Porphyry's Against the Christians

by HOFFMAN, R. JOSEPH

• ISBN13: 9780879758899
• ISBN10: 0879758899
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1994-07-01
• Publisher: Prometheus

Summary

Throughout its first three centuries, the growing Christian religion was subjected not only to official persecution but to the attacks of pagan intellectuals, who looked upon the new sect as a band of fanatics bent on worldwide domination even as they professed to despise the things of this world. Prominent among these pagan critics was Porphyry of Tyre (ca. 232-ca. 305 C.E.), scholar, philosopher, and student of religions. His book Against the Christians (Kata Christianon), condemned to be burned by the imperial Church in 448, survives only in fragments preserved by the cleric and teacher Macarius Magnes. This new translation of the remains of Against the Christians, by renowned biblical scholar R. Joseph Hoffmann, reveals a work of deft historical and literary criticism. Porphyry's trenchant comments extend to key figures, beliefs, and doctrines of Christianity as he roundly attacks the divinity of Jesus, the integrity of the apostles, the Christian concept of God, and the Resurrection. Porphyry dismisses the gospels as the work of charlatans and Jesus himself as a criminal and failure. In short, the gospels, as a collective account of the life and deeds of Jesus, are hardly worth the reverence with which an increasing number of Christian converts of Porphyry's own day have begun treating them. Critical notes by the translator provide a running commentary to the text. A lively introduction and comprehensive epilogue describe the "buildup" to the pagan critique of Christianity, and help put Porphyry's work in historical perspective. Accessible to the general reader as well as a valuable scholarly tool, this new translation of Against the Christians proves a worthy addition to bothclassical and patristic studies.

Table of Contents

Introduction. Persecution as Context	7	(14)
A Note on the Text and the Controversy	21	(4)
List of Abbreviations	25	(4)
AGAINST THE CHRISTIANS: THE EXTRACTS OF MACARIUS MAGNES
Miscellaneous Objections	29	(3)
Critique of the Gospels and Their Authors	32	(5)
The Ruler and End of the World	37	(2)
The Life and Work of Jesus	39	(9)
The Sayings of Jesus	48	(5)
The Attack on Peter the Apostle	53	(5)
The Attack on Paul the Apostle	58	(8)
The Attack on Christian Apocalyptic Hopes	66	(11)
The Kingdom of Heaven and the Obscurity of Christian Teaching	77	(6)
The Christian Doctrine of God	83	(7)
Critique of the Resurrection of the Flesh	90	(5)
Epilogue. From Babylon to Rome: The Contexts of Jewish-Christian-Pagan Interaction through Porphyry	95	(80)
References and Bibliography	175