Tertullian and Tufala Wei Bilong Hem wea Luk Olsem No Agree
‘LONG wanem wei nao wanfala Christian and wanfala man wea studyim laef semsem? Waswe, man wea spoelem truth and man wea apim and teachim truth savve semsem? Long wanem wei nao Skul and Church agree witim each other?’ Man for raet long mek-tu and mek-thri century C.E., Tertullian, hem askem kaen kwestin wea olsem challenge. Gogo, pipol savve long hem olsem “man wea barava savve long history bilong Church and olketa teaching bilong Church long taem bilong hem.” Hem interest tumas long evri samting saed long religion.
Main samting wea pipol savve abaotem Tertullian hem wei bilong hem for talem toktok wea luk olsem no agree or konfius, olsem olketa example hia: “God hem barava nambawan, taem Hem smol.” “Pipol mas biliv long [dae bilong Son bilong God], bikos datwan no mek sense.” “Olketa berem [Jesus], and hem rise ap moa; datwan hem tru samting, bikos hem kanduit happen.”
Hem no toktok bilong Tertullian nomoa wea luk olsem no agree. Nomata hem raetem samting witim goal for defendim truth and apim faithful fasin and teaching bilong Church, really hem spoelem trufala teaching. Main wei wea hem affectim Christendom hem wei wea gogo, wanfala idea bilong hem kamap samting wea olketa man for raet wea kamap bihaen, olketa iusim for faondeson bilong teaching bilong Trinity. For minim hao diswan hem happen, hem gud for iumi minim firstaem lelebet samting abaotem datfala man Tertullian.
“Hem Nating Boring”
No staka information stap abaotem laef bilong Tertullian. Planti savveman agree hem born long samting olsem 160 C.E. long Carthage, North Africa. Luk olsem hem kasem big education and hem savve gud long olketa idea bilong olketa sekson bilong olketa savveman long taem bilong hem. Maet samting wea mekem hem interest long Christian Wei hem wei wea olketa Christian willing for dae for faith bilong olketa. Abaotem disfala wei wea samfala Christian dae for faith bilong olketa, hem ask olsem: “Waswe, eni man wea ting raonem diswan no laek for savve wanem nao muvim pipol for dae for faith bilong olketa? Hu nao, bihaen hem ting raonem diswan no laek acceptim teaching bilong mifala?”
Bihaen hem kamap wanem olketa kolem Christian, Tertullian kamap man for raet wea savve tumas for raetem shortfala kleva toktok. Datfala buk The Fathers of the Church sei: “[Hem] garem wanfala skill wea planti savveman bilong religion no garem. Hem nating boring.” Wanfala savveman hem sei: “Tertullian savve tumas for iusim olketa shortfala toktok winim longfala sentence and hem moa isi for minim shortfala kleva toktok bilong hem winim full idea wea hem talem. Maet diswan nao reason why pipol interest for talem nomoa olketa shortfala toktok wea hem raetem.”
For Defendim Christian Wei
Pipol tingim buk bilong Tertullian, Apology, wea planti pipol savve long hem olsem wanfala strongfala raeting for defendim sekson wea olketa kolem Christian. Hem raetem long taem wea olketa sekson wea followim kastom wei planti taem persecutim olketa Christian. Tertullian defendim olketa Christian hia and hem tok strong againstim krangge wei wea pipol deal witim olketa. Hem sei: “[Olketa wea againstim] olketa Christian tingse olketa kosim evri bigfala trabol and nogud samting wea kasem pipol. . . . Sapos Nile River no garem wata for garden, sapos weather stap semsem nomoa, sapos earthquake happen, wanfala bigfala hangre, wanfala trabol—stretawe olketa singaot: ‘Torowem olketa Christian long lion!’ ”
Nomata planti taem pipol accusim olketa Christian for no loyal long Gavman, Tertullian trae for showimaot klia hao Gavman fit for trustim olketa winim eni nara pipol wea stap anda long rul bilong hem. Bihaen hem story abaotem samfala taem wea pipol trae for tekovarem gavman, hem remindim olketa hao sekson wea duim olsem no olketa Christian, bat olketa heathen. Tertullian talem klia hao taem Gavman killim dae olketa Christian, Gavman nao really wan wea lusim gud samting.
Samfala nara raeting bilong Tertullian storyim Christian living. Olsem example, long raeting bilong hem On the Shows, Tertullian givim kaonsel againstim wei for go long samfala ples for hapitaem, olketa heathen game, and olketa show long stadium. Luk olsem samfala niu Christian no luksavve hem no stret for hipap for kasem instruction from Bible and then go long heathen game. For trae muvim tingting bilong olketa, Tertullian hem raet: “Hem barava nogud tumas for go from church bilong God then go long church bilong devil—from spiritual samting go long animal samting.” Hem sei: “Iu shud no acceptim teaching wea iu no willing for live followim.”
Spoelem Truth Taem Hem Defendim
Long start bilong raeting bilong hem Against Praxeas, Tertullian hem sei: “Long planti difren wei devil trae winim and againstim truth. Samfala taem goal bilong hem for distroem truth long wei for defendim.” Hem no klia hu nao man insaed disfala raeting wea nem bilong hem Praxeas, bat Tertullian challengem olketa teaching bilong hem abaotem God and Christ. Hem tingim Praxeas olsem wanfala tul bilong Satan wea trae spoelem Christian Wei long wei wea haed.
Wanfala important kwestin midolwan long olketa wea sei olketa Christian long datfala taem hem abaot hu nao God and hu nao Christ. Hem hard for samfala long olketa, especially wea garem tingting from Greece, for acceptim biliv wea sei wanfala God nomoa stap and hao datwan hem join witim part wea Jesus duim olsem Savior and Man for baem bak. Praxeas trae for stretem disfala problem long wei for teach hao Jesus hem just difren wei for showimaot Father and hao Father and Son semsem nomoa. Disfala idea, wea olketa kolem modalism, hem sei God showimaot hemseleva “olsem Father long Creation and taem hem givim Law, and hem showaot olsem Son taem hem Jesus Christ, and bihaen Christ hem go ap long heven, hem showaot olsem Holy Spirit.”
Tertullian showim hao olketa Scripture talemaot klia hao Father and Son tufala difren from each other. Bihaen hem talem toktok bilong 1 Corinthians 15:27, 28, hem sei: “Datwan wea putim (evri samting) for stap anda, and Datwan wea olketa samting go anda long hem—masbi tufala difren Man.” Tertullian storyim toktok bilong Jesus seleva wea sei: “Father hem hae winim mi.” (John 14:28) Hem iusim samfala part long olketa Hebrew Scripture, olsem Psalm 8:5, for showim hao Bible storyim Son olsem wan wea garem “position wea moa low.” Then Tertullian hem sei: “So Father hem difren from Son, hem hae winim Son. Long sem wei wea Man wea bornem pikinini hem wanfala man, and Man wea born kam hem narawan; Man, tu, wea sendem samwan go hem wanfala man, and Man wea hem sendem hem narawan; and tu, Man wea mekem samting hem wanfala man, and Man wea datwan mekem samting thru long hem, hem narawan.”
Tertullian tingse Son hem stap anda long Father. Bat, taem hem trae for daonem teaching bilong modalism, hem go “aotsaed long samting wea olketa raetem finis.” (1 Corinthians 4:6) Taem Tertullian mistek for trae iusim nara idea for pruvim Jesus hem olsem wanfala god, hem startim datfala toktok “wanfala samting insaed thrifala pipol.” Hem iusim disfala idea for trae pruvim hao God, Son bilong hem, and holy spirit olketa thrifala separate man insaed samting olsem wanfala god. So, Tertullian hem first man for iusim word long Latin languis wea minim “trinity” for storyim Father, Son, and holy spirit.
Keakea Long Olketa Idea and Tingting Bilong World
Hao nao Tertullian startim disfala idea wea sei “wanfala samting insaed thrifala pipol”? Iumi savve faendem ansa insaed nara wei bilong disfala man wea no agree—tingting bilong hem abaotem olketa idea and tingting bilong world. Tertullian kolem olketa idea and tingting hia “ ‘teaching’ bilong olketa man and ‘bilong olketa demon.’ ” Hem no hol bak for tok againstim wei for iusim olketa idea and tingting bilong world for saportim olketa Christian truth. Hem sei: “Stap klia long eni wei wea pipol trae mekem giaman Christian Wei wea iusim olketa idea bilong Stoic, Plato, and stael raeting.” Bat, Tertullian seleva no hol bak for iusim olketa idea and tingting bilong world taem datwan fitim olketa idea bilong hem.—Colossians 2:8.
Wanfala buk hem sei: “Teaching bilong trinity needim help bilong olketa Greek tingting and idea for mekem hem grow and kamap wanfala teaching.” And datfala buk The Theology of Tertullian talem: “[Hem] wanfala interesting samting hao toktok saed long law and idea bilong world join tugeta, wea helpem Tertullian talemaot datfala trinity teaching long wei wea, nomata datwan hem miss and no perfect, hem start bilong datfala teaching wea kamap bihaen long Council bilong Nicaea.” So, toktok bilong Tertullian—thrifala man insaed wanfala samting olsem God—hem bigfala part bilong wei wea olketa laea teaching hem kamap insaed full Christendom.
Tertullian accusim nara pipol for spoelem truth taem olketa trae for defendim datwan. Bat, hemseleva foldaon insaed datfala sem trap taem hem mixim truth bilong God from Bible witim olketa idea and tingting bilong man. So iumi mas ting strong long warning from Bible for no “lisin long olketa giaman toktok from antap and teaching bilong olketa demon.”—1 Timothy 4:1.
[Olketa Piksa long page 29, 30]
Tertullian tok againstim olketa idea and tingting bilong world bat hem iusim sem samting for apim olketa idea bilong hem
[Credit Line]
Pages 29 and 30: © Cliché Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
[Piksa long page 31]
Olketa tru Christian stap klia long wei for mixim truth from Bible witim olketa idea and tingting bilong man