ORTHODOXY AND PHILOSOPHY
“Search that you may believe; then stop!” This quote by the North African lawyer Tertullian in the third century was expressive of the inherent danger present in the formulation of Christian orthodoxy in the early church. I might add, this is also just as true today. Tertullian’s comment was not narrow-minded or short sighted. Instead it was demonstrative of a man’s love for the purity of God’s word. The question though is, ‘what was it that brought Tertullian to the point of making such a radical statement?’
With the spread of the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire, the church faced the problem of presenting the Gospel in a manner understandable to the intellectuals of their day. Coupled with this problem was the philosophical teaching that Jesus was a lesser God than God the Father. That He was not really a man but a spectral appearance, a phantom and therefore someone who only seemed to suffer for man’s sins. These and other similar spiritual teachings were part of the doctrine of Gnosticism. At the heart of this damnable teaching was the idea that certain men were privileged with special knowledge or gnosis in regards to the way of life. Theirs was a higher knowledge grounded and rooted, not in God’s Word, but that of philosophers. Such erroneous teachings about our Lord added further confusion in the minds of new Gentile converts to Christianity. Such views, especially those surrounding Jesus Christ, the Son of God could not be ignored, especially in light of the fact that the Church was no longer predominantly Jewish; but consisted of people who had been heavily influenced by the various teachings of that day.
Therefore, the Church Fathers understood that the presentation of the Gospel to this new kind of Christian must be rational, especially in light of the errors present in Gnosticism. The Apostles John addressed this issue in his gospel as well as the epistles bearing his name. This is the main reason for the drastic difference between the fourth gospel and the other three. John was not so much concerned about presenting the birth of Christ and the events surrounding it as he was in putting forth the truth that Jesus was not a lesser God, but God Himself. He emphasized in his first epistle that to deny the Deity of Jesus Christ is synonymous to being an antichrist and not of God (4:2-3). With the canonization of the New Testament, this basic truth became the foundation of the Church.
But again, how does one communicate this truth to those enmeshed in the rhetoric and influence of Greek philosophy. Church leaders determined that the only way was to enter that world, but not become part of it (cf. Jn. 17:16,17). Here lies the dilemma and Tertullian’s concern—mainly that as the Church we have a kind of ”detachment and involvement” (Church History in Plain Language, Bruce L. Shelley, Word). Because we have been redeemed out of the world by the blood of Jesus Christ, we are detached from it. On the other hand, we have been commissioned to proclaim the Good News to all men by our Lord. Therefore, our involvement is a necessary part of God’s plan of salvation for the lost.
What Tertullian and others were saying was that we must keep this distinction in mind and constantly be aware of the thin line that separates them. Clement of Alexandria was the first Christian Scholar raised up by God to clarify the difference between the heretical doctrine of his day and Christian doctrine. Coming from the Grecian culture of pagan worship and all its teachings made him the perfect vessel to be used by God in detangling “their conceptions, and lead them slowly from error to the true knowledge of Christianity. He lived and taught like a philosopher and used the forms and language of the Gnostics of his time” (Christian History). Clement saw himself, not just as a teacher but a pastor to those coming into Christianity. His effectiveness was grounded in the Apostle Paul’s word that he had not come “with excellency of speech or wisdom” (1 Cor. 2:1) or to win arguments. To do so would have been to fall into the trap feared by Tertullian. Clement passion and love for God’s Word can best be summed up in the opening chapter of his final work that “Philosophy was a schoolmaster to the Greeks, as the law was to the Hebrews, preparing the way for those who are perfected by Christ.”
Men such as Clement of Alexandria were instrumental in maintaining the integrity of the Gospel message during the second and third century. By embracing Greek thinking with its emphasis upon the power of reason, Clement elevated Christian Orthodoxy to a level that would prove invaluable to Church Leaders in the fourth and fifth century. This is not to say that all of his successors would follow in his footsteps, but they would have a foundation from which they could effectively communicate the gospel message to non-Christians.
Tertullian, Clement and others were shining examples of the importance of orthodoxy in defending and presenting God’s word. Heretics exists today both inside and outside the Church. They will not be exposed by arguments but through “sound doctrine” (Tit. 1:9). Not only was this the approach of the early Church, it was the way of Christ, Paul and all of the other apostles. Should our approach be any different today?
In Christ,
Minister John Cobb