CONTRA FATUM

"[...]if by wisdom one understands Christ, since Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, we say not only that a man wise in this sense can come to the Father, but also that the man adorned with the spiritual gift called 'the word of wisdom', which is conferred by the Spirit, is far superior to people who are not so adorned." (Con. Cel. VII,23)

"We maintain that the law has a twofold interpretation, one literal and the other spiritual, as was also taught by some of our predecessors. And it is not so much we as God, speaking in one of the prophets, who described the law literally understood as 'judgments that are not good' and 'statutes that are not good'; and in the same prophet God is represented as saying that the law spiritually understood is 'judgments that are good' and 'statutes that are good'." (Con. Cel. VII,20)

"By way of antithesis to sensible things, the scripture usually calls intelligible things spirit and spiritual." (Con. Cel. VI,70)

"[...]everyone who has followed the rays of the Logos is in light, for the Logos has shown him how great was the ignorance and impiety and lack of knowledge about God [...]" (Con. Cel. VI,66) (1 Jn ??)

"It is true that God is derived from nothing. But when he [Celsus] says Neither is he attainable by reason, I draw a distinction in the meaning and say: If you mean the reason that is in us, whether conceived or expressed, we too would say that God is not attainable by reason. But if, because we have understood that 'in the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God', we affirm that God is attainable by this Logos, and is comprehended not by him alone, but also by any man to whom he reveals the Father, we would prove that Celsus' words were untrue when he says Neither is God attainable by reason. The assertion that he cannot be named also needs precise definition. If he means that none of the descriptions by words or expressions can show the attributes of Hod, the affirmation is true [...] But if you take the word to mean that it is possible by names to show something about His attributes in order to guide the hearer and to make him und...

"[...]that which is made in the image of God is to be understood of the inward man, as we call it, which is renewed and has the power to be formed in the image of the Creator[...]" (Con. Cel. VI,63)

"[...]if we understand the words of which we know as applying to everything, we know of many characteristics which may be predicated of God. For He possesses virtue and blessedness and divinity. But if anyone were to understand in a more transcendent sense the words of which we know, since all that we know is inferior to God as He really is, it is not wrong that we also should accept the view that God has no characteristics of which we know. The attributes of God are superior to any which are known not only to human nature, but even by the nature of beings who haven risen beyond it." (Con. Cel. VI,62)

"[...]God is not incapable of admonishing men. For He warns those who hear Him throughout all scripture and through those who teach by the grace of God. [...] That is why we may not say that people who are unconvinced fail to be persuaded because God is incapable of convincing them. The reason is rather that they do not accept God's persuasive words." (Con. Cel. VI,57)

"If anyone mentions those things which are loosely described as evils, namely physical and external evils, we may grant that sometimes God has made some of these in order that by this means he may convert certain men. [...] we say that the the father does evil to his sons or that schoolmasters or teachers or doctors do so [...] evil has concrete form [...] For He creates physical and external evils to purify and educate those who are unwilling to be educated by reason and sound teaching." (Con. Cel. VI,56)

"[...]it would be found that in respect of both physical and external things those which contribute to the life according to nature are considered good, and those contrary to this bad." (Con. Cel. VI,55)

"[...]the punishments that occur round Jerusalem are for those who are being refined; for they have taken into the very essence of their soul the works caused by evil, which somewhere is allegorically called lead. [...] It is not right to explain to everybody all that might be said on this subject. [...] It is risky to commit to writing the explanation of these matters, because the multitude do not require any more instruction than that punishment is to be inflicted upon sinners." (Con. Cel. VI, 25)

"We do not say to every one who comes to us, 'First believe that the person of whom I am telling you is God's Son.' But we put the gospel before each man in a form suited to his character and condition; for we have learnt to 'know how we ought to answer each individual'. There are some people to whom we preach only an exhortation to belive, since they are incapable of anything more; but with others we do all we can to approach them with rational arguments 'by questions and anwers'." (Con. Cel. VI,10)

"It is 'holding down the truth', as our scripture testifies, when they think that the highest good cannot at all be expressed in words, and say that 'it comes suddenly by long familiarity with the subject itself and by living with it, like a light in the soul kindled by a leaping spark, which after it has come inte being feeds itself'." (Con. Cel. VI,3)

"To those who would ask us where we have come from or who is our author we reply that we came in accordance with the commands of Jesus to beat the spiritual swords that fight and insult us into ploughshares, and to transform the spears that formerly fought against us into pruninghooks. No longer do we take the sword against any nation, nor do we learn war any more, since we have become sons of peace through Jesus who is our author instead of following the traditional customs, by which we were 'strangers to the covenants'." (Con. Cel. V,33)

"If piety and holiness and righteousness are reckoned to be relative, so that one and the same thing is pious and impious under differing conditions and laws, consider whether we should not logically reckon self-control also as relative, and courage, intelligence, knowledge, and the other virtues. Nothing could be more absurd than this." (Con. Cel. V,28)

"[...]just as some words are suitable for use with children and are appropriate for their tender age, in order to exhort them to be better, because they still are very yong, so also with those whom the word calls 'the foolish things of this world and the base things and the things that are despised' the ordinary interpretation of punishments is suitable because they have not the capacity for any other means of conversion and of repentance from many evils, except that of fear and the suggestion of punishment. The Bible accordingly says that only those who have been utterly pure in doctrine, morals, and mind will remain untouched by fire and punishments; whereas it says that people not of this character, who need the ministry of punishment by fire according to their merits, will suffer these punishments until an appointed end such as may be fittingly applied by God to those who, although made in His image, have lived contrary to the intention of the nature that is in His ima...

"When we speak of God's wrath, we do not hold that it is an emotional reaction on His part, but something which He uses in order to correct by stern methods those who have committed many terrible sins. That the so-called wrath of God and what is called His anger has a corrective purpose, and that this is the doctrine of the Bible, is clear from the words of Psalm vi: 'Lord, do not rebuke me in thine anger, nor correct me in thy wrath' [...]" (Con. Cel. IV,72) "[...]God's wrath is not an emotional reaction, but that each man brings this on himself by his sins[...]" (Con. Cel. IV,72)

"[...]while God preserves the free will of each man He makes use of the evil of bad men for the ordering of the whole, making them useful to the universe; yet such a man is none the less guilty, and as such he has been appointed to perform a function which is repulsive to the individual but beneficial to the whole." (Con. Cel. IV,70)

"By a new reformation , then, God always wants to make good that which is wrong. Even though everything had been arranged by Him at the creation of the universe to be very beautiful and very steadfast, yet nevertheless He has had to apply some medical treatment to people sick with sin and to all the world as it were defiled by it. In fact, nothing has been or will be neglected by God, who at each season makes what He should be making in a world of alteration and change. And just as at different seasons of the year a farmer does different agricultural jobs upon the earth and its crops, so God cares for whole ages as if they were years, so to speak. In each one of them He does what is in itself reasonable for the universe, which is most clearly understood and accomplished by God alone since the truth is know to Him." (Con. Cel. IV,69)

"Each person's mind is responsible for the evil which exists in him, and this is what evil is. Evils are the actions which result from it. In our view nothing else is strictly speaking evil. However, I know that the problem requires an extended discussion and argument which, by the grace of God illuminating the mind, can be done by one who is judged by God to be worthy even of knowledge of this subject." (Con. Cel. IV,66)

"[...]in our view no one will be able to know the origin of evils if he has not realized that it is an evil to suppose that piety is preserved by keeping the established laws of states in the ordinary sense of the word." (Con. Cel. IV,65)

"The Greeks have examined the nature of actions, good, bad, and indifferent. Those who are succesful in this hold that it is only the motive which determines whether actions are good or bad; and they maintain that all actions proved to have been done without a motive are, strictly speaking, indifferent, and that the motive is laudable when the actions are rightly performed, but blameworthy when they are not. Concerning things indifferent they say, therefore, that strictly speaking it is a matter of moral indifference to have intercourse with one's daughters, although one ought not to do such a thing in civilized society." (Con. Cel. IV,45)

"The intention of the law was that in everything they should have the reality, and should not make up things which are different from reality, and misrepresent what is truly male, or what is really female, or the nature of the beasts, or the species of birds, or creeping things, or fishes." (Con. Cel. IV,31)

"Do you not say, Celsus, that sometimes it is allowable to use deceit and lying as a medicine? Why, then, is it unthinkable that something of this sort occured with the purpose of bringing salvation? For some characters are reformed by certain doctrines which are more false than true, just as physicians sometimes use similar words to their patients. This, however, has been our defence on other points. But further, there is nothing wrong if the person who heals sick friends healed the human race which was dear to him with such means as one would not use for choice, but to which he was confined by force or circumstances. Since the human race was mad, it had to be cured by methods which the Word saw to be beneficial to lunatics that they might recover their right mind." (Con. Cel. IV,19)

"[...]Celsus seems to me to be quite wrong, since he does not allow the possibility of a complete change with people who have sinned by nature and who do this out of habit , and thinks that they are not even to be healed by punishment. It seems clear that all men have a natural tendency to sin, and that some not only have a natural tendency, but sin also by habit. But it is not true that all men are incapable of a complete change." (Con. Cel. III,66)

"But sometimes a sinner who realizes his own sin, and on this account comes to repentance and walks humbly for his sins, is preferred before one who is thought to be less of a sinner, and who does not think himself to be a sinner, but is conceited on account of certain superior qualities of which he thinks he is conscious, and on which he prides himself. [...] Therefore, we do not blaspheme God or tell lies when we teach everyone and anyone to realize the smallness of man in comparison with the greatness of God, and to ask Him always for the needs of out nature, since He alone is able to complete our deficiencies." (Con. Cel. III,64)

"Jesus said 'Come unto me all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' Accordingly, all men who labour and are heavy laden because of their sinful nature are called to the rest of the Logos of God. For 'God sent forth his word and healed them and delivered them from their distresses'." (Con. Cel. III,63)

"It is not, therefore, to mysteries and to share in wisdom 'hidden in a mystery which God foreordained before the ages to the glory' of his saints that we call the dishonest man, the thief, burglar, poisoner, sacrilegious fellow, grave-robber, and any others whom Celsus might name for rhetorical effect, but it is for healing." (Con. Cel. III,61)

"At the beginning when we call men to be cured we encourage sinners to come and hear words which teach them not to sin, and the unwise to hear words which will implant in them understanding, and children to advance to a manly character, and those, who are in a word wretches, to happiness, or, to use a more appropriate word, to blessedness. But when some of those who have been thus encouraged make progress and show that they have been purified by the Logos, and do all in their power to live better lives, then we call them to our mysteries. 'For we speak wisdom among the perfect.'" (Con. Cel. III,59)

"If you also come to the books written after the time of Jesus you will find that the crowds of believers hear the parables outside, as they were worthy only of exoteric teaching. But the disciples privately learnt the explanation of the parables." (Con. Cel. III,46)

"If a revolt had been the cause of the Christians existing as a separate group (and they originated from the Jews for whom it was lawful to take up arms in defence of their families and to serve in the wars), the lawgiver of the Christians would not have forbidden entirely the taking of human life. He taught that it was never right for his disciples to go so far against a man, even if he should be very wicked; for he did not consider it compatible with his inspired legislation to allow the taking of human life in any form at all." (Con. Cel. III,7)

"[...]God's providence has been amazing in that He has made use of the sin of the Jews to call the people of the Gentiles into the kingdom of God by Jesus, although they were strangers to the covenants and were not included in the promises." (Con. Cel. II,78)

"[...] the divine voice is such that it is heard only by those whom the speaker wishes to hear it. [...] And since when God speaks He does not want His voice to be audible to all, a man who has superior hearing hears God, whereas a man who has become hard of hearing in his soul does not perceive that God is speaking." (Con. Cel. II,72)

"Jesus taught us who it was that sent him in the words 'No man has known that Father save the Son', and in this, 'No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.' He revealed to his true disciples the nature of God and told them about His characteristics. We find traces of these in the scriptures and make them the starting-point of our theology." (Con. Cel. 2,72)

"They seem to have heard the word 'I will kill' and often reproach us with it, while they do not also remember 'I will make to live'. The whole saying shows that people who are living in open wickedness and whose actions are evil are put to death by God, and a better lifte is implanted in them, even that which God may give to those who have dies to sin. So also they take the saying 'I will smite', but they do not go on to see 'and I will heal'. It is rather like what is said by a physician who has cut open bodies and inflicted wounds in order to cut out of them the things which are harmful and hinder good health; he does not leave off with the pains and the incision, but by his cure he restores the body to the health that is intended for it." (Con. Cel. 2,24)

"After this he utters a sort of wish: Would that it were possible to unite under one law the inhabitants of Asia, Europe, and Libya, both Greeks and barbarians even at the furthest limits. As if he though this impossible he continues that he who thinks this know nothing. [...] his remark about uniting every rational being under one law is not only possible but even true. [...] at some time the Logos will have overcome the entire rational nature, and will have remodelled every soul to his perfection, when each individual simply by the exercise of his freedom will choose what the Logos wills and will be in that state which he has chosen. [...] it is probably true that such a condition is impossible for those who are still in the body; but it is certainly not impossible after they have been delivered from it." (Con. Cel. 8,72)