Apologistswriter
Who he was
- He was a philosopher who converted to Christianity in 176. He read the Holy Scriptures to criticize Christianity, but was so powerfully seized by the Holy Spirit that he became a defender of the faith.
- His treatise on the Resurrection of the Dead is the first attempt made to prove this dogma using philosophical arguments. In it, he wrote: “that His power is sufficient for raising dead bodies, is shown by the creation of these same bodies. For if, when they did not exist, He made at their first formation the bodies of men and their original elements, He will, when they are dissolved, in whatever manner that may take place, raise them again with equal ease: for this, too, is equally possible to Him.”
- He praises virginity as one of the most beautiful fruits of Christian ethics: “You will find among us both men and women growing old unmarried in the hope of living in closer communion with God.” (Apol. 33).
- He so convinced that death cannot dissolve the marital bond that he calls a second marriage a “decent adultery.”
What he wrote
- He is supposed to have written a considerable number of works, but only two are extant.
- He wrote a Plea for the Christians (called “Presvia” or intercession) on behalf of Christians in 177, defending them against the false accusation of atheism, cannibalism and Oedipedean incest. He drew the attention to their faith in God and to their peaceful and blameless life.
- In his treatise on the Resurrection of the Dead he states that the resurrection of the dead is proved by God’s omnipotence and is based on the idea that man as a rational being is destined for eternal survival; necessity of retribution; and the notion that eternal bliss cannot be found on earth.
- His works display a richly cultured mind, and he is by far the most elegant of the early Christian apologists.
- In Apology 35 Athenagoras writes about abortion; he regards the very fetus in the womb a created being and states that women who use drugs to bring on abortion commit murder and will have to give an account to God for the abortion.