Systematic Theology I Francis Yip

Lecture 2: Emergence of Christian Theology in the Patristic Era

I. Introductory Remarks
A. Perspective the contextual nature of theology
1. Every theology is shaped by and is a response to its context.
2. Theological works, including biblical writings and dogmas that are regarded as
universally and everlastingly valid, are itself shaped by the intended or
unintended responses to the social, cultural, ecclesial, and historical contexts
that have been shaping it. Their meaning, significance, and implications cannot
be properly understood apart from the historical context (which includes social,
cultural, and ecclesial factors) that influences their formation and reception.
B. The patristic era []1 and its importance in the development of doctrines2
1. the doctrine of the Trinity as three persons in one substance
2. the doctrine of Christ as two natures in one person
3. various views of salvation and grace
4. views of authorities in the church (such as scripture, tradition, bishop, etc.)

II. Factors Shaping the Development of Doctrines in the Patristic Era3

A. Apologetic ():
1. the defense of the truth-claims of Christianity before other religions and
philosophical systems by appealing to the common ground
B. Polemic ():

1. in disputation with heresies () of Christianity

a. note on heresy:
1. not self-evident at that time
2. more logical; not balanced; said too much about God
C. lex orandi, lex credendi (rule of prayer, the rule of faith )
D. Appeal to scripture
E. Soteriological requirements

III. The Emergence of Christian Theology4

1 Patristic period: roughly the first seven centuries of Christianity

2 For an overview of the important writings in the patristic era, see Encyclopedia Britannica
Online, s.v. patristic literature.
3 Maurice F. Wiles, The Making of Christian Doctrine: A Study in the Principles of Early

Doctrinal Development (London: Cambridge University Press, 1967).

 A. The Apostolic Fathers ([])5
1. authors of early Christian writings dating from late 1st century to early 2nd
century
2. including Clement of Rome (fl. c.96), Ignatius of Antioch (d. c.110),6 Polycarp of
Smyrna (d. c.156 or 168), as well as the authors of Didache
(2nd century), Letter of Barnabas (before 140), and Shepherd of Hermas
(before 150)

B. The Apologists ()7

1. Tertullian8 (d. c.225):

a. ethical defense (against the accusations of cannibalism and other immoral
behaviors)
b. against philosophical influence on theology
2. Justin Martyr (d. c.165): philosophical apologetic
a. He made use of the doctrine of the Logos (word, reason, Gods agent in
creation)
b. All human beings, Christians and non-Christians alike, posses the seed of
reason (logos spermatikos ). Thus Christians and non-Christian
philosophers can often understand the same truth, as they all share in the
divine Logos.
1. Whatever is well said among them belongs to us Christians.
2. Great philosophers such as Socrates and Heraclitus are Christians
before Christ since they live according to the Logos
c. But the divine Logos is fully and clearly revealed and incarnated in Jesus
Christ. Thus, Christianity is the only universal and true philosophy.
C. Irenaeus (d. c.200)

1. debate with Gnosticism (): Against Heresies criticizes Gnostic systems

of belief which became confused with true Christian beliefs
2. the system of authorities: the canonical Bible, the apostolic tradition, the
baptismal creed, and the bishops
3. creation of all things out of nothing

4 To read the writings of church fathers, go to http://www.ccel.org/fathers.html.

5 The Apostolic Fathers: Greek texts and English translations of their writings, ed. and trans. J.
B. Lightfoot, J. R. Harmer, and Michael W Holmes, 2nd. ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992);

1976
6 Deep concern for: the unity of the church (to be maintained by the bishop); reality of the
humanity of Jesus (against the Docetists ); and a realistic view of the Eucharist
(Christs physical presence in the Eucharist).
7 Apology: a systematic reply to accusations
8 Tertullian is the first western author to write in Latin

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 4. continuity between creation and redemption
5. the doctrine of recapitulation ( / / ): the life of Christ
is salvific as it sums up and restores what was lost through Adam9
D. Origen of Alexandria (c.185254): the first systematic theologian
1. On First Principles: systematic and imaginative construction of Christian
theology
2. synthesis of Christianity and neo-Platonic philosophy
3. allegorical interpretation of the Bible ()
4. Gods eternal generation of the Son, the divine Logos10
a. the Son is co-eternal with God
b. the Son has a lesser power of being than the Father
5. apokatastasis ( / ): the final restoration of all rational
creatures to the original state (and unity) at the beginning of creation; even the
devil will eventually be restored to his ancient rank

IV. Formation of the Creeds : Christian Theology and the Christian Church
A. The Development of Early Creeds (Overview)
1. early baptismal confession
a. some versions of Acts 8:36-37: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God
b. may reflect the confession in baptism
c. according to the Apostolic Tradition attributed to Hippolytus, Christians
were baptized three times in water and each time the candidates were
asked a question, which correspond to a threefold structure
2. from 2nd century onwards: emergence of flexible summaries of core Christian
teachings referred to as Rule of Faith () or Canon of Truth (
)11
3. 3rd century: local creeds used in baptismal rites and in catechetical instructions
leading to baptism
4. 4th century: the beginning of ecumenical creeds (such as the Creed of Nicea)
used for the test of orthodoxy
5. Note: The Apostles Creed was not written by the apostles but was
an elaborate variant of the ancient baptismal creed of the Roman church. This
creed was widely used in the Latin churches.
B. The Development of the Nicene Creed

9 Jesus Christ became what we are that he might make us what he himself is. This will be
treated in more detail in Systematic Theology II.
10
11the rule of faith and the creeds can be seen as a reconciliation between the Jewish Shema
and Christian experience and worship

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 1. the controversy of Arianism (a heresy to which the Creed of Nicea
responded)
a. oneness and transcendence of God
b. incommutability of Gods essence (Gods nature is indivisible)
c. subordination of the Son12 (John 14:28 vs. John 14:10)
d. there was a time when he was not
e. the Son was a creature, though he was the most perfect one and everything
else was created through him (begotten understood as creation)
2. The Creed of Nicea (325):
a. First Council of Nicea summoned by emperor Constantine
b. a short confession about the Holy Spirit
c. anathemas [] on Arian teachings

3. The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (381):13

a. A revised and expanded version of the Creed of Nicea, with an elaborate
section on the Holy Spirit
b. Anti-Arian clauses:
1. light from light: association with Heb 1:3; light and radiance always
coexist at the same time
2. true God from true God: attack Arian interpretation of John 17:3
3. begotten not made: preclude Arian confusion of the two
4. of one essence with the Father (Greek: homoousion t patri)

a. reluctant of the fathers to use a non-biblical term; but as they
realized that all biblical terms they used could be accepted in some
way by the Arians, they agreed to use a philosophical term
homoousios
b. ambiguity of the term homoousios; all anti-Arian parties can accept;
fits Constantines purpose (to enhance the unity of the empire by
settling the Arian controversy which divided the Christian
community)
c. the term irreversibly decided the orthodox position concerning
the full divinity of the Son and his equality with the Father
d. note: equality is not identity; homoousios (of the same substance)
implies two distinct persons
c. Later Western recension of the Nicene Creed
1. major difference lies in the paragraph on the Holy Spirit: addition of
and the Son (Latin: filioque ) after proceeding forth from the
Father

12 Influenced by Origen who accepted the Greek hierarchical worldview: God Logos
Spiritual Realm Material Realm; human beings belong both to the spiritual and the
material realms
13 See separate file (uploaded to Blackboard).

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 2. filioque was inserted into the text in Spain during the 6th century and
gradually spread to all Western churches, but was probably not used in
Rome until 1014
3. the Eastern churches have always rejected the addition as they consider
it theological error and an unauthorized addition to a venerable
document
C. The Definition of Chalcedon (451)
1. main issue: the relation of the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ
2. soteriological concerns:
a. Christ must be fully God in order that humanity will be really saved
b. Christ must be fully human in order that salvation happens in humanity;
what is not assumed is not healed (Gregory of Nazianzus)
3. The Council of Chalcedon was an attempt to affirm all three principles, that
Christ is (i) one in being with God the Father [which Arianism denied, as were
adoptionism and Ebionism]; (ii) one in being with us, sin apart [which
Apollinarianism denied, as were docetism and modalism]; (iii) concurring into
one person in the integrity of both divine and human natures (Colin Gunton,
The Christian Faith, 89-91)
4. Main ideas:
a. Jesus Christ is consubstantial with the Father as regards his divinity
b. Jesus Christ is consubstantial with human beings as regards his humanity
c. two natures in one person (while the Trinity is one nature in three
persons)
d. two natures which undergo no confusion, no change, no division, no
separation /

1. paradoxical language
2. negative language set the boundary of orthodoxy and allows space for
various affirmations with the core
5. Non-Chalcedonian churches (i.e., Christian Churches that do not accept the
Definition of Chalcedon)
a. Oriental Orthodox churches (sometimes called
Miaphysite14 churches): the Orthodox Armenian15 Church, Coptic16
Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Ethiopian17 Orthodox Tewahedo Church,
Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, and Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
[Indian Orthodox Church]

14They emphasize that the divine and human natures of Christ have united into one nature.
This is somewhat different from the orthodox position of the Definition of Chalcedon.
15
16 []
17

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 b. (Assyrian) Church of the East (), often inappropriately called
the Nestorian Church (came to China as )

V. Some Nicene and Post-Nicene Church Fathers18

A. Eastern (Greek) Fathers
1. Athanasius of Alexandria (c.295373)

2. Cappadocian Fathers :

a. Basil of Caesarea (330379)19

b. Gregory of Nyssa (335395)

c. Gregory of Nazianzus (329390)

3. John Chrysostom (c.347407)20

4. Theodore of Mopsuestia (c.350428)

5. Maximus the Confessor (c.580662)

6. John of Damascus (c.675749)

B. Western (Latin) Fathers
1. Hilary of Poitiers (c.315c.367)

2. Ambrose of Milan (c.339397)

3. Jerome (c.347420)

4. Augustine of Hippo (354430)

5. Gregory the Great (c.540604)

18A great collection of patristic literature (writings of the church fathers) can be found in
http://www.ccel.org/fathers.html.
19 Also known as St. Basil the Great ()
20