Folia Theologica et Canonica 1. 23/15 (2012)
SACRA THEOLOGIA - László Perendy, Athenagoras on the Triune God of Christians
ATHENAGORAS ON THE TRIUNE GOD OF CHRISTIANS... 83 Although Athenagoras only rarely quotes the New Testament directly there is ample proof in his works that he was steeped in the New Testament tradition and especially in the teaching of Paul and John. Thus in Suppl. 15 he elaborates Paul’s argument to the Areopagus (Acts 17.29) that the deity ought not to be conceived as gold, silver or stone fashioned by men’s hands. Athenagoras however extends Paul’s arguments by postulating an analogy between man’s creative ability and God’s much as with the analogy of potter and the clay (Rom. 9.21). Other allusions to Pauline ideas are found scattered through his writings; thus Suppl. 16 refers to the ‘weak and beggarly elements’ mentioned in Gal. 4.3,9 and Col. 2.8,20.67 Barnard’s great monograph on Athenagoras does not contain many new ideas about the apologist’s views over the doctrine of God, creation and the doctrine of man, but it gives an excellent summary of Barnard’s results of his previous studies.68 The author reminds us that the question of the unity of God became extremely important when the church pulled down the walls around her faith of Semitic origin. God as a living Creator had to be accepted by the pagans before they could understand the doctrine of incarnation.69 Already the apostolic fathers made an effort to describe God as a creator. In fact, this issue was a perfect point of contact between biblical and philosophical thoughts, as the main expressions to describe the relationship between God and the world had a certain meaning in contemporary philosophical systems. Barnard gives a short description of the main lines of this development: While these ideas are not without a biblical foundation they also reflect contemporary philosophical speculation. Thus Clement of Rome’s references to God’s ordering the cosmos echo late Stoic beliefs. This influence becomes more pronounced in the writings of the Apologists as their aim is to find correspondences, wherever possible, with contemporary philosophy and they themselves were usually philosophers by training. So Aristides opens his Apology with an outline demonstration of God’s existence based on Aristotle’s well known argument from motion - although God is Himself uncreated He has created everything for man; the heavens do not contain Him, rather He contains them as He contains everything visible and invisible. Hence Christians acknowledge God as Creator and Demiurge of all things, and apart from Him worship no other God. Justin Martyr combines some67 Barnard, L. W., The Philosophical and Biblical Background of Athenagoras, 12; see also Schweizer, E., Die „Elemente der Welt” Gal. 4, 3.9; Kol 2, 8.20, in Bocher, O. - Haacker, K. (eds.), Verborum Veritas. Festschrift für Gustav Stählin zum 70. Geburtstag, Wuppertal 1970. 245-259. 68 Barnard, L. W., Athenagoras. A study in the second century Christian apologetic (Théologie historique 18), Paris 1972. 69 Barnard, L. W., Athenagoras. A study in the second century Christian apologetic, 81.
