Book Summaries | Home
| |
Sunshine for
Women Book Summaries | Home |
I only read the first 100 pages.
1) "Then Tertullain tried to demonstrate that the magistrates acted illogically in their treatment of the Christian: he argued that when criminal denied charges brought against them, nobody readily believed them, but when a Christian denied what he was, everybody was immediately satisfied. But when a Christian admitted what he was, the magistrate then wanted to hear him deny it!" pages 3 - 4
2) "Polycarp's case brings to surface the real accusation: He [a Christian] was an overthrower of gods, and he encouraged many people not to sacrifice or to worship the gods. This, then, is the real reason why he was executed; the multitude assumed that by professing to being a Christian he had confessed to luring the people away from their ancient gods, thus upsetting the prevailing social order." page 4
3) From a letter by Pliny the Younger to Trajan: " 'Tis certain at least that the temples, which had been almost deserted, begin now to be frequented; and the sacred festivals, after a long intermission, are again revived, while there is a general demand for sacrificial animals, which for some time past have net with but few purchasers." page 7
4) "In the charges that he leveled at Cynics and Palestinians one can almost recognize the voice of that great opponent of Christianity, Celsus, who charged that Christians contributed nothing to the common welfare of the empire and undermined homelife." page 46
5) "Caecilius starts the debate by asking whether the world is ruled by providence. He argues that man will never have a sure answer to this question because the human mind cannot encompass the divine. It is only with colossal arrogance that some uneducated and ignorant people make categorical statements about the universe that is, in fact, beyond their comprehension. Caecilius argues, therefore, that it is much better to adhere to a religion that has been sanctified by antiquity and has proven its value." page 55
6) "Caecilius uses the familiar argument that the fact that the Christians practiced their perverted religion under the cloak of secrecy demonstrated the validity of nearly all his charges. Why conceal something that is good? Only crimes need to be keep secret. Why do the Christians not have altars, temples, images, just as everybody else? Why do they conduct their services in secret? Why do they not proclaim their teachings publicly? An who is this unique, solitary god of theirs? Only one other nation worships a single god, namely those miserable Jews, and they at least do so openly. Besides, Caecilius argues, the Jewish god has amply revealed that he has no power, for he could not save his people from Roman subjugation and defeat. The Christian god is worse according to Caecilius; he is a restless, nosy person going from one place to another, mixing himself in everybody's business. Caecilius refers here to the Christian belief in an omnipresent and omniscient god." pages 56 -57
7) "Caecilius depicts Christians a gullible fools who are unable to draw any conclusions from their present situation. Most of them are poor people, he says, suffering from hunger and cold, and their god not only permits them to live in that way, but wants them to. Caecilius asks what kind of god is he, weak or wicked?" page 57
8) Regarding Christian's refusal to eat food sacrificed to idols, Caecilius writes "It seems that they are afraid of the gods whose very existence they deny." page 57
9) "He [Caecilius] call the claim of the Christians to exclusive possession of the truth "arrogant and irresponsible" behavior." page 58
10) "The Romans tolerated a remarkable degree of religious liberty, and they, therefore, found the Christians' exclusive claims to truth disconcerting. The statement by Caecilius, that no human being should claim to pass final judgment on divine matters, is quite consistent with the Roman mentality. The Romans believed that when Christians claimed exclusive possession of divine knowledge, they were capable of anything. This attitude encouraged the Romans to give credence to the most outrageous rumors about Christians." page 59
11) Biblical texts worth remembering:
12) Reference Stromateis 3.2.10, 3.4.27, 3.6.54, Oulton and Chadwick, Alexandrian Christianity, p. 45
sunshine@pinn.net
Sunshine for Women encourages you to support our feminist sisters by purchasing their books, reading them, disseminating the ideas they contain, but most especially, by making their book available to our sisters, our daughters, and the community at large by requesting your school library, your public library, and area bookstores to carry their books. Remember it is not enough to write literature, history, and theology, we must pass these works on to future generations. Help us to preserve these works for a new generation by putting them on library bookshelves.
Return to Booknotes Menu