Against Celsus (Contra Celsum)

Summary

Against Celsus is the most important defence of Christianity written before the conversion of Constantine. Around 248, Origen's friend and patron Ambrose asked him to answer The True Discourse, an attack on Christians by the Greek philosopher Celsus, written some seventy years earlier, probably in the 170s. Celsus's book is lost, but Origen quotes it so thoroughly, section by section, that much of it can be reconstructed. Celsus mocked Christians as uneducated people who demanded faith without reasons, charged that Jesus was a magician of humble birth whose miracles were tricks, used a Jewish speaker to dispute the gospel stories, ridiculed the resurrection of the body, and accused Christians of weakening the empire by refusing to worship its gods or serve in its armies. Origen replies in eight books. He opens by recalling that Jesus kept silent before false witnesses, and says he writes not for those firm in faith but for those who might be shaken. He argues that the spread of the faith among every class of people, the fulfilment of prophecy, the changed lives of believers and the courage of martyrs are evidence of its truth. He shows a detailed knowledge of Plato, the Stoics and other philosophers, often turning their own words against Celsus, and defends the Hebrew Scriptures as older and wiser than Greek myths. To the charge of disloyalty he answers that Christians pray for the emperor and serve the common good by their prayers and their upright lives, even though they do not fight. Origen does not always succeed: he sometimes answers ridicule with ridicule, and modern readers may find parts of his treatment of Greek religion and of Celsus's Jewish speaker one-sided. But his patience in quoting his opponent and his range of learning are remarkable. The work is a key source both for early pagan criticism of Christianity and for how a learned Christian answered it.

Top Lessons

• Answering critics fairly

  Origen quotes his opponent at length before replying, so readers can judge both sides. Even when he is sharp, he engages Celsus's actual arguments rather than a caricature.

• Faith and reason

  Celsus claimed Christians said 'Do not ask questions, only believe'. Origen admits many believe simply, but argues that the faith can be examined and defended by reason and evidence.

• Citizenship and conscience

  In Book VIII Origen explains why Christians will not worship the emperor's gods or take up arms, yet claim to serve the empire through prayer and good lives.

• For the Christian reader

  Origen wrote this book shortly before he was tortured in the Decian persecution. It models the instruction of 1 Peter 3:15 to give a reason for one's hope with gentleness. Read it with Acts 17:16–34, where Paul addresses Athenian philosophers.

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