Against Celsus 1.57

Further, his Jew says to the Savior: "If you say this, that every human being who has come into being by divine providence is a son of God, how would you differ from anyone else?" To him we will say that everyone who, as Paul put it, is no longer trained by fear but chooses the good for its own sake is a son of God; but this one differs greatly, by far, from everyone who is called a son of God on account of virtue, since he is, as it were, a source and origin of such. Paul's words run thus: "For you did not receive a spirit of slavery again to fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, by which we cry, Abba, Father." But, as Celsus's Jew says, "countless people will refute Jesus, claiming that what was prophesied of him was said about themselves." We do not know, then, whether Celsus knew of some who came into life and wished to do something like Jesus and proclaim themselves sons of God or a power of God. But since we examine these matters with love of truth, we will say that Theudas arose among the Jews before the birth of Jesus, "saying that he himself was somebody" great; and when he died, those deceived by him were scattered. And after him, "in the days of the census," when Jesus seems to have been born, a certain Judas the Galilean drew away many of the Jewish people after him, as though he were wise and introducing some new things; and when he too paid the penalty, his teaching was overthrown, surviving among only very few and insignificant people. And after the time of Jesus, Dositheus the Samaritan too wished to persuade the Samaritans that he was the Christ prophesied by Moses, and he seemed to have won some over by his teaching. But it is not unreasonable to set out what was said very wisely by Gamaliel, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, to show how those men were strangers to the promise, being neither sons of God nor powers of his, whereas the Christ, Jesus, was truly the Son of God. Gamaliel said there: "If this plan and this word is from men, it will be destroyed"—as theirs too were destroyed when they died—"but if it is from God, you will not be able to destroy" this man's teaching, "lest you even be found fighting against God." Simon too, the Samaritan magician, wished to steal some away by his magic; and at that time he deceived them, but now, I think, it is impossible to find thirty Simonians in the whole world, and perhaps I have said more than there are. There are very few around Palestine; in the rest of the world, throughout which he wished to spread his fame, his name is nowhere mentioned. And among those where it is mentioned, it is mentioned from the Acts of the Apostles; it is Christians who say these things about him, and the evidence has testified that Simon was nothing divine.