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According to the Christian father Origen, Celsus (; (ギリシア語:Κέλσος)) was a 2nd-century Greek philosopher and opponent of Early Christianity. He is known for his literary work, ''The True Word'' (also ''Account'', ''Doctrine'' or ''Discourse''; Greek: ), which survives exclusively in Origen's quotations from it in ''Contra Celsum''. This work, c. 177〔H.Chadwick, ''Origen:Contra Celsum'', CUP 1965. p xxviii〕 is the earliest known comprehensive attack on Christianity. ==Work== According to Origen, Celsus was the author of an anti-Christian work titled ''The True Word'' (''Alēthēs logos''). This work was lost, but we have Origen's account of it in his writings.〔Chadwick, H., ''Origen:Contra Celsum'', CUP (1965), p. xxviii〕 It was during the reign of Philip the Arab that Origen received this work for rebuttal.〔Chadwick, H., ''Origen: Contra Celsum''. Cambridge University Press (1965), p. xiv. The work can be dated to this period by a statement of Eusebius, ''HE'' VI, 36, 2〕 Origen's refutation of ''The True Word'' contained its text, interwoven with Origen's replies. Origen's work has survived and thereby preserved Celsus' work with it.〔Origen, ''Contra Celsum'', preface 4.〕 Celsus seems to have been interested in Ancient Egyptian religion,〔Origen, ''Contra Celsum'' 3, 17, 19; 8, 58. He quotes an Egyptian musician named Dionysius in ''CC'' 6, 41.〕 and he seemed to know of Jewish logos-theology, both of which suggest ''The True Word'' was composed in Alexandria.〔Chadwick, H., ''Origen:Contra Celsum'', CUP (1965), p. xxviii-xxix〕 Celsus wrote at a time when Christianity was being persecuted〔Origen, ''Contra Celsum'', 8, 69〕 and when there seems to have been more than one emperor.〔Origen, ''Contra Celsum'', 8, 71〕〔Chadwick, H., ''Origen:Contra Celsum'', CUP (1965), p. xxvi〕〔Origen, ''Contra Celsum'', 1, 68〕〔Chadwick, H. ''Origen: Contra Celsum'', introduction.〕 As an anti-Christian Greek philosopher, Celsus mounted an attack on Christianity. Celsus wrote that some Jews said Jesus' father was a Roman soldier named Pantera. The views of Celsus drew responses from Origen who considered it a fabricated story.〔''Contra Celsum'' by Origen, Henry Chadwick, 1980, ISBN 0-521-29576-9, page 32〕〔Patrick, John, ''The Apology of Origen in Reply to Celsus'', 2009, ISBN 1-110-13388-X, pages 22–24,〕 Raymond E. Brown states that the story of Pantera is a fanciful explanation of the birth of Jesus which includes very little historical evidence—Brown's analysis does not presuppose the doctrine of the "virgin birth", but cites the lack of historical evidence for Celsus' assertion.〔''Mary in the New Testament'' by Raymond Edward Brown, et al., 1978, ISBN 0-8091-2168-9, page 262〕 In addition, Celsus addressed the miracles of Jesus, holding that "Jesus performed His miracles by sorcery (γοητεία)": Origen wrote his refutation in 248. Sometimes quoting, sometimes paraphrasing, sometimes merely referring, Origen reproduces and replies to Celsus' arguments. Since accuracy was essential to his refutation of ''The True Word'',〔James D. Tabor, ''The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity'', Simon and Schuster, 2006. p 64〕 most scholars agree that Origen is a reliable source for what Celsus said.〔Sir DavidBrewster, Sir David Brewster & Richard R. Yeo, ''The Edinburgh encyclopaedia'', Volume 8, Routledge, 1999. p 362〕〔Bernhard Lang, ''International Review of Biblical Studies'', Volume 54, Publisher BRILL, 2009. p 401〕 Celsus shows himself familiar with the story of Jewish origins. Conceding that Christians are not without success in business (''infructuosi in negotiis''), he wants them to be good citizens, to retain their own belief but conform to the state religion. It is an earnest and striking appeal on behalf of the Empire, and shows the terms offered to the Christian sects, as well as the importance of the various sects at the time. It is not known how many were Christians at the time of Celsus but as a comparison the estimation of Wilken of the Jewish population of the empire to have been about 10% may be quoted.〔Robert Louis Wilken, ''The Christians as the Romans Saw Them'', (Yale: University Press, 2nd edition, 2003)〕 The Christians were certainly fewer. It is unlikely their influence was greater than what the physical evidence reveals throughout AD 100–400.〔Ramsay MacMullen, ''Christianizing the Roman Empire: AD 100–400'', (Yale: University Press, 1989)〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Celsus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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