8b-Angesl, imortal Soul, Ex Nihilo, Original Sin
<http://www.cin.org/users/jgallegos/contents.htm>
Angels
"Let us consider the whole multitude of His angels, how they stand ever ready to minister to His will. For the Scripture saith, ’Ten thousand times ten thousand stood around Him, and thousands of thousands ministered unto Him, and cried, Holy, holy, holy, [is] the Lord of Sabaoth; the whole creation is full of His glory.’ " Clement of Rome,Letter to the Corinthians,34:5(A.D. 98),in ANF,I:14
"Let no man deceive himself. Both the things which are in heaven, and the glorious angels, and rulers, both visible and invisible,if they believe notin the blood of Christ, shall, in consequence, incur condemnation." Ignatius of Antioch,Letter to the Smyrnaeans,6(A.D. 110),in ANF,I:88-89
"In reply I said to her, ’This is magnificent and marvellous. But who are the six young men who are engaged in building?’ And she said, ’These are the holy angels of God, who were first created, and to whom the Lord handed over His whole creation, that they might increase and build up and rule over the whole creation. By these will the building of the tower be finished.’ ’But who are the other persons who are engaged in carrying the stones?’ These also are holy angels of the Lord, but the former six are more excellent than these." Shephard of Hermas, Vision 3:4(A.D. 140), in ANF,II:14
"Hence are we called atheists. And we confess that we are atheists, so far as gods of this sort are concerned, but not with respect to the most true God, the Father of righteousness and temperance and the other virtues, who is free from all impurity. But both Him, and the Son (who came forth from Him and taught us these things, and the host of the other good angels who follow and are made like to Him), and the prophetic Spirit, we worship and adore, knowing them in reason and truth, and declaringwithout grudging to every one who wishes to learn, as wehave been taught." Justin Martyr, First Apology, 6(A.D. 155), in ANF,I:164
"The Logos, too, before the creation of men, was the Framer of angels. And each of these two orders of creatures was made free to act as it pleased, not having the nature of good, which again is with God alone, but is brought to perfection in men through their freedom of choice, in order that the bad man may be justly punished, having become depraved through his own fault, but the just man be deservedly praised for his virtuous deeds, since in the exercise of his free choice he refrained from transgressing the will of God. Such is the constitution of things in reference to angels and men." Tatian,To the Greeks,7(A.D. 165),in ANF,II:67
"Who, then, would not be astonished to hear men who speak of God the Father, and of God the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and who declare both their power in union and their distinction in order, called atheists? Nor is our teaching in what relates to the divine nature confined to these points; but we recognise also a multitude of angels and ministers, whom God the Maker and Framer of the world distributed and appointed to their several posts by His Logos, to occupy themselves about the elements, and the heavens, and the world, and the things in it, and the goodly ordering of them all."
Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians, 10(A.D. 177), in ANF,II:133
"For His offspring and His similitude do minister to Him in every respect; that is, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Word and Wisdom; whom all the angels serve, and to whom they are subject. Vain, therefore, ark those who, because of that declaration, ’No man knoweth the Father, but the Son,’ do introduce another unknown Father." Irenaeus, Against Heresies, IV,7:4(A.D. 180), in ANF,I:470 "Whence are we to find (words) enough fully to tell the happiness of that marriage which the Church cements, and the oblation confirms, and the benediction signs and seals; (which) angels carry back the news of (to heaven), (which) the Father holds for ratified? For even on earth children do not rightly and lawfully wed without their fathers’ consent. "Tertullian, To His Wife, II,8:4(A.D. 200), in ANF,IV:48
"This also is a part of the teaching of the Church, that there are certainangels of God, and certain good influences, which are His servants inaccomplishing the salvation of men." Origen, Fundamental Doctrine, 1 Pref:10(A.D. 220), in ANF,IV:241
"The world has been created for this purpose, that we may be born; we areborn for this end, that we mayacknowledge the Makerof the world and of ourselves--God; we acknowledge Him for this end, thatwe may worship Him; we worship Him for this end that we may receive immortality as the reward of our labours, since the worship of God consists of the greatest labours; for this end we are rewarded with immortality, that being made like to the angels, we may serve the Supreme Father and Lord for ever, and may be to all eternity a kingdom to God."
Lactanius, Divine Institutions, VII,6:1(A.D. 304), in ANF,VII:203
"Divine majesty. His ministers are the heavenly hosts; his armies the supernal powers,angels, the companies of archangels, the chorus of holy spirits, draw from and reflect his radiance as from the fountains of everlasting light." Eusebius, Oration of Eusebius, 1:1(A.D. 335), in NPNF2,I:582
"And how do the impious men[ie. The Arians] venture to speak folly, as they ought not, being men and unable to find out how to describe even what is on the earth? But why do I say ’ what is on the earth?’ Let them tell us their own nature, if they can discover how to investigate their own nature? Rash they are indeed, and self-willed, not trembling to form opinions of things whichangelsdesire to look into (I Pet. i. x2), who are so far above them, both in nature and in rank. For what is nearer [God] than the Cherubim or the Seraphim? " Athanasius, On Luke X, 6(A.D. 342), in NPNF2,IV:90
"At the birth of the Son, there was a great shouting in Bethlehem; for theAngelscame down, and gave praise there. Their voices were a great thunder: at that voice of praise the silent ones came, and gave praise to the Son." Ephraem,Hymns on the Nativity, 5(A.D. 350), in NPNF2,XII:237
"Then may you receive the name of Christ, and the power of things divine. Even now, I beseech you, lift up the eye of the mind: even now imagine the choirs ofAngels, and God the Lord of all there sitting, and His Only-begotten Son sitting with Him on His right hand, and the Spirit present with them; and Thrones and Dominions doing service, and every man of you and every woman receiving salvation."
Cyril of Jerusalem, ProCatechesis, 15(A.D. 350), in NPNF2,VII:4-5
"For You are above every Principality and Power and Virtue and Domination and every Name that is named not only in the present age but in that to come. Assisting You are thousands of thousands and myriads and myriads ofAngels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominations, Principalities and Powers."
Serapion, Sacramentary, 13:3(A.D. 350), in JUR,II:132
"I, too, am in the dark, yet I ask no questions. I look for comfort to the fact that Archangels share my ignorance, that Angels have not heard the explanation, and worlds do not contain it, that no prophet has espied it and no Apostle sought for it, that the Son Himself has not revealed it."
Hilary of Poitiers, Trinity, II:9(A.D. 359), in NPNF2,IX:55
"They fill the essence of this invisible world, as Paul teaches us. ’For by him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers’ or virtues or hosts of angels or the dignities of archangels."
Basil, The Hexaemeron, 5(A.D. 370), in NPNF2,VIII:54 "The word of God signifies the angels were created not after the stars nor before the earth and sky."
Epiphanius, Panarion, 65:5(A.D. 374), in JUR,II:74
"But greater than all these things in the perpetual enjoyment of intercourse with Christ in the company ofangels, andarchangels, and the higher powers."
John Chyrsostom, To the Fallen Theodore, Epistle 1:11(A.D. 374), in NPNF1,IX:99
"Do you see how we get dizzy over this subject, and cannot advance to any point, unless it be as far as this, that we know there areAngels and Archangels, Thrones, Dominions, Princedoms, Powers, Splendours, Ascents, Intelligent Powers or Intelligencies, pure natures and unalloyed, immovable to evil, or scarcely movable; ever circling in chorus round the First Cause (or how should we sing their praises?) illuminated thence with the purest Illumination, or one in one degree and one in another, proportionally to their nature and rank ... so conformed to beauty and moulded that they become secondary Lights, and can enlighten others by the overflowings and largesses of the First Light? Ministrants of God’s Will, strong with both inborn and imparted strength, traversing all space, readily present to all at any place through their zeal for ministry and the agility of their nature ... different individuals of them embracing different parts of the world, or appointed over different districts of the Universe, as He knoweth who ordered and distributed it all."
Gregory of Nazianzen, Second Theological Oration, 31(A.D. 380), in NPNF2,VII:300
"For in fact, since the Lord is the Maker of angels, the angelis assuredly a thing made by Him that made him: and since the Lord is the Creator of the world, clearly the world itself and all that is therein are called the creature of Him that created them."
Gregory of Nyssa, Against Eunomius, III:1(A.D. 384), in NPNF2,V:136
"We, it is true, refuse to worship or adore, I say not the relics of the martyrs, but even the sun and moon, the angels and archangels, the Cherubim and Seraphim and ’every name that is named, not only in this world but also in that which is to come.’ For we may not ’serve the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Still we honour the relics of the martyrs, that we may adore Him whose martyrs they are. We honour the servants that their honour may be reflected upon their Lord who Himself says:--’he that receiveth you receiveth me.’ I ask Vigilantius, Are the relics of Peter and of Paul unclean? Was the body of Moses unclean, of which we are told (according to the correct Hebrew text) that it was buried by the Lord Himself? And do we, every time that we enter the basilicas of apostles and prophets and martyrs, pay homage to the shrines of idols? Are the tapers which burn before their tombs only the tokens of idolatry? I will go farther still and ask a question which will make this theory recoil upon the head of its inventor and which will either kill or cure that frenzied brain of his, so that simple souls shall be no more subverted by his sacrilegious reasonings. Let him answer me this, Was the Lord’s body unclean when it was placed in the sepulchre? And did the angels clothed in white raiment merely watch over a corpse dead and defiled, that ages afterwards this sleepy fellow might indulge in dreams and vomit forth his filthy surfeit, so as, like the persecutor Julian, either to destroy the basilicas of the saints or to convert them into heathen temples?" Jerome, To Riparius, Epistle 109:1(A.D. 404), in NPNF2,VI:212
"They are referable either to God, or to angels, or to men, or to animals of whatever description, if indeed those instinctive movements of animals devoid of reason, by which, in accordance with their own nature, they seek or shun various things, are to be called wills. And when I speak of the wills of angels, I mean either the wills of good angels, whom we call the angels of God, or of the wicked angels, whom we call the angels of the devil, or demons."Augustine, City of God, 5:9(A.D. 413), in NPNF1,II:91
"We have, it must be admitted, a use for anger excellently implanted in us for which alone it is useful and profitable for us to admit it, viz., when we are indignant and rage against the lustful emotions of our heart, and are vexed that the things which we are ashamed to do or say before men have risen up in the lurking places of our heart, as we tremble at the presence of the angels, and of God Himself, who pervades all things everywhere, and fear with the utmost dread the eye of Him from whom the secrets of our hearts cannot possibly be hid." John Cassian, Institutes, 7:7(A.D. 426), in NPNF2,X:259
"He goes on ’Even though an angel from heaven preach unto you any other Gospel than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.’ It was not enough for the preservation of the faith once delivered to have referred to man; he must needs comprehend angels also. ’Though we,’ he says, ’or an angel from heaven.’ Not that the holy angels of heaven are now capable of sinning. But what he means is: Even if that were to happen which cannot happen,--if any one, be he who he may, attempt toalter the faithonce for all delivered, let him be accursed." Vincent of Lerins, Commonitories ,8:21(A.D. 434), in NPNF2,X:136
"Therefore the exulting angel’s song when the LORD was born is this, ’Glory to GOD in the Highest,’ and their message, ’peace on earth to men of good will.’ For they see that the heavenly Jerusalem is being built up out of all the nations of the world: and over that indescribable work of the Divine love how ought the humbleness of men to rejoice, when the joy of the lofty angels is so great?"
Leo the Great (regn. A.D. 440-461), Sermon 21(ante A.D. 461), in NPNF2,XII:129
"And indeed it is a very serious consideration, that now at this time any are forbidden to leave the world; a time when the end of the world is drawing nigh. For lo! There will be no delay: the heavens on fire, the earth on fire, the elements blazing, with angels and archangels, thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, the tremendous Judge will appear. " Gregory the Great (regn A.D. 590-604), To Mauricius,Epistle 65(A.D. 593), in NPNF2,XII:141
"The angel of the Lord was sent to the holy Virgin, who was descended from David’s line. Far it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah, of which tribe no one turned his attention to the altar, as the divine apostle said: but about this we will speak more accurately later. And bearing glad tidings to her, he said, Hail thou highly favoured one, the Lord is with thee. And she was troubled at his word, and the angel said to her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God, and shalt bring forth a Son and shalt call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins. Hence it comes that Jesus has the interpretation Saviour. And when she asked in her perplexity, How can this be, seeing I know not a man? The angel again answered her, The Holy Spirit shall came upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And she said to him, Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it unto me according to Thy word. So then, after the assent of the holy Virgin, the Holy Spirit descended on her, according to the word of the Lord which theangelspoke, purifying her, and granting her power to receive the divinity of the Word, and likewise power to bring forth."John of Damascene, Orthodox Faith, III,2:3(A.D. 743), in NPNF2,IX:46 This text may downloaded and viewed for private reading only. This text may not be used by another Web site or published, electronically or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright holder.
Joseph A. Gallegos © 2001 All Rights Reserved.
Immortal Soul
"The soul is not in itself immortal, O Greeks, but mortal. Yet it is possible for it not to die. If, indeed, it knows not the truth, it dies, and is dissolved with the body, but rises again at last at the end of the world with the body, receiving death by punishment in immortality." Tatian, Address to the Greeks, 13(A.D. 175), in ANF,II:70
"But since this cause is seen to lie in perpetual existence, the being so created must be preserved for ever, doing and experiencing what is suitable to its nature, each of the two parts of which it consists contributing what belongs to it, so that the soul may exist and remain without change in the nature in which it was made, and discharge its appropriate functions (such as presiding over the impulses of the body, and judging of and measuring that which occurs from time to time by the proper standards and measures), and the body be moved according to its nature towards its appropriate objects, and undergo the changes allotted to it, and, among the rest (relating to age, or appearance, or size), the resurrection." Athenagoras, Resurrection of the Dead, 12(A.D. 180), in ANF,II:15
"And again to the Romans he says, ’But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies.’ What, then, are mortal bodies? Can they be souls? Nay, for souls are incorporeal when put in comparison with mortal bodies; for God ’breathedinto the face of man thebreath of life, and man became a livingsoul." Now the breath of life is an incorporeal thing. And certainly they cannot maintain that the very breath of life is mortal. Therefore David says, "My soul also shall live to Him,’ just as if its substance were immortal." Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 5,7:1(A.D. 180), in ANF,I:532-3
"The soul, then, we define to be sprung from the breath of God, immortal ..." Tertullian, A treatise on the soul, 22:2(A.D. 212), in ANF,III:203
"But that the soul is made immortal is a further point in the Church’s teaching which you must know, to shew how the idols are to be overthrown."
Athanasius, Against the Heathen, 33(A.D. 318),in XIV:21
"Next to the knowledge of this venerable and glorious and all-holyFaith, learn further what thou thyself art: that as man thou art of a two-fold nature,consisting of soul and body; and that, as was said a short time ago, the same God is the Creator both ofsouland body. Know also that thou hasta soulself-governed, the noblest work of God, made after the image of its Creator: immortal because of God that gives it immortality; a living being, rational, imperishable, because of Him that bestowed these gifts: having free power to do what it willeth"Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, 4:18(A.D. 350), in NPNF2,VII:23 "In fact, I said the Divine utterances seemed to me like mere commands compelling us to believe that thesoul lasts for ever."Gregory of Nyssa, On the Soul and Resurrection (A.D. 380), in NPNF2,V:431
"Such a kind of sovereignty God bestowed upon us from the beginning, and set us over all things. And not only in this respect did He confer honour upon our nature, but also, by the very eminence of the spot in which we were placed, fixing upon Paradise as our choice dwelling, and bestowing the gift of reason, and an immortal soul."John Chrysostom, Concerning Statues, 7:3(A.D. 387), in NPNF1,IX:391-2 "The immortality of the soul and its continuance after the dissolution of the body--truths of which Pythagoras dreamed..."Jerome, To Heliodorus, Epistle 60:4(A.D. 397), in NPNF2,VI:125
"But because the soul from its very nature, being created immortal, cannot be without some kind of life, its utmost death is alienation from the life of God in an eternity of punishment. So, then, He only who gives true happiness gives eternal life, that is, an endlessly happy life." Augustine, City of God, 6:12(A.D. 427), in NPNF1,II:121
Additionally, St. Augustine developed a treatise on the immortality of the soul in A.D 387 - "De immortalitate animae"
"The soul, accordingly, is a living essence, simple, incorporeal, invisible in its proper nature to bodily eyes, immortal, reasoning and intelligent, formless, making use of an organised body, and being the source of its powers of life, and growth, and sensation, and generation, mind being but its purest part and not in any wise alien to it; (for as the eye to the body, so is the mind to the soul); further it enjoys freedom and volition and energy, and is mutable, that is, it is given to change, because it is created." John of Damascene, Orthodox Faith, 2:12(A.D. 743), in NPNF2,IX:31 This text may downloaded and viewed for private reading only. This text may not be used by another Web site or published, electronically or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright holder.
Joseph A. Gallegos © 2001 All Rights Reserved.
Ex Nihilo(Creation out of Nothing)
"And as I prayed, the heavens were opened, and I see the woman whom I had desired saluting me from the sky, and saying, ’Hail, Hermas!’ And looking up to her, I said, ’Lady, what doest thou here? ’And she answered me, ’I have been taken up here to accuse you of your sins before the Lord.’ ’Lady,’ said I, ’are you to be the subject of my accusation?’ ’No,’ said she; ’but hear the words which I am going to speak to you. God, who dwells in the heavens, and made out of nothing the things that exist, and multiplied and increased them on account of His holy Church, is angry with you for having sinned against me."
Hermas,Shepard,1:1:1(A.D. 80),in ANF,II:9
"First Of all, believe that there is one God who created and finished all things, and made all things out of nothing." Hermas,Shepard,2:1:1(A.D. 80),in ANF,II:20
"Let us turn now, O King, to the elements in themselves, that we may make clear in regard to them, that they are not gods, but a created thing, liable to ruin and change, which is of the same nature as man; whereas God is imperishable and unvarying, and invisible, while yet He sees, and overrules, and transforms all things." Aristides,Apology,4(A.D. 140),in ANF,X:266
"God was in the beginning; but the beginning, we have been taught, is the power of the Logos. For the Lord of the universe, who is Himself the necessary ground of all being, in as much as no creature was yet in existence, was alone; but in as much as He was all power, Himself the necessary ground of things visible and invisible, with Him were all things; with Him, by Logos-power , the Logos Himself also, who was in Him, subsists."
Tatian,Address to the Greeks,5:1(A.D. 175),in ANF,II:67
"For, to attribute the substance of created things to the power and will of Him who is God of all, is worthy both of credit and acceptance. It is also agreeable [to reason], and there may be well said regarding such a belief, that ’the things which are impossible with men are possible with God.’ While men, indeed, cannot make anything out of nothing, but only out of matter already existing, yet God is in this point proeminently superior to men, that He Himself called into being the substance of His creation, when previously it had no existence."
Irenaeus,Against Heresies,2,10:4(A.D. 180),in ANF,I:370
"And further, as God, because He is uncreated, is also unalterable; so if matter, too, were uncreated, it also would be unalterable, and equal to God; for that which is created is mutable and alterable, but that which is uncreated is immutable and unalterable. And what great thing is it if God made the world out of existent materials? For even a human artist, when he gets material from some one, makes of it what he pleases. But the power of God is manifested in this, that out of things that are not He makes whatever He pleases; just as the bestowal of life and motion is the prerogative of no other than God alone."
Theophilus of Antioch,Autolycus,2:4(A.D. 181), in ANF,II:95
"And first, they taught us with one consent that God made all things out of nothing; for nothing was coeval with God: but He being His own place, and wanting nothing, and existing before the ages, willed to make man by whom He might be known; for him, therefore, He prepared the world. For he that is created is also needy; but he that is uncreated stands in need of nothing." Theophilus of Antioch,Autolycus,2:10(A.D. 181), in ANF,II:97-98 "[H]e[Hermogenes] takes from Him everything which is God, since he will not have it that He made all things of nothing." Tertullian,Hermogenes,1-2,in ANF,III:477
"The object of our worship is the One God, He who by His commanding word, His arranging wisdom, His mighty power, brought forth from nothing this entire mass of our world, with all its array of elements, bodies, spirits, for the glory of His majesty; whence also the Greeks have bestowed on it the name of Cosmos." Tertullian,Apology,17:1(A.D. 197),in ANF,III:31
"Now, with regard to this rule of faith-that we may from this point acknowledge what it is which we defend-it is, you must know, that which prescribes the belief that there is one only God, and that He is none other than the Creator of the world, who produced all things out of nothing through His own Word, first of all sent forth; that this Word is called His Son." Tertullian, Prescription Against the Heretics,13:1(A.D. 200), in ANF,III:249
"For if God produced all things whatever out of nothing, He will be able to draw forth from nothing even the flesh which had fallen into nothing; or if He moulded other things out of matter, He will be able to call forth the flesh too from somewhere else, into whatever abyss it may have been engulphed."
Tertullian, Resurrection of the Flesh,11(A.D. 210), in ANF,III:553
"On the first day God made what He made out of nothing. But on the other days He did not make out of nothing, but out of what He had made on the first day, by moulding it according to His pleasure." Hippolytus, Six Days Work(Hexameron)(A.D. 217), in ANF, V:163 "First, That there is one God, who created and arranged all things, and who, when nothing existed."
Origen, Fundamental Doctrines, Preface 1(A.D. 225), in ANF, IV:239
"Therefore arming him, and strengthening him, and so bearing her son by a more blessed birth, she said, "O son, pity me that bare thee ten months in the womb, and gave thee milk for three years, and nourished thee and brought thee up to this age; I pray thee, O son, look upon the heaven and the earth; and having considered all the things which are in them, understand that out of nothing God made these things and the human race."Cyprian, Exhortation to Martyrdom, 11(A.D. 253), in ANF, V:504-505
"For Thou createdst all things out of nothing; wherefore also Thou changest and transformest all things as Thou wilt, seeing they are Thine, and Thou alone art God." Methodius, Discourse on the Resurrection, 1:14(A.D. 300), in ANF, VI:369
"For all things are placed under Thee as their Cause and Author, as He who brought all things into being out of nothing, and gave to what was unstable a firm coherence; as the connecting Band and Preserver of that which has been brought into being; as the Framer of things by nature different; as He who, with wise and steady hand, holds the helm of the universe; as the very Principle of all good order; as the irrefragable Bond of concord and peace." Methodius, Oration Concerning Simeon and Anna, 6(A.D. 305), in ANF, VI:387
"But if he conceives in his mind how great is the immensity of that divine work, when before it was nothing, yet that by the power and wisdom of God it was made out of nothing-a work which could only be commenced and accomplished by one-he will now understand that that which has been established by one is much more easily governed by one." Lactanius, Divine Institutes, 1:3(A.D. 307), in ANF, VII:12
"Nor were they able at all to understand how much greater and more wonderful He is, who made these things out of nothing."Lactanius, Divine Institutes, 2:5(A.D. 307), in ANF, VII:47 "Let no one inquire of what materials God made these works so great and wonderful: for He made all things out of nothing." Lactanius, Divine Institutes, 2:9(A.D. 307), in ANF, VII:53
"For they ignorantly affirm that one of two things must necessarily be said, either that He is from things which are not, or that there are two unbegottens; nor do those ignorant men know how great is the difference between the unbegotten Father, and the things which were by Him created from things which are not, as well the rational as the irrational. Between which two, as holding the middle place, the only begotten nature of God, the Word by which the Father formed all things out of nothing, was begotten of the true Father Himself. As in a certain place the Lord Himself testified, saying, ’Every one that loveth Him that begat, loveth Him also that is begotten of Him.’ “Alexander of Alexandria,On the Arian Heresy,1:11(A.D. 326),in ANF,VI:295 "Is God then, who created us out of nothing, unable to raise again those who exist and are fallen(9)?"
Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, 18:6(A.D. 350), in NPNF2, VII:135
"For the elements of the world have come into being out of nothing, but Christ’s continuity of existence did not begin in the non-existent, nor did He ever begin to exist, but He took from the beginning a beginning which is eternal." Hilary of Poitiers, On the Trinity, 53(A.D. 359), inNPNF2, VIII:153
"Thus do they vainly speculate. But the godly teaching spontaneously, because forethought is not absent; nor existing matter, because God is not weak; but that out of nothing, and without its having any previous existence, God made the universe to exist through His word."
Athanasius, Incarnation, 3(A.D. 365), in NPNF2, IV:38
"Studious listener, think of all these creations which Godhas drawn out of nothing, think of all those which my speech has left out, to avoid tediousness, and not to exceed my limits; recognise everywhere the wisdom of God; never cease to wonder, and, through, every creature, to glorify the Creator."
Basil, Hexameron, 8:7(A.D. 370), in NPNF2, VIII:99
"Thus, through light and water the earth brought forth everything. While God is able to bring forth everything from the earth without these things, it was his will to show that there was nothing created on earth that was not created for the purpose of mankind or for his service."
Ephrem, Commentary on Genesis 1:1-31(ante A.D. 376), in FOC, 91:92
"The word of God clearly declares that the Angels were neither created after the stars nor before heaven and earth. It must be regarded as certain and unshakable the opinion that says: None of the created things did exist before heaven and earth, because ’in the beginning God created heaven and earth’ so that this was the beginning of all creation, before which none of the created things existed." Epiphanius, Panarion, 65:5(A.D. 377), in PAN
"But if God made all these things out of nothing (for "He spake and they were made,He commanded and they were created"[1]), why should we wonder that which has been should be brought to life again, since we see produced that which had not been?"
Ambrose, On the belief of the Resurrection, 2:64(A.D. 378), in NPNF2, IX:184
"Believe that all that is in the world, both all that is seen and all that is unseen, was made out of nothing by God, and is governed by the Providence of its Creator, and will receive a change to a better state." Gregory of Nazianzen, Oration on Holy Baptism, 45(A.D. 383), in NPNF2, VII:376-377
"We return to our plain statement, and we assert, that He Who brought all creation into being out of nothing is the Creator of things seen in substantial existence, not of unsubstantial words having no existence but in the sound of the voice and the lisp of the tongue."
Gregory of Nyssa, Answer to Eunomius’ Second Book (A.D. 384), in NPNF2, V:287
"And then He made man, who was not a man before, of different parts, giving to him a soul made out of nothing. But now He will restore the bodies, which have been dissolved, to the souls that are still in being: for the rising again belongs to things laid down, not to things which have no being. He therefore that made the original bodies\ out of nothing, and fashioned various forms of them, will also again revive and raise up those that are dead." Apostolic Constitutions, 5,1:7(A.D. 400), in ANF, VII:441
"For Thou art eternal knowledge, everlasting sight, unbegotten hearing, untaught wisdom, the first by nature, and the measure of being, and beyond all number; who didst bring all things out of nothing into being by Thy only begotten Son."Apostolic Constitutions, 8,2:12(A.D. 400), in ANF, VII:486-487 "Thou didst create heaven and earth, not out of Thyself, for then they would be equal to Thine Only-begotten, and thereby even to Thee; and in no wise would it be right that anything should be equal to Thee which was not of Thee. And aught else except Thee there was not whence Thou mightest create these things, O God, One Trinity, and Trine Unity; and, therefore, out of nothing didst Thou create heaven and earth,-a great thing and a small,because Thou art Almighty and Good, to make all things good, even the great heaven and the small earth. Thou wast, and there was nought else from which Thou didst create heaven and earth; two such things, one near unto Thee, the other near to nothing, -one to which Thou shouldest be superior, the other to which nothing should be inferior." Augustine, Confessions, 12:7(A.D. 400), in NPNF1, I:177
"Moreover, the bad will, though it be not in harmony with, but opposed to nature, inasmuch as it is a vice or blemish, yet it is true of it as of all vice, that it cannot exist except in a nature, and only in a nature created out of nothing, and not in that which the Creator has begotten of Himself, as He begot the Word, by whom all things were made. For though God formed man of the dust of the earth, yet the earth itself, and every earthly material, is absolutely created out of nothing; and man’s soul, too, God created out of nothing, and joined to the body, when He made man."Augustine, City of God, 14:11(A.D. 400), in NPNF1, II:271-272
"But God, through the exercise of will alone, has broughtall things into existence out of nothing. Now there is the same difference between God and man in begetting andgenerating." John of Damascus, Orthodox Faith, 8(A.D. 743), in NPNF2, VIII:7
Original Sin
"He stood in need of baptism, or of the descent of the Spirit like a dove; even as He submitted to be born and to be crucified, not because He needed such things, but because of the human race, which from Adam had fallen under the power of death and the guile of the serpent, and each one of which had committed personal transgression. For God, wishing both angels and men, who were endowed with freewill, and at their own disposal, to do whatever He had strengthened each to do, made them so, that if they chose the things acceptable to Himself, He would keep them free from death and from punishment; but that if they did evil, He would punish each as He sees fit. For it was not His entrance into Jerusalem sitting on an ass, which we have showed was prophesied, that empowered Him to be Christ, but it furnished men with a proof that He is the Christ; just as it was necessary in the time of John that men have proof, that they might know who is Christ." Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, 88:4(A.D. 155), in ANF, I:243-244
"And not by the aforesaid things alone has the Lord manifested Himself, but [He has done this] also by means of His passion. For doing away with [the effects of] that disobedience of man which had taken place at the beginning by the occasion of a tree, "He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross;" rectifying that disobedience which had occurred by reason of a tree, through that obedience which was [wrought out] upon the tree [of the cross]. Now He would not have come to do away, by means of that same [image], the disobedience which had been incurred towards our Maker if He proclaimed another Father. But inasmuch as it was by these things that we disobeyed God, and did not give credit to His word, so was it also by these same that He brought in obedience and consent as respects His Word; by which things He clearly shows forth God Himself, whom indeed we had offended in the first Adam, when he did not perform His commandment. In the second Adam, however, we are reconciled, being made obedient even unto death. For we were debtors to none other but to Him whose commandment we had transgressed at the beginning." Irenaeus, Against Heresies, V:16:3(A.D. 180), in ANF,I:544
"Every soul, then, byreason ofitsbirth, has its nature in Adam until it isborn again in Christ; moreover, it is unclean all the while that it remains without this regeneration; and because unclean, it is actively sinful, and suffuses even the flesh (by reason of their conjunction) with its own shame. "
Tertullian, On the Soul, 40(A.D. 208), in ANF, III:220
"Everyone in the world falls prostrate under sin. And it is the Lord who sets up those who are cast down and who sustains all who are falling. In Adam all die, and thus the world prostrate and requires to be set up again, so that Christ all may be made to live." Origen, Homilies on Jeremias, 8:1(post A.D. 244), inJUR,I:205
"If, in the case of the worst sinners and of those who formerly sinned much against God, when afterwards they believe, the remission of their sins is granted and no one is held back from Baptism and grace,how much more, then, should aninfant not be held back, who, having but recently been BORN, has done no sin [committed no personal sin], except that, born of the flesh according to Adam. He hascontracted the contagionof that old death from his first being born. For this very reason does he approach more easily to receive the remission of sins: because the sins forgiven him are not his own but those of another[i.e. from Adam]." Cyprian, Epistle to Fidus, 68[64]:5(c A.D. 250), in ANF, V:354
"But if any one were to think that the earthy image is the flesh itself, but the heavenly image some other spiritual body besides the flesh; let him first consider that Christ, the heavenly man, when He appeared, bore the same form of limbs and the same image of flesh as ours, through which also He, who was not man, became man, that "as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.’ For if He bore flesh for any other reason than that of setting the flesh free, and raising it up, why did He bear flesh superfluously, as He purposed neither to save it, nor to raise it up? But the Son of God does nothing superfluously. He did not then take the form of a servant uselessly, but to raise it up and save it. For He truly was made man, and died, and not in mere appearance, but that He might truly be shown to be the first begotten from the dead, changing the earthy into the heavenly, and the mortal into the immortal." Methodius, On the Resurrection, 13(A.D. 300), in ANF,VI:368
"That Lord, I say, who in His simple and immaterial Deity, entered our nature, and of the virgin’s womb became ineffably incarnate; that Lord, who was partaker of nothing else save the lump of Adam, who was by the serpent tripped up.” Methodius, Oration concerning Simeon and Anna, 13(ante A.D. 300), in ANF, VI:392
"Moreover, among the sons of Adam there is none besides Him who might enter the race without being wounded or swallowed up. For sin has ruled from the time Adam transgressed the command. By one among the many was it swallowed up; many did it wound, and many did it kill; but none among the many killed it until our Savior came, who took it on Himself and fixed it to His cross." Aphraates the Persian Sage, Treatises,7:1(ante A.D. 345), in JUR,I:303
"Adam sinned and earned all sorrows;--likewise the world after His example,all guilt.--And instead of considering how it should be restored,--considered how its fall should be pleasant for it.--Glory to Him Who came and restored it!" Ephraem, Hymns on the Epiphany, 10:1(A.D. 350), in NPNF2,XIII:280
"Through him our forefather Adam was cast out for disobedience, and exchanged a Paradise bringing forth wondrous fruits of its own accord for the ground which bringeth forth thorns. What then? some one will say. We have been beguiled and are lost. Is there then no salvation left? We have fallen: Is it not possible to rise again? We have been blinded: May we not recover our sight? We have become crippled: Can we never walk upright? In a word, we are dead: May we not rise again? He that woke Lazarus who was four days dead and already stank, shall He not, O man, much more easily raise thee who art alive? He who shed His precious blood for us, shall Himself deliver us from sin." Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, 2:4-5(A.D. 350), in NPNF2, VII:9
"And this thought commends itself strongly to the right-minded. For since the first man Adamaltered, and throughsin deathcame into the world, therefore it became the second Adam to beunalterable; that, should the Serpent again assault, even the Serpent’s deceit might be baffled, and, the Lord being unalterable and unchangeable, the Serpent might become powerless in his assault against all. For as when Adam had transgressed, his sin reached unto all men, so, when the Lord had become man and had overthrown the Serpent, that so great strength of His is to extend through all men, so that each of us may say, ’For we are not ignorant of his devices’ Good reason then that the Lord, who ever is in nature unalterable, loving righteousness and hating iniquity, should be anointed and Himself’ sent, that, He, being and remaining the same, by taking this alterable flesh, ’might condemn sin in it,’ and might secure its freedom, and its ability s henceforth ’to fulfil the righteousness of the law’ in itself, so as to be able to say, ’But we are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in us.’ " Athanasius, Against the Arians, I:51(A.D. 358), in NPNF2, IV:336
"Little given, much gotten; by the donation of food the original sin is discharged. Just as Adam transmitted the sin by his wicked eating, we destroy that treacherous food when we cure the need and hunger." Basil, Eulogies & Sermons, Famine & Drought 8:7(ante 379), in JUR, II:23
"And further, above this, we have in common reason, the Law, the Prophets, the very Sufferings of Christ, by which we were all without exception created anew, who partake of the same Adam, and were led astray by the serpent and slain by sin, and are saved by the heavenly Adam and brought back by the tree of shame to the tree of life from whence we had fallen."
Gregory of Nazianzen, Against the Arians, 33:9(A.D. 380), in NPNF2, VII:331
"For death is alike to all, without difference for the poor, without exception for the rich. And so although through the sin of one alone, yet it passed upon all; that we may not refuse to acknowledge Him to be also the Author of death, Whom we do not refuse to acknowledge as the Author of our race; and that, as through one death is ours, so should be also the resurrection; and that we should not refuse the misery, that we may attain to the gift. For, as we read, Christ ’is come to save that which was lost,’ and ’to be Lord both of the dead and living.’ In Adam I fell, in Adam I was cast out of Paradise, in Adam I died; how shall the Lord call me back, except He find me in Adam; guilty as I was in him, so now justified in Christ. If, then, death be the debt of all, we must be able to endure the payment. But this topic must be reserved for later treatment."
Ambrose, On the Death of his brother Satyrus, II:6(A.D. 380), in NPNF2,X:175
"In whom" -- that is, in Adam -- ’all have sinned’. And he said ’in whom,’ using the masculine form, when he was speaking of a woman, because the reference was not to a specific individual but to the race. It is clear, therefore, that all have sinned in Adam,en masse as it were; for when he himself was corrupted by sin,all whom he begot were born under sin. On his account, then, all are sinners, because we are all from him. He lost God’s favor when he strayed."
Ambrosiaster, Commentaries on thirteen Pauline Epistles, Romans 5:12(A.D. 384), in JUR, II:177
"How then did death come in and prevail? "Through the sin of one." But what means, "for that all have sinned?" This; he having once fallen, even they that had not eaten of the tree did from him, all of them, become mortal ... From whence it is clear, that it was not this sin, the transgression, that is, of the Law, but that of Adam’s disobedience, whichmarred all things. Now what is the proof of this? The fact that even before the Law all died: for ’death reigned’ he says, ’from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned.’ How did it reign? ’After the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of Him that was to come.’ Now this is why Adam is a type of Christ ... [W]hen the Jew says to thee, How came it, that by the well-doing of this one Person, Christ, the world was saved? thou mightest be able to say to him, How by the disobedience of this one person, Adam, came it to be condemned?" John Chrysostom, Homily on Romans 10:1-21(A.D. 391), in NPNF1, XI:401-402
"After Adam sinned, as I noted before, when the Lord said, ’You are earth, and to earth you shall return’, Adam was condemned to death. This condemnation passed on to the whole race. For all sinned, already by their sharing in that nature, as the Apostle says: "For through one man sin made its entry, and through sin death, and thus it came down to all men, because all have sinned. ... Someone will say to me: But the sin of Adam deservedly passed on to his posterity, because they were begotten of him: but how are we to be begotten of Christ, so that we can be saved through Him? Do not think of these things in a carnal fashion. You have already seen how we are begotten by Christ our Parent. In these last times Christ took a soul and with it flesh from Mary:this flesh came to prepare salvation." Pacian, Sermons on Baptism, 2,6(ante A.D. 392), in JUR, II:143-144
"Evil was mixed with our nature from the beginning ... through those who by their disobedience introduced the disease. Just as in the natural propagation of the species each animal engenders its like, so man is born from man, a being subject to passions from a being subject to passions, a sinner from a sinner. Thussin takesits rise in; it grows with us and keeps us company till life’s term us as we are born "
Gregory of Nyssa, The Beatitudes, 6(ante A.D. 394), in ECD, 351 "This grace, however, of Christ, without which neither infants nor adults can be saved, is not rendered for any merits, but is given gratis, on account of which it is also called grace. ’Being justified,’ says the apostle, ’freely through His blood.’ Whence they, who are not liberated through grace, either because they are not yet able to hear, or because they are unwilling to obey; or again because they did not receive, at the time when they were unable on account of youth to hear, that bath of regeneration, which they might have received and through which they might have been saved, are indeed justly condemned; because theyare not without sin, either that which they have derived from their birth, or that which they have added from their own misconduct. ’For all have sinned’-whether in Adam or in themselves--"and come short of the glory of God.’ " Augustine, On Nature and Grace, 4(A.D. 415), in NPNF1, V:122
"[T]his concupiscence, I say, which is cleansed only by the sacrament of regeneration, does undoubtedly, by means of natural birth, pass on the bond of sin to a man’s posterity, unless they are themselves loosed from it byregeneration." Augustine, On Marriage and Concupiscence, 1:23(A.D. 420), in NPNF1, V:274
"Song of Solomon 1:1-17 If anyone says that by the offense of Adam’s trangression not the whole man, that is, according to body and soul, was changed for the worse, but believes that while the liberty of the soul endures without harm, the body only is exposed to corruption, he is deceived by the error of Pelagius and resists the Scriptures .... Song of Solomon 2:1-17 If anyone asserts that Adam’s trangression injured him alone and not his descendents, or declares that certainly death of the body only, which is the punishment of sin, but not sin also, which isdeath of the soul, passed through one man into the whole human race, he will do an injustice to God, contradicting the Apostle." Council of Orange, Canon 1(A.D. 530), in DEN, 75 This text may downloaded and viewed for private reading only. This text may not be used by another Web site or published, electronically or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright holder.
Joseph A. Gallegos © 2003 All Rights Reserved.