The Second-Century Apologists (Cascade Companions)

by Alvyn Pettersen

Publisher:

Wipf and Stock

, 08/31/2020

Overview

“They bring three charges against us: atheism, Thyestean banquets, and Oedipean unions.” So a late second-century Christian Apologist wrote with reference to his critics. Against these and other charges the Apologists rallied. Not so, they maintained. It was not the Christians but their critics who were the atheists and the Christians were the true theists. They were atheists only insofar as they denied the fabricated gods of the cults and the immoral deities of theaters. That, they explained, was why Christians absented themselves, whatever the cost, from the imperial cult, theaters, and amphitheaters. They were not cannibals, as Thyestes was when he ate the flesh of his children. To suggest otherwise was to misunderstand Christians consuming Christ’s flesh and blood at the Eucharist. Nor were they imitators of Oedipus, who entered into sexual relations with Jocasta, his Queen and, though he knew it not, also his mother. Christians did exchange the kiss of peace. They did love one another. They were not, however, incestuous. Any promiscuous love on their part extended only to a very practical love of every needy soul.

This book explores these arguments, especially noting the Apologists’ commitment to God’s oneness, to Christians not worshipping anything made, and to humans properly caring for fellow creatures."

Key Features

• Analyzes the writings of six Christian Apologists of the mid-to-late second century, in which they react to the accusations made by critics against their fellow Christians
• Explores the arguments presented against charges that were made based upon misunderstandings of Christian practices such as atheism, cannibalism, and incest
• Draws attention to the missional aspects in the writings of the apologists, which seek to address both, the well being of their falsely accused Chistian contemporaries, as well as that of those who made the accusations

Praise for The Second-Century Apologists

Here is a book that offers both a thoroughly clear exposition of the writers who’ve been called the first Christian philosophers, and a guide to how their thoughts might relate to the challenge of making good intellectual sense of Christianity today. It is a learned, accessible, insightful survey of one of the great formative periods in the history of the Christian mind.

Rowan Williams, University of Cambridge

This thoughtful and scholarly book has revived my appreciation of the Apologists and my desire to re-read them. It provides an accessible introduction for those who have not encountered them before and a fresh and insightful reading for those who know them well. For both it invites reflection on some of the important issues they still raise for us today.

Carol Harrison, University of Oxford

Alvyn Pettersen presents his considerable scholarship in an accessible and engaging manner. In this very helpful study of the letters of six second-century Apologists and their refutation of charges against Christians of being atheists, cannibals, and partakers in incest, he gives us not only fascinating historical insights but food for thought concerning the business of apologetics in our own age and, indeed, the very nature of the Christian faith.

John Inge, Bishop of Worcester, UK

Product Details

• Title: The Second-Century Apologists
• Author: Alvyn Pettersen
• Series: Cascade Companions
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Print Publication Date: 08/31/2020
• Logos Release Date: 08/31/2020
• Pages: 200
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Resource ID: LLS:SCNDCNTRYPLGSTS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2020-09-25T21:44:57Z

About Alvyn Pettersen

Alvyn Pettersen is Canon Theologian Emeritus of Worcester Cathedral, UK. He has written widely in the field of patristics, being the author of Athanasius and the Human Body (1990) and the volume on Athanasius (1995) in the series, Outstanding Christian Thinkers.