Later Christian writers felt it important to answer Julian the Apostate's criticisms of Christianity in his book Against the Galileans. They quoted liberally from the book, and, partly because of their interest, we have substantial portions of a book that might otherwise have been lost.Read through "Against the Galileans," and cite here a line or two
"Surely, besides this conception which is common to all men, there is another also. I mean that we are all by nature so closely dependent on the heavens and the gods that are visible therein, that even if any man conceives of another god besides these, he in every case assigns to him the heavens as his dwelling-place; not that he thereby separates him from the earth, but he so to speak establishes the King of |323 the All in the heavens 2 as in the most honourable place of all, and conceives of him as overseeing from there the affairs of this world."
ReplyDeleteThis line shows that the Romans were in fact aware that there was a true God and he has looked after the earth and that he is ruler of the Heavens.
“Is it better to be free continuously and for two thousand whole years to rule over the greater part of the earth and the sea, or to be enslaved and to live in obedience to the will of others? No man is so lacking in self-respect as to choose the latter by preference. Again, will anyone think that victory in war is less desirable than defeat?”
ReplyDeleteThis line was extremely interesting to me, and it really stood out. I think it can be perceived in many different ways, but this was the way that I read it. I think it talked about Christians, and standing up for what they in fact believe in. I feel it’s God signalling down to the Christians of Rome, would you rather live freely on your time on Earth, with the most powerful Empire in the world, but deny your relationship with the lord, whereas you can live on Earth tortured or manipulated for believing in Christianity, but then get to spend everlasting life in Heaven with the lord. Sure, life wouldn’t be pretty on Earth, and with the viewpoint of Christians in Rome, you could be tortured or lose your life, but at the same time, if you don’t deny the lord, the lord will be with you, and you’ll get to last eternally in heaven. Like I said, maybe for me this line is different in my viewpoint because I’m a Christian myself, but I’ve always been taught to never deny the lord, and I never would want to. I’m proud of my faith, and I’d go through torture and manipulation on Earth if it meant everlasting life in Heaven with the lord. Maybe this is the signal that is presented to Romans who are Christians, but are scared to believe what they believe in, or scared of the hurt or pain they will endure, but realize that the pain is temporary, and life is everlasting if you trust in the lord and you trust in the lord’s plan. As I said, it could be perceived as something completely different, but I think that’s my best inference and interpretation when reading this line.
- Nile Hesson
"Moses indeed has said nothing whatsoever about the gods who are superior to this creator, nay, he has not even ventured to say anything about the nature of the angels."
ReplyDeleteThis line is interesting to me because Julian assumes that there is another god or gods above the Christian God. He wonders why Moses hasn't said anything about it, as if there are other gods that exist. All throughout this text, he mentions "other gods" and is confused why no one in the Bible mentions them.
-Lauren Bland