The personal life of Athenagoras is unfortunately shrouded in mystery. All we know about this influential apologist is that he was Athenian; he lived during the second half of the second century; he was a philosopher who converted to Christianity (like Justin), and his most famous letter is A Plea for the Christian, written in AD 177. Some scholars suspect that he was probably a Platonist, and though he claims he is Athenian, he might not have been born there. Outside of this, we know nothing about him. The reason we know so little is because he never mentioned anything about himself in any of his letters. There was nothing flashy, just pure arguments. Also, he was not well known in his day, and is hardly mentioned by any of the other early church writers. If this is the case, why even mention him? It is because this obscure, Athenian philosopher picks up the mantle of Justin Martyr in his style of argument, as well as gives us the earliest statement of the trinity
How can such a mysterious man be a relevant part of church history? It is because of that one, now famous letter he wrote, A Plea for the Christian. In this post, I want to talk about that letter, and give you some of the key arguments as well as some of the insights we gain about Athenagoras' theology.
The letter was written to Emperor Marcus Aurelius when he was about to visit Athens. Like Justin Martyr, he tried to persuade the emperor to stop persecuting Christians. His argument consisted of addressing the most common accusations and false rumors that were brought against the Christians. Again, we don't know if Marcus ever read the letter, but it at least gives us insight into some of the beliefs of Athenagoras.
Much of Athenagoras' Plea has to do with the doctrine of God, so this is what we will spend most of our time discussing.
To begin, he thought that it would help the emperor to stop persecuting Christians if Marcus understood that the Christians believed in a God that was similar to the one he believed in. Marcus Aurelius was a philosopher who was mostly influenced by Stocism, which equated God with the immutable and perfect order of the universe. The Stoics affirmed one God as opposed to polytheism, and it is this common ground that Athenagoras sought to utilize.
Athenagoras started off by quoting various poets and philosophers, with the intent of reminding the emperor that that best of Hellenistic thought was monotheistic. He also wanted to assure the emperor that Christians were not atheist, as some had erroneously reported,
How can such a mysterious man be a relevant part of church history? It is because of that one, now famous letter he wrote, A Plea for the Christian. In this post, I want to talk about that letter, and give you some of the key arguments as well as some of the insights we gain about Athenagoras' theology.
The letter was written to Emperor Marcus Aurelius when he was about to visit Athens. Like Justin Martyr, he tried to persuade the emperor to stop persecuting Christians. His argument consisted of addressing the most common accusations and false rumors that were brought against the Christians. Again, we don't know if Marcus ever read the letter, but it at least gives us insight into some of the beliefs of Athenagoras.
Much of Athenagoras' Plea has to do with the doctrine of God, so this is what we will spend most of our time discussing.
To begin, he thought that it would help the emperor to stop persecuting Christians if Marcus understood that the Christians believed in a God that was similar to the one he believed in. Marcus Aurelius was a philosopher who was mostly influenced by Stocism, which equated God with the immutable and perfect order of the universe. The Stoics affirmed one God as opposed to polytheism, and it is this common ground that Athenagoras sought to utilize.
Athenagoras started off by quoting various poets and philosophers, with the intent of reminding the emperor that that best of Hellenistic thought was monotheistic. He also wanted to assure the emperor that Christians were not atheist, as some had erroneously reported,
That we are not atheist, therefore, seeing that we acknowledge one God, uncreated, eternal, invisible, impassible, incomprehensible, illimitable, who is apprehended by the understanding only and the reason who is encompassed by light and beauty, and spirit, and power ineffable, by whom the universe has been created through His Logos, and set in order, and is kept in being - I have sufficiently demonstrated.
I find this quote very interesting, especially when it comes to Athenagoras' view of God. While none would question the attributes of "uncreated", "eternal", and "invisible", many have questioned whether or not Athenagoras' view of God is too influenced by Greek philosophy rather than the Biblical revelation. This is especially true when he describes God as "impassible." What this means is that God is incapable of suffering or emotional feeling. Scripture seems to indicate the opposite. Furthermore, he states that God is "Apprehended by the understanding only and the reason." This is clearly a Greek philosophical idea.
Athenagoras also takes what it called an apophatic approach when it comes to describing the attributes of God. What this means is that he explains what God is not rather than what God is. Since God is incomprehensible and unlike anything created, He can only be described by saying what He is not rather than what He is. Some of the ways Athenagoras, and others like him, began to describe God, made Him more transcendent, abstract, and impersonal. The God of scripture, though He is transcendent, is also very personable, and describes Him self in very concrete ways.
Another aspect of Athenagoras' doctrine of God comes through as he answers the charge that it is ridiculous for God to have a Son. In his reply, we see the perhaps the earliest relatively clear statements about the trinity. He states,
Athenagoras also takes what it called an apophatic approach when it comes to describing the attributes of God. What this means is that he explains what God is not rather than what God is. Since God is incomprehensible and unlike anything created, He can only be described by saying what He is not rather than what He is. Some of the ways Athenagoras, and others like him, began to describe God, made Him more transcendent, abstract, and impersonal. The God of scripture, though He is transcendent, is also very personable, and describes Him self in very concrete ways.
Another aspect of Athenagoras' doctrine of God comes through as he answers the charge that it is ridiculous for God to have a Son. In his reply, we see the perhaps the earliest relatively clear statements about the trinity. He states,
We acknowledge as God, and a Son his Logos, and a Holy Spirit, united in essence - the Father, the Son, the Spirit, because the Son is the Intelligence, Reason, Wisdom of the Father, and the Spirit an effluence, as light from fire.
Though he never touched on how the Logos became incarnate, he did assure the emperor that this divine Logos was none other than Jesus Christ. who was eternally in the Father and eternally comes forth from the Father. Like Justin, Athenagoras made much use of the Logos concept to solve certain arguments that arose against the Christian faith.