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What did the early church believe about killing? What was its view on abortion? How did it approach capital punishment and war? Noted theologian and bestselling author Ron Sider lets the testimony of the early church speak in the first of a three-volume series on biblical peacemaking.This book provides in English translation all extant data directly relevant to the witness of the early church until Constantine on killing. Primarily, it draws data from early church writings, but other evidence, such as archaeological finds and Roman writings, is included.Sider taps into current evangelical interest in how the early church informs contemporary life while presenting a thorough, comprehensive treatment on topics of perennial concern. The book includes brief introductions to every Christian writer cited and explanatory notes on many specific texts.

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Philosophie et théologie

Christian theology

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 juillet 2012
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441238689
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0806€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

© 2012 by Ronald J. Sider
Published by Baker Academic
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakeracademic.com
Ebook edition created 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means for example, electronic, photocopy, recording without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
ISBN 978-1-4412-3868-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
The internet addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers in this book are accurate at the time of publication. They are provided as a resource. Baker Publishing Group does not endorse them or vouch for their content or permanence.
“The Christian faith made a difference. The resurrection of Christ from the dead revealed that human life was ultimately and with finality the will of God. Human life had a value that was transcendent. Such a faith postured the Christian attitude as distinctly counter to many of the cultural and social habits of the Roman Empire. And nowhere was this more the case than in the church’s attitude toward killing. In a most helpful way and with an evident knowledge of the primary sources, Ronald Sider presents in translation a comprehensive sourcebook of early Christian statements on the issues of abortion, capital punishment, and military service. While not hiding his own ethical stance and at times responding to opinion he regards as mistaken, Sider confronts the reader with the relevant texts themselves and so allows us to make our own independent judgment on the important question of the early church’s position on these difficult and yet highly relevant themes. The sourcebook will be an asset in the libraries of pastors and laypeople alike and a welcome text in college and seminary classrooms.”
William C. Weinrich , Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana
“The composite portrait that these texts create is one of a radical Christian ethic and of a church that struggled to live into it. Even in the midst of this complexity, one can still see the outlines of a ‘consistent ethic of life’ in which aversion to the shedding of blood is paired with a willingness to lay down one’s life in witness to the Prince of Peace. Should today’s Christian communities have ears to hear this message, then the death-dealing powers that organize our world might have a genuine revolution on their hands.”
Christian Collins Winn , Bethel University
To Naomi Miller,
gifted administrative assistant for twenty-eight years
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Endorsements
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
Part 1: Christian Writers before Constantine
Didache
The Epistle of Barnabas
First Clement
Second Clement
Apocalypse of Peter
Justin Martyr
Tatian
Irenaeus
Athenagoras
Clement of Alexandria
Tertullian
Minucius Felix
Didascalia apostolorum
Julius Africanus
Origen
Cyprian
Gregory Thaumaturgus
Dionysius of Alexandria
Archelaus
Adamantius, Dialogue on the True Faith
Arnobius of Sicca
Lactantius
Part 2: Church Orders and Synods
Apostolic Tradition
Three Later Church Orders
Synod of Arles
Part 3: Miscellaneous Items
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas
Paul of Samosata
The Acts of Xanthippe and Polyxena
Part 4: Other Evidence of Christian Soldiers before Constantine
“The Thundering Legion”
A Third-Century Christian Prayer Hall Near a Military Camp
Epitaphs
Military Martyrs
Eusebius’s Ecclesiastical History
An Early Christian Kingdom?
Afterword
Notes
Bibliography
Scripture Index
Index of Ancient Sources and Early Christian Writings
Author Index
Subject Index
Back Cover
Acknowledgments
I want to thank the many people who have helped make this book possible.
A number of gifted graduate students (Ayres, Wilberforce, and Sider Scholars) at Palmer Seminary provided excellent research assistance. Peter Sensenig, Regina Downing, Anya Eckelbarger, and Lori Baynard read through the fathers helping to locate relevant texts and identify material for introductions. Heather Biscoe tracked down innumerable books I needed. Stephanie Israel typed most of the manuscript.
Many scholars answered questions: Harold Attridge, Alan Kreider, Michael Gorman, Robert Sider, and Glen Stassen. Rob Arner, Robb Davis, and John Stoner commented on parts of the manuscript. Owen Ewald provided translations of almost all the inscriptions used here. John Helgeland graciously helped with my work on the inscriptions.
Colleagues at Palmer Seminary provided invaluable help. Our librarian, Melody Mazuk, spent hours tracking down obscure texts. Her colleague, Jeron Frame, procured a long stream of needed books on inter-library loan. Chris Hall (Eastern University chancellor, Palmer Seminary dean, and patristics scholar) helped at several stages. Craig Keener and Deborah Watson answered queries.
My two administrative assistants helped in various ways even as they effectively kept the rest of my complicated life on track: Naomi Miller, my wonderful, efficient secretary, colleague, and friend for twenty-eight years, retired in the midst of this project, but Joshua Cradic has effectively taken her place. Finally, thanks to my long-time editor at Baker, Bob Hosack.
None of these friends and colleagues are responsible for weaknesses or mistakes that remain in this book, but without them it would not have been possible.
Abbreviations ACW Ancient Christian Writers: The Works of the Fathers in Translation. Johannes Quasten, Joseph C. Plumpe, and Dennis D. McManus, eds. 61 vols. (Westminster, MD, and New York: Newman Press, 1946–2008). ANF Ante-Nicene Fathers: The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds. 9 vols. (1885; repr., Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2004). ANRW Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt AJP American Journal of Philology CC Cross Currents CEHCP Collection d’études d’histoire, de critique et de philologie CH Church History CSS Cistercian Studies Series DACL Dictionnaire d’Archéologie Chrétienne et de Liturgie . Fernand Cabrol and Henri Leclercq, eds. (Paris: Letouzey et Ané, 1933). ESH Ecumenical Studies in History EQ Evangelical Quarterly Exp. Expositor FC Fathers of the Church HTR Harvard Theological Review HUS Harvard Ukrainian Studies ITQ Irish Theological Quarterly JEH Journal of Ecclesiastical History JRE Journal of Religious Ethics JRS Journal of Roman Studies JTS Journal of Theological Studies LCC Library of Christian Classics LCL Loeb Classical Library NPNF Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series . Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, eds. 14 vols. (1886; repr., Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994). NPNF 2 Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, eds. 14 vols. (1890; repr., Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994). SC Sources chrétiennes SCES Sixteenth Century Essays and Studies SP Studia Patristica RSR Religious Studies Review TS Theological Studies TTH Translated Texts for Historians
Introduction
The literature on our topic is vast. [1] Among the hundreds of books and articles, a few stand out as especially important because of their scholarship and influence. [2] But even the best of these publications reflect major disagreement about the witness of the early church on killing and war. Some scholars have argued that the early church up until Constantine was largely pacifist. Other scholars have vigorously rejected that view. [3] And there is still no scholarly consensus.
Further study is important for at least three reasons. It is important to know as much as we can about the witness of the early church on killing simply in order to have a more complete, more accurate historical understanding. [4] Further, what the earliest Christians in the first three centuries understood to be the teaching of Jesus on killing surely has some relevance for our understanding of what Jesus taught. We cannot simply assume that the early Christians accurately understood Jesus’s teaching. But it seems plausible to suppose that Christians much closer to the time of Jesus, who lived in a (pre-Constantinian) sociopolitical setting more similar to that of Jesus than Christians living after the reign of Constantine, would be more likely to understand Jesus’s teaching on loving enemies than those who lived centuries later. Finally, in a world where devastating violence has wreaked terrible havoc over the centuries and continues to do so in the present the witness of the Christians in the first three centuries provides one source of ethical guidance on a topic of current significance.
Unfortunately no one has published a comprehensive book that includes all the relevant existing data on our topic. Many authors have included (often in translation) some of the most important texts. But no one has sought to compile all the relevant material in one place. That is the task of this volume.
In this book I have sought to provide in English translation all extant data directly relevant to the witness of the early church on killing. The largest amount of data comes from the writings of the early church. A few epitaphs from Christian “tombstones” are also relevant, as are a few statements by pagan Roman historians and recent archaeological discoveries. Doubtless there are relevant data that I have inadvertently missed. And ongoing archeological and other research will discover new data. But I have tried to include everything currently known that is directly relevant to our topic. [5]
Since I hope this volume will be useful not only to scholars but also to the general Christian community, I provide brief introductions to every Christian writer cited and explanatory notes on many specific texts. In every case, I have tried to be as objective as possible