INTRODUCTION
Tertullian was born in c. 160 in Carthage, Africa which
was part of the Roman Empire. It
was here that he grew and
was recognized as a productive Christian author. His acceptance of
Christ was in about
197-198, and would appear to have been a life changing event. He said that
Christians are made, not
born. He was a force to be reckoned with as he went against heretics to
protect the church. He
never went far from home, but was a prolific writer. He is known as the
oldest extant Latin
writer to use the term Trinity, and to write the oldest extant analysis of the
Trinitarian theology.
We will be discussing his writings, and some of their
general characteristics. His works
cover the whole gamut of
theological topics of his generation. A close look at Trinitarian
theology is especially
important, because it demonstrates the nature of God allowing a better
understanding of his
inner working. ”God is both unified and complex: he is one God, yet he
eternally discourses with
his own inner word or reason.”[1]
God is three in one. There is the unity
of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit.
Tertullian had a way with words, and many of his
expression are still remembered. His
ethical vitality and the
benefits he provided as a creative and fearless defender of the Christian
religion were due to his
view that Christianity is a heart experience that changes a person’s life.
Despite his feeling about
this he could be a harsh person, but it was this part of his nature that
allowed him to go against
heretics with unflinching speech. To combat sin men are needed
who will stand even in the
face of disapproval. He was an inexplicable and appealing person
even when he was engaging
the enemy of the church. He was one of two men who were never
canonized, and yet he did
a difficult job that few would have had the audacity to do then or now.
The heretics wanted new
ideas while Tertullian stood firmly for the teachings of the apostles.
“Tertullian believed
Biblical interpretations had to line up with the Rule of Faith’s summary of
the Bibles message.”[2] We
will look at his life and his message, and perhaps learn the key to
courage in hard times.
TERTULLIANS THEOLOGY
There was an event
that focused attention on Carthage in North Africa. Twelve Christians
were taken in and were
martyred. This event impacted Christianity in this area. This is reflected
in many of Tertullian’s
writings. He was the first Christian writer of importance to use Latin, and
gave Latin theology its
terminology and essential plan.
His concern was for the purity and sanctity of the
church, and the functional validity of
it’s teaching. He
believed that to keep God’s word one must be removed from the world which
was subservient to
demons. They were to do nothing that would help pagan religion such as
serve in the military or
governmental positions. He felt even education and business could be a
source of support for the
gods of this world.
He had no patience with believers who fell into sin after
baptism. Being aware of the
failure of so many
Christian he felt compelled to take a harsher stand like that of the
Montanists.
During this period he
refused any chance for forgiveness or restoration after baptism. He did not
believe there was any
excuse for failure to live by the Gospel precepts. He was definitely rigorist.
He felt that if a person
was a Christian they should be ‘separated from sin’. It is interesting that
he had the attitude that
Crusaders would have that martyrdom would cleanse away all the
person’s sins.
It does not appear from Tertullian’s writings that he had
a system of theology. He was
more likely to respond to
the circumstances that were going on around him that he felt outraged
at. His works were based
on Scripture. He believed firmly that what Christ taught was truth, and
there was no other, and
this was passed from him to the apostles who then passed it on to the
church. The churches
authority came from the apostolic wisdom.
He does appear to accept some of the pagan ideas of his
time that he did not feel
contradicted the
Scriptures (De anima).He also used philosophy to argue against heresy. The
irony is that he would
disallow a similar argument if used in another context.
He felt that authority was not found in the opinion
established by men. “What has Athens
to do with Jerusalem? Or
the academy with the church? (Prescription Against Heretics VII) He
very often referred to
the Rule of Faith which was the authoritive tradition handed down to the
church. He believed that
the church should hold fast to the Rule of Faith. He used his skill as a
writer to come against
heretics. He stood up for the doctrine of creation, incarnation of the logos,
and resurrection of the
flesh. He attacked monarchian in his tract Adversus Praxeam. In this
work he discusses the
doctrine of the Trinity. “Tertullian countered that the way in which God
has operated in human
history, as recorded in the rule of faith preserved in the scriptures, has
been as Father, Son, and
Spirit (who are distinct not identical), which he calls the economy
(Against Praxeas 2.1).”[3]
TERTULLIANS WRITINGS
Tertullian did a
majority of his writing from about age forty to sixty years old. He
dedicated himself almost
exclusively to scholarly activities. He established his own style of
writing in Latin which
would stand him in good stead. He was the most prolific author in Latin
before the fourth
century. His works are filled with
unforgettable phrases, sayings, audacious
word play, sarcasm, and
criticism against rivals. Little is known about his life, and even that is
discussed and debated. It
is from his writing that we discover the man. It is from his writings that
we discover that he was
very well educated in both Greek and Latin. He was well versed in
philosophy, and rhetoric,
and had knowledge on legal theory and literature. Barnes felt that he
must have come from a
fairly well off family to have received the education that he had.[4]
“History reveals that the
churches character in North Africa was very much like Tertullian’s own
personality: morally
rigorous, radically devoted, and steadfastly opposed to the pagan world.
These traits are the
perfect formula for producing martyrs, which the North African church had
in abundance.”[5]
His writing would fit into three categories according to
Oshitelu which would be
apologetic, doctrinal and
polemical, and moral and practical.
There
was another side to his character which could be sensitive as he showed in the
treatise to his wife
which was called Ad uxorem. It is so beautiful, and gives such an amazing
feel for what marriage can
be when both parties serve one master, Christ. He says, “How
beautiful ,then, the
marriage of two Christians, two who are one in hope, one in desire, one in the
way of life they follow,
one in the religion they practice….Nothing divides them, either in flesh
or in spirit.”[6] This
is at the end of book 2.
Book 1 Chapter 5 says, “He attacks the pagan
practice of abortion while pointing out the
difficulties of
parenthood: Burdens must be sought by us
for ourselves which are avoided by the
majority of the Gentiles,
who are compelled by laws, who are decimated by abortions; burdens
which, finally, are to
most of us unsuitable, as being perilous to faith.”[7] I
was unable at this
point to get complete
copies of these works, but it gives an idea of the variety of the different
topics he wrote on.
He
also admits to a lack of patience when he wrote De Patientia which is a
wonderful
piece that would be
beneficial for all Christians to read. Tertullian has written such amazingly
deep and practical
writings for living the Christian life. I am not sure, but that spending the
time
to study each of his
writing would be extremely beneficial. Each one I read makes me want to
read more. He discusses
God’s patience. I cannot, but offer the suggestion that you take time to
read his works, and enjoy
the blessedness of his God given wisdom. It is his writings that are his
claim to distinction. He
was a passionate man well able to verbalize the depths of his feelings
without the concern that
he might not be approved of by those around him. He was interested in
everything that went on
around him, and wrote to inform and reform.
One must also take into consideration that when he was
arguing a point he used whatever
he felt was necessary to
prove his point which means one must read carefully. This is part of the
reason he was not
canonized. He very often left one concerned that his works might have
heretical leaning at
times. This issue is discussed and debated.
The
majority of Tertullian’s writings were written in the accepted view. When
reading his
writings one needs to use
caution, because there are some that have been disallowed for their
unorthodoxy. He became
interested in Montanism which was later considered heresy although
many of their beliefs
were similar to the basic dogma of Christian principles. His connection
with such marginal groups
found a resonance in some of his works, but it did not keep later
generation from reading
and benefiting from them.
He was the first key Christian writer to observe and try
to put into practice the truth that
Christianity was a
comprehensive academic approach free of pagan viewpoints. “Its base lay in
historical verifiable
objective truth…The centrality of scripture in his thought is impossible to
overestimate. It was the
law-book and charter of the Christian thinker, the infallible guide into all
truth.”[8]
Tertullian did not always stay within these believes which caused issues, but
even so he
is considered one of the
influential scholars of Christianity.
SANCTIFICATION
One important theme that we see running through
Tertullian’s writings is sanctification.
It was through
sanctification that we could truly know the heart of God. The Paraclete (Holy
Spirit) through his
working with man made it possible to realize sanctification. Tertullian felt
that through this process
man could arrive in a state that was similar to the state of man before
the fall. Christ had come
to redeem man, and made it possible to return to innocence. This, he
felt, would be
accomplished through the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of man.
It had all begin with Moses, and God’s
covenant with his people. He had given them his
law to live by. The
reality was that man could only do this with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
At that time they did not
have it, and so God set up sacrifices that had to be done at particular
times for different
reasons to allow for cleansing in their failure to be in a state of communion
with God. The fact is
that without laws there would be no offense. It was the laws that revealed
the nature of God which
is holy. Christ paid the price once and for all. Man was redeemed, and
the Holy Spirit was sent
to work with those who accepted salvation.
Tertullian
felt that there would be a progressive disclosure of God’s plan. He was more
comfortable with familiar
things. He wanted a return to man’s original state. He urged
man towards holiness.
Sanctification was what every believer aspired too, and it could be
achieved through
martyrdom. It was this that would appear to have brought Tertullian to the
point where he was ready
to adopt he idea of perfectionism. This is a difficult concept
considering that we live
in the world even though we are not of the world. Each day of our life is
a spiritual battle
whether we are sinners or saints. We are not allowed to see the whole big
picture. We see only what
moves around us and within us, but there is constant war being waged
for the heart of man.
CHRISTOLOGY
Tertullian had to
defend the incarnation of Christ from the enemies of the church. He
fought against
polytheism, Monarchianism, and Gnosticism. He had to find a way to show Christ
so that it would not appear
that he came as the many gods of the pagans were believed to have
come. He was to pull out
all the big guns from the Bible, Judaism, Stoicism, and
legal rhetoric. His first
move was to elucidate the Christians perception of God. He began by
using the economic
Trinity. He was the first to use the word Trinity. God maintains his
sovereignty, but the Son
is to manage the rule. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are of one mind.
They are unified. He used
philosophy to explain this. “Tertullian used philosophy as an
accessory to theology and
used it accordingly. But although many of his words were borrowed
from philosophers, the
spirit in which he wrote was quite different, and it was this that in the end
was more important.”[9] De
anima is a repudiation of the works of Plato on the soul. He turned
around the stoic doctrine
and used revelation of God in Scripture. He was well read and well
studied.
DE PRAESCRIPTIONE HAERETICORUM
PRESCRIPTION AGAINST HERETICS
Tertullian was a man with a special ability with words.
He knew how to use them to
make his point even
though at times as one reads his writing one feels the sting of sarcasm. He is
zealous and spirited as
he plays with words. He was able to use language effectively to not only
get his point across, but
to make his readers feel the bite of the words. “He must sometimes have
had his tongue in his
cheek, but there are other times when he cannot have known how
wearisome his quibbling
could become. At best, however, he is forceful and brilliant.”[10]
Gnostics claimed to be Christians, but looked more to
reason, mysticism and special
revelations. This raised
the question of what legitimate Christianity is. Legitimate Christianity
must be based on the
revelation that had been given by Christ to the Apostles and from the
Apostles to the church.
The church should be attentive to the Rule of Faith or Truth. Their
needed to be a constancy
of faith. Gnostics could not stand the test of time. “What remains true is
that Christianity is a
religion of revelation, anchored in an historic event, and that the
significance of that
event, recorded in and interpreted in the Bible, is grasped by the individual
within the life of a
concrete, historical, church.”[11]
What is the function of heresy in the church? It would
appear that because heresies, at
times, do happen the
church is forced to look for the truth. “Surly such faulty teaching prodded
the church to understand
Christ more clearly, both in his deity and humanity…Tertullian, writing
in the early third
century A.D., argued that heresy could be identified by its divergence from
apostolic teaching and
doctrine.”[12]
Jesus
did not leave any doubt about who he was, what he was, or what God’s will was
for
him and for mankind. It
was laid out precisely as was the way to align with God’s will. Christ
chose twelve men to walk
with him, so they would learn the truth, and be able to pass his
teaching on to the
people. He wanted to be sure that mankind would know and understand the
way to live pleasing to
God. If what is being taught does not match the apostolic teachings there
is an issue. Paul said,
“…that in the latter times some would depart from the faith, giving heed to
deceiving spirits, and
doctrines of demons” (1 Tim. 4: 1a). Heresy is a deliberate dissemination
of a teaching that is
against apostolic teaching. I thought Hall’s suggestion that when it is a
teaching that does not
align with the apostles teaching the group takes the name of the inventor
of the doctrine and are
called by their name instead of the name of Christ. They are no longer
Christians but Arian,
ect.
Tertullian wrote his Prescription
Against Heretics to create, “a safe space for the
orthodox believers to
live, and in so doing excluded the heretics from their midst.”[13] Tertullian’s
first principle was that,
“Christ laid down one definite system of truth which the world must
believe without
qualification, and which we must seek precisely in order to believe it when we
find it.”[14]
This is the center of his argument. Jesus’s teaching was truth and there was no
truth
outside it.
If we look at chapter 45 of the Prescription Against Heretics we find Tertullian prepared
to dispute any point of doctrine
that they would care to bring forward. “At some future time, if
the grace of God permits
me, I shall reply to some of them in particular.”[15] He
did not feel the
churches needed to do
this, because the church would stand firmly on its authority. It had the true
scripture.
In
Chapter 44 one feels the sarcasm in his writing as he suggests that Christ and
the
Apostles will be
apologetic to the heretics, because of their inability to follow Christ
teaching.
“As if it were not
written that many should come and preform the greatest of miracles to fortify
the deceptiveness of a
corrupt teaching.”[16] He
puts forth the excuses the heretics will give, and
then uses sarcasm. “…I had commanded my disciples to tell you
this, but you were not expected
to believe it.” His words
could bite when he wanted.
Chapter 38 discusses the corruption of the scriptures and
sound doctrine. If the Scripture
is corrupted then the
instrument must also be corrupted. “One man perverts it with his hands and
another with his exegesis.”
[17]The
Scripture must not be made to fit our doctrine, but our doctrine
must align with the word.
“If Valentinus seems to have used the whole Bible, he laid violent
hands on the truth with
just as much cunning as Marcion. Marcion openly and nakedly used the
knife, not the pen,
massacring Scripture to suit his own material.”[18] In
chapter 2 Tertullian points
out, “Just so, heresy
draws its strength from men’s weakness and has none when it meets a really
strong faith.”[19]
Tertullian uses Scripture to back up his writings. He
really makes some amazing points in
this piece. He talks
about the test of faith, and the fact that God looks on the heart while we as
people can only go by
what we see and hear. He talks about the fact that we were warned that
heresies would come, and
we were to avoid them. “Let the chaff of light faith fly away as it
pleases before every wind
of temptation. So much the purer is the heap of wheat which the Lord
will gather into the
garner.”[20]
This piece should be read by all Christians. It is
hardly a burden to read.
It is entertaining, inspirational, as well as informative and useful.
“Persecution at least
makes Martyrs: heresy only apostates.”[21]
THE APOLOGY
Tertullian wrote
at the end of the second century when Christianity was just beginning to
come to the attention of
those in authority in Rome. It was not an established religion, and so was
illegal. It was
considered to have treacherous implications. Ignorance is not always bliss, and
the
lack of knowledge about
Christianity was causing persecution to arise. In fact, Satan was having
a heyday as he perverted
the truth in the minds of the people. The irony was that their religious
practices had entailed
some of the things they were persecuting Christians for. Tertullian would
attempt through The Apology to discredit Roman Religions
which were polytheistic and also
consisted of worship of
the emperor. The pagans were guilty of profanity and ethical
permissiveness. They were
the criminals. The truth needed to be sought out. “You cannot surly
forbid the truth to reach
your ears by the secret pathway of a noiceless book.”[22]
Apology in Latin is apologia which means to explain.
Tertullian explains why accusing
Christians of atheism,
incest, and cannibalism was absurd. These were the things they were being
accused of, because of
ignorance of their religious believes. Tertullian challenges them to seek
knowledge about what they
were making judgment calls on. “For what is there more unfair then
to hate a thing of which
you know nothing, even though it deserves to be hated? Hatred is only
merited when it is known
to be merited. But without that knowledge, whence is its justice to be
vindicated? For that is
to be proved, not from the mere fact that an aversion exists, but from
acquaintance with the
subject.”[23]
He
wrote The Apology to the officials of the Roman Empire in defense of
Christianity.
He wanted to prove that
Christians were faithful and useful citizens of Rome. They prayed for
the government and were
good citizens living quiet lives among the general population. He
argues that Christianity
was beneficial to the Roman Empire, because of their religious believes
which promoted love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control. Against
such there is no law (Galatians 5: 22-23).
He argued that Christians were not criminals, but they
were treated as such yet denied the
right of ordinary
criminals. He ridiculed their persecution of Christians He showed their
inconsistencies. The law
required proof of guilt that they did not have when dealing with a
Christian. “And then,
too, you do not in that case deal with us in the ordinary way of judicial
proceedings against
offenders; for, in the case of others denying, you apply the torture to make
them confess-Christians
alone you torture, to make them deny; whereas, if we were guilty of any
crime, we should be sure
to deny it, and you with your tortures would force us to confession.”[24]
Those with authority to
find the truth attempt to make the Christian lie. The person states that he
is a Christian, and he is
put to the rack to get him to deny it. Where is the justice? When a person
owns a crime he is
usually condemned and not acquitted. With Christians this process was
reversed. “You play fast
and loose with the laws. You wish him to deny his guilt, that you may,
even against his will,
bring him out blameless and free from all guilt in reference to the past.”[25]
He was a genius when it
came to debate and argument, and he was always ready to take on those
who came against Christianity.
He wrote, “Nor does your cruelty, however exquisite, avail you;
it is rather a temptation
to us. The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we
grow; the blood of
Christians is seed.” [26]
AGAINST PRAXEAS
In this piece he defends the Holy Trinity. I will attempt
to follow his reasoning, so I can
give an accurate feel for
this piece. There is one God, but within this one God we have the
Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. They are the self-same person. “As if in this way also one
were not all, on that all
are one, by unity (that is)of substance; while the mystery of the
dispensation is still
guarded, which distributed the unity into a trinity, placing in their order the
three persons—the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost: three, however not in condition, but in
degree, not is substance,
but in form, not in power, but in aspect, yet of one substance, and of one
condition, and of one
power, inasmuch, as he is one God, from whom three degrees and forms
and aspects are reckoned,
under the name of Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” [27]
I
like the way Ferguson discussed logos explaining that logos has two
definitions. One
would be the reasoning of
the mind, but also the words that are spoken which originate in the
mind. The main ideas
originate with God the Father, and Christ as the word went forth from God
fulfilling his will. It
is because of this that the universe also flows from the will of God. “The
logos as incarnate in
Jesus-the divine word became flesh as a personal human being.”[28] It
was
through this act that man
and the earth were redeemed. The price was very high. In fact I doubt
that with our finite
minds we can even begin to comprehend what it cost God to redeem
humanity and the earth
from the hand of Satan. Man sold it all in the garden with his act of
disobedience. He bowed a
knee to Satan, and the results of his act has been felt throughout
history. Even the earth
travails waiting for the return of Christ. We can only view it from our
point of view. We think
of Christ suffering in from a human aspect. We might grasp the physical,
emotional, mental and to
some point the spiritual aspects of it, but we rarely see the whole
picture, and we cannot
know what it cost God. We only get the tiniest glimpse of the reality.
Following therefore, the
form of these analogies, I confess that I call God and his word-the
Father and his Son-two.
For the root and the tree are distinctly two things, but correlatively
joined; the fountain and
the river two forms, but indivisible, so likewise the sun and the rays are
two forms, but coherent
ones.”[29]
Holy Ghost was sent to us after Christ was taken to be a
comforter and a guide, but still
one of the Godhead
flowing out from the Father and the Son with the same mind as they have.
They are always in
perfect unison. They flow as one, because they are one in thought, word and
deed. God said, “Let us
make man in our own image.” Which is a plural, and we find gods spirit
hovering over the face of
the water, and then he spoke and the word went forth (Genesis 1). We
see the three in one even
in the beginning. “Thus the connection of the Father in the Son, and the
Son in the Paraclete,
produces three coherent persons, who are yet distinct one from another.
These three are one
essence, not one person, as it is said, “I and my Father are One,” in respect
of
unity of substance not
singularity of number.”[30]
There are many Scriptures that speak on this
subject. It is not an
easy concept to fully grasp. Duet. 6:4 says, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our
God, the Lord is One!”
and Matt. 28:19 says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the
Father and Son and Holy Spirit.”
CONCLUSION
Tertullian is one of the ten spiritual forefathers of the
church. Of the ten, eight were
considered saints.
Tertullian and Origen were the two that were not. Tertullian’s personality did
not lend itself to
sainthood. He was fiery, severe, and didactic. There was a legalistic aspect to
his comprehension of
salvation. He felt one could earn points with God by doing penance. Men
like Tertullian were
important in the time. He had the spirit of a fighter, and that was needed as
he came up against
heretics. He did a difficult job at a time when it was most needed. You do not
find many men with his
kind of courage and forcefulness. He truly was a force to be reckoned
with. When we look at the
men through the Bible that God chose to do his work we can feel
hope for ourselves. They
very often had some real personality flaws that stood in good stead
against the enemies they
faced. There are many that comes to mind as does Tertullian. They
stood in different times
and against different enemies, but they stood fast and made a difference.
His writings have stood
the test of time. He was true to God’s word. There were times when his
interpretation caused
issues, but it was always his goal to be true to the word. With a sincere
heart he searched to find
the truth in the word, and present it to others. He was not a well traveled
man. He stayed close to
where he was born and lived, but he made a difference. He had an
uncompromising attitude,
and when he saw injustice he used his pen to come against those guilty
of it. He was prolific in
his writings, and uncompromising.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barnes,
Timothy David. Tertullian: A Literary and
Historical Study. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1985.
Bray,
G.L. Holiness And The Will Of God:
Perspectives on the Theology of Tertullian. Louisville, Kentucky:
Westminster John Knox Press, 1979.
Dunn,
Geoffrey D. Tertullian: The Early Church
Fathers. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2004.
Greenslade,
S. L. Early Latin Theology. Louisville:
The Westminster Press, MCMLVI.
Hall,
Christopher A. Learning Theology with The
Church Fathers. Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic,2002.
Kirby,
Peter. Early Christian Writings: Against
Praxeas. Translated by Dr. Holmes, 1996. www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/tertullian17.html.
2001-2014.
Litfin,
Bryan M. Getting To Know The Church Fathers. Grand
Rapids, Michigan: Brazos Press, 2007.
Pearse. The Tertullian Project. www.tertullian.org/works/ad_uxorem.htm,
1999.
[1] Bryan M. Litfin. Getting To Know The Church Fathers. Grand
Rapids, Michigan: Brazos Press, 2007,112.
[2] Ibid.,114
[3]
Geoffrey D.
Dunn. Tertullian: The Early Church
Fathers. London and New York: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, 2004, 36.
[4]
Timothy
David Barnes. Tertullian: A Literary and
Historical Study. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1985, 196-201.
[5]
Ibid., 104.
[6] Roger Pearse. The Tertullian Project. www.tertullian.org/works/ad_uxorem.htm,1999.
[7]
Ibid., under other points of
interest.
[8] Gerald Lewis
Bray. Holiness and the Will of God:
Perspectives on the Theology of Tertullian. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1979,
153.
[9] Ibid., 75.
[10] Editor: S.L. Greenslade. Early Latin Theology. Louisville: The
Westminster Press, MCMLVI, 22.
[11] Ibid., 27-28.
[12] Christopher A.
Hall. Learning Theology with the Church
Fathers. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academics, 2002, 28.
[13] Bryan M. Litfin. Getting to Know the Church Fathers.
Grand Rapids, Michigan: Brazos Press, 2007, 100.
[14] S.L. Greeslade, Early Latin Theology. Louisville: The
Westminster Press, MCMLVI, 37.
[15]
Ibid., 64.
[16]
Ibid., 64.
[17]
Ibid., 59.
[18] Ibid., 59
[19] Ibid., 32.
[20] Ibid., 33
[21]
Ibid., 33.
[22]
Tertullian. The Apology. Translated by The Rev. S. Thelwall Kessinger
Legacy Reprints, 3.
[23] Tertullian. The Apology. Translated by The Rev. S.
Thelwall. Kessinger Legacy Reprints, 3.
[24]
Ibid., 6.
[25] Ibid., 7.
[26] Ibid., 71.
[27] Peter Kirby. Early Christian Writings. Against Praxeas. Translated
by Dr. Holmes. 1996. www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/tertullian17.html.
2001-2014.
[28] Everett Ferguson.
Church History: Volume One: From Christ
to the Pre-Reformation. Grand Rapids Michigan: Zondervan, 2013, 75.
[29]
Peter Kirby.
Early Christian Writings: Against
Praxeas. Translated by Dr. Holmes. 1996. www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/tertullian17.html. 2001-2014.
[30] Ibid., chapter
25.
