Origen: Philosophy of History & Eschatology

Origen: Philosophy of History & Eschatology
Author: Panayiotis Tzamalikos
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 516
Release: 2007-05-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9047428692

A common accusation made against Origen is that he dissolves history into intellectual abstraction and that his eschatology (if this is recognized at all) is notoriously obscure. In this new work, the author draws on an impressive range of bibliography to consider Origen’s Philosophy of History and Eschatology in the widest context of facts, documents and streams of thought, including Classical and Late Antiquity Greek Philosophy, Gnosticism, Hebraism and Patristic Thought, both before Origen and well after his death. Against claims that he causes history to evaporate into barren idealism, his thought is shown to be firmly grounded on his particular vision of historical occurences. Confronting assertions that Origen has no eschatological ideas, his eschatology is shown rather to have made a distinctive mark throughout his works, both explicitly and tacitly. In Origen’s view, history was the foundation of scriptural interpretation, a teleological process determined by factors and functions such as providence – prophecy – promise – expectation – realization – anticipation – faith – anticipation – hope – awaiting for – fulfilment – end. Since 1986, the author has argued for the unpopular thesis that Origen is, in many respects, an anti-Platonist. Nevertheless, the author casts light upon the Aristotelian rationale of Origen’s doctrine of apokatastasis, arguing that its validity is bolstered by ontological rather than historical premises. The extent of Origen’s influence upon what is currently regarded as ‘orthodoxy’ turns out to be far wider and more profound than has hitherto been acknowledged.

On First Principles

On First Principles
Author: Origen
Publisher: Ave Maria Press
Total Pages: 576
Release: 2013-12-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0870612808

Origen’s On First Principles is a foundational work in the development of Christian thought and doctrine: it is the first attempt in history at a systematic Christian theology. For over a decade it has been out of print with only expensive used copies available; now it is available at an affordable price and in a more accessible format. On First Principles is the most important surviving text written by third-century Church father, Origen. Origen wrote in a time when fundamental doctrines had not yet been fully articulated by the Church, and contributed to the very formation of Christianity. Readers see Origen grappling with the mysteries of salvation and brainstorming how they can be understood. This edition presents G. W. Butterworth’s trusted translation in a new, more readable format, retains the introduction by Henri de Lubac, and includes a new foreword by John C. Cavadini. As St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Doctor of the Church, wrote: “Origen is the stone on which all of us were sharpened.”

Origen Against Plato

Origen Against Plato
Author: Mark Julian Edwards
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2019-09-30
Genre:
ISBN: 9781138733886

"Cover"--"Title"--"Copyright" -- "Contents" -- "Introduction" -- "Chapter 1 Origen among Christians, Jews and Gnostics" -- "Christian and Jew" -- "The Church in Alexandria" -- "Christian Heterodoxy in Alexandria" -- "Christological Considerations" -- "Concluding Remarks on Origen" -- "Chapter 2 The God of Origen and the Gods of Plato" -- "Platonism and the Name of God" -- "Studying Philosophy in Alexandria" -- "God, Philosophy and Revelation" -- "The Divine Creator" -- "Christ as Logos" -- "The Trinity, Ousia and Hypostasis" -- "Chapter 3 The Doctrine of the Soul in Origen" -- "Did Origen Believe in the Pre-existence of the Soul?" -- "Interlude: the Pre-existence of the Soul of Christ" -- "The Pre-existent Soul: does On First Principles Contradict Itself?" -- "A Pilgrimage of Souls" -- "Image, Likeness and the Fashioning of Saints" -- "Eschatology and Mysticism" -- "Chapter 4 The Interpretation of Scripture" -- "Notes Toward a Definition of Allegory" -- "Allegory and the Philosophers" -- "The Alexandrian Tradition" -- "Origen and the Word of God" -- "The Mystery of Christian Maturation" -- "Mysticism, Platonism, Jewish Literalism" -- "Word and Sacrament" -- "Objections and Replies" -- "Conclusion" -- "Bibliography

Origen and Hellenism

Origen and Hellenism
Author: Panayiotis Tzamalikos
Publisher: Peter Lang Incorporated, International Academic Publishers
Total Pages: 570
Release: 2022-05-09
Genre: Hellenism
ISBN: 9781433189173

"Since 1986, Professor Panayiotis Tzamalikos he has argued that Origen was an anti-Platonist in many respects, and all of the clauses in Origen's official anathematisation in AD 553 were based on nefarious adulteration by unschooled and fanatical drumbeaters. The author's pertinent books heretofore have uprooted all of those charges and demonstrated that they had nothing to do with Origen's real thought. Therefore, Tzamalikos' work constitutes a peripeteia in the Aristotelian sense of the term, referring to tragedian plays of classical Athens, which points to the moment when the hero learns that everything he knew was wrong. This book (like the author's previous ones) brings to light and critically discusses Origen's Greek philosophical background, which he put to full use upon composing his Christian works. Consequently, the author insists on the need for engaging in the onerous task of ascertaining Origen's endowments and feat: whereas he was a Greek 'apostate' who forsook his ancestral religion and converted to Christianity when he was well on in years, nevertheless, he implicitly made ample use of his patrimonial lore upon composing his ground-breaking work which paved the way to Nicaea. The author's thesis is that, in the quest for discovering the real Origen, scrutinised perusal of this illuminating background is inexorable. For in the history of philosophy, Origen ipso facto is an uncategorised author, whose thought constitutes an unexampled chapter of its own, revealing a perfect match between Christian exegesis and Greek philosophy, which imparted the later episcopal 'orthodoxy' the gravamen of its anti-Arian doctrine"--

Revelation

Revelation
Author:
Publisher: Canongate Books
Total Pages: 60
Release: 1999-01-01
Genre: Bibles
ISBN: 0857861018

The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.

Origen, the Philosophical Theologian

Origen, the Philosophical Theologian
Author: Ilaria L. E. Ramelli
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 848
Release: 2024-11-18
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3111373495

How did Origen, one of the major Patristic thinkers, construct his philosophical theology? What are his main innovations in metaphysics, protology, Trinitarian Theology and Christology? How did he view the relation between philosophy and theology? This is a collection of over twenty essays, mostly from world-leading journals and books from outstanding publishers, besides two new ones, from Professor Ilaria L.E. Ramelli’s life-long, and always continuing, research on Origen. This coherent set of studies is grouped around Origen’s metaphysics, protology, Trinitarian theology and Christology, and the relation between theology and philosophy, with reception aspects. The essays address Origen’s towering figure in Patristic philosophy, Christian Platonism, and the Platonic tradition, facets of his reception of Platonism, reflections concerning the Christianization of Hellenism (vs. the Hellenization of Christianity) and the relation between philosophy and theology and between ‘pagan’ and Christian Platonism; Origen’s philosophical theology and connections to Platonism; the question of Origen's conversion and his lexicon of epistrophē; a comparison between the imperial Platonist Atticus’ and Origen’s theories on the soul of God the Creator; Alexander of Aphrodisias as a source of Origen’s philosophy and the birth of the eternity formula in reference to the Son; the problem of Origen’s "subordinationism", which must be nuanced; Origen’s major contribution to Trinitarian theology in the notion of hypostasis and its foundation in Scripture and philosophy; the reciprocal indwelling of the Father in the Son and its implications against Origen’s "subordinationism"; Origen’s influence on Augustine as paradoxical and a Christological case study; the divine as inaccessible object of knowledge in ancient and Patristic Platonism; the reception of Origen’s ideas in the West; the notion of divine power in Origen: sources and aftermath; Platonist exemplarism in Origen and Plotinus; Paul’s notion of nous in Origen and Evagrius; the reception of Origen in Ps.Dionysius, and Origen’s heritage in the concept of matter in the Dialogue of Adamantius. The volume is rounded off by theoretical reflections on philosophy of religion and philosophical theology. This book is very relevant to the study of Origen, the foundations of Christian thought, and ancient and late antique philosophy, theology and culture.

Clement of Alexandria on Trial

Clement of Alexandria on Trial
Author: Piotr Ashwin-Siejkowski
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2010-03-08
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9047429710

Clement of Alexandria (c.150–215 CE) is one of the most significant theologians of the second-century, and his work is still the subject of intense academic debate. This book provides a new perspective on Clement’s thought, through a critical examination of the work of one of his critics, Photios (c.820–893 CE). Photios, the Patriarch of Constantinople, based his critique on Clement’s (now lost) treatise ‘Hypotyposeis’, claiming the work contained eight ‘heresies’. The book examines each ‘error’ listed in the 109th codex of Photios’ ‘Bibliotheca’ in depth, using evidence from Clement’s existing work to consider the likely accuracy of Photios’ critique. Focusing on these eight ‘heresies’ offers a unique opportunity to illuminate what in terms of post-Nicene orthodoxy are Clement’s most problematic opinions, setting them in the context of their original philosophical and theological frame.

Religious Competition in the Greco-Roman World

Religious Competition in the Greco-Roman World
Author: Nathaniel P. DesRosiers
Publisher: SBL Press
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2016-08-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0884141578

Essays that broaden the historical scope and sharpen the parameters of competitive discourses Scholars in the fields of late antique Christianity, neoplatonism, New Testament, art history, and rabbinics examine issues related to authority, identity, and change in religious and philosophical traditions of late antiquity. The specific focus of the volume is the examination of cultural producers and their particular viewpoints and agendas in an attempt to shed new light on the religious thinkers, texts, and material remains of late antiquity. The essays explore the major creative movements of the era, examining the strategies used to develop and designate orthodoxies and orthopraxies. This collection of essays reinterprets dialogues between individuals and groups, illuminating the mutual competition and influence among these ancient thinkers and communities. Features: Essays feature competitive discourse as the central organizing theme Articles present unique theoretical models that are adaptable to different contexts and highly applicable to religious discourses before and after the Late Antique Period Scholars cover a much wider range of traditions including Judaism, Christianity, paganism, and philosophy in order to provide the most complete portrait of the religious landscape

The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis

The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis
Author: Ilaria Ramelli
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 910
Release: 2013-08-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004245707

The theory of apokatastasis (restoration), most famously defended by the Alexandrian exegete, philosopher and theologian Origen, has its roots in both Greek philosophy and Jewish-Christian Scriptures and literature, and became a major theologico-soteriological doctrine in patristics. This monograph—the first comprehensive, systematic scholarly study of the history of the Christian apokatastasis doctrine—argues its presence and Christological and Biblical foundation in numerous Christian thinkers, including Syriac, and analyses its origins, meaning, and development over eight centuries, from the New Testament to Eriugena, the last patristic philosopher. Surprises await readers of this book, which results from fifteen years of research. For instance, they will discover that even Augustine, in his anti-Manichaean phase, supported the theory of universal restoration.

T&T Clark Handbook of the Early Church

T&T Clark Handbook of the Early Church
Author: Ilaria L.E. Ramelli
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 745
Release: 2021-12-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567680398

Exploring the key documents, authors and themes of Early Christian traditions, this volume traces the vital trajectories of emerging distinctive Christian identity in the Graeco-Roman world. Special attention is given to the coherent growth of Christian faith in connection with worship, alongside the crucial transformation of Christian life and doctrine under the Christian Emperors. As well as offering a chronological development of the Early Church, the book examines the interaction between Christian worship and faith. In addition, readers interested in systematic theology can refer to chapters on the roots of some significant theological notions in Christian Antiquity, also with reference to ancient philosophy. Issues addressed include: · Distinctiveness of the Christian identity during the first centuries · Diversity of communities and their theologies · Connection between faith and worship · Transition from the persecuted minority to triumphant Church with Creeds · History of early Christian thought and modern systematic theology