Required reading
Ante-Nicene Fathers (Vol 4) (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read the 'Introductory Note to the works of Origen'.
My summary
This week we begin the works of Orgien by reading the introduction supplied by the editor.
We learn about Origen's:
(i) life, including numerous persecutions from inside and outside the church;
(ii) character;
(iii) works (exegetical, critical, apologetical, dogmatic, practical);
(iv) heretical beliefs.
What grabbed me
The editor begged the reader to give Origen some leniency for his false views, particularly because of the time in which Origen lived.
Nevertheless, the editor did state Origen's heretical views: 'It is in his treatise Περὶ ’Αρχῶν, or, as it is commonly known under the Latin title, De Principiis, that most fully develops his system, and brings out his peculiar principles. None of his works exposed him to so much animadversion in the ancient Church as this. On it chiefly was based the charge of heresy which some vehemently pressed against him,—a charge from which even his firmest friends felt it no easy matter absolutely to defend him. The points on which it was held that he had plainly departed from the orthodox faith, were the four following: First, That the souls of men had existed in a previous state, and that their imprisonment in material bodies was a punishment for sins which they had then committed. Second, That the human soul of Christ had also previously existed, and been united to the Divine nature before that incarnation of the Son of God which is related in the Gospels. Third, That our material bodies shall be transformed into absolutely ethereal ones at the resurrection; and Fourth, That all men, and even devils, shall be finally restored through the mediation of Christ. His principles of interpreting Scripture are also brought out in this treatise; and while not a little ingenuity is displayed in illustrating and maintaining them, the serious errors into which they might too easily lead will be at once perceived by the reader.'
The last one is particularly disturbing.
Next week's reading
Read the Prologue of Rufinus and Origen De Principiis Book I.
Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.
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