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[[File:Example.jpgright|250x|thumb|6th century Syriac portrait of St. Eusebius of Caesarea from the he Rabbula or Rabula Gospels in Florence, produced in 586.]]
[[File:Example.jpg|right|250x|thumb|6th century Syriac portrait of St. Eusebius of Caesarea from the he Rabbula or Rabula Gospels in Florence, produced in 586.]]


== Eusebius Pamphili of Caesarea ==
Eusebius of Caesarea was born around 260/265 and died 339/340). He was also known as Eusebius Pamphili, a Roman historian and Christian polemicist of Greek descent. He was a scholar of the Biblical canon and is regarded as an extremely well learned Christian of his time. He became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima about 314. He wrote ''Demonstrations of the Gospel'', ''Preparations for the Gospel'', and ''On Discrepancies between the Gospels, studies of the Biblical text''. He also produced the Ecclesiastical History, ''On the Life of Pamphilus'' and the ''Chronicle and On the Martyrs''.
Eusebius of Caesarea was born around 260/265 and died 339/340). He was also known as Eusebius Pamphili, a Roman historian and Christian polemicist of Greek descent. He was a scholar of the Biblical canon and is regarded as an extremely well learned Christian of his time. He became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima about 314. He wrote ''Demonstrations of the Gospel'', ''Preparations for the Gospel'', and ''On Discrepancies between the Gospels, studies of the Biblical text''. He also produced the Ecclesiastical History, ''On the Life of Pamphilus'' and the ''Chronicle and On the Martyrs''.


He followed much of the teachings of [[Origen]] and would have opposed Calvin, since he held that men were sinners by their own free choice and not by the necessity of their natures. The historian Edward Gibbon refers to Eusebius as the 'gravest of the ecclesiastical historians'<Ref>History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol II, Chapter XVI</Ref>  He also suggests that Eusebius was more concerned with the passing political concerns of his time than his duty as a reliable historian. In a chapter heading of  ''Praeparatio evangelica'', Book XII, Chapter 31 Eusebius wrote:
=== Falsehoods ===
 
He followed much of the teachings of [[Origen]] and would have opposed Calvin, since he held that men were sinners by their own free choice and not by the necessity of their natures. The historian Edward Gibbon refers to Eusebius as the 'gravest of the ecclesiastical historians'<Ref>History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol II, Chapter XVI</Ref>  He also suggests that [[Eusebius]] was ''more concerned with the passing political concerns of his time than his duty as a reliable historian''.  
 
In a chapter heading of  ''Praeparatio evangelica'', Book XII, Chapter 31 Eusebius wrote:
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
'''"PLATO  'BUT even if the case were not such as our argument has now proved it to be, if a lawgiver, who is to be of ever so little use, could have ventured to tell any falsehood at all to the young for their good, is there any falsehood that he could have told more beneficial than this, and better able to make them all do everything that is just, not by compulsion but willingly?
: ''"PLATO  'BUT even if the case were not such as our argument has now proved it to be, if a lawgiver, who is to be of ever so little use, could have ventured to tell any '''falsehood''' at all to the young for their good, is there any '''falsehood''' that he could have told more beneficial than this, and better able to make them all do everything that is just, not by compulsion but willingly?''"


'Truth, O Stranger, is a noble and an enduring thing; it seems, however, not easy to persuade men of it.'
"'Truth, O Stranger, is a noble and an enduring thing; it seems, however, not easy to persuade men of it.'"


Now you may find in the Hebrew Scriptures also thousands of such passages concerning God as though He were jealous, or sleeping, or angry, or subject to any other human passions, which passages are adopted for the benefit of those who need this mode of instruction."<Ref>''Praeparatio evangelica'', Book XII, Chapter 31, Eusebius of Caesarea.</Ref>
"Now you may find in the Hebrew Scriptures also thousands of such passages concerning God as though He were jealous, or sleeping, or angry, or subject to any other human passions, which passages are adopted for the benefit of those who need this mode of instruction."<Ref>''Praeparatio evangelica'', Book XII, Chapter 31, Eusebius of Caesarea.</Ref>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>


The whole Chapter XXXI is summed up in a Table of Content's description:
The whole Chapter XXXI is summed up in a ''Table of Content's'' description:
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
'''"That it will be necessary sometimes to use falsehood as a remedy <Br>for the benefit of those who require such a mode of treatment."'''<Ref>''Table of Contents'' of Eusebius Praeparatio Evangelica, Table of Contents of Eusebius Praeparatio Evangelica, transl. by E.H. Gifford (1903).</Ref>
'''"That it will be necessary sometimes to use '''falsehood''' as a remedy <Br>for the benefit of those who require such a mode of treatment."'''<Ref>''Table of Contents'' of Eusebius Praeparatio Evangelica, Table of Contents of Eusebius Praeparatio Evangelica, transl. by E.H. Gifford (1903).</Ref>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>


But Eusebius also wrote in the introduction to Chapter 5 of Book 11:
But Eusebius also wrote in the introduction to Chapter 5 of Book 11 of his  Demonstratio evangelica:


<blockquote>
<blockquote>
"Now the type of teaching Christ gave His disciples is utterly opposed to their inventing falsehoods." [https://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0882/_P8.HTM Demonstratio evangelica]  Int,  5, p. XI, Eusebius Pamphilii of Caesarea.
"Now the type of teaching Christ gave His disciples is utterly opposed to their inventing '''falsehoods'''." [https://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0882/_P8.HTM Demonstratio evangelica]  Int,  5, p. XI, Eusebius Pamphilii of Caesarea.
</blockquote>
</blockquote>


When Eusebius was writing about those who accuse the followers of Christ of fabricating the story of Christ he pens in ink longer narrative:
When Eusebius was writing about those who accuse the followers of Christ of fabricating the story of Christ he pens in ink longer narrative:
<blockquote>
"I ask you how these pupils of a base and shifty master, who had seen His end, discussed with one another how they should invent a story about Him which would hang together?... What speech shall we suppose was made at their covenant? Perhaps it was something like this":
"I ask you how these pupils of a base and shifty master, who had seen His end, discussed with one another how they should invent a story about Him which would hang together?... What speech shall we suppose was made at their covenant? Perhaps it was something like this":
: "Let us now (b) make this our business. We will tell the same '''falsehoods''', and invent stories that will benefit nobody, neither ourselves, nor those we deceive, nor him who is deified by our lies. And we will extend our lies not only to men of our own race, but go forth to all men, and fill the whole world with our fabrications about him. And then let us lay down laws for all the nations in direct opposition to the opinions they have held for ages about their ancestral gods. Let us bid the Romans first of all not to worship the gods (c) their forefathers recognized. Let us pass over into Greece, and oppose the teaching of their wise men. Let us not neglect the Egyptians, but declare war on their gods, not going back to Moses' deeds against them of old time for our weapons, but arraying against them our Master's death, to scare them;54 so we will destroy the faith in the gods which from immemorial time has gone forth to all men, not by words and argument, but by the power of our Master Crucified.
: "Let us now (b) make this our business. We will tell the same '''falsehoods''', and invent stories that will benefit nobody, neither ourselves, nor those we deceive, nor him who is deified by our lies. And we will extend our lies not only to men of our own race, but go forth to all men, and fill the whole world with our fabrications about him. And then let us lay down laws for all the nations in direct opposition to the opinions they have held for ages about their ancestral gods. Let us bid the Romans first of all not to worship the gods (c) their forefathers recognized. Let us pass over into Greece, and oppose the teaching of their wise men. Let us not neglect the Egyptians, but declare war on their gods, not going back to Moses' deeds against them of old time for our weapons, but arraying against them our Master's death, to scare them;54 so we will destroy the faith in the gods which from immemorial time has gone forth to all men, not by words and argument, but by the power of our Master Crucified.

Revision as of 00:29, 14 December 2023

6th century Syriac portrait of St. Eusebius of Caesarea from the he Rabbula or Rabula Gospels in Florence, produced in 586.

Eusebius Pamphili of Caesarea

Eusebius of Caesarea was born around 260/265 and died 339/340). He was also known as Eusebius Pamphili, a Roman historian and Christian polemicist of Greek descent. He was a scholar of the Biblical canon and is regarded as an extremely well learned Christian of his time. He became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima about 314. He wrote Demonstrations of the Gospel, Preparations for the Gospel, and On Discrepancies between the Gospels, studies of the Biblical text. He also produced the Ecclesiastical History, On the Life of Pamphilus and the Chronicle and On the Martyrs.

Falsehoods

He followed much of the teachings of Origen and would have opposed Calvin, since he held that men were sinners by their own free choice and not by the necessity of their natures. The historian Edward Gibbon refers to Eusebius as the 'gravest of the ecclesiastical historians'[1] He also suggests that Eusebius was more concerned with the passing political concerns of his time than his duty as a reliable historian.

In a chapter heading of Praeparatio evangelica, Book XII, Chapter 31 Eusebius wrote:

"PLATO 'BUT even if the case were not such as our argument has now proved it to be, if a lawgiver, who is to be of ever so little use, could have ventured to tell any falsehood at all to the young for their good, is there any falsehood that he could have told more beneficial than this, and better able to make them all do everything that is just, not by compulsion but willingly?"

"'Truth, O Stranger, is a noble and an enduring thing; it seems, however, not easy to persuade men of it.'"

"Now you may find in the Hebrew Scriptures also thousands of such passages concerning God as though He were jealous, or sleeping, or angry, or subject to any other human passions, which passages are adopted for the benefit of those who need this mode of instruction."[2]

The whole Chapter XXXI is summed up in a Table of Content's description:

"That it will be necessary sometimes to use falsehood as a remedy
for the benefit of those who require such a mode of treatment."[3]

But Eusebius also wrote in the introduction to Chapter 5 of Book 11 of his Demonstratio evangelica:

"Now the type of teaching Christ gave His disciples is utterly opposed to their inventing falsehoods." Demonstratio evangelica Int, 5, p. XI, Eusebius Pamphilii of Caesarea.

When Eusebius was writing about those who accuse the followers of Christ of fabricating the story of Christ he pens in ink longer narrative:

"I ask you how these pupils of a base and shifty master, who had seen His end, discussed with one another how they should invent a story about Him which would hang together?... What speech shall we suppose was made at their covenant? Perhaps it was something like this":

"Let us now (b) make this our business. We will tell the same falsehoods, and invent stories that will benefit nobody, neither ourselves, nor those we deceive, nor him who is deified by our lies. And we will extend our lies not only to men of our own race, but go forth to all men, and fill the whole world with our fabrications about him. And then let us lay down laws for all the nations in direct opposition to the opinions they have held for ages about their ancestral gods. Let us bid the Romans first of all not to worship the gods (c) their forefathers recognized. Let us pass over into Greece, and oppose the teaching of their wise men. Let us not neglect the Egyptians, but declare war on their gods, not going back to Moses' deeds against them of old time for our weapons, but arraying against them our Master's death, to scare them;54 so we will destroy the faith in the gods which from immemorial time has gone forth to all men, not by words and argument, but by the power of our Master Crucified.
"Let us go to other foreign lands, and overturn all their (d) institutions. None of us must fail in zeal; for it is no petty contest that we dare, and no common prizes lie before us—but most likely the punishments inflicted according to the laws of each land: bonds, of course, torture, imprisonment, fire and sword, and wild beasts. We must greet them all with enthusiasm, and meet evil bravely, having our Master as our model. For what (115) could be finer than to make both gods and men our enemies for no reason at all, and to have no enjoyment of any kind, to have no profit of our dear ones, to make no money, to have no hope of anything good at all, but just to be deceived and to deceive without aim or object? This is our prize, to go straight in the teeth of all the nations, to war on the gods that have been acknowledged by them all for ages, to say that our Master, who (was crucified) 55 before our very eyes was God, and to represent Him as God's Son, for Whom we are ready to die, though we know we have learned from Him nothing either true or useful. Yes, that is the reason we must (b) honour Him the more—His utter uselessness to us—we must strain every nerve to glorify His name, undergo all insults and punishments, and welcome every form of death for the sake of a lie. Perhaps truth is the same thing as evil, and falsehood must then be the opposite of evil. So let us say that He raised the dead, cleansed lepers, drove out daemons, and did many other marvellous works, knowing all the time that He did nothing of the kind, while we invent everything for ourselves, and deceive those we can. And suppose we convince nobody, at any rate we shall have the satisfaction of (c) drawing down upon ourselves, in return for our inventions, the retribution for our deceit."[4]

Eusebius was also quite the preterist seeing the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple, the ceasing of the Mosaic worship, and the subjection of the whole Jewish race to its enemies as the proofs that the times had come already which had been spoken of in prophecy.

"The Holy Scriptures foretell that there will be unmistakable signs of the Coming of Christ. Now there were among the Hebrews three outstanding offices of dignity, which made the nation famous, firstly the kingship, secondly that of prophet, and lastly the high priesthood. The prophecies said that the abolition and complete destruction of all these three together would be the sign of the presence of the Christ. And that the proofs that the times had come, would lie in the ceasing of the Mosaic worship, the desolation of Jerusalem and its Temple, and the subjection of the whole Jewish race to its enemies...The holy oracles foretold that all these changes, which had not been made in the days of the prophets of old, would take place at the coming of the Christ, which I will presently shew to have been fulfilled as never before in accordance with the predictions."[5]

Eusebius the Arian

To Eusebius Christ is God but is seen by him as a ray of that eternal light. He appears to limit Christ in a way that expressly distinguishes the Son as distinct from Father in that a ray of the sun would also be distinct from its source the sun but not entirely the sun. He seems intent upon emphasizing the difference of the persons of the Trinity and maintaining their subordination of the Son who is the Logos, or Word, to God.

He appears to do the same thing with the relation of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity to that of the Son to the Father. These same views see traceable to Origen. But these ideologies would also get him in trouble with the doctrinal Church that would be established by Constantine with his influx of many new Bishop who were not immune to the temptations of the error of Balaam but would oppose Arianism with a confrontational contempt.

Alexander of Alexandria sought to excommunicate him as a heretic until Eusebius submitted and agreed to the Nicene Creed at the First Council of Nicea in 325.

When we see the phrase "All scripture"[6] in the Bible that did not mean the Bible because it did not exist yet. The fact is the word scripture was just the Greek word "graphe" which meant "writings" referring to "All writings".

It is divine revelation by the Holy Spirit that ultimately reveals the truth[7] and not the private interpretation[8] of the reader. Constantine hired Eusebius to produce the first 50 Bibles. They had a much different view of Jesus than many modern Christians. Constantine had brought in a huge faction of Christians who replaced true repentance with a watered-down view. These new Christians occupied many of the councils we see forming after 300 A.D..

The Church historian Eusebius wrote,

A question of no small importance arose at that time. For the parishes of all Asia, as from an older tradition, held that the fourteenth day of the moon, on which day the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should be observed as the feast of the Saviour's passover...But it was not the custom of the churches in the rest of the world...But the bishops of Asia, led by Polycrates, decided to hold to the old custom handed down to them. He himself, in a letter which he addressed to Victor and the church of Rome, set forth in the following words the tradition which had come down to him.[2][3]

Here is what Eusebius records that Polycrates wrote:

"We observe the exact day; neither adding, nor taking away. For in Asia also great lights have fallen asleep, which shall rise again on the day of the Lord's coming, when he shall come with glory from heaven, and shall seek out all the saints. Among these are Philip, one of the twelve apostles, who fell asleep in Hierapolis; and his two aged virgin daughters, and another daughter, who lived in the Holy Spirit and now rests at Ephesus; and, moreover, John, who was both a witness and a teacher, who reclined upon the bosom of the Lord, and, being a priest, wore the sacerdotal plate. He fell asleep at Ephesus. And Polycarp in Smyrna, who was a bishop and martyr; and Thraseas, bishop and martyr from Eumeneia, who fell asleep in Smyrna. Why need I mention the bishop and martyr Sagaris who fell asleep in Laodicea, or the blessed Papirius, or Melito the Eunuch who lived altogether in the Holy Spirit, and who lies in Sardis, awaiting the episcopate from heaven, when he shall rise from the dead? All these observed the fourteenth day of the passover according to the Gospel, deviating in no respect, but following the rule of faith. And I also, Polycrates, the least of you all, do according to the tradition of my relatives, some of whom I have closely followed. For seven of my relatives were bishops; and I am the eighth. And my relatives always observed the day when the people put away the leaven. I, therefore, brethren, who have lived sixty-five years in the Lord, and have met with the brethren throughout the world, and have gone through every Holy Scripture, am not affrighted by terrifying words. For those greater than I have said 'We ought to obey God rather than man'...I could mention the bishops who were present, whom I summoned at your desire; whose names, should I write them, would constitute a great multitude. And they, beholding my littleness, gave their consent to the letter, knowing that I did not bear my gray hairs in vain, but had always governed my life by the Lord Jesus."


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Footnotes

  1. ↑ History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol II, Chapter XVI
  2. ↑ Praeparatio evangelica, Book XII, Chapter 31, Eusebius of Caesarea.
  3. ↑ Table of Contents of Eusebius Praeparatio Evangelica, Table of Contents of Eusebius Praeparatio Evangelica, transl. by E.H. Gifford (1903).
  4. ↑ Demonstratio Evangelica, Book 3, Chapter 5, Eusebius Pamphilii of Caesarea.
  5. ↑ Demonstratio Evangelica VIII, Introduction, Eusebius of Caesarea.
  6. ↑ 2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
  7. ↑ Matthew 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
  8. ↑ 2 Peter 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.


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