Opening the library…

Search the Bible

The Five Books Against Marcion

Tertullian

Book 2 · Chapter 16

About this work

A sustained refutation of Marcion’s theology and edited Scriptures, defending the unity of the Creator and Christ’s Father and reading the Gospel and Pauline letters against Marcionite claims.

Author: Tertullian
Date: Early 3rd century
Origin: Carthage, North Africa
Genre: Heresiology

Chapter XVI.—To the Severity of God There Belong Accessory Qualities, Compatible with Justice. If Human Passions are Predicated of God, They Must Not Be Measured on the Scale of Human Imperfection.

Even His severity then is good, because

‹ Book 2 · Chapter 15 Book 2 · Chapter 17 ›

just

:

when

the

judge

is

good

,

that

is

just

.

Other

qualities

likewise

are

good

,

by

means

of

which

the

good

work

of

a

good

severity

runs

out

its

course

,

whether

wrath

,

or

jealousy

,

or

sternness

.

For

all

these

are

as

indispensable

to

severity

as

severity

is

to

justice

.

The

shamelessness

of

an

age

,

which

ought

to

have

been

reverent

,

had

to

be

avenged

.

Accordingly

,

qualities

which

pertain

to

the

judge

,

when

they

are

actually

free

from

blame

,

as

the

judge

himself

is

,

will

never

be

able

to

be

charged

upon

him

as

a

fault

.

What

would

be

said

,

if

,

when

you

thought

the

doctor

necessary

,

you

were

to

find

fault

with

his

instruments

,

because

they

cut

,

or

cauterize

,

or

amputate

,

or

tighten

;

whereas

there

could

be

no

doctor

of

any

value

without

his

professional

tools

?

Censure

,

if

you

please

,

the

practitioner

who

cuts

badly

,

amputates

clumsily

,

is

rash

in

his

cautery

;

and

even

blame

his

implements

as

rough

tools

of

his

art

.

Your

conduct

is

equally

unreasonable

,

when

you

allow

indeed

that

God

is

a

judge

,

but

at

the

same

time

destroy

those

operations

and

dispositions

by

which

He

discharges

His

judicial

functions

.

We

are

taught

God

by

the

prophets

,

and

by

Christ

,

not

by

the

philosophers

nor

by

Epicurus

.

We

who

believe

that

God

really

lived

on

earth

,

and

took

upon

Him

the

low

estate

of

human

form

,

for

the

purpose

of

man’s

salvation

,

are

very

far

from

thinking

as

those

do

who

refuse

to

believe

that

God

cares

for

anything

.

Whence

has

found

its

way

to

the

heretics

an

argument

of

this

kind

:

If

God

is

angry

,

and

jealous

,

and

roused

,

and

grieved

,

He

must

therefore

be

corrupted

,

and

must

therefore

die

.

Fortunately

,

however

,

it

is

a

part

of

the

creed

of

Christians

even

to

believe

that

God

did

die

,

and

yet

that

He

is

alive

for

evermore

.

Superlative

is

their

folly

,

who

prejudge

divine

things

from

human

;

so

that

,

because

in

man’s

corrupt

condition

there

are

found

passions

of

this

description

,

therefore

there

must

be

deemed

to

exist

in

God

also

sensations

of

the

same

kind

.

Discriminate

between

the

natures

,

and

assign

to

them

their

respective

senses

,

which

are

as

diverse

as

their

natures

require

,

although

they

seem

to

have

a

community

of

designations

.

We

read

,

indeed

,

of

God’s

right

hand

,

and

eyes

,

and

feet

:

these

must

not

,

however

,

be

compared

with

those

of

human

beings

,

because

they

are

associated

in

one

and

the

same

name

.

Now

,

as

great

as

shall

be

the

difference

between

the

divine

and

the

human

body

,

although

their

members

pass

under

identical

names

,

so

great

will

also

be

the

diversity

between

the

divine

and

the

human

soul

,

notwithstanding

that

their

sensations

are

designated

by

the

same

names

.

These

sensations

in

the

human

being

are

rendered

just

as

corrupt

by

the

corruptibility

of

man’s

substance

,

as

in

God

they

are

rendered

incorruptible

by

the

incorruption

of

the

divine

essence

.

Do

you

really

believe

the

Creator

to

be

God

?

By

all

means

,

is

your

reply

.

How

then

do

you

suppose

that

in

God

there

is

anything

human

,

and

not

that

all

is

divine

?

Him

whom

you

do

not

deny

to

be

God

,

you

confess

to

be

not

human

;

because

,

when

you

confess

Him

to

be

God

,

you

have

,

in

fact

,

already

determined

that

He

is

undoubtedly

diverse

from

every

sort

of

human

conditions

.

Furthermore

,

although

you

allow

,

with

others

,

that

man

was

inbreathed

by

God

into

a

living

soul

,

not

God

by

man

,

it

is

yet

palpably

absurd

of

you

to

be

placing

human

characteristics

in

God

rather

than

divine

ones

in

man

,

and

clothing

God

in

the

likeness

of

man

,

instead

of

man

in

the

image

of

God

.

And

this

,

therefore

,

is

to

be

deemed

the

likeness

of

God

in

man

,

that

the

human

soul

have

the

same

emotions

and

sensations

as

God

,

although

they

are

not

of

the

same

kind

;

differing

as

they

do

both

in

their

conditions

and

their

issues

according

to

their

nature

.

Then

,

again

,

with

respect

to

the

opposite

sensations

,

—

I

mean

meekness

,

patience

,

mercy

,

and

the

very

parent

of

them

all

,

goodness

,

—

why

do

you

form

your

opinion

of

the

divine

displays

of

these

(

from

the

human

qualities

)

?

For

we

indeed

do

not

possess

them

in

perfection

,

because

it

is

God

alone

who

is

perfect

.

So

also

in

regard

to

those

others

,

—

namely

,

anger

and

irritation

,

we

are

not

affected

by

them

in

so

happy

a

manner

,

because

God

alone

is

truly

happy

,

by

reason

of

His

property

of

incorruptibility

.

Angry

He

will

possibly

be

,

but

not

irritated

,

nor

dangerously

tempted

;

He

will

be

moved

,

but

not

subverted

.

All

appliances

He

must

needs

use

,

because

of

all

contingencies

;

as

many

sensations

as

there

are

causes

:

anger

because

of

the

wicked

,

and

indignation

because

of

the

ungrateful

,

and

jealousy

because

of

the

proud

,

and

whatsoever

else

is

a

hinderance

to

the

evil

.

So

,

again

,

mercy

on

account

of

the

erring

,

and

patience

on

account

of

the

impenitent

,

and

pre

-

eminent

resources

on

account

of

the

meritorious

,

and

whatsoever

is

necessary

to

the

good

.

All

these

affections

He

is

moved

by

in

that

peculiar

manner

of

His

own

,

in

which

it

is

profoundly

fit

that

He

should

be

affected

;

and

it

is

owing

to

Him

that

man

is

also

similarly

affected

in

a

way

which

is

equally

his

own

.

Notes

1
Æmulatio.
2
Sævitia.
3
Debita.
4
Exprobrari.
5
Proinde est enim.
6
Erudimur.
7
Habitus.
8
Curare.
9
[See Vol. II. p. 71 (this series), for an early example of this Communicatio idiomatum.]
10
Status.
11
Pariter.
12
Præsumitis. [So of generation, Sonship, etc.]
13
Periclitabitur.
14
Evertetur.
15
Præstantiam, “Qua scilicet præstat præmia vel supplicia” (Rigalt.).
16
Condecet.