Folia Theologica 19. (2008)
Perendy László: Judging Philosophers - Theophilus of Antioch on Hellenic inconsistency
JUDGING PHILOSOPHERS 215 issues on which they are unable to come to an understanding. Is the cosmos without beginning or did it come into being at a certain point of time? If it is not eternal, what was it formed of? In what order did the various constituents of the cosmos come into being? What are the basic constituents of the cosmos: prime matter or atoms? Is there any connection between the divine sphere and the material world? Theophilus states that the so-called philosophers cannot agree among themselves if gods take care of the cosmos and the humans or not. Does divine providence exist or not? What can be the cause of the obvious phenomenon that - like the poets - the Greek philosophers proclaim opinions which are contradictory to each other? Why are the efforts of philosophical schools fruitless and useless, precisely in relation to the most important issues? Why does the Hellene TtouSeia - poetry and philosophy alike end in failure? According to Theophilus the cause of this apparent failure is that Hellene writers lived much later than the prophets, who were inspired by the real source of truth, i.e. the Holy Spirit. That is why they could rely only on secondary and - consequently unreliable sources. One of the most important messages of the Ad Autolycum is that the Hellene poets and philosophers appeared and wrote their useless works much later than the prophets. It was a universally accepted axiom in antiquity that "what is older is better" (npeoß'ÜTEpov Kpeix- xov).41 Like Josephus Flavius, Theophilus also wanted to prove with the help of the science of chronology that prophets lived much sooner after the creation of the world than the poets and philosophers. Consequently, their knowledge is much more reliable than that of the philosophers. Furthermore, prophets were not inspired by bad demons, but the Holy Spirit, who - according to the testimony of an ancient, prophetic book, the Genesis - was present at the creation of the world.42 41 See P. Pilhofer, Presbyteron Kreitton. Der Altersbeweis der jüdischen und christlichen Apologeten und seine Vorgeschichte (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 2. Reihe 39), Tübingen, 1990. 42 Concerning the connection of Greek philosophy and ancient biblical truth see also the following works: E. R. Dodds, Pagan and Christian in an Age of Anxiety, New York 1965; A. J. Droge, Homer or Moses? Early Christian interpretations of the history of culture, Tübingen, 1989; G. G. Stroumsa, Philosophy of the Barbarians. On early Christian ethnological representations, in H. Cancik et alii (eds.), Geschichte - Tradition - Reflexion. Festschrift für Martin Hengel
