Celsus (; grc-x-hellen, Κέλσος, ''Kélsos''; ) was a 2nd-century Greek philosopher and opponent of

early Christianity Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Je ...

. His literary work, '' The True Word'' (also ''Account'', ''Doctrine'' or ''Discourse''; Greek: grc-x-hellen, Λόγος Ἀληθής),Hoffmann p.29 survives exclusively in quotations from it in '' Contra Celsum'', a refutation written in 248 by Origen of Alexandria. ''The True Word'' is the earliest known comprehensive criticism of Christianity. Hanegraaff has argued that it was written shortly after the death of

Justin Martyr Justin Martyr ( el, Ἰουστῖνος ὁ μάρτυς, Ioustinos ho martys; c. AD 100 – c. AD 165), also known as Justin the Philosopher, was an early Christian apologist and philosopher. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and ...

(who was possibly the first Christian apologist), and was probably a response to his work.Hanegraaff p.22 Origen stated that Celsus was from the first half of the 2nd century AD, although the majority of modern scholars have come to a general consensus that Celsus probably wrote around AD 170 to 180.Chadwick, H., ''Origen: Contra Celsum'', CUP (1965), p. xxviii. The arguments for the date depend on factors such as the state of the art of gnosticism, possible references to the Augusti, appeals to defense against barbarian invasion, and the possibility of identifying the persecution described by Celsus with a historical one.

Philosophy

All that is known about Celsus personally is what comes from the surviving text of his book and from what Origen says about him. Although Origen initially refers to Celsus as an

Epicurean Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism. Few writings b ...

, his arguments reflect ideas of the Platonic tradition, rather than Epicureanism. Origen attributes this to Celsus's inconsistency, but modern historians see it instead as evidence that Celsus was not an Epicurean at all. Joseph Wilson Trigg states that Origen probably confused Celsus, the author of ''The True Word'', with a different Celsus, who was an Epicurean philosopher and a friend of the Syrian satirist Lucian. Celsus the Epicurean must have lived around the same time as the author of ''The True Word'' and he is mentioned by Lucian in his treatise ''On Magic''. Both Celsus the friend of Lucian and Celsus the author of ''The True Word'' evidently shared a passionate zeal against '' superstitio'', making it even easier to see how Origen could have concluded that they were the same person. Stephen Thomas states that Celsus may not have been a Platonist ''per se'', but that he was clearly familiar with

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institutio ...

. Celsus's actual philosophy appears to be a blend of elements derived from Platonism, Aristotelianism,

Pythagoreanism Pythagoreanism originated in the 6th century BC, based on and around the teachings and beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans. Pythagoras established the first Pythagorean community in the ancient Greek colony of Kroton, ...

, and

Stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asserting that ...

. Wilken likewise concludes that Celsus was a philosophical eclectic, whose views reflect a variety of ideas popular to a number of different schools. Wilken classifies Celsus as "a conservative intellectual", noting that "he supports traditional values and defends accepted beliefs". Theologian Robert M. Grant notes that Origen and Celsus actually agree on many points: "Both are opposed to anthropomorphism, to idolatry, and to any crudely literal theology." Celsus also writes as a loyal citizen of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medite ...

and a devoted believer in

Greco-Roman paganism Graeco-Roman paganism may refer to: * Ancient Roman religion * Ancient Greek religion * The polytheistic religious beliefs and practices of the Greco-Roman world * Hellenism (religion) * Roman Polytheistic Reconstructionism * Nova Roma Nova Rom ...

, distrustful of Christianity as new and foreign. Thomas remarks that Celsus "is no genius as a philosopher". Nonetheless, most scholars, including Thomas, agree that Origen's quotations from ''The True Word'' reveal that the work was well-researched. Celsus demonstrates extensive knowledge of both the Old and

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

s and of both Jewish and Christian history. Celsus was also closely familiar with the literary features of ancient polemics. Celsus seems to have read at least one work by one of the second-century Christian apologists, possibly

or Aristides of Athens. From this reading, Celsus seems to have known which kinds of arguments Christians would be most vulnerable to. He also mentions the Ophites and Simonians, two Gnostic sects that had almost completely vanished by Origen's time. One of Celsus's main sources for Books I–II of ''The True Word'' was an earlier anti-Christian polemic written by an unknown Jewish author, whom Origen refers to as the "Jew of Celsus". This Jewish source also provides well-researched criticism of Christianity and, although Celsus was also hostile to Judaism, he occasionally relies on this Jewish author's arguments.

Work

Celsus was the author of a work titled ''The True Word'' (''Logos Alēthēs''). The argument was contested by the contemporary Christian community and the book eventually banned in 448 AD by order of

Valentinian III Valentinian III ( la, Placidus Valentinianus; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Made emperor in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by powerful generals vying ...

and

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his ...

, along with Porphyry's 15 books attacking the Christians, ''The Philosophy from Oracles'', so no complete copies are extant, but it can be reconstructed from Origen's detailed account of it in his 8 volume refutation, which quotes Celsus extensively. Origen's work has survived and thereby preserved Celsus' work with it. Celsus seems to have been interested in Ancient Egyptian religion, and he seemed to know of

Hellenistic Jewish Hellenistic Judaism was a form of Judaism in classical antiquity that combined Jewish religious tradition with elements of Greek culture. Until the early Muslim conquests of the eastern Mediterranean, the main centers of Hellenistic Judaism we ...

logos-theology, both of which suggest ''The True Doctrine'' was composed in Alexandria. Origen indicates that Celsus was an

living under the Emperor

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman '' municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispan ...

. Celsus writes that "there is an ancient doctrine 'archaios logos''which has existed from the beginning, which has always been maintained by the wisest nations and cities and wise men". He leaves Jews and Moses out of those he cites (Egyptians, Syrians, Indians, Persians, Odrysians, Samothracians, Eleusinians, Hyperboreans, Galactophagoi, Druids, and Getae), and instead blames Moses for the corruption of the ancient religion: "the goatherds and shepherds who followed Moses as their leader were deluded by clumsy deceits into thinking that there was only one God, ndwithout any rational cause ... these goatherds and shepherds abandoned the worship of many gods". However, Celsus' harshest criticism was reserved for Christians, who "wall themselves off and break away from the rest of mankind". Celsus initiated a critical attack on Christianity, ridiculing many of its dogmas. He wrote that some Jews said Jesus' father was actually a Roman soldier named Pantera. Origen considered this a fabricated story. In addition, Celsus addressed the

miracles of Jesus The miracles of Jesus are miraculous deeds attributed to Jesus in Christian and Islamic texts. The majority are faith healings, exorcisms, resurrections, and control over nature. In the Synoptic Gospels ( Mark, Matthew, and Luke), Jesus ...

, holding that "Jesus performed his miracles by sorcery ( γοητεία)": Origen wrote his refutation in 248. Sometimes quoting, sometimes paraphrasing, sometimes merely referring, Origen reproduces and replies to Celsus' arguments. Since accuracy was essential to his refutation of ''The True Doctrine'',James D. Tabor, ''The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity'', Simon and Schuster, 2006. p 64 most scholars agree that Origen is a reliable source for what Celsus said. Biblical scholar Arthur J. Droge has written that it is incorrect to refer to Celsus' perspective as

polytheism Polytheism is the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, ...

. Instead, he was a henotheist, as opposed to the Jewish strict

monotheism Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxf ...

; historian Wouter Hanegraaff explains that "the former has room for a hierarchy of lower deities which do not detract from the ultimate unity of the One." Celsus shows himself familiar with the story of Jewish origins. Conceding that Christians are not without success in business (''infructuosi in negotiis''), Celsus wants them to be good citizens, to retain their own belief but worship the emperors and join their fellow citizens in defending the empire. It is an earnest and striking appeal on behalf of unity and mutual toleration, though centered on submission to the state and military service. One of Celsus' most bitter complaints is of the refusal of Christians to cooperate with civil society, and their contempt for local customs and the ancient religions. The Christians viewed these as idolatrous and inspired by evil spirits, whereas polytheists like Celsus thought of them as the works of the Daemons, or the god's ministers, who ruled mankind in his place to keep him from the ''pollution of mortality''. Celsus attacks the Christians as feeding off faction and disunity, and accuses them of converting the vulgar and ignorant, while refusing to debate wise men. As for their opinions regarding their sacred mission and exclusive holiness, Celsus responds by deriding their insignificance, comparing them to ''a swarm of bats, or ants creeping out of their nest, or frogs holding a symposium round a swamp, or worms in conventicle in a corner of the mud''. It is not known how many were Christians at the time of Celsus (the Jewish population of the empire may have been about 6.6-10% in a population of 60 million to quote one reference). Robert Louis Wilken, ''The Christians as the Romans Saw Them'', (Yale: University Press, 2nd edition, 2003)

References

Bibliography

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Sources

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External links

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full text of ''The Arguments of Celsus Against the Christians'' in Google Books
* * * {{Authority control 2nd-century Christianity 2nd-century philosophers Hellenistic-era philosophers Pagan anti-Gnosticism Critics of Christianity Year of birth missing Year of death missing