First Apology 21–39

And when we say that the Word, who is the first offspring of God, was born without sexual union, Jesus Christ our Teacher, and that he was crucified and died and rose again and ascended into heaven, we bring forward nothing new beyond what you say of those called sons of Zeus. For you know how many sons of Zeus your honored writers speak of: Hermes, the interpreting word and teacher of all; Asclepius, who though a healer was struck by lightning and ascended to heaven; Dionysus, torn to pieces; Heracles, who to escape his toils gave himself to the fire; the Dioscuri, sons of Leda; Perseus, son of Danae; and Bellerophon, born of men, on the horse Pegasus. What shall we say of Ariadne and those who, like her, are said to have been placed among the stars? And what of your emperors who die, whom you always think fit to deify, and you bring forward someone who swears he saw the burned Caesar going up to heaven from the pyre? And what kind of deeds are told of each of the so-called sons of Zeus there is no need to tell those who know, except that these things have been written for the harm and corruption of those being educated; for all think it good to imitate the gods. But far be from a sound soul such a notion about the gods, as that Zeus himself, the ruler and begetter of all according to them, was a parricide and the son of such a father, and, overcome by love of evil and shameful pleasures, went after Ganymede and the many women he seduced, and approved of his sons doing the same. But, as we said before, the evil demons did these things; and we have been taught that only those are made immortal who live holily and virtuously near to God, and we believe that those who live unjustly and do not change will be punished in eternal fire.

And the Son of God, called Jesus, even if he were only a man in the ordinary way, would be worthy to be called Son of God because of his wisdom; for all writers call God the father of men and gods. And if we say that he was born of God in a special way, beyond ordinary birth, as the Word of God, as we said before, let this be something in common with you who say that Hermes is the word that brings messages from God. And if anyone objects that he was crucified, this too is in common with the sons of Zeus you count, who suffered. For their sufferings in death are recorded as not alike but different; so that he does not seem inferior because of the particular kind of his suffering; but, as we promised, we will show as the argument proceeds that he is even superior, or rather it has been shown; for the superior is shown by his deeds. And if we say that he was born of a virgin, let this too be in common with you and Perseus. And when we say that he made the lame and paralyzed and those blind from birth well, and raised the dead, we shall seem to say things like those said to have been done by Asclepius.

And so that this may now also become clear to you: that whatever we say, having learned it from Christ and from the prophets who came before him, alone is true, and is older than all the writers who have lived; and that we ask to be accepted, not because we say the same things as they, but because we speak the truth; and that Jesus Christ alone has been born in a special sense Son of God, being his Word and first-born and power, and, having become man by his will, taught us these things for the change and restoration of the human race; and that before he became man among men, some, I mean the evil demons already mentioned, anticipating it, told through the poets as having happened what they had made up as myths, in the same way that they have also brought about the slanderous and impious deeds said against us, of which there is no witness or proof: of this we will now give proof.

First, that though we say things similar to the Greeks, we alone are hated because of the name of Christ, and though we do no wrong we are put to death as sinners, while others elsewhere worship trees and rivers and mice and cats and crocodiles and many of the irrational animals; and not the same ones are honored by all, but different ones in different places, so that all are impious toward one another because they do not worship the same things. This is the only thing you can charge us with: that we do not worship the same gods as you, nor bring libations and the smoke of fat and garlands and sacrifices to the dead at their tombs. For you know well that the same things are regarded as gods by some, as wild beasts by others, and as sacrificial victims by others.

Second, that people of every race who formerly worshiped Dionysus the son of Semele and Apollo the son of Leto, who did things out of love for males that are shameful even to speak of, and those who worshiped Persephone and Aphrodite, who were driven mad by love of Adonis, whose mysteries you celebrate, or Asclepius or any other of the so-called gods, have despised these through Jesus Christ, though death is threatened, and have dedicated ourselves to the unbegotten and impassible God. We do not believe that he went after Antiope and the others in lust, nor after Ganymede, nor that he was freed with the help of Thetis by that hundred-handed giant, nor that, anxious because of this, he caused Achilles the son of Thetis to destroy many of the Greeks because of his concubine Briseis. And we pity those who believe these things; and we know that the demons are the cause of them.

Third, that even after Christ's ascension into heaven the demons put forward certain men who said that they themselves were gods, who not only were not persecuted by you, but were even counted worthy of honors. There was a certain Simon, a Samaritan, from the village called Gitta, who in the time of Claudius Caesar, through the art of the demons at work in him, performed magical powers in your royal city of Rome and was thought to be a god, and has been honored by you as a god with a statue, which statue was set up on the river Tiber between the two bridges, bearing this Latin inscription: SIMONI DEO SANCTO, “To Simon the holy god.” And almost all the Samaritans, and a few even among other nations, confess and worship him as the first god; and a certain Helena, who went about with him at that time, who had formerly stood in a brothel, they call the first Thought produced by him. And we know that a certain Menander, also a Samaritan, from the village of Capparetaea, a disciple of Simon, also driven by the demons, came to Antioch and deceived many by magical art, and persuaded his followers that they would never die; and even now there are some from him who confess this. And there is a certain Marcion of Pontus, who is even now still teaching those who believe him to think that there is another god greater than the Creator; who through the aid of the demons has made many in every race of people speak blasphemies and deny God the Maker of this universe, and confess that another, as being greater, has done greater works than he. All who take their start from these, as we said, are called Christians, just as those among the philosophers who do not share the same doctrines have in common the name of philosophy applied to them. Whether they also do those infamous things that are told in fables, the overturning of the lamp, and promiscuous intercourse, and eating human flesh, we do not know; but we know that they are not persecuted or put to death by you, at least for their doctrines. And we have also a treatise composed against all the heresies that have arisen, which we will give you if you wish to read it.

But we, so that we may do no wrong and commit no impiety, have been taught that to expose even newborn children is the part of wicked people; first, because we see that almost all of them, not only the girls but also the boys, are brought up to prostitution; and just as the ancients are said to have raised herds of oxen or goats or sheep or grazing horses, so now children are raised only for shameful use; and likewise a multitude of women and effeminate men and those who do unspeakable things stand ready for this abomination in every nation. And you receive wages and levies and taxes from them, when you ought to root them out of your world. And someone who uses them, besides the godless and impious and incontinent intercourse, may perhaps have relations with his own child or relative or brother. And some even prostitute their own children and wives, and some are openly castrated for vice and refer these mysteries to the mother of the gods; and beside every one of those you consider gods a serpent is painted as a great symbol and mystery. And the things openly done and honored among you you ascribe to us, as though we had overturned and extinguished the divine light; which brings no harm to us, who are far from doing any of these things, but rather to those who do them and bear false witness.

For among us the leader of the evil demons is called the serpent and Satan and the devil, as you can learn by searching our writings; and Christ foretold that he will be sent into the fire with his army and the people who follow him, to be punished for endless ages. For the delay in God's not yet doing this has come about for the sake of the human race; for he foreknows that some are going to be saved by repentance, and some perhaps not yet born. And in the beginning he made the human race rational and able to choose the truth and do well, so that all people are without excuse before God; for they have been made rational and able to contemplate. And if anyone does not believe that God cares for these things, he will either confess by some device that he does not exist, or will say that he exists but delights in evil, or remains like a stone, and that there is no virtue or vice, but that people consider these things good or evil only by opinion; which is the greatest impiety and injustice.

And again, lest one of those exposed, not being taken up, should die, and we be murderers. But either we marry in the first place only for the raising of children, or, declining marriage, we live in complete self-control. And already one of ours, to persuade you that promiscuous intercourse is not one of our mysteries, presented a petition in Alexandria to Felix, the governor, asking that a physician be permitted to castrate him; for the physicians there said that they were forbidden to do this without the governor's permission. And when Felix would by no means sign it, the young man remained single and was content with his own conscience and that of those who shared his views. And we have thought it not out of place to mention here also Antinous, who lived recently, whom all were eager to worship as a god through fear, knowing who he was and where he came from.

But so that no one may object to us, “What prevents the one you call Christ, being a man born of men, from having done the mighty works we speak of by magical art, and so seeming to be the Son of God?” we will now give the proof, not trusting those who say so, but being necessarily persuaded by those who prophesied before it happened, because we see with our eyes things happening and having happened as they were prophesied; which will appear to you too, as we think, the greatest and truest proof.

There were, then, among the Jews certain men who were prophets of God, through whom the prophetic Spirit proclaimed beforehand things that were to come to pass, before they happened; and the kings who arose among the Jews from time to time acquired these prophecies, as they were spoken when they were prophesied, in the prophets' own Hebrew language, arranged in books by the prophets themselves, and kept them carefully. And when Ptolemy, king of Egypt, was building a library and trying to collect the writings of all peoples, he heard about these prophecies too, and sent to Herod, who was then king of the Jews, asking that the books of the prophecies be sent to him. And King Herod sent them written in their Hebrew language, as we said. But since what was written in them was not understood by the Egyptians, he again sent and asked him to send men to translate them into the Greek language. And when this was done, the books remained with the Egyptians to this day, and are everywhere among all Jews, who read them but do not understand what is said, but consider us enemies and foes, killing and punishing us, like you, whenever they can, as you can be persuaded. For in the Jewish war that took place recently, Bar Kokhba, the leader of the Jewish revolt, ordered Christians alone to be led away to terrible punishments, unless they would deny Jesus the Christ and blaspheme. In the books of the prophets, then, we found Jesus our Christ foretold as coming, born of a virgin, growing to manhood, healing every disease and every sickness and raising the dead, being envied and not recognized and crucified, dying and rising again and ascending into heaven, and being and being called the Son of God, and that certain people would be sent by him into every race of people to proclaim these things, and that people from the Gentiles would rather believe in him. And he was foretold before he appeared, sometimes five thousand years before, sometimes three thousand, sometimes two thousand, and again one thousand, and at another time eight hundred; for in the succession of generations there arose one prophet after another.

Moses, then, who was the first of the prophets, said in these very words: “A ruler shall not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his thighs, until he comes for whom it is reserved; and he will be the expectation of the nations, binding his foal to the vine, washing his robe in the blood of the grape.” It is yours, then, to examine carefully and learn until when the Jews had a ruler and king of their own: until the manifestation of Jesus Christ, our Teacher and the interpreter of the prophecies that were not understood, as it was foretold by the divine, holy, prophetic Spirit through Moses that a ruler would not fail from the Jews until he should come for whom the kingdom is reserved. For Judah is the forefather of the Jews, from whom they have their name of Jews; and you, after his manifestation, ruled over the Jews and took possession of all their land. And “He will be the expectation of the nations” signified that people from all the nations will expect him to come again, which you can see with your eyes and be persuaded by the fact; for people of every race expect the one who was crucified in Judea, after whom the land of the Jews was immediately handed over to you as spoil of war. And “Binding his foal to the vine and washing his robe in the blood of the grape” was a symbol showing what would happen to Christ and what he would do. For the foal of an ass stood bound to a vine at the entrance of a village, and he then ordered his acquaintances to bring it to him; and when it was brought, he mounted and sat on it and entered Jerusalem, where the greatest temple of the Jews was, which was afterward destroyed by you; and after this he was crucified, so that the rest of the prophecy might be fulfilled. For “washing his robe in the blood of the grape” foretold the suffering he was to undergo, cleansing by his blood those who believe in him. For what the divine Spirit through the prophet called his robe are the people who believe in him, in whom dwells the seed from God, the Word. And the blood of the grape that was mentioned signifies that the one who would appear would have blood, but not from human seed but from divine power. And the first power after God the Father and Master of all is also the Son, the Word; how he was made flesh and became man we will tell in what follows. For just as it is not man but God who made the blood of the vine, so this also indicated that the blood would come not from human seed but from the power of God, as we said before. And Isaiah, another prophet, prophesying the same things in other words, said thus: “A star shall rise out of Jacob, and a flower shall come up from the root of Jesse; and on his arm shall the nations hope.” And a shining star has risen, and a flower has come up from the root of Jesse: this is Christ. For he was born by the power of God through a virgin of the seed of Jacob, who was the father of Judah, who was shown to be the father of the Jews; and Jesse was his forefather according to the oracle, and he was the son of Jacob and Judah by descent.

And hear again how it was foretold in express words through Isaiah that he would be born of a virgin. It was said thus: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive in the womb and bear a son, and they shall say in his name, God with us.” For what was thought incredible and impossible among men, God foretold through the prophetic Spirit would come to pass, so that when it happened it might not be disbelieved, but believed because it had been foretold. But so that some, not understanding the prophecy we have cited, may not charge us with the very things we charged the poets with, who say that Zeus came to women for the sake of sexual pleasure, we will try to explain the words. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive,” then, signifies that the virgin conceived without intercourse; for if she had had intercourse with anyone, she would no longer be a virgin; but the power of God came upon the virgin and overshadowed her, and caused her to become pregnant while still a virgin. And the angel of God who was sent to the virgin herself at that time announced the good news to her, saying, “Behold, you will conceive in the womb by the Holy Spirit and bear a son, and he will be called Son of the Most High, and you will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins,” as those who recorded all the things about our Savior Jesus Christ taught, whom we believed, since the prophetic Spirit also said through Isaiah, whom we have cited, that he would be born, as we indicated before. It is not right, then, to understand the Spirit and the power from God as anything other than the Word, who is also the first-born of God, as Moses the prophet we have mentioned indicated; and this, coming upon the virgin and overshadowing her, made her pregnant, not by intercourse but by power. And “Jesus,” a name in the Hebrew language, means “savior” in the Greek tongue. Hence the angel also said to the virgin, “And you will call his name Jesus; for he will save his people from their sins.” And that those who prophesy are inspired by no one other than the divine Word, you too, I suppose, will agree.

And hear where on earth he was to be born, as another prophet, Micah, foretold. He said thus: “And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come forth a leader, who will shepherd my people.” Now this is a village in the country of the Jews, thirty-five stades from Jerusalem, in which Jesus Christ was born, as you can also learn from the registers made under Quirinius, your first procurator in Judea.

And hear what was foretold on this point, how Christ after his birth was to be hidden from other people until he grew to manhood, which also came to pass. These are the words: “A child has been born to us, and a young man has been given to us, whose government is upon his shoulders”; which indicated the power of the cross, to which he applied his shoulders when he was crucified, as will be shown more clearly as the argument proceeds. And again the same prophet Isaiah, inspired by the prophetic Spirit, said, “I have spread out my hands to a disobedient and contradicting people, to those who walk in a way that is not good. They now ask of me judgment, and dare to draw near to God.” And again in other words, through another prophet, he says: “They pierced my feet and hands, and cast lots for my clothing.” And David, the king and prophet, who said these things, suffered none of them; but Jesus Christ stretched out his hands, being crucified by the Jews who contradicted him and said that he was not the Christ; and indeed, as the prophet said, they mocked him and set him on the judgment seat and said, “Judge us.” And “They pierced my hands and feet” was a description of the nails fixed in his hands and feet on the cross. And after they crucified him they cast lots for his clothing, and those who crucified him divided it among themselves. And that these things happened you can learn from the Acts drawn up under Pontius Pilate. And that it was expressly foretold that he would sit on the foal of an ass and enter Jerusalem, we will cite the words of the prophecy of another prophet, Zephaniah. They are these: “Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion; proclaim, daughter of Jerusalem; behold, your king comes to you, gentle, riding on an ass and a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”

But when you hear the words of the prophets spoken as from a person, do not think that they are spoken by the inspired men themselves, but by the divine Word who moves them. For sometimes he speaks as foretelling what is to come to pass, sometimes he speaks as from the person of God, the Master and Father of all, sometimes as from the person of Christ, sometimes as from the person of peoples answering the Lord or his Father; just as can be seen in your own writers, where one is the writer of the whole, but brings in the persons who speak in the dialogue. Not understanding this, the Jews who have the books of the prophets did not recognize Christ even when he came, but they even hate us who say that he has come and show that he was crucified by them, as had been proclaimed beforehand.

And so that this may also become clear to you, these words were spoken from the person of the Father through Isaiah, the prophet mentioned before: “The ox knows its owner, and the ass its master's crib; but Israel does not know me, and my people has not understood. Woe, sinful nation, people full of sins, evil seed, lawless sons; you have forsaken the Lord.” And again elsewhere, when the same prophet likewise speaks from the person of the Father: “What house will you build for me? says the Lord. Heaven is my throne, and the earth the footstool of my feet.” And again elsewhere: “Your new moons and your sabbaths my soul hates; and the great day of fasting and rest I cannot bear; not even if you come to be seen by me will I listen to you. Your hands are full of blood. Even if you bring fine flour, incense, it is an abomination to me; the fat of lambs and the blood of bulls I do not want. For who has required these things from your hands? But loose every bond of injustice, tear apart the knots of forced contracts, cover the homeless and naked, break your bread for the hungry.” You can understand, then, what kind of things are taught through the prophets from the person of God.

And when the prophetic Spirit speaks from the person of Christ, he says this: “I have spread out my hands to a disobedient and contradicting people, to those who walk in a way that is not good.” And again: “I have given my back to scourges and my cheeks to blows, and I did not turn away my face from the shame of spitting. And the Lord became my helper; therefore I was not confounded, but I set my face like a solid rock, and I knew that I would not be put to shame, because he who justifies me is near.” And again when he says: “They cast lots for my clothing, and pierced my feet and hands. But I lay down and slept, and rose again, because the Lord helped me.” And again when he says: “They spoke with their lips, they wagged their heads, saying, Let him save himself.” You can learn that all these things were done to Christ by the Jews. For when he was crucified they curled their lips and wagged their heads, saying, “Let him who raised the dead save himself.”

And when the prophetic Spirit speaks as prophesying what is going to happen, he says this: “For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he shall judge among the nations and rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, and nation shall not take up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war any more.” And that this has happened you can be persuaded. For from Jerusalem twelve men went out into the world, and these were unlearned, unable to speak, but by the power of God they made known to every race of people that they had been sent by Christ to teach all the word of God; and we who formerly killed one another not only do not make war on our enemies, but, so as not to lie or deceive those who examine us, gladly die confessing Christ. For it would have been possible for us to follow the saying, “The tongue has sworn, but the mind is unsworn.” It would be a ridiculous thing that the soldiers enlisted and enrolled by you should hold to their oath to you before their own life and parents and country and all their family, though you can offer them nothing incorruptible, while we, who long for incorruption, should not endure everything in order to receive what we desire from the one who is able to give it.