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Catholicity and Heresy in the Early Church 1st Edition

by Mark Edwards (Author)

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While it has often been recognised that the development of Christian orthodoxy was stimulated by the speculations of those who are now called heretics, it is still widely assumed that their contribution was merely catalytic, that they called forth the exposition of what the main church already believed but had not yet been required to formulate. This book maintains that scholars have underrated the constructive role of these "heretical" speculations in the evolution of dogma, showing that salient elements in the doctrines of the fall, the Trinity and the union of God and man in Christ derive from teachings that were initially rejected by the main church. Mark Edwards also reveals how authors who epitomised orthodoxy in their own day sometimes favoured teachings which were later considered heterodox, and that their doctrines underwent radical revision before they became a fixed element of orthodoxy. The first half of the volume discusses the role of Gnostic theologians in the formation of catholic thought; the second half will offer an unfashionable view of the controversies which gave rise to the councils of Nicaea, Ephesus and Chalcedon . Many of the theories advanced here have not been broached elsewhere, and no synthesis on this scale had been attempted by other scholars. While this book proposes a revision in the scholarly perception of early Christendom, it also demonstrates the essential unity of the tradition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'[Edwards] demonstrates in an elucidating way the diversity and plurality of the theological thinking of early Christianity. [ - ] Edwards discovers a theological unity in places where it was previously not sought, namely in tenets and thinkers considered as heterodox. This original and intriguing study will certainly evoke much discussion in the research of early Christianity.' --Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses

'Edwards's scholarship, extending across the whole period under investigation, is truly impressive, as is his theological 'razor' (if the expression be permitted), which rejects the defeatist modern tendency to split up early Christianity into innumerable 'hermetic and discordant ''Christianities'''... Catholicity and Heresy in the Early Church can be recommended as a valuable and concise contribution to the study of early Christian doctrine and, more particularly, as a new attempt to appreciate the interrelationship between heresy and orthodoxy...' --Journal of Theological Studies

About the Author

Mark Edwards is Lecturer in Patristics, Christ Church, Oxford and author of the following books: Translation and commentary: Philoponus. Physics of Aristotle, Book 3 (Duckworth, 1994). Three translations with Commentary: Optatus, Against the Gnostics (1997), Neoplatonic Saints (2002), Constantine and Christendom (2003), all for Liverpool University Press (translated; Texts for Historians). Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, New Testament VIII: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians (Inter-Varsity Press, 1999). Three edited volumes for Clarendon Press: Portraits (with Simon Swain, 1997); Apologetics in the Roman World (with Simon Price, Martin Goodman, 1999); Approaching Late Antiquity (with Simon Swain, 2004). Origen against Plato (Ashgate, 2002). John through the Centuries, Blackwell Bible Commentary series (2003). Culture and Philosophy in the Age of Plotinus (Duckworth, 2006).

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Routledge; 1st edition (November 28, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0754662918
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0754662914
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches

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Jamie B.

Solid scholarship, though not without flaws

Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2011

This is not intended as a comprehensive review, but merely a series of observations. The purpose of Edwards' monograph can be seen from the summaries above: to show that the emerging, 'orthodox' consensus of the ancient Church often 'borrowed' theological concepts and language from the very heretics which they condemned in the name of such orthodoxy. This is, in fact, a very bold claim. No one denies, e.g., that the claims of Gnostics spurred and motivated episcopal Catholics to develop and refine their doctrine, but it is rarely maintained that they assisted in providing the doctrinal ballast for such a refinement.

Of course, there is no doubt that Edwards is one of the foremost scholars in his field, who has plumbed the depths of the ancient sources and has an uncanny ability to synthesize and categorize them, often in new and exciting ways. The surprising connections he draws between, e.g., orthodox Catholic writers and Gnostic mythologists like Valentinus, is very illuminating. This is not to say, however, that Edwards always proves his point. Many of the connections he draws seem to me to be very superficial. The readily observable fact that two writers, a Catholic and a Gnostic, speak of Christ as the 'effulgence' from the Father, hardly means that they meant the same thing by this term, much less that the one must needs have learned the term from the other. Some of Edwards' illustrations of this principle make good historical sense; others seem rather preposterous.

Two other brief points regarding not content, but delivery. First, anyone not used to reading Edwards' writing will have to accomodate his fondness for needlessly arcane, bewildering and even obfuscating vocabulary. I've got a Ph.D. in theology and I still have a dictionary on my desk when I read Edwards. Second, the publisher needs to dress down the copyeditor who approved this text. There are typographical and grammatical errors on every page, to the point that reading it becomes a frustrating enterprise.

In sum, to those who already have some expertise in ancient church history and patristic theology, this book is definitely worth reading, as Edwards is putting forth creative and intriguing hypotheses which I have never seen made before. It is, however, not for amateurs, nor is it a book which will become established orthodoxy in the field without a serious contest.