Searchearlychristianwritings.online Volume 3 - 4.8.1.0.0

Previous Vol 3 - 4.8.1.0.0 Next

Tertullian

Ad Nationes - Book I

Contents

The Hatred Felt by the Heathen Against the Christians is Unjust, Because Based on Culpable Ignorance.

The Heathen Perverted Judgment in the Trial of Christians. They Would Be More Consistent If They Dispensed with All Form of Trial. Tertullian Urges This with Much Indignation.

The Great Offence in the Christians Lies in Their Very Name. The Name Vindicated.

The Truth Hated in the Christians; So in Measure Was It, of Old, in Socrates. The Virtues of the Christians.

The Inconsistent Life of Any False Christian No More Condemns True Disciples of Christ, Than a Passing Cloud Obscures a Summer Sky.

The Innocence of the Christians Not Compromised by the Iniquitous Laws Which Were Made Against Them.

The Christians Defamed. A Sarcastic Description of Fame; Its Deception and Atrocious Slanders of the Christians Lengthily Described.

The Calumny Against the Christians Illustrated in the Discovery of Psammetichus. Refutation of the Story.

The Christians are Not the Cause of Public Calamities: There Were Such Troubles Before Christianity.

The Christians are Not the Only Contemners of the Gods. Contempt of Them Often Displayed by Heathen Official Persons. Homer Made the Gods Contemptible.

The Absurd Cavil of the Ass's Head Disposed of.

The Charge of Worshipping a Cross. The Heathens Themselves Made Much of Crosses in Sacred Things; Nay, Their Very Idols Were Formed on a Crucial Frame.

The Charge of Worshipping the Sun Met by a Retort.

The Vile Calumny About Onocoetes Retorted on the Heathen by Tertullian.

The Charge of Infanticide Retorted on the Heathen.

Other Charges Repelled by the Same Method. The Story of the Noble Roman Youth and His Parents.

The Christian Refusal to Swear by the Genius of Cæsar. Flippancy and Irreverence Retorted on the Heathen.

Christians Charged with an Obstinate Contempt of Death. Instances of the Same are Found Amongst the Heathen.

If Christians and the Heathen Thus Resemble Each Other, There is Great Difference in the Grounds and Nature of Their Apparently Similar Conduct.

Truth and Reality Pertain to Christians Alone. The Heathen Counselled to Examine and Embrace It.