From Logos to Trinity: The Evolution of Religious Beliefs from Pythagoras to Tertullian

Cover
From Logos to Trinity: The Evolution of Religious Beliefs from Pythagoras to Tertullian
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Epigraph
Contents
Foreword
Preface
Introduction
1: The Logos in Greek Culture
	THE PRE-SOCRATIC PHILOSOPHERS
		Pythagoras
		Heraclitus of Ephesus and Anaxagoras
		Empedocles, Xenophanes, and Parmenides
		Diogenes of Apollonia and Anaximenes
	PLATO AND HIS DUALISM
	XENOCRATES
	THE STOICS AND THEIR LOGOS
2: The Logos in Judaism
	THE HEBREW CONCEPT OF DAVAR (LOGOS)
	JEWISH WISDOM LITERATURE
	PHILO’S ANTECEDENTS
	PHILO’S WORKS AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION
	TECHNIQUE OF EXPOSITION
	EMPHASIS ON THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE AND PHILOSOPHY
	PHILOSOPHY AND WISDOM: A PATH TO ETHICAL LIFE
	PHILO’S ETHICAL DOCTRINE
	PHILO’S MYSTICISM AND TRANSCENDENCE OF GOD
	PHILO’S DOCTRINE OF CREATION
		SOURCE OF INTUITION OF THE INFINITE REALITY
		Philo’s Model of Creation
		Eternal Creation
	DOCTRINE OF MIRACLES: NATURALISM AND COMPREHENSION
	PHILO’S DOCTRINE OF THE LOGOS
		The Utterance of God
		The Divine Mind
		Agent of Creation
		Transcendent Power
		Universal Bond
		Immanent Reason
		Immanent Mediator of the Physical Universe
		The Angel of the Lord, Revealer of God
		The Firstborn Son of God
		Multinamed Archetype
		Soul-Nourishing Manna
		Intermediary Power, Messenger, and Suppliant for Men
		Source of Wisdom Sent Down to Earth as Illumination of Humans
		Second “God”
		Summary of Philo’s Concept of the Logos
3: The Development of Jewish Messianic Traditions: The Source of Christian Scripture and Doctrines
	EARLY TRADITIONS
		Preexilic and Exilic Tradition of the Messianic Kingdom
		Kingdom of God Tradition
		The Son of Man Tradition
	FURTHER EVOLUTION OF MESSIANISM
		The Apocalyptic Tradition Attributed to Enoch
		The Psalms of Solomon
		Apocalypses of Baruch and Ezra
		Eschatological Traditions of Baruch and Ezra
4: Development of the Hellenistic Christian Doctrine
	FOUR PATTERNS OF MESSIANISM/“CHRISTIANITY”
	MESSIANIC MOVEMENT IN PALESTINE OF THE FIRST CENTURY
	THE ORIGIN OF “CHRISTIANITY” ACCORDING TO THE EARLY CHRISTIAN WRITERS
	THE FOURTH GOSPEL
	DEIFICATION OF JESUS AS LOGOS AND TRUE GOD
		Solutions to the Problem of God’s Unity
		The Trinity: The Central Doctrine of Christianity
		The Old Testament and Unity of God
	APPENDIX: FAILURE OF THE QUEST FOR THE HISTORICAL JESUS
5: Justin Martyr and the Logos
	JUSTIN’S SCHOOL IN ROME
	THE LOGOS
		Logos spermatikos, the Logos, and the Divinity of the Son
		The Origin of the Logos and Its Preexistence
		Two Generations of the Logos the Son
	OTHER THEOLOGICAL DOCTRINES
		Creation of the World, Angels, Demons
		The Soul, the Resurrection, and Punishment
6: Justin Martyr and the Metaphysical Triad
	JUSTIN’S METAPHYSICAL TRIAD
		The Father
		The Son
		The Holy Spirit (Pneuma) or the Prophetic Spirit (Pneuma)
	MARCION OF PONTUS AND TWO DIFFERENT GODS
	NUMENIUS AND THE GREEK SOURCES OF THE JUSTIN TRIADIC FORMULA
	NUMENIUS
7: Tertullian, Originator of the Trinity
	TERTULLIAN’S LEGEND
	TERTULLIAN AND MONTANISM
	EARLY CHRISTIANS AND THE CARTHAGINIAN ENVIRONMENT
	TERTULLIAN’S THEORY OF THE TRINITY
	THE USE BY TERTULLIAN OF THE CHRISTIAN LOGOS THEORY
	OPPOSITION TO MONARCHIANISM
	TERTULLIAN’S DOCTRINE OF THE OIKONOMIA OF GOD AND ITS STOIC SOURCE
8: Tertullian and the Son of God
	GENERATION AND THE NATURE OF THE SON OF GOD
	THE MODE OF EXISTENCE OF THE DIVINE PROLATION (SON)
	SUPPOSED SCRIPTURAL TESTIMONY FOR THE EXISTENCE OF THE SON
	THE THIRD PERSON IN THE TRINITY
	THE SECOND GENERATION OF THE WORD AS THE SON OF GOD FROM BIRTH NARRATIONS
	TWO NATURES IN THE SON: THE SON OF GOD AND THE SON OF MAN
	THE NAME CHRIST: TERTULLIAN’S CONTRADICTIONS
	THE SON’S DEATH ON THE CROSS AS THE SON OF MAN
9: Thomas Aquinas and the Accepted Concept of the Trinity
	THOMAS AQUINAS AND HIS CONCEPT OF THE TRINITY
		Origin or Procession and “Spiration”
		Divine Relations
		Concept of “Personhood”
		Plurality of Persons in God
		Knowledge of the Divine Persons and the Trinity
	THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY IN THE MIDDLE AGES BEFORE SERVETUS
	DIVINE MANIFESTATIONS IN HISTORY
	THE TRINITY AND MODERN SCHOLARSHIP
	CONCLUDING REMARKS ON THE ROLE OF TERTULLIAN
Appendix I: The Possible Sources for the Development of the Christian Trinitarian Concepts
	THE POSSIBLE HEBREW TRADITION OF DIVINE PLURALITY
		The Plurality of Gods and God’s Appearances
		God’s Pronouncements and Utterances
		The Concept of Wisdom
		The Concept of Ruach (x;Wr)
	THE EGYPTIAN SOURCE OF THE CONCEPT OF THE TRIUNE GOD
	Egyptian Deities: Personification of Natural Forcesand Objects, Deification of the Pharaoh
Appendix II: Egyptian Chronology
	Selected Bibliography
		Primary Sources
		Secondary Sources
Index