Bøker av Tertullian

As persecutions in increasing number threaten us, so the more are we called on to give earnest thought to the question of how faith ought to receive them, and the duty of carefully considering it concerns you no less, who no doubt, by not accepting the Comforter, the guide to all truth, have, as was natural, opposed us hitherto in regard to other questions also. We have therefore applied a methodical treatment, too, to your inquiry, as we see that we must first come to a decision as to how the matter stands in regard to persecution itself, whether it comes on us from God or from the devil, that with the less difficulty we may get on firm ground as to our duty to meet it; for of everything one's knowledge is clearer when it is known from whom it has its origin. It is enough indeed to lay it down, (in bar of all besides,) that nothing happens without the will of God. But lest we be diverted from the point before us, we shall not by this deliverance at once give occasion to the other discussions if one make answer-Therefore evil and sin are both from God; the devil henceforth, and even we ourselves, are entirely free. The question in hand is persecution. With respect to this, let me in the meantime say, that nothing happens without God's will; on the ground that persecution is especially worthy of God, and, so to speak, requisite, for the approving, to wit, or if you will, the rejection of His professing servants. For what is the issue of persecution, what other result comes of it, but the approving and rejecting of faith, in regard to which the Lord will certainly sift His people?

Ad Nationes (To the Nations) shows that the Roman actions taken against the early Christians are violations of justice. This is followed by a listing of Roman slanders against the Christians. Tertullian points out the hypocrisy, since Romans hardly conduct themselves in anything resembling moral behavior. The second book condemns and criticizes Roman religion and their deities in particular. "The hatred held by the heathen against the Christians is unjust, because based on culpable ignorance. One proof of that ignorance of yours, which condemns whilst it excuses your injustice, is at once apparent in the fact, that all who once shared in your ignorance and hatred (of the Christian religion), as soon as they have come to know it, leave off their hatred when they cease to be ignorant; nay more, they actually themselves become what they had hated, and take to hating what they had once been. Day after day, indeed, you groan over the increasing number of the Christians. Your constant cry is, that the state is beset (by us); that Christians are in your fields, in your camps, in your islands." -Tertullian 197 AD

The third part in this series is often referred to as the ethical piece of teaching and rightly so as it focuses on the steps to take to be closer to God and what disciplines are right within that journey. Many people expect God to immediately respond to their needs and to immediately answer prayers the way they want to and Tertullian responds to such misconceptions by showing us how we should be responding to God and to the world around us. The walk with the Lord is a patient and steady one and this work proves that having the determination to see it through is well worth the time and effort to the end.

This second volume in a four book series of the writings of Tertullian focuses on the teachings of a heretic named Marcion. This work mainly shows the error of Marcion's theology and the gnostic basis of the teaching. Although we no longer have many of the original teachings of the first and second century Gnostics we are able to use works like this to try and piece them together. Tertullian was adamant in showing the error of the Gnostic way of using the Bible and adequately shows the heresy that lies within the fabric of Gnostic thought that made it so dangerous.

This first book in a four part series includes the writings of one of the first true theologians. This first volume is more of a treaty on Apologetics, the defense of the Christian faith, and brings to view the idea of the apology, the use and end results of idols, along with many other pieces of theology that we in the church should be making a part of our theology even in today's world. Even though the writings are nearly two thousand years old, the relevance is becoming more and more clear in today's world where false teaching is flourishing and thriving.

Tertullian (c. 150-222 CE) founded a Christian Latin language and literature, strove to unite the demands of the Bible with Church practice, defended Christianity, attacked heresy, and pondered morality. Octavius by Minucius, an early Christian writer of unknown date, is a debate between belief and unbelief that depicts Roman religion and society.

A masterpiece of rhetoric and an impassioned defence of faith in the face of persecution, this work represents a key work in the Latin patristic canon. Addressing the magistrates of the Roman court, Tertullian submits 'the real facts in the case of the Christians', defending the legitimacy of the new faith while charging its detractors with hypocrisy and worse. Scathing, eloquent and defiant, the Apology demonstrates the importance of classical rhetoric to the identity of the controversial religion and its recent converts. This edition (1917), accompanied by a complete commentary by J. E. B. Mayor and translation by Alexander Souter, has been called 'by the far the best commentary ever published' on the work. Published posthumously from Mayor's extensive Cambridge lecture notes, the commentary is a starting point for anyone seeking a full understanding of the text's critical history. Souter's English translation makes it accessible to experts and non-experts alike.