On the true doctrine : a discourse against the Christians / Celsus ; translated and introduced by R. Joseph Hoffmann.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Celsus (Platonic philosopher), active 180.

Contributor:

Hoffmann, R. Joseph.

Standardized Title:

Alēthēs logos. English

Language:

English

Greek, Ancient (to 1453)

Subjects (All):

Christianity--Controversial literature.

Christianity.

Christianity and other religions--Roman.

Christianity and other religions.

Church history--Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600.

Church history.

Church history--Primitive and early church.

Rome--Religion.

Rome.

Rome (Empire).

Religion.

Physical Description:

xiii, 146 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Oxford University Press, 1987.

Summary:

Although the works of many early critics of the Church were burned by Christian emperors or were otherwise destroyed in the second and third centuries, the major work of the Greek philosopher, Celsus, is an exception. His polemical attack on the beliefs and practices of Christianity, On the True Doctrine, written around 178 A.D., is one of the earliest surviving documents of its kind. Preserved almost in its entirety within Contra Celsum, a counter-polemic written by Origen of Alexandria, On the True Doctrine provides an accurate portrait of the attitudes of most detached pagan observers of the time: interested in the latest religious trends, but suspicious of the religious enthusiasm and the newer proselytizing sects of the empire.

Notes:

Translation of: Alēthēs logos.

Bibliography: pages 145-146.

ISBN:

019504150X

0195041518

OCLC:

13580127