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RAMSAY MACMULLEN
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RAMSAY MACMULLEN
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177
a wordappliedtothefamiliar
tainlaterwriters,
Olympians,
daimonhad
sunkdownbelowOlympustoan intermediate
thoughstillsuperhuman
and supernatural
realm,denoting
powersthatfilltheheavens,fillthe
air. Theyare beingswithoutname or dignitybut not withoutcapacities
thatset themabove us. Some are beneficent,
some thereverse.It is the
latter that are invoked or coerced by spells for purposes alien to
divinity.'
mustfitor
Such,in loose outline,are theviewsthatChristianity
Butin trying
to understand
in whatlightit mightappearto
challenge.
audience. Perhapswe should not takeTertullian'sremarkquite literally. The pagan Celsus in the latersecond centuryhad read the Bible, if
onlyto refuteit. On theotherhand, he himselfwas so instantlyforgotten that one of the best-readmen of a somewhatlater day, Origen,
could findno traceof him. Celsus appears to have been a quite minor
oddity,then. A few generationslater, a governorof Egypt, a man
evidentlyunusuallyinterestedin religion,neverthelessshows that he
knows almost nothingabout Christianity-thejudge of the martyr
Phileas.7 Otherbits of evidencecould be cited to the same effect.So
when we speak of people observingand becomingacquainted with
we should be carefulnot to draw into our discussiontoo
Christianity,
muchdetailregardingdoctrineor practice.As a parallel,thewidespread
ignoranceabout Judaismis instructive.
And ifwe excludefromour discussionSt. Paul's letters,theDidache,
Clement'sletterfromRome, in sum, the bulk of pre-NiceneChristian
writingsbecause they are not likely to have been read outside the
Church, then as our second difficultywe confronta very puzzling
povertyof sources.Justhow can we discoverwhatthatouterfacewas,
thatthe new religionshowed to theunconverted?
The sourcesthatcan be used, I think,includethreesorts.Thereare
those parts of the Acts of the Apostles in which, at some moment
around A.D. 90, the writerdescribedhow an earlierevangelistmight
have been expectedto speak (we do not know, of course, what the
evangelistreallydid say). We also have some earlyapocryphalacts."
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RAMSAY MACMULLEN
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RAMSAY MACMULLEN
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181
thuswas a demonstration
of a theological
a mispositionand thereby
It madeconverts.29
sionaryinstrument.
Trulydivinepoweralso displayeditselfin actsof dramatic
punishment.Thatwas commonknowledge.
ButtheChristian
was
perception
farmoredreadful
thanthepagan,so farat leastas we can generalize
aboutthelatter.Therewascertainly
nopaganmatchforthedeclaration
withwhichPaul introduced
his God to a pagancrowd:"The living
thejealousGod whohas needof nothing
God, theGod of vengeance,
..." had sent him, Paul, to preachrepentancefromsin.3"NonChristians
ofcourseknewwhattheymight
expectiftheydefieda deity
an oathtakenin hisnameor byviolating
some
head-on,bybreaking
taburight
inhissacredprecinct."'
Theycouldhavefoundthematchfor
theirownstorieswithin
theChristian
thestoryofAnanias
community:
and hiswife,forexample,whowerestruck
deadforcheating
thepoorbox. Buttherewasa greatdealmoreto itthanthat.WhatChristianity
was thefearful
of a God whowouldburnthem
put forward
novelty
alivein perpetuity
fortheirverymanner
of life,spying
outtheirtranswherever
as
He
would
the
reward
committed,
gressions
correspondingly
virtuous.Beginning
withJohntheBaptist'sand Jesus'preaching,
on
Paul's acknowledgement
of "thewrathto come,"theflames
through
ofhellilluminated
thelessonsofChristianity
quiteas muchas thelight
ofGrace.32Actualscenesofspeechesdelivered
to non-believing
crowds
showthatthemessagewasmadeplain,forexample,
byPaulat Iconium
verymuchas Jesushad toldHis desciplesto do;33and weknowthatit
at leastto Celsus.He remarks
thatChristians
"believein
gotthrough,
34
eternalpunishments"
and "threaten
otherswiththesepunishments."
Clearestof all is thescenein theamphitheater
at Carthagewherethe
to theircomingtorment,
tell the crowdby signmartyrs,
referring
language."You, us; butGod, you;" but Pioniushad elaboratedon
similarcomparisons
and warnings
of condemnation
in
and suffering,
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182
RAMSAY MACMULLEN
and controversy
rousedby thelatterpropositionitself."This veryflesh
will rise?" asks the judge of Phileas martyr,"astonished."''36 His
astonishment
remindsus once moreof thegap thathad openedbetween
the poets and philosophersover the course of centuries:an after-life
peopled withformsthatwererecognizablywhat theyhad been before
death was indeed to be found in primitiveGreek religion-for that
matter,in Etruscanand therefore
earlyRoman religion.But outsideof
literature,in the real Roman empire, and among real convictions
our periodof study,thereis hardlya traceof Tartarus,the
throughout
Elysian Fields, or any such world beyonddeath. Even a beliefin the
of the soul alone is hard to find-a fact reflectedin the
immortality
Lucian's sayingabout Christians:"The poor devilshave
second-century
utterlypersuaded themselvesthat they will be immortaland live
forever."
'
of a heavenlyrewardforthevirtuouswas known
Christiancertainty
It made a
to pagans, thoughthat knowledgeis just barelyattested."38
and was to be attained,so a non-believer
pair witheternalpunishment,
mighthave heard, throughacts of denial of the flesh." This was a
teachingoftendiscussedby theApologists,and the call to repentance
had been earlier raised by St. Paul before crowds in Iconium and
Athens.40Celsus declaresall thisto be familiar:pagans likewise,so he
forwickedacts,becausetheywereso
says,believedin divineretribution
He himselfseems
taughtby theirinitiatorsintocertainculticmysteries.
be
found
cannot
to espouse theview,"4'but it
anywhereelse norcan we
be surewhatmysteries
he is talkingabout.
Of course whatwe call paganismwas an immenselyrich,variform,
criscrossedand, above all, a randomlyreportedworld of beliefs,in
whichno doubt you could findalmostanythingsomewhere.But when
allowancehas been made forthedangerin any attemptat generalizing,
therestillremainsome conclusionsto be summedup at thispoint.
To beginwith,we can determinewhatthingsmosteducatedpagans
thoughttheyknewabout theirown gods, and what otherthingsthey
werelikelyto knowabout theGod of theChristians;and we can compare the two credos and find the noveltyof the latterto lie in the
dramaticpolaritiesitpresented.This is perceivedby a pagan, charging
that the Christian"impiouslydividesthe kingdomof god and makes
two opposingforces,as if therewas one partyon one side and another
one at variancewithit." He means,naturally,Satan and daimonesthat
are falselycalled 'gods', versusthe real deityand His angels.42 And a
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183
Christian
forhispartpointsto "a certainrationalagency,rivalin its
operations"4'-again
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RAMSAY MACMULLEN
series. From then on, even if thinlyspread out in time and space,
renewedattacksdrovetheevangelistsoffthestreetsof mostcities.46All
the moredifficultto understandhow the faiththeypreachedcould be
communicatedand diffused!
In addressingthedifficulty,
no doubtthefirststepmustbe to assemble somebodyof evidence.We maybeginbyexcludingconsiderationof
any rewards that awaited new recruits-rewardsspiritual, social,
emotional,and financial'47-which came only afterconversion;for it
seemsfairto defineour topic,conversion,as thatexperienceby which
non-believersfirstbecame convinced that the Christian God was
almighty,and thattheymustplease Him.
The evidenceincludesa verylimitednumberof personswho speak to
us as Christiansbutwerenotalwayssuch.48"I came," saysone, "to my
faith[in theScriptures]throughtheunpretentious
style,theartlessness
of
of the speakers,theclearexplainingof Creation,theforeknowledge
whatwas to happen,theexcellenceof theprecepts,and thesingleruler
over the whole universe.And my soul being taughtof God, I have
learnedthat[Greek]writingslead to our beingjudged and condemned,
but that theseothersput an end to our slavery." Herein,the level of
internaldialogueis obviouslyhigh,highenoughto place thespeakerin
thatuppermosttenthof thepopulationor less thatwe have so farbeen
to Rome,Tatian,who is quoted.
dealingwith.It is an easternimmigrant
His remarks,exceptin theirlengthand explicitness,may standforthe
thatled themto adopt
groupas a whole. What theysaw in Christianity
it is about what we mighthave predicted.Its styleof thoughtwe can
easilyunderstand.
We are also familiarwiththe view thatmartyrsmade converts;but
withthis,we take leave of the eliteand enteramong the masses,who
supplyour second typeof convert.
"The blood of the martyrsis the seed of the Church"-famous
endorsedbythepolicyof theapostateemperor
epigram,longafterward
Julian.The fourth-century
biographyof theEgyptianmonkPachomius
declares,"after Diocletian's and Maximian's persecutions,conversion
of pagans increasedgreatlyforthe Church."49 Why did thishappen?
Justhow did pagan witnessesreason,whentheysaw martyrdoms
and
becameconverts?Thereare severalplausibleexplanationsbutonlyone
bitof evidencethatI knowof. In Carthagein A.D. 203, Christianswere
incarcerated,theybehavedwithsplendidcheerand spirit,and thejailer
"began to make muchof us, realizingthattherewas a greatpowerin
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185
he appearsa convert.50
His
us," a greatvirtus.Shortlyafterward
canonlyhavebeen:theirconductis beyondnature,
a realgod
reasoning
mustbe at work-inshort,theyconstitute
a miracle.
To revert
tothemonkPachomius:hehimself
waswonoverthrough
a
he
when
in
struck
he
was
held
close
draftbargain
custodyagainst
heprayedtoGod,"I
dodging."If yousetmefreefromthisaffliction,"
willserveyourwillall thedaysof mylife."" On a vastlymoreimportantscale,suchwasthebasisforConstantine's
a sortofdo
conversion,
on
or
so
into
credo
and
the
first
of those
quia vinces;
ut des, perhaps
of entirenationsforthesamecause,that
earlymedievalconversions
of victory.
The Burguntheymight
prospects
engageinwarwithbetter
diansin A.D. 430 decidedthattheGod of theRomansmustbe a very
bishop,fasted,were
superiorone. They applied to a convenient
and within
a weekwereall baptized.52
instructed,
fromtheempire's
andfrontiers,
Withthesereports
we
jails,barracks,
haveentered
on calculations
fromthoseof theschools,
quitedifferent
fromTatian'sthatwerequoteda littleearlier.Tatian
quitedifferent
at theendof hislistofconsiderations.
Byconputsfearof damnation
trast,we knowof a woman,also of Romebuta littleearlier(the140s)
and ofa lowerclass,whoputitfirst:for,"comingto knowthelessons
she"recalled
ofChrist"andthusbeingwonoverherself,
subsequently
inthe
theteachings
ofChristandwarned[herhusband]ofpunishment
andaccording
toright
eternal
flamesforthosewhodo notlivemodestly
reason."" Wedo notknow,anditis inconsequential,
justwhoshewas;
but she does provideone of our veryrareglimpsesintosomeone's
We have seen that pagans were informedof
thought-processes.
herewe see thosehorrors
usedas thechief,
Gehennaand damnation;
forconversion.
perhapstheonly,argument
We also have a fewsceneswherethethoughtsof personsnot among
to bringoverwholecrowdsto
theeliteare anticipatedbyspeakerstrying
belief.The fullestare naturallythespeechesgivenby Paul and Stephen
to Jewsin Jerusalem.The settingis notcomparableto thoseinvolvinga
pagan audience, but it is worthnotingthe emphasis in one of the
speechesthatis laid on themiracleon theroad to Damascus. Since Paul
oftenrefersto it in his lettersas somethinginstantlyfamiliarto his
readers,it seems likelyto have been a prominentfeaturealso in his
preachinggenerally.54He had seenGod withhisown eyes,and hisbeing
whenPeterpreachesin Rome, he
blindedwas theproof.Verysimilarly,
recountshow he too thoughthe had been blinded by the revelation
grantedof God, fora moment,visiblein His trueform."
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RAMSAY MACMULLEN
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187
of any further
puts
word,conversionswrought.59The Wonder-worker
an end to an outbreakof plague,forexample,and thepagansthereupon
turnto his God, "whom theyacclaimedtheOne True God and rulerof
all things." We can almost hear them shouting,like those around
Carthage in Tertullian'sday at the end of a drought,"The God of
Gods!", or in Rome, beholdingPeter'smiracles,"One is theGod, One
God of Peter!"60 The Acta Petri develops the same themerepeatedly
and at length:a miracleis wroughtand therebytheonlookersare made
Christianson the spot.6'
That this is how it reallyhappened,and the Churchreallygrewin
or the report
numbersthroughdemonstrations,
historicallysignificant
that seemedbeyondall but divinevirtus,I do not
of demonstrations,
doubt. In evaluatingthe evidence,we mustof course bear in mindall
that has been said about the religioushabits and expectationsof the
worldevangelized.For otherexplanationof thatgreatgrowth,thereis
no evidence-no mass meetings,no great sermons,no speaking in
tonguesor dramaticinnerspiritualcrisis.But our viewcan be confirmed
about conversortsof information:
fromtwo further
first,information
sions to beliefin pagan deities,in just the same ways that availed to
makeChristians,in thesame periodand regions,thatis, throughproofs
about conversionsto Christianity
of power;62and second,information
post-Constantine.There is a small corpus of sketchesgivingus the
Whattheyreveal
specificmomentand reasonthatbeliefwas inspired.63
is just whatis foundalso in earlierparallels,thatis, religiousallegiance
followingupon displaysof divineefficacy.
Words and logic unassistedby wonderfuldeeds did sometimeshave
the same effectamong ordinaryfolk as we have seen them having
but the survivingevidence
and theyare so reported;64
among the l61ite,
does not showthemto be anyconsiderablefactor,whateverrationalists
might prefer. Celsus, representingthat latter view, tries to discountenancethe Churchby his ridiculeof the supernaturalelementin
Christianexpansion; but Origendefendsit head-on as operatingand
absolutelyessentialin thetimeof Jesus,of theApostles,and downinto
Both he and his opponentare
his own day nearthemid-third
century.'65
at workonlyamongsimplefolk.
thatitis an element
at oneinassuming
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RAMSAY MACMULLEN
188
ofH. Musurillo,
ActsoftheMartyrs
' SeeActaPionii19.11p. 162oftheedition
(1972),
from
hereon; alsoseemyPaganismintheRoman
bywhichI citemostofthemartyr-acts
Empire(1981) 83, addingfromlatertimesAug.,Ep. 16.1: a pagan'sdoubtsabout
insalutarianumina
whilebelieving
without
(butalsoin"theonegodall-high,
Olympus,
a grandandmagnificent
or offspring,
father").
beginning
ed. C. Deroux
76 and P. A. Bruntin StudiesinLatinLiterature,
2 See myPaganism
seeActaAcacii2.7p. 58of
ontheChristians'
involvement,
(1979)512,onpaganskeptics;
ed. 3 byG. Kriger(1929).
theeditionof R. Knopf,Ausgewahlte
Martyrerakten,
2ndcent.),inan aretalogy;
on a 3rdcent.gem,A. DimitrovaPOxy.1382(mid/late
Milcevain Vortrage
des 10. int.Limeskongresses
(1977)285; moreexamplesin my
sceneintheActaPetri26 p. 73 oftheeditionofR. A.
Paganism186;andtheinteresting
1 (1891),wherethecrowdin Romeshoutsunus
Lipsius,ActaApostolorum
apocrypha
deus,unusdeusPetri.
Plin.,Nat. Hist. 2.5.22,Fortuna,totomundoet omnibuslocis ... Fortunasola
Fordemonscausingplagueetc.,cf.Philostr.,
invocatur
... etcumconviciis
colitur.
Vita
Apoll.4.10,thesameviewbeingOrigen'satC. Cels.1.31and8.31,andinJust.,II Apol.
5 orTert.,Apol.22.4.
citedinmyPaganism185.
5 See sources
6 Test.animae1, cf.A. D. Nock,Conversion
(1933)192.
SOrig.,C. Cels. 1.8; PBodmer20 cols.IV-V,cf.Just.,II Apol. 3.
in E. Hennecke,
" Cautiondictatestheuse of onlya few.See W. Schneemelcher
Neutestamentliche
Eng. trans.(1965)2.275,datingtheActaPetrito the
Apokryphen3,
180sand,pp. 261ff.,showing
itsuse bytheDidascaliaandOrigen;ibid.351,theActa
Pauli (et Theclae)datedto ca. 185-195;andtextsin Lipsius,op. cit.
11-13;Galen,in R. Walzer,Galenon JewsandChristians
(1949)
9 Lucian,Peregrinus
Giornaleital.
15;Min.Fel.,Octavius
9.6,givenmaximum
byP. Frassinetti,
proportions
difilol.2 (1949)238-54;and Just.,II Apol. 3.1.
0o
Acts 10.25 (Peter)and 14.11-12(Barnabas and Paul) and 28.6, cf. Musurillo348 and
Fora wholly
seePhilostr.,
paganparallel,
ActaPetri28 p. 78 Lipsius(Peterworshipped).
op. cit. 4.44 and 7.32, Apolloniussalutedas a god.
" Acts 8.11.
'2 Lk 9.33.
3 Acts 8.19 and 16.16.
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"
"
189
Jesus
E.g. Musurillo148and 158(ActaPionii9.9 and 16.4),cf. Celsussupposing
wouldbe an angel,ina Jew'seyes,oranyoneelse's,C. Cels.2.9.1and2.44,andpointing
8.12.Further,
outtheflawinChristian
monotheism,
paganscouldonlyhaveunderstood
Oioiiat4as "God's slave",at Musurillo
42, cf.Acts3.26 andelsewhere.
withChristbasileus,ibid.8 and 188,or
162,Zeusbasileuscompared
" E.g. Musurillo
Acts17.24,Christkyrios.
Paul to theAreopagus,
a
Leg. 6, attributing
, Apol. 24.3ff.,cf. Min.Fel., Octavius20.1,and Athenagoras,
or to "the philosophers"
beliefin One God to pagansgenerally,
(as does
widespread
5, PG 8.164ff.,and meaningespeciallyPlato, Protr.6, PG
Clement,Protrepticus
see myPaganism86ff.andabove,n. 1.
8.172ff.).Further,
of theContraCelsum(1965)p. xvii:for
saysin his translation
'9 As H. Chadwick
to a sortof Platonism,"monotheism
and polytheism
are not mutually
subscribers
notonlyphilosophers.
includes
exclusive".Butmyowninterpretation
20
Eusebius(H. E. 2.3.2) saysthedisciples
inducedpeopleto reject
soXu0i'tc,
4Ltgovtxt
butI findno otherusesof thetermin Christian
sourcesbeforeA.D. 337(northeword
monotheia).
6
2,
24,94,and296;oftenintheApologists,
e.g.
E.g. Acts17.29and 19.26andMusurillo
1.1 and2.2 andAthenag.,
AdAutolycum
Theophilus,
Leg. 15.
Daimones=pagan"gods" inTert.,Apol.23.11,Just.,I Apol.56,58,and62-4,Acta
23
or Musurillo
22 (or inJewish
sourceslike
Claudiietal. 1.4 and8 p. 107Knopf-Kriger,
in NT, also Musurillo
306 andActa
Jos.,A. J. 8.2.5),moreoftendaimonia(regularly
cf.
demons,notgods,in idolsdo miracles,
Claudiiet al. 5.2 p. 108 Knopf-Kriuger);
Athenag.,Leg. 23 and 26; Orig., C. Cels. 8.62; Tert.,Apol. 22.8ff.;and pagan
in theseviews,in myPaganism82. Fordaimoniaas a derogatory
see
term,
predecessors
Acts17.18and Jn10.21.
i
&XX'
Oi~o ...
24
I Cor. 8.5: iitip
xKi
XEIy6p/vot
iOjap .yivOi0o oXXo. x6ptot0oXo,
i.?iv
inCelsus'calling
andperhaps
somereflection
ofthepointofdispute
's 06l, cf.Gal.4.8,ii..v
Hecatealongwithotherpowers"daimones",C. Cels. 1.9,or angels,"gods", 5.4.
22
25
26
27
Apol. 23.2.
Acta Petri23 p. 71 Lipsius.
Mt 10.8.
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RAMSAY MACMULLEN
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42
191
is notagainsthumanfoesbutagainst
Tert.,Apol.2.18,trans.Glover-cf."ourfight
ofthedarkworld",etc.(Ephes.6.12).
andprinces
CosmicPowers,againsttheauthorities
" Musurillo102.
in thewayof
(to sayno more)of worshipping
respectability
" On theoverwhelming
consciousness
of theirinnovating
one's fathers,
see myPaganism3ff.;on Christians'
seee.g. Clem.Alex.,Protrepticus
10,or Just.,I Apol. 12.
predicament,
6
search,I findonlyone possibleactiveevangelist
Thoughwithoutany thorough
inGaul,Euseb.,H. E.
inpost-Biblical
outsideofAsia:a certain
Alexander
attested
times,
seemyPaganism
98 andJ.Reynolds
etal., JRS71
5.1.49.I discount
another
possibility,
insideprivatehomes,suchas Origen's
teachers
one-to-one,
(1981) 136;I also discount
C. Cels.3.55,andteachers
against
(Euseb.,H. E. 6.3.1and5) orsuchas Celsusdescribes,
inpublicbutonlya Christian
heresies
public,inEuseb.,H. E. 5.16.4,6.37,and7.24.7;
in a publicsetting
at Ephesus,Dial. 122.4,sincetheinterested
and I discountJustin
Eusebius(H. E.
Jewsorsebomenoi,
andinRomeas well,where
areapparently
bystanders
oftenrefuted
seems
"in debateswithlisteners
4.16.1:Justin
present
him",i.e. Crescens)
E
of Just.,II Apol. 3, 4lpoae,
and 5,
onlyto drawout theimplications
itpoOvrx ali
But themobin Smyrnadoes knowPolycarpas "the
ttv&t.
iptomvcarv
otrlbv
Aptojt,?tS
sacrifice
norvenerate
thegods,"Musurillo
teacher
ofAsia ... teaching
manynottooffer
10; andsee further
below,p. 186.
" It wasnotcynical
inJuliantheApostate
tostress
oftheeleemosynary
theimportance
intheRomanChristian
whenitschiefpatron
factor:noticetheconsternation
community
ActaPetri8 p. 55 Lipsius.
withdrew
support,
For
Just.,Dial. 8 (but so elaboratein setting-adialoguewithina
example,
'4
to Plato,e.g. Symp.201ff.,thatI cannottakeit as truly
dialogue-andso indebted
mention
Tat.,Ad Graecos29(quoted);Theoph.,AdAutol.1.14(brief
autobiographical);
of prophecies);
Tert.,De paenit.1.1(conversion
unexplained);
Greg.Thaumat.,
Paneg.
to Origen(hintshiddenintheverbiage,
cenesp.chaps.5, 13,and 15).Fromthefourth
described
onlytwocases:ofVictorinus
briefly
byhim,
turyI canadd,besidesAugustine,
chritienne
Hist.littiraire
deI'Afrique
3 (1905),pp.377f.,
Conf.8.2.3f.,cf.C. Monceaux,
and Synesius,
cf. J. Bregman,
Synesiusof Cyrene(1982),Chap. I and passim-both
anddoingso as philosophers.
comingto Christianity
through
Neoplatonism,
cf. Just.II Apol. 12, observation
of martyrs
9 VitaPachomii2 p. 4 Athanassakis,
withconversion).
discredits
slanders
abouttheirvices(butherethereis no connection
theterrified
116 and 124 (Passio S. Perpetuae9.1 and 16.4),recalling
5o Musurillo
jailer's conversion
throughthe miracleat Philippi,Acts 16.25-34,and a disciple's
of beliefin histeacher's
Philostr.,VitaApoll.7.38.
divinity,
deepening
" VitaPachomii5 p. 6 Athanassakis.
in
"2 Soc., H. E. 7.30(they
wonthebattle,destroying
threetimestheirweight
promptly
enemies).
etLucii2), cf.theActaS Dasii4.2 p. 93 Knopf38 (PassioSS Ptolemaei
3 Musurillo
Kruger.
Gal. 1.16,I Cor.9.1 and 15.8,andPhil.3.12.
" Acts22.3-21,esp.6-13;andinletters,
36
"
"6
" Apol.4.6.
58
PG 46.916B, idyiEstt
at 917B,etc.,and cautionat 957D.
Notice
aC,
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192
RAMSAY MACMULLEN
(of theneokoros),
crowds),924D (the
920Cff.(of theNeocaesarian
"9 Ibid. 917Aff.
ofplague).Compareabove,n. 29; andthelast
and957B(relief
same,pluscountryfolk),
scene I find,of Agapetus(s.v., in Suidas) makingconversions
pre-Constantinian
thedeadandmoving
andso, ca. 300A.D.,
mountains,
miracles",
e.g. raising
"through
inChristianity"
Hist.eccl.
"won overmanypagansto enrollthemselves
(Philostorgius,
pp. 19f.Bidez).
60
21 and31,thepagansexclaim
Above,nn.3 and58,andMarc.Diac., VitaPorphyrii
6 Xpta6rs
at themiracle,
6 BEistv Xya.xptv6jvv.
?6voC
0i64,and ryors
6' Acta Petri10 p. 57 Lipsius;12 p. 60 (thecall, aliumsignumnobisostendeut
in domino);17 p. 63
credamus);13 p. 61 (secutisuntplurimihoc visoet crediderunt
hocenimfactumcredent).
(propter
winsdevotees:quibusdam
et
"62 Tert.,Apol. 21 and 31, paganism
signiset miraculis
in myPaganism95ff.
oraculis
Alsomaterial
fidemdivinitatis
operatur.
of theevidence.
As a beginning,
noticeSoz., H. E. 5.15(in
63
I knowof no collection
Gaza ca. A.D. 350, instantly
upon seeinga devilexorcized);Soc., H. E. 1.20 (PG
H. E. 1.24inGCS ed. 2, 1954),inthe
H. E. 1.23,PG 82.971ff.=
Theodoret,
67.129ff.=
to
ibid.5.21.7(PG 82.1244),inA.D. 388,pagansburstintohymns
reignofConstantine;
VitaHilarionis
God at a miraculous
25 (PL 23.41),of the
Jerome,
temple-destruction;
A.D. 380snearGaza; Rufinus,
H. E. 2.4(PL 21.512Cff.)
ofA.D. 373ora little
later,near
Nitriain Egypt(cf. Soc., H. E. 4.24); and, of dateca. A.D. 400, Marc.Diac., Vita
For the natureof thatwork,likelyto be least
Porphyrii,
locc. citt.and elsewhere.
initsdescriptions
in H. Gr~goire
ofmiracle
andM.
distorted
scenes,seetheIntroduction
A. Kugener's
edition(1930).Miraclesoftenchangethemindsof persons
alreadyChristian,ofcourse,e.g. Soz., H. E. 6.27(PG 67.1369B)and8.1 (1509B).
64
On thesimplefolk,seeC. Cels.3.44and 55,andActaPetri1 p. 44 Lipsius;on the
40.1.
see Min.Fel., Octavius
educated,
highly
6' C. Cels. 1.46,"evenifCelsus,ortheJewthatheintroduces,
ridicule
whatI amabout
to say..." (trans.Chadwick);
cf.also 8.47,andcompareAugustine's
views:thefoundationsof Christian
faithwerelaidthrough
forwe findin Scripture
miracles,
quaefacta
sunt,etpropter
quodcredendum
factasunt,etc.(Civ. dei22.8,CSEL 40, 2, p. 596).
alsoamongApologists,
e.g.Min.
"6 C. Cels.1.9and 18;5.15,19,and29; andelsewhere;
Fel., Octavius19.15,orJnl.Theol.Stud.17 (1966)111,andcf.Clem.Alex.,Stromat.
ofthemasses,likethewarning
1.12,PG 8.753,caretakentoavoidguffaws
byMenander
notto "look unconvincing
and ridiculous
to themasses"
Rhetor,
p. 14 Russell-Wilson,
of theological
through
subtlety
argument.
R. MACMULLEN
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