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The Prescription Against Heretics

Tertullian

Chapter 34

About this work

Tertullian argues that apostolic churches possess the proper claim to interpret Christian Scripture and that rival teachers should not be granted equal standing in debates over the inherited rule of faith.

Author: Tertullian
Date: c. AD 200–210
Origin: Carthage, North Africa
Genre: Heresiology

Chapter XXXIV.—No Early Controversy Respecting the Divine Creator; No Second God Introduced at First. Heresies Condemned Alike by the Sentence and the Silence of Holy Scripture.

These are, as I suppose, the

‹ Chapter 33 Chapter 35 ›

different

kinds

of

spurious

doctrines

,

which

(

as

we

are

informed

by

the

apostles

themselves

)

existed

in

their

own

day

.

And

yet

we

find

amongst

so

many

various

perversions

of

truth

,

not

one

school

which

raised

any

controversy

concerning

God

as

the

Creator

of

all

things

.

No

man

was

bold

enough

to

surmise

a

second

god

.

More

readily

was

doubt

felt

about

the

Son

than

about

the

Father

,

until

Marcion

introduced

,

in

addition

to

the

Creator

,

another

god

of

goodness

only

.

Apelles

made

the

Creator

of

some

nondescript

glorious

angel

,

who

belonged

to

the

superior

God

,

the

god

(

according

to

him

,

)

of

the

law

and

of

Israel

,

affirming

that

he

was

fire

.

Valentinus

disseminated

his

Æons

,

and

traced

the

sin

of

one

Æon

to

the

production

of

God

the

Creator

.

To

none

,

forsooth

,

except

these

,

nor

prior

to

these

,

was

revealed

the

truth

of

the

Divine

Nature

;

and

they

obtained

this

especial

honour

and

fuller

favour

from

the

devil

,

we

cannot

doubt

,

because

he

wished

even

in

this

respect

to

rival

God

,

that

he

might

succeed

,

by

the

poison

of

his

doctrines

,

in

doing

himself

what

the

Lord

said

could

not

be

done

—

making

“

the

disciples

above

their

Master

.

”

Let

the

entire

mass

of

heresies

choose

,

therefore

,

for

themselves

the

times

when

they

should

appear

,

provided

that

the

when

be

an

unimportant

point

;

allowing

,

too

,

that

they

be

not

of

the

truth

,

and

(

as

a

matter

of

course

)

that

such

as

had

no

existence

in

the

time

of

the

apostles

could

not

possibly

have

had

any

connection

with

the

apostles

.

If

indeed

they

had

then

existed

,

their

names

would

be

extant

,

with

a

view

to

their

own

repression

likewise

.

Those

(

heresies

)

indeed

which

did

exist

in

the

days

of

the

apostles

,

are

condemned

in

their

very

mention

.

If

it

be

true

,

then

,

that

those

heresies

,

which

in

the

apostolic

times

were

in

a

rude

form

,

are

now

found

to

be

the

same

,

only

in

a

much

more

polished

shape

,

they

derive

their

condemnation

from

this

very

circumstance

.

Or

if

they

were

not

the

same

,

but

arose

afterwards

in

a

different

form

,

and

merely

assumed

from

them

certain

tenets

,

then

,

by

sharing

with

them

an

agreement

in

their

teaching

,

they

must

needs

partake

in

their

condemnation

,

by

reason

of

the

above

-

mentioned

definition

,

of

lateness

of

date

,

which

meets

us

on

the

very

threshold

.

Even

if

they

were

free

from

any

participation

in

condemned

doctrine

,

they

would

stand

already

judged

on

the

mere

ground

of

time

,

being

all

the

more

spurious

because

they

were

not

even

named

by

the

apostles

.

Whence

we

have

the

firmer

assurance

,

that

these

were

(

the

heresies

)

which

even

then

,

were

announced

as

about

to

arise

.

Notes

1
Institutionem.
2
Nescio quem.
3
Igneum, “consisted of fire.”
4
“The ectroma, or fall of Sophia from the Pleroma, from whom the Creator was fabled to be descended” (Dodgson).
5
Scilicet.
6
Luke vi. 40.
7
Universæ.
8
Utique.
9
Nominarentur et ipsæ.
10
Nominatione, i.e. by the apostles.
11
Prædicationis.
12
Fine.
13
Præcedente.
14
Præjudicarentur. [i.e. by Præscription.]
15
i.e., in the days of the apostles, and by their mouth.