Galen and the Christians of Rome
Keywords:
Galen, Adoptionism, Theodotus of Byzantium, Pope Victor, early Christian apologeticsAbstract
This paper addresses Galen’s reputation and influence among Christians of his own day, specifically examining the view that contemporary Christians mistrusted Galen because of his critical remarks about them. It required several centuries for his reputation among Christians to begin to grow. I shall argue that Galen’s estimation of Christianity was mixed.
On one hand, he was the first significant pagan writer to treat Christianity as a philosophy rather than a superstitious sect, comparing it with philosophical schools such as Stoicism and Epicureanism. On the other hand, he criticized Christians for their failure to base their doctrines on reason (logismos) rather than solely on faith (pistis). For Galen, the proper method for acquiring knowledge was scientific demonstration, not claims to divine authority. His critique of Christian fideism was taken seriously by some Christians, encouraging them to engage in the kind of philosophical speculation that would attract Galen’s approval.
The followers of Theodotus of Byzantium attempted to address the deficiencies that Galen had identified by employing a philosophical framework to frame their unorthodox adoptionism. They began to engage in philosophical speculation they believed would garner Galen’s approval, demonstrating that they could learn from their critics. As a result, what was regarded by many educated Romans in the second century as mere superstition evolved into Christianity being recognized by the third century, through the efforts of the Apologists, as a legitimate school of philosophy.
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