At this point in our story about Christ's Bride, we begin to see a transition take place in the area of theology as the Church moves forward into the third century. Before we get there, let's review what we have been talking about over the past several months.
First, we examined the apostolic fathers. They sought to keep order and unity in the Church as she began to battle such heresies as Gnosticism. Though we didn't get into it much, their theology seemed to present the gospel as message of morality. Some of them also seemed to introduce ideas about the bishops and sacraments that seem to go beyond the teachings of the New Testament.
Second, we examined the apologists. We saw that they were the ones to engage the hostile culture in an attempt to explain the Christian worldview to the leaders of the Roman Empire. They sought to do this in a very intelligent and appealing manner. Through their work, Christianity took its place as distinct from Judaism, while at the same time, giving it credibility to the broader Greek world. Some of the thoughts of the apologists seem to be more Platonic than Biblical, thus leaving a rather sketchy, and at times,convoluted morass to wade through.
Finally, towards the end of the second century, we saw the rise of Irenaeus. It was with him that we encounter the rise of what we would consider true constructive theology. He developed his theology out of his debates with the Gnostics, and formulated a theory of recapitulation and deification that is still influential today.
Now, as the second century draws to a close, a new chapter in the Church and her theology begins to open. Our geographical location now moves to North Africa. Yes, North Africa. This will sound strange to some Christians, but from this point on in the patristic period, North Africa will produce the brunt of theology and theologians. Such cities as Alexandria and Carthage will be the factory of great thinkers and interpreters.
By the end of the second century, Christianity was flourishing in Alexandria and the surrounding areas. This led to the founding of catechetical schools (like our modern seminaries), which produced the prolific writers and thinkers who would forever mark the history of Christianity.
One of the issues surfacing during this time was the relation of Greek philosophy and its relation of Christianity. Whereas the apologists were quick to embrace it, some North African thinkers, such as Tertullian, said they were incompatible. Still others, such as Clement and Origen, set out to prove that the best of Greek thought was compatible with Christianity. The anti-philosophical spirit developed out of Carthage, while the sympathetic spirit developed out of Alexandria. As things developed, the difference between Carthage and Alexandria will become more well defined. However, we will save that discussion for a later post.
I'll close with this: The reason great theological reflection was able to take off during the third century had to do with the subsiding of Christian persecution. During the first and second centuries, empire wide persecution held back deep theological reflection because Christians were just trying to survive. This is especially the case with the rule of Decius and Diocletion. If this wasn't enough, the Christians were also trying to combat the heresies of Gnosticsm.
However, with the end of persecution and the rise of Constantine in the third century, Christianity was now at a place where deep theological reflection would be the norm of the day.
As we now progress into the chapter of the third century, we will begin in our next series of post to talk about some of the early North African theologians such as Clement, Tertullian, Origen, and Cyprian.