Opening Against the Christians — Porphyry in Plato Scroll…
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Porphyry · Thomas Taylor
Anonymous translation, 2004 Against the Christians criticised the writings of Christian philosophers and theologians. Due to widespread censorship by Christian imperial authorities, no known copies of the book have survived. Only through references to the text in Christian writings can its contents be reconstructed. During his retirement in Sicily, Porphyry wrote the treatise, which consisted of fifteen books. Numerous Christian apologists, including Methodius, Eusebius, Apollinaris, Augustine and Jerome responded to his challenge. Indeed, everything known about Porphyry’s arguments is found in these refutations, largely because Theodosius II ordered every copy of the work to be burned in 435 and again in 448. Jerome tells us that in Against the Christians Porphyry mocked Paul and the early Christians, suggesting that the ‘magical arts’ performed by Jesus of Nazareth and his followers …
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