powers which are too exalted to be ever drawn down into the common4 ,the good and heavenly which has been drawn down into the material1 and therefore really non-existing1 is the human spirit1 and the exalted power who delivers it is ,christ4 ,the ,evangelic history as handed down is not the history of ,christ1 but a collection of allegoric representations of the great history of ,god and the world4 ,christ has really no history4 ,his appearance in this world of mixture and confusion is his deed1 and the enlightenment of the spirit about itself is the result which springs out of that deed4 ,this enlightenment itself is life4 ,but the enlightenment is dependent on revelation1 asceticism and surrender to those mysteries which ,christ founded1 in which one enters into communion with a praesens numen1 and which in mysterious ways promote the process of raising the spirit above the sensual4 ,this rising above the sensual is1 however1 to be actively practised4 ,abstinence therefore1 as a rule1 is the watchword4 ,christianity thus appears here as a speculative philosophy which redeems the spirit by enlightening it1 consecrating it1 and instructing it in the right conduct of life4 ,the ,gnosis is free from the rationalistic interest in the sense of natural religion4 ,because the riddles about the world which it desires to solve are not properly intellectual1 but practical1 because it desires to be in the end ,greek3 gnosis soterias1 it removes into the region of the suprarational the powers which are supposed to confer vigour and life on the human spirit4 ,only a ,greek3 mathesis1 however1 united with ,greek3 mystagogia1 resting on revelation1 leads thither1 not an exact philosophy4 ,gnosis starts from the great problem of this world1 but occupies itself with a higher world1 and does not wish to be an exact philosophy1 but a philosophy of religion4 ,its fundamental philosophic doctrines are the following3 7#a7 ,the indefinable1 infinite nature of the ,divine primeval ,being exalted above all thought4 7#b7 ,matter as opposed to the ,divine ,being1 and therefore having no real being1 the ground of evil4 7#c7 ,the fulness of divine potencies1 ,a,eons1 which are thought of partly as powers1 partly as real ideas1 partly as relatively independent beings1 presenting in gradation the unfolding and revelation of the ,godhead1 but at the same time rendering possible the transition of the higher to the lower4 7#d7 ,the ,cosmos as a mixture of matter with divine sparks1 which has arisen from a descent of the latter into the former1 or1 as some say1 from the perverse1 or1 at least1 merely permitted undertaking of a subordinate spirit4 ,the ,demiurge1 therefore1 is an evil1 intermediate1 or weak1 but penitent being2 the best thing therefore in the world is aspiration4 7#e7 ,the deliverance of the spiritual element from its union with matter1 or the separation of the good from the world of sensuality by the ,spirit of ,christ which operates through knowledge1 asceticism1 and holy consecration3 thus originates the perfect ,gnostic1 the man who is free from the world1 and master of himself1 who lives in ,god and prepares himself for eternity4 ,all these are ideas for which we find the way prepared in the philosophy of the time1 anticipated by ,philo1 and represented in ,neoplatonism as the great final result of ,greek philosophy4 ,it lies in the nature of the case that only some men are able to appropriate the ,christianity that is comprehended in these ideas1 viz41 just as many as are capable of entering into this kind of ,christianity1 those who are spiritual4 ,the others must be considered as non-partakers of the ,spirit from the beginning1 and therefore excluded from knowledge as the profanum vulgus4 ,yet some1 the ,valentinians1 for example1 made a distinction in this vulgus1 which can only be discussed later on1 because it is connected with the position of the ,gnostics towards ,jewish ,christian tradition4 ,the later opponents of ,gnosticism preferred to bring out the fantastic details of the ,gnostic systems1 and thereby created the prejudice that the essence of the matter lay in these4 ,they have thus occasioned modern expounders to speculate about the ,gnostic speculations in a manner that is marked by still greater strangeness4 ,four observations shew how unhistorical and unjust such a view is1 at least with regard to the chief systems4 7#a7 ,the great ,gnostic schools1 wherever they could1 sought to spread their opinions4 ,but it is simply incredible that they should have expected of all their disciples1 male and female1 an accurate knowledge of the details of their system4 ,on the contrary1 it may be shewn that they often contented themselves with imparting consecration1 with regulating the practical life of their adherents1 and instructing them in the general features of their system4#caa 7#b7 ,we see how in one and the same school1 for example1 the ,valentinian1 the details of the religious metaphysic were very various and changing4 7#c7 ,we hear but little of conflicts between the various schools4 ,on the contrary1 we learn that the books of doctrine and edification passed from one school to another4#cab 7#d7 ,the fragments of ,gnostic writings which have been preserved1 and this is the most important consideration of the four1 shew that the ,gnostics devoted their main strength to the working out of those religious1 moral1 philosophical and historical problems1 which must engage the thoughtful of all times4#cac ,we only need to read some actual ,gnostic document1 such as the ,epistle of ,ptolemaeus to ,flora1 or certain paragraphs of the ,pistis ,sophia1 in order to see that the fantastic details of the philosophic poem can only1 in the case of the ,gnostics themselves1 have had the value of liturgical apparatus1 the construction of which was not of course a matter of indifference1 but hardly formed the principal interest4 ,the things to be proved1 and to be confirmed by the aid of this or that very old religious philosophy1 were certain religious and moral fundamental convictions1 and a correct conception of ,god1 of the sensible1 of the creator of the world1 of ,christ1 of the ,old ,testament1 and the evangelic tradition4 ,here were actual dogmas4 ,but how the grand fantastic union of all the factors was to be brought about1 was1 as the ,valentinian school shews1 a problem whose solution was ever and again subjected to new attempts4#cad ,no one to-day can in all respects distinguish what to those thinkers was image and what reality1 or in what degree they were at all able to distinguish image from reality1 and in how far the magic formulae of their mysteries were really objects of their meditation4 ,but the final aim of their endeavours1 the faith and knowledge of their own hearts which they instilled into their disciples1 the practical rules which they wished to give them1 and the view of ,christ which they wished to confirm them in1 stand out with perfect clearness4 ,like ,plato1 they made their explanation of the world start from the contradiction between sense and reason1 which the thoughtful man observes in himself4 ,the cheerful asceticism1 the powers of the spiritual and the good which were seen in the ,christian communities1 attracted them and seemed to require the addition of theory to practice4 ,theory without being followed by practice had long been in existence1 but here was the as yet rare phenomenon of a moral practice which seemed to dispense with that which was regarded as indispensable1 viz41 theory4 ,the philosophic life was already there2 how could the philosophic doctrine be wanting1 and after what other model could the latent doctrine be reproduced than that of the ,greek religious philosophy8#cae ,that the ,hellenic spirit in ,gnosticism turned with such eagerness to the ,christian communities and was ready even to believe in ,christ in order to appropriate the moral powers which it saw operative in them1 is a convincing proof of the extraordinary impression which these communities made4 ,for what other peculiarities and attractions had they to offer to that spirit than the certainty of their conviction 7of eternal life71 and the purity of their life8 ,we hear of no similar edifice being erected in the second century on the basis of any other ,oriental cult--even the ,mithras cult is scarcely to be mentioned here--as the ,gnostic was on the foundation of the ,christian4#caf ,the ,christian communities1 however1 together with their worship of ,christ1 formed the real solid basis of the greater number and the most important of the ,gnostic systems1 and in this fact we have1 on the very threshold of the great conflict1 a triumph of ,christianity over ,hellenism4 ,the triumph lay in the recognition of what ,christianity had already performed as a moral and social power4 ,this recognition found expression in bringing the highest that one possessed as a gift to be consecrated by the new religion1 a philosophy of religion whose end was plain and simple1 but whose means were mysterious and complicated4 ,sec4 #c4 ,history of ,gnosticism and the forms in which it appeared4 ,in the previous section we have been contemplating ,gnosticism as it reached its prime in the great schools of ,basilides and ,valentinus1 and those related to them1#cag at the close of the period we are now considering1 and became an important factor in the history of dogma4 ,but this ,gnosticism had 7#a7 preliminary stages1 and 7#b7 was always accompanied by a great number of sects1 schools and undertakings which were only in part related to it1 and yet1 reasonably enough1 were grouped together with it4 ,to begin with the second point1 the great ,gnostic schools were flanked on the right and left by a motley series of groups which at their extremities can hardly be distinguished from popular ,christianity on the one hand1 and from the ,hellenic and the common world on the other4#cah ,on the right were communities such as the ,encratites1 which put all stress on a strict asceticism1 in support of which they urged the example of ,christ1 but which here and there fell into dualistic ideas4#cai ,there were further1 whole communities which1 for decennia1 drew their views of ,christ from books which represented him as a heavenly spirit who had merely assumed an apparent body4#cbj ,there were also individual teachers who brought forward peculiar opinions without thereby causing any immediate stir in the ,churches4#cba ,on the left there were schools such as the ,carpocratians1 in which the philosophy and communism of ,plato were taught1 the son of the founder and second teacher ,epiphanes honoured as a ,god 7at ,cephallenia71 as ,epicurus was in his school1 and the image of ,jesus crowned along with those of ,pythagoras1 ,plato and ,aristotle4#cbb ,on this left flank are1 further1 swindlers who take their own way1 like ,alexander of ,abonoteichus1 magicians1 soothsayers1 sharpers and jugglers1 under the sign-board of ,christianity1 deceivers and hypocrites who appear using mighty words with a host of unintelligible formulae1 and take up with scandalous ceremonies1 in order to rob men of their money and women of their honour4#cbc ,all this was afterwards called ,heresy and ,gnosticism1 and is still so called4#cbd ,and these names may be retained1 if we will understand by them nothing else than the world taken into ,christianity1 all the manifold formations which resulted from the first contact of the new religion with the society into which it entered4 ,to prove the existence of that left wing of ,gnosticism is of the greatest interest for the history of dogma1 but the details are of no consequence4 ,on the other hand1 in the aims and undertakings of the ,gnostic right1 it is just the details that are of greatest significance1 because they shew that there was no fixed boundary between what one may call common ,christian and ,gnostic ,christian4 ,but as ,gnosticism1 in its contents1 extended itself from the ,encratites and the philosophic interpretation of certain articles of the ,christian proclamation1 as brought forward without offence by individual teachers in the communities1 to the complete dissolution of the ,christian element by philosophy1 or the religious charlatanry of the age1 so it exhibits itself formally also in a long series of groups which comprised all imaginable forms of unions4 ,there were churches1 ascetic associations1 mystery cults1 strictly private philosophic schools1#cbe free unions for edification1 entertainments by ,christian charlatans and deceived deceivers1 who appeared as magicians and prophets1 attempts at founding new religions after the model and under the influence of the ,christian1 etc4 ,but1 finally1 the thesis that ,gnosticism is identical with an acute secularising of ,christianity1 in the widest sense of the word1 is confirmed by the study of its own literature4 ,the early ,christian production of ,gospel and ,apocalypses was indeed continued in ,gnosticism yet so that the class of ,acts of the ,apostles was added to them1 and that didactic1 biographic and belles lettres1 elements were received into them1 and claimed a very important place4 ,if this makes the ,gnostic literature approximate to the profane1 that is much more the case with the scientific theological literature which ,gnosticism first produced4 ,dogmatico-philosophic tracts1 theologico-critical treatises1 historical investigations and scientific commentaries on the sacred books1 were1 for the first time in ,christendom1 composed by the ,gnostics1 who in part occupied the foremost place in the scientific knowledge1 religious earnestness and ardour of the age4 ,they form1 in every respect1 the counterpart to the scientific works which proceeded from the contemporary philosophic schools4 ,moreover1 we possess sufficient knowledge of ,gnostic hymns and odes1 songs for public worship1 didactic poems1 magic formulae1 magic books1 etc41 to assure us that ,christian ,gnosticism took possession of a whole region of the secular life in its full breadth1 and thereby often transformed the original forms of ,christian literature into secular4#cbf ,if1 however1 we bear in mind how all this at a later period was gradually legitimised in the ,catholic ,church1 philosophy1 the science of the sacred books1 criticism and exegesis1 the ascetic associations1 the theological schools1 the mysteries1 the sacred formulae1 the superstition1 the charlatanism1 all kinds of profane literature1 etc41 it seems to prove the thesis that the victorious epoch of the gradual hellenising of ,christianity followed the abortive attempts at an acute hellenising4 ,the traditional question as to the origin and development of ,gnosticism1 as well as that about the classification of the ,gnostic systems1 will have to be modified in accordance with the foregoing discussion4 ,as the different ,gnostic systems might be contemporary1 and in part were undoubtedly contemporary1 and as a graduated relation holds good only between some few groups1 we must1 in the classification1 limit ourselves essentially to the features which have been specified in the foregoing paragraph1 and which coincide with the position of the different groups to the early ,christian tradition in its connection with the ,old ,testament religion1 both as a rule of practical life1 and of the common cultus4#cbg ,as to the origin of ,gnosticism1 we see how1 even in the earliest period1 all possible ideas and principles foreign to ,christianity force their way into it1 that is1 are brought in under ,christian rules1 and find entrance1 especially in the consideration of the ,old ,testament4#cbh ,we might be satisfied with the observation that the manifold ,gnostic systems were produced by the increase of this tendency4 ,in point of fact we must admit that in the present state of our sources1 we can reach no sure knowledge beyond that4 ,these sources1 however1 give certain indications which should not be left unnoticed4 ,if we leave out of account the two assertions of opponents1 that ,gnosticism was produced by demons#cbi and--this1 however1 was said at a comparatively late period--that it originated in ambition and resistance to the ecclesiastical office1 the episcopate1 we find in ,hegesippus1 one of the earliest writers on the subject1 the statement that the whole of the heretical schools sprang out of ,judaism or the ,jewish sects2 in the later writers1 ,irenaeus1 ,tertullian and ,hippolytus1 that these schools owe most to the doctrines of ,pythagoras1 ,plato1 ,aristotle1 ,zeno1 etc4#ccj ,but they all agree in this1 that a definite personality1 viz41 ,simon the ,magician1 must be regarded as the original source of the heresy4 ,if we try it by these statements of the ,church ,fathers1 we must see at once that the problem in this case is limited--certainly in a proper way4 ,for after ,gnosticism is seen to be the acute secularising of ,christianity the only question that remains is1 how are we to account for the origin of the great ,gnostic schools1 that is1 whether it is possible to indicate their preliminary stages4 ,the following may be asserted here with some confidence3 ,long before the appearance of ,christianity1 combinations of religion had taken place in ,syria and ,palestine1#cca especially in ,samaria1 in so far1 on the one hand1 as the ,assyrian and ,babylonian religious philosophy1 together with its myths1 as well as the ,greek popular religion1 with its manifold interpretations1 had penetrated as far as the eastern shore of the ,mediterranean1 and been accepted even by the ,jews1 and1 on the other hand1 the ,jewish ,messianic idea had spread and called forth various movements4#ccb ,the result of every mixing of national religions1 however1 is to break through the traditional1 legal and particular forms4#ccc ,for the ,jewish religion syncretism signified the shaking of the authority of the ,old ,testament by a qualitative distinction of its different parts1 as also doubt as to the identity of the supreme ,god with the national ,god4 ,these ferments were once more set in motion by ,christianity4 ,we know that in the ,apostolic age there were attempts in ,samaria to found new religions1 which were in all probability influenced by the tradition and preaching concerning ,jesus4 ,dositheus1 ,simon ,magus1 ,cleobius1 and ,menander appeared as ,messiahs or bearers of the ,godhead1 and proclaimed a doctrine in which the ,jewish faith was strangely and grotesquely mixed with ,babylonian myths1 together with some ,greek additions4 ,the mysterious worship1 the breaking up of ,jewish particularism1 the criticism of the ,old ,testament1 which for long had had great difficulty in retaining its authority in many circles1 in consequence of the widened horizon and the deepening of religious feeling1 finally1 the wild syncretism1 whose aim1 however1 was a universal religion1 all contributed to gain adherents for ,simon4#ccd ,his enterprise appeared to the ,christians as a diabolical caricature of their own religion1 and the impression made by the success which ,simonianism gained by a vigorous propaganda even beyond ,palestine into the ,west1 supported this idea4#cce ,we can therefore understand how1 afterwards1 all heresies were traced back to ,simon4 ,to this must be added that we can actually trace in many ,gnostic systems the same elements which were prominent in the religion proclaimed by ,simon 7the ,babylonian and ,syrian71 and that the new religion of the ,simonians1 just like ,christianity1 had afterwards to submit to be transformed into a philosophic1 scholastic doctrine4#ccf ,the formal parallel to the ,gnostic doctrines was therewith established4 ,but even apart from these attempts at founding new religions1 ,christianity in ,syria1 under the influence of foreign religions and speculation on the philosophy of religion1 gave a powerful impulse to the criticism of the law and the prophets which had already been awakened4 ,in consequence of this1 there appeared1 about the transition of the first century to the second1 a series of teachers1 who1 under the impression of the ,gospel1 sought to make the ,old ,testament capable of furthering the tendency to a universal religion1 not by allegorical interpretation1 but by a sifting criticism4 ,these attempts were of very different kinds4 ,teachers such as ,cerinthus1 clung to the notion that the universal religion revealed by ,christ was identical with undefined ,mosaism1 and therefore maintained even such articles as circumcision and the ,sabbath commandment1 as well as the earthly kingdom of the future4 ,but they rejected certain parts of the law1 especially1 as a rule1 the sacrificial precepts1 which were no longer in keeping with the spiritual conception of religion4 ,they conceived the creator of the world as a subordinate being distinct from the supreme ,god1 which is always the mark of a syncretism with a dualistic tendency2 introduced speculations about ,a,eons and angelic powers1 among whom they placed ,christ1 and recommended a strict asceticism4 ,when1 in their ,christology1 they denied the miraculous birth1 and saw in ,jesus a chosen man on whom the ,christ1 that is1 the ,holy ,spirit1 descended at the baptism1 they were not creating any innovation1 but only following the earliest ,palestinian tradition4 ,their rejection of the authority of ,paul is explained by their efforts to secure the ,old ,testament as far as possible for the universal religion4#ccg ,there were others who rejected all ceremonial commandments as proceeding from the devil1 or from some intermediate being1 but yet always held firmly that the ,god of the ,jews was the supreme ,god4 ,but alongside of these stood also decidedly anti-,jewish groups1 who seem to have been influenced in part by the preaching of ,paul4 ,they advanced much further in the criticism of the ,old ,testament and perceived the impossibility of saving it for the ,christian universal religion4 ,they rather connected this religion with the cultus-wisdom of ,babylon and ,syria1 which seemed more adapted for allegorical interpretations1 and opposed this formation to the ,old ,testament religion4 ,the ,god of the ,old ,testament appears here at best as a subordinate ,angel of limited power1 wisdom and goodness4 ,in so far as he was identified with the creator of the world1 and the creation of the world itself was regarded as an imperfect or an abortive undertaking1 expression was given both to the anti-,judaism and to that religious temper of the time1 which could only value spiritual blessing in contrast with the world and the sensuous4 ,these systems appeared more or less strictly dualistic1 in proportion as they did or did not accept a slight co-operation of the supreme ,god in the creation of man2 and the way in which the character and power of the world-creating ,god of the ,jews was conceived1 serves as a measure of how far the several schools were from the ,jewish religion and the ,monism that ruled it4 ,all possible conceptions of the ,god of the ,jews1 from the assumption that he is a being supported in his undertakings by the supreme ,god1 to his identification with ,satan1 seem to have been exhausted in these schools4 ,accordingly1 in the former case1 the ,old ,testament was regarded as the revelation of a subordinate ,god1 in the latter as the manifestation of ,satan1 and therefore the ethic--with occasional use of ,pauline formula--always assumed an antinomian form1 compared with the ,jewish law1 in some cases antinomian even in the sense of libertinism4 ,correspondingly1 the anthropology exhibits man as bipartite1 or even tripartite1 and the ,christology is strictly docetic and anti-,jewish4 ,the redemption by ,christ is always1 as a matter of course1 related only to that element in humanity which has an affinity with the ,godhead4#cch ,it is uncertain whether we should think of the spread of these doctrines in ,syria in the form of a school1 or of a cultus2 probably it was both4 ,from the great ,gnostic systems as formed by ,basilides and ,valentinus they are distinguished by the fact1 that they lack the peculiar philosophic1 that is ,hellenic element1 the speculative conversion of angels and ,a,eons into real ideas1 etc4 ,we have almost no knowledge of their effect4 ,this ,gnosticism has never directly been a historical factor of striking importance1 and the great question is whether it was so indirectly4#cci ,that is to say1 we do not know whether this ,syrian ,gnosticism was1 in the strict sense1 the preparatory stage of the great ,gnostic schools1 so that these schools should be regarded as an actual reconstruction of it4 ,but there can be no doubt that the appearance of the great ,gnostic schools in the ,empire1 from ,egypt to ,gaul1 is contemporaneous with the vigorous projection of ,syrian cults westwards1 and therefore the assumption is suggested1 that the ,syrian ,christian syncretism was also spread in connection with that projection1 and underwent a change corresponding to the new conditions4 ,we know definitely that the ,syrian ,gnostic1 ,cerdo1 came to ,rome1 wrought there1 and exercised an influence on ,marcion4 ,but no less probable is the assumption that the great ,hellenic ,gnostic schools arose spontaneously1 in the sense of having been independently developed out of the elements to which undoubtedly the ,asiatic cults also belonged1 without being influenced in any way by ,syrian syncretistic efforts4 ,the conditions for the growth of such formations were nearly the same in all parts of the ,empire4 ,the great advance lies in the fact that the religious material as contained in the ,gospel1 the ,old ,testament1 and the wisdom connected with the old cults1 was philosophically1 that is1 scientifically1 manipulated by means of allegory1 and the aggregate of mythological powers translated into an aggregate of ideas4 ,the ,pythagorean and ,platonic1 more rarely the ,stoic philosophy1 were compelled to do service here4 ,great ,gnostic schools1 which were at the same time unions for worship1 first enter into the clear light of history in this form1 7see previous section71 and on the conflict with these1 surrounded as they were by a multitude of dissimilar and related formations1 depends the progress of the development4#cdj ,we are no longer able to form a perfectly clear picture of how these schools came into being1 or how they were related to the ,churches4 ,it lay in the nature of the case that the heads of the schools1 like the early itinerant heretical teachers1 devoted attention chiefly1 if not exclusively1 to those who were already ,christian1 that is1 to the ,christian communities4#cda ,from the ,ignatian ,epistles1 the ,shepherd of ,hermas 7,vis4 ,,iii4 #g4 #a2 ,sim4 ,,viii4 #f4 #e2 ,,ix4 #ai4 and especially #bb7 and the ,didache 7,,xi4 #a4 #b7 we see that those teachers who boasted of a special knowledge1 and sought to introduce strange doctrines1 aimed at gaining the entire churches4 ,the beginning1 as a rule1 was necessarily the formation of conventicles4 ,in the first period therefore1 when there was no really fixed standard for warding off the foreign doctrines--,hermas is unable even to characterise the false doctrines--the warnings were commonly exhausted in the exhortation3 ,greek3 kollasthe tois hagiois1 hoti hoi kollomenoi autois hagiasthesontai connect yourselves with the saints1 because those who are connected with them shall be sanctified4 ,as a rule1 the doctrines may really have crept in unobserved1 and those gained over to them may for long have taken part in a two-fold worship1 the public worship of the churches1 and the new consecration4 ,those teachers must of course have assumed a more aggressive attitude who rejected the ,old ,testament4 ,the attitude of the ,church1 when it enjoyed competent guidance1 was one of decided opposition towards unmasked or recognised false teachers4 ,yet ,irenaeus' account of ,cerdo in ,rome shews us how difficult it was at the beginning to get rid of a false teacher4#cdb ,for ,justin1 about the year #aej1 the ,marcionites1 ,valentinians1 ,basilideans and ,saturninians1 are groups outside the communities1 and undeserving of the name ,christians4#cdc ,there must therefore have been at that time1 in ,rome and ,asia ,minor at least1 a really perfect separation of those schools from the ,churches 7it was different in ,alexandria74 ,notwithstanding1 this continued to be the region from which those schools obtained their adherents4 ,for the ,valentinians recognised that the common ,christians were much better than the heathen1 that they occupied a middle position between the pneumatic and the hylic1 and might look forward to a kind of salvation4 ,this admission1 as well as their conforming to the common ,christian tradition1 enabled them to spread their views in a remarkable way1 and they may not have had any objection in many cases1 to their converts remaining in the great ,church4 ,but can this community have perceived everywhere and at once1 that the ,valentinian distinction of psychic and pneumatic is not identical with the scriptural distinction of children and men in understanding8 ,where the organisation of the school 7the union for worship7 required a long time of probation1 where degrees of connection with it were distinguished1 and a strict asceticism demanded of the perfect1 it followed of course that those on the lower stage should not be urged to a speedy break with the ,church4#cdd ,but after the creation of the catholic confederation of churches1 existence was made more and more difficult for these schools4 ,some of them lived on somewhat like our freemason-unions1 some1 as in the ,east1 became actual sects 7confessions71 in which the wise and the simple now found a place1 as they were propagated by families4 ,in both cases they ceased to be what they had been at the beginning4 ,from about #baj1 they ceased to be a factor of the historical development1 though the ,church of ,constantine and ,theodosius was alone really able to suppress them4 #d4 ,the most important ,gnostic ,doctrines4 ,we have still to measure and compare with the earliest tradition those ,gnostic doctrines which1 partly at once and partly in the following period1 became important4 ,once more1 however1 we must expressly refer to the fact1 that the epoch-making significance of ,gnosticism for the history of dogma1 must not be sought chiefly in the particular doctrines1 but rather in the whole way in which ,christianity is here conceived and transformed4 ,the decisive thing is the conversion of the ,gospel into a doctrine1 into an absolute philosophy of religion1 the transforming of the disciplina ,evangelii into an asceticism based on a dualistic conception1 and into a practice of mysteries4#cde ,we have now briefly to shew1 with due regard to the earliest tradition1 how far this transformation was of positive or negative significance for the following period1 that is1 in what respects the following development was anticipated by ,gnosticism1 and in what respects ,gnosticism was disavowed by this development4#cdf 7#a7 ,christianity1 which is the only true and absolute religion1 embraces a revealed system of doctrine 7positive74 7#b7 ,this doctrine contains mysterious powers1 which are communicated to men by initiation 7mysteries74 7#c7 ,the revealer is ,christ 7positive71 but ,christ alone1 and only in his historical appearance--no ,old ,testament ,christ 7negative72 this appearance is itself redemption3 the doctrine is the announcement of it and of its presuppositions 7positive74#cdg 7#d7 ,christian doctrine is to be drawn from the ,apostolic tradition1 critically examined4 ,this tradition lies before us in a series of ,apostolic writings1 and in a secret doctrine derived from the ,apostles1 7positive74#cdh ,as exoteric it is comprehended in the regula fidei 7positive71#cdi as esoteric it is propagated by chosen teachers4#cej 7#e7 ,the documents of revelation 7,apostolic writings71 just because they are such1 must be interpreted by means of allegory1 that is1 their deeper meaning must be extracted in this way 7positive74#cea 7#f7 ,the following may be noted as the main points in the ,gnostic conception of the several parts of the regula fidei4 7a7 ,the difference between the supreme ,god and the creator of the world1 and therewith the opposing of redemption and creation1 and therefore the separation of the ,mediator of revelation from the ,mediator of creation4#ceb 7b7 ,the separation of the supreme ,god from the ,god of the ,old ,testament1 and therewith the rejection of the ,old ,testament1 or the assertion that the ,old ,testament contains no revelations of the supreme ,god1 or at least only in certain parts4#cec 7c7 ,the doctrine of the independence and eternity of matter4 7d7 ,the assertion that the present world sprang from a fall of man1 or from an undertaking hostile to ,god1 and is therefore the product of an evil or intermediate being4#ced 7e7 ,the doctrine1 that evil is inherent in matter1 and therefore is a physical potence4#cee 7f7 ,the assumption of ,a,eons1 that is1 real powers and heavenly persons in whom is unfolded the absoluteness of the ,godhead4#cef 7g7 ,the assertion that ,christ revealed a ,god hitherto unknown4 7h7 ,the doctrine that in the person of ,jesus ,christ--the ,gnostics saw in it redemption1 but they reduced the person to the physical nature--the heavenly ,a,eon1 ,christ1 and the human appearance of that ,a,eon must be clearly distinguished1 and a distincte agere ascribed to each4 ,accordingly1 there were some1 such as ,basilides1 who acknowledged no real union between ,christ and the man ,jesus1 whom1 besides1 they regarded as an earthly man4 ,others1 e4g41 part of the ,valentinians1 among whom the greatest differences prevailed--see ,tertull4 adv4 ,valent4 #ci--taught that the body of ,jesus was a heavenly psychical formation1 and sprang from the womb of ,mary only in appearance4 ,finally1 a third party1 such as ,saturninus1 declared that the whole visible appearance of ,christ was a phantom1 and therefore denied the birth of ,christ4#ceg ,christ separates that which is unnaturally united1 and thus leads everything back again to himself2 in this redemption consists 7full contrast to the notion of the ,greek3 anakephalaiosis74 7i7 ,the conversion of the ,greek3 ekklesia 7it was no innovation to regard the heavenly ,church as an ,a,eon7 into the college of the pneumatic1 who alone1 in virtue of their psychological endowment1 are capable of ,gnosis and the divine life1 while the others1 likewise in virtue of their constitution1 as hylic perish4 ,the ,valentinians1 and probably many other ,gnostics also1 distinguished between pneumatic1 psychic and hylic4 ,they regarded the psychic as capable of a certain blessedness1 and of a corresponding certain knowledge of the supersensible1 the latter being obtained through ,pistis1 that is1 through ,christian faith4#ceh 7k7 ,the rejection of the entire early ,christian eschatology1 especially the second coming of ,christ1 the resurrection of the body1 and ,christ's ,kingdom of glory on the earth1 and1 in connection with this1 the assertion that the deliverance of the spirit from the sensuous can be expected only from the future1 while the spirit enlightened about itself already possesses immortality1 and only awaits its introduction into the pneumatic pleroma4#cei ,in addition to what has been mentioned here1 we must finally fix our attention on the ethics of ,gnosticism4 ,like the ethics of all systems which are based on the contrast between the sensuous and spiritual elements of human nature1 that of the ,gnostics took a twofold direction4 ,on the one hand1 it sought to suppress and uproot the sensuous1 and thus became strictly ascetic 7imitation of ,christ as motive of asceticism2#cfj ,christ and the ,apostles represented as ascetics72#cfa on the other hand1 it treated the sensuous element as indifferent1 and so became libertine1 that is1 conformed to the world4 ,the former was undoubtedly the more common1 though there are credible witnesses to the latter2 the frequentissimum collegium in particular1 the ,valentinians1 in the days of ,irenaeus and ,tertullian1 did not vigorously enough prohibit a lax and world-conforming morality2#cfb and among the ,syrian and ,egyptian ,gnostics there were associations which celebrated the most revolting orgies4#cfc ,as the early ,christian tradition summoned to a strict renunciation of the world and to self-control1 the ,gnostic asceticism could not but make an impression at the first2 but the dualistic basis on which it rested could not fail to excite suspicion as soon as one was capable of examining it4#cfd ,literature4--,the writings of ,justin 7his syntagma against heresies has not been preserved71 ,irenaeus1 ,tertullian1 ,hippolytus1 ,clement of ,alexandria1 ,origen1 ,epiphanius1 ,philastrius and ,theodoret2 cf4 ,volkmar1 ,die ,quellen der ,ketzergeschichte1 #ahhe4 ,lipsius1 ,zur ,quellenkritik des ,epiphanios1 #ahge2 also ,die ,quellen der aeltesten ,ketzergeschichte1 #ahge4 ,harnack1 ,zur ,quellenkritik d4 ,gesch4 d4 ,gnostic1 #ahgc 7continued i4 ,d4 ,ztschr4 f4 d4 hist4 ,theol4 #ahgd1 and in ,der ,schrift de ,apellis gnosi monarch4 #ahgd74 ,of ,gnostic writings we possess the book ,pistis ,sophia1 the writings contained in the ,coptic ,cod4 ,brucianus1 and the ,epistle of ,ptolemy to ,flora2 also numerous fragments1 in connection with which ,hilgenfeld especially deserves thanks1 but which still require a more complete selecting and a more thorough discussion 7see ,grabe1 ,spicilegium ,t4 ,i4 ,,ii4 #agjj4 ,heinrici1 ,die ,valentin4 ,gnosis1 u4 d4 ,h4 ,schrift1 #ahga74 ,on the 7,gnostic7 ,apocryphal ,acts of the ,apostles1 see ,zahn1 ,acta ,joh4 #ahhj1 and the great work of ,lipsius1 ,die apokryphen ,apostelgeschichten1 ,i4 ,vol41 #ahhc2 ,,ii4 ,vol41 #ahhg4 7,see also ,lipsius1 ,quellen d4 roem4 ,petrussage1 #ahgb74 ,neander1 ,genet4 ,entw4 d4 vornehmsten gnostischen ,systeme1 #ahah4 ,matter1 ,hist4 crit4 du gnosticisme1 #b ,vols41 #ahbh4 ,baur1 ,die ,christl4 ,gnosis1 #ahce4 ,lipsius1 ,der ,gnosticismus1 in ,ersch4 und ,gruber's ,allg4 ,encykl4 #ga ,bd4 #ahfj4 ,moeller1 ,geschichte d4 ,kosmologie i4 d4 ,griech4 ,k4 his auf ,origenes4 #ahfj4 ,king1 ,the ,gnostics and their remains1 #ahgc4 ,mansel1 ,the ,gnostic heresies1 #ahge4 ,jacobi1 ,art4 ,gnosis in ,herzog's ,real ,encykl4 #bnd ,edit4 ,hilgenfeld1 ,die ,ketzergeschichte des ,urchristenthums1 #ahhd1 where the more recent1 special literature concerning individual ,gnostics is quoted4 ,lipsius1 ,art4 ,valentinus in ,smith's ,dictionary of ,christian ,biography4 ,harnack1 ,art4 ,valentinus in the ,encycl4 ,brit4 ,harnack1 ,pistis ,sophia in the ,texte und ,unters4 ,,vii4 #b4 ,carl ,schmidt1 ,gnostische ,schriften in koptischer ,sprache aus dem ,codex ,brucianus 7,texte und ,unters4 ,,viii4 #a4 #b74 ,joel1 ,blicke in die ,religionsgeschichte zu ,anfang des #b ,christl4 ,jahrhunderts1 #b parts1 #ahhj1 #ahhc4 ,renan1 ,history of the ,origins of ,christianity4 ,vols4 ,v4 ,,vi4 ,,vii4 ,footnote #cjj3 ,we may consider here once more the articles which are embraced in the first ten chapters of the recently discovered ,greek3 ,didache ton apostolon1 after enumerating and describing which1 the author continues 7,,ii4 #a73 ,greek3 hos an oun elthon didachei umas tauta panta ta proeiremena1 dexasthe auton4 ,footnote #cja3 ,it is a good tradition1 which designates the so-called ,gnosticism1 simply as ,gnosis1 and yet uses this word also for the speculations of non-,gnostic teachers of antiquity 7e4g41 of ,barnabas74 ,but the inferences which follow have not been drawn4 ,origen says truly 7c4 ,celsus ,,iii4 #ab7 ,as men1 not only the labouring and serving classes1 but also many from the cultured classes of ,greece1 came to see something honourable in ,christianity1 sects could not fail to arise1 not simply from the desire for controversy and contradiction1 but because several scholars endeavoured to penetrate deeper into the truth of ,christianity4 ,in this way sects arose1 which received their names from men who indeed admired ,christianity in its essence1 but from many different causes had arrived at different conceptions of it4 ,footnote #cjb3 ,the majority of ,christians in the second century belonged no doubt to the uncultured classes1 and did not seek abstract knowledge1 nay1 were distrustful of it2 see the ,greek3 logos alethes of ,celsus1 especially ,,iii4 #dd1 and the writings of the ,apologists4 ,yet we may infer from the treatise of ,origen against ,celsus that the number of ,christiani rudes who cut themselves off from theological and philosophic knowledge1 was about the year #bdj a very large one2 and ,tertullian says 7,adv4 ,prax4 #c73 ,simplices quique1 ne dixerim imprudentes et idiotae1 quae major semper credentium pars est1 cf4 de jejun4 #aa3 ,major pars imperitorum apud gloriosissimam multitudinem psychicorum4 ,footnote #cjc3 ,overbeck 7,stud4 z4 ,gesch4 d4 alten ,kirche4 p4 #ahd7 has the merit of having first given convincing expression to this view of ,gnosticism4 ,footnote #cjd3 ,the ability of the prominent ,gnostic teachers has been recognised by the ,church ,fathers3 see ,hieron4 ,comm in ,osee4 ,,ii4 #aj1 ,opp4 ,,vi4 i3 ,nullus potest haeresim struere1 nisi qui ardens ingenii est et habet dona naturae quae a deo artifice sunt creata3 talis fuit ,valentinus1 tails ,marcion1 quos doctissimos legimus1 talis ,bardesanes1 cujus etiam philosophi admirantur ingenium4 ,it is still more important to see how the ,alexandrian theologians 7,clement and ,origen7 estimated the exegetic labours of the ,gnostics1 and took account of them4 ,origen undoubtedly recognised ,herakleon as a prominent exegete1 and treats him most respectfully even where he feels compelled to differ from him4 ,all ,gnostics cannot1 of course1 be regarded as theologians4 ,in their totality they form the ,greek society with a ,christian name4 ,footnote #cje3 ,otherwise the rise of ,gnosticism cannot at all be explained4 ,footnote #cjf3 ,cf4 ,bigg1 ,the ,christian ,platonists of ,alexandria1 p4 #hc3 ,gnosticism was in one respect distorted ,paulinism4 ,footnote #cjg3 ,joel1 ,blick in die ,religionsgesch4 ,vol4 ,i4 pp4 #aja-agj1 has justly emphasised the ,greek character of ,gnosis1 and insisted on the significance of ,platonism for it4 ,the ,oriental element did not always in the case of the ,gnostics1 originate at first hand1 but had already passed through a ,greek channel4 ,footnote #cjh3 ,the age of the ,antonines was the flourishing period of ,gnosticism4 ,marquardt 7,roemische ,staatsverwaltung ,vol4 #c1 p4 #ha7 says of this age3 ,with the ,antonines begins the last period of the ,roman religious development in which two new elements enter into it4 ,these are the ,syrian and ,persian deities1 whose worship at this time was prevalent not only in the city of ,rome1 but in the whole empire1 and1 at the same time1 ,christianity1 which entered into conflict with all ancient tradition1 and in this conflict exercised a certain influence even on the ,oriental forms of worship4 ,footnote #cji3 ,it is a special merit of ,weingarten 7,histor4 ,ztschr4 ,bd #de4 #ahha4 p4 #dda f47 and ,koffmane 7,die ,gnosis nach ihrer ,tendenz und ,organisation1 #ahha7 to have strongly emphasised the mystery character of ,gnosis1 and in connection with that1 its practical aims4 ,koffmane1 especially1 has collected abundant material for proving that the tendency of the ,gnostics was the same as that of the ancient mysteries1 and that they thence borrowed their organisation and discipline4 ,this fact proves the proposition that ,gnosticism was an acute hellenising of ,christianity4 ,koffmane has1 however1 undervalued the union of the practical and speculative tendency in the ,gnostics1 and1 in the effort to obtain recognition for the mystery character of the ,gnostic communities1 has overlooked the fact that they were also schools4 ,the union of mystery-cultus and school is just1 however1 their characteristic4 ,in this also they prove themselves the forerunners of ,neoplatonism and the ,catholic ,church4 ,moehler in his programme of #ahca 7,urspr4 d4 ,gnosticismus ,tubingen71 vigorously emphasised the practical tendency of ,gnosticism1 though not in a convincing way4 ,hackenschmidt 7,anfange des katholischen ,kirchenbegriffs1 p4 #hc f47 has judged correctly4 ,footnote #caj3 ,we have also evidence of the methods by which ecstatic visions were obtained among the ,gnostics1 see the ,pistis ,sophia1 and the important role which prophets and ,apocalypses played in several important ,gnostic communities 7,barcoph and ,barcabbas1 prophets of the ,basilideans2 ,martiades and ,marsanes among the ,ophites2 ,philumene in the case of ,apelles2 ,valentinian prophecies1 ,apocalypses of ,zostrian1 ,zoroaster1 etc47 ,apocalypses were also used by some under the names of ,old ,testament men of ,god and ,apostles4 ,footnote #caa3 ,see ,koftmane1 before-mentioned work1 p4 #e f4 ,footnote #cab3 ,see ,fragm4 ,murat4 ,v4 #ha f42 ,clem4 ,strom4 ,,vii4 #ag4 #ajh2 ,orig4 ,hom4 #cd4 ,the ,marcionite ,antitheses were probably spread among other ,gnostic sects4 ,the ,fathers frequently emphasise the fact that the ,gnostics were united against the church3 ,tertullian de praescr #db3 ,et hoc est1 quod schismata apud haereticos fere non sunt1 quia cum sint1 non parent4 ,schisma est enim unitas ipsa4 ,they certainly also delight in emphasising the contradictions of the different schools2 but they cannot point to any earnest conflict of these schools with each other4 ,we know definitely that ,bardasanes argued against the earlier ,gnostics1 and ,ptolemaeus against ,marcion4 ,footnote #cac3 ,see the collection1 certainly not complete1 of ,gnostic fragments by ,grabe 7,spicileg47 and ,hilgenfeld 7,ketzergeschichte74 ,our books on the history of ,gnosticism take far too little notice of these fragments as presented to us1 above all1 by ,clement and ,origen1 and prefer to keep to the doleful accounts of the ,fathers about the ,systems1 7better in ,heinrici3 ,valent4 ,gnosis1 #ahga74 ,the vigorous efforts of the ,gnostics to understand the ,pauline and ,johannine ideas1 and their in part surprisingly rational and ingenious solutions of intellectual problems1 have never yet been systematically estimated4 ,who would guess1 for example1 from what is currently known of the system of ,basilides1 that1 according to ,clement1 the following proceeds from him1 7,strom4 ,,iv4 #ab4 #ah73 ,greek3 hos autos phesin ho ,basileides1 en meros ek tou legomenou thelematos tou theou hupeilephamen1 to egapekenai hapanta4 hoti logon aposozousi pros to pan hapanta2 heteron de to medenos epithumein1 kai to triton misein mede hen1 and where do we find1 in the period before ,clement of ,alexandria1 faith in ,christ united with such spiritual maturity and inner freedom as in ,valentinians1 ,ptolemaeus and ,heracleon8 ,footnote #cad3 ,testament of ,tertullian 7adv4 ,valent4 #d7 shews the difference between the solution of ,valentinus1 for example1 and his disciple ,ptolemaeus4 ,ptolemaeus nomina et numeros ,a,eonum distinxit in personales substantias1 sed extra deum determinatas1 quas ,valentinus in ipsa summa divinitatis ut sensus et affectus motus incluserat4 ,it is1 moreover1 important that ,tertullian himself should distinguish this so clearly4 ,footnote #cae3 ,there is nothing here more instructive than to hear the judgments of the cultured ,greeks and ,romans about ,christianity1 as soon as they have given up the current gross prejudices4 ,they shew with admirable clearness1 the way in which ,gnosticism originated4 ,galen says 7quoted by ,gieseler1 ,church ,hist4 #a4 #a4 #da73 ,hominum plerique orationem demonstrativam continuam mente assequi nequeunt1 quare indigent1 ut instituantur parabolis4 ,veluti nostro tempore videmus1 homines illos1 qui ,christian6 vocantur1 fidem suam e parabolis petiisse4 ,hi tamen interdum talia faciunt1 qualia qui vere philosophantur4 ,nam quod mortem contemnunt1 id quidem omnes ante oculos habemus2 item quod verecundia quadam ducti ab usu rerum venerearum abhorrent4 ,sunt enim inter eos feminae et viri1 qui per totam vitam a concubitu abstinuerint2 sunt etiam qui in animis regendis coercendisque et in accerrimo honestatis studio eo progressi sint1 ut nihil cedant vere philosophantibus4 ,christians1 therefore1 are philosophers without philosophy4 ,what a challenge for them to produce such1 that is to seek out the latent philosophy6 ,even ,celsus could not but admit a certain relationship between ,christians and philosophers4 ,but as he was convinced that the miserable religion of the ,christians could neither include nor endure a philosophy1 he declared that the moral doctrines of the ,christians were borrowed from the philosophers 7,i4 #d74 ,in course of his presentation 7,v4 #fe2 ,,vi4 #ab4 #ae-ai1 #db2 ,,vii4 #bg-ce7 he deduces the most decided marks of ,christianity1 as well as the most important sayings of ,jesus from 7misunderstood7 statements of ,plato and other ,greek philosophers4 ,this is not the place to shew the contradictions in which ,celsus was involved by this4 ,but it is of the greatest significance that even this intelligent man could only see philosophy where he saw something precious4 ,the whole of ,christianity from its very origin appeared to ,celsus 7in one respect7 precisely as the ,gnostic systems appear to us1 that is1 these really are what ,christianity as such seemed to ,celsus to be4 ,besides1 it was constantly asserted up to the fifth century that ,christ had drawn from ,plato's writings4 ,against those who made this assertion1 ,ambrosius 7according to ,augustine1 ,ep4 #ca4 c4 #h7 wrote a treatise which unfortunately is no longer in existence4 ,footnote #caf3 ,the ,simonian system at most might be named1 on the basis of the syncretistic religion founded by ,simon ,magus4 ,but we know little about it1 and that little is uncertain4 ,parallel attempts are demonstrable in the third century on the basis of various revealed fundamental ideas 7,greek3 he ek logion philosophia74 ,footnote #cag3 ,among these ,i reckon those ,gnostics whom ,irenaeus 7,i4 #bi-ca7 has portrayed1 as well as part of the so-called ,ophites1 ,peratae1 ,sethites and the school of the ,gnostic ,justin 7,hippol4 ,philosoph4 ,v4 #f-bh74 ,there is no reason for regarding them as earlier or more ,oriental than the ,valentinians1 as is done by ,hilgenfeld against ,baur1 ,moeller1 and ,gruber 7the ,ophites1 #ahfd74 ,see also ,lipsius1 ,ophit4 ,systeme1 i4 d4 ,ztschr4 f4 wiss4 ,theol4 #ahfc4 ,,iv1 #ahfd1 ,i4 ,these schools claimed for themselves the name ,gnostic 7,hippol4 ,philosoph4 ,v4 #f74 ,a part of them1 as is specially apparent from ,orig4 c4 ,celsum4 ,,vi41 is not to be reckoned ,christian4 ,this motley group is but badly known to us through ,epiphanius1 much better through the original ,gnostic writings preserved in the ,coptic language4 7,pistis ,sophia and the works published by ,carl ,schmidt ,texte u4 ,unters4 ,bd4 ,,viii474 ,yet these original writings belong1 for the most part1 to the second half of the third century 7see also the important statements of ,porphyry in the ,vita ,plotini1 c4 #af71 and shew a ,gnosticism burdened with an abundance of wild speculations1 formulae1 mysteries1 and ceremonial4 ,however1 from these very monuments it becomes plain that ,gnosticism anticipated ,catholicism as a ritual system 7see below74 ,footnote #cah3 ,on ,marcion1 see the following ,chapter4 ,footnote #cai3 ,we know that from the earliest period 7perhaps we might refer even to the ,epistle to the ,romans7 there were circles of ascetics in the ,christian communities who required of all1 as an inviolable law1 under the name of ,christian perfection1 complete abstinence from marriage1 renunciation of possessions1 and a vegetarian diet4 7,clem4 ,strom4 ,,iii4 #f4 #di3 ,greek3 hupo diabolou tauten paradidosthai dogmatizousi1 mimeisthai d' autous hoi megalanchoi phasi ton kurion mete gemanta1 mete ti en toi kosmoi ktesamenon1 mallon para allous nenoekenai to euangelion kauchomenoi4--,here then1 already1 imitation of the poor life of ,jesus1 the ,evangelic life1 was the watchword4 ,tatian wrote a book1 ,greek3 peri tou kata ton sotera katartismou1 that is1 on perfection according to the ,redeemer3 in which he set forth the irreconcilability of the worldly life with the ,gospel74 ,no doubt now existed in the ,churches that abstinence from marriage1 from wine and flesh1 and from possessions1 was the perfect fulfilling of the law of ,christ 7,greek3 bastazein holon ton zugon tou kuriou74 ,but in wide circles strict abstinence was deduced from a special charism1 all boastfulness was forbidden1 and the watchword given out3 ,greek3 hoson dunasai hagneuseis1 which may be understood as a compromise with the worldly life as well as a reminiscence of a freer morality 7see my notes on ,didache1 c4 #f2 #aa1 #aa and ,prolegg4 p4 #db ff474 ,still1 the position towards asceticism yielded a hard problem1 the solution of which was more and more found in distinguishing a higher and a lower though sufficient morality1 yet repudiating the higher morality as soon as it claimed to be the alone authoritative one4 ,on the other hand1 there were societies of ,christian ascetics who persisted in applying literally to all ,christians the highest demands of ,christ1 and thus arose1 by secession1 the communities of the ,encratites and ,severians4 ,but in the circumstances of the time even they could not but be touched by the ,hellenic mode of thought1 to the effect of associating a speculative theory with asceticism1 and thus approximating to ,gnosticism4 ,this is specially plain in ,tatian1 who connected himself with the ,encratites1 and in consequence of the severe asceticism which he prescribed1 could no longer maintain the identity of the supreme ,god and the creator of the world 7see the fragments of his later writings in the ,corp4 ,apol4 ed ,otto4 ,t4 ,,vi474 ,as the ,pauline ,epistles could furnish arguments to either side1 we see some ,gnostics such as ,tatian himself1 making diligent use of them1 while others such as the ,severians1 rejected them4 7,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,,iv4 #bi4 #e1 and ,orig4 c4 ,cels4 ,v4 #fe74 ,the ,encratite controversy was1 on the one hand1 swallowed up by the ,gnostic1 and on the other hand1 replaced by the ,montanistic4 ,the treatise written in the days of ,marcus ,aurelius by a certain ,musanus 7where87 which contains warnings against joining the ,encratites 7,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,,iv4 #bh7 we unfortunately no longer possess4 ,footnote #cbj3 ,see ,eusebius1 ,h4 ,e4 ,,vi4 #ab4 ,docetic elements are apparent even in the fragment of the ,gospel of ,peter recently discovered4 ,footnote #cba3 ,here1 above all1 we have to remember ,tatian1 who in his highly praised ,apology1 had already rejected altogether the eating of flesh 7c4 #bc7 and set up very peculiar doctrines about the spirit1 matter1 and the nature of man 7c4 #ab ff474 ,the fragments of the ,hypotyposes of ,clem4 of ,alex4 show how much one had to bear in some rural ,churches at the end of the second century4 ,footnote #cbb3 ,see ,clem4 ,strom ,,iii4 #b4 #e2 ,greek3 ,epiphanes1 huios ,karpokratous1 ezese ta panta ete heptakaideka kai theos en ,samei tes ,kephallenias tetimetai1 entha autoi hieron ruton lithon1 bomoi1 temene1 mouseion1 oikodometai te kai kathierotai1 kai suniontes eis to hieron hoi ,kaphallenes kata noumenian genethlion apotheosin thuousin ,epiphanei1 spendousi te kai euochountai kai humnoi legontai4 ,clement's quotations from the writings of ,epiphanes shew him to be a pure ,platonist3 the proposition that property is theft is found in him4 ,epiphanes and his father1 ,carpocrates1 were the first who attempted to amalgamate ,plato's ,state with the ,christian ideal of the union of men with each other4 ,christ was to them1 therefore1 a philosophic ,genius like ,plato1 see ,irenaeus ,i4 #be4 #e3 ,gnosticos autem se vocant1 etiam imagines1 quasdam quidem depictas1 quasdam autem et de reliqua materia fabricatas habent44444 et has coronant1 et proponent eas cum imaginibus mundi philosophorum1 videlicet cum imagine ,pythagorae et ,platonis et ,aristotelis et reliquorum1 et reliquam observationem circa eas similiter ut gentes faciunt4 ,footnote #cbc3 ,see the ,gnostics of ,hermas1 especially the false prophet whom he portrays1 ,mand4 ,,xi41 ,lucian's ,peregrinus1 and the ,marcus1 of whose doings ,irenaeus 7,i4 #ac4 ff47 gives such an abominable picture4 ,to understand how such people were able to obtain a following so quickly in the ,churches1 we must remember the respect in which the prophets were held 7see ,didache ,,xi474 ,if one had once given the impression that he had the ,spirit1 he could win belief for the strangest things1 and could allow himself all things possible 7see the delineations of ,celsus in ,orig4 c4 ,cels4 ,,vii4 #i4 #aa74 ,we hear frequently of ,gnostic prophets and prophetesses1 see my notes on ,herm4 ,mand4 ,,xi4 #a and ,didache ,,xi4 #g4 ,if an early ,christian element is here preserved by the ,gnostic schools1 it has undoubtedly been hellenised and secularised as the reports shew4 ,but that the prophets altogether were in danger of being secularised is shewn in ,didache ,,xi4 ,in the case of the ,gnostics the process is again only hastened4 ,footnote #cbd3 ,the name ,gnostic originally attached to schools which had so named themselves4 ,to these belonged1 above all1 the so-called ,ophites1 but not the ,valentinians or ,basilideans4 ,footnote #cbe3 ,special attention should be given to this form1 as it became in later times of the very greatest importance for the general development of doctrine in the ,church4 ,the sect of ,carpocrates was a school4 ,of ,tatian ,irenaeus says 7,i4 #bh4 #a73 ,greek3 ,tatianos ,ioustinou acroates gegonais 444 meta de ten ekeinou marturian apostas tes ekklesias1 oiemati didaskalon epartheis 444 idion charakter didaskaleiou sunestesato4 ,rhodon 7in ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,v4 #ac4 #d7 speaks of a ,marcionite ,greek3 didaskaleion4 ,other names were1 ,collegium 7,tertull4 ad ,valen #a71 ,secta1 the word had not always a bad meaning1 ,greek3 hairesis1 ekklesia 7,clem4 ,strom4 ,,vii4 #af4 #ih1 on the other hand1 ,,vii4 #ae4 #ib3 ,tertull4 de praescr4 #db3 plerique nec ,ecclesias habent71 ,greek3 thiasos 7,iren4 ,i4 #ac4 #d1 for the ,marcosians74 ,greek3 sunagoge1 sustema1 diatribe1 hai athropinai suneluseis1 factiuncula1 congregatio1 conciliabulum1 conventiculum4 ,the mystery-organisation most clearly appears in the ,naassenes of ,hippolytus1 the ,marcosians of ,irenaeus1 and the ,elkasites of ,hippolytus1 as well as in the ,coptic-,gnostic documents that have been preserved4 7,see ,koffmane1 above work1 pp4 #f-bb74 ,footnote #cbf3 ,the particulars here belong to church history4 ,overbeck 7,ueber die ,anfaenge der patristischen ,litteratur in d4 hist4 ,ztschr4 ,n4 ,f4 ,bd4 ,,xii4 p4 #dag ff47 has the merit of being the first to point out the importance1 for the history of the ,church1 of the forms of literature as they were gradually received in ,christendom4 ,scientific1 theological literature has undoubtedly its origin in ,gnosticism4 ,the ,old ,testament was here1 for the first time1 systematically and also in part1 historically criticised2 a selection was here made from the primitive ,christian literature2 scientific commentaries were here written on the sacred books 7,basilides and especially the ,valentinians1 see ,heracleon's comm4 on the ,gospel of ,john in ,origen72 the ,pauline ,epistles were also technically expounded2 tracts were here composed on dogmatico-philosophic problems 7for example1 ,greek3 peri dikaiosunes--peri prosphuous psuches--ethika--peri enkrateias he peri eunouchias71 and systematic doctrinal systems already constructed 7as the ,basilidean and ,valentinian72 the original form of the ,gospel was here first transmuted into the ,greek form of sacred novel and biography 7see1 above all1 the ,gospel of ,thomas1 which was used by the ,marcosians and ,naassenes1 and which contained miraculous stories from the childhood of ,jesus72 here1 finally1 psalms1 odes and hymns were first composed 7see the ,acts of ,lucius1 the psalms of ,valentinus1 the psalms of ,alexander the disciple of ,valentinus1 the poems of ,bardesanes74 ,irenaeus1 ,tertullian and ,hippolytus have indeed noted1 that the scientific method of interpretation followed by the ,gnostics1 was the same as that of the philosophers 7e4g41 of ,philo74 ,valentinus1 as is recognised even by the ,church ,fathers1 stands out prominent for his mental vigour and religious imagination1 ,heracleon for his exegetic theological ability1 ,ptolemy for his ingenious criticism of the ,old ,testament and his keen perception of the stages of religious development 7see his ,epistle to ,flora in ,epiphanius1 haer4 #cc4 c4 #g74 ,as a specimen of the language of ,valentinus one extract from a homily may suffice 7in ,clem4 ,strom4 ,,iv4 #ac4 #hi74 ,greek3 ,ap arches athanatoi este kai tekna zoes este aionias1 kai ton thanaton ethelete merisasthai eis heautous1 hina dapanesete auton kai analosete1 kai apothane ho thanatos en humin kai di' humon1 hotan gar ton men kosmon luete1 autoi de me kataluesthe1 kurieuete tes kriseos kai tes phthoras apases4 ,basilides falls into the background behind ,valentinus and his school4 ,yet the ,church ,fathers1 when they wish to summarise the most important ,gnostics1 usually mention ,simon ,magus1 ,basilides1 ,valentinus1 ,marcion 7even ,apelles74 ,on the relation of the ,gnostics to the ,new ,testament writings1 and to the ,new ,testament1 see ,zahn1 ,gesch4 des ,n4 ,t-lichen ,kanons ,i4 #b1 p4 #gah4 ,footnote #cbg3 ,baur's classification of the ,gnostic systems1 which rests on the observation of how they severally realised the idea of ,christianity as the absolute religion1 in contrast to ,judaism and ,heathenism1 is very ingenious1 and contains a great element of truth4 ,but it is insufficient with reference to the whole phenomenon of ,gnosticism1 and it has been carried out by ,baur by violent abstractions4 ,footnote #cbh3 ,the question1 therefore1 as to the time of the origin of ,gnosticism1 as a complete phenomenon1 cannot be answered4 ,the remarks of ,hegesippus 7,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,,iv4 #bb7 refer to the ,jerusalem ,church1 and have not even for that the value of a fixed datum4 ,the only important question here is the point of time at which the expulsion or secession of the schools and unions took place in the different national churches4 ,footnote #cbi3 ,justin ,apol4 #a4 #bf4 ,footnote #ccj3 ,hegesippus in ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,,iv4 #bb1 ,iren4 ,,ii4 #ad4 #a f41 ,tertull4 de praescr4 #g1 ,hippol4 ,philosoph4 ,the ,church ,fathers have also noted the likeness of the cultus of ,mithras and other deities4 ,footnote #cca3 ,we must leave the ,essenes entirely out of account here1 as their teaching1 in all probability1 is not to be considered syncretistic in the strict sense of the word1 7see ,lucius1 ,der ,essenismus1 #ahha71 and as we know absolutely nothing of a greater diffusion of it4 ,but we need no names here1 as a syncretistic1 ascetic ,judaism could and did arise everywhere in ,palestine and the ,diaspora4 ,footnote #ccb3 ,freudenthal's ,hellenistische ,studien informs us as to the ,samaritan syncretism2 see also ,hilgenfeld's ,ketzergeschichte1 p4 #adi ff4 ,as to the ,babylonian mythology in ,gnosticism1 see the statements in the elaborate article1 ,manichaismus1 by ,kessler 7,real-,encycl4 fuer protest4 ,theol41 #b ,aufl474 ,footnote #ccc3 ,wherever traditional religions are united under the badge of philosophy a conservative syncretism is the result1 because the allegoric method1 that is1 the criticism of all religion1 veiled and unconscious of itself1 is able to blast rocks and bridge over abysses4 ,all forms may remain here1 under certain circumstances1 but a new spirit enters into them4 ,on the other hand1 where philosophy is still weak1 and the traditional religion is already shaken by another1 there arises the critical syncretism in which either the gods of one religion are subordinated to those of another1 or the elements of the traditional religion are partly eliminated and replaced by others4 ,here1 also1 the soil is prepared for new religious formations1 for the appearance of religious founders4 ,footnote #ccd3 ,it was a serious mistake of the critics to regard ,simon ,magus as a fiction1 which1 moreover1 has been given up by ,hilgenfeld 7,ketzergeschichte1 p4 #afc ff474 and ,lipsius 7,apocr ,apostelgesch #aa4 #a71--the latter1 however1 not decidedly4 ,the whole figure1 as well as the doctrines attributed to ,simon 7see ,acts of the ,apostles1 ,justin1 ,irenaeus1 ,hippolytus71 not only have nothing improbable in them1 but suit very well the religious circumstances which we must assume for ,samaria4 ,the main point in ,simon is his endeavour to create a universal religion of the supreme ,god4 ,this explains his success among the ,samaritans and ,greeks4 ,he is really a counterpart to ,jesus1 whose activity can just as little have been unknown to him as that of ,paul4 ,at the same time1 it cannot be denied1 that the later tradition about ,simon was the most confused and biassed imaginable1 or that certain ,jewish ,christians at a later period may have attempted to endow the magician with the features of ,paul in order to discredit the personality and teaching of the ,apostle4 ,but this last assumption requires a fresh investigation4 ,footnote #cce3 ,justin1 ,apol4 ,i4 #bf3 ,greek3 kai schedon pantes men ,samareis1 oligoi de kai en allois ethnesin1 hos ton proton theon ,simona homologountes1 ekeinon kai proskunousin 7besides the account in the ,philos and ,orig4 c4 ,cels i4 #eg2 ,,vi4 #aa74 ,the positive statement of ,justin that ,simon came even to ,rome 7under ,claudius7 can hardly be refuted from the account of the ,apologist himself1 and therefore not at all 7,see ,renan1 ,antichrist74 ,footnote #ccf3 ,we have it as such in the ,greek3 ,megale ,apophasis which ,hippolytus 7,philosoph4 ,,vi4 #ai4 #bj7 made use of4 ,this ,simonianism may perhaps have been related to the original1 as the doctrines of the ,christian ,gnostics to the ,apostolic preaching4 ,footnote #ccg3 ,the ,heretics opposed in the ,epistle to the ,colossians may belong to these4 ,on ,cerinthus1 see ,polycarp1 in ,iren4 ,,iii4 #c4 #b1 ,irenaeus 7,i4 #bf4 ,i42 ,,iii4 #aa4 #a71 ,hippolytus and the redactions of the ,syntagma1 ,cajus in ,euseb4 ,,iii4 #bh4 #b1 ,hilgenfeld1 ,ketzergeschichte1 p4 #daa ff4 ,to this category belong also the ,ebionites and ,elkasites of ,epiphanius 7,see ,chap4 #f74 ,footnote #cch3 ,the two ,syrian teachers1 ,saturninus and ,cerdo1 must in particular be mentioned here4 ,the first 7,see ,iren ,i4 #bd4 #a4 #b1 ,hippolyt4 and the redactions of the ,syntagma7 was not strictly speaking a dualist1 and therefore allowed the ,god of the ,old ,testament to be regarded as an ,angel of the supreme ,god1 while at the same time he distinguished him from ,satan4 ,accordingly1 he assumed that the supreme ,god co-operated in the creation of man by angel powers--sending a ray of light1 an image of light1 that should be imitated as an example and enjoined as an ideal4 ,but all men have not received the ray of light4 ,consequently1 two classes of men stand in abrupt contrast with each other4 ,history is the conflict of the two4 ,satan stands at the head of the one1 the ,god of the ,jews at the head of the other4 ,the ,old ,testament is a collection of prophecies out of both camps4 ,the truly good first appears in the ,a,eon ,christ1 who assumed nothing cosmic1 did not even submit to birth4 ,he destroys the works of ,satan 7generation1 eating of flesh71 and delivers the men who have within them a spark of light ,the ,gnosis of ,cerdo was much coarser4 7,iren4 ,i4 #bg4 #a1 ,hippolyt4 and the redactions74 ,he contrasted the good ,god and the ,god of the ,old ,testament as two primary beings4 ,the latter he identified with the creator of the world4 ,consequently1 he completely rejected the ,old ,testament and everything cosmic and taught that the good ,god was first revealed in ,christ4 ,like ,saturninus he preached a strict docetism2 ,christ had no body1 was not born1 and suffered in an unreal body4 ,all else that the ,fathers report of ,cerdo's teaching has probably been transferred to him from ,marcion1 and is therefore very doubtful4 ,footnote #cci3 ,this question might perhaps be answered if we had the ,justinian ,syntagma against all heresies2 but1 in the present condition of our sources1 it remains wrapped in obscurity4 ,what may be gathered from the fragments of ,hegesippus1 the ,epistles of ,ignatius1 the ,pastoral ,epistles and other documents1 such as1 for example1 the ,epistle of ,jude1 is in itself so obscure1 so detached1 and so ambiguous1 that it is of no value for historical construction4 ,footnote #cdj3 ,there are1 above all1 the schools of the ,basilideans1 ,valentinians and ,ophites4 ,to describe the systems in their full development lies1 in my opinion1 outside the business of the history of dogma and might easily lead to the mistake that the systems as such were controverted1 and that their construction was peculiar to ,christian ,gnosticism4 ,the construction1 as remarked above1 is rather that of the later ,greek philosophy1 though it cannot be mistaken that1 for us1 the full parallel to the ,gnostic systems first appears in those of the ,neoplatonists4 ,but only particular doctrines and principles of the ,gnostics were really called in question1 their critique of the world1 of providence1 of the resurrection1 etc42 these therefore are to be adduced in the next section4 ,the fundamental features of an inner development can only be exhibited in the case of the most important1 viz41 the ,valentinian school4 ,but even here1 we must distinguish an ,eastern and a ,western branch4 7,tertull4 adv4 ,valent4 ,i43 ,valentiniani frequentissimum plane collegium inter haereticos4 ,iren4 ,i4 #a42 ,hippol4 ,philos4 ,,vi4 #ce2 ,orig4 ,hom4 ,,ii4 #e in ,ezech4 ,lomm4 ,,xiv4 p4 #dj3 ,valentini robustissima secta74 ,footnote #cda3 ,tertull4 de praescr4 #db3 ,de verbi autem administratione quid dicam1 cum hoc sit negotium illis1 non ethnicos convertendi1 sed nostros evertendi8 ,hanc magis gloriam captant1 si stantibus ruinam1 non si jacentibus elevationem operentur4 ,quoniam et ipsum opus eorum non de suo proprio aedificio venit1 sed de veritatis destructione2 nostra suffodiunt1 ut sua aedificent4 ,adime illis legem ,moysis et prophetas et creatorem deum1 accusationem eloqui non habent4 7,see adv4 ,valent4 ,i init474 ,this is hardly a malevolent accusation4 ,the philosophic interpretation of a religion will always impress those only on whom the religion itself has already made an impression4 ,footnote #cdb3 ,iren4 ,,iii4 #d4 #b3 ,greek3 ,kerdon eis ten ekklesian elthon kai exomologoumenos1 houtos dietelete1 pote men lathrodidaskalon pote de palin exomologoumenos1 pote de eleggomenos eph hois edidaske kakos1 kai aphistamenos tes ton adelphon sunodias1 see1 besides1 the valuable account of ,tertull4 de praescr4 #cj4 ,the account of ,irenaeus 7,i4 #ac7 is very instructive as to the kind of propaganda of ,marcus1 and the relation of the women he deluded to the ,church4 ,against actually recognised false teachers the fixed rule was to renounce all intercourse with them 7#b ,joh4 #aj4 #aa1 ,iren4 ep4 ad4 ,florin on ,polycarp's procedure1 in ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,v4 #bj4 #g2 ,iren4 ,,iii4 #c4 #d7 ,but how were the heretics to be surely known8 ,footnote #cdc3 ,among those who justly bore this name he distinguishes those ,greek3 ,hoi orthognomenes kata panta christanoi eisin 7,dial4 #hj74 ,footnote #cdd3 ,very important is the description which ,irenaeus 7,,iii4 #ae4 #b7 and ,tertullian have given of the conduct of the ,valentinians as observed by themselves 7adv4 ,valent4 #a74 ,valentiniani nihil magis curant quam occultare1 quod praedicant2 si tamen praedicant qui occultant4 ,custodiae officium conscientiae officium est 7a comparison with the ,eleusinian mysteries follows47 ,si bona fide quaeras1 concreto vultu1 suspenso supercilio1 ,altum est1 aiunt4 ,si subtiliter temptes per ambiguitates bilingues communem fidem adfirmant4 ,si scire te subostendas negant quidquid agnoscunt4 ,si cominus certes1 tuam simplicitatem sua caede dispergunt4 ,ne discipulis quidem propriis ante committunt quam suos fecerint4 ,habent artificium quo prius persuadeant quam edoceant4 ,at a later period ,dionysius of ,alex1 7in ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,,vii4 #g7 speaks of ,christians who maintain an apparent communion with the brethren1 but resort to one of the false teachers 7cf4 as to this ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,,vi4 #b4 #ac74 ,the teaching of ,bardesanes influenced by ,valentinus1 who1 moreover1 was hostile to ,marcionitism1 was tolerated for a long time in ,edessa 7by the ,christian kings71 nay1 was recognised4 ,the ,bardesanites and the ,palutians 7catholics7 were differentiated only after the beginning of the third century4 ,footnote #cde3 ,there can be no doubt that the ,gnostic propaganda was seriously hindered by the inability to organise and discipline churches1 which is characteristic of all philosophic systems of religion4 ,the ,gnostic organisation of schools and mysteries was not able to contend with the episcopal organisation of the churches2 see ,ignat4 ad ,smyr4 #f4 #b2 ,tertull de praescr4 #da4 ,attempts at actual formations of churches were not altogether wanting in the earliest period2 at a later period they were forced on some schools4 ,we have only to read ,iren4 ,,iii4 #ae4 #b in order to see that these associations could only exist by finding support in a church4 ,irenaeus expressly remarks that the ,valentinians designated the common ,christians ,greek3 katholikoi 7communes7 ,greek3 kai ekklesiastikoi1 but that they1 on the other hand1 complained that we kept away from their fellowship without cause1 as they thought like ourselves4 ,footnote #cdf3 ,the differences between the ,gnostic ,christianity and that of the ,church1 that is1 the later ecclesiastical theology1 were fluid1 if we observe the following points4 7#a7 ,that even in the main body of the ,church1 the element of knowledge was increasingly emphasised1 and the ,gospel began to be converted into a perfect knowledge of the world 7increasing reception of ,greek philosophy1 development of ,greek3 pistis to ,greek3 gnosis74 7#b7 ,that the dramatic eschatology began to fade away4 7#c7 ,that room was made for docetic views1 and value put upon a strict asceticism4 ,on the other hand1 we must note3 7#a7 ,that all this existed only in germ or fragments within the great ,church during the flourishing period of ,gnosticism4 7#b7 ,that the great ,church held fast to the facts fixed in the baptismal formula 7in the ,kerygma71 and to the eschatological expectations1 further1 to the creator of the world as the supreme ,god1 to the unity of ,jesus ,christ1 and to the ,old ,testament1 and therefore rejected dualism4 7#c7 ,that the great ,church defended the unity and equality of the human race1 and therefore the uniformity and universal aim of the ,christian salvation4 7#d7 ,that it rejected every introduction of new1 especially of ,oriental ,mythologies1 guided in this by the early ,christian consciousness and a sure intelligence4 ,a deeper1 more thorough distinction between the ,church and the ,gnostic parties hardly dawned on the consciousness of either4 ,the ,church developed herself instinctively into an imperial ,church1 in which office was to play the chief role4 ,the ,gnostics sought to establish or conserve associations in which the genius should rule1 the genius in the way of the old prophets or in the sense of ,plato1 or in the sense of a union of prophecy and philosophy4 ,in the ,gnostic conflict1 at least at its close1 the judicial priest fought with the virtuoso and overcame him4 ,footnote #cdg3 ,the absolute significance of the person of ,christ was very plainly expressed in ,gnosticism 7,christ is not only the teacher of the truth1 but the manifestation of the truth71 more plainly than where he was regarded as the subject of ,old ,testament revelation4 ,the pre-existent ,christ has significance in some ,gnostic schools1 but always a comparatively subordinate one4 ,the isolating of the person of ,christ1 and quite as much the explaining away of his humanity1 is manifestly out of harmony with the earliest tradition4 ,but1 on the other hand1 it must not be denied that the ,gnostics recognised redemption in the historical ,christ3 ,christ personally procured it 7see under #f4 h474 ,footnote #cdh3 ,in this thesis1 which may be directly corroborated by the most important ,gnostic teachers1 ,gnosticism shews that it desires in thesi 7in a way similar to ,philo7 to continue on the soil of ,christianity as a positive religion4 ,conscious of being bound to tradition1 it first definitely raised the question1 what is ,christianity8 and criticised and sifted the sources for an answer to the question4 ,the rejection of the ,old ,testament led it to that question and to this sifting4 ,it may be maintained with the greatest probability1 that the idea of a canonical collection of ,christian writings first emerged among the ,gnostics 7see also ,marcion74 ,they really needed such a collection1 while all those who recognised the ,old ,testament as a document of revelation1 and gave it a ,christian interpretation1 did not at first need a new document1 but simply joined on the new to the old1 the ,gospel to the ,old ,testament4 ,from the numerous fragments of ,gnostic commentaries on ,new ,testament writings which have been preserved1 we see that these writings there enjoyed canonical authority1 while at the same period1 we hear nothing of such authority1 nor of commentaries in the main body of ,christendom 7see ,heinrici1 ,die ,valentinianische ,gnosis1 u4 d4 h4 ,schrift1 #ahga74 ,undoubtedly1 sacred writings were selected according to the principle of apostolic origin4 ,this is proved by the inclusion of the ,pauline ,epistles in the collections of books4 ,there is evidence of such having been made by the ,naassenes1 ,peratae1 ,valentinians1 ,marcion1 ,tatian1 and the ,gnostic ,justin4 ,the collection of the ,valentinians1 and the ,canon of ,tatian must have really coincided with the main parts of the later ,ecclesiastical ,canon4 ,the later ,valentinians accommodated themselves to this ,canon1 that is1 recognised the books that had been added 7,tertull4 de praescr4 #ch74 ,the question as to who first conceived and realised the idea of a ,canon of ,christian writings1 ,basilides or ,valentinus or ,marcion or whether this was done by several at the same time1 will always remain obscure1 though many things favour ,marcion4 ,if it should even be proved that ,basilides 7see ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,,iv4 #g4 #g7 and ,valentinus himself1 regarded the ,gospels only as authoritative yet the full idea of the ,canon lies already in the fact of their making these the foundation and interpreting them allegorically4 ,the question as to the extent of the ,canon afterwards became the subject of an important controversy between the ,gnostics and the ,catholic ,church4 ,the ,catholics throughout took up the position that their ,canon was the earlier1 and the ,gnostic collection the corrupt revision of it 7they were unable to adduce proof1 as is attested by ,tertullian's de praescr47 ,but the aim of the ,gnostics to establish themselves on the uncorrupted apostolic tradition gathered from writings was crossed by three tendencies1 which1 moreover1 were all jointly operative in the ,christian communities and are therefore not peculiar to ,gnosticism4 7#a7 ,by faith in the continuance of prophecy1 in which new things are always revealed by the ,holy ,spirit 7the ,basilidean and ,marcionite prophets74 7#b7 ,by the assumption of an esoteric secret tradition of the ,apostles 7see ,clem4 ,strom4 ,,vii4 #ag4 #ajf1 #ajh1 ,hipp4 ,philos4 ,,vii4 #bj1 ,iren4 ,i4 #be4 #e1 ,,iii4 #b4 #a1 ,tertull4 de praescr4 #be4 ,cf4 the ,gnostic book ,greek3 ,pistis ,sophia1 which in great part is based on doctrines said to be imparted by ,jesus to his disciples after his resurrection74 7#c7 ,by the inability to oppose the continuous production of ,evangelic writings in other words by the continuance of this kind of literature and the addition of ,acts of the ,apostles 7,gospel of the ,egyptians 7871 other ,gospels1 ,acts of ,john1 ,thomas1 ,philip etc4 ,we know absolutely nothing about the conditions under which these writings originated the measure of authority which they enjoyed or the way in which they gained that authority74 ,in all these points which in ,gnosticism hindered the development of ,christianity to the religion of a new book the ,gnostic schools shew that they stood precisely under the same conditions as the ,christian communities in general 7see above ,chap4 #c ,sec4 #b74 ,if all things do not deceive us1 the same inner development may be observed even in the ,valentinian school1 as in the great ,church viz4 the production of sacred ,evangelic and ,apostolic writings1 prophecy and secret gnosis1 falling more and more into the background1 and the completed ,canon becoming the most important basis of the doctrine of religion4 ,the later ,valentinians 7see ,tertull4 de praescr4 and adv4 ,valent47 seem to have appealed chiefly to this ,canon1 and ,tatian no less 7about whose ,canon see my ,texte u ,unters ,i4 #a4 #b4 pp4 #bac-bah74 ,but finally we must refer to the fact that it was the highest concern of the ,gnostics to furnish the historical proof of the ,apostolic origin of their doctrine by an exact reference to the links of the tradition 7see ,ritschl ,entstehung der altkath ,kirche #bnd ed4 p4 #cch f474 ,here again it appears that ,gnosticism shared with ,christendom the universal presupposition that the valuable thing is the ,apostolic origin 7see above p4 #afj f471 but that it first created artificial chains of tradition1 and that this is the first point in which it was followed by the ,church 7see the appeals to the ,apostle ,matthew1 to ,peter and ,paul1 through the mediation of ,glaukias1 and ,theodas1 to ,james and the favourite disciples of the ,lord1 in the case of the ,naassenes1 ,ophites1 ,basilideans and ,valentinians1 etc41 see1 further1 the close of the ,epistle of ,ptolemy to ,flora in ,epiphan ,h4 #cc4 #g ,greek3 ,mathaesae exes kai ten toutou archen te ka kennesin1 axioumene tes apostolikes paradoseos4 he ek diadoches kai hemeis pareilephamen meta kairou sic ,greek3 kanonisai pantas tous logous tei tou soteros didaskalia1 as well as the passages adduced above under 7#b774 ,from this it further follows that the ,gnostics may have compiled their ,canon solely according to the principle of ,apostolic origin4 ,upon the whole we may see here how foolish it is to seek to dispose of ,gnosticism with the phrase lawless fancies4 ,on the contrary1 the ,gnostics purposely took their stand on the tradition1 nay they were the first in ,christendom who determined the range1 contents and manner of propagating the tradition4 ,they are thus the first ,christian theologians4 ,footnote #cdi3 ,here also we have a point of unusual historical importance4 ,as we first find a new ,canon among the ,gnostics so also among them 7and in ,marcion7 we first meet with the traditional complex of the ,christian ,kerygma as a doctrinal confession 7regula fidei71 that is1 as a confession which1 because it is fundamental1 needs a speculative exposition1 but is set forth by this exposition as the summary of all wisdom4 ,the hesitancy about the details of the ,kerygma1 only shews the general uncertainty which at that time prevailed4 ,but again1 we see that the later ,valentinians completely accommodated themselves to the later development in the ,church 7,tertull4 adv4 ,valent4 ,i3 communem fidem adfirmant7 that is attached themselves1 probably even from the first1 to the existing forms1 while in the ,marcionite ,church a peculiar regula was set up by a criticism of the tradition4 ,the regula as a matter of course1 was regarded as ,apostolic4 ,on ,gnostic regulae see ,iren4 ,i4 #ba4 #e1 #ca4 #c1 ,,ii4 praef4 ,,ii4 #ai4 #h1 ,,iii4 ,,ii4 #c1 ,,iii4 #af4 #a1 #e1 ,ptolem4 ap ,epiph4 h4 #cc4 #g1 ,tertull4 adv ,valent4 ,i4 #d1 de praescr4 #db1 adv ,marc4 ,i4 #a1 ,,iv4 #e1 #ag1 ,ep4 ,petri ad ,jacob in ,clem4 ,hom4 c4 #a4 ,we still possess in great part verbatim the regula of ,apelles1 in ,epiphan ,,ii4 #dd1 #b ,irenaeus 7,i4 #g4 #b7 and ,tertull 7de carne4 #bj7 state that the ,valentinian regula contained the formula1 ',greek3 gennethenta dia ,marias'1 see on this p4 #bjc4 ,in noting that the two points so decisive for ,catholicism the ,canon of the ,new ,testament and the ,apostolic regula were first1 in the strict sense1 set up by the ,gnostics on the basis of a definite fixing and systematising of the oldest tradition we may see that the weakness of ,gnosticism here consisted in its inability to exhibit the publicity of tradition and to place its propagation in close connection with the organisation of the churches4 ,footnote #cej3 ,we do not know the relation in which the ,valentinians placed the public ,apostolic regula fidei to the secret doctrine derived from one ,apostle4 ,the ,church in opposition to the ,gnostics strongly emphasised the publicity of all tradition4 ,yet afterwards though with reservations1 she gave a wide scope to the assumption of a secret tradition4 ,footnote #cea3 ,the ,gnostics transferred to the ,evangelic writings1 and demanded as simply necessary1 the methods which ,barnabas and others used in expounding the ,old ,testament 7see the samples of their exposition in ,irenaeus and ,clement4 ,heinrici1 l4 c474 ,in this way1 of course1 all the specialties of the systems may be found in the documents4 ,the ,church at first condemned this method 7,tertull4 de praescr4 #ag-ai4 #ci2 ,iren4 ,i4 #h4 #i71 but applied it herself from the moment in which she had adopted a ,new ,testament ,canon of equal authority with that of the ,old ,testament4 ,however1 the distinction always remained1 that in the confrontation of the two ,testaments with the views of getting proofs from prophecy1 the history of ,jesus described in the ,gospels was not at first allegorised4 ,yet afterwards1 the ,christological dogmas of the third and following centuries demanded a docetic explanation of many points in that history4 ,footnote #ceb3 ,in the ,valentinian1 as well as in all systems not coarsely dualistic1 the ,redeemer ,christ has no doubt a certain share in the constitution of the highest class of men1 but only through complicated mediations4 ,the significance which is attributed to ,christ in many systems for the production or organisation of the upper world1 may be mentioned4 ,in the ,valentinian system there are several mediators4 ,it may be noted that the abstract conception of the divine primitive ,being seldom called forth a real controversy4 ,as a rule1 offence was taken only at the expression4 ,footnote #cec3 ,the ,epistle of ,ptolemy to ,flora is very instructive here4 ,if we leave out of account the peculiar ,gnostic conception1 we have represented in ,ptolemy's criticism the later ,catholic view of the ,old ,testament1 as well as also the beginning of a historical conception of it4 ,the ,gnostics were the first critics of the ,old ,testament in ,christendom4 ,their allegorical exposition of the ,evangelic writings should be taken along with their attempts at interpreting the ,old ,testament literally and historically4 ,it may be noted1 for example1 that the ,gnostics were the first to call attention to the significance of the change of name for ,god in the ,old ,testament2 see ,iren4 ,,ii4 #ce44 #c4 ,the early ,christian tradition led to a procedure directly the opposite4 ,apelles1 in particular1 the disciple of ,marcion1 exercised an intelligent criticism on the ,old ,testament1 see my treatise1 de ,apellis gnosi4 p4 #ga sq41 and also ,texte u4 ,unters ,,vi4 #c4 p4 #aaa ff4 ,marcion himself recognised the historical contents of the ,old ,testament as reliable1 and the criticism of most ,gnostics only called in question its religious value4 ,footnote #ced3 ,ecclesiastical opponents rightly put no value on the fact1 that some ,gnostics advanced to ,pan-,satanism with regard to the conception of the world1 while others beheld a certain justitia civilis ruling in the world4 ,for the standpoint which the ,christian tradition had marked out1 this distinction is just as much a matter of indifference1 as the other1 whether the ,old ,testament proceeded from an evil1 or from an intermediate being4 ,the ,gnostics attempted to correct the judgment of faith about the world and its relation to ,god1 by an empiric view of the world4 ,here again they are by no means visionaries1 however fantastic the means by which they have expressed their judgment about the condition of the world1 and attempted to explain that condition4 ,those1 rather are visionaries who give themselves up to the belief that the world is the work of a good and omnipotent ,deity1 however apparently reasonable the arguments they adduce4 ,the ,gnostic 7,hellenistic7 philosophy of religion1 at this point1 comes into the sharpest opposition to the central point of the ,old ,testament ,christian belief1 and all else really depends on this4 ,gnosticism is antichristian so far as it takes away from ,christianity its ,old ,testament foundation1 and belief in the identity of the creator of the world with the supreme ,god4 ,that was immediately felt and noted by its opponents4 ,footnote #cee3 ,the ecclesiastical opposition was long uncertain on this point4 ,it is interesting to note that ,basilides portrayed the sin inherent in the child from birth1 in a way that makes one feel as though he were listening to ,augustine 7see the fragment from the #bcrd book of the ,greek3 ,exegetika in ,clem41 ,strom4 ,,vi4 #ab4 #hc74 ,but it is of great importance to note how even very special later terminologies1 dogmas1 etc41 of the ,church1 were in a certain way anticipated by the ,gnostics4 ,some samples will be given below2 but meanwhile we may here refer to a fragment from ,apelles' ,syllogisms in ,ambrosius 7de ,parad4 ,v4 #bh73 ,si hominem non perfectum fecit deus1 unusquisque autcm per industriam propriam perfectionem sibi virtutis adsciscit3 nonne videtur plus sibi homo adquirere1 quam ei deus contulit8 ,one seems here to be transferred into the fifth century4 ,footnote #cef3 ,the ,gnostic teaching did not meet with a vigorous resistance even on this point1 and could also appeal to the oldest tradition4 ,the arbitrariness in the number1 derivation and designation of the ,a,eons was contested4 ,the aversion to barbarism also co-operated here1 in so far as ,gnosticism delighted in mysterious words borrowed from the ,semites4 ,but the ,semitic element attracted as well as repelled the ,greeks and ,romans of the second century4 ,the ,gnostic terminologies within the ,a,eon speculations were partly reproduced among the ,catholic theologians of the third century2 most important is it that the ,gnostics have already made use of the concept ,greek3 homoousios2 see ,iren41 ,i4 #e4 #a3 ,greek3 alla to men pneumatikon me dedunesthai auten morphosai1 epeide homoousion huperchen autei 7said of the ,sophia73 ,l4 #e4 #d1 ,greek3 kai touton einai ton kat' eikona kai homoiosin gegonota2 kat' eikona men ton hulikon huparchein1 paraplesion men1 all' ouch homoousion toi theoi kath' homoiosin de ton psuchikon4 ,i4 #e4 #e3 ,greek3 to de kuema tes metros tes ,achamoth1 homoousion huparchon tei metri4 ,in all these cases the word means of one substance4 ,it is found in the same sense in ,clem41 ,hom4 #bj4 #g3 ,see also ,philos4 ,,vii4 #bb2 ,clem41 ,exc4 ,theod4 #db4 ,other terms also which have acquired great significance in the ,church since the days of ,origen1 7e4g41 ,greek3 agennetos71 are found among the ,gnostics1 see ,ep4 ,ptol4 ad ,floram1 #e2 and ,bigg4 7#a4 c4 p4 #eh1 note #c7 calls attention to the appearance ,greek3 trias in ,excerpt4 ex4 ,theod4 ,sec4 #hj1 perhaps the earliest passage4 ,footnote #ceg3 ,the characteristic of the ,gnostic ,christology is not ,docetism1 in the strict sense1 but the doctrine of the two natures1 that is1 the distinction between ,jesus and ,christ1 or the doctrine that the ,redeemer as ,redeemer was not a man4 ,the ,gnostics based this view on the inherent sinfulness of human nature1 and it was shared by many teachers of the age without being based on any principle 7see above1 p4 #aie f474 ,the most popular of the three ,christologies briefly characterised above was undoubtedly that of the ,valentinians4 ,it is found1 with great variety of details1 in most of the nameless fragments of ,gnostic literature that have been preserved1 as well as in ,apelles4 ,this ,christology might be accommodated to the accounts of the ,gospels and the baptismal confession 7how far is shewn by the regula of ,apelles1 and that of the ,valentinians may have run in similar terms74 ,it was taught here that ,christ had passed through ,mary as a channel2 from this doctrine followed very easily the notion of the ,virginity of ,mary1 uninjured even after the birth--it was already known to ,clem4 ,alex4 7,strom4 ,,vii4 #af4 #ic74 ,the ,church also1 later on1 accepted this view4 ,it is very difficult to get a clear idea of the ,christology of ,basilides1 as very diverse doctrines were afterwards set up in his school as is shewn by the accounts4 ,among them is the doctrine1 likewise held by others1 that ,christ in descending from the highest heaven took to himself something from every sphere through which he passed4 ,something similar is found among the ,valentinians1 some of whose prominent leaders made a very complicated phenomenon of ,christ1 and gave him also a direct relation to the demiurge4 ,there is further found here the doctrine of the heavenly humanity1 which was afterwards accepted by ecclesiastical theologians4 ,along with the fragments of ,basilides the account of ,clem4 ,alex4 seems to me the most reliable4 ,according to this1 ,basilides taught that ,christ descended on the man ,jesus at the baptism4 ,some of the ,valentinians taught something similar3 the ,christology of ,ptolemy is characterised by the union of all conceivable ,christology theories4 ,the different early ,christian conceptions may be found in him4 ,basilides did not admit a real union between ,christ and ,jesus2 but it is interesting to see how the ,pauline ,epistles caused the theologians to view the sufferings of ,christ as necessarily based on the assumption of sinful flesh1 that is1 to deduce from the sufferings that ,christ has assumed sinful flesh4 ,the ,basilidean ,christology will prove to be a peculiar preliminary stage of the later ecclesiastical ,christology4 ,the anniversary of the baptism of ,christ was to the ,basilideans1 as the day of the ,greek3 epiphaneia1 a high festival day 7see ,clem41 ,strom4 ,i4 #ba4 #adf73 they fixed it for the #fth 7#bnd7 ,january4 ,and in this also the ,catholic ,church has followed the ,gnosis4 ,the real docetic ,christology as represented by ,saturninus 7and ,marcion7 was radically opposed to the tradition1 and struck out the birth of ,jesus1 as well as the first #cj years of his life4 ,an accurate exposition of the ,gnostic ,christologies1 which would carry us too far here1 7see especially ,tertull41 de carne ,christi71 would shew1 that a great part of the questions which occupy ,church theologians till the present day1 were already raised by the ,gnostics2 for example1 what happened to the body of ,christ after the resurrection8 7see the doctrines of ,apelles and ,hermogenes72 what significance the appearance of ,christ had for the heavenly and ,satanic powers8 what meaning belongs to his sufferings1 although there was no real suffering for the heavenly ,christ1 but only for ,jesus8 etc4 ,in no other point do the anticipations in the ,gnostic dogmatic stand out so plainly 7see the system of ,origen2 many passages bearing on the subject will be found in the third and fourth volumes of this work1 to which readers are referred74 ,the ,catholic ,church has learned but little from the ,gnostics1 that is1 from the earliest theologians in ,christendom1 in the doctrine of ,god and the world1 but very much in ,christology1 and who can maintain that she has ever completely overcome the ,gnostic doctrine of the two natures1 nay1 even ,docetism8 ,redemption viewed in the historical person of ,jesus1 that is1 in the appearance of a ,divine being on the earth1 but the person divided and the real history of ,jesus explained away and made inoperative1 is the signature of the ,gnostic ,christology--this1 however1 is also the danger of the system of ,origen and those systems that are dependent on him 7,docetism7 as well as1 in another way1 the danger of the view of ,tertullian and the ,westerns 7doctrine of two natures74 ,finally1 it should be noted that the ,gnosis always made a distinction between the supreme ,god and ,christ1 but that1 from the religious position1 it had no reason for emphasising that distinction4 ,for to many ,gnostics1 ,christ was in a certain way the manifestation of the supreme ,god himself1 and therefore in the more popular writings of the ,gnostics 7see the ,acta ,johannis7 expressions are applied to ,christ which seem to identify him with ,god4 ,the same thing is true of ,marcion and also of ,valentinus 7see his ,epistle in ,clem41 ,strom4 ,,ii4 #bj4 #aad3 ,greek3 eis de estin agathos4 ou parousia he dia tou huiou phanerosis74 ,this ,gnostic estimate of ,christ has undoubtedly had a mighty influence on the later ,church development of ,christology4 ,we might say without hesitation that to most ,gnostics ,christ was a ,greek3 pneuma homoousion toi patri4 ,the details of the life1 sufferings and resurrection of ,jesus are found in many ,gnostics1 transformed1 complemented and arranged in the way in which ,celsus 7,orig41 c4 ,cels4 ,i4 ,,ii47 required for an impressive and credible history4 ,celsus indicates how everything must have taken place if ,christ had been a ,god in human form4 ,the ,gnostics in part actually narrate it so4 ,what an instructive coincidence6 ,how strongly the docetic view itself was expressed in the case of ,valentinus1 and how the exaltation of ,jesus above the earthly was thereby to be traced back to his moral struggle1 is shewn in the remarkable fragment of a letter 7in ,clem41 ,strom4 ,,iii4 #g4 #ei73 ,greek3 ,panta hupomeinas egkrates ten theoteta ,iesous eirgazeto4 esthien gar kai apien idios ouk apodidous ta bromata1 tosaute en autoi tes egkrateias dunamis1 hoste kai me phtharenai ten trophen en autoi epei to phtheresthai autos ouk eichen4 ,in this notion1 however1 there is more sense and historical meaning than in that of the later ecclesiastical aphtharto-docetism4 ,footnote #ceh3 ,the ,gnostic distinction of classes of men was connected with the old distinction of stages in spiritual understanding1 but has its basis in a law of nature4 ,there were again empirical and psychological views--they must have been regarded as very important1 had not the ,gnostics taken them from the traditions of the philosophic schools--which made the universalism of the ,christian preaching of salvation1 appear unacceptable to the ,gnostics4 ,moreover1 the transformation of religion into a doctrine of the school1 or into a mystery cult1 always resulted in the distinction of the knowing from the profanum vulgus4 ,but in the ,valentinian assumption that the common ,christians as psychical occupy an intermediate stage1 and that they are saved by faith1 we have a compromise which completely lowered the ,gnosis to a scholastic doctrine within ,christendom4 ,whether and in what way the ,catholic ,church maintained the significance of ,pistis as contrasted with ,gnosis1 and in what way the distinction between the knowing 7priests7 and the laity was there reached1 will be examined in its proper place4 ,it should be noted1 however1 that the ,valentinian1 ,ptolemy1 ascribes freedom of will to the psychic 7which the pneumatic and hylic lack71 and therefore has sketched by way of by-work a theology for the psychical beside that for the pneumatic1 which exhibits striking harmonies with the exoteric system of ,origen4 ,the denial by ,gnosticism of free will1 and therewith of moral responsibility1 called forth very decided contradiction4 ,gnosticism1 that is1 the acute hellenising of ,christianity1 was wrecked in the ,church on free will1 the ,old ,testament and eschatology4 ,footnote #cei3 ,the greatest deviation of ,gnosticism from tradition appears in eschatology1 along with the rejection of the ,old ,testament and the separation of the creator of the world from the supreme ,god4 ,upon the whole our sources say very little about the ,gnostic eschatology4 ,this1 however1 is not astonishing2 for the ,gnostics had not much to say on the matter1 or what they had to say found expression in their doctrine of the genesis of the world1 and that of redemption through ,christ4 ,we learn that the regula of ,apelles closed with the words3 ,greek3 anepte eis ouranon hothen kai heke1 instead of ,greek3 hothen erchetai krinai zontas kai nekrous4 ,we know that ,marcion1 who may already be mentioned here1 referred the whole eschatological expectations of early ,christian times to the province of the god of the ,jews1 and we hear that ,gnostics 7,valentinians7 retained the words ,greek3 sarkos anastasin1 but interpreted them to mean that one must rise in this life1 that is perceive the truth 7thus the resurrectio a mortuis1 that is1 exaltation above the earthly1 took the place of the resurrectio mortuorum2 ,see ,iren4 ,,ii4 #ca4 #b3 ,tertull41 de resurr4 carnis1 #ai74 ,while the ,christian tradition placed a great drama at the close of history1 the ,gnostics regard the history itself as the drama1 which virtually closes with the 7first7 appearing of ,christ4 ,it may not have been the opinion of all ,gnostics that the resurrection has already taken place1 yet for most of them the expectations of the future seem to have been quite faint1 and above all without significance4 ,the life is so much included in knowledge1 that we nowhere in our sources find a strong expression of hope in a life beyond 7it is different in the earliest ,gnostic documents preserved in the ,coptic language71 and the introduction of the spirits into the ,pleroma appears very vague and uncertain4 ,but it is of great significance that those ,gnostics who1 according to their premises1 required a real redemption from the world as the highest good1 remained finally in the same uncertainty and religious despondency with regard to this redemption1 as characterised the ,greek philosophers4 ,a religion which is a philosophy of religion remains at all times fixed to this life1 however strongly it may emphasise the contrast between the spirit and its surroundings1 and however ardently it may desire redemption4 ,the desire for redemption is unconsciously replaced by the thinker's joy in his knowledge1 which allays the desire 7,iren4 ,,iii4 #ae4 #b3 ,inflatus est iste scil4 the ,valentinian proud of knowledge neque in coelo1 neque in terra putat se esse1 sed intra ,pleroma introisse et complexum jam angelum suum1 cum institorio et supercilio incedit gallinacei elationem habens4444 ,plurimi1 quasi jam perfecti1 semetipsos spiritales vocant1 et se nosse jam dicunt eum qui sit intra ,pleroma ipsorum refrigerii locum74 ,as in every philosophy of religion1 an element of free thinking appears very plainly here also4 ,the eschatological hopes can only have been maintained in vigour by the conviction that the world is of ,god4 ,but we must finally refer to the fact1 that even in eschatology1 ,gnosticism only drew the inferences from views which were pressing into ,christendom from all sides1 and were in an increasing measure endangering its hopes of the future4 ,besides1 in some ,valentinian circles1 the future life was viewed as a condition of education1 as a progress through the series of the 7seven7 heavens2 i4e41 purgatorial experiences in the future were postulated4 ,both afterwards1 from the time of ,origen1 forced their way into the doctrine of the ,church 7purgatory1 different ranks in heaven71 ,clement and ,origen being throughout strongly influenced by the ,valentinian eschatology4 ,footnote #cfj3 ,see the passage ,clem4 ,strom4 ,,iii4 #f1 #di1 which is given above1 p4 #bch4 ,footnote #cfa3 ,cf4 the ,apocryphal ,acts of ,apostles and diverse legends of ,apostles 7e4g41 in ,clem4 ,alex474 ,footnote #cfb3 ,more can hardly be said3 the heads of schools were themselves earnest men4 ,no doubt statements such as that of ,heracleon seem to have led to laxity in the lower sections of the collegium3 ,greek3 homologian einai ten men en tei pistei kai politeiai4 ten de en phonei2 he men oun en phonei homologia kai epi ton exousion ginetai1 hen monen homologian hegountai einai hoi polloi1 ouch hugios dunantai de tauten ten homologian kai hoi hupokritai homologein4 ,footnote #cfc3 ,see ,epiph4 h4 #bf1 and the statements in the ,coptic ,gnostic works4 7,schmidt1 ,texte u ,unters4 ,,viii4 #a4 #b1 p4 #eff ff474 ,footnote #cfd3 ,there arose in this way an extremely difficult theoretical problem1 but practically a convenient occasion for throwing asceticism altogether overboard1 with the ,gnostic asceticism1 or restricting it to easy exercises4 ,this is not the place for entering into the details4 ,shibboleths1 such as ,greek3 pheugete ou tas phuseis alla tas gnomas ton kakon1 may have soon appeared4 ,it may be noted here1 that the asceticism which gained the victory in ,monasticism1 was not really that which sprang from early ,christian1 but from ,greek impulses1 without1 of course1 being based on the same principle4 ,gnosticism anticipated the future even here4 ,that could be much more clearly proved in the history of the worship4 ,a few points which are of importance for the history of dogma may be mentioned here3 7#a7 ,the ,gnostics viewed the traditional sacred actions 7,baptism and the ,lord's ,supper7 entirely as mysteries1 and applied to them the terminology of the mysteries 7some ,gnostics set them aside as psychic72 but in doing so they were only drawing the inferences from changes which were then in process throughout ,christendom4 ,to what extent the later ,gnosticism in particular was interested in sacraments1 may be studied especially in the ,pistis ,sophia and the other ,coptic works of the ,gnostics1 which ,carl ,schmidt has edited2 see1 for example1 ,pistis ,sophia1 p4 #bcc4 ,dixit ,jesus ad suos ,greek3 mathetas2 amen dixi vobis1 haud adduxi quidquam in ,greek3 kosmon veniens nisi hunc ignem et hanc aquam et hoc vinum et hunc sanguinem4 7#b7 ,they increased the holy actions by the addition of new ones1 repeated baptisms 7expiations71 anointing with oil1 sacrament of confirmation ,greek3 apolutrosis2 see1 on ,gnostic sacraments1 ,iren4 ,i4 #bj1 and ,lipsius1 ,apokr4 ,apostelgesch4 ,i4 pp4 #ccf-cdc1 and cf4 the ,greek3 puknos metanosusi in the delineation of the ,shepherd of ,hermas4 ,mand4 ,,xi4 7#c7 ,marcus represented the wine in the ,lord's ,supper as actual blood in consequence of the act of blessing3 see ,iren41 ,i4 #ac4b3 ,greek3 poteria oino kekramena prospoioumenos eucharistein kai epi pleon ekteinon ton logon tes epikleseos1 porphurea kai eruthra anaphainesthai poiei1 hos dokein ten apo ton huper ta hola charin to haima to heautes stazein en ekeino to poterio dia tes epikleseos autou1 kai huperimeiresthai tous parontas ex ekeinou geusasthai tou pomatos1 hina kai eis autous epombrese he dia tou magou toutou kleizomene charis4 ,marcus was indeed a charlatan2 but religious charlatanry afterwards became very earnest1 and was certainly taken earnestly by many adherents of ,marcus4 ,the transubstantiation idea1 in reference to the elements in the mysteries1 is also plainly expressed in the ,excerpt4 ex4 ,theodot4 ,sec4 #hb3 ,greek3 kai ho artos kai to elaion agiazetai te dunamei tou onomatos ou ta auta onta kata to phainomenon dia elephthe1 alla du amei eis dunamin pneumatiken metabebletai 7that is1 not into a new super-terrestrial material1 not into the real body of ,christ1 but into a spiritual power7 ,greek3 outos kai to hudor kai to exorkizomenon kai to baptisma ginomenon ou monon chorei to cheiron1 alla kai agiasmon proslambanei4 ,irenaeus possessed a liturgical handbook of the ,marcionites1 and communicates many sacramental formula from it 7,i4 c4 #ac sq74 ,in my treatise on the ,pistis ,sophia 7,texte u4 ,unters4 ,,vii4 #b4 pp4 #ei-id7 ,i think ,i have shewn 7,the common ,christian and the ,catholic elements of the ,pistis ,sophia7 to what extent ,gnosticism anticipated ,catholicism as a system of doctrine and an institute of worship4 ,these results have been strengthened by ,carl ,schmidt 7,texte u4 ,unters4 ,,viii4 #a4 #b74 ,even purgatory1 prayers for the dead1 and many other things1 raised in speculative questions and definitely answered1 are found in those ,coptic ,gnostic writings1 and are then met with again in ,catholicism4 ,one general remark may be permitted in conclusion4 ,the ,gnostics were not interested in apologetics1 and that is a very significant fact4 ,the ,greek3 pneuma in man was regarded by them as a supernatural principle1 and on that account they are free from all rationalism and moralistic dogmatism4 ,for that very reason they are in earnest with the idea of revelation1 and do not attempt to prove it or convert its contents into natural truths4 ,they did endeavour to prove that their doctrines were ,christian1 but renounced all proof that revelation is the truth 7proofs from antiquity74 ,one will not easily find in the case of the ,gnostics themselves1 the revealed truth described as philosophy1 or morality as the philosophic life4 ,if we compare therefore1 the first and fundamental system of ,catholic doctrine1 that of ,origen1 with the system of the ,gnostics1 we shall find that ,origen1 like ,basilides and ,valentinus1 was a philosopher of revelation1 but that he had besides a second element which had its origin in apologetics4 ,,chapter ,v ,,marcion',s ,,attempt ,,to ,,set ,,aside ,,the ,,old ,,testament ,,foundation ,,of ,,christianity1 ,,to ,,purify ,,tradition ,,and ,,to ,,reform ,,christendom ,,on ,,the ,,basis ,,of ,,the ,,pauline ,,gospel ,marcion cannot be numbered among the ,gnostics in the strict sense of the word4#cfe ,for 7#a7 he was not guided by any speculatively scientific1 or even by an apologetic1 but by a soteriological interest4#cff 7#b7 ,he therefore put all emphasis on faith1 not on ,gnosis4#cfg 7#c7 ,in the exposition of his ideas he neither applied the elements of any ,semitic religious wisdom1 nor the methods of the ,greek philosophy of religion4#cfh 7#d7 ,he never made the distinction between an esoteric and an exoteric form of religion4 ,he rather clung to the publicity of the preaching1 and endeavoured to reform ,christendom1 in opposition to the attempts at founding schools for those who knew and mystery cults for such as were in quest of initiation4 ,it was only after the failure of his attempts at reform that he founded churches of his own1 in which brotherly equality1 freedom from all ceremonies1 and strict evangelical discipline were to rule4#cfi ,completely carried away with the novelty1 uniqueness and grandeur of the ,pauline ,gospel of the grace of ,god in ,christ1 ,marcion felt that all other conceptions of the ,gospel1 and especially its union with the ,old ,testament religion1 was opposed to1 and a backsliding from the truth4#cgj ,he accordingly supposed that it was necessary to make the sharp antitheses of ,paul1 law and gospel1 wrath and grace1 works and faith1 flesh and spirit1 sin and righteousness1 death and life1 that is the ,pauline criticism of the ,old ,testament religion1 the foundation of his religious views1 and to refer them to two principles1 the righteous and wrathful god of the ,old ,testament1 who is at the same time identical with the creator of the world1 and the ,god of the ,gospel1 quite unknown before ,christ1 who is only love and mercy4#cga ,this ,paulinism in its religious strength1 but without dialectic1 without the ,jewish ,christian view of history1 and detached from the soil of the ,old ,testament1 was to him the true ,christianity4 ,marcion1 like ,paul1 felt that the religious value of a statutory law with commandments and ceremonies1 was very different from that of a uniform law of love4#cgb ,accordingly1 he had a capacity for appreciating the ,pauline idea of faith2 it is to him reliance on the unmerited grace of ,god which is revealed in ,christ4 ,but ,marcion shewed himself to be a ,greek1 influenced by the religious spirit of the time1 by changing the ethical contrast of the good and legal into the contrast between the infinitely exalted spiritual and the sensible which is subject to the law of nature1 by despairing of the triumph of good in the world and1 consequently1 correcting the traditional faith that the world and history belong to ,god1 by an empirical view of the world and the course of events in it1#cgc a view to which he was no doubt also led by the severity of the early ,christian estimate of the world4 ,yet to him systematic speculation about the final causes of the contrast actually observed1 was by no means the main thing4 ,so far as he himself ventured on such a speculation he seems to have been influenced by the ,syrian ,cerdo4 ,the numerous contradictions which arise as soon as one attempts to reduce ,marcion's propositions to a system1 and the fact that his disciples tried all possible conceptions of the doctrine of principles1 and defined the relation of the two ,gods very differently1 are the clearest proof that ,marcion was a religious character1 that he had in general nothing to do with principles1 but with living beings whose power he felt1 and that what he ultimately saw in the ,gospel was not an explanation of the world1 but redemption from the world1#cgd--redemption from a world1 which even in the best that it can offer1 has nothing that can reach the height of the blessing bestowed in ,christ4#cge ,special attention may be called to the following particulars4 #a4 ,marcion explained the ,old ,testament in its literal sense and rejected every allegorical interpretation4 ,he recognised it as the revelation of the creator of the world and the god of the ,jews1 but placed it1 just on that account1 in sharpest contrast to the ,gospel4 ,he demonstrated the contradictions between the ,old ,testament and the ,gospel in a voluminous work 7the ,greek3 antitheseis74#cgf ,in the god of the former book he saw a being whose character was stern justice1 and therefore anger2 contentiousness and unmercifulness4 ,the law which rules nature and man appeared to him to accord with the characteristics of this god and the kind of law revealed by him1 and therefore it seemed credible to him that this god is the creator and lord of the world 7,greek3 kosmokrator74 ,as the law which governs the world is inflexible1 and yet1 on the other hand1 full of contradictions1 just and again brutal1 and as the law of the ,old ,testament exhibits the same features1 so the god of creation was to ,marcion a being who united in himself the whole gradations of attributes from justice to malevolence1 from obstinacy to inconsistency4#cgg ,into this conception of the creator of the world1 the characteristic of which is that it cannot be systematised1 could easily be fitted the ,syrian ,gnostic theory which regards him as an evil being1 because he belongs to this world and to matter4 ,marcion did not accept it in principle1#cgh but touched it lightly and adopted certain inferences4#cgi ,on the basis of the ,old ,testament and of empirical observation1 ,marcion divided men into two classes1 good and evil1 though he regarded them all1 body and soul1 as creatures of the demiurge4 ,the good are those who strive to fulfil the law of the demiurge4 ,these are outwardly better than those who refuse him obedience4 ,but the distinction found here is not the decisive one4 ,to yield to the promptings of ,divine grace is the only decisive distinction1 and those just men will shew themselves less susceptible to the manifestation of the truly good than sinners4 ,as ,marcion held the ,old ,testament to be a book worthy of belief1 though his disciple1 ,apelles1 thought otherwise1 he referred all its predictions to a ,messiah whom the creator of the world is yet to send1 and who1 as a warlike hero1 is to set up the earthly kingdom of the just ,god4#chj #b4 ,marcion placed the good ,god of love in opposition to the creator of the world4#cha ,this ,god has only been revealed in ,christ4 ,he was absolutely unknown before ,christ1#chb and men were in every respect strange to him4#chc ,out of pure goodness and mercy1 for these are the essential attributes of this ,god who judges not and is not wrathful1 he espoused the cause of those beings who were foreign to him1 as he could not bear to have them any longer tormented by their just and yet malevolent lord4#chd ,the ,god of love appeared in ,christ and proclaimed a new kingdom 7,tertull41 adv4 ,marc4 ,,iii4 #bd4 fin474 ,christ called to himself the weary and heavy laden1#che and proclaimed to them that he would deliver them from the fetters of their lord and from the world4 ,he shewed mercy to all while he sojourned on the earth1 and did in every respect the opposite of what the creator of the world had done to men4 ,they who believed in the creator of the world nailed him to the cross4 ,but in doing so they were unconsciously serving his purpose1 for his death was the price by which the ,god of love purchased men from the creator of the world4#chf ,he who places his hope in the ,crucified can now be sure of escaping from the power of the creator of the world1 and of being translated into the kingdom of the good ,god4 ,but experience shews that1 like the ,jews1 men who are virtuous according to the law of the creator of the world1 do not allow themselves to be converted by ,christ2 it is rather sinners who accept his message of redemption4 ,christ1 therefore1 rescued from the under-world1 not the righteous men of the ,old ,testament 7,iren4 ,i4 #bg4 #c71 but the sinners who were disobedient to the creator of the world4 ,if the determining thought of ,marcion's view of ,christianity is here again very clearly shewn1 the ,gnostic woof cannot fail to be seen in the proposition that the good ,god delivers only the souls1 not the bodies of believers4 ,the antithesis of spirit and matter1 appears here as the decisive one1 and the good ,god of love becomes the ,god of the spirit1 the ,old ,testament god the god of the flesh4 ,in point of fact1 ,marcion seems to have given such a turn to the good ,god's attributes of love1 and incapability of wrath1 as to make ,him the apathetic1 infinitely exalted ,being1 free from all affections4 ,the contradiction in which ,marcion is here involved is evident1 because he taught expressly that the spirit of man is in itself just as foreign to the good ,god as his body4 ,but the strict asceticism which ,marcion demanded as a ,christian1 could have had no motive1 without the ,greek assumption of a metaphysical contrast of flesh and ,spirit1 which in fact was also apparently the doctrine of ,paul4 #c4 ,the relation in which ,marcion placed the two ,gods1 appears at first sight to be one of equal rank4#chg ,marcion himself1 according to the most reliable witnesses1 expressly asserted that both were uncreated1 eternal1 etc4 ,but if we look more closely we shall see that in ,marcion's mind there can be no thought of equality4 ,not only did he himself expressly declare that the creator of the world is a self-contradictory being of limited knowledge and power1 but the whole doctrine of redemption shews that he is a power subordinate to the good ,god4 ,we need not stop to enquire about the details1 but it is certain that the creator of the world formerly knew nothing of the existence of the good ,god1 that he is in the end completely powerless against him1 that he is overcome by him1 and that history in its issue with regard to man1 is determined solely by its relation to the good ,god4 ,the just god appears at the end of history1 not as an independent being1 hostile to the good ,god1 but as one subordinate to him1#chh so that some scholars1 such as ,neander1 have attempted to claim for ,marcion a doctrine of one principle1 and to deny that he ever held the complete independence of the creator of the world1 the creator of the world being simply an angel of the good ,god4 ,this inference may certainly be drawn with little trouble1 as the result of various considerations1 but it is forbidden by reliable testimony4 ,the characteristic of ,marcion's teaching is just this1 that as soon as we seek to raise his ideas from the sphere of practical considerations to that of a consistent theory1 we come upon a tangled knot of contradictions4 ,the theoretic contradictions are explained by the different interests which here cross each other in ,marcion4 ,in the first place1 he was consciously dependent on the ,pauline theology1 and was resolved to defend everything which he held to be ,pauline4 ,secondly1 he was influenced by the contrast in which he saw the ethical powers involved4 ,this contrast seemed to demand a metaphysical basis1 and its actual solution seemed to forbid such a foundation4 ,finally1 the theories of ,gnosticism1 the paradoxes of ,paul1 the recognition of the duty of strictly mortifying the flesh1 suggested to ,marcion the idea that the good ,god was the exalted ,god of the spirit1 and the just god the god of the sensuous1 of the flesh4 ,this view1 which involved the principle of a metaphysical dualism1 had something very specious about it1 and to its influence we must probably ascribe the fact that ,marcion no longer attempted to derive the creator of the world from the good ,god4 ,his disciples who had theoretical interests in the matter1 no doubt noted the contradictions4 ,in order to remove them1 some of these disciples advanced to a doctrine of three principles1 the good ,god1 the just creator of the world1 the evil god1 by conceiving the creator of the world sometimes as an independent being1 sometimes as one dependent on the good ,god4 ,others reverted to the common dualism1 ,god of the spirit and god of matter4 ,but ,apelles1 the most important of ,marcion's disciples1 returned to the creed of the one ,god 7,greek3 mia arche71 and conceived the creator of the world and ,satan as his angels1 without departing from the fundamental thought of the master1 but rather following suggestions which he himself had given4#chi ,apart from ,apelles1 who founded a ,church of his own1 we hear nothing of the controversies of disciples breaking up the ,marcionite church4 ,all those who lived in the faith for which the master had worked--viz41 that the laws ruling in nature and history1 as well as the course of common legality and righteousness1 are the antitheses of the act of ,divine mercy in ,christ1 and that cordial love and believing confidence have their proper contrasts in self-righteous pride and the natural religion of the heart1--those who rejected the ,old ,testament and clung solely to the ,gospel proclaimed by ,paul1 and finally1 those who considered that a strict mortification of the flesh and an earnest renunciation of the world were demanded in the name of the ,gospel1 felt themselves members of the same community1 and to all appearance allowed perfect liberty to speculations about final causes4 #d4 ,marcion had no interest in specially emphasising the distinction between the good ,god and ,christ1 which according to the ,pauline ,epistles1 could not be denied4 ,to him ,christ is the manifestation of the good ,god himself4#cij ,but ,marcion taught that ,christ assumed absolutely nothing from the creation of the ,demiurge1 but came down from heaven in the #aeth year of the ,emperor ,tiberius1 and after the assumption of an apparent body1 began his preaching in the synagogue of ,capernaum4#cia ,this pronounced docetism which denies that ,jesus was born1 or subjected to any human process of development1#cib is the strongest expression of ,marcion's abhorrence of the world4 ,this aversion may have sprung from the severe attitude of the early ,christians toward the world1 but the inference which ,marcion here draws1 shews1 that this feeling was1 in his case1 united with the ,greek estimate of spirit and matter4 ,but ,marcion's docetism is all the more remarkable that1 under ,paul's guidance1 he put a high value on the fact of ,christ's death upon the cross4 ,here also is a glaring contradiction which his later disciples laboured to remove4 ,this much1 however1 is unmistakable1 that ,marcion succeeded in placing the greatness and uniqueness of redemption through ,christ in the clearest light and in beholding this redemption in the person of ,christ1 but chiefly in his death upon the cross4 #e4 ,marcion's eschatology is also quite rudimentary4 ,yet be assumed with ,paul that violent attacks were yet in store for the ,church of the good ,god on the part of the ,jewish ,christ of the future1 the ,antichrist4 ,he does not seem to have taught a visible return of ,christ1 but1 in spite of the omnipotence and goodness of ,god1 he did teach a twofold issue of history4 ,the idea of a deliverance of all men1 which seems to follow from his doctrine of boundless grace1 was quite foreign to him4 ,for this very reason1 he could not help actually making the good ,god the judge1 though in theory he rejected the idea1 in order not to measure the will and acts of ,god by a human standard4 ,along with the fundamental proposition of ,marcion1 that ,god should be conceived only as goodness and grace1 we must take into account the strict asceticism which he prescribed for the ,christian communities1 in order to see that that idea of ,god was not obtained from antinomianism4 ,we know of no ,christian community in the second century which insisted so strictly on renunciation of the world as the ,marcionites4 ,no union of the sexes was permitted4 ,those who were married had to separate ere they could be received by baptism into the community4 ,the sternest precepts were laid down in the matter of food and drink4 ,martyrdom was enjoined2 and from the fact that they were ,greek3 talaiporoi kai misoumenoi in the world1 the members were to know that they were disciples of ,christ4#cic ,with all that1 the early ,christian enthusiasm was wanting4 #f4 ,marcion defined his position in theory and practice towards the prevailing form of ,christianity1 which1 on the one hand1 shewed throughout its connection with the ,old ,testament1 and1 on the other1 left room for a secular ethical code1 by assuming that it had been corrupted by ,judaism1 and therefore needed a reformation4#cid ,but he could not fail to note that this corruption was not of recent date1 but belonged to the oldest tradition itself4 ,the consciousness of this moved him to a historical criticism of the whole ,christian tradition4#cie ,marcion was the first ,christian who undertook such a task4 ,those writings to which he owed his religious convictions1 viz41 the ,pauline ,epistles1 furnished the basis for it4 ,he found nothing in the rest of ,christian literature that harmonised with the ,gospel of ,paul4 ,but he found in the ,pauline ,epistles hints which explained to him this result of his observations4 ,the twelve ,apostles whom ,christ chose did not understand him1 but regarded him as the ,messiah of the god of creation4#cif ,and therefore ,christ inspired ,paul by a special revelation1 lest the ,gospel of the grace of ,god should be lost through falsifications4#cig ,but even ,paul had been understood only by few 7by none874 ,his ,gospel had also been misunderstood1 nay1 his ,epistles had been falsified in many passages1#cih in order to make them teach the identity of the god of creation and the ,god of redemption4 ,a new reformation was therefore necessary4 ,marcion felt himself entrusted with this commission1 and the church which he gathered recognised this vocation of his to be the reformer4#cii ,he did not appeal to a new revelation such as he presupposed for ,paul4 ,as the ,pauline ,epistles and an authentic ,greek3 euangelion kuriou were in existence1 it was only necessary to purify these from interpolations1 and restore the genuine ,paulinism which was just the ,gospel itself4 ,but it was also necessary to secure and preserve this true ,christianity for the future4 ,marcion1 in all probability1 was the first to conceive and1 in great measure1 to realise the idea of placing ,christendom on the firm foundation of a definite theory of what is ,christian--but not of basing it on a theological doctrine--and of establishing this theory by a fixed collection of ,christian writings with canonical authority4#djj ,he was not a systematic thinker2 but he was more1 for he was not only a religious character1 but at the same time a man with an organising talent1 such as has no peer in the early ,church4 ,if we think of the lofty demands he made on ,christians1 and1 on the other hand1 ponder the results that accompanied his activity1 we cannot fail to wonder4 ,wherever ,christians were numerous about the year #afj1 there must have been ,marcionite communities with the same fixed but free organisation1 with the same canon and the same conception of the essence of ,christianity1 pre-eminent for the strictness of their morals and their joy in martyrdom4#dja ,the ,catholic ,church was then only in process of growth1 and it was long ere it reached the solidity won by the ,marcionite church through the activity of one man1 who was animated by a faith so strong that he was able to oppose his conception of ,christianity to all others as the only right one1 and who did not shrink from making selections from tradition instead of explaining it away4 ,he was the first who laid the firm foundation for establishing what is ,christian1 because1 in view of the absoluteness of his faith1#djb he had no desire to appeal either to a secret evangelic tradition1 or to prophecy1 or to natural religion4 ,remarks4--,the innovations of ,marcion are unmistakable4 ,the way in which he attempted to sever ,christianity from the ,old ,testament was a bold stroke which demanded the sacrifice of the dearest possession of ,christianity as a religion1 viz41 the belief that the ,god of creation is also the ,god of redemption4 ,and yet this innovation was partly caused by a religious conviction1 the origin of which must be sought not in heathenism1 but on ,old ,testament and ,christian soil4 ,for the bold ,anti-judaist was the disciple of a ,jewish thinker1 ,paul1 and the origin of ,marcion's antinomianism may be ultimately found in the prophets4 ,it will always be the glory of ,marcion in the early history of the ,church that he1 the born heathen1 could appreciate the religious criticism of the ,old ,testament religion as formerly exercised by ,paul4 ,the antinomianism of ,marcion was ultimately based on the strength of his religious feeling1 on his personal religion as contrasted with all statutory religion4 ,that was also its basis in the case of the prophets and of ,paul1 only the statutory religion which was felt to be a burden and a fetter was different in each case4 ,as regards the prophets1 it was the outer sacrificial worship1 and the deliverance was the idea of ,jehovah's righteousness4 ,in the case of ,paul1 it was the pharisaic treatment of the law1 and the deliverance was righteousness by faith4 ,to ,marcion it was the sum of all that the past had described as a revelation of ,god3 only what ,christ had given him was of real value to him4 ,in this conviction he founded a ,church4 ,before him there was no such thing in the sense of a community1 firmly united by a fixed conviction1 harmoniously organised1 and spread over the whole world4 ,such a ,church the ,apostle ,paul had in his mind's eye1 but he was not able to realise it4 ,that in the century of the great mixture of religion the greatest apparent paradox was actually realised3 namely1 a ,paulinism with two ,gods and without the ,old ,testament2 and that this form of ,christianity first resulted in a church which was based not only on intelligible words1 but on a definite conception of the essence of ,christianity as a religion1 seems to be the greatest riddle which the earliest history of ,christianity presents4 ,but it only seems so4 ,the ,greek1 whose mind was filled with certain fundamental features of the ,pauline ,gospel 7law and grace71 who was therefore convinced that in all respects the truth was there1 and who on that account took pains to comprehend the real sense of ,paul's statements1 could hardly reach any other results than those of ,marcion4 ,the history of ,pauline theology in the ,church1 a history first of silence1 then of artificial interpretation1 speaks loudly enough4 ,and had not ,paul really separated ,christianity as religion from ,judaism and the ,old ,testament8 ,must it not have seemed an inconceivable inconsistency1 if he had clung to the special national relation of ,christianity to the ,jewish people1 and if he had taught a view of history in which for paedagogic reasons indeed1 the ,father of mercies and ,god of all comfort had appeared as one so entirely different8 ,he who was not capable of translating himself into the consciousness of a ,jew1 and had not yet learned the method of special interpretation1 had only the alternative1 if he was convinced of the truth of the ,gospel of ,christ as ,paul had proclaimed it1 of either giving up this ,gospel against the dictates of his conscience1 or striking out of the ,epistles whatever seemed ,jewish4 ,but in this case the god of creation also disappeared1 and the fact that ,marcion could make this sacrifice proves that this religious spirit1 with all his energy1 was not able to rise to the height of the religious faith which we find in the preaching of ,jesus4 ,in basing his own position and that of his church on ,paulism1 as he conceived and remodelled it1 ,marcion connected himself with that part of the earliest tradition of ,christianity which is best known to us1 and has enabled us to understand his undertaking historically as we do no other4 ,here we have the means of accurately indicating what part of this structure of the second century has come down from the ,apostolic age and is really based on tradition1 and what does not4 ,where else could we do that8 ,but ,marcion has taught us far more4 ,he does not impart a correct understanding of early ,christianity1 as was once supposed1 for his explanation of that is undoubtedly incorrect1 but a correct estimate of the reliability of the traditions that were current in his day alongside of the ,pauline4 ,there can be no doubt that ,marcion criticised tradition from a dogmatic stand-point4 ,but would his undertaking have been at all possible1 if at that time a reliable tradition of the twelve ,apostles and their teaching had existed and been operative in wide circles8 ,we may venture to say no4 ,consequently1 ,marcion gives important testimony against the historical reliability of the notion that the common ,christianity was really based on the tradition of the twelve ,apostles4 ,it is not surprising that the first man who clearly put and answered the question1 ,what is ,christian8 adhered exclusively to the ,pauline ,epistles1 and therefore found a very imperfect solution4 ,when more than #afjj years later the same question emerged for the first time in scientific form1 its solution had likewise to be first attempted from the ,pauline ,epistles1 and therefore led at the outset to a one-sidedness similar to that of ,marcion4 ,the situation of ,christendom in the middle of the second century was not really more favourable to a historical knowledge of early ,christianity1 than that of the #ahth century1 but in many respects more unfavourable4 ,even at that time1 as attested by the enterprise of ,marcion1 its results1 and the character of the polemic against him1 there were besides the ,pauline ,epistles1 no reliable documents from which the teaching of the twelve ,apostles could have been gathered4 ,the position which the ,pauline ,epistles occupy in the history of the world is1 however1 described by the fact that every tendency in the ,church which was unwilling to introduce into ,christianity the power of ,greek mysticism1 and was yet no longer influenced by the early ,christian eschatology1 learned from the ,pauline ,epistles a ,christianity which1 as a religion1 was peculiarly vigorous4 ,but that position is further described by the fact that every tendency which courageously disregards spurious traditions1 is compelled to turn to the ,pauline ,epistles1 which1 on the one hand1 present such a profound type of ,christianity1 and on the other1 darken and narrow the judgment about the preaching of ,christ himself1 by their complicated theology4 ,marcion was the first1 and for a long time the only ,gentile ,christian who took his stand on ,paul4 ,he was no moralist1 no ,greek mystic1 no ,apocalyptic enthusiast1 but a religious character1 nay1 one of the few pronouncedly typical religious characters whom we know in the early ,church before ,augustine4 ,but his attempt to resuscitate ,paulinism is the first great proof that the conditions under which this ,christianity originated do not repeat themselves1 and that therefore ,paulinism itself must receive a new construction if one desires to make it the basis of a ,church4 ,his attempt is a further proof of the unique value of the ,old ,testament to early ,christendom1 as the only means at that time of defending ,christian monotheism4 ,finally1 his attempt confirms the experience that a religious community can only be founded by a religious spirit who expects nothing from the world4 ,nearly all ecclesiastical writers1 from ,justin to ,origen1 opposed ,marcion4 ,he appeared already to ,justin as the most wicked enemy4 ,we can understand this1 and we can quite as well understand how the ,church ,fathers put him on a level with ,basilides and ,valentinus1 and could not see the difference between them4 ,because ,marcion elevated a better ,god above the god of creation1 and consequently robbed the ,christian ,god of his honour1 he appeared to be worse than a heathen 7,sentent4 episc4 ,,lxxxvii41 in ,hartel's edition of ,cyprian1 ,i4 p4 #ded2 ,gentiles quamvis idola colant1 tamen summum deum patrem creatorem cognoscunt et confitentur 62 in hunc ,marcion blasphemat1 etc471 as a blaspheming emissary of demons1 as the first-born of ,satan 7,polyc41 ,justin1 ,irenaeus74 ,because he rejected the allegoric interpretation of the ,old ,testament1 and explained its predictions as referring to a ,messiah of the ,jews who was yet to come1 he seemed to be a ,jew 7,tertull41 adv4 ,marc4 ,,iii474 ,because he deprived ,christianity of the apologetic proof 7the proof from antiquity7 he seemed to be a heathen and a ,jew at the same time 7see my ,texte u4 ,unters4 ,i4 #c1 p4 #fh2 the antitheses of ,marcion became very important for the heathen and ,manichaean assaults on ,christianity74 ,because he represented the twelve ,apostles as unreliable witnesses1 he appeared to be the most wicked and shameless of all heretics4 ,finally1 because he gained so many adherents1 and actually founded a church1 he appeared to be the ravening wolf 7,justin1 ,rhodon71 and his church as the spurious church4 7,tertull41 adv4 ,marc4 ,,iv4 #e74 ,in ,marcion the ,church ,fathers chiefly attacked what they attacked in all ,gnostic heretics1 but here error shewed itself in its worst form4 ,they learned much in opposing ,marcion 7see ,bk4 ,,ii474 ,for instance1 their interpretation of the regula fidei and of the ,new ,testament received a directly ,antimarcionite expression in the ,church4 ,one thing1 however1 they could not learn from him1 and that was how to make ,christianity into a philosophic system4 ,he formed no such system1 but he has given a clearly outlined conception1 based on historic documents1 of ,christianity as the religion which redeems the world4 ,literature4--,all anti-heretical writings of the early ,church1 but especially ,justin1 ,apol4 ,i4 #bf1 #eh2 ,iren4 ,i4 #bg2 ,tertull41 adv4 ,marc4 ,i-,v42 de praescr42 ,hippol41 ,philos42 ,adamant41 de recta in deum fidei2 ,epiph4 h4 #db2 ,ephr4 ,syr42 ,esnik4 ,the older attempts to restore the ,marcionite ,gospel and ,apostolicum have been antiquated by ,zahn's ,kanonsgeschichte1 l4 c4 ,hahn 7,regimonti1 #ahbc7 has attempted to restore the ,antitheses4 ,we are still in want of a ,german monograph on ,marcion 7see the whole presentation of ,gnosticism by ,zahn1 with his ,excursus1 l4 c474 ,hilgenfeld1 ,ketzergesch4 p4 #caf f4 #ebb f42 cf4 my works1 ,zur ,quellenkritik des ,gnosticismus1 #ahgc2 de ,apelles ,gnosis ,monarchia1 #ahgd2 ,beitraege z4 ,gesch4 der ,marcionitischen ,kirchen 7,ztschr4 f4 wiss4 ,theol4 #ahgf74 ,marcion's ,commentar zum ,evangelium 7,ztschr4 f4 ,k4 ,g4 ,bd4 ,,iv4 #d74 ,apelles ,syllogismen in the ,texte u4 ,unters4 ,,vi4 ,h4 #c4 ,zahn1 die ,dialoge des ,adamantius in the ,ztschr4 f4 ,k4-,gesch4 ,,ix4 p4 #aic ff4 ,meyboom1 ,marcion en de ,marcionieten1 ,leiden1 #ahhh4 ,footnote #cfe3 ,he belonged to ,pontus and was a rich shipowner3 about #aci he came to ,rome already a ,christian1 and for a short time belonged to the church there4 ,as he could not succeed in his attempt to reform it1 he broke away from it about #add4 ,he founded a church of his own and developed a very great activity4 ,he spread his views by numerous journeys and communities bearing his name very soon arose in every province of the ,empire 7,adamantius1 de recta in deum fide1 ,origen ,opp4 ed ,delarue #a4 p4 #hji1 ,epiph4 h4 #db4 p4 #ffh1 ed4 ,oehler74 ,they were ecclesiastically organised 7,tertull41 de praescr4 #da4 and adv4 ,marc4 ,,iv4 #e7 and possessed bishops1 presbyters1 etc4 7,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,,iv4 #ae4 #df3 de ,mart4 ,palaest4 ,x4 #b2 ,les ,bas and ,waddington ,inscript1 ,grecq4 et ,latines rec4 en ,grece et en ,asie ,min4 ,vol4 ,,iii4 ,no4 #beeh74 ,justin 7,apol4 #a4 #bf7 about #aej tells us that ,marcion's preaching had spread ,greek3 kata pan genos anthropon and by the year #aee1 the ,marcionites were already numerous in ,rome 7,iren4 ,,iii4 #cd74 ,up to his death however ,marcion did not give up the purpose of winning the whole of ,christendom and therefore again and again sought connection with it 7,iren4 ,i4 c42 ,tertull41 de praescr4 #cj71 likewise his disciples 7see the conversation of ,apelles with ,rhodon in ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,v4 #ac4 #e4 and the dialogue of the ,marcionites with ,adamantius74 ,it is very probable that ,marcion had fixed the ground features of his doctrine and had laboured for its propagation even before he came to ,rome4 ,in ,rome the ,syrian ,gnostic ,cerdo had a great influence on him1 so that we can even yet perceive1 and clearly distinguish the ,gnostic element in the form of the ,marcionite doctrine transmitted to us4 ,footnote #cff3 ,sufficit1 said the ,marcionites1 unicum opsus deo nostro quod hominem liberavit summa et praecipua bonitate sua 7,tertull4 adv4 ,marc4 ,i4 #ag74 ,footnote #cfg3 ,apelles1 the disciple of ,marcion1 declared 7,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,v4 #ac4 #e7 ,greek3 sothesesthai tous epi ton estauromenon elpikotas1 monon ean en ergois agathois euriskontai4 ,footnote #cfh3 ,this is an extremely important point4 ,marcion rejected all allegories 7,see ,tertull4 adv4 ,marc4 ,,ii4 #ai4 #ba1 #bb1 ,,iii4 #e4 #f1 #ad1 #ai1 ,,iv4 #ae4 #bj1 ,v4 #a1 ,orig4 ,comment4 in ,matth4 ,t4 ,,xv4 #c1 ,opp4 ,,iii4 p4 #fee1 in ep4 ad4 ,rom4 ,opp4 ,,iv4 p4 #did sq41 ,adamant4 ,sect4 ,i41 ,orig4 ,opp4 ,i4 pp4 #hjh1 #hag1 ,ephr4 ,syrus4 hymn4 #cf41 ,edit4 ,benedict p4 #ebj sq47 and describes this method as an arbitrary one4 ,but that simply means that he perceived and avoided the transformation of the ,gospel into ,hellenic philosophy4 ,no philosophic formulae are found in any of his statements that have been handed down to us4 ,but what is still more important1 none of his early opponents have attributed to ,marcion a system as they did to ,basilides and ,valentinus4 ,there can be no doubt that ,marcion did not set up any system 7the ,armenian ,esnik first gives a ,marcionite system but that is a late production1 see my essay in the ,ztschr4 f4 wiss4 ,theol4 #ahif1 p4 #hj f474 ,he was just as far from having any apologetic or rationalistic interest2 ,justin 7,apol4 ,i4 #eh7 says of the ,marcionites ,greek3 apodeixin medemian peri hon legousin echousin alla alogos hos hupo lukou arnes sunerpasmenoi k4t4l44 ,tertullian again and again casts in the teeth of ,marcion that he has adduced no proof4 ,see ,i4 #aa sq41 ,,iii4 #b4 #c1 #d1 ,,iv4 #aa3 ,subito ,christus subito et ,johannes ,sic sunt omnia apud ,marcionem quae suum et plenum habent ordinem apud creatorem4 ,rhodon 7,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,v4 #ac4 #d7 says of two prominent genuine disciples of ,marcion ,greek3 me euriskontes ten diairesin ton pragmaton hos oude ekeinos duo archas apephenanto psilos ka anapodeiktos4 ,of ,apelles the most important of ,marcion's disciples1 who laid aside the ,gnostic borrows of his master1 we have the words 7#a4 c7 ,greek3 me dein holos exetazein ton logon all' hekaston hos pepisteuke diamenein ,sothesesthai var tous eti ton estaromenon elpikotas apephaineto monon ean en ergois agathois heuriskontai4 to de pos esti mia arche me ginoskein elegen houto de kineisthai monon4 me epistasthai pos eis estin agennetos theos touto de pisteuein4 ,it was ,marcion's purpose therefore to give all value to faith alone to make it dependent on its own convincing power and avoid all philosophic paraphrase and argument4 ,the contrast in which he placed the ,christian blessing of salvation has in principle nothing in common with the contract in which ,greek philosophy viewed the summum bonum4 ,finally it may be pointed out that ,marcion introduced no new elements 7,a,eons1 ,matter1 etc47 into his evangelic views and leant on no ,oriental religious science4 ,the later ,marcionite speculations about matter 7see the account of ,esnik7 should not be charged upon the master himself as is manifest from the second book of ,tertullian against ,marcion4 ,the assumption that the creator of the world created it out of a materia subjacens is certainly found in ,marcion 7see ,tertull4 #a4 #ae1 ,hippol4 ,philos4 ,x4 #ai7 but he speculated no further about it and that assumption itself was not rejected1 for example1 by ,clem4 ,alex4 7,strom4 ,,ii4 #af4 #gd1 ,photius on ,clement's ,hypotyposes74 ,marcion did not really speculate even about the good ,god1 yet see ,tertull4 adv4 ,marc4 ,i4 #ad4 #ae1 ,,iv4 #g3 ,mundus ille superior--coelum tertium4 ,footnote #cfi3 ,tertull41 de praescr4 #da4 sq42 the delineation refers chiefly to the ,marcionites 7see ,epiph4 h4 #db4 c4 #c4 #d1 and ,esnik's account71 on the ,church system of ,marcion1 see also ,tertull41 adv4 ,marc4 ,i4 #ad1 #ba1 #bc1 #bd1 #bh1 #bi3 ,,iii4 #a1 #bb3 ,,iv4 #e1 #cd3 ,v4 #g1 #aj1 #ae1 #ah4 ,footnote #cgj3 ,marcion himself originally belonged to the main body of the ,church1 as is expressly declared by ,tertullian and ,epiphanius1 and attested by one of his own letters4 ,footnote #cga3 ,tertull41 adv4 ,marc4 ,i4 #b1 #ai3 ,separatio legis et evangelii proprium et principale opus est ,marcionis 444 ex diversitate sententiarum utriusque instrumenti diversitatem quoque argumentatur deorum4 ,,ii4 #bh1 #bi3 ,,iv4 #a4 ,i4 #f3 dispares deos1 alterum1 judicem1 ferum1 bellipotentem2 alterum mitem1 placidum et tantummodo bonum atque optimum4 ,iren4 ,i4 #bg4 #b4 ,footnote #cgb3 ,marcion maintained that the good ,god is not to be feared4 ,tertull41 adv4 ,marc4 ,i4 #bg3 ,atque adeo prae se ferunt ,marcionitae quod deum suum omnino non timeant4 ,malus autem1 inquiunt1 timebitur2 bonus autem diligitur4 ,to the question why they did not sin if they did not fear their ,god1 the ,marcionites answered in the words of ,rom4 ,,vi4 #a4 #b4 7l4 c74 ,footnote #cgc3 ,tertull41 adv4 ,marc4 ,i4 #b2 ,,ii4 #e4 ,footnote #cgd3 ,see the passage adduced1 p4 #bff1 note #b1 and ,tertull1 ,i4 #ai3 ,immo inquiunt ,marcionitae1 deus noster1 etsi non ab initio1 etsi non per conditionem1 sed per semetipsum revelatus est in ,christi ,jesu4 ,the very fact that different theological tendencies 7schools7 appeared within ,marcionite ,christianity and were mutually tolerant1 proves that the ,marcionite ,church itself was not based on a formulated system of faith4 ,apelles expressly conceded different forms of doctrine in ,christendom1 on the basis of faith in the ,crucified and a common holy ideal of life 7see p4 #bfg74 ,footnote #cge3 ,tertull41 ,i1 #ac4 ,narem contrahentes impudentissimi ,marcionitae convertuntur ad destructionem operum creatoris4 ,nimirum1 inquiunt1 grande opus et dignum deo mundus8 ,the ,marcionites 7,iren41 ,,iv4 #cd4 #a7 put the question to their ecclesiastical opponents1 ,quid novi attulit dominus veniens8 and therewith caused them no small embarrassment4 ,footnote #cgf3 ,on these see ,tertull4 ,i4 #ai2 ,,ii4 #bh4 #bi2 ,,iv4 #a1 #d1 #f2 ,epiph4 ,hippol41 ,philos4 ,,vii4 #cj2 the book was used by other ,gnostics also 7it is very probable that #a ,tim4 ,,vi4 #bj1 an addition to the ,epistle--refers to ,marcion's ,antitheses74 ,apelles1 ,marcion's disciple1 composed a similar work under the title of ,syllogismi4 ,marcion's ,antitheses1 which may still in part be reconstructed from ,tertullian1 ,epiphanius1 ,adamantius1 ,ephraem1 etc41 possessed canonical authority in the ,marcionite church1 and therefore took the place of the ,old ,testament4 ,that is quite clear from ,tertull41 ,i4 #ai 7cf4 ,,iv4 #a73 ,separatio legis et ,evangelii proprium et principale opus est ,marcionis1 nee poterunt negare discipuli ejus1 quod in summo 7suo7 instrumento habent1 quo denique initiantur et indurantur in hanc haeresim4 ,footnote #cgg3 ,tertullian has frequently pointed to the contradictions in the ,marcionite conception of the god of creation4 ,these contradictions1 however1 vanish as soon as we regard ,marcion's god from the point of view that he is like his revelation in the ,old ,testament4 ,footnote #cgh3 ,the creator of the world is indeed to ,marcion malignus1 but not malus4 ,footnote #cgi3 ,marcion touched on it when he taught that the visibilia belonged to the god of creation1 but the invisibilia to the good ,god 7,i4 #af74 ,he adopted the consequences1 inasmuch as he taught docetically about ,christ1 and only assumed a deliverance of the human soul4 ,footnote #chj3 ,see especially the third book of ,tertull41 adv4 ,marcion4 ,footnote #cha3 ,solius bonitatis1 deus melior1 were ,marcion's standing expressions for him4 ,footnote #chb3 ,deus incognitus was likewise a standing expression4 ,they maintained against all attacks the religious position that1 from the nature of the case1 believers only can know ,god1 and that this is quite sufficient 7,tertull41 #a4 #aa74 ,footnote #chc3 ,marcion firmly emphasised this and appealed to passages in ,paul2 see ,tertull41 ,i4 #aa1 #ai1 #bc3 scio dicturos1 atquin hanc esse principalem et perfectam bonitatem1 cum sine ullo debito familiaritatis in extraneos voluntaria et libera effunditur1 secundum quam inimicos quoque nostros et hoc nomine jam extraneos deligere jubeamur4 ,the ,church ,fathers therefore declared that ,marcion's good ,god was a thief and a robber4 ,see also ,celsus1 in ,orig4 ,,vi4 #ec4 ,footnote #chd3 ,see ,esnik's account1 which1 however1 is to be used cautiously4 ,footnote #che3 ,marcion has strongly emphasised the respective passages in ,luke's ,gospel3 see his ,antitheses1 and his comments on the ,gospel1 as presented by ,tertullian 7l4 ,,iv74 ,footnote #chf3 ,that can be plainly read in ,esnik1 and must have been thought by ,marcion himself1 as he followed ,paul 7see ,tertull41 l4 ,v4 and ,i4 #aa74 ,apelles also emphasised the death upon the cross4 ,marcion's conception of the purchase can indeed no longer be ascertained in its details4 ,but see ,adamant41 de recta in deum fide1 sect4 ,i4 ,it is one of his theoretic contradictions that the good ,god who is exalted above righteousness should yet purchase men4 ,footnote #chg3 ,tertull4 ,i4 #f3 ,marcion non negat creatorem deum esse4 ,footnote #chh3 ,here ,tertull41 ,i4 #bg1 #bh1 is of special importance2 see also ,,ii4 #bh3 ,,iv4 #bi 7on ,luke ,,xii4 #da-df73 ,,iv4 #cj4 ,marcion's idea was this4 ,the good ,god does not judge or punish2 but ,he judges in so far as he keeps evil at a distance from ,him3 it remains foreign to ,him4 ,marcionitae interrogati quid fiet peccatori cuique die illo8 respondent abici illum quasi ab oculis4 ,tranquilitas est et mansuetudinis segregare solummodo et partem ejus cum infidelibus ponere4 ,but what is the end of him who is thus rejected8 ,ab igne1 inquiunt1 creatoris deprehendetur4 ,we might think with ,tertullian that the creator of the world would receive sinners with joy3 but this is the god of the law who punishes sinners4 ,the issue is twofold3 the heaven of the good ,god1 and the hell of the creator of the world4 ,either ,marcion assumed with ,paul that no one can keep the law1 or he was silent about the end of the righteous because he had no interest in it4 ,at any rate1 the teaching of ,marcion closes with an outlook in which the creator of the world can no longer be regarded as an independent god4 ,marcion's disciples 7see ,esnik7 here developed a consistent theory3 the creator of the world violated his own law by killing the righteous ,christ1 and was therefore deprived of all his power by ,christ4 ,footnote #chi3 ,schools soon arose in the ,marcionite church1 just as they did later on in the main body of ,christendom 7see ,rhodon in ,euseb1 ,h4 ,e4 ,v4 #ac4 #b-d74 ,the different doctrines of principles which were here developed 7two1 three1 four principles2 the ,marcionite ,marcus's doctrine of two principles in which the creator of the world is an evil being1 diverges furthest from the ,master71 explain the different accounts of the ,church ,fathers about ,marcion's teaching4 ,the only one of the disciples who really seceded from the ,master1 was ,apelles 7,tertull41 de praescr4 #cj74 ,his teaching is therefore the more important1 as it shews that it was possible to retain the fundamental ideas of ,marcion without embracing dualism4 ,the attitude of ,apelles to the ,old ,testament is that of ,marcion1 in so far as he rejects the book4 ,but perhaps he somewhat modified the strictness of the ,master4 ,on the other hand1 he certainly designated much in it as untrue and fabulous4 ,it is remarkable that we meet with a highly honoured prophetess in the environment of ,apelles3 in ,marcion's church we hear nothing of such1 nay1 it is extremely important as regards ,marcion1 that he has never appealed to the ,spirit and to prophets4 ,the sanctiores feminae ,tertull4 ,v4 #h1 are not of this nature1 nor can we appeal even to ,v4 #ae4 ,moreover1 it is hardly likely that ,jerome ad ,eph4 ,,iii4 #e1 refers to ,marcionites4 ,in this complete disregard of early ,christian prophecy1 and in his exclusive reliance on literary documents1 we see in ,marcion a process of despiritualising1 that is1 a form of secularisation peculiar to himself4 ,marcion no longer possessed the early ,christian enthusiasm as1 for example1 ,hermas did4 ,footnote #cij3 ,marcion was fond of calling ,christ ,spiritus salutaris4 ,from the treatise of ,tertullian we can prove both that ,marcion distinguished ,christ from ,god1 and that he made no distinction 7see1 for example1 ,i4 #aa1 #ad2 ,,ii4 #bg2 ,,iii4 #h1 #i1 #aa2 ,,iv4 #g74 ,here again ,marcion did not think theologically4 ,what he regarded as specially important was that ,god has revealed himself in ,christ1 per semetipsum4 ,later ,marcionites expressly taught ,patripassianism1 and have on that account been often grouped with the ,sabellians4 ,but other ,christologies also arose in ,marcion's church1 which is again a proof that it was not dependent on scholastic teaching1 and therefore could take part in the later development of doctrines4 ,footnote #cia3 ,see the beginning of the ,marcionite ,gospel4 ,footnote #cib3 ,tertullian informs us sufficiently about this4 ,the body of ,christ was regarded by ,marcion merely as an umbra1 a phantasma4 ,his disciples adhered to this1 but ,apelles first constructed a doctrine of the body of ,christ4 ,footnote #cic3 ,the strict asceticism of ,marcion and the ,marcionites is reluctantly acknowledged by the ,church ,fathers2 see ,tertull41 de praescr4 #cj3 ,sanctissimus magister2 ,i4 #bh1 carni imponit sanctitem4 ,the strict prohibition of marriage3 ,i4 #bi3 ,,iv4 #aa1 #ag1 #bi1 #cd1 #ch3 ,v4 #g1 #h1 #ae4 #ah2 prohibition of food3 ,i4 #ad2 cynical life3 ,hippol41 ,philos4 ,,vii4 #bi2 numerous martyrs3 ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,v4 #af1 #ba4 and frequently elsewhere4 ,marcion named his adherents 7,tertull4 ,,iv4 #i #cf7 ,greek3 suntalaiporoi kai summisoumenoi4 ,it is questionable whether ,marcion himself allowed the repetition of baptism2 it arose in his church4 ,but this repetition is a proof that the prevailing conception of baptism was not sufficient for a vigorous religious temper4 ,footnote #cid3 ,tertull4 ,i4 #bj4 ,aiunt1 ,marcionem non tam innovasse regulam separatione legis et evangelii quam retro adulteratam recurasse4 ,see the account of ,epiphanius1 taken from ,hippolytus1 about the appearance of ,marcion in ,rome 7h4 #db4 #a1 #b74 ,footnote #cie3 ,here again we must remember that ,marcion appealed neither to a secret tradition1 nor to the ,spirit1 in order to appreciate the epoch-making nature of his undertaking4 ,footnote #cif3 ,in his estimate of the twelve ,apostles ,marcion took as his standpoint ,gal4 ,,ii4 ,see ,tertull4 ,i4 #bj3 ,,iv4 #c 7generally ,,iv4 #a-f71 ,v4 #c2 de praescr4 #bb4 #bc4 ,he endeavoured to prove from this chapter that from a misunderstanding of the words of ,christ1 the twelve ,apostles had proclaimed a different ,gospel than that of ,paul2 they had wrongly taken the ,father of ,jesus ,christ for the god of creation4 ,it is not quite clear how ,marcion conceived the inward condition of the ,apostles during the lifetime of ,jesus 7,see ,tertull4 ,,iii4 #bb3 ,,iv4 #c4 #ci74 ,he assumed that they were persecuted by the ,jews as the preachers of a new ,god4 ,it is probable1 therefore1 that he thought of a gradual obscuring of the preaching of ,jesus in the case of the primitive ,apostles4 ,they fell back into ,judaism2 see ,iren4 ,,iii4 #b4 #b4 ,apostolos admiscuisse ea quae sunt legalia salvatoris verbis2 ,,iii4 #ab4 #ab3 ,apostoli quae sunt ,judaeorum sentientes scripserunt etc42 ,tertull4 ,v4 #c3 ,apostolos vultis ,judaismi magis adfines subintelligi4 ,the expositions of ,marcion in ,tertull4 ,,iv4 #i1 #aa1 #ac1 #ba1 #bd1 #ci3 ,v4 #ac4 shew that he regarded the primitive ,apostles as out and out real ,apostles of ,christ4 ,footnote #cig3 ,the call of ,paul was viewed by ,marcion as a manifestation of ,christ1 of equal value with ,his first appearance and ministry2 see the account of ,esnik4 ,then for the second time ,jesus came down to the lord of the creatures in the form of his ,godhead1 and entered into judgment with him on account of his death4444 ,and ,jesus said to him3 ',judgment is between me and thee1 let no one be judge but thine own laws4444 hast thou not written in this thy law1 that he who killeth shall die8' ,and he answered1 ',i have so written' 444 ,jesus said to him1 ',deliver thyself therefore into my hands' 444 ,the creator of the world said1 ',because ,i have slain thee ,i give thee a compensation1 all those who shall believe on thee1 that thou mayest do with them what thou pleasest4' ,then ,jesus left him and carried away ,paul1 and shewed him the price1 and sent him to preach that we are bought with this price1 and that all who believe in ,jesus are sold by this just god to the good one4 ,this is a most instructive account2 for it shews that in the ,marcionite schools the ,pauline doctrine of reconciliation was transformed into a drama1 and placed between the death of ,christ and the call of ,paul1 and that the ,pauline ,gospel was based1 not directly on the death of ,christ upon the cross1 but on a theory of it converted into history4 ,on ,paul as the one apostle of the truth2 see ,tertull4 ,i4 #bj3 ,,iii4 #e1 #ad3 ,,iv4 #b sq43 ,,iv4 #cd3 ,v4 #a4 ,as to a ,marcionite theory that the promise to send the ,spirit was fulfilled in the mission of ,paul1 an indication of the want of enthusiasm among the ,marcionites1 see the following page1 note #b4 ,footnote #cih3 ,marcion must have spoken ex professo in his ,antitheses about the ,judaistic corruptions of ,paul's ,epistles and the ,gospel4 ,he must also have known ,evangelic writings bearing the names of the original ,apostles1 and have expressed himself about them 7,tertull4 ,,iv4 #a-f74 ,footnote #cii3 ,marcion's self-consciousness of being a reformer1 and the recognition of this in his church is still not understood1 although his undertaking itself and the facts speak loud enough4 7#a7 ,the great ,marcionite church called itself after ,marcion 7,adamant41 de recta in deum fide4 ,i4 #hji2 ,epiph4 h4 #db1 p4 #ffh1 ed4 ,oehler3 ,greek3 ,markion sou to onoma epikeklentai hoi upo sou epatemenoi1 hos seauton keruxantos kai ouchi ,christon4 ,we possess a ,marcionite inscription which begins3 ,greek3 sunagoge ,markioniston74 ,as the ,marcionites did not form a school1 but a church1 it is of the greatest value for shewing the estimate of the master in this church1 that its members called themselves by his name4 7#b7 ,the ,antitheses of ,marcion had a place in the ,marcionite canon 7see above1 p4 #bgj74 ,this canon therefore embraced a book of ,christ1 ,epistles of ,paul1 and a book of ,marcion1 and for that reason the ,antitheses were always circulated with the canon of ,marcion4 7#c7 ,origen 7in ,luc4 hom4 #be4 ,t4 ,,iii4 p4 #ifb7 reports as follows3 ,denique in tantam quidam dilectionis audaciam proruperunt1 ut nova quaedam et inaudita super ,paulo monstra confingerent4 ,alli enim aiunt1 hoc quod scriptum est1 sedere a dextris salvatoris et sinistris1 de ,paulo et de ,marcione dici1 quod ,paulus sedet a dextris1 ,marcion sedet a sinistris4 ,porro alii legentes3 ,mittam vobis advocatum ,spiritum veritatis1 nolunt intelligere tertiam personam a patre et filio1 sed ,apostolum ,paulum4 ,the estimate of ,marcion which appears here is exceedingly instructive4 7#d7 ,an ,arabian writer1 who1 it is true1 belongs to a later period1 reports that ,marcionites called their founder ,apostolorum principem4 7#e7 ,justin1 the first opponent of ,marcion1 classed him with ,simon ,magus and ,menander1 that is1 with demonic founders of religion4 ,these testimonies may suffice4 ,footnote #djj3 ,on ,marcion's ,gospel see the ,introductions to the ,new ,testament and ,zahn's ,kanonsgeschichte1 ,bd4 ,i41 p4 #ehe ff4 and ,,ii41 p4 #dji4 ,marcion attached no name to his ,gospel1 which1 according to his own testimony1 he produced from the third one of our ,canon 7,tertull1 adv4 ,marc4 ,,iv4 #b1 #c1 #d74 ,he called it simply ,greek3 euangelion 7kuriou71 but held that it was the ,gospel which ,paul had in his mind when he spoke of his ,gospel4 ,the later ,marcionites ascribed the authorship of the ,gospel partly to ,paul1 partly to ,christ himself1 and made further changes in it4 ,that ,marcion chose the ,gospel called after ,luke should be regarded as a makeshift2 for this ,gospel1 which is undoubtedly the most ,hellenistic of the four ,canonical ,gospels1 and therefore comes nearest to the ,catholic conception of ,christianity1 accommodated itself in its traditional form but little better than the other three to ,marcionite ,christianity4 ,whether ,marcion took it for a basis because in his time it had already been connected with ,paul 7or really had a connection with ,paul71 or whether the numerous narratives about ,jesus as the ,saviour of sinners1 led him to recognise in this ,gospel alone a genuine kernel1 we do not know4 ,footnote #dja3 ,the associations of the ,encratites and the community founded by ,apelles stood between the main body of ,christendom and the ,marcionite church4 ,the description of ,celsus 7especially ,v4 #fa-fd in ,orig47 shews the motley appearance which ,christendom presented soon after the middle of the second century4 ,he there mentions the ,marcionites1 and a little before 7,v4 #ei71 the great ,church4 ,it is very important that ,celsus makes the main distinction consist in this1 that some regarded their ,god as identical with the ,god of the ,jews1 whilst others again declared that theirs was a different ,deity who is hostile to that of the ,jews1 and that it was he who had sent the ,son4 7,v4 #fa74 ,footnote #djb3 ,one might be tempted to comprise the character of ,marcion's religion in the words1 ,the ,god who dwells in my breast can profoundly excite my inmost being4 ,he who is throned above all my powers can move nothing outwardly4 ,but ,marcion had the firm assurance that ,god has done something much greater than move the world3 he has redeemed men from the world1 and given them the assurance of this redemption1 in the midst of all oppression and enmity which do not cease4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,appendix3 ,,the ,,christianity ,,of ,,the ,,jewish ,,christians #a4 ,original ,christianity was in appearance ,christian ,judaism1 the creation of a universal religion on ,old ,testament soil4 ,it retained therefore1 so far as it was not hellenised1 which never altogether took place1 its original ,jewish features4 ,the ,god of ,abraham1 ,isaac and ,jacob was regarded as the ,father of ,jesus ,christ1 the ,old ,testament was the authoritative source of revelation1 and the hopes of the future were based on the ,jewish ones4 ,the heritage which ,christianity took over from ,judaism1 shews itself on ,gentile ,christian soil1 in fainter or distincter form1 in proportion as the philosophic mode of thought already prevails1 or recedes into the background4#djc ,to describe the appearance of the ,jewish1 ,old ,testament1 heritage in the ,christian faith1 so far as it is a religious one1 by the name ,jewish ,christianity1 beginning at a certain point quite arbitrarily chosen1 and changeable at will1 must therefore necessarily lead to error1 and it has done so to a very great extent4 ,for this designation makes it appear as though the ,jewish element in the ,christian religion were something accidental1 while it is rather the case that all ,christianity1 in so far as something alien is not foisted into it1 appears as the religion of ,israel perfected and spiritualised4 ,we are therefore not justified in speaking of ,jewish ,christianity1 where a ,christian community1 even one of ,gentile birth1 calls itself the true ,israel1 the people of the twelve tribes1 the posterity of ,abraham2 for this transfer is based on the original claim of ,christianity and can only be forbidden by a view that is alien to it4 ,just as little may we designate ,jewish ,christian the mighty and realistic hopes of the future which were gradually repressed in the second and third centuries4 ,they may be described as ,jewish1 or as ,christian2 but the designation ,jewish ,christian must be rejected2 for it gives a wrong impression as to the historic right of these hopes in ,christianity4 ,the eschatological ideas of ,papias were not ,jewish ,christian1 but ,christian2 while1 on the other hand1 the eschatological speculations of ,origen were not ,gentile ,christian1 but essentially ,greek4 ,those ,christians who saw in ,jesus the man chosen by ,god and endowed with the ,spirit1 thought about the ,redeemer not in a ,jewish ,christian1 but in a ,christian manner4 ,those of ,asia ,minor who held strictly to the #adth of ,nisan as the term of the ,easter festival1 were not influenced by ,jewish ,christian1 but by ,christian or ,old ,testament1 considerations4 ,the author of the ,teaching of the ,apostles1 who has transferred the rights of the ,old ,testament priests with respect to the first fruits1 to the ,christian prophets1 shews himself by such transference not as a ,jewish ,christian1 but as a ,christian4 ,there is no boundary here2 for ,christianity took possession of the whole of ,judaism as religion1 and it is therefore a most arbitrary view of history which looks upon the ,christian appropriation of the ,old ,testament religion1 after any point1 as no longer ,christian1 but only ,jewish ,christian4 ,wherever the universalism of ,christianity is not violated in favour of the ,jewish nation1 we have to recognise every appropriation of the ,old ,testament as ,christian4 ,hence this proceeding could be spontaneously undertaken in ,christianity1 as was in fact done4 #b4 ,but the ,jewish religion is a national religion1 and ,christianity burst the bonds of nationality1 though not for all who recognised ,jesus as ,messiah4 ,this gives the point at which the introduction of the term ,jewish ,christianity is appropriate4#djd ,it should be applied exclusively to those ,christians who really maintained in their whole extent1 or in some measure1 even if it were to a minimum degree1 the national and political forms of ,judaism and the observance of the ,mosaic law in its literal sense1 as essential to ,christianity1 at least to the ,christianity of born ,jews1 or who1 though rejecting these forms1 nevertheless assumed a prerogative of the ,jewish people even in ,christianity 7,clem41 ,homil4 ,,xi4 #bf3 ,greek3 ean ho allophulos ton nomon praxei1 ,ioudaios estin1 me praxas de ,hellen2 ,if the foreigner observe the law he is a ,jew1 but if not he is a ,greek47#dje ,to this ,jewish ,christianity is opposed1 not ,gentile ,christianity1 but the ,christian religion1 in so far as it is conceived as universalistic and anti-national in the strict sense of the term 7,presupp4 ,sec4 #c71 that is1 the main body of ,christendom in so far as it has freed itself from ,judaism as a nation4#djf ,it is not strange that this ,jewish ,christianity was subject to all the conditions which arose from the internal and external position of the ,judaism of the time2 that is1 different tendencies were necessarily developed in it1 according to the measure of the tendencies 7or the disintegrations7 which asserted themselves in the ,judaism of that time4 ,it lies also in the nature of the case that1 with one exception1 that of ,pharisaic ,jewish ,christianity1 all other tendencies were accurately parallelled in the systems which appeared in the great1 that is1 anti-,jewish ,christendom4 ,they were distinguished from these1 simply by a social and political1 that is1 a national element4 ,moreover1 they were exposed to the same influences from without as the synagogue1 and as the larger ,christendom1 till the isolation to which ,judaism as a nation1 after severe reverses condemned itself1 became fatal to them also4 ,consequently1 there were besides ,pharisaic ,jewish ,christians1 ascetics of all kinds who were joined by all those over whom ,oriental religious wisdom and ,greek philosophy had won a commanding influence 7see above1 p4 #bdb f47 ,in the first century these ,jewish ,christians formed the majority in ,palestine1 and perhaps also in some neighbouring provinces4 ,but they were also found here and there in the ,west4 ,now the great question is1 whether this ,jewish ,christianity as a whole1 or in certain of its tendencies1 was a factor in the development of ,christianity to ,catholicism4 ,this question is to be answered in the negative1 and quite as much with regard to the history of dogma as with regard to the political history of the ,church4 ,from the stand-point of the universal history of ,christianity1 these ,jewish ,christian communities appear as rudimentary structures which now and again1 as objects of curiosity1 engaged the attention of the main body of ,christendom in the ,east1 but could not exert any important influence on it1 just because they contained a national element4 ,the ,jewish ,christians took no considerable part in the ,gnostic controversy1 the epoch-making conflict which was raised within the pale of the larger ,christendom about the decisive question1 whether1 and to what extent1 the ,old ,testament should remain a basis of ,christianity1 although they themselves were no less occupied with the question4#djg ,the issue of this conflict in favour of that party which recognised the ,old ,testament in its full extent as a revelation of the ,christian ,god1 and asserted the closest connection between ,christianity and the ,old ,testament religion1 was so little the result of any influence of ,jewish ,christianity1 that the existence of the latter would only have rendered that victory more difficult1 unless it had already fallen into the background1 as a phenomenon of no importance4#djh ,how completely insignificant it was is shewn not only by the limited polemics of the ,church ,fathers1 but perhaps still more by their silence1 and the new import which the reproach of ,judaising obtained in ,christendom after the middle of the second century4 ,in proportion as the ,old ,testament1 in opposition to ,gnosticism1 became a more conscious and accredited possession in the ,church1 and at the same time1 in consequence of the naturalising of ,christianity in the world1 the need of regulations1 fixed rules1 statutory enactments etc41 appeared as indispensable1 it must have been natural to use the ,old ,testament as a holy code of such enactments4 ,this procedure was no falling away from the original anti-,judaic attitude1 provided nothing national was taken from the book1 and some kind of spiritual interpretation given to what had been borrowed4 ,the apostasy rather lay simply in the changed needs4 ,but one now sees how those parties in the ,church1 to which for any reason this progressive legislation was distasteful1 raised the reproach of ,judaising1#dji and further1 how conversely the same reproach was hurled at those ,christians who resisted the advancing hellenising of ,christianity1 with regard1 for example1 to the doctrine of ,god1 eschatology1 ,christology1 etc4#daj ,but while this reproach is raised1 there is nowhere shewn any connection between those described as ,judaising ,christians and the ,ebionites4 ,that they were identified off-hand is only a proof that ,ebionitism was no longer known4 ,that ,judaising within ,catholicism which appears1 on the one hand1 in the setting up of a ,catholic ceremonial law 7worship1 constitution1 etc471 and on the other1 in a tenacious clinging to less hellenised forms of faith and hopes of faith1 has nothing in common with ,jewish ,christianity1 which desired somehow to confine ,christianity to the ,jewish nation4#daa ,speculations that take no account of history may make out that ,catholicism became more and more ,jewish ,christian4 ,but historical observation1 which reckons only with concrete quantities1 can discover in ,catholicism1 besides ,christianity1 no element which it would have to describe as ,jewish ,christian4 ,it observes only a progressive hellenising1 and in consequence of this1 a progressive spiritual legislation which utilizes the ,old ,testament1 a process which went on for centuries according to the same methods which had been employed in the larger ,christendom from the beginning4#dab ,baur's brilliant attempt to explain ,catholicism as a product of the mutual conflict and neutralising of ,jewish and ,gentile ,christianity1 7the latter according to ,baur being equivalent to ,paulinism7 reckons with two factors1 of which1 the one had no significance at all1 and the other only an indirect effect1 as regards the formation of the ,catholic ,church4 ,the influence of ,paul in this direction is exhausted in working out the universalism of the ,christian religion1 for a ,greater than he had laid the foundation for this movement1 and ,paul did not realise it by himself alone4 ,placed on this height ,catholicism was certainly developed by means of conflicts and compromises1 not1 however1 by conflicts with ,ebionitism1 which was to all intents and purposes discarded as early as the first century1 but as the result of the conflict of ,christianity with the united powers of the world in which it existed1 on behalf of its own peculiar nature as the universal religion based on the ,old ,testament4 ,here were fought triumphant battles1 but here also compromises were made which characterise the essence of ,catholicism as ,church and as doctrine4#dac ,a history of ,jewish ,christianity and its doctrines does not therefore1 strictly speaking1 belong to the history of dogma1 especially as the original distinction between ,jewish ,christianity and the main body of the ,church lay1 as regards its principle1 not in doctrine1 but in policy4 ,but seeing that the opinions of the teachers in this ,church regarding ,jewish ,christianity1 throw light upon their own stand-point1 also that up till about the middle of the second century ,jewish ,christians were still numerous and undoubtedly formed the great majority of believers in ,palestine1#dad and finally1 that attempts--unsuccessful ones indeed--on the part of ,jewish ,christianity to bring ,gentile ,christians under its sway1 did not cease till about the middle of the third century1 a short sketch may be appropriate here4#dae ,justin vouches for the existence of ,jewish ,christians1 and distinguishes between those who would force the law even on ,gentile-,christians1 and would have no fellowship with such as did not observe it1 and those who considered that the law was binding only on people of ,jewish birth1 and did not shrink from fellowship with ,gentile ,christians who were living without the law4 ,how the latter could observe the law and yet enter into intercourse with those who were not ,jews1 is involved in obscurity1 but these he recognises as partakers of the ,christian salvation and therefore as ,christian brethren1 though he declares that there are ,christians who do not possess this large heartedness4 ,he also speaks of ,gentile ,christians who allowed themselves to be persuaded by ,jewish ,christians into the observance of the ,mosaic law1 and confesses that he is not quite sure of the salvation of these4 ,this is all we learn from ,justin1#daf but it is instructive enough4 ,in the first place1 we can see that the question is no longer a burning one3 ,justin here represents only the interests of a ,gentile ,christianity whose stability has been secured4 ,this has all the more meaning that in the ,dialogue ,justin has not in view an individual ,christian community1 or the communities of a province1 but speaks as one who surveys the whole situation of ,christendom4#dag ,the very fact that ,justin has devoted to the whole question only one chapter of a work containing #adb1 and the magnanimous way in which he speaks1 shew that the phenomena in question have no longer any importance for the main body of ,christendom4 ,secondly1 it is worthy of notice that ,justin distinguishes two tendencies in ,jewish ,christianity4 ,we observe these two tendencies in the ,apostolic age 7,presupp4 ,sec4 #c72 they had therefore maintained themselves to his time4 ,finally1 we must not overlook the circumstance that he adduces only the ,greek3 ennomos politeia1 legal polity1 as characteristic of this ,jewish ,christianity4 ,he speaks only incidentally of a difference in doctrine1 nay1 he manifestly presupposes that the ,greek3 didagmata ,christou1 teachings of ,christ1 are essentially found among them just as among the ,gentile ,christians2 for he regards the more liberal among them as friends and brethren4#dah ,the fact that1 even then1 there were ,jewish ,christians here and there who sought to spread the ,greek3 ennomos politeia among ,gentile ,christians1 has been attested by ,justin and also by other contemporary writers4#dai ,but there is no evidence of this propaganda having acquired any great importance4 ,celsus also knows ,christians who desire to live as ,jews according to the ,mosaic law 7,v4 #fa71 but he mentions them only once1 and otherwise takes no notice of them in his delineation of1 and attack on1 ,christianity4 ,we may perhaps infer that he knew of them only from hearsay1 for he simply enumerates them along with the numerous ,gnostic sects4 ,had this keen observer really known them he would hardly have passed them over1 even though he had met with only a small number of them4#dbj ,irenaeus placed the ,ebionites among the heretical schools1#dba but we can see from his work that in his day they must have been all but forgotten in the ,west4#dbb ,this was not yet the case in the ,east4 ,origen knows of them4 ,he knows also of some who recognise the birth from the ,virgin4 ,he is sufficiently intelligent and acquainted with history to judge that the ,ebionites are no school1 but as believing ,jews are the descendants of the earliest ,christians1 in fact he seems to suppose that all converted ,jews have at all times observed the law of their fathers4 ,but he is far from judging of them favourably4 ,he regards them as little better than the ,jews 7,greek3 ,ioudaioi kai hoi oligo diapherontes auton ,ebionaioi1 ,jews and ,ebionites who differ little from them74 ,their rejection of ,paul destroys the value of their recognition of ,jesus as ,messiah4 ,they appear only to have assumed ,christ's name1 and their literal exposition of the ,scripture is meagre and full of error4 ,it is possible that such ,jewish ,christians may have existed in ,alexandria1 but it is not certain4 ,origen knows nothing of an inner development in this ,jewish ,christianity4#dbc ,even in ,palestine1 ,origen seems to have occupied himself personally with these ,jewish ,christians1 just as little as ,eusebius4#dbd ,they lived apart by themselves and were not aggressive4 ,jerome is the last who gives us a clear and certain account of them4#dbe ,he1 who associated with them1 assures us that their attitude was the same as in the second century1 only they seem to have made progress in the recognition of the birth from the ,virgin and in their more friendly position towards the ,church4#dbf ,jerome at one time calls them ,ebionites and at another ,nazarenes1 thereby proving that these names were used synonymously4#dbg ,there is not the least ground for distinguishing two clearly marked groups of ,jewish ,christians1 or even for reckoning the distinction of ,origen and the ,church ,fathers to the account of ,jewish ,christians themselves1 so as to describe as ,nazarenes those who recognised the birth from the ,virgin1 and who had no wish to compel the ,gentile ,christians to observe the law1 and the others as ,ebionites4 ,apart from syncretistic or ,gnostic ,jewish ,christianity1 there is but one group of ,jewish ,christians holding various shades of opinion1 and these from the beginning called themselves ,nazarenes as well as ,ebionites4 ,from the beginning1 likewise1 one portion of them was influenced by the existence of a great ,gentile ,church which did not observe the law4 ,they acknowledged the work of ,paul and experienced in a slight degree influences emanating from the great ,church4#dbh ,but the gulf which separated them from that ,church did not thereby become narrower4 ,that gulf was caused by the social and political separation of these ,jewish ,christians1 whatever mental attitude1 hostile or friendly1 they might take up to the great ,church4 ,this ,church stalked over hem with iron feet1 as over a structure which in her opinion was full of contradictions throughout 7,semi-christiani71 and was disconcerted neither by the gospel of these ,jewish ,christians nor by anything else about them4#dbi ,but as the ,synagogue also vigorously condemned them1 their position up to their extinction was a most tragic one4 ,these ,jewish ,christians1 more than any other ,christian party1 bore the reproach of ,christ4 ,the ,gospel1 at the time when it was proclaimed among the ,jews1 was not only law1 but theology1 and indeed syncretistic theology4 ,on the other hand1 the temple service and the sacrificial system had begun to lose their hold in certain influential circles4#dcj ,we have pointed out above 7,presupp4 ,sec4,sec44 #a4 #b4 #e7 how great were the diversities of ,jewish sects1 and that there was in the ,diaspora1 as well as in ,palestine itself1 a ,judaism which1 on the one hand1 followed ascetic impulses1 and on the other1 advanced to a criticism of the religious tradition without giving up the national claims4 ,it may even be said that in theology the boundaries between the orthodox ,judaism of the ,pharisees and a syncretistic ,judaism were of an elastic kind4 ,although religion1 in those circles1 seemed to be fixed in its legal aspect1 yet on its theological side it was ready to admit very diverse speculations1 in which angelic powers especially played a great role4#dca ,that introduced into ,jewish monotheism an element of differentiation1 the results of which were far-reaching4 ,the field was prepared for the formation of syncretistic sects4 ,they present themselves to us on the soil of the earliest ,christianity1 in the speculations of those ,jewish ,christian teachers who are opposed in the ,epistle to the ,colossians1 and in the ,gnosis of ,cerinthus 7see above1 p4 #bdf74 ,here cosmological ideas and myths were turned to profit4 ,the idea of ,god was sublimated by both4 ,in consequence of this1 the ,old ,testament records were subjected to criticism1 because they could not in all respects be reconciled with the universal religion which hovered before men's minds4 ,this criticism was opposed to the ,pauline in so far as it maintained1 with the common ,jewish ,christians1 and ,christendom as a whole1 that the genuine ,old ,testament religion was essentially identical with the ,christian4 ,but while those common ,jewish ,christians drew from this the inference that the whole of the ,old ,testament must be adhered to in its traditional sense and in all its ordinances1 and while the larger ,christendom secured for itself the whole of the ,old ,testament by deviating from the ordinary interpretation1 those syncretistic ,jewish ,christians separated from the ,old ,testament1 as interpolations1 whatever did not agree with their purer moral conceptions and borrowed speculations4 ,thus1 in particular1 they got rid of the sacrificial ritual1 and all that was connected with it1 by putting ablutions in their place4 ,first the profanation1 and afterwards1 the abolition of the temple worship1 after the destruction of ,jerusalem1 may have given another new and welcome impulse to this by coming to be regarded as its ,divine confirmation 7,presupp4 ,sec4 #b74 ,christianity now appeared as purified ,mosaism4 ,in these ,jewish ,christian undertakings we have undoubtedly before us a series of peculiar attempts to elevate the ,old ,testament religion into the universal one1 under the impression of the person of ,jesus2 attempts1 however1 in which the ,jewish religion1 and not the ,jewish people1 was to bear the costs by curtailment of its distinctive features4 ,the great inner affinity of these attempts with the ,gentile ,christian ,gnostics has already been set forth4 ,the firm partition wall between them1 however1 lies in the claim of these ,jewish ,christians to set forth the pure ,old ,testament religion1 as well as in the national ,jewish colouring which the constructed universal religion was always to preserve4 ,this national colouring is shewn in the insistence upon a definite measure of ,jewish national ceremonies as necessary to salvation1 and in the opposition to the ,apostle ,paul1 which united the ,gnostic ,judaeo-,christians with the common type1 those of the strict observance4 ,how the latter were related to the former1 we do not know1 for the inner relations here are almost completely unknown to us4#dcb ,apart from the false doctrines opposed in the ,epistle to the ,colossians1 and from ,cerinthus1 this syncretistic ,jewish ,christianity which aimed at making itself a universal religion1 meets us in tangible form only in three phenomena3#dcc in the ,elkesaites of ,hippolytus and ,origen1 in the ,ebionites with their associates of ,epiphanius1 sects very closely connected1 in fact to be viewed as one party of manifold shades1#dcd and in the activity of ,symmachus4#dce ,we observe here a form of religion as far removed from that of the ,old ,testament as from the ,gospel1 subject to strong heathen influences1 not ,greek1 but ,asiatic1 and scarcely deserving the name ,christian1 because it appeals to a new revelation of ,god which is to complete that given in ,christ4 ,we should take particular note of this in judging of the whole remarkable phenomenon4 ,the question in this ,jewish ,christianity is not the formation of a philosophic school1 but to some extent the establishment of a kind of new religion1 that is1 the completion of that founded by ,christ1 undertaken by a particular person basing his claims on a revealed book which was delivered to him from heaven4 ,this book which was to form the complement of the ,gospel1 possessed1 from the third century1 importance for all sections of ,jewish ,christians so far as they1 in the phraseology of ,epiphanius1 were not ,nazarenes4#dcf ,the whole system reminds one of ,samaritan ,christian syncretism2#dcg but we must be on our guard against identifying the two phenomena1 or even regarding them as similar4 ,these ,elkesaite ,jewish ,christians held fast by the belief that ,jesus was the ,son of ,god1 and saw in the book a revelation which proceeded from him4 ,they did not offer any worship to their founder1#dch that is1 to the receiver of the book1 and they were1 as will be shewn1 the most ardent opponents of ,simonianism4#dci ,alcibiades of ,apamea1 one of their disciples1 came from the ,east to ,rome about #bbj-bcj1 and endeavoured to spread the doctrines of the sect in the ,roman ,church4 ,he found the soil prepared1 inasmuch as he could announce from the book forgiveness of sins to all sinful ,christians1 even the grossest transgressors1 and such forgiveness was very much needed4 ,hippolytus opposed him1 and had an opportunity of seeing the book and becoming acquainted with its contents4 ,from his account and that of ,origen we gather the following3 7#a7 ,the sect is a ,jewish ,christian one1 for it requires the ,greek3 nomou politeia 7circumcision and the keeping of the ,sabbath71 and repudiates the ,apostle ,paul2 but it criticises the ,old ,testament and rejects a part of it4 7#b7 ,the objects of its faith are the ,great and most ,high ,god1 the ,son of ,god 7the ,great ,king71 and the ,holy ,spirit 7thought of as female72 ,son and ,spirit appear as angelic powers4 ,considered outwardly1 and according to his birth1 ,christ is a mere man1 but with this peculiarity1 that he has already been frequently born and manifested 7,greek3 pollakis gennethenta kai gennomenon pephenenai kai phuesthai1 allassonta geneseis kai metensomatoumenon1 cf4 the testimony of ,victorinus as to ,symmachus74 ,from the statements of ,hippolytus we cannot be sure whether he was identified with the ,son of ,god1#ddj at any rate the assumption of repeated births of ,christ shews how completely ,christianity was meant to be identified with what was supposed to be the pure ,old ,testament religion4 7#c7 ,the book proclaimed a new forgiveness of sin1 which1 on condition of faith in the book and a real change of mind1 was to be bestowed on every one1 through the medium of washings1 accompanied by definite prayers which are strictly prescribed4 ,in these prayers appear peculiar ,semitic speculations about nature 7the seven witnesses3 heaven1 water1 the holy spirits1 the angels of prayer1 oil1 salt1 earth74 ,the old ,jewish way of thinking appears in the assumption that all kinds of sickness and misfortune are punishments for sin1 and that these penalties must therefore be removed by atonement4 ,the book contains also astrological and geometrical speculations in a religious garb4 ,the main thing1 however1 was the possibility of a forgiveness of sin1 ever requiring to be repeated1 though ,hippolytus himself was unable to point to any gross laxity4 ,still1 the appearance of this sect represents the attempt to make the religion of ,christian ,judaism palatable to the world4 ,the possibility of repeated forgiveness of sin1 the speculations about numbers1 elements1 and stars1 the halo of mystery1 the adaptation to the forms of worship employed in the mysteries1 are worldly means of attraction which shew that this ,jewish ,christianity was subject to the process of acute secularization4 ,the ,jewish mode of life was to be adopted in return for these concessions4 ,yet its success in the ,west was of small extent and short-lived4 ,epiphanius confirms all these features1 and adds a series of new ones4 ,in his description1 the new forgiveness of sin is not so prominent as in that of ,hippolytus1 but it is there4 ,from the account of ,epiphanius we can see that these syncretistic ,judaeo-,christian sects were at first strictly ascetic and rejected marriage as well as the eating of flesh1 but that they gradually became more lax4 ,we learn here that the whole sacrificial service was removed from the ,old ,testament by the ,elkesaites and declared to be non-,divine1 that is non-,mosaic1 and that fire was consequently regarded as the impure and dangerous element1 and water as the good one4#dda ,we learn further1 that these sects acknowledged no prophets and men of ,god between ,aaron and ,christ1 and that they completely adapted the ,hebrew ,gospel of ,matthew to their own views4#ddb ,in addition to this book1 however1 7the ,gospel of the #ab ,apostles71 other writings1 such as ,greek3 ,periodoi ,petrou dia ,klementos1 ,anabathmoi ,iakobou and similar histories of ,apostles1 were held in esteem by them4 ,in these writings the ,apostles were represented as zealous ascetics1 and1 above all1 as vegetarians1 while the ,apostle ,paul was most bitterly opposed4 ,they called him a ,tarsene1 said he was a ,greek1 and heaped on him gross abuse4 ,epiphanius also dwells strongly upon their ,jewish mode of life 7circumcision1 ,sabbath71 as well as their daily washings1#ddc and gives some information about the constitution and form of worship of these sects 7use of baptism3 ,lord's ,supper with bread and water74 ,finally1 ,epiphanius gives particulars about their ,christology4 ,on this point there were differences of opinion1 and these differences prove that there was no ,christological dogma4 ,as among the common ,jewish ,christians1 the birth of ,jesus from the ,virgin was a matter of dispute4 ,further1 some identified ,christ with ,adam1 others saw in him a heavenly being 7,greek3 anothen on71 a spiritual being1 who was created before all1 who was higher than all angels and ,lord of all things1 but who chose for himself the upper world2 yet this ,christ from above came down to this lower world as often as he pleased4 ,he came in ,adam1 he appeared in human form to the patriarchs1 and at last appeared on earth as a man with the body of ,adam1 suffered1 etc4 ,others again1 as it appears1 would have nothing to do with these speculations1 but stood by the belief that ,jesus was the man chosen by ,god1 on whom1 on account of his virtue1 the ,holy ,spirit--,greek3 hoper estin ho ,christos-- descended at the baptism4#ddd 7,epiph4 h4 #cj4 #c1 #ad1 #af74 ,the account which ,epiphanius gives of the doctrine held by these ,jewish ,christians regarding the ,devil1 is specially instructive 7h4 #cj4 #af73 ,greek3 ,duo de tinas sunistosin ek theou tetagmenous1 ena men ton ,christon1 ena de ton diabolon4 kai ton men ,christon legousi tou mellontos aionos eilephenai ton kleron1 ton de diabolon touton pepisteusthai on aiona1 ek prostages dethen tou pantokratopos kata aitesin ekateron auton4 ,here we have a very old ,semitico-,hebraic idea preserved in a very striking way1 and therefore we may probably assume that in other respects also1 these ,gnostic ,ebionites preserved that which was ancient4 ,whether they did so in their criticism of the ,old ,testament1 is a point on which we must not pronounce judgment4 ,we might conclude by referring to the fact that this syncretistic ,jewish ,christianity1 apart from a well-known missionary effort at ,rome1 was confined to ,palestine and the neighbouring countries1 and might consider it proved that this movement had no effect on the history and development of ,catholicism1#dde were it not for two voluminous writings which still continue to be regarded as monuments of the earliest epoch of syncretistic ,jewish ,christianity4 ,not only did ,baur suppose that he could prove his hypothesis about the origin of ,catholicism by the help of these writings1 but the attempt has recently been made on the basis of the ,pseudo-,clementine ,recognitions and ,homilies1 for these are the writings in question1 to go still further and claim for ,jewish ,christianity the glory of having developed by itself the whole doctrine1 worship and constitution of ,catholicism1 and of having transmitted it to ,gentile ,christianity as a finished product which only required to be divested of a few ,jewish husks4#ddf ,it is therefore necessary to subject these writings to a brief examination4 ,everything depends on the time of their origin1 and the tendencies they follow4 ,but these are just the two questions that are still unanswered4 ,without depreciating those worthy men who have earnestly occupied themselves with the ,pseudo-,clementines1#ddg it may be asserted1 that in this region everything is as yet in darkness1 especially as no agreement has been reached even in the question of their composition4 ,no doubt such a result appears to have been pretty nearly arrived at as far as the time of composition is concerned1 but that estimate 7#aej-agj1 or the latter half of the second century7 not only awakens the greatest suspicion1 but can be proved to be wrong4 ,the importance of the question for the history of dogma does not permit the historian to set it aside1 while1 on the other hand1 the compass of a manual does not allow us to enter into an exhaustive investigation4 ,the only course open in such circumstances is briefly to define one's own position4 #a4 ,the ,recognitions and ,homilies1 in the form in which we have them1 do not belong to the second century1 but at the very earliest to the first half of the third4 ,there is nothing1 however1 to prevent our putting them a few decades later4#ddh #b4 ,they were not composed in their present form by heretical ,christians1 but most probably by ,catholics4 ,nor do they aim at forming a theological system1#ddi or spreading the views of a sect4 ,their primary object is to oppose ,greek polytheism1 immoral mythology1 and false philosophy1 and thus to promote edification4#dej #c4 ,in describing the authors as ,catholic1 we do not mean that they were adherents of the theology of ,irenaeus or ,origen4 ,the instructive point here rather1 is that they had as yet no fixed theology1 and therefore could without hesitation regard and use all possible material as means of edification4 ,in like manner1 they had no fixed conception of the ,apostolic age1 and could therefore appropriate motley and dangerous material4 ,such ,christians1 highly educated and correctly trained too1 were still to be found1 not only in the third century1 but even later4 ,but the authors do not seem to have been free from a bias1 inasmuch as they did not favour the ,catholic1 that is1 the ,alexandrian apologetic theology which was in process of formation4 #d4 ,the description of the ,pseudo-,clementine writings1 naturally derived from their very form1 as edifying1 didactic romances for the refutation of paganism1 is not inconsistent with the idea1 that the authors1 at the same time1 did their utmost to oppose heretical phenomena1 especially the ,marcionite church and ,apelles1 together with heresy and heathenism in general1 as represented by ,simon ,magus4 #e4 ,the objectionable materials which the authors made use of were edifying for them1 because of the position assigned therein to ,peter1 because of the ascetic and mysterious elements they contained1 and the opposition offered to ,simon1 etc4 ,the offensive features1 so far as they were still contained in these sources1 had already become unintelligible and harmless4 ,they were partly conserved as such and partly removed4 #f4 ,the authors are to be sought for perhaps in ,rome1 perhaps in ,syria1 perhaps in both places1 certainly not in ,alexandria4 #g4 ,the main ideas are3 7#a7 ,the monarchy of ,god4 7#b7 the syzygies 7weak and strong74 7#c7 ,prophecy 7the true ,prophet74 7#d7 ,stoical rationalism1 belief in providence1 good works4 ,greek3 ,philanthropia1 etc4--,mosaism4 ,the ,homilies are completely saturated with stoicism1 both in their ethical and metaphysical systems1 and are opposed to ,platonism1 though ,plato is quoted in ,hom4 ,,xv4 #h1 as ,greek3 ,hellenon sophistia 7a wise man of the ,greeks74 ,in addition to these ideas we have also a strong hierarchical tendency4 ,the material which the authors made use of was in great part derived from syncretistic ,jewish ,christian tradition1 in other words1 those histories of the ,apostles were here utilised which ,epiphanius reports to have been used by the ,ebionites 7see above74 ,it is not probable1 however1 that these writings in their original form were in the hands of the narrators2 the likelihood is that they made use of them in revised forms4 #h4 ,it must be reserved for an accurate investigation to ascertain whether those modified versions which betray clear marks of ,hellenic origin1 were made within syncretistic ,judaism itself1 or whether they are to be traced back to ,catholic writers4 ,in either case1 they should not be placed earlier than about the beginning of the third century1 but in all probability one or two generations later still4 #i4 ,if we adopt the first assumption1 it is most natural to think of that propaganda which1 according to the testimony of ,hippolytus and ,origen1 ,jewish ,christianity attempted in ,rome in the age of ,caracalla and ,heliogabalus1 through the medium of the ,syrian1 ,alcibiades4 ,this coincides with the last great advance of ,syrian cults into the ,west1 and is1 at the same time1 the only one known to us historically4 ,but it is further pretty generally admitted that the immediate sources of the ,pseudo-,clementines already presuppose the existence of ,elkesaite ,christianity4 ,we should accordingly have to assume that in the ,west1 this ,christianity made greater concessions to the prevailing type1 that it gave up circumcision and accommodated itself to the ,church system of ,gentile ,christianity1 at the same time withdrawing its polemic against ,paul4 #aj4 ,meanwhile the existence of such a ,jewish ,christianity is not as yet proved1 and therefore we must reckon with the possibility that the remodelled form of the ,jewish ,christian sources1 already found in existence by the revisers of the ,pseudo-,clementine ,romances1 was solely a ,catholic literary product4 ,in this assumption1 which commends itself both as regards the aim of the composition and its presupposed conditions1 we must remember that1 from the third century onwards1 ,catholic writers systematically corrected1 and to a great extent reconstructed1 the heretical histories which were in circulation in the churches as interesting reading1 and that the extent and degree of this reconstruction varied exceedingly1 according to the theological and historical insight of the writer4 ,the identifying of pure ,mosaism with ,christianity was in itself by no means offensive when there was no further question of circumcision4 ,the clear distinction between the ceremonial and moral parts of the ,old ,testament1 could no longer prove an offence after the great struggle with ,gnosticism4#dea ,the strong insistence upon the unity of ,god1 and the rejection of the doctrine of the ,logos1 were by no means uncommon in the beginning of the third century2 and in the speculations about ,adam and ,christ1 in the views about ,god and the world and such1 like1 as set before us in the immediate sources of the ,romances1 the correct and edifying elements must have seemed to outweigh the objectionable4 ,at any rate1 the historian who1 until further advised1 denies the existence of a ,jewish ,christianity composed of the most contradictory elements1 lacking circumcision and national hopes1 and bearing marks of ,catholic and therefore of ,hellenic influence1 judges more prudently than he who asserts1 solely on the basis of ,romances which are accompanied by no tradition and have never been the objects of assault1 the existence of a ,jewish ,christianity accommodating itself to ,catholicism which is entirely unattested4 #aa4 ,be that as it may1 it may at least be regarded as certain that the ,pseudo-,clementines contribute absolutely nothing to our knowledge of the origin of the ,catholic ,church and doctrine1 as they shew at best in their immediate sources a ,jewish ,christianity strongly influenced by ,catholicism and ,hellenism4 #ab4 ,they must be used with great caution even in seeking to determine the tendencies and inner history of syncretistic ,jewish ,christianity4 ,it cannot be made out with certainty1 how far back the first sources of the ,pseudo-,clementines date1 or what their original form and tendency were4 ,as to the first point1 it has indeed been said that ,justin1 nay1 even the author of the ,acts of the ,apostles1 presupposes them1 and that the ,catholic tradition of ,peter1 in ,rome1 and of ,simon ,magus1 are dependent on them 7as is still held by ,lipsius72 but there is so little proof of this adduced1 that in ,christian literature up to the end of the second century 7,hegesippus87 we can only discover very uncertain traces of acquaintance with ,jewish ,christian historical narrative4 ,such indications can only be found1 to any considerable extent1 in the third century1 and ,i do not mean to deny that the contents of the ,jewish ,christian histories of the ,apostles contributed materially to the formation of the ecclesiastical legends about ,peter4 ,as is shewn in the ,pseudo-,clementines1 these histories of the ,apostles especially opposed ,simon ,magus and his adherents 7the new ,samaritan attempt at a universal religion71 and placed the authority of the ,apostle ,peter against them4 ,but they also opposed the ,apostle ,paul1 and seem to have transferred ,simonian features to ,paul1 and ,pauline features to ,simon4 ,yet it is also possible that the ,pauline traits found in the magician were the outcome of the redaction1 in so far as the whole polemic against ,paul is here struck out1 though certain parts of it have been woven into the polemic against ,simon4 ,but probably the ,pauline features of the magician are merely an appearance4 ,the ,pseudo-,clementines may1 to some extent1 be used1 though with caution1 in determining the doctrines of syncretistic ,jewish ,christianity4 ,in connection with this we must take what ,epiphanius says as our standard4 ,the ,pantheistic and ,stoic elements which are found here and there must of course be eliminated4 ,but the theory of the genesis of the world from a change in ,god himself 7that is from a ,greek3 probole71 the assumption that all things emanated from ,god in antitheses 7,son of ,god--,devil2 heaven--earth2 male--female2 male and female prophecy71 nay1 that these antitheses are found in ,god himself 7goodness1 to which corresponds the ,son of ,god--punitive justice1 to which corresponds the ,devil71 the speculations about the elements which have proceeded from the one substance1 the ignoring of freedom in the question about the origin of evil1 the strict adherence to the unity and absolute causality of ,god1 in spite of the dualism1 and in spite of the lofty predicates applied to the ,son of ,god--all this plainly bears the ,semitic-,jewish stamp4 ,we must here content ourselves with these indications4 ,they were meant to set forth briefly the reasons which forbid our assigning to syncretistic ,jewish ,christianity1 on the basis of the ,pseudo- ,clementines1 a place in the history of the genesis of the ,catholic ,church and its doctrine4 ,bigg1 ,the ,clementine ,homilies 7,studia ,biblica et ,eccles4 ,,ii4 p4 #aeg ff471 has propounded the hypothesis that the ,homilies are an ,ebionitic revision of an older ,catholic original 7see p4 #ahda3 ,the ,homilies as we have it1 is a recast of an orthodox work by a highly unorthodox editor4 ,p4 #age3 ,the ,homilies are surely the work of a ,catholic convert to ,ebionitism1 who thought he saw in the doctrine of the two powers the only tenable answer to ,gnosticism4 ,we can separate his ,catholicism from his ,ebionitism1 just as surely as his ,stoicism74 ,this is the opposite of the view expressed by me in the text4 ,i consider ,bigg's hypothesis well worth examining1 and at first sight not improbable2 but ,i am not able to enter into it here4 ,footnote #djc3 ,the attitude of the recently discovered ,teaching of the twelve ,apostles is strictly universalistic1 and hostile to ,judaism as a nation1 but shews us a ,christianity still essentially uninfluenced by philosophic elements4 ,the impression made by this fact has caused some scholars to describe the treatise as a document of ,jewish ,christianity4 ,but the attitude of the ,didache is rather the ordinary one of universalistic early ,christianity on the soil of the ,graeco-,roman world4 ,if we describe this as ,jewish ,christian1 then from the meaning which we must give to the words ,christian and ,gentile ,christian1 we tacitly legitimise an undefined and undefinable aggregate of ,greek ideas1 along with a specifically ,pauline element1 as primitive ,christianity1 and this is perhaps not the intended1 but yet desired1 result of the false terminology4 ,now1 if we describe even such writings as the ,epistle of ,james and the ,shepherd of ,hermas as ,jewish ,christian1 we therewith reduce the entire early ,christianity1 which is the creation of a universal religion on the soil of ,judaism1 to the special case of an indefinable religion4 ,the same now appears as one of the particular values of a completely indeterminate magnitude4 ,hilgenfeld 7,judenthum und ,juden-christenthum1 #ahhf2 cf4 also ,ztschr f4 wiss4 ,theol4 #ahhf1 ,,ii4 #d7 advocates another conception of ,jewish ,christianity in opposition to the following account4 ,zahn1 ,gesch4 des ,n4,t-lich4 ,kanons1 ,,ii4 p4 #ffh ff4 has a different view still4 ,footnote #djd3 ,or even ,ebionitism2 the designations are to be used as synonymous4 ,footnote #dje3 ,the more rarely the right standard has been set up in the literature of ,church history1 for the distinction of ,jewish ,christianity1 the more valuable are those writings in which it is found4 ,we must refer1 above all1 to ,diestel1 ,geschichte des ,a4 ,t4 in der ,christl4 ,kirche1 p4 #dd1 note #g4 ,footnote #djf3 ,see ,theol4 ,lit4 ,ztg4 #ahhc4 ,col4 #dji f4 as to the attempt of ,joel to make out that the whole of ,christendom up to the end of the first century was strictly ,jewish ,christian1 and to exhibit the complete friendship of ,jews and ,christians in that period 7,blicke in die ,religionsgesch4 #b ,abth4 #ahhc74 ,it is not improbable that ,christians like ,james1 living in strict accordance with the law1 were for the time being respected even by the ,pharisees in the period preceding the destruction of ,jerusalem4 ,but that can in no case have been the rule4 ,we see from1 ,epiph41 h4 #bi4 #i4 and from the ,talmud1 what was the custom at a later period4 ,footnote #djg3 ,there were ,jewish ,christians who represented the position of the great ,church with reference to the ,old ,testament religion1 and there were some who criticised the ,old ,testament like the ,gnostics4 ,their contention may have remained as much an internal one1 as that between the ,church ,fathers and ,gnostics 7,marcion7 did1 so far as ,jewish ,christianity is concerned4 ,there may have been relations between ,gnostic ,jewish ,christians and ,gnostics1 not of a national ,jewish type1 in ,syria and ,asia ,minor1 though we are completely in the dark on the matter4 ,footnote #djh3 ,from the mere existence of ,jewish ,christians1 those ,christians who rejected the ,old ,testament might have argued against the main body of ,christendom and put before it the dilemma3 either ,jewish ,christian or ,marcionite4 ,still more logical indeed was the dilemma3 either ,jewish1 or ,marcionite ,christian4 ,footnote #dji3 ,so did the ,montanists and ,antimontanists mutually reproach each other with ,judaising 7see the ,montanist writings of ,tertullian74 ,just in the same way the arrangements as to worship and organisation1 which were ever being more richly developed1 were described by the freer parties as ,judaising1 because they made appeal to the ,old ,testament1 though1 as regards their contents1 they had little in common with ,judaism4 ,but is not the method of claiming ,old ,testament authority for the regulations rendered necessary by circumstances nearly as old as ,christianity itself8 ,against whom the lost treatise of ,clement of ,alexandria ,greek3 kanon ekklesiastikos he pros tous ,ioudaizontas 7,euseb41 ,h4 ,e4 ,,vi4 #ac4 #c7 was directed1 we cannot tell4 ,but as we read1 ,strom41 ,,vi4 #ae1 #abe1 that the ,holy ,scriptures are to be expounded according to the ,greek3 ekklesiastikos kanon1 and then find the following definition of the ,canon3 ,greek3 kanon de ekklesiastikos he sunodia kai sumphonia nomon te kai propheton te kata ten tou kuriou parousian paradidomenei diathekei1 we may conjecture that the ,judaisers were those ,christians1 who1 in principle1 or to some extent1 objected to the allegorical interpretation of the ,old ,testament4 ,we have then to think either of ,marcionite ,christians or of ,chiliasts1 that is1 the old ,christians who were still numerous in ,egypt about the middle of the third century 7see ,dionys4 ,alex1 in ,euseb41 ,h4 ,e4 ,,vii4 #bd74 ,in the first case1 the title of the treatise would be paradoxical4 ,but perhaps the treatise refers to the ,quarto-decimans1 although the expression ,greek3 kanon ekklesiastikos seems too ponderous for them 7see1 however1 ,orig41 ,comm4 in ,matth4 n4 #gf1 ed4 ,delarue ,,iii4 p4 #hie7 ,clement may possibly have had ,jewish ,christians before him4 ,see ,zahn1 ,forschungen1 vol4 ,,iii4 p4 #cg f4 ,footnote #daj3 ,cases of this kind are everywhere1 up to the fifth century1 so numerous that they need not be cited4 ,we may only remind the reader that the ,nestorian ,christology was described by its earliest and its latest opponents as ,ebionitic4 ,footnote #daa3 ,or were those western ,christians ,ebionitic who1 in the fourth century still clung to very realistic ,chiliastic hopes1 who1 in fact1 regarded their ,christianity as consisting in these8 ,footnote #dab3 ,the hellenising of ,christianity went hand in hand with a more extensive use of the ,old ,testament2 for1 according to the principles of ,catholicism1 every new article of the ,church system must be able to legitimise itself as springing from revelation4 ,but1 as a rule1 the attestation could only be gathered from the ,old ,testament1 since religion here appears in the fixed form of a secular community4 ,now the needs of a secular community for outward regulations gradually became so strong in the ,church as to require palpable ceremonial rules4 ,but it cannot be denied1 that from a certain point of time1 first by means of the fiction of ,apostolic constitutions 7see my edition of the ,didache1 ,prolegg4 p4 #bci ff471 and then without this fiction1 not1 however1 as a rule1 without reservations1 ceremonial regulations were simply taken over from the ,old ,testament4 ,but this transference 7,see ,bk4 ,,ii47 takes place at a time when there can be absolutely no question of an influence of ,jewish ,christianity4 ,moreover1 it always proves itself to be catholic by the fact that it did not in the least soften the traditional anti-,judaism4 ,on the contrary1 it attained its full growth in the age of ,constantine4 ,finally1 it should not be overlooked that at all times in antiquity1 certain provincial churches were exposed to ,jewish influences1 especially in the ,east and in ,arabia1 that they were therefore threatened with being ,judaised1 or with apostasy to ,judaism1 and that even at the present day1 certain ,oriental ,churches shew tokens of having once been subject to ,jewish influences 7see ,serapion in ,euseb1 ,h4 ,e4 ,,vi4 #ab4 #a1 ,martyr4 ,pion41 ,epiph4 de mens4 et pond4 #ae4 #ah2 my ,texte u4 ,unters4 ,i4 #c4 p4 #gc f41 and ,wellhausen1 ,skizzen und ,vorarbeiten1 ,part4 #c4 p4 #aig ff42 actual disputations with ,jews do not seem to have been common1 though see ,tertull4 adv4 ,jud4 and ,orig4 c4 ,cels4 ,i4 #de1 #di1 #ee3 ,,ii4 #ca4 ,clement also keeps in view ,jewish objections47 ,this ,jewish ,christianity1 if we like to call it so1 which in some regions of the ,east was developed through an immediate influence of ,judaism on ,catholicism1 should not1 however1 be confounded with the ,jewish ,christianity which is the most original form in which ,christianity realised itself4 ,this was no longer able to influence the ,christianity which had shaken itself free from the ,jewish nation 7as to futile attempts1 see below71 any more than the protecting covering stripped from the new shoot1 can ever again acquire significance for the latter4 ,footnote #dac3 ,what is called the ever-increasing legal feature of ,gentile ,christianity and the ,catholic ,church is conditioned by its origin1 in so far as its theory is rooted in that of ,judaism spiritualised and influenced by ,hellenism4 ,as the ,pauline conception of the law never took effect and a criticism of the ,old ,testament religion which is just law neither understood nor ventured upon in the larger ,christendom--the forms were not criticised1 but the contents spiritualised--so the theory that ,christianity is promise and spiritual law is to be regarded as the primitive one4 ,between the spiritual law and the national law there stand indeed ceremonial laws1 which1 without being spiritually interpreted1 could yet be freed from the national application4 ,it cannot be denied that the ,gentile ,christian communities and the incipient ,catholic ,church were very careful and reserved in their adoption of such laws from the ,old ,testament1 and that the later ,church no longer observed this caution4 ,but still it is only a question of degree for there are many examples of that adoption in the earliest period of ,christendom4 ,the latter had no cause for hurry in utilizing the ,old ,testament so long as there was no external or internal policy or so long as it was still in embryo4 ,the decisive factor lies here again in enthusiasm and not in changing theories4 ,the basis for these was supplied from the beginning4 ,but a community of individuals under spiritual excitement builds on this foundation something different from an association which wishes to organise and assert itself as such on earth4 7,the history of ,sunday is specially instructive here1 see ,zahn1 ,gesch4 des ,sonntags1 #ahgh1 as well as the history of the discipline of fasting1 see ,linsenmayr1 ,entwickelung der ,kirchl ,fastendisciplin1 #ahgg1 and ,die ,abgabe des ,zehnten4 ,in general1 ,cf4 ,ritschl ,entstehung der ,altkath ,kirche #b edit4 pp4 #cab ff41 #cca ff41 #a ,cor4 ,,ix4 #i1 may be noted74 ,footnote #dad3 ,justin4 ,apol4 ,i4 #ec1 ,dial4 #dg1 ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,,iv4 #e1 ,sulpic ,sev4 ,hist4 ,sacr4 ,,ii4 #ca1 ,cyrill4 ,catech4 ,,xiv4 #ae4 ,important testimonies in ,origen1 ,eusebius1 ,epiphanius and ,jerome4 ,footnote #dae3 ,no ,jewish ,christian writings have been transmitted to us even from the earliest period1 for the ,apocalypse of ,john1 which describes the ,jews as a synagogue of ,satan1 is not a ,jewish ,christian book 7,,iii4 #i especially shews that the author knows of only one covenant of ,god1 viz4 that with the ,christians74 ,jewish ,christian sources lie at the basis of our synoptic ,gospels1 but none of them in their present form is a ,jewish ,christian writing4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles is so little ,jewish ,christian1 its author seemingly so ignorant of ,jewish ,christianity1 at least so unconcerned with regard to it that to him the spiritualised ,jewish law1 or ,judaism as a religion which he connects as closely as possible with ,christianity1 is a factor already completely detached from the ,jewish people 7see ,overbeck's ,commentar z ,apostelgesch and his discussion in the ,ztschr f wiss4 ,theol4 #ahgb p4 #cje ff47 ,measured by the ,pauline theology we may indeed1 with ,overbeck1 say of the ,gentile ,christianity1 as represented by the author of the ,acts of the ,apostles1 that it already has germs of ,judaism1 and represents a falling off from ,paulinism2 but these expressions are not correct1 because they have at least the appearance of making ,paulinism the original form of ,gentile ,christianity4 ,but as this can neither be proved nor believed1 the religious attitude of the author of the ,acts of the ,apostles must have been a very old one in ,christendom4 ,the ,judaistic element was not first introduced into ,gentile ,christianity by the opponents of ,paul1 who indeed wrought in the national sense1 and there is even nothing to lead to the hypothesis that the common ,gentile ,christian view of the ,old ,testament and of the law should be conceived as resulting from the efforts of ,paul and his opponents1 for the consequent effect here would either have been null1 or a strengthening of the ,jewish ,christian thesis4 ,the ,jewish element1 that is the total acceptance of the ,jewish religion sub specie aeternitatis et ,christi1 is simply the original ,christianity of the ,gentile ,christians itself considered as theory4 ,contrary to his own intention1 ,paul was compelled to lead his converts to this ,christianity1 for only for such ,christianity was the time fulfilled within the empire of the world4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles gives eloquent testimony to the pressing difficulties which under such circumstances stand in the way of a historical understanding of the ,gentile ,christians in view of the work and the theology of ,paul4 ,even the ,epistle to the ,hebrews is not a ,jewish ,christian writing1 but there is certainly a peculiar state of things connected with this document4 ,for1 on the one hand1 the author and his readers are free from the law2 a spiritual interpretation is given to the ,old ,testament religion1 which makes it appear to be glorified and fulfilled in the work of ,christ2 and there is no mention of any prerogative of the people of ,israel4 ,but1 on the other hand1 because the spiritual interpretation1 as in ,paul1 is here teleological1 the author allows a temporary significance to the cultus as literally understood1 and therefore1 by his criticism he conserves the ,old ,testament religion for the past1 while declaring that it was set aside1 as regards the present1 by the fulfilment of ,christ4 ,the teleology of the author1 however1 looks at everything only from the point of view of shadow and reality1 an antithesis which is at the service of ,paul also1 but which in his case vanishes behind the antithesis of law and grace4 ,this scheme of thought1 which is to be traced back to a way of looking at things which arose in ,christian ,judaism1 seeing that it really distinguishes between old and new1 stands midway between the conception of the ,old ,testament religion entertained by ,paul1 and that of the common ,gentile ,christian as it is represented by ,barnabas4 ,the author of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews undoubtedly knows of a twofold covenant of ,god4 ,but the two are represented as stages1 so that the second is completely based on the first4 ,this view was more likely to be understood by the ,gentile ,christians than the ,pauline1 that is1 with some seemingly slight changes1 to be recognised as their own4 ,but even it at first fell to the ground1 and it was only in the conflict with the ,marcionites that some ,church ,fathers advanced to views which seem to be related to those of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews4 ,whether the author of this ,epistle was a born ,jew or a ,gentile--in the former case he would far surpass the ,apostle ,paul in his freedom from the national claims--we cannot1 at any rate1 recognise in it a document containing a conception which still prizes the ,jewish nationality in ,christianity1 nay1 not even a document to prove that such a conception was still dangerous4 ,consequently1 we have no ,jewish ,christian memorial in the ,new ,testament at all1 unless it be in the ,pauline ,epistles4 ,but as concerns the early ,christian literature outside the ,canon1 the fragments of the great work of ,hegesippus are even yet by some investigators claimed for ,jewish ,christianity4 ,weizsaecker 7,art ,hegesippus in ,herzog's ,r4 ,e4 #b edit7 has shewn how groundless this assumption is4 ,that ,hegesippus occupied the common ,gentile ,christian position is certain from unequivocal testimony of his own4 ,if1 as is very improbable1 we were obliged to ascribe to him a rejection of ,paul1 we should have to refer to ,eusebius1 ,h4 ,e4 ,,iv4 #bi4 #e4 7,greek3 ,seuerianoi blasphemountes ,paulon ton apostolon athetousin autou tas epistolas mede tas praxeis ton apostolon katadechomenoi1 but probably the ,gospels2 these ,severians therefore1 like ,marcion1 recognised the ,gospel of ,luke1 but rejected the ,acts of the ,apostles71 and ,orig4 c4 ,cels4 ,v4 #fe3 7,greek3 eisi gar tines haireseis tas ,paulou epistolas tou apostolou me prosiemenai hosper ,ebionaioi amphoteroi kai hoi kaloumenoi ,enkratetai74 ,consequently1 our only sources of knowledge of ,jewish ,christianity in the post-,pauline period are merely the accounts of the ,church ,fathers1 and some additional fragments 7see the collection of fragments of the ,ebionite ,gospel and that to the ,hebrews in ,hilgenfeld1 ,nov4 ,test1 extra can4 rec4 fasc4 ,,iv4 ,ed #b1 and in ,zahn1 l4 c4 ,,ii4 p #fdb ff474 ,we know better1 but still very imperfectly1 certain forms of the syncretistic ,jewish ,christianity1 from the ,philosoph4 of ,hippolytus and the accounts of ,epiphanius1 who is certainly nowhere more incoherent than in the delineation of the ,jewish ,christians1 because he could not copy original documents here1 but was forced to piece together confused traditions with his own observations4 ,see below on the extensive documents which are even yet as they stand1 treated as records of ,jewish ,christianity1 viz41 the ,pseudo-,clementines4 ,of the pieces of writing whose ,jewish ,christian origin is controverted1 in so far as they may be simply ,jewish1 ,i say nothing4 ,footnote #daf3 ,as to the chief localities where ,jewish ,christians were found1 see ,zahn1 ,kanonsgesch4 ,,ii4 p4 #fdh ff4 ,footnote #dag3 ,dialogue #dg4 ,footnote #dah3 ,yet it should be noted that the ,christians who1 according to ,dial4 #dh1 denied the pre-existence of ,christ and held him to be a man1 are described as ,jewish ,christians4 ,we should read in the passage in question1 as my recent comparison of the ,parisian codex shews1 ,greek3 apo tou umeterou genous4 ,yet ,justin did not make this a controversial point of great moment4 ,footnote #dai3 ,the so-called ,barnabas is considerably older than ,justin4 ,in his ,epistle 7#d4 #f7 he has in view ,gentile ,christians who have been converted by ,jewish ,christians1 when he utters a warning against those who say ,greek3 hoti a diatheke ekeinon 7the ,jews7 ,greek3 kai hemon 7estin74 ,but how great the actual danger was cannot be gathered from the ,epistle4 ,ignatius in two ,epistles 7ad ,magn4 #h-aj1 ad ,philad4 #f4 #i7 opposes ,jewish ,christian intrigues1 and characterises them solely from the point of view that they mean to introduce the ,jewish observance of the law4 ,he opposes them with a ,pauline idea 7,magn4 #h #a3 ,greek3 ei gar mechri nun kata nomon4 ,ioudaismon zomen homologoumen charin me eilephenai71 as well as with the common ,gentile ,christian assumption that the prophets themselves had already lived ,greek3 kata ,christon4 ,these ,judaists must be strictly distinguished from the ,gnostics whom ,ignatius elsewhere opposes 7against ,zahn1 ,ignat4 v4 ,ant4 p4 #cef f474 ,the dangers from this ,jewish ,christianity cannot have been very serious1 even if we take ,magn4 #aa4 #a1 as a phrase4 ,there was an active ,jewish community in ,philadelphia 7,rev4 ,,iii4 #i71 and so ,jewish ,christian plots may have continued longer there4 ,at the first look it seems very promising that in the old dialogue of ,aristo of ,pella1 a ,hebrew ,christian1 ,jason1 is put in opposition to the ,alexandrian ,jew1 ,papiscus4 ,but as the history of the little book proves1 this ,jason must have essentially represented the common ,christian and not the ,ebionite conception of the ,old ,testament and its relation to the ,gospel1 etc2 see my ,texte u4 ,unters4 ,i4 #a #b4 p4 #aae ff42 ,i4 #c p4 #aae-acj4 ,testimony as to an apostasy to ,judaism is occasionally though rarely given2 see ,serapion in ,euseb41 ,h4 ,e4 ,,vi4 #ab1 who addresses a book to one ,domninus1 ,greek3 ekpeptokota para ton tou diogmou kairon apo tes eis ,christon pisteos epi ten ,ioudaiken ethelothreskeian2 see also ,acta ,pionii1 #ac4 #ad4 ,according to ,epiphanius1 de mens4 et pond4 #ad1 #ae1 ,acquila1 the translator of the ,bible1 was first a ,christian and then a ,jew4 ,this account is perhaps derived from ,origen1 and is probably reliable4 ,likewise according to ,epiphanius 7l4 c4 #ag4 #ah71 ,theodotion was first a ,marcionite and then a ,jew4 ,the transition from ,marcionitism to ,judaism 7for extremes meet7 is not in itself incredible4 ,footnote #dbj3 ,it follows from c4 ,cels ,,ii4 #a-c1 that ,celsus could hardly have known ,jewish ,christians4 ,footnote #dba3 ,iren4 ,i4 #bf4 #b2 ,,iii #aa4 #g2 ,,iii4 #ae4 #a1 #ba4 #a2 ,,iv4 #cc4 #d2 ,v4 #a4 #c4 ,we first find the name ,ebionaei1 the poor1 in ,irenaeus4 ,we are probably entitled to assume that this name was given to the ,christians in ,jerusalem as early as the ,apostolic age1 that is1 they applied it to themselves 7poor in the sense of the prophets and of ,christ1 fit to be received into the ,messianic kingdom74 ,it is very questionable whether we should put any value on ,epiph4 h4 #cj4 #ag4 ,footnote #dbb3 ,when ,irenaeus adduces as the points of distinction between the ,church and the ,ebionites1 that besides observing the law and repudiating the ,apostle ,paul1 the latter deny the ,divinity of ,christ and his birth from the ,virgin1 and reject the ,new ,testament ,canon 7except the ,gospel of ,matthew71 that only proves that the formation of dogma has made progress in the ,church4 ,the less was known of the ,ebionites from personal observation1 the more confidently they were made out to be heretics who denied the ,divinity of ,christ and rejected the ,canon4 ,the denial of the ,divinity of ,christ and the birth from the ,virgin was1 from the end of the second century1 regarded as the ,ebionite heresy par excellence1 and the ,ebionites themselves appeared to the ,western ,christians1 who obtained their information solely from the ,east1 to be a school like those of the ,gnostics1 founded by a scoundrel named ,ebion for the purpose of dragging down the person of ,jesus to the common level4 ,it is also mentioned incidentally1 that this ,ebion had commanded the observance of circumcision and the ,sabbath2 but that is no longer the main thing 7see ,tertull1 de carne #ad1 #ah1 #bd3 de virg4 vel4 #f3 de praescr4 #aj4 #cc2 ,hippol1 ,syntagma1 7,pseudo-,tertull1 #aa2 ,philastr4 #cg2 ,epiph4 h4 #cj72 ,hippol1 ,philos4 ,,vii4 #cd4 ,the latter passage contains the instructive statement that ,jesus by his perfect keeping of the law became the ,christ74 ,this attitude of the ,western ,christians proves that they no longer knew ,jewish ,christian communities4 ,hence it is all the more strange that ,hilgenfeld 7,ketzergesch4 p4 #dbb ff47 has in all earnestness endeavoured to revive the ,ebion of the ,western ,church ,fathers4 ,footnote #dbc3 ,see ,orig4 c4 ,cels ,,ii4 #a2 ,v4 #fa1 #fe2 de princip4 ,,iv4 #bb2 hom4 in ,genes4 ,,iii4 #ae 7,opp4 ,,ii4 p4 #fe72 hom4 in ,jerem ,,xvii4 #ab 7,,iii4 p4 #bed72 in ,matth4 ,t4 ,,xvi4 #ab 7,,iii4 p4 #did71 ,t4 ,,xvii4 #ab 7,,iii4 p4 #gcc72 cf4 ,opp4 ,,iii4 p4 #hie2 hom in ,,xvii4 7,,iii4 p4 #ieb74 ,that a portion of the ,ebionites recognised the birth from the ,virgin was according to ,origen frequently attested4 ,that was partly reckoned to them for righteousness and partly not1 because they would not admit the pre-existence of ,christ4 ,the name ,ebionites is interpreted as a nickname given them by the ,church 7beggarly in the knowledge of scripture1 and particularly of ,christology74 ,footnote #dbd3 ,eusebius knows no more than ,origen 7,h4 ,e4 ,,iii4 #bg71 unless we specially credit him with the information that the ,ebionites keep along with the ,sabbath also the ,sunday4 ,what he says of ,symmachus1 the translator of the ,bible1 and an ,ebionite1 is derived from ,origen 7,h4 ,e4 ,,vi4 #ag74 ,the report is interesting1 because it declares that ,symmachus wrote against ,catholic ,christianity1 especially against the ,catholic ,gospel of ,matthew 7about the year #bjj74 ,but ,symmachus is to be classed with the ,gnostics1 and not with the common type of ,jewish ,christianity 7see below74 ,we have also to thank ,eusebius 7,h4 ,e4 ,,iii4 #e4 #c7 for the information that the ,christians of ,jerusalem fled to ,pella1 in ,peraea1 before the destruction of that city4 ,in the following period the most important settlements of the ,ebionites must have been in the countries east of the ,jordan1 and in the heart of ,syria 7see ,jul4 ,afric4 in ,euseb4 ,h4 ,e4 ,i4 #g4 #ad2 ,euseb4 de loc4 hebr4 in ,lagarde1 ,onomast p4 #cja2 ,epiph41 h4 #bi4 #g2 h4 #cj4 #b74 ,this fact explains how the bishops in ,jerusalem and the coast towns of ,palestine came to see very little of them4 ,there was a ,jewish ,christian community in ,beroea with which ,jerome had relations 7,jerom41 de ,vir inl #c74 ,footnote #dbe3 ,jerome correctly declares 7,ep4 ad4 ,august4 #abb c4 #ac1 ,opp4 ,i4 p4 #gdf71 7,ebionitae7 credentes in ,christo propter hoc solum a patribus anathematizati sunt1 quod legis caeremonias ,christi evangelio miscuerunt1 et sic nova confessi sunt1 ut vetera non omitterent4 ,footnote #dbf3 ,ep4 ad ,august4 l4 c43 ,quid dicam de ,hebionitis1 qui ,christianos esse se simulant8 usque hodie per totas orientis synagogas inter ,judaeos767 haeresis est1 que dicitur ,minaeorum et a ,pharisaeis nunc usque damnatur1 quos vulgo ,nazaraeos nuncupant1 qui credunt in ,christum filium dei natum de ,virgine ,maria et eum dicunt esse1 qui sub pontio ,pilato passus est et resurrexit1 in quem et nos credimus2 sed dum volunt et ,judaei esse et ,christiani1 nec ,judaei sunt nec ,christiani4 ,the approximation of the ,jewish ,christian conception to that of the ,catholics shews itself also in their exposition of ,isaiah ,,ix4 #a4 f4 7see ,jerome on the passage74 ,but we must not forget that there were such ,jewish ,christians from the earliest times4 ,it is worthy of note that the name ,nazarenes1 as applied to ,jewish ,christians1 is found in the ,acts of the ,apostles ,,xxiv4 #e1 in the ,dialogue of ,jason and ,papiscus1 and then first again in ,jerome4 ,footnote #dbg3 ,zahn1 l4 c4 p4 #fdh ff4 #ffh ff4 has not convinced me of the contrary1 but ,i confess that ,jerome's style of expression is not everywhere clear4 ,footnote #dbh3 ,zahn1 7l4 c47 makes a sharp distinction between the ,nazarenes1 on the one side1 who used the ,gospel of the ,hebrews1 acknowledged the birth from the ,virgin1 and in fact the higher ,christology to some extent1 did not repudiate ,paul1 etc41 and the ,ebionites on the other1 whom he simply identifies with the ,gnostic ,jewish ,christians1 if ,i am not mistaken4 ,in opposition to this1 ,i think ,i must adhere to the distinction as given above in the text and in the following3 7#a7 ,non-,gnostic1 ,jewish ,christians 7,nazarenes1 ,ebionites7 who appeared in various shades1 according to their doctrine and attitude to the ,gentile ,church1 and whom1 with the ,church ,fathers1 we may appropriately classify as strict or tolerant 7exclusive or liberal74 7#b7 ,gnostic or syncretistic ,judaeo-,christians who are also termed ,ebionites4 ,footnote #dbi3 ,this ,gospel no doubt greatly interested the scholars of the ,catholic ,church from ,clement of ,alexandria onwards4 ,but they have almost all contrived to evade the hard problem which it presented4 ,it may be noted1 incidentally1 that the ,gospel of the ,hebrews1 to judge from the remains preserved to us1 can neither have been the model nor the translation of our ,matthew1 but a work independent of this1 though drawing from the same sources1 representing perhaps to some extent an earlier stage of the tradition4 ,jerome also knew very well that the ,gospel of the ,hebrews was not the original of the canonical ,matthew1 but he took care not to correct the old prejudice4 ,ebionitic conceptions1 such as that of the female nature of the ,holy ,spirit1 were of course least likely to convince the ,church ,fathers4 ,moreover1 the common ,jewish ,christians hardly possessed a ,church theology1 because for them ,christianity was something entirely different from the doctrine of a school4 ,on the ,gospel of the ,hebrews1 see ,handmann 7,texte u4 ,unters ,v4 #c71 ,resch1 ,agrapha 7,i4 c4 ,v4 #d71 and ,zahn1 #a4 c4 p4 #fdb ff4 ,footnote #dcj3 ,we have as yet no history of the sacrificial system1 and the views as to sacrifice in the ,graeco-,roman epoch1 of the ,jewish ,nation4 ,it is urgently needed4 ,footnote #dca3 ,we may remind readers of the assumptions1 that the world was created by angels1 that the law was given by angels1 and similar ones which are found in the theology of the ,pharisees ,celsus 7in ,orig4 ,i4 #bf2 ,v4 #f7 asserts generally that the ,jews worshipped angels1 so does the author of the ,praedicatio ,petri1 as well as the apologist ,aristides4 ,cf ,joel1 ,blicke in die ,religionsgesch ,i4 ,abth1 a book which is certainly to be used with caution 7see ,theol4 ,lit4 ,ztg4 #ahha4 ,coll4 #ahd ff474 ,footnote #dcb3 ,no reliance can be placed on ,jewish sources1 or on ,jewish scholars1 as a rule4 ,what we find in ,joel1 l4 c4 ,i4 ,abth4 p4 #aja ff4 is instructive4 ,we may mention ,graetz1 ,gnosticismus und ,judenthum 7,krotoschin1 #ahdf71 who has called attention to the ,gnostic elements in the ,talmud1 and dealt with several ,jewish ,gnostics and ,antignostics1 as well as with the book of ,jezira4 ,graetz assumes that the four main dogmatic points in the book ,jezira1 viz41 the strict unity of the deity1 and1 at the same time1 the negation of the demiurgic dualism1 the creation out of nothing with the negation of matter1 the systematic unity of the world and the balancing of opposites1 were directed against prevailing ,gnostic ideas4 ,footnote #dcc3 ,we may pass over the false teachers of the ,pastoral ,epistles1 as they cannot be with certainty determined1 and the possibility is not excluded that we have here to do with an arbitrary construction2 see ,holtzman1 ,pastoralbriefe1 p4 #aej f4 ,footnote #dcd3 ,orig4 in ,euseb4 ,,vi4 #ch2 ,hippol41 ,philos4 ,,ix4 #ac ff41 ,x4 #bi2 ,epiph41 h4 #cj1 also h4 #ai1 #ec2 ,method1 ,conviv4 ,,viii4 #aj4 ,from the confused account of ,epiphanius who called the common ,jewish ,christians ,nazarenes1 the ,gnostic type ,ebionites and ,sampsaei1 and their ,jewish forerunners ,osseni1 we may conclude1 that in many regions where there were ,jewish ,christians they yielded to the propaganda of the ,elkesaite doctrines1 and that in the fourth century there was no other syncretistic ,jewish ,christianity besides the various shades of ,elkesaites4 ,footnote #dce3 ,i formerly reckoned ,symmachus1 the translator of the ,bible1 among the common ,jewish ,christians2 but the statements of ,victorinus ,rhetor on ,gal4 ,i4 #ai4 ,,ii4 #bf 7,migne ,t4 ,,viii4 ,col4 #aaee1 #aafb7 shew that he has a close affinity with the ,pseudo-,clementines1 and is also to be classed with the ,elkesaite ,alcibiades4 ,nam ,jacobum apostolum ,symmachiani faciunt quasi duodecimum et hunc secuntur1 qui ad dominum nostrum ,jesum ,christum adjungunt ,judaismi observationem1 quamquam etiam ,jesum ,christum fatentur2 dicunt enim eum ipsum ,adam esse et esse animam generalem1 et aliae hujusmodi blasphemiae4 ,the account given by ,eusebius1 ,h4 ,e4 ,,vi4 #ag 7probably on the authority of ,origen1 see also ,demonstr4 ,,vii4 ,i7 is important3 ,greek3 ,ton ge men hermeneuton auton de touton histeon1 ,ebionaion ton ,summachon gegonenai 444 kai hupomnemata de tou ,summachou eiseti nun pheretai1 hen ois dokei pros to kata ,matuaion apoteinomenos euaggelion ten dedelomenen airesin kratunein4 ,symmachus therefore adopted an aggressive attitude towards the great ,church1 and hence we may probably class him with ,alcibiades who lived a little later4 ,common ,jewish ,christianity was no longer aggressive in the second century4 ,footnote #dcf3 ,wellhausen 7l4 c4 ,part ,,iii4 p4 #bjf7 supposes that ,elkesai is equivalent to ,alexius4 ,that the receiver of the book was a historical person is manifest from ,epiphanius' account of his descendants 7h4 #ai4 #b2 #ec4 #a74 ,from ,hipp1 ,philosoph4 ,,ix4 #af1 p4 #dfh1 it is certainly probable1 though not certain1 that the book was produced by the unknown author as early as the time of ,trajan4 ,on the other hand1 the existence of the sect itself can be proved only at the beginning of the third century1 and therefore we have the possibility of an ante-dating of the book4 ,this seems to have been ,origen's opinion4 ,footnote #dcg3 ,epiph4 7h4 #ec4 #a7 says of the ,elkesaites3 ,greek3 oute christianoi huparchontes oute ,ioudaioi oute ,ellenes1 alla meson aplos uparchontes4 ,he pronounces a similar judgment as to the ,samaritan sects 7,simonians71 and expressly 7h4 #cj4 #a7 connects the ,elkesaites with them4 ,footnote #dch3 ,the worship paid to the descendants of this ,elkesai1 spoken of by ,epiphanius1 does not1 if we allow for exaggerations1 go beyond the measure of honour which was regularly paid to the descendants of prophets and men of ,god in the ,east4 ,cf4 the respect enjoyed by the blood relations of ,jesus and ,mohammed4 ,footnote #dci3 ,if the book really originated in the time of ,trajan1 then its production keeps within the frame-work of common ,christianity1 for at that time there were appearing everywhere in ,christendom revealed books which contained new instructions and communications of grace4 ,the reader may be reminded1 for example1 of the ,shepherd of ,hermas4 ,when the sect declared that the book was delivered to ,elkesai by a male and a female angel1 each as large as a mountain1 that these angels were the ,son of ,god and the ,holy ,spirit1 etc41 we have1 apart from the fantastic colouring1 nothing extraordinary4 ,footnote #ddj3 ,it may be assumed from ,philos4 ,x4 #bi1 that1 in the opinion of ,hippolytus1 the ,elkesaites identified the ,christ from above with the ,son of ,god1 and assumed that this ,christ appeared on earth in changing and purely human forms1 and will appear again 7,greek3 auton metangizomenon en somasi pollois pollakis1 kai nun de en to ,iesou1 homoios pote men ek tou theou gegenesthai1 pote de pneuma gegonenai1 pote de ek parthenou1 pote de ou kai toutou de metepeita aei en somati metangizesthai kai en pollois kata kairous deiknusthai74 ,as the ,elkesaites 7see the account by ,epiphanius7 traced back the incarnations of ,christ to ,adam1 and not merely to ,abraham1 we may see in this view of history the attempt to transform ,mosaism into the universal religion4 ,but the ,pharisitic theology had already begun with these ,adam-speculations1 which are always a sign that the religion in ,judaism is feeling its limits too narrow4 ,the ,jews in ,alexandria were also acquainted with these speculations4 ,footnote #dda3 ,in the ,gospel of these ,jewish ,christians ,jesus is made to say 7,epiph4 h4 #cj4 #af7 ,greek3 elthon katalusai tas thusias1 kai ean me pausesthe tou thuein1 ou pausetai aph' humon he orge4 ,we see the essential progress of this ,jewish ,christianity within ,judaism1 in the opposition in principle to the whole sacrificial service 7vid4 also ,epiph41 h4 #ai4 #c74 ,footnote #ddb3 ,on this new ,gospel see ,zahn1 ,kanongesch ,,ii4 p4 #gbd ff4 ,footnote #ddc3 ,it is incorrect to suppose that the lustrations were meant to take the place of baptism1 or were conceived by these ,jewish ,christians as repeated baptisms4 ,their effect was certainly equal to that of baptism4 ,but it is nowhere hinted in our authorities that they were on that account made equivalent to the regular baptism4 ,footnote #ddd3 ,the characteristic here1 as in the ,gentile ,christian ,gnosis1 is the division of the person of ,jesus into a more or less indifferent medium1 and into the ,christ4 ,here the factor constituting his personality could sometimes be placed in that medium1 and sometimes in the ,christ spirit1 and thus contradictory formulae could not but arise4 ,it is therefore easy to conceive how ,epiphanius reproaches these ,jewish ,christians with a denial1 sometimes of the ,divinity1 and sometimes of the humanity of ,christ 7see h4 #cj4 #ad74 ,footnote #dde3 ,this syncretistic ,judaism had indeed a significance for the history of the world1 not1 however1 in the history of ,christianity1 but for the origin of ,islam4 ,islam1 as a religious system1 is based partly on syncretistic ,judaism 7including the ,zabians1 so enigmatic in their origin71 and1 without questioning ,mohammed's originality1 can only be historically understood by taking this into account4 ,i have endeavoured to establish this hypothesis in a lecture printed in ,,ms form1 #ahgg4 ,cf4 now the conclusive proofs in ,wellhausen1 l4 c4 ,part ,,iii4 p4 #aig-bab4 ,on the ,mandeans1 see ,brandt1 ,die ,mandaeische ,religion1 #ahhi2 7also ,wellhausen in d4 deutschen ,lit4 ,ztg41 #ahij ,no4 #a4 ,lagarde i4 d4 ,goett4 ,gel4 ,anz41 #ahij1 ,no4 #aj74 ,footnote #ddf3 ,see ,bestmann1 ,gesch4 der ,christl4 ,sitte ,bd4 ,,ii4 #a ,part3 ,die juden-christliche ,sitte1 #ahhc2 also1 ,theol4 ,lit4 ,ztg4 #ahhc4 ,col4 #bfi ff4 ,the same author1 ,der ,ursprung des ,katholischen ,christenthums und des ,islams1 #ahhd2 also ,theol4 ,lit4 ,ztg4 #ahhd1 ,col4 #bia ff4 ,footnote #ddg3 ,see ,schliemann1 ,die ,clementinen etc4 #ahdd2 ,hilgenfeld1 ,die ,clementinischen ,recogn4 u4 ,homil1 #ahdh2 ,ritschl1 in d ,allg ,monatschrift f4 ,wissensch4 u4 ,litt41 #aheb4 ,uhlhorn1 ,die ,homil4 u4 ,recogn41 #ahed2 ,lehmann1 ,die ,clement4 ,schriften1 #ahfi2 ,lipsius1 in d4 ,protest4 ,k4 ,ztg41 #ahfi1 p4 #dgg ff42 ,quellen der ,roemische ,petrussage1 #ahgb4 ,uhlhorn1 in ,herzog's ,r4 ,encykl4 7,clementinen7 #b ,edit4 ,,iii4 p4 #bhf1 admits3 ,there can be no doubt that the ,clementine question still requires further discussion4 ,it can hardly make any progress worth mentioning until we have collected better the material1 and especially till we have got a corrected edition with an exhaustive commentary4 ,the theory of the genesis1 contents and aim of the pseudo-,clementine writings1 unfolded by ,renan 7,orig4 ,t4 ,,vii4 p4 #gd-aja7 is essentially identical with that of ,german scholars4 ,langen 7die ,clemensromane1 #ahij7 has set up very bold hypotheses1 which are also based on the assumption that ,jewish ,christianity was an important church factor in the second century1 and that the pseudo-,clementines are comparatively old writings4 ,footnote #ddh3 ,there is no external evidence for placing the pseudo-,clementine writings in the second century4 ,the oldest witness is ,origen 7,,iv4 p4 #dja1 ,lommatzsch72 but the quotation3 ,quoniam opera bona1 quae fiunt ab infidelibus1 in hoc saeculo iis prosunt1 etc41 is not found in our ,clementines1 so that ,origen appears to have used a still older version4 ,the internal evidence all points to the third century 7canon1 composition1 theological attitude1 etc47 ,moreover1 ,zahn 7,goett4 ,gel4 ,anz4 #ahgf4 ,no4 #de7 and ,lagarde have declared themselves in favour of this date2 while ,lipsius 7,apokr4 ,apostelgesch ,,ii4 #a7 and ,weingarten 7,zeittafeln1 #c ,edit4 p4 #bc7 have recently expressed the same opinion4 ,the ,homilies presuppose 7#a7 ,marcion's ,antitheses1 7#b7 ,apelles' ,syllogisms1 7#c7 perhaps ,callistus' edict about penance 7see ,,iii4 #gj71 and writings of ,hippolytus 7see also the expression ,greek3 episkopos episkopon1 ,clem4 ep4 ad ,jacob ,i1 which is first found in ,tertull1 de pudic ,i47 7#d7 ,the most highly developed form of polemic against heathen mythology4 7#e7 ,the complete development of church apologetics1 as well as the conviction that ,christianity is identical with correct and absolute knowledge4 ,they further presuppose a time when there was a lull in the persecution of ,christians1 for the ,emperor1 though pretty often referred to1 is never spoken of as a persecutor1 and when the cultured heathen world was entirely disposed in favour of an eclectic monotheism4 ,moreover1 the remarkable ,christological statement in ,hom4 ,,xvi4 #ae1 #af4 points to the third century1 in fact probably even presupposes the theology of ,origen2 ,cf4 the sentence3 ,greek3 tou patros to me gegennesthai estin1 huiou de to gegennesthai genneton de agenneto e kai autogenneto ou sunkrinetai4 ,finally1 the decided repudiation of the awakening of ,christian faith by visions and dreams1 and the polemic against these is also no doubt of importance for determining the date2 see ,,xvii4 #ad-ai4 ,peter says1 ,sec4 #ah3 ,greek3 to adidaktos aneu optasias kai oneiron mathein apokalupsis estin1 he had already learned that at his confession 7,matt4 ,,xvi474 ,the question1 ,greek3 ei tis di optasian pros didaskalian sophisthenai dunatai1 is answered in the negative1 ,sec4 #ai4 ,footnote #ddi3 ,this is also acknowledged in ,koffmane4 ,die ,gnosis1 etc1 p4 #cc4 ,footnote #dej3 ,the ,homilies1 as we have them1 are mainly composed of the speeches of ,peter and others4 ,these speeches oppose polytheism1 mythology and the doctrine of demons1 and advocate monotheism1 ascetic morality and rationalism4 ,the polemic against ,simon ,magus almost appears as a mere accessory4 ,footnote #dea3 ,this distinction can also be shewn elsewhere in the ,church of the third century4 ,but ,i confess ,i do not know how ,catholic circles got over the fact that1 for example1 in the third book of the ,homilies many passages of the old ,testament are simply characterised as untrue1 immoral and lying4 ,here the ,homilies remind one strongly of the ,syllogisms of ,apelles1 the author of which1 in other respects1 opposed them in the interest of his doctrine of creating angels4 ,in some passages the ,christianity of the ,homilies really looks like a syncretism composed of the common ,christianity1 the ,jewish ,christianity1 ,gnosticism1 and the criticism of ,apelles4 ,hom4 ,,viii4 #f-h is also highly objectionable4 ,,appendix ,i4 ,on the ,conception of ,pre-existence4 ,on account of the importance of the question we may be here permitted to amplify a few hints given in ,chap4 ,,ii41 ,sec4 #d1 and elsewhere1 and to draw a clearer distinction between the ,jewish and ,hellenic conceptions of pre-existence4 ,according to the theory held by the ancient ,jews and by the whole of the ,semitic nations1 everything of real value1 that from time to time appears on earth has its existence in heaven4 ,in other words it exists with ,god1 that is1 ,god possesses a knowledge of it2 and for that reason it has a real being4 ,but it exists beforehand with ,god in the same way as it appears on earth1 that is with all the material attributes belonging to its essence4 ,its manifestation on earth is merely a transition from concealment to publicity 7,greek3 ,phanerousthai74 ,in becoming visible to the senses1 the object in question assumes no attribute that it did not already possess with ,god4 ,hence its material nature is by no means an inadequate expression of it1 nor is it a second nature added to the first4 ,the truth rather is that what was in heaven before is now revealing itself upon earth1 without any sort of alteration taking place in the process4 ,there is no assumptio naturae novae1 and no change or mixture4 ,the old ,jewish theory of pre-existence is founded on the religious idea of the omniscience and omnipotence of ,god1 that ,god to whom the events of history do not come as a surprise1 but who guides their course4 ,as the whole history of the world and the destiny of each individual are recorded on his tablets or books1 so also each thing is ever present before him4 ,the decisive contrast is between ,god and the creature4 ,in designating the latter as foreknown by ,god1 the primary idea is not to ennoble the creature1 but rather to bring to light the wisdom and power of ,god4 ,the ennobling of created things by attributing to them a pre-existence is a secondary result 7see below74 ,according to the ,hellenic conception1 which has become associated with ,platonism1 the idea of pre-existence is independent of the idea of ,god2 it is based on the conception of the contrast between spirit and matter1 between the infinite and finite1 found in the cosmos itself4 ,in the case of all spiritual beings1 life in the body or flesh is at bottom an inadequate and unsuitable condition1 for the spirit is eternal1 the flesh perishable4 ,but the pre-temporal existence1 which was only a doubtful assumption as regards ordinary spirits1 was a matter of certainty in the case of the higher and purer ones4 ,they lived in an upper world long before this earth was created1 and they lived there as spirits without the polluted garment of the flesh4 ,now if they resolved for some reason or other to appear in this finite world1 they cannot simply become visible1 for they have no visible form4 ,they must rather assume flesh1 whether they throw it about them as a covering1 or really make it their own by a process of transformation or mixture4 ,in all cases--and here the speculation gave rise to the most exciting problems--the body is to them something inadequate which they cannot appropriate without adopting certain measures of precaution1 but this process may indeed pass through all stages1 from a mere seeming appropriation to complete union4 ,the characteristics of the ,greek ideas of pre-existence may consequently be thus expressed4 ,first1 the objects in question to which pre-existence is ascribed are meant to be ennobled by this attribute4 ,secondly1 these ideas have no relation to ,god4 ,thirdly1 the material appearance is regarded as something inadequate4 ,fourthly1 speculations about phantasma1 assumptio naturae humanae1 transmutatio1 mixtura1 duae naturae1 etc41 were necessarily associated with these notions4 ,we see that these two conceptions are as wide apart as the poles4 ,the first has a religious origin1 the second a cosmological and psychological1 the first glorifies ,god1 the second the created spirit4 ,however1 not only does a certain relationship in point of form exist between these speculations1 but the ,jewish conception is also found in a shape which seems to approximate still more to the ,greek one4 ,earthly occurrences and objects are not only regarded as foreknown by ,god before being seen in this world1 but the latter manifestation is frequently considered as the copy of the existence and nature which they possess in heaven1 and which remains unalterably the same1 whether they appear upon earth or not4 ,that which is before ,god experiences no change4 ,as the destinies of the world are recorded in the books1 and ,god reads them there1 it being at the same time a matter of indifference1 as regards this knowledge of his1 when and how they are accomplished upon earth1 so the ,tabernacle and its furniture1 the ,temple1 ,jerusalem1 etc41 are before ,god1 and continue to exist before him in heaven1 even during their appearance on earth and after it4 ,this conception seems really to have been the oldest one4 ,moses is to fashion the ,temple and its furniture according to the pattern he saw on the ,mount 7,exod4 ,,xxv4 #i4 #dj2 ,,xxvi4 #cj2 ,,xxvii4 #h2 ,num4 ,,viii4 #d74 ,the ,temple and ,jerusalem exist in heaven1 and they are to be distinguished from the earthly ,temple and the earthly ,jerusalem2 yet the ideas of a ,greek3 ,phanerousthai of the thing which is in heaven and of its copy appearing on earth1 shade into one another and are not always clearly separated4 ,the classing of things as original and copy was at first no more meant to glorify them than was the conception of a pre-existence they possessed within the knowledge of ,god4 ,but since the view which in theory was true of everything earthly1 was1 as is naturally to be expected1 applied in practice to nothing but valuable objects--for things common and ever recurring give no impulse to such speculations--the objects thus contemplated were ennobled1 because they were raised above the multitude of the commonplace4 ,at the same time the theory of original and copy could not fail to become a starting-point for new speculations1 as soon as the contrast between the spiritual and material began to assume importance among the ,jewish people4 ,that took place under the influence of the ,greek spirit2 and was perhaps also the simultaneous result of an intellectual or moral development which arose independently of that spirit4 ,accordingly1 a highly important advance in the old ideas of pre-existence appeared in the ,jewish theological literature belonging to the time of the ,maccabees and the following decades4 ,to begin with1 these conceptions are now applied to persons1 which1 so far as ,i know1 was not the case before this 7individualism74 ,secondly1 the old distinction of original and copy is now interpreted to mean that the copy is the inferior and more imperfect1 that in the present aeon of the transient it cannot be equivalent to the original1 and that we must therefore look forward to the time when the original itself will make its appearance1 7contrast of the material and finite and the spiritual74 ,with regard to the first point1 we have not only to consider passages in ,apocalypses and other writings in which pre-existence is attributed to ,moses1 the patriarchs1 etc41 7see above1 p4 #ajb71 but we must1 above all1 bear in mind utterances like ,ps4 ,,cxxxix4 #ae1 #af4 ,the individual saint soars upward to the thought that the days of his life are in the book of ,god1 and that he himself was before ,god1 whilst he was still un-perfect4 ,but1 and this must not be overlooked1 it was not merely his spiritual part that was before ,god1 for there is not the remotest idea of such a distinction1 but the whole man1 although he is ,hebrew3 bashar 7flesh74 ,as regards the second point1 the distinction between a heavenly and an earthly ,jerusalem1 a heavenly and an earthly ,temple1 etc41 is sufficiently known from the ,apocalypses and the ,new ,testament4 ,but the important consideration is that the sacred things of earth were regarded as objects of less value1 instalments1 as it were1 pending the fulfilment of the whole promise4 ,the desecration and subsequent destruction of sacred things must have greatly strengthened this idea4 ,the hope of the heavenly ,jerusalem comforted men for the desecration or loss of the earthly one4 ,but this gave at the same time the most powerful impulse to reflect whether it was not an essential feature of this temporal state1 that everything high and holy in it could only appear in a meagre and inadequate form4 ,thus the transition to ,greek ideas was brought about4 ,the fulness of the time had come when the old ,jewish ideas1 with a slightly mythological colouring1 could amalgamate with the ideal creations of ,hellenic philosophers4 ,these1 however1 are also the general conditions which gave rise to the earliest ,jewish speculations about a personal ,messiah1 except that1 in the case of the ,messianic ideas within ,judaism itself1 the adoption of specifically ,greek thoughts1 so far as ,i am able to see1 cannot be made out4 ,most ,jews1 as ,trypho testifies in ,justin's ,dialogue1 #di1 conceived the ,messiah as a man4 ,we may indeed go a step further and say that no ,jew at bottom imagined him otherwise2 for even those who attached ideas of pre-existence to him1 and gave the ,messiah a supernatural background1 never advanced to speculations about assumption of the flesh1 incarnation1 two natures and the like4 ,they only transferred in specific manner to the ,messiah the old idea of pre-terrestrial existence with ,god1 universally current among the ,jews4 ,before the creation of the world the ,messiah was hidden with ,god1 and1 when the time is fulfilled1 he makes his appearance4 ,this is neither an incarnation nor a humiliation1 but he appears on earth as he exists before ,god1 viz41 as a mighty and just king1 equipped with all gifts4 ,the writings in which this thought appears most clearly are the ,apocalypse of ,enoch 7,book of ,similitudes1 ,chap4 #df-di7 and the ,apocalypse of ,esra 7,chap4 #ab-ad74 ,support to this idea1 if anything more of the kind had been required1 was lent by passages like ,daniel ,,vii4 #ac f4 and ,micah1 ,v4 #a4 ,nowhere do we find in ,jewish writings a conception which advances beyond the notion that the ,messiah is the man who is with ,god in heaven2 and who will make his appearance at his own time4 ,we are merely entitled to say that1 as the same idea was not applied to all persons with the same certainty1 it was almost unavoidable that men's minds should have been led to designate the ,messiah as the man from heaven4 ,this thought was adopted by ,paul 7see below71 but ,i know of no ,jewish writing which gave clear expression to it4 ,jesus ,christ designated himself as the ,messiah1 and the first of his disciples who recognised him as such were native ,jews4 ,the ,jewish conceptions of the ,messiah consequently passed over into the ,christian community4 ,but they received an impulse to important modifications from the living impression conveyed by the person and destiny of ,jesus4 ,three facts were here of pre-eminent importance4 ,first1 ,jesus appeared in lowliness1 and even suffered death4 ,secondly1 he was believed to be exalted through the resurrection to the right hand of ,god1 and his return in glory was awaited with certainty4 ,thirdly1 the strength of a new life and of an indissoluble union with ,god was felt issuing from him1 and therefore his people were connected with him in the closest way4 ,in some old ,christian writings found in the ,new ,testament and emanating from the pen of native ,jews1 there are no speculations at all about the pre-temporal existence of ,jesus as the ,messiah1 or they are found expressed in a manner which simply embodies the old ,jewish theory and is merely distinguished from it by the emphasis laid on the exaltation of ,jesus after death through the resurrection4 #a4 ,pet4 ,i4 #ah ff4 is a classic passage3 ,greek3 elutrothete timio haimati hos amnou amomou kai aspilou ,christou1 proegnosmenou men pro kataboles kosmou1 phanerothentos de ep' eschatou ton chronon di' humas tous di autou pistous eis theon ton egeiranta autou ek nekron kai doxan auto donta1 hoste ten pistin humon kai elpida einai eis theon4 ,here we find a conception of the pre-existence of ,christ which is not yet affected by cosmological or psychological speculation1 which does not overstep the boundaries of a purely religious contemplation1 and which arose from the ,old ,testament way of thinking1 and the living impression derived from the person of ,jesus4 ,he is foreknown 7by ,god7 before the creation of the world1 not as a spiritual being without a body1 but as a ,lamb without blemish and without spot2 in other words1 his whole personality together with the work which it was to carry out1 was within ,god's eternal knowledge4 ,he was manifested in these last days for our sake1 that is1 he is now visibly what he already was before ,god4 ,what is meant here is not an incarnation1 but a revelatio4 ,finally1 he appeared in order that our faith and hope should now be firmly directed to the living ,god1 that ,god who raised him from the dead and gave him honour4 ,in the last clause expression is given to the specifically ,christian thought1 that the ,messiah ,jesus was exalted after crucifixion and death3 from this1 however1 no further conclusions are drawn4 ,but it was impossible that men should everywhere rest satisfied with these utterances1 for the age was a theological one4 ,hence the paradox of the suffering ,messiah1 the certainty of his glorification through the resurrection1 the conviction of his specific relationship to ,god1 and the belief in the real union of his ,church with him did not seem adequately expressed by the simple formulae ,greek3 proegnosmenos1 phanerotheis4 ,in reference to all these points1 we see even in the oldest ,christian writings1 the appearance of formulae which fix more precisely the nature of his pre-existence1 or in other words his heavenly existence4 ,with regard to the first and second points there arose the view of humiliation and exaltation1 such as we find in ,paul and in numerous writings after him4 ,in connection with the third point the concept ,son of ,god was thrust into the foreground1 and gave rise to the idea of the image of ,god 7#b ,cor4 ,,iv4 #d2 ,col4 ,i4 #ae2 ,heb4 ,i4 #b2 ,phil4 ,,ii4 #f74 ,the fourth point gave occasion to the formation of theses1 such as we find in ,rom4 ,,viii4 #bi3 ,greek3 prototokos en pollois adelphois1 ,col4 ,i4 #ah3 ,greek3 prototokos ek ton nekron 7,rev4 ,i4 #e71 ,eph4 ,,ii4 #f ,greek3 sunegeiren kai sunekathisen en tois epouraniois hemas en ,christo ,iesou1 ,i4 #d3 ,greek3 ho theos exelexato hemas en ,christo pro kataboles kosmou1 ,i4 #bb3 ,greek3 ho theos edoken ton ,christon kephalen huper panta te ekklesia hetis estin to soma autou etc4 ,this purely religious view of the ,church1 according to which all that is predicated of ,christ is also applied to his followers1 continued a considerable time4 ,hermas declares that the ,church is older than the world1 and that the world was created for its sake 7see above1 p4 #ajc71 and the author of the so-called #bnd ,epistle of ,clement declares 7,chap4 #ad7 ,greek3 444 esometha ek tes ekklesias tes protes tes pneumatikes1 tes pro heliou kai selenes hektismenes 444 ouk oiomai de humas agnoein1 hoti ekklesia zosa soma esti ,christou4 legei gar hegraphe4 ,epoiesen ho theos ton anthropon arsen kai thelu4 to arsen estin ho ,christos to thelu he ekklesia4 ,thus ,christ and his ,church are inseparably connected4 ,the latter is to be conceived as pre-existent quite as much as the former2 the ,church was also created before the sun and the moon1 for the world was created for its sake4 ,this conception of the ,church illustrates a final group of utterances about the pre-existent ,christ1 the origin of which might easily be misinterpreted unless we bear in mind their reference to the ,church4 ,in so far as he is ,greek3 proegnosmenos pro kataboles kosmou1 he is the ,greek3 arche tes ktiseos tou theou 7,rev4 ,,iii4 #ad71 the ,greek3 prototokos pases ktiseos etc4 ,according to the current conception of the time1 these expressions mean exactly the same as the simple ,greek3 proegnosmenos pro kataboles kosmou1 as is proved by the parallel formulae referring to the ,church4 ,nay1 even the further advance to the idea that the world was created by him 7,cor4 ,col4 ,eph4 ,heb47 need not yet necessarily be a ,greek3 metabasis eis allo genos2 for the beginning of things ,greek3 arche and their purpose form the real force to which their origin is due 7principle ,greek3 arche74 ,hermas indeed calls the ,church older than the world simply because the world was created for its sake4 ,all these further theories which we have quoted up to this time need in no sense alter the original conception1 so long as they appear in an isolated form and do not form the basis of fresh speculations4 ,they may be regarded as the working out of the original conception attaching to ,jesus ,christ1 ,greek3 proegnosmenos pro kataboles kosmou1 phanerotheis k4t4l42 and do not really modify this religious view of the matter4 ,above all1 we find in them as yet no certain transition to the ,greek view which splits up his personality into a heavenly and an earthly portion2 it still continues to be the complete ,christ to whom all the utterances apply4 ,but1 beyond doubt1 they already reveal the strong impulse to conceive the ,christ that had appeared as a divine being4 ,he had not been a transitory phenomenon1 but has ascended into heaven and still continues to live4 ,this post-existence of his gave to the ideas of his pre-existence a support and a concrete complexion which the earlier ,jewish theories lacked4 ,we find the transition to a new conception in the writings of ,paul4 ,but it is important to begin by determining the relationship between his ,christology and the views we have been hitherto considering4 ,in the ,apostle's clearest trains of thought everything that he has to say of ,christ hinges on his death and resurrection4 ,for this we need no proofs1 but see1 more especially ,rom4 ,i4 #c f43 ,greek3 peri tou huiou autou1 tou genomenou ek spermatos ,daueid kata sarka1 tou horisthentos huiou theou en dunamei kata pneuma agiosunes ek anastaseos nekron1 ,iesou ,christou tou kuriou hemon4 ,what ,christ became and his significance for us now are due to his death on the cross and his resurrection4 ,he condemned sin in the flesh and was obedient unto death4 ,therefore he now shares in the ,greek3 doxa of ,god4 ,the exposition in #a ,cor4 ,,xv4 #de1 also 7,greek3 ho eschatos ,adam eis pneuma ,zoopoioun1 all' ou proton to pneumatikon alla to psuchikon1 epeita to pneumatikon4 ho protos anthropos ek ges choikos ho deuteros anthropos ex ouranou7 is still capable of being understood1 as to its fundamental features1 in a sense which agrees with the conception of the ,messiah1 as ,greek3 kat' exochen1 the man from heaven who was hidden with ,god4 ,there can be no doubt1 however1 that this conception as already shewn by the formulae in the passage just quoted1 formed to ,paul the starting-point of a speculation1 in which the original theory assumed a completely new shape4 ,the decisive factors in this transformation were the ,apostle's doctrine of spirit and flesh1 and the corresponding conviction that the ,christ who is not be known after the flesh1 is a spirit1 namely1 the mighty spiritual being ,greek3 pneuma zoopoioun1 who has condemned sin in the flesh1 and thereby enabled man to walk not after the flesh1 but after the spirit4 ,according to one of the ,apostle's ways of regarding the matter1 ,christ1 after the accomplishment of his work1 became the ,greek3 pneuma zoopoioun through the resurrection4 ,but the belief that ,jesus always stood before ,god as the heavenly man1 suggested to ,paul the other view1 that ,christ was always a spirit1 that he was sent down by ,god1 that the flesh is consequently something inadequate and indeed hostile to him1 that he nevertheless assumed it in order to extirpate the sin dwelling in the flesh1 that he therefore humbled himself by appearing1 and that this humiliation was the deed he performed4 ,this view is found in #b ,cor4 ,,viii4 #i3 ,greek3 ,iesous ,christos di' humas eptocheusen plousios on2 in ,rom4 ,,viii4 #c3 ,greek3 ho theos ton heautou huion pempsas en homoiomati sarkos hamartias kai peri hamartias katekrine ten hamartian en te sarki2 and in ,phil4 ,,ii4 #e f43 ,greek3 ,christos ,iesous en morphe theou huparchon 444 heauton ekenosen morphen doulon labon1 en homoiomati anthropon genomenos1 kai schemati heuretheis hos anthropos etapeinosen heauton k4t4l4 ,in both forms of thought ,paul presupposes a real exaltation of ,christ4 ,christ receives after the resurrection more than he ever possessed 7,greek3 to onoma to huper pan onoma74 ,in this view ,paul retains a historical interpretation of ,christ1 even in the conception of the ,greek3 pneuma ,christos4 ,but whilst many passages seem to imply that the work of ,christ began with suffering and death1 ,paul shews in the verses cited1 that he already conceives the appearance of ,christ on earth as his moral act1 as a humiliation1 purposely brought about by ,god and ,christ himself1 which reaches its culminating point in the death on the cross4 ,christ1 the divine spiritual being1 is sent by the ,father from heaven to earth1 and of his own free will he obediently takes this mission upon himself4 ,he appears in the ,greek3 homoioma sarkos amartias1 dies the death of the cross1 and then1 raised by the ,father1 ascends again into heaven in order henceforth to act as the ,greek3 kurios zonton and ,greek3 nekron and to become to his own people the principle of a new life in the spirit4 ,whatever we may think about the admissibility and justification of this view1 to whatever source we may trace its origin and however strongly we may emphasise its divergencies from the contemporaneous ,hellenic ideas1 it is certain that it approaches very closely to the latter2 for the distinction of spirit and flesh is here introduced into the concept of pre-existence1 and this combination is not found in the ,jewish notions of the ,messiah4 ,paul was the first who limited the idea of pre-existence by referring it solely to the spiritual part of ,jesus ,christ1 but at the same time gave life to it by making the pre-existing ,christ 7the spirit7 a being who1 even during his pre-existence1 stands independently side by side with ,god4 ,he was also the first to designate ,christ's ,greek3 sarx as assumpta1 and to recognise its assumption as in itself a humiliation4 ,to him the appearance of ,christ was no mere ,greek3 phanerousthai1 but a ,greek3 kenousthai1 tapeinousthai and ,greek3 ptocheuein4 ,these outstanding features of the ,pauline ,christology must have been intelligible to the ,greeks1 but1 whilst embracing these1 they put everything else in the system aside4 ,greek3 ,christos ho kurios ho sosas hemas1 hon men to proton pneuma1 egeneto sarx kai houtos hemas ekalesen1 says #b ,clem4 7#i4 #e71 and that is also the ,christology of #a ,clement1 ,barnabas and many other ,greeks4 ,from the sum total of ,judaeo-,christian speculations they only borrowed1 in addition1 the one which has been already mentioned3 the ,messiah as ,greek3 proegnosmenos pro kataboles kosmou is for that very reason also ,greek3 he arche tes ktiseos tou theou1 that is the beginning1 purpose and principle of the creation4 ,the ,greeks1 as the result of their cosmological interest1 embraced this thought as a fundamental proposition4 ,the complete ,greek ,christology then is expressed as follows3 ,greek3 ,christos1 ho sosas hemas1 hon men to proton pneuma kai pases ktiseos arche1 egeneto sarx kai houtos hemas ekalesen4 ,that is the fundamental theological and philosophical creed on which the whole ,trinitarian and ,christological speculations of the ,church of the succeeding centuries are built1 and it is thus the root of the orthodox system of dogmatics2 for the notion that ,christ was the ,greek3 arche pases ktiseos necessarily led in some measure to the conception of ,christ as the ,logos4 ,for the ,logos had long been regarded by cultured men as the beginning and principle of the creation4#deb ,with this transition the theories concerning ,christ are removed from ,jewish and ,old ,testament soil1 and also that of religion 7in the strict sense of the word71 and transplanted to the ,greek one4 ,even in his pre-existent state ,christ is an independent power existing side by side with ,god4 ,the pre-existence does not refer to his whole appearance1 but only to a part of his essence2 it does not primarily serve to glorify the wisdom and power of the ,god who guides history1 but only glorifies ,christ1 and thereby threatens the monarchy of ,god4#dec ,the appearance of ,christ is now an assumption of flesh1 and immediately the intricate questions about the connection of the heavenly and spiritual being with the flesh simultaneously arise and are at first settled by the theories of a naive docetism4 ,but the flesh1 that is the human nature created by ,god1 appears depreciated1 because it was reckoned as something unsuitable for ,christ1 and foreign to him as a spiritual being4 ,thus the ,christian religion was mixed up with the refined asceticism of a perishing civilization1 and a foreign substructure given to its system of morality1 so earnest in its simplicity4#ded ,but the most questionable result was the following4 ,since the predicate ,logos1 which at first1 and for a long time1 coincided with the idea of the reason ruling in the cosmos1 was considered as the highest that could be given to ,christ1 the holy and divine element1 namely1 the power of a new life1 a power to be viewed and laid hold of in ,christ1 was transformed into a cosmic force and thereby secularised4 ,in the present work ,i have endeavoured to explain fully how the doctrine of the ,church developed from these premises into the doctrine of the ,trinity and of the two natures4 ,i have also shewn that the imperfect beginnings of ,church doctrine1 especially as they appear in the ,logos theory derived from cosmology1 were subjected to wholesome corrections--by the ,monarchians1 by ,athanasius1 and by the influence of biblical passages which pointed in another direction4 ,finally1 the ,logos doctrine received a form in which the idea was deprived of nearly all cosmical content4 ,nor could the ,hellenic contrast of spirit and flesh become completely developed in ,christianity1 because the belief in the bodily resurrection of ,christ1 and in the admission of the flesh into heaven1 opposed to the principle of dualism a barrier which ,paul as yet neither knew nor felt to be necessary4 ,the conviction as to the resurrection of the flesh proved the hard rock which shattered the energetic attempts to give a completely ,hellenic complexion to the ,christian religion4 ,the history of the development of the ideas of pre-existence is at the same time the criticism of them1 so that we need not have recourse to our present theory of knowledge which no longer allows such speculations4 ,the problem of determining the significance of ,christ through a speculation concerning his natures1 and of associating with these the concrete features of the historical ,christ1 was originated by ,hellenism4 ,but even the ,new ,testament writers1 who appear in this respect to be influenced in some way by ,hellenism1 did not really speculate concerning the different natures1 but1 taking ,christ's spiritual nature for granted1 determined his religious significance by his moral qualities--,paul by the moral act of humiliation and obedience unto death1 ,john by the complete dependence of ,christ upon ,god and hence also by his obedience1 as well as the unity of the love of ,father and ,son4 ,there is only one idea of pre-existence which no empiric contemplation of history and no reason can uproot4 ,this is identical with the most ancient idea found in the ,old ,testament1 as well as that prevalent among the early ,christians1 and consists in the religious thought that ,god the ,lord directs history4 ,in its application to ,jesus ,christ1 it is contained in the words we read in #a ,pet4 ,i4 #bj3 ,greek3 proegnosmenos men pro kataboles kosmou1 phanerotheis de di' humas tous di' autou pistous eis theon ton egeiranta auton ek nekron kai doxan autoi donta1 hoste ten pistin humon kai elpida einai eis theon4 ,footnote #deb3 ,these hints will have shewn that ,paul's theory occupies a middle position between the ,jewish and ,greek ideas of pre-existence4 ,in the canon1 however1 we have another group of writings which likewise gives evidence of a middle position with regard to the matter1 ,i mean the ,johannine writings4 ,if we only possessed the prologue to the ,gospel of ,john with its ,greek3 en arche en ho logos1 the ,greek3 panta di' autou egeneto and the ,greek3 ho logos sarx egeneto we could indeed point to nothing but ,hellenic ideas4 ,but the ,gospel itself1 as is well known1 contains very much that must have astonished a ,greek1 and is opposed to the philosophical idea of the ,logos4 ,this occurs even in the thought1 ,greek3 ho logos sarx egeneto1 which in itself is foreign to the ,logos conception4 ,just fancy a proposition like the one in ,,vi4 #dd1 ,greek3 oudeis dunatai elthein pros me1 ean me ho pater ho pempsas me elkuse auton1 or in ,v4 #ag4 #ba1 engrafted on ,philo's system1 and consider the revolution it would have caused there4 ,no doubt the prologue to some extent contains the themes set forth in the presentation that follows1 but they are worded in such a way that one cannot help thinking the author wished to prepare ,greek readers for the paradox he had to communicate to them1 by adapting his prologue to their mode of thought4 ,under the altered conditions of thought which now prevail1 the prologue appears to us the mysterious part1 and the narrative that follows seems the portion that is relatively more intelligible4 ,but to the original readers1 if they were educated ,greeks1 the prologue must have been the part most easily understood4 ,as nowadays a section on the nature of the ,christian religion is usually prefixed to a treatise on dogmatics1 in order to prepare and introduce the reader1 so also the ,johannine prologue seems to be intended as an introduction of this kind4 ,it brings in conceptions which were familiar to the ,greeks1 in fact it enters into these more deeply than is justified by the presentation which follows2 for the notion of the incarnate ,logos is by no means the dominant one here4 ,though faint echoes of this idea may possibly be met with here and there in the ,gospel--,i confess ,i do not notice them--the predominating thought is essentially the conception of ,christ as the ,son of ,god1 who obediently executes what the ,father has shewn and appointed him4 ,the works which he does are allotted to him1 and he performs them in the strength of the ,father4 ,the whole of ,christ's farewell discourses and the intercessory prayer evince no ,hellenic influence and no cosmological speculation whatever1 but shew the inner life of a man who knows himself to be one with ,god to a greater extent than any before him1 and who feels the leading of men to ,god to be the task he had received and accomplished4 ,in this consciousness he speaks of the glory he had with the ,father before the world was 7,,xvii4 #d f42 ,greek3 ego se edoxasa epi tes ges1 to ergon teleiosas ho dedokas moi hina poieso2 kai nun doxason me su1 pater1 para seauto te doxe he eichon pro tou ton kosmon einai1 para soi74 ,with this we must compare verses like ,,iii4 #ac3 ,greek3 oudeis anabebeken eis ton ouranon ei me ho ek tou ouranou katabas1 ho huios tou anthropou1 and ,,iii4 #ca3 ,greek3 ho anothen erchomenos epano panton estin4 ho on ek tes ges ek tes ges estin kai ek tes ges lalei ho ek tou ouranou erchomenos epano panton estin 7see also ,i4 #cj3 ,,vi4 #cc1 #ch1 #da f4 #ej f4 #eh1 #fb3 ,,viii4 #ad1 #eh2 ,,xvii4 #bd74 ,but though the pre-existence is strongly expressed in these passages1 a separation of ,greek3 pneuma 7logos7 and ,greek3 sarx in ,christ is nowhere assumed in the ,gospel except in the prologue4 ,it is always ,christ's whole personality to which every sublime attribute is ascribed4 ,the same one who can do nothing of himself1 is also the one who was once glorious and will yet be glorified4 ,this idea1 however1 can still be referred to the ,greek3 proegnosmenos pro kataboles kosmon1 although it gives a peculiar ,greek3 doxa with ,god to him who was foreknown of ,god1 and the oldest conception is yet to be traced in many expressions1 as1 for example1 ,i4 #ca3 ,greek3 kago ouk edein auton1 all' hina phanerothae to ,israel dia touto elthon1 ,v4 #ai3 ,greek3 ou duvatai ho uios poiein aph' eautou ouden an me ti blepe ton patera poiountai1 ,v4 #cf3 ,,viii4 #ch3 ,greek3 ha ego heoraka para to patri lalo1 ,,viii4 #dj3 ,greek3 ten aletheian humin lelaleka hen ekousa para tou theou1 ,,xii4 #di3 ,,xv4 #ae3 ,greek3 panta ha exousa para tou patros mou egnorisa humin4 ,footnote #dec3 ,this is indeed counterbalanced in the fourth ,gospel by the thought of the complete community of love between the ,father and the ,son1 and the pre-existence and descent of the latter here also tend to the glory of ,god4 ,in the sentence ,god so loved the world etc41 that which ,paul describes in ,phil4 ,,ii4 becomes at the same time an act of ,god1 in fact the act of ,god4 ,the sentence ,god is love sums up again all individual speculations1 and raises them into a new and most exalted sphere4 ,footnote #ded3 ,if it had been possible for speculation to maintain the level of the ,fourth ,gospel1 nothing of that would have happened2 but where were there theologians capable of this8 ,,appendix ,,ii4 ,liturgy and the ,origin of ,dogma4 ,the reader has perhaps wondered why ,i have made so little reference to ,liturgy in my description of the origin of dogma4 ,for according to the most modern ideas about the history of religion and the origin of theology1 the development of both may be traced in the ritual4 ,without any desire to criticise these notions1 ,i think ,i am justified in asserting that this is another instance of the exceptional nature of ,christianity4 ,for a considerable period it possessed no ritual at all1 and the process of development in this direction had been going on1 or been completed1 a long time before ritual came to furnish material for dogmatic discussion4 ,the worship in ,christian ,churches grew out of that in the synagogues1 whereas there is no trace of its being influenced by the ,jewish ,temple service 7,duchesne1 ,origines du ,culte ,chretien1 p4 #de ff474 ,its oldest constituents are accordingly prayer1 reading of the scriptures1 application of scripture texts1 and sacred song4 ,in addition to these we have1 as specifically ,christian elements1 the celebration of the ,lord's ,supper1 and the utterances of persons inspired by the ,spirit4 ,the latter manifestations1 however1 ceased in the course of the second century1 and to some extent as early as its first half4 ,the religious services in which a ritual became developed were prayer1 the ,lord's ,supper and sacred song4 ,the ,didache had already prescribed stated formulae for prayer4 ,the ritual of the ,lord's ,supper was determined in its main features by the memory of its institution4 ,the sphere of sacred song remained the most unfettered1 though here also1 even at an early period--no later in fact than the end of the first and beginning of the second century--a fixed and a variable element were distinguished2 for responsory hymns1 as is testified by the ,epistle of ,pliny and the still earlier ,book of ,revelation1 require to follow a definite arrangement4 ,but the whole1 though perhaps already fixed during the course of the second century1 still bore the stamp of spirituality and freedom4 ,it was really worship in spirit and in truth1 and this and no other was the light in which the ,apologists1 for instance1 regarded it4 ,ritualism did not begin to be a power in the ,church till the end of the second century2 though it had been cultivated by the ,gnostics long before1 and traces of it are found at an earlier period in some of the older ,fathers1 such as ,ignatius4 ,among the liturgical fragments still preserved to us from the first three centuries two strata may be distinguished4 ,apart from the responsory hymns in the ,book of ,revelation1 which can hardly represent fixed liturgical pieces1 the only portions of the older stratum in our possession are the ,lord's ,prayer1 originating with ,jesus himself and used as a liturgy1 together with the sacramental prayers of the ,didache4 ,these prayers exhibit a style unlike any of the liturgical formulae of later times2 the prayer is exclusively addressed to ,god1 it returns thanks for knowledge and life2 it speaks of ,jesus the ,greek3 pais theou 7,son of ,god7 as the mediator2 the intercession refers exclusively to the ,church1 and the supplication is for the gathering together of the ,church1 the hastening of the coming of the kingdom and the destruction of the world4 ,no direct mention is made of the death and resurrection of ,christ4 ,these prayers are the peculiar property of the ,christian ,church4 ,it cannot1 however1 be said that they exercised any important influence on the history of dogma4 ,the thoughts contained in them perished in their specific shape2 the measure of permanent importance they attained in a more general form1 was not preserved to them through these prayers4 ,the second stratum of liturgical pieces dates back to the great prayer with which the first ,epistle of ,clement ends1 for in many respects this prayer1 though some expressions in it remind us of the older type 7,greek3 dia tou egapemenou paidos sou ,iesoun ,christou1 through thy beloved son ,jesus ,christ 71 already exhibits the characteristics of the later liturgy1 as is shewn1 for example1 by a comparison of the liturgical prayer in the ,constitutions of the ,apostles 7see ,lightfoot's edition and my own74 ,but this piece shews at the same time that the liturgical prayers1 and consequently the liturgy also1 sprang from those in the synagogue1 for the similarity is striking4 ,here we find a connection resembling that which exists between the ,jewish ,two ,ways and the ,christian instruction of catechumens4 ,if this observation is correct1 it clearly explains the cautious use of historical and dogmatic material in the oldest liturgies--a precaution not to their disadvantage4 ,as in the prayers of the synagogue1 so also in ,christian ,churches1 all sorts of matters were not submitted to ,god or laid bare before ,him1 but the prayers serve as a religious ceremony1 that is1 as adoration1 petition and intercession4 ,greek3 ,su ei ho theos monos kai ,iesous ,christos ho pais sou kai hemeis laos sou kai probata tes nomes sou1 7thou art ,god alone and ,jesus ,christ is thy son1 and we are thy people and the sheep of thy pasture74 ,in this confession1 an expressive ,christian modification of that of the synagogue1 the whole liturgical ceremony is epitomised4 ,so far as we can assume and conjecture from the scanty remains of ,ante-,nicene liturgy1 the character of the ceremony was not essentially altered in this respect4 ,nothing containing a specific dogma or theological speculation was admitted4 ,the number of sacred ceremonies1 already considerable in the second century 7how did they arise871 was still further increased in the third2 but the accompanying words1 so far as we know1 expressed nothing but adoration1 gratitude1 supplication1 and intercession4 ,the relations expressed in the liturgy became more comprehensive1 copious and detailed2 but its fundamental character was not changed4 ,the history of dogma in the first three centuries is not reflected in their liturgy4 ,,appendix ,,iii4 ,,neoplatonism4 ,the historical significance and position of ,neoplatonism4 ,the political history of the ancient world ends with the ,empire of ,diocletian and ,constantine1 which has not only ,roman and ,greek1 but also ,oriental features4 ,the history of ancient philosophy ends with the universal philosophy of ,neoplatonism1 which assimilated the elements of most of the previous systems1 and embodied the result of the history of religion and civilisation in ,east and ,west4 ,but as the ,roman ,byzantine ,empire is at one and the same time a product of the final effort and the exhaustion of the ancient world1 so also ,neoplatonism is1 on one side1 the completion of ancient philosophy1 and1 on another1 its abolition4 ,never before in the ,greek and ,roman theory of the world did the conviction of the dignity of man and his elevation above nature1 attain so certain an expression as in ,neoplatonism2 and never before in the history of civilisation did its highest exponents1 notwithstanding all their progress in inner observation1 so much undervalue the sovereign significance of real science and pure knowledge as the later ,neoplatonists did4 ,judged from the stand-point of pure science1 of empirical knowledge of the world1 the philosophy of ,plato and ,aristotle marks a momentous turning-point1 the post-,aristotelian a retrogression1 the ,neoplatonic a complete declension4 ,but judging from the stand-point of religion and morality1 it must be admitted that the ethical temper which ,neoplatonism sought to beget and confirm1 was the highest and purest which the culture of the ancient world produced4 ,this necessarily took place at the expense of science3 for on the soil of polytheistic natural religions1 the knowledge of nature must either fetter and finally abolish religion1 or be fettered and abolished by religion4 ,religion and ethic1 however1 proved the stronger powers4 ,placed between these and the knowledge of nature1 philosophy1 after a period of fluctuation1 finally follows the stronger force4 ,since the ethical itself1 in the sphere of natural religions1 is unhesitatingly conceived as a higher kind of nature1 conflict with the empirical knowledge of the world is unavoidable4 ,the higher physics1 for that is what religious ethics is here1 must displace the lower or be itself displaced4 ,philosophy must renounce its scientific aspect1 in order that man's claim to a supernatural value of his person and life may be legitimised4 ,it is an evidence of the vigour of man's moral endowments that the only epoch of culture which we are able to survey in its beginnings1 its progress1 and its close1 ended not with materialism1 but with the most decided idealism4 ,it is true that in its way this idealism also denotes a bankruptcy2 as the contempt for reason and science1 and these are contemned when relegated to the second place1 finally leads to barbarism1 because it results in the crassest superstition1 and is exposed to all manner of imposture4 ,and1 as a matter of fact1 barbarism succeeded the flourishing period of ,neoplatonism4 ,philosophers themselves no doubt found their mental food in the knowledge which they thought themselves able to surpass2 but the masses grew up in superstition1 and the ,christian ,church1 which entered on the inheritance of ,neoplatonism1 was compelled to reckon with that and come to terms with it4 ,just when the bankruptcy of the ancient civilisation and its lapse into barbarism could not have failed to reveal themselves1 a kindly destiny placed on the stage of history barbarian nations1 for whom the work of a thousand years had as yet no existence4 ,thus the fact is concealed1 which1 however1 does not escape the eye of one who looks below the surface1 that the inner history of the ancient world must necessarily have degenerated into barbarism of its own accord1 because it ended with the renunciation of this world4 ,there is no desire either to enjoy it1 to master it1 or to know it as it really is4 ,a new world is disclosed for which everything is given up1 and men are ready to sacrifice insight and understanding1 in order to possess this world with certainty2 and1 in the light which radiates from the world to come1 that which in this world appears absurd becomes wisdom1 and wisdom becomes folly4 ,such is ,neoplatonism4 ,the pre-,socratic philosophers1 declared by the followers of ,socrates to be childish1 had freed themselves from theology1 that is1 the mythology of the poets1 and constructed a philosophy from the observation of nature1 without troubling themselves about ethics and religion4 ,in the systems of ,plato and ,aristotle physics and ethics were to attain to their rights1 though the latter no doubt already occupied the first place2 theology1 that is popular religion1 continues to be thrust aside4 ,the post-,aristotelian philosophers of all parties were already beginning to withdraw from the objective world4 ,stoicism indeed seems to fall back into the materialism that ,i prevailed before ,plato and ,aristotle2 but the ethical dualism which dominated the mood of the ,stoic philosophers1 did not in the long run tolerate the materialistic physics2 it sought and found help in the metaphysical dualism of the ,platonists1 and at the same time reconciled itself to the popular religion by means of allegorism1 that is1 it formed a new theology4 ,but it did not result in permanent philosophic creations4 ,a one-sided development of ,platonism produced the various forms of scepticism which sought to abolish confidence in empirical knowledge4 ,neoplatonism1 which came last1 learned from all schools4 ,in the first place1 it belongs to the series of post-,aristotelian systems and1 as the philosophy of the subjective1 it is the logical completion of them4 ,in the second place1 it rests on scepticism2 for it also1 though not at the very beginning1 gave up both confidence and pure interest in empirical knowledge4 ,thirdly1 it can boast of the name and authority of ,plato2 for in metaphysics it consciously went back to him and expressly opposed the metaphysics of the ,stoics4 ,yet on this very point it also learned something from the ,stoics2 for the ,neoplatonic conception of the action of ,god on the world1 and of the nature and origin of matter1 can only be explained by reference to the dynamic pantheism of the ,stoics4 ,in other respects1 especially in psychology1 it is diametrically opposed to the ,stoa1 though superior4 ,fourthly1 the study of ,aristotle also had an influence on ,neoplatonism4 ,that is shewn not only in the philosophic methods of the ,neoplatonists1 but also1 though in a subordinate way1 in their metaphysics4 ,fifthly1 the ethic of the ,stoics was adopted by ,neoplatonism1 but this ethic necessarily gave way to a still higher view of the conditions of the spirit4 ,sixthly and finally1 ,christianity also1 which ,neoplatonism opposed in every form 7especially in that of the ,gnostic philosophy of religion71 seems not to have been entirely without influence4 ,on this point we have as yet no details1 and these can only be ascertained by a thorough examination of the polemic of ,plotinus against the ,gnostics4 ,hence1 with the exception of ,epicureanism1 which ,neoplatonism dreaded as its mortal enemy1 every important system of former times was drawn upon by the new philosophy4 ,but we should not on that account call ,neoplatonism an eclectic system in the usual sense of the word4 ,for in the first place1 it had one pervading and all predominating interest1 the religious2 and in the second place1 it introduced into philosophy a new supreme principle1 the super-rational1 or the super-essential4 ,this principle should not be identified with the ,ideas of ,plato or the ,form of ,aristotle4 ,for as ,zeller rightly says3 ,in ,plato and ,aristotle the distinction of the sensuous and the intelligible is the strongest expression for belief in the truth of thought2 it is only sensuous perception and sensuous existence whose relative falsehood they presuppose2 but of a higher stage of spiritual life lying beyond idea and thought1 there is no mention4 ,in ,neoplatonism1 on the other hand1 it is just this super-rational element which is regarded as the final goal of all effort1 and the highest ground of all existence2 the knowledge gained by thought is only an intermediate stage between sensuous perception and the super-rational intuition2 the intelligible forms are not that which is highest and last1 but only the media by which the influences of the formless original essence are communicated to the world4 ,this view therefore presupposes not merely doubt of the reality of sensuous existence and sensuous notions1 but absolute doubt1 aspiration beyond all reality4 ,the highest intelligible is not that which constitutes the real content of thought1 but only that which is presupposed and earnestly desired by man as the unknowable ground of his thought4 ,neoplatonism recognised that a religious ethic can be built neither on sense-perception nor on knowledge gained by the understanding1 and that it cannot be justified by these2 it therefore broke both with intellectual ethics and with utilitarian morality4 ,but for that very reason1 having as it were parted with perception and understanding in relation to the ascertaining of the highest truth1 it was compelled to seek for a new world and a new function in the human spirit1 in order to ascertain the existence of what it desired1 and to comprehend and describe that of which it had ascertained the existence4 ,but man cannot transcend his psychological endowment4 ,an iron ring incloses him4 ,he who does not allow his thought to be determined by experience falls a prey to fancy1 that is1 thought1 which cannot be suppressed1 assumes a mythological aspect3 superstition takes the place of reason1 dull gazing at something incomprehensible is regarded as the highest goal of the spirit's efforts1 and every conscious activity of the spirit is subordinated to visionary conditions artificially brought about4 ,but that every conceit may not be allowed to assert itself1 the gradual exploration of every region of knowledge according to every method of acquiring it1 is demanded as a preliminary--the ,neoplatonists did not make matters easy for themselves1--and a new and mighty principle is set up which is to bridle fancy1 viz41 the authority of a sure tradition4 ,this authority must be superhuman1 otherwise it would not come under consideration2 it must therefore be divine4 ,on divine disclosures1 that is revelations1 must rest both the highest super-rational region of knowledge and the possibility of knowledge itself4 ,in a word1 the philosophy which ,neoplatonism represents1 whose final interest is the religious1 and whose highest object is the super-rational1 must be a philosophy of revelation4 ,in the case of ,plotinus himself and his immediate disciples1 this does not yet appear plainly4 ,they still shew confidence in the objective presuppositions of their philosophy1 and have1 especially in psychology1 done great work and created something new4 ,but this confidence vanishes in the later ,neoplatonists4 ,porphyry1 before he became a disciple of ,plotinus1 wrote a book ,greek3 peri tes eklogion philosophia2 as a philosopher he no longer required the ,greek3 logia4 ,but the later representatives of the system sought for their philosophy revelations of the ,godhead4 ,they found them in the religious traditions and cults of all nations4 ,neoplatonism learned from the ,stoics to rise above the political limits of nations and states1 and to widen the ,hellenic consciousness to a universally human one4 ,the spirit of ,god has breathed throughout the whole history of the nations1 and the traces of divine revelation are to be found everywhere4 ,the older a religious tradition or cultus is1 the more worthy of honour1 the more rich in thoughts of ,god it is4 ,therefore the old ,oriental religions are of special value to the ,neoplatonists4 ,the allegorical method of interpreting myths1 which was practised by the ,stoics in particular1 was accepted by ,neoplatonism also4 ,but the myths1 spiritually explained1 have for this system an entirely different value from what they had for the ,stoic philosophers4 ,the latter adjusted themselves to the myths by the aid of allegorical explanation2 the later ,neoplatonists1 on the other hand1 7after a selection in which the immoral myths were sacrificed1 see1 e4g4 ,julian7 regarded them as the proper material and sure foundation of philosophy4 ,neoplatonism claims to be not only the absolute philosophy1 completing all systems1 but1 at the same time1 the absolute religion1 confirming and explaining all earlier religions4 ,a rehabilitation of all ancient religions is aimed at 7see the philosophic teachers of ,julian and compare his great religious experiment72 each was to continue in its traditional form1 but1 at the same time1 each was to communicate the religious temper and the religious knowledge which ,neoplatonism had attained1 and each cultus is to lead to the high morality which it behoves man to maintain4 ,in ,neoplatonism the psychological fact of the longing of man for something higher1 is exalted to the all-predominating principle which explains the world4 ,therefore the religions1 though they are to be purified and spiritualised1 become the foundation of philosophy4 ,the ,neoplatonic philosophy therefore presupposes the religious syncretism of the third century1 and cannot be understood without it4 ,the great forces which were half unconsciously at work in this syncretism1 were reflectively grasped by ,neoplatonism4 ,it is the final fruit of the developments resulting from the political1 national and religious syncretism which arose from the undertakings of ,alexander the ,great1 and the ,romans4 ,neoplatonism is consequently a stage in the history of religion2 nay1 its significance in the history of the world lies in the fact that it is so4 ,in the history of science and enlightenment it has a position of significance only in so far as it was the necessary transition stage through which humanity had to pass1 in order to free itself from the religion of nature and the depreciation of the spiritual life1 which oppose an insurmountable barrier to the highest advance of human knowledge4 ,but as ,neoplatonism in its philosophical aspect means the abolition of ancient philosophy1 which1 however1 it desired to complete1 so also in its religious aspect it means the abolition of the ancient religions which it aimed at restoring4 ,for in requiring these religions to mediate a definite religious knowledge1 and to lead to the highest moral disposition1 it burdened them with tasks to which they were not equal1 and under which they could not but break down4 ,and in requiring them to loosen1 if not completely destroy1 the bond which was their only stay1 namely1 the political bond1 it took from them the foundation on which they were built4 ,but could it not place them on a greater and firmer foundation8 ,was not the ,roman ,empire in existence1 and could the new religion not become dependent on this in the same way as the earlier religions had been dependent on the lesser states and nations8 ,it might be thought so1 but it was no longer possible4 ,no doubt the political history of the nations round the ,mediterranean1 in their development into the universal ,roman monarchy1 was parallel to the spiritual history of these nations in their development into monotheism and a universal system of morals2 but the spiritual development in the end far outstripped the political3 even the ,stoics attained to a height which the political development could only partially reach4 ,neoplatonism did indeed attempt to gain a connection with the ,byzantine ,roman ,empire3 one noble monarch1 ,julian1 actually perished as a result of this endeavour3 but even before this the profounder ,neoplatonists discerned that their lofty religious philosophy would not bear contact with the despotic ,empire1 because it would not bear any contact with the world 7plan of the founding of ,platonopolis74 ,political affairs are at bottom as much a matter of indifference to ,neoplatonism as material things in general4 ,the idealism of the new philosophy was too high to admit of its being naturalised in the despiritualised1 tyrannical and barren creation of the ,byzantine ,empire1 and this ,empire itself needed unscrupulous and despotic police officials1 not noble philosophers4 ,important and instructive1 therefore1 as the experiments are1 which were made from time to time by the state and by individual philosophers1 to unite the monarchy of the world with ,neoplatonism1 they could not but be ineffectual4 ,but1 and this is the last question which one is justified in raising here1 why did not ,neoplatonism create an independent religious community8 ,since it had already changed the ancient religions so fundamentally1 in its purpose to restore them1 since it had attempted to fill the old naive cults with profound philosophic ideas1 and to make them exponents of a high morality1 why did it not take the further step and create a religious fellowship of its own8 ,why did it not complete and confirm the union of gods by the founding of a church which was destined to embrace the whole of humanity1 and in which1 beside the one ineffable ,godhead1 the gods of all nations could have been worshipped8 ,why not8 ,the answer to this question is at the same time the reply to another1 viz41 why did the ,christian church supplant ,neoplatonism8 ,neoplatonism lacked three elements to give it the significance of a new and permanent religious system4 ,augustine in his confessions 7,bk4 ,,vii4 #ah-ba7 has excellently described these three elements4 ,first and above all1 it lacked a religious founder2 secondly1 it was unable to give any answer to the question1 how one could permanently maintain the mood of blessedness and peace3 thirdly1 it lacked the means of winning those who could not speculate4 ,the people could not learn the philosophic exercises which it recommended as the condition of attaining the enjoyment of the highest good2 and the way on which even the people can attain to the highest good was hidden from it4 ,hence these wise and prudent remained a school4 ,when ,julian attempted to interest the common uncultured man in the doctrines and worship of this school1 his reward was mockery and scorn4 ,not as philosophy and not as a new religion did ,neoplatonism become a decisive factor in history1 but1 if ,i may say so1 as a frame of mind4#dee ,the feeling that there is an eternal highest good which lies beyond all outer experience and is not even the intelligible1 this feeling1 with which was united the conviction of the entire worthlessness of everything earthly1 was produced and fostered by ,neoplatonism4 ,but it was unable to describe the contents of that highest being and highest good1 and therefore it was here compelled to give itself entirely up to fancy and aesthetic feeling4 ,therefore it was forced to trace out mysterious ways to that which is within1 which1 however1 led nowhere4 ,it transformed thought into a dream of feeling2 it immersed itself in the sea of emotions2 it viewed the old fabled world of the nations as the reflection of a higher reality1 and transformed reality into poetry2 but in spite of all these efforts it was only able1 to use the words of ,augustine1 to see from afar the land which it desired4 ,it broke this world into fragments2 but nothing remained to it1 save a ray from a world beyond1 which was only an indescribable something4 ,and yet the significance of ,neoplatonism in the history of our moral culture has been1 and still is1 immeasurable4 ,not only because it refined and strengthened man's life of feeling and sensation1 not only because it1 more than anything else1 wove the delicate veil which even to-day1 whether we be religious or irreligious1 we ever and again cast over the offensive impression of the brutal reality1 but1 above all1 because it begat the consciousness that the blessedness which alone can satisfy man1 is to be found somewhere else than in the sphere of knowledge4 ,that man does not live by bread alone1 is a truth that was known before ,neoplatonism2 but it proclaimed the profounder truth1 which the earlier philosophy had failed to recognise1 that man does not live by knowledge alone4 ,neoplatonism not only had a propadeutic significance in the past1 but continues to be1 even now1 the source of all the moods which deny the world and strive after an ideal1 but have not power to raise themselves above aesthetic feeling1 and see no means of getting a clear notion of the impulse of their own heart and the land of their desire4 99 99 99 99 99 ,historical ,origin of ,neoplatonism4 ,the forerunners of ,neoplatonism were1 on the one hand1 those ,stoics who recognise the ,platonic distinction of the sensible and supersensible world1 and on the other1 the so-called ,neopythagoreans and religious philosophers1 such as ,posidonius1 ,plutarch of ,chaeronea1 and especially ,numenius of ,apamea4#def ,nevertheless1 these cannot be regarded as the actual ,fathers of ,neoplatonism2 for the philosophic method was still very imperfect in comparison with the ,neoplatonic1 their principles were uncertain1 and the authority of ,plato was not yet regarded as placed on an unapproachable height4 ,the ,jewish and ,christian philosophers of the first and second centuries stand very much nearer the later ,neoplatonism than ,numenius4 ,we would probably see this more clearly if we knew the development of ,christianity in ,alexandria in the second century4 ,but1 unfortunately1 we have only very meagre fragments to tell us of this4 ,first and above all1 we must mention ,philo4 ,this philosopher1 who interpreted the ,old ,testament religion in terms of ,hellenism1 had1 in accordance with his idea of revelation1 already maintained that the ,divine ,original ,essence is supra-rational1 that only ecstasy leads to ,him1 and that the materials for religious and moral knowledge are contained in the oracles of the ,deity4 ,the religious ethic of ,philo1 a combination of ,stoic1 ,platonic1 ,neopythagorean and ,old ,testament gnomic wisdom1 already bears the marks which we recognise in ,neoplatonism4 ,the acknowledgment that ,god was exalted above all thought1 was a sort of tribute which ,greek philosophy was compelled to pay to the national religion of ,israel1 in return for the supremacy which was here granted to the former4 ,the claim of positive religion to be something more than an intellectual conception of the universal reason1 was thereby justified4 ,even religious syncretism is already found in ,philo2 but it is something essentially different from the later ,neoplatonic1 since ,philo regarded the ,jewish cult as the only valuable one1 and traced back all elements of truth in the ,greeks and ,romans to borrowings from the books of ,moses4 ,the earliest ,christian philosophers1 especially ,justin and ,athenagoras1 likewise prepared the way for the speculations of the later ,neoplatonists by their attempts1 on the one hand1 to connect ,christianity with ,stoicism and ,platonism1 and on the other1 to exhibit it as supra-,platonic4 ,the method by which ,justin1 in the introduction to the ,dialogue with ,trypho1 attempts to establish the ,christian knowledge of ,god1 that is1 the knowledge of the truth1 on ,platonism1 ,scepticism and ,revelation1 strikingly reminds us of the later methods of the ,neoplatonists4 ,still more is one reminded of ,neoplatonism by the speculations of the ,alexandrian ,christian ,gnostics1 especially of ,valentinus and the followers of ,basilides4 ,the doctrines of the ,basilidians787 communicated by ,hippolytus 7,philosoph4 ,,vii4 c4 #bj sq471 read like fragments from the didactic writings of the ,neoplatonists3 ,greek3 ,epei ouden en ouch hule1 ouk ousia1 ouk anousion1 ouch haploun1 ou suntheton1 ouk anoeton1 ouk anaistheton1 ouk anthropos 444 ouk on theos anoetos1 anaisthetos aboulos aproairetos1 apathos1 anepithumetios kosmon ethelese poiesai 444 ,houtos ouk on theos epoiese kosmon ouk onta ex ouk onton1 katabalomenos kai hupostesas sperma ti en echon pasan en heauto tes tou kosmou panspermian4 ,like the ,neoplatonists1 these ,basilidians did not teach an emanation from the ,godhead1 but a dynamic mode of action of the ,supreme ,being4 ,the same can be asserted of ,valentinus who also places an unnamable being above all1 and views matter not as a second principle1 but as a derived product4 ,the dependence of ,basilides and ,valentinus on ,zeno and ,plato is1 besides1 undoubted4 ,but the method of these ,gnostics in constructing their mental picture of the world and its history1 was still an uncertain one4 ,crude primitive myths are here received1 and naively realistic elements alternate with bold attempts at spiritualising4 ,while therefore1 philosophically considered1 the ,gnostic systems are very unlike the finished ,neoplatonic ones1 it is certain that they contained almost all the elements of the religious view of the world1 which we find in ,neoplatonism4 ,but were the earliest ,neoplatonists really acquainted with the speculations of men like ,philo1 ,justin1 ,valentinus and ,basilides8 were they familiar with the ,oriental religions1 especially with the ,jewish and the ,christian8 and1 if we must answer these questions in the affirmative1 did they really learn from these sources8 ,unfortunately1 we cannot at present give certain1 and still less detailed answers to these questions4 ,but1 as ,neoplatonism originated in ,alexandria1 as ,oriental cults confronted every one there1 as the ,jewish philosophy was prominent in the literary market of ,alexandria1 and that was the very place where scientific ,christianity had its headquarters1 there can1 generally speaking1 be no doubt that the earliest ,neoplatonists had some acquaintance with ,judaism and ,christianity4 ,in addition to that1 we have the certain fact that the earliest ,neoplatonists had discussions with 7,roman7 ,gnostics 7see ,carl ,schmidt1 ,gnostische ,schriften in koptischer ,sprache1 pp4 #fjc-ffe71 and that ,porphyry entered into elaborate controversy with ,christianity4 ,in comparison with the ,neoplatonic philosophy1 the system of ,philo and the ,gnostics appears in many respects an anticipation1 which had a certain influence on the former1 the precise nature of which has still to be ascertained4 ,but the anticipation is not wonderful1 for the religious and philosophic temper which was only gradually produced on ,greek soil1 existed from the first in such philosophers as took their stand on the ground of a revealed religion of redemption4 ,iamblichus and his followers first answer completely to the ,christian ,gnostic schools of the second century2 that is to say1 ,greek philosophy1 in its immanent development1 did not attain till the fourth century the position which some ,greek philosophers1 who had accepted ,christianity1 had already reached in the second4 ,the influence of ,christianity--both ,gnostic and ,catholic--on ,neoplatonism was perhaps very little at any time1 though individual ,neoplatonists since the time of ,amelius employed ,christian sayings as oracles1 and testified their high esteem for ,christ4 ,sketch of the ,history and ,doctrines of ,neoplatonism4 ,ammonius ,saccas 7died about #bde71 who is said to have been born a ,christian1 but to have lapsed into heathenism1 is regarded as the founder of the ,neoplatonic school in ,alexandria4 ,as he has left no writings1 no judgment can be formed as to his teaching4 ,his disciples inherited from him the prominence which they gave to ,plato and the attempts to prove the harmony between the latter and ,aristotle4 ,his most important disciples were2 ,origen the ,christian1 a second heathen ,origen1 ,longinus1 ,herennius1 and1 above all1 ,plotinus4 ,the latter was born in the year #bje1 at ,lycopolis in ,egypt1 laboured from #bbd in ,rome1 and found numerous adherents and admirers1 among others the ,emperor ,galienus and his consort1 and died in lower ,italy about #bgj4 ,his writings were arranged by his disciple1 ,porphyry1 and edited in six ,enneads4 ,the ,enneads of ,plotinus are the fundamental documents of ,neoplatonism4 ,the teaching of this philosopher is mystical1 and1 like all mysticism1 it falls into two main portions4 ,the first and theoretic part shews the high origin of the soul1 and how it has departed from this its origin4 ,the second and practical part points out the way by which the soul can again be raised to the ,eternal and the ,highest4 ,as the soul with its longings aspires beyond all sensible things and even beyond the world of ideas1 the ,highest must be something above reason4 ,the system therefore has three parts4 ,i4 ,the ,original ,essence4 ,,ii4 ,the world of ideas and the soul4 ,,iii4 ,the world of phenomena4 ,we may also1 in conformity with the thought of ,plotinus1 divide the system thus3 ,a4 ,the supersensible world 7#a4 ,the ,original ,essence2 #b4 the world of ideas2 #c4 the soul74 ,b4 ,the world of phenomena4 ,the ,original ,essence is the ,one in contrast to the many2 it is the ,infinite and ,unlimited in contrast to the finite2 it is the source of all being1 therefore the absolute causality and the only truly existing2 but it is also the ,good1 in so far as everything finite is to find its aim in it and to flow back to it4 ,yet moral attributes cannot be ascribed to this ,original ,essence1 for these would limit it4 ,it has no attributes at all2 it is a being without magnitude1 without life1 without thought2 nay1 one should not1 properly speaking1 even call it an existence2 it is something above existence1 above goodness1 and at the same time the operative force without any substratum4 ,as operative force the ,original ,essence is continually begetting something else1 without itself being changed or moved or diminished4 ,this creation is not a physical process1 but an emanation of force2 and because that which is produced has any existence only in so far as the originally ,existent works in it1 it may be said that ,neoplatonism is dynamical ,pantheism4 ,everything that has being is directly or indirectly a production of the ,one4 ,in this ,one everything so far as it has being1 is ,divine1 and ,god is all in all4 ,but that which is derived is not like the ,original ,essence itself4 ,on the contrary1 the law of decreasing perfection prevails in the derived4 ,the latter is indeed an image and reflection of the ,original ,essence1 but the wider the circle of creations extends the less their share in the ,original ,essence4 ,hence the totality of being forms a gradation of concentric circles which finally lose themselves almost completely in non-being1 in so far as in the last circle the force of the ,original ,essence is a vanishing one4 ,each lower stage of being is connected with the ,original ,essence only by means of the higher stages2 that which is inferior receives a share in the ,original ,essence only through the medium of these4 ,but everything derived has one feature1 viz41 a longing for the higher2 it turns itself to this so far as its nature allows it4 ,the first emanation of the ,original ,essence is the ,greek3 ,nous2 it is a complete image of the ,original ,essence and archetype of all existing things2 it is being and thought at the same time1 ,world of ideas and ,idea4 ,as image the ,greek3 ,nous is equal to the ,original ,essence1 as derived it is completely different from it4 ,what ,plotinus understands by ,greek3 ,nous is the highest sphere which the human spirit can reach 7,greek3 kosmos noetos7 and at the same time pure thought itself4 ,the soul which1 according to ,plotinus1 is an immaterial substance like the ,greek3 ,nous1#deg is an image and product of the immovable ,greek3 ,nous4 ,it is related to the ,greek3 ,nous as the latter is to the ,original ,essence4 ,it stands between the ,greek3 ,nous and the world of phenomena4 ,the ,greek3 ,nous penetrates and enlightens it1 but it itself already touches the world of phenomena4 ,the ,greek3 ,nous is undivided1 the soul can also preserve its unity and abide in the ,greek3 ,nous2 but it has at the same time the power to unite itself with the material world and thereby to be divided4 ,hence it occupies a middle position4 ,in virtue of its nature and destiny it belongs1 as the single soul 7soul of the world71 to the supersensible world2 but it embraces at the same time the many individual souls2 these may allow themselves to be ruled by the ,greek3 ,nous1 or they may turn to the sensible and be lost in the finite4 ,the soul1 an active essence1 begets the corporeal or the world of phenomena4 ,this should allow itself to be so ruled by the soul that the manifold of which it consists may abide in fullest harmony4 ,plotinus is not a dualist like the majority of ,christian ,gnostics4 ,he praises the beauty and glory of the world4 ,when in it the idea really has dominion over matter1 the soul over the body1 the world is beautiful and good4 ,it is the image of the upper world1 though a shadowy one1 and the gradations of better or worse in it are necessary to the harmony of the whole4 ,but1 in point of fact1 the unity and harmony in the world of phenomena disappear in strife and opposition4 ,the result is a conflict1 a growth and decay1 a seeming existence4 ,the original cause of this lies in the fact that a substratum1 viz41 matter1 lies at the basis of bodies4 ,matter is the foundation of each 7,greek3 to bathos hekastou he hule72 it is the obscure1 the indefinite1 that which is without qualities1 the ,greek3 me on4 ,as devoid of form and idea it is the evil1 as capable of form the intermediate4 ,the human souls that are sunk in the material have been ensnared by the sensuous1 and have allowed themselves to be ruled by desire4 ,they now seek to detach themselves entirely from true being1 and striving after independence fall into an unreal existence4 ,conversion therefore is needed1 and this is possible1 for freedom is not lost4 ,now here begins the practical philosophy4 ,the soul must rise again to the highest on the same path by which it descended3 it must first of all return to itself4 ,this takes place through virtue which aspires to assimilation with ,god and leads to ,him4 ,in the ethics of ,plotinus all earlier philosophic systems of virtue are united and arranged in graduated order4 ,civic virtues stand lowest1 then follow the purifying1 and finally the deifying virtues4 ,civic virtues only adorn the life1 but do not elevate the soul as the purifying virtues do2 they free the soul from the sensuous and lead it back to itself and thereby to the ,greek3 ,nous4 ,man becomes again a spiritual and permanent being1 and frees himself from every sin1 through asceticism4 ,but he is to reach still higher2 he is not only to be without sin1 but he is to be ,god4 ,that takes place through the contemplation of the ,original ,essence1 the ,one1 that is through ecstatic elevation to ,him4 ,this is not mediated by thought1 for thought reaches only to the ,greek3 ,nous1 and is itself only a movement4 ,thought is only a preliminary stage towards union with ,god4 ,the soul can only see and touch the ,original ,essence in a condition of complete passivity and rest4 ,hence1 in order to attain to this highest1 the soul must subject itself to a spiritual ,exercise4 ,it must begin with the contemplation of material things1 their diversity and harmony1 then retire into itself and sink itself in its own essence1 and thence mount up to the ,greek3 ,nous1 to the world of ideas2 but1 as it still does not find the ,one and ,highest ,essence there1 as the call always comes to it from there3 ,we have not made ourselves 7,augustine in the sublime description of ,christian1 that is1 ,neoplatonic exercises71 it must1 as it were1 lose sight of itself in a state of intense concentration1 in mute contemplation and complete forgetfulness of all things4 ,it can then see ,god1 the source of life1 the principle of being1 the first cause of all good1 the root of the soul4 ,in that moment it enjoys the highest and indescribable blessedness2 it is itself1 as it were1 swallowed up by the deity and bathed in the light of eternity4 ,plotinus1 as ,porphyry relates1 attained to this ecstatic union with ,god four times during the six years he was with him4 ,to ,plotinus this religious philosophy was sufficient2 he did not require the popular religion and worship4 ,but yet he sought their support4 ,the ,deity is indeed in the last resort only the ,original ,essence1 but it manifests itself in a fulness of emanations and phenomena4 ,the ,greek3 ,nous is1 as it were1 the second ,god2 the ,greek3 logoi1 which are included in it1 are gods2 the stars are gods1 etc4 ,a strict monotheism appeared to ,plotinus a poor thing4 ,the myths of the popular religion were interpreted by him in a particular sense1 and he could justify even magic1 soothsaying and prayer4 ,he brought forward reasons for the worship of images1 which the ,christian worshippers of images subsequently adopted4 ,yet1 in comparison with the later ,neoplatonists1 he was free from gross superstition and wild fanaticism4 ,he cannot1 in the remotest sense1 be reckoned among the deceivers who were themselves deceived1 and the restoration of the ancient worships of the ,gods was not his chief aim4 ,among his disciples the most important were ,amelius and ,porphyry4 ,amelius changed the doctrine of ,plotinus in some points1 and even made use of the prologue of the ,gospel of ,john4 ,porphyry has the merit of having systematized and spread the teaching of his master1 ,plotinus4 ,he was born at ,tyre1 in the year #bcc2 whether he was for some time a ,christian is uncertain2 from #bfc-bfh he was a pupil of ,plotinus at ,rome2 before that he wrote the work ,greek3 peri tes ek logion philosophias1 which shews that he wished to base philosophy on revelation2 he lived a few years in ,sicily 7about #bgj7 where he wrote his fifteen books against the ,christians2 he then returned to ,rome where he laboured as a teacher1 edited the works of ,plotinus1 wrote himself a series of treatises1 married1 in his old age1 the ,roman ,lady ,marcella1 and died about the year #cjc4 ,porphyry was not an original1 productive thinker1 but a diligent and thorough investigator1 characterized by great learning1 by the gift of an acute faculty for philological and historical criticism1 and by an earnest desire to spread the true philosophy of life1 to refute false doctrines1 especially those of the ,christians1 to ennoble man and draw him to that which is good4 ,that a mind so free and noble surrendered itself entirely to the philosophy of ,plotinus and to polytheistic mysticism1 is a proof that the spirit of the age works almost irresistibly1 and that religious mysticism was the highest possession of the time4 ,the teaching of ,porphyry is distinguished from that of ,plotinus by the fact that it is still more practical and religious4 ,the aim of philosophy1 according to ,porphyry1 is the salvation of the soul4 ,the origin and the guilt of evil lie not in the body1 but in the desires of the soul4 ,the strictest asceticism 7abstinence from cohabitation1 flesh and wine7 is therefore required in addition to the knowledge of ,god4 ,during the course of his life ,porphyry warned men more and more decidedly against crude popular beliefs and immoral cults4 ,the ordinary notions of the ,deity are of such a kind that it is more godless to share them than to neglect the images of the gods4 ,but freely as he criticised the popular religions1 he did not wish to give them up4 ,he contended for a pure worship of the many gods1 and recognised the right of every old national religion1 and the religious duties of their professors4 ,his work against the ,christians is not directed against ,christ1 or what he regarded as the teaching of ,christ1 but against the ,christians of his day and against the sacred books which1 according to ,porphyry1 were written by impostors and ignorant people4 ,in his acute criticism of the genesis or what was regarded as ,christianity in his day1 he spoke bitter and earnest truths1 and therefore acquired the name of the fiercest and most formidable of all the enemies of ,christians4 ,his work was destroyed 7condemned by an edict of ,theodosius ,,ii4 and ,valentinian1 of the year #ddh71 and even the writings in reply 7by ,methodius1 ,eusebius1 ,apollinaris1 ,philostorgius1 etc417 have not been preserved4 ,yet we possess fragments in ,lactantius1 ,augustine1 ,macarius ,magnes and others1 which attest how thoroughly ,porphyry studied the ,christian writings and how great his faculty was for true historical criticism4 ,porphyry marks the transition to the ,neoplatonism which subordinated itself entirely to the polytheistic cults1 and which strove1 above all1 to defend the old ,greek and ,oriental religions against the formidable assaults of ,christianity4 ,iamblichus1 the disciple of ,porphyry 7died #ccj71 transformed ,neoplatonism from a philosophic theorem into a theological doctrine4 ,the doctrines peculiar to ,iamblichus can no longer be deduced from scientific1 but only from practical motives4 ,in order to justify superstition and the ancient cults1 philosophy in ,iamblichus becomes a theurgic1 mysteriosophy1 spiritualism4 ,now appears that series of ,philosophers1 in whose case one is frequently unable to decide whether they are deceivers or deceived1 decepti deceptores1 as ,augustine says4 ,a mysterious mysticism of numbers plays a great role4 ,that which is absurd and mechanical is surrounded with the halo of the sacramental2 myths are proved by pious fancies and pietistic considerations with a spiritual sound2 miracles1 even the most foolish1 are believed in and are performed4 ,the philosopher becomes the priest of magic1 and philosophy an instrument of magic4 ,at the same time1 the number of ,divine ,beings is infinitely increased by the further action of unlimited speculation4 ,but this fantastic addition which ,iamblichus makes to the inhabitants of ,olympus1 is the very fact which proves that ,greek philosophy has here returned to mythology1 and that the religion of nature was still a power4 ,and yet no one can deny that1 in the fourth century1 even the noblest and choicest minds were found among the ,neoplatonists4 ,so great was the declension1 that this ,neoplatonic philosophy was still the protecting roof for many influential and earnest thinkers1 although swindlers and hypocrites also concealed themselves under this roof4 ,in relation to some points of doctrine1 at any rate1 the dogmatic of ,iamblichus marks an advance4 ,thus1 the emphasis he lays on the idea that evil has its seat in the will1 is an important fact2 and in general the significance he assigns to the will is perhaps the most important advance in psychology1 and one which could not fail to have great influence on dogmatic also 7,augustine74 ,it likewise deserves to be noted that ,iamblichus disputed ,plotinus' doctrine of the divinity of the human soul4 ,the numerous disciples of ,iamblichus 7,aedesius1 ,chrysantius1 ,eusebius1 ,priscus1 ,sopater1 ,sallust and especially ,maximus1 the most celebrated7 did little to further speculation2 they occupied themselves partly with commenting on the writings of the earlier philosophers 7particularly ,themistius71 partly as missionaries of their mysticism4 ,the interests and aims of these philosophers are best shewn in the treatise ,de mysteriis ,a,egyptiorum4 ,their hopes were strengthened when their disciple ,julian1 a man enthusiastic and noble1 but lacking in intellectual originality1 ascended the imperial throne1 #cfa to #cfc4 ,this emperor's romantic policy of restoration1 as he himself must have seen1 had1 however1 no result1 and his early death destroyed ever hope of supplanting ,christianity4 ,but the victory of the ,church1 in the age of ,valentinian and ,theodosius1 unquestionably purified ,neoplatonism4 ,the struggle for dominion had led philosophers to grasp at and unite themselves with everything that was hostile to ,christianity4 ,but now ,neoplatonism was driven out of the great arena of history4 ,the ,church and its dogmatic1 which inherited its estate1 received along with the latter superstition1 polytheism1 magic1 myths and the apparatus of religious magic4 ,the more firmly all this established itself in the ,church and succeeded there1 though not without finding resistance1 the freer ,neoplatonism becomes4 ,it does not by any means give up its religious attitude or its theory of knowledge1 but it applies itself with fresh zeal to scientific investigations and especially to the study of the earlier philosophers4 ,though ,plato remains the divine philosopher1 yet it may be noticed how1 from about #djj1 the writings of ,aristotle were increasingly read and prized4 ,neoplatonic schools continue to flourish in the chief cities of the empire up to the beginning of the fifth century1 and in this period they are at the same time the places where the theologians of the ,church are formed4 ,the noble ,hypatia1 to whom ,synesius1 her enthusiastic disciple1 who was afterwards a bishop1 raised a splendid monument1 taught in ,alexandria4 ,but from the beginning of the fifth century ecclesiastical fanaticism ceased to tolerate heathenism4 ,the murder of ,hypatia put an end to philosophy in ,alexandria1 though the ,alexandrian school maintained itself in a feeble form till the middle of the sixth century4 ,but in one city of the ,east1 removed from the great highways of the world1 which had become a provincial city and possessed memories which the ,church of the fifth century felt itself too weak to destroy1 viz41 in ,athens1 a ,neoplatonic school continued to flourish4 ,there1 among the monuments of a past time1 ,hellenism found its last asylum4 ,the school of ,athens returned to a more strict philosophic method and to learned studies4 ,but as it clung to religious philosophy and undertook to reduce the whole ,greek tradition1 viewed in the light of ,plotinus' theory1 to a comprehensive and strictly articulated system1 a philosophy arose here which may be called scholastic4 ,for every philosophy is scholastic which considers fantastic and mythological material as a noli me tangere1 and treats it in logical categories and distinctions by means of a complete set of formulae4 ,but to these ,neoplatonists the writings of ,plato1 certain divine oracles1 the ,orphic poems1 and much else which were dated back to the dim and distant past1 were documents of standard authority1 and inspired divine writings4 ,they took from them the material of philosophy1 which they then treated with all the instruments of dialectic4 ,the most prominent teachers at ,athens were ,plutarch 7died #dcc71 his disciple ,syrian 7who1 as an exegete of ,plato and ,aristotle1 is said to have done important work1 and who deserves notice also1 because he very vigorously emphasised the freedom of the will71 but1 above all1 ,proclus 7#daa-dhe74 ,proclus is the great scholastic of ,neoplatonism4 ,it was he who fashioned the whole traditional material into a powerful system with religious warmth and formal clearness1 filling up the gaps and reconciling the contradictions by distinctions and speculations1 ,proclus1 says ,zeller1 was the first who1 by the strict logic of his system1 formally completed the ,neoplatonic philosophy and gave it1 with due regard to all the changes it had undergone since the second century1 that form in which it passed over to the ,christian and ,mohammedan middle ages4 ,forty-four years after the death of ,proclus the school of ,athens was closed by ,justinian 7in the year #ebi72 but in the labours of ,proclus it had completed its work1 and could now really retire from the scene4 ,it had nothing new to say2 it was ripe for death1 and an honourable end was prepared for it4 ,the words of ,proclus1 the legacy of ,hellenism to the ,church and to the middle ages1 attained an immeasurable importance in the thousand years which followed4 ,they were not only one of the bridges by which the philosophy of the middle ages returned to ,plato and ,aristotle1 but they determined the scientific method of the next thirty generations1 and they partly produced1 partly strengthened and brought to maturity the mediaeval ,christian mysticism in ,east and ,west4 ,the disciples of ,proclus1 ,marinus1 ,asclepiodotus1 ,ammonius1 ,zenodotus1 ,isidorus1 ,hegias1 ,damascius1 are not regarded as prominent4 ,damascius was the last head of the school at ,athens4 ,he1 ,simplicius1 the masterly commentator on ,aristotle1 and five other ,neoplatonists1 migrated to ,persia after ,justinian had issued the edict closing the school4 ,they lived in the illusion that ,persia1 the land of the ,east1 was the seat of wisdom1 righteousness and piety4 ,after a few years they returned with blasted hopes to the ,byzantine kingdom4 ,at the beginning of the sixth century ,neoplatonism died out as an independent philosophy in the ,east2 but almost at the same time1 and this is no accident1 it conquered new regions in the dogmatic of the ,church through the spread of the writings of the pseudo-,dionysius2 it began to fertilize ,christian mysticism1 and filled the worship with a new charm4 ,in the ,west1 where1 from the second century1 we meet with few attempts at philosophic speculation1 and where the necessary conditions for mystical contemplation were wanting1 ,neoplatonism only gained a few adherents here and there4 ,we know that the rhetorician1 ,marius ,victorinus1 7about #cej7 translated the writings of ,plotinus4 ,this translation exercised decisive influence on the mental history of ,augustine1 who borrowed from ,neoplatonism the best it had1 its psychology1 introduced it into the dogmatic of the ,church1 and developed it still further4 ,it may be said that ,neoplatonism influenced the ,west at first only through the medium or under the cloak of ecclesiastical theology4 ,even ,boethius--we can now regard this as certain--was a ,catholic ,christian4 ,but in his mode of thought he was certainly a ,neoplatonist4 ,his violent death in the year #ebe1 marks the end of independent philosophic effort in the ,west4 ,this last ,roman philosopher stood indeed almost completely alone in his century1 and the philosophy for which he lived was neither original1 nor firmly grounded and methodically carried out4 ,neoplatonism and ,ecclesiastical ,dogmatic4 ,the question as to the influence which ,neoplatonism had on the history of the development of ,christianity1 is not easy to answer2 it is hardly possible to get a clear view of the relation between them4 ,above all1 the answers will diverge according as we take a wider or a narrower view of so-called ,neoplatonism4 ,if we view ,neoplatonism as the highest and only appropriate expression for the religious hopes and moods which moved the nations of ,graeco-,roman ,empire from the second to the fifth centuries1 the ecclesiastical dogmatic which was developed in the same period1 may appear as a younger sister of ,neoplatonism which was fostered by the elder one1 but which fought and finally conquered her4 ,the ,neoplatonists themselves described the ecclesiastical theologians as intruders who appropriated ,greek philosophy1 but mixed it with foreign fables4 ,hence ,porphyry said of ,origen 7in ,euseb41 ,h4 ,e4 ,,vi4 #ai73 ,the outer life of ,origen was that of a ,christian and opposed to the law2 but1 in regard to his views of things and of the ,deity1 he thought like the ,greeks1 inasmuch as he introduced their ideas into the myths of other peoples4 ,this judgment of ,porphyry is at any rate more just and appropriate than that of the ,church theologians about ,greek philosophy1 that it had stolen all its really valuable doctrines from the ancient sacred writings of the ,christians4 ,it is1 above all1 important that the affinity of the two sides was noted4 ,so far1 then1 as both ecclesiastical dogmatic and ,neoplatonism start from the feeling of the need of redemption1 so far as both desire to free the soul from the sensuous1 so far as they recognise the inability of man to attain to blessedness and a certain knowledge of the truth without divine help and without a revelation1 they are fundamentally related4 ,it must no doubt be admitted that ,christianity itself was already profoundly affected by the influence of ,hellenism when it began to outline a theology2 but this influence must be traced back less to philosophy than to the collective culture1 and to all the conditions under which the spiritual life was enacted4 ,when ,neoplatonism arose ecclesiastical ,christianity already possessed the fundamental features of its theology1 that is1 it had developed these1 not by accident1 contemporaneously and independent of ,neoplatonism4 ,only by identifying itself with the whole history of ,greek philosophy1 or claiming to be the restoration of pure ,platonism1 was ,neoplatonism able to maintain that it had been robbed by the church theology of ,alexandria4 ,but that was an illusion4 ,ecclesiastical theology appears1 though our sources here are unfortunately very meagre1 to have learned but little from ,neoplatonism even in the third century1 partly because the latter itself had not yet developed into the form in which the dogmatic of the church could assume its doctrines1 partly because ecclesiastical theology had first to succeed in its own region1 to fight for its own position and to conquer older notions intolerable to it4 ,origen was quite as independent a thinker as ,plotinus2 but both drew from the same tradition4 ,on the other hand1 the influence of ,neoplatonism on the ,oriental theologians was very great from the fourth century4 ,the more the ,church expressed its peculiar ideas in doctrines which1 though worked out by means of philosophy1 were yet unacceptable to ,neoplatonism 7the christological doctrines71 the more readily did theologians in all other questions resign themselves to the influence of the latter system4 ,the doctrines of the incarnation1 of the resurrection of the body1 and of the creation of the word1 in time formed the boundary lines between the dogmatic of the ,church and ,neoplatonism2 in all else ecclesiastical theologians and ,neoplatonists approximated so closely that many among them were completely at one4 ,nay1 there were ,christian men1 such as ,synesius1 for example1 who in certain circumstances were not found fault with for giving a speculative interpretation of the specifically ,christian doctrines4 ,if in any writing the doctrines just named are not referred to1 it is often doubtful whether it was composed by a ,christian or a ,neoplatonist4 ,above all1 the ethical rules1 the precepts of the right life1 that is1 asceticism1 were always similar4 ,here ,neoplatonism in the end celebrated its greatest triumph4 ,it introduced into the church its entire mysticism1 its mystic exercises1 and even the magical ceremonies1 as expounded by ,iamblichus4 ,the writings of the pseudo-,dionysius contain a ,gnosis in which1 by means of the doctrines of ,iamblichus and doctrines like those of ,proclus1 the dogmatic of the church is changed into a scholastic mysticism with directions for practical life and worship4 ,as the writings of this pseudo-,dionysius were regarded as those of ,dionysius the disciple of the ,apostle1 the scholastic mysticism which they taught was regarded as apostolic1 almost as a divine science4 ,the importance which these writings obtained first in the ,east1 then from the ninth or the twelfth century also in the ,west1 cannot be too highly estimated4 ,it is impossible to explain them here4 ,this much only may be said1 that the mystical and pietistic devotion of to-day1 even in the ,protestant ,church1 draws its nourishment from writings whose connection with those of the pseudo-,areopagitic can still be traced through its various intermediate stages4 ,in antiquity itself ,neoplatonism influenced with special directness one ,western theologian1 and that the most important1 viz41 ,augustine4 ,by the aid of this system ,augustine was freed from ,manichaeism1 though not completely1 as well as from scepticism4 ,in the seventh ,book of his confessions he has acknowledged his indebtedness to the reading of ,neoplatonic writings4 ,in the most essential doctrines1 viz41 those about ,god1 matter1 the relation of ,god to the world1 freedom and evil1 ,augustine always remained dependent on ,neoplatonism2 but at the same time1 of all theologians in antiquity he is the one who saw most clearly and shewed most plainly wherein ,christianity and ,neoplatonism are distinguished4 ,the best that has been written by a ,father of the ,church on this subject1 is contained in ,chapters #i-ba of the seventh ,book of his confessions4 ,the question why ,neoplatonism was defeated in the conflict with ,christianity1 has not as yet been satisfactorily answered by historians4 ,usually the question is wrongly stated4 ,the point here is not about a ,christianity arbitrarily fashioned1 but only about ,catholic ,christianity and ,catholic theology4 ,this conquered ,neoplatonism after it had assimilated nearly everything it possessed4 ,further1 we must note the place where the victory was gained4 ,the battle-field was the empire of ,constantine1 ,theodosius and ,justinian4 ,only when we have considered these and all other conditions1 are we entitled to enquire in what degree the specific doctrines of ,christianity contributed to the victory1 and what share the organisation of the church had in it4 ,undoubtedly1 however1 we must always give the chief prominence to the fact that the ,catholic dogmatic excluded polytheism in principle1 and at the same time found a means by which it could represent the faith of the cultured mediated by science as identical with the faith of the multitude resting on authority4 ,in the theology and philosophy of the middle ages1 mysticism was the strong opponent of rationalistic dogmatism2 and1 in fact1 ,platonism and ,neoplatonism were the sources from which in the age of the ,renaissance and in the following two centuries1 empiric science developed itself in opposition to the rationalistic dogmatism which disregarded experience4 ,magic1 astrology1 alchemy1 all of which were closely connected with ,neoplatonism1 gave an effective impulse to the observation of nature and1 consequently1 to natural science1 and finally prevailed over formal and barren rationalism ,consequently1 in the history of science1 ,neoplatonism has attained a significance and performed services of which men like ,iamblichus and ,proclus never ventured to dream4 ,in point of fact1 actual history is often more wonderful and capricious than legends and fables4 ,literature--,the best and fullest account of ,neoplatonism1 to which ,i have been much indebted in preparing this sketch1 is ,zeller's1 ,die ,philosophie der ,griechen1 ,,iii4 ,theil1 #b ,abtheilung 7#c ,auflage1 #ahha7 pp4 #dai-hfe4 ,cf4 also ,hegel1 ,gesch4 d4 ,philos4 ,,iii4 #c ff4 ,ritter1 ,,iv4 pp4 #ega-gbh3 ,ritter et ,preller1 ,hist4 phil4 graec4 et rom4 ,sec4 #eca ff4 ,the ,histories of ,philosophy by ,schwegler1 ,brandis1 ,brucker1 ,thilo1 ,struempell1 ,ueberweg 7the most complete survey of the literature is found here71 ,erdmann1 ,cousin1 ,prantl4 ,lewes4 ,further3 ,vacherot1 ,hist1 de l'ecole d',alexandria1 #ahdf1 #ahea4 ,simon1 ,hist1 de l'ecole d',alexandria1 #ahde4 ,steinhart1 articles ,neuplatonismus1 ,plotin1 ,porphyrius1 ,proklus in ,pauly1 ,realencyclop4 des klass4 ,alterthums4 ,wagenmann1 article ,neuplatonismus in ,herzog1 ,realencyklopaedie f4 protest4 ,theol4 ,t4 ,x4 7#b ,aufl47 pp4 #eai-ebi4 ,heinze1 ,lehre vom ,logos1 #ahgb1 p4 #bih f4 ,richter1 ,neuplatonische ,studien1 #d ,hefte4 ,heigl1 ,der ,bericht des ,porphyrios ueber ,ongenes1 #ahce4 ,redepenning1 ,origenes ,i4 p4 #dba f4 ,dehaut1 ,essai historique sur la vie et la doctrine d',ammonius ,saccas1 #ahcf4 ,kirchner1 ,die ,philosophie des ,plotin1 #ahed4 7,for the biography of ,plotinus1 cf4 ,porphyry1 ,eunapius1 ,suidas2 the latter also in particular for the later ,neoplatonists74 ,steinhart1 ,de dialectica ,plotini ratione1 #ahbi1 and ,meletemata ,plotiniana1 #ahdj4 ,neander1 ,ueber die welthistorische ,bedeutung des #i'ten ,buchs in der #b'ten ,enneade des ,plotinos1 in the ,abhandl4 der ,berliner ,akademie1 #ahdc4 p4 #bii f4 ,valentiner1 ,plotin u4s4 ,enneaden1 in the ,theol4 ,stud4 u4 ,kritiken1 #ahfd1 ,h4 #a4 ,on ,porphyrius1 see ,fabricius1 ,bibl4 gr4 ,v4 p4 #gbe f4 ,wolff1 ,porph4 de philosophia ex oraculis haurienda librorum reliquiae1 #ahef4 ,mueller1 ,fragmenta hist4 gr4 ,,iii4 #fhh f4 ,mai1 ,ep4 ad ,marcellam1 #ahaf4 ,bernays1 ,theophrast4 #ahff4 ,wagenmann1 ,jahrbuecher fuer ,deutsche ,theol4 ,th4 ,,xxiii4 7#ahgh7 p4 #bfi f4 ,richter1 ,zeitschr4 f4 ,philos4 ,th4 ,,lii4 7#ahfg7 p4 #cj f4 ,hebenstreit1 de ,iamblichi doctrina1 #agfd4 ,harless1 ,das ,buch von den aegyptischen ,mysterien1 #aheh4 ,meiners1 ,comment4 ,societ4 ,gotting ,,iv4 p4 #ej f4 ,on ,julian1 see the catalogue of the rich literature in the ,realencyklop4 f4 prot ,theol4 ,th4 ,,vii4 7#b ,aufl47 p4 #bhg1 and ,neumann1 ,juliani libr4 c4 ,christ1 quae supersunt1 #ahhj4 ,hoche1 ,hypatia1 in ,philologus ,th4 ,,xv4 7#ahfj7 p4 #dce f4 ,bach1 ,de ,syriano philosopho1 #ahfb4 ,on ,proclus1 see the ,biography of ,marinus and ,freudenthal in ,hermes ,th4 ,,xvi4 p4 #bad f4 ,on ,boethius1 cf4 ,nitzsch1 ,das ,system des ,boethius1 #ahfj4 ,usener1 ,anecdoton ,holderi1 #ahgg4 ,on the relation of ,neoplatonism to ,christianity and its significance in the history of the world1 cf4 the ,church ,histories of ,mosheim1 ,gieseler1 ,neander1 ,baur2 also the ,histories of ,dogma by ,baur and ,nitzsch4 ,also ,loeffler1 ,der ,platonismus der ,kirchenvaeter1 #aghb4 ,huber1 ,die ,philosophic der ,kirchenvaeter1 #ahei4 ,tzschirner1 ,fall des ,heidenthums1 #ahbi4 ,burckhardt1 ,die ,zeit ,constantin's des ,grossen1 p4 #aee f4 ,chastel1 ,hist4 de la destruction du ,paganisme dans l'empire d',orient1 #ahej4 ,beugnot1 ,hist4 de la destruction du ,paganisme en ,occident1 #ahce4 ,e4 ,v4 ,lasaulx1 ,der ,untergang des ,hellenismus1 #ahed4 ,bigg1 ,the ,christian ,platonists of ,alexandria #ahhf4 ,reville1 ,la religion a ,rome sous les ,severes1 #ahhf4 ,vogt1 ,neuplatonismus und ,christenthum1 #ahcf4 ,ullmann1 ,einfluss des ,christenthums auf ,porphyrius1 in ,stud1 und ,krit41 #ahcb ,on the relation of ,neoplatonism to ,monasticism1 cf4 ,keim1 ,aus dem ,urchristenthum1 #aagh1 p4 #bjd f4 ,carl ,schmidt1 ,gnostische ,schriften in ,koptischer ,sprache1 #ahib 7,texte u4 ,unters4 ,,viii4 ,i4 #b74 ,see1 further1 the ,monographs on ,origen1 the later ,alexandrians1 the three ,cappadocians1 ,theodoret1 ,synesius1 ,marius ,victorinus1 ,augustine1 ,pseudo-,dionysius1 ,maximus1 ,scotus ,erigena and the ,mediaeval ,mystics4 ,special prominence is due to3 ,jahn1 ,basilius ,plotinizans1 #ahch4 ,dorner1 ,augustinus1 #ahge4 ,bestmann1 ,qua ratione ,augustinus notiones philos4 ,graecae adhibuerit1 #ahgg4 ,loesche1 ,augustinus ,plotinizans1 #ahha4 ,volkmann1 ,synesios1 #ahfi4 ,on the after effects of ,neoplatonism on ,christian ,dogmatic1 see ,ritschl1 ,theologie und ,metaphysik4 #b ,aufl4 #ahhg4 ,footnote #dee3 ,excellent remarks on the nature of ,neoplatonism may be found in ,eucken1 ,goett4 ,gel4 ,anz41 #a ,maerz1 #ahhd p4 #agf ff43 this sketch was already written before ,i saw them4 ,we find the characteristic of the ,neoplatonic epoch in the effort to make the inward1 which till then had had alongside of it an independent outer world as a contrast1 the exclusive and all-determining element4 ,the movement which makes itself felt here1 outlasts antiquity and prepares the way for the modern period2 it brings about the dissolution of that which marked the culminating point of ancient life1 that which we are wont to call specifically classic4 ,the life of the spirit1 till then conceived as a member of an ordered world and subject to its laws1 now freely passes beyond these bounds1 and attempts to mould1 and even to create1 the universe from itself4 ,no doubt the different attempts to realise this desire reveal1 for the most part1 a deep gulf between will and deed2 usually ethical and religious requirements of the naive human consciousness must replace universally creative spiritual power1 but all the insufficient and unsatisfactory elements of this period should not obscure the fact that1 in one instance1 it reached the height of a great philosophic achievement1 in the case of ,plotinus4 ,footnote #def3 ,plotinus1 even in his lifetime1 was reproached with having borrowed most of his system from ,numenius4 ,porphyry1 in his ,vita ,plotini1 defended him against this reproach4 ,footnote #deg3 ,on this sort of ,trinity1 see ,bigg1 ,the ,christian ,platonists of ,alexandria1 p4 #bdh f4