Eusebius of Caesarea Against Paganism (Jewish and Christian Perspectives)

354 Pages·2000·13.52 MB·English

by  Arieh Kofsky

Eusebius of Caesarea against Paganism
Aryeh Kofsky
VOLUME 3
Eusebius of Caesarea
against Paganism
by
Aryeh Kofsky
'/68V
BRILL
LEIDEN · BOSTON
2000
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 90 04 11642 7
© Copyright 2000 by Koiiinklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS
In memory of my mother

CONTENTS
Preface xi
Abbreviations xiii
Introduction 1
Chapter One: Background.
Apologetics and Polemics before Eusebius 5
The Caesarea!! Background 12
The Persecutions 15
Porphyry's Polemic against the Christians 17
The Contents of the Fragments 25
Chapter Two: Apologetics and Polemics in Non-Apologetic and
Early Apologetic-Polemical Works
I. Apologetics in Non-Apologetic Works 37
The Chronicle 38
The Ecclesiastical History 40
The Life of Constantine 45
In Praise of Constantine 48
II. Early Apologetic-Polemical Writings 50
The General Basic Introduction and the Prophetic Extracts 50
Against Hierocles 58
Against Porphyry 71
Chapter Three: Praeparatio Evangelica and Demonstratio
Evangelica - A Single Apologetic-Polemical Enterprise
General Plan, Basic Characteristics and Principal
Questions 74
Internal Division 85
The Jewish Aspect of the Demonstratio Evangelica 89
Chapter Four: The Concept of Christian Prehistory - A Central
Axis of the Polemic
I. Development of the Conception 100
II. Major Conceptual Problems and Thar Solutions 114
The Life of Jesus according to the Law of Moses 114
The Numerous Progeny of the Patriarchs 115
The Problem of Sacrifices 118
The Christians' Neglect of Science - A Conceptual
Difficulty and Polemical Problem; The Apologetic
Role of Socrates 123
The Concept of the Development of Polytheism
and Its Complementary Apologetic Role 130
Chapter Five: Prophecy in the Service of Polemics
Pagan Oracles and Hebrew-Christian Prophecy 138
The Actualization of Biblical Prophecies 148
Jesus the Prophet 150
The Vague Language of Prophecy 151
An Example of Apologetic Interpretation of Prophecy 155
Conclusion 163
Chapter Six: Miracles: A Major Subject in Eusebius' Polemics
Eusebius' Ambivalent Attitude to Miracles 165
Miracles as Proof of the Divinity of Jesus and the
Truth of the Christian Faith 170
The Difficulty of Proving the Divinity of Christ on the
Basis of Miracles 174
On Those Who Reject the Authenticity of Jesus' Miracles .... 181
On Arguments that Miracles Depend on Magic and
Sorcery 196
On Arguments Alleging Jesus' Weakness, Wretchedness
and Cowardice 209
Chapter Seven: Minor Apologetic-Polemical Arguments and Issues
The Roman Empire and the Incarnation 215
The Persecutions 220
On Arguments Concerning the Late Date and
Geographical Remoteness of Jesus' Appearance 224
On Criticism of the Literary Style of Scripture, and
Contradictions between the Old and New Testaments,
and between the Gospels 227
On Prophecy in the Book of Daniel 233
Other Implied Arguments 235
Chapter Eight: 'Tactics, Rhetoric, and the Role of Porphyry in the
Dual Composition
I. Tactics and Rhetoric 241
II. The Role of Porphyry in the Dual Composition (PE-DE) 250
Porphyry as Supporting Testimony 253
A Critique of Porphyry's Views and Inconsistencies 264
Chapter Nine: 771e Theophany: The Final Apologetic Statement
General Analysis 276
The Attitude to Plato 282
Peace, Empire, Incarnation, and the Success of
Christianity 286
Resurrection 287
The Fulfillment of the Prophecies of Jesus as Argument
and Proof 294
Conclusion 312
Bibliography 315
Indexes
Names and Subjects 323
Sources 332