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The Prescription Against Heretics

Tertullian

Chapter 21

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 XXI.—All Doctrine True Which Comes Through the Church from the Apostles, Who Were Taught by God Through Christ. All Opinion Which Has No Such Divine Origin and Apostolic Tradition to Show, is Ipso Facto False.

From this, therefore, do we draw

‹ Chapter 20 Chapter 22 ›

up

our

rule

.

Since

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

sent

the

apostles

to

preach

,

(

our

rule

is

)

that

no

others

ought

to

be

received

as

preachers

than

those

whom

Christ

appointed

;

for

“

no

man

knoweth

the

Father

save

the

Son

,

and

he

to

whomsoever

the

Son

will

reveal

Him

.

”

Nor

does

the

Son

seem

to

have

revealed

Him

to

any

other

than

the

apostles

,

whom

He

sent

forth

to

preach

—

that

,

of

course

,

which

He

revealed

to

them

.

Now

,

what

that

was

which

they

preached

—

in

other

words

,

what

it

was

which

Christ

revealed

to

them

—

can

,

as

I

must

here

likewise

prescribe

,

properly

be

proved

in

no

other

way

than

by

those

very

churches

which

the

apostles

founded

in

person

,

by

declaring

the

gospel

to

them

directly

themselves

,

both

vivâ

voce

,

as

the

phrase

is

,

and

subsequently

by

their

epistles

.

If

,

then

,

these

things

are

so

,

it

is

in

the

same

degree

manifest

that

all

doctrine

which

agrees

with

the

apostolic

churches

—

those

moulds

and

original

sources

of

the

faith

must

be

reckoned

for

truth

,

as

undoubtedly

containing

that

which

the

(

said

)

churches

received

from

the

apostles

,

the

apostles

from

Christ

,

Christ

from

God

.

Whereas

all

doctrine

must

be

prejudged

as

false

which

savours

of

contrariety

to

the

truth

of

the

churches

and

apostles

of

Christ

and

God

.

It

remains

,

then

,

that

we

demonstrate

whether

this

doctrine

of

ours

,

of

which

we

have

now

given

the

rule

,

has

its

origin

in

the

tradition

of

the

apostles

,

and

whether

all

other

doctrines

do

not

ipso

factoproceed

from

falsehood

.

We

hold

communion

with

the

apostolic

churches

because

our

doctrine

is

in

no

respect

different

from

theirs

.

This

is

our

witness

of

truth

.

Notes

1
Matt. xi. 27.
2
Perinde.
3
Matricibus.
4
Præjudicandam. [This then is Præscription.]
5
De mendacio.
6
Censeatur.
7
Ex hoc ipso, “from this very circumstance.”