The Conditionalist Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 1

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN: Justin Martyr Augments Subapostolic Conditionalism

I. Ante-Nicene Period Infiltrated by Platonic Immortal-Soulism

As already noted, the earliest literature of the Apostolic Fathers will be searched in vain for the telltale phrases of the Neoplatonic dogma—“immortal soul,” “eternal spirit,” “eternal suffering,” and such—that now begin to appear with increasing frequency in this new ante-Nicene period. The Apostolic Fathers were all Conditionalists, as also were Justin Martyr of Samaria, Tatian of Assyria, Theophilus of Antioch, Irenaeus of Lyons, Novatian of Rome, Arnobius of Sicca, and evidently others of the crucial era we are now entering. These likewise maintained the postulate that man is mortal, with Immortality as a gift from God for the righteous only. CFF1 803.1

1. FRONTAL AND FLANKING ATTACKS DEVELOP

The ante-Nicene period extends from Justin Martyr, about A.D. 150 on to A.D. 325, the date of the Nicene General Council. This was the period of the phenomenal spread of Christianity throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia Minor, and its inevitable struggle with Judaism and heathenism—and all this amid persecutions by the Roman state. It was a crisis hour for the church, a time of transition in which grave perversions began to appear. CFF1 803.2

Vicious frontal attacks upon Christianity and the Scriptures were made by Celsus and others. These called forth the vigorous defensive literature of church leaders—apologies frequently addressed to the emperors. During this period a host of martyrs were put to death in one of the most moving spectacles of Christian heroism of the centuries. However, erelong veneration for their noble sacrifice degenerated into worship of saints and reliance on relics purporting to have meritorious value. And in time the exaltation of the clergy was followed by the development of a dominating episcopate. CFF1 803.3

But far more serious to Christian beliefs were the inroads made by the flanking attacks of mystical philosophy. As heresies began to appear, controversies inevitably developed with those trained in the schools of Athens or Alexandria. Curiously enough, the arguments of philosophy were first brought forward ostensibly that men might not be blinded by the sudden light of Scripture. ¹ Various writers began to stress variant viewpoints, differing from all others. Doctrinal beliefs had not yet been crystallized, and there was diversity of view, with liberty of conviction accorded those who differed. CFF1 804.1

2. GNOSTICISM UNDERMINES TEACHING OF RESURRECTION

During this time Gnosticism, a far-flung religio-philosophical movement, came into prominence, followed by the Manichaean philosophy. The apostle Paul had warned against gnosis (knowledge), falsely so-called (1 Timothy 6:20). The Gnostics drew their speculations from a mingling of Oriental paganism, Alexandrian philosophy, and Christian sources. They sought to construct a theory of the universe, with ultimate harmony restored by destruction of all matter. They claimed a secret knowledge inaccessible to the uninitiated. It was a mystic religion, seeking assurance of a fortunate destiny for the soul after death. They segregated men into three classes—the third group being wholly material, and thus beyond salvation, because they had no spark of the “divine” within them. CFF1 804.2

It was based largely on an Oriental Dualism, with the two antagonistic worlds of good and evil, light and darkness, divine and material—the material being the seat of evil. It taught a series of emanations from the Supreme Being, which were half angelic and half demonic. And it was strongly influenced by Greek Platonism. CFF1 804.3

Thus “Christian” Gnosticism sought to combine the teachings of the historical Jesus with “enlightenment” derived from heathen poets and philosophers. But the essence of the Gnostic notion of redemption was liberation of the spirit from its connection with matter, thus affecting the whole concept of the resurrection. The Gnostics did not attempt to form a separate ecclesiastical organization, but penetrated into existing church circles. And the peak of Gnosticism was reached in the latter part of the second century. CFF1 805.1

3. NEOPLATONIC MYSTICISM SUPPLANTS LITERALISM

While the early successors of the apostles gave clear expression to the apostolic hope and expectation—the literal second coming of Christ, accompanied by the literal resurrection of the dead—Greek concepts regarding human survival and inherent immortality now began to intrude into certain patristic writings. Indeed, the subtle sophistries that made the Innate Immortality of the soul the central feature of Greek thought, made steady encroachment upon the church until under Origen, the Neoplatonic philosopher of Alexandria, it triumphed in open subversion of the literal second coming of Christ and of the literal resurrection of the dead cherished by the apostles. This is clearly stated by Dr. John Laidlaw, in his Cunningham Lecture, at the Free Church College of Edinburgh, in 1877: CFF1 805.2

“Gradually, in Christian schools, the Greek influence prevailed, and even in the Christian Church the idea of the soul’s immortality for long [centuries] took the place of the Scripture doctrine of a future life.” ² CFF1 805.3

4. RELEASE OF THE SOUL FROM THE BODY

Thus the philosophical concept of an “immortal essence” in man was substituted for that of complete redemption for which Holy Writ instructed the believer to wait and to yearn. The Christian hope came gradually to be superseded by “the hope of release from the body at death, instead of the body’s redemption and a perfected salvation for the whole nature of the man.” ³ It was a tangent path that led farther and farther away from the road trodden by the Apostolic Fathers and a smaller group of the Ante-Nicene Fathers as well. It was a distinct departure. CFF1 805.4

5. IMMORTAL-SOULISM WELL-NIGH EXTINGUISHES BLESSED HOPE

As a result, an admixture of the two concepts began to appear in a majority of the writings of the Fathers of this period. And contrariwise, the light of the blessed hope dimmed steadily, until it was virtually extinguished in the Dark Ages, when the teaching of Innate Immortality, with its fanciful accessories, came to hold well-nigh complete sway. CFF1 806.1

Conflicting claims have been put forth concerning the testimony of these ante-Nicene witnesses. To claim that the entire body of Early Church writings constitutes a case for Conditionalism would be to contravene the simple facts of historical record. And similarly, for proponents of Innate Immortality loosely to make similar claims of uniformity for Immortal-Soulism is equally contrary to fact. Two schools of thought definitely existed side by side. Testimony for both positions is clearly on record, ⁴ for both views were struggling for supremacy—the apostolic view, which insisted on he Second Advent and the resurrection, and the Greek concept, based on the postulate of the soul’s inherent immortality. These conflicting positions we must now trace. CFF1 806.2

6. WRITERS SEGREGATE THEMSELVES INTO THREE-WAY SPLIT

The ante- and post-Nicene writers thus divide themselves into two opposite schools of thought and teaching. A minority continued to hold to the earlier Conditional-Immortality position, while the majority became committed to the new universal Innate-Immortality concept. But this larger group, holding the dogma of inherent and indefeasible immortality for good and evil alike, soon split into two opposing groups: CFF1 806.3

(1) A majority, who championed the related dogma of the Eternal Torment of the immortal wicked; and (2) those who adopted the postulate of the ultimate universal restoration of all the indefeasibly immortal wicked. CFF1 807.1

These variant groups, with their conflicting concepts of life and death, are listed for convenient over-all view in chronological and categorical order and grouping in the Tabular Chart on page 758. Personal conclusions may be drawn by the reader. The documented evidence appears throughout these chapters. Summarizing charts appear periodically to aid in obtaining an accurate over-all view. CFF1 807.2