Amazing Rando
February 15th 2006, 03:12 PM
Tertullian, Latin Church Father from North Africa and originator of the terminology used by the Church to elucidate the doctrines of the Trinity and the dual nature of Christ, wrote a long essay on the subject of "Patience." Originally written in Latin around AD 202, Tertullian's Of Patience (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf03.vi.vii.i.html) sought to write about the Christian virtue of patience and examine its implications for ethical conduct.
Jean Michel-Hornus explains the meaning of "patience" for the Church:
This "slide," which in the end proved futile, was especially unfortunate because during these centuries Tertullian, Origen, and Lactantius were developing a doctrine of positive nonviolence which could have avoided the temptations of surrender. According to this doctrine, the use of homicidal violence to defend even the highest values was radically opposed to the very foundations of Christianity. This certainly did not mean that Christians must give up the idea of influencing history; it did not mean that they were resigned and defeated in advance. It rather was rooted in the Christian affirmation that there was another power besides that of brute force: "Every word that goes out of your mouths in faith and love will bring conversion and hope to many" [Epistle of Barnabas, 11:8].
Such confidence rested on an all embracing vision which saw God as the source of that power and anticipated its fulfillment in the eternal kingdom. The believers' contribution involved allowing God's power to act and placing trust in it; it involved enduring the present evil with the certainty of the final victory over it. In Latin, both classical and Christian, this attitude was called patentia, for which our word "patience," although I use it for the sake of convenience in this chapter, is not really an adequate translation. Patientia was, in fact, what we today call nonviolence.
The first outlines of such a conception can be found in the earliest Christian writings [References available upon request-Rando]. Tertullian then developed the idea into a systematic and perfectly clear position. This position dealt with the problem of behavior toward both personal and national enemies; it discussed unambiguously the question of the Christian in the army; and it indicated how the believers might resist injustice without thereby having to restort to unjust methods. Tertullian declared that since Christians were sons of peace, they could not attempt to avenge themselves for wrongs which might be done to them personally nor even to intervene to avenge the wrongs which were done to others [Tertullian, De Corona, 11]. He also indicated that, if the Christians had been willing to defend themselves by arms, their numbers would certainly have ensured their victory; but "in our doctrine we are given ampler liberty to be killed rather than to kill" [Tertullian, Apology, 37:5].
In this thread, I'm going to read my way through Tertullian's treatise on "Patience" (aka nonviolence) and see what insights I can pick out from his words, compare them with the canonical witness of Scripture, and offer some evaluative comments of my own. You're welcome to join me in doing the same. :teeth:
Jean Michel-Hornus explains the meaning of "patience" for the Church:
This "slide," which in the end proved futile, was especially unfortunate because during these centuries Tertullian, Origen, and Lactantius were developing a doctrine of positive nonviolence which could have avoided the temptations of surrender. According to this doctrine, the use of homicidal violence to defend even the highest values was radically opposed to the very foundations of Christianity. This certainly did not mean that Christians must give up the idea of influencing history; it did not mean that they were resigned and defeated in advance. It rather was rooted in the Christian affirmation that there was another power besides that of brute force: "Every word that goes out of your mouths in faith and love will bring conversion and hope to many" [Epistle of Barnabas, 11:8].
Such confidence rested on an all embracing vision which saw God as the source of that power and anticipated its fulfillment in the eternal kingdom. The believers' contribution involved allowing God's power to act and placing trust in it; it involved enduring the present evil with the certainty of the final victory over it. In Latin, both classical and Christian, this attitude was called patentia, for which our word "patience," although I use it for the sake of convenience in this chapter, is not really an adequate translation. Patientia was, in fact, what we today call nonviolence.
The first outlines of such a conception can be found in the earliest Christian writings [References available upon request-Rando]. Tertullian then developed the idea into a systematic and perfectly clear position. This position dealt with the problem of behavior toward both personal and national enemies; it discussed unambiguously the question of the Christian in the army; and it indicated how the believers might resist injustice without thereby having to restort to unjust methods. Tertullian declared that since Christians were sons of peace, they could not attempt to avenge themselves for wrongs which might be done to them personally nor even to intervene to avenge the wrongs which were done to others [Tertullian, De Corona, 11]. He also indicated that, if the Christians had been willing to defend themselves by arms, their numbers would certainly have ensured their victory; but "in our doctrine we are given ampler liberty to be killed rather than to kill" [Tertullian, Apology, 37:5].
In this thread, I'm going to read my way through Tertullian's treatise on "Patience" (aka nonviolence) and see what insights I can pick out from his words, compare them with the canonical witness of Scripture, and offer some evaluative comments of my own. You're welcome to join me in doing the same. :teeth: