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Modern LDS apologists like to cite passages from early patristic
sources, asserting that the early fathers taught that men could become
gods. Is this true? Did the early Church teach the Mormon
doctrine of
God? Did they believe that men could become gods like God, and
that God
Himself was once a man?
There are a number of
passages in the early fathers that speak
of men being "deified." But what do these passages
actually mean? Dr.
G.L. Prestige commented:
All such expressions of the deification of man are, it must be remembered, purely
relative. They express the fact that man has a nature essentially
spiritual, and to that extent resembling the being of God;
further, that he is able to attain a real union with God,
by virtue of an affinity proceeding both from nature and
from grace. Man, the Fathers might have said, is a
supernatural animal. In some sense his destiny is to be absorbed
into God. But they would all have repudiated with indignation
any suggestion that the union of men to God added anything to
the godhead. They explained the lower in terms of the higher,
but did not obliterate the distinction between them. Not only is God self dependent.
[sic] He has also all
those positive qualities which man does not possess, the attribution of
which is made by adding the negative prefix to the common
attributes of humanity. In addition, in so far as humanity
possesses broken lights of God, they are as far as possible
from reaching the measure and perfection with which they
are associated in the godhead. Real power and freedom, fullness
of light, ideal and archetypal spirit, are found in Him
alone. The gulf is never bridged between Creator and
creature. Though in Christ human nature has been raised to the throne of
God, by virtue of His divine character, yet mankind in
general can only aspire to the sort of divinity which lies open
to its capacity through the union with the divine
humanity. Eternal life is the life of God. Men may come to share its
manifestations and activities, but only by grace, never of
right. Man remains a created being: God alone is agenetos [i.e.,
uncreated] (Prestige, pp. 74-75).
Note well what
Prestige says. He asserts that the early
Fathers did *not* "obliterate the distinction" between
God and man (Mormonism most definitely does, teaching that God was
once a man who has progressed to godhood). Prestige says that
"real
power and freedom" are found in God *alone*, not in the creature
man. And, in as clear a denial of the concept that is presented by
Mormonism (and that Evenson is attempting to substantiate) that one
could find, Prestige says, "The gulf is never bridged between
Creator and creature." He closes by saying, "Man remains
a created being: God alone is agenetos." Clearly, Prestige is
saying that the early Fathers did *not* teach that men could
become gods *in the sense that Mormonism would like us to believe.*
Some leading ideas about the nature of God may be illustrated in a few quotations from
early writers. Tatian writes (ad Gr. 4.1,2), "Our God does
not have his constitution in time. He alone is without beginning;
He Himself constitutes the source ("arce") of the
universe. God is spirit. He does not extend through matter, but is the
author of material spirits and of the figures
("schemata") in matter. He is invisible and in- tangible" (Prestige, p.
3).
Note that Prestige is
giving what he views as *representational*
views of the early Fathers. And what do we find? Do we find
Mormon
doctrine here? Hardly! Note the many things that are
*directly*
contradictory to LDS teaching. First, God is eternal, that is, he
does "not have his constitution in time." The LDS God
has
progressed to his current position--obviously, then, he undergoes
a progression of time. Tatian states that God is without
beginning;
yet Mormonism speaks of God's once having been a man, so, obviously,
he had to enter into the condition of a god at some point in time.
Tatian
says God is spirit. Mormonism says He is flesh. Tatian says
that
God is the "author" of "material spirits and of the
figures
in matter." Joseph Smith taught that "God never had the
power
to create the spirit of man at all" (Teachings of the Prophet
Joseph Smith, p. 354). Tatian says that God is invisible and
intangible;
Doctrine and Covenants 130:22 says just the opposite. We continue
with Prestige:
Athenagoras (*suppl.* 10.1) expresses allegiance to "one God, the uncreated,
eternal, invisible, impassible, incomprehensible,
uncontainable, comprehended only by mind and reason, clothed in light
and beauty and spirit and power indescribable, by whom the
totality has come to be."...But, in brief, this statement
implies that God is transcendent and everlasting; free alike from
limitations of time or space and from subjection to sense or
affections; and possessed of supreme supernatural power
and glory. Theophilus speaks similarly (ad Aut. 1.3) of
the abstract qualities of the deity. "The form of God is
ineffable...in glory He is uncontainable, in greatness
incomprehensible, in height inconceivable, in might incomparable, in wisdom
without peer, in goodness inimitable, in well-doing
indescribable...He is without beginning because He is
uncreated, and He is unchangeable because He is
immortal." And again, (ib. 2.3), "it belongs to God, the highest and
almighty and the truly God, not only to be everywhere, but also to
overlook all things and to hear all things, and yet,
nevertheless, not to be contained in space" (Prestige, p. 3).
We again note the
completely different view of God presented
here than that of Mormonism. The God of the early Fathers is
uncreated,
eternal, invisible, impassible, incomprehensible, and
uncontainable. The
God of Mormonism entered into godhood at a particular point, he has
not eternally been God, He is not invisible (in the sense the Fathers
meant the term), he is certainly not impassible, incomprehensible,
or uncontainable; many LDS *mock* these very aspects of the Christian
doctrine of God.
But Prestige did not
stop there. He continued on:
His absolute independence is a corollary to His absolute goodness and wisdom, as well
as to His absolute capacity to create. Thus the
emphasis...on God being uncreated (agennetos) implies that He
is the sole originator of all things that are, the
source and ground of existence ; and the conception is taken
as a positive criterion of deity. The insistence
that God is uncontained spatially (acoretos) conveys a very
necessary warning against Stoic pantheism. Though the
created universe contributes an implicit revelation of God
through His works, it is by no means a complete or perfect
revelation of His being; He is infinitely greater than
His creation. Thus Justin claims (dial. 127.2) that God
is uncontained either in one place or in the whole
universe, since He existed before the universe came into being
(Prestige, pp. 4-5).
That all of this is directly contradictory to the LDS
doctrine of a finite, limited God who has a physical body of flesh
and bone (D&C 130:22) and who was once a man is too obvious to
require
further comment. The early Fathers did *not* believe in the
God of Mormonism in any way, shape, or form.
One of the greatest
patristic scholars, J. N. D. Kelly, has written,
The classical creeds of Christendom opened with a declaration of belief in one God, maker
of heaven and earth. The mono- theistic idea, grounded in
the religion of Israel, loomed large in the minds of the
earliest fathers; though not re flective theologians, they
were fully conscious that it marked the dividing line
between the Church and paganism. According to Hermas, the
first commandment is to `believe that God is one, Who created and
established all things, bringing them into existence out of
non-existence'. It was He Who `by His invisible and mighty
power and great wisdom created the universe, and by His glorious
purpose clothed His creation with comeliness, and by His
strong word fixed the heavens and founded the earth above the
waters'. For Clement God is `the Father and creator of the
entire cosmos' and for `Barnabas' and the "Didache"
`our maker'. His omnipotence and universal sovereignty were
acknowledged, for He was `the Lord almighty', `the Lord Who governs the
whole universe', and `the master of all things'. The reader
should notice that at this period the title `almighty' connoted
God's all-pervading control and sovereignty over reality,
just as `Father' referred primarily to His role as creator and
author of all things (J.N.D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, p.
83).
But, so that no one
thinks that we are simply citing authors who agree
with us, below you will find a number of citations from early Christian
sources on this very issue. The combined testimony of these
Fathers is
inarguable:
Ignatius to the
Magnesians, (A.D. 110), 8:1
For that reason they
were persecuted, inspired as they were by His grace
to convince the disobedient that there is one God, who manifested
Himself
through His Son, Jesus Christ, who is His Word proceeding from silence,
and who was in all respects pleasing to Him that sent Him.
Aristides of Athens,
Apology (A.D. 140), 1
I call the One who
constructed all things and maintains them God: He that
is without beginning and eternal, immortal and lacking nothing, and who
is above all passion and failings such as anger and forgetfulness and
ignorance and the rest.
Aristides of Athens,
Apology (A.D. 140), 4
Let us proceed, then,
O King, to the elements themselves, so that we may
demonstrate concerning them that they are not gods, but corruptible and
changeable things, produced out of the non-existent by Him that is truly
God, who is incorruptible and unchangeable and invisible, but who sees
all things and changes them and alters them as He wills.
Justin, Dialogue with
Trypho the Jew (A.D. 155), 5
For whatever things
exist after God or will at anytime exist, have a
corruptible nature, and are such as may be blotted out and no longer
exist. God alone is unbegotten and incorruptible, which is why He
is
God. Everything else after Him is produced and corruptible.
Tatian, Address to
the Greeks (A.D. 165), 4
Our God has no
introduction in time. He alone is without beginning, and
is Himself the beginning of all things. God is a spirit, not
attending
upon matter, but the Maker of material spirits and of the appearances
which are in matter. He is invisible and untouchable, being
Himself the
Father of both sensible and invisible things. This we know by the
evidence of what He has created; and we perceive His invisible power by
His works.
Ibid., 5
Matter is not without
a beginning, like God; nor is it of equal power
with God, through being without a beginning. It is begotten, and
not
produced by any other begotten beings; but is brought into existence by
Him alone who is the Creator of all things.
Athenagoras,
Supplication for the Christians, (A.D. 177), 4
Is it not
unreasonable to apply the name of atheist to us, who
distinguish God from matter and teach that matter is one thing and God
another, and that there is a great difference between them, the Deity
being unbegotten and eternal, able to be known by reason and
understanding alone, while matter is produced and perishable?
Athenagoras,
Supplication for the Christians (A.D. 177), 10
I have sufficiently
demonstrated that we are not atheists, since we
acknowledge one God, unbegotten, eternal, invisible, incapable of being
acted upon, incomprehensible, unbounded....
Irenaeus Against
Heresies, (A.D. 190) 1:10:1
For the Church,
although dispersed throughout the whole world even to the
ends of the earth, has received from the Apostles and from their
disciples the faith in one God, Father almighty, the Creator of heaven
and earth and sea and all that is in them....
Ibid., 1:22:1
We hold, however, the
rule of truth, according to which there is one
almighty God, who formed all things through His Word, and fashioned and
made all things which exist out of that which did not exist....
Ibid., 2:1:1
Nor is He moved by
anyone; rather, freely and by His Word He made all
things. For He alone is God, He alone is Lord, He alone is
Creator, He
alone is Father, He alone contains all and commands all to exist.
Ibid., 2:11:1
It is easy to
demonstrate from the very words of the Lord that He
acknowledges one Father, Creator of the world and Fashioner of man, who
was proclaimed by the Law and by the Prophets; and that He knows no
other, this being God over all.
Ibid., 2:30:9
Of His own accord and
by His own power He made all things and arranged
and perfected them; and His will is the substance of all things. He
alone, then, is found to be God; He alone is omnipotent, who made all
things; He alone is Father, who founded and formed all things, visible
and invisible, sensible and insensate, heavenly and earthly, by the Word
of His Power.
Ibid., 2:34:2
...let them learn
that to be without beginning and without end, to be
truly and always the same, and to remain ever without change, belongs to
God alone, who is Lord of all. All things, however, which are from
Him,
all that have been made and which will be made, receive each their own
beginning of existence; and inasmuch as they are not unbegotten, in this
way they are inferior to Him who made them. They perdure, however,
and
continue through a length of ages, according to the will of God their
Maker; for indeed, He makes them to be in the beginning, and afterwards
gives them continuance.
Tertullian, Apology
(A.D. 197) 17:1
The object of our
worship is the One God, who, by the Word of His
command, by the Reason of His plan, and by the strength of His Power,
has
brought forth from nothing for the glory of His majesty this whole
construction of elements, bodies and spirits; whence also the Greeks
have
bestowed upon the world the name KOSMOS. He is invisible, and yet
He may
be seen. He is intangible, and yet His presence is apparent
through His
grace. He is immeasurable, and yet He is measured by the human
senses. He is, therefore, as real as He is great. In regard to other
things,
that which is able to be seen, to be touched, or to be measured is less
than the eyes by which it is seen, than the hands by which it is
touched,
and the senses by which it is discovered. But what is truly
infinite is
known only to itself.
Thus it is that the measure of God is taken, although He is really
immeasurable. Thus it is that the force of His greatness makes Him
known
to men, although He is yet unknown. And this is the crowning guilt
of
men, that they do not want to know Him of whom they cannot be ignorant.
Tertullian, Apology
(A.D. 197), 21:13
So also, that which
proceeds from God is God and Son of God, and both are
one. Likewise, as He is Spirit from Spirit, and God from God, He
is made
a second by count and in numerical sequence, but not in actual
condition;
for He comes forth from the source but does not separate therefrom.
Tertullian, The
Demurrer Against the Heretics, 13:1
There is only one
God, and none other besides Him: the Creator of the
world who brought forth all things out of nothing through His Word....
Tertullian Against
Hermogenes, 4:3
Whatever special
property God has, it must necessarily be unique, so that
it can belong to Him who is One. But what can be unique and
singular
except that to which nothing can be equated? What can be
principal, if
not that which is above all, if not that which is before all and from
which all things are? It is by being the sole possessor of these
qualities that He is God; and by being sole possessor, that He is One.
Tertullian Against
Marcion, 1:3:1
Christian truth,
however, has distinctly declared, "If God be not one, He
does not exist"; for we more properly believe that that which is
not what
it must be does not exist at all. So that you may know, however,
that
God must be one, ask what God is, and you will find that such is the
case. In so far as a human being is able to formulate a definition
of
God, I formulate such a definition as the conscience of every man may
acknowledge; God is the Great Supreme Being existing in eternity,
unbegotten, uncreated, without beginning, and without end.
Hippolytus,
Refutation of All Heresies, 10:32
The one God, the
first and only, both Creator and Lord of all things, had
nothing coeval with Himself, neither infinite chaos, nor immeasurable
water, nor solid earth, nor dense air, nor hot fire, nor gentle breeze,
nor the azure roof of the great heavens. No, he was one, to
Himself
alone; and when He so willed, He created those things which before had
no
existence other than in his willing to make them and inasmuch as he had
knowledge of what would be: for he has also foreknowledge. He
first
created, however, the diverse elements of the things which would come
into existence, fire and air, water and earth, from which various
elements he then made his own creation.
Origen, De Principiis,
1, Preface, 4
First, that there is
one God who created and arranged all things, and
who, when nothing existed, called all things into existence;
Origen, De Principiis
(A.D. 220), 1:1:6
Since our mind is in
itself unable to behold God Himself as He is, it
knows the Father of the universe from the beauty of His works and from
the elegance of His creatures. God, therefore, is not to be
thought of
as being either a body or as existing in a body, but as a simple
intellectual Being, admitting within Himself no addition of any
kind. Thus, He cannot be believed to have within Himself something greater and
something lesser. Rather, He is in every part "monas"
and, so to speak,
"henas." He is the mind and source from which every
intellectual being
or mind takes its beginning.
Origen, Ad Celsus,
1:23
How much more
effective it is--and how better than all those invented
explanations! --that when we are convinced by what we see in the
excellent orderliness of the world, we then worship its Maker as the one
Author of one effect, which, since it is entirely in harmony with
itself,
cannot, therefore, have been the work of many makers.
Novatian, The
Trinity, (A.D. 235) 31
God the Father,
founder and creator of all things, who alone knows no
beginning, who is invisible, immeasurable, immortal, and eternal, is one
God. Neither His greatness nor His majesty nor His power can
possibly
be--I should not say exceeded, for they cannot even be equaled.
Cyril, Catechetical
Lectures, (A.D. 350), 6:11
Whence came the
polytheistic error of the Greeks? God has no body:
whence, then, the adulteries alleged among those whom the Greeks call
gods?
Hilary, Commentaries
on the Psalms, on Psalm 129, 3
First it must be
remembered that God is incorporeal. He does not consist
of certain parts and distinct members, making up one body. For we
read
in the Gospel that god is spirit: invisible, therefore, and an eternal
nature, immeasurable and self-sufficient. It is also written that
a
spirit does not have flesh and bones. For of these the members of
a body
consist, and of these the substance of God has no need. God,
however,
who is everywhere and in all things, is all-hearing, all-seeing, all-
doing, and all-assisting.
Didymus, The Holy
Spirit (A.D. 375), 35
God is simple and of
an incomposite and spiritual nature, having neither
ears nor organs of speech. A solitary essence and illimitable, He
is
composed of no members and parts.
Ephiphanius, Against
All Heresies, 70:5
Reject also the
opinion of those who say the body is in the image of God. For how were it possible for the visible to be close to the
invisible? How the corporeal to the incorporeal? How the tangible to the
illimitable?
Chrysostom, Against
the Anomoians, 4:3
For God is simple and
non-composite and without shape....When, therefore,
you hear that "no one has ever seen God," consider it the same
as hearing
that no one can know God in an utterly perfect manner, as to His
essence.
Cyril, Commentary on
Psalm 11, 3
When the divine
Scripture presents sayings about God and remarks on
corporeal parts, do not let the mind of those hearing it harbor thoughts
of tangible things, but from those tangible things as if from things
said
figuratively let it ascend to the beauty of things intellectual, and
rather than figures and quantity and circumscription and shapes and
everything else that pertains to bodies, let it think on God, although
He
is above all understanding. We were speaking of Him in a human
way; for
there was no other way in which we could think about the things that are
above us.
Lactantius, The
Divine Institutions, (A.D. 300), 2:8:8
But God Himself makes
His own material, because He is able. To be able
is a quality of God; and, were He not able, neither would He be
God. Man
makes things out of what already exists, because he is weak as a
consequence of being mortal; and because of his weakness, he is of
limited and moderate power. God, however, makes things from what
does
not exist, because He is strong on account of His eternity; and because
of His strength, His power is immeasurable, having neither end nor
limitation, like the life itself of the Maker.
Cyril, Catechetical
Lectures, (A.D. 350), 4:4-5
First let there be
laid as a foundation in your soul the doctrine
concerning God: that there is one God alone, unbegotten, without
beginning, unchangeable and immovable; neither begotten of another nor
having another to succeed to His life; who neither began to live in time
nor will ever cease to be; and that He is good and just....The Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ is not circumscribed in any place, nor is He less
than the heavens....He knows beforehand the things that shall be, and is
mightier than all. He knows all, and does as He will. He is
not subject
to the consequences of events, neither to astrological geniture, nor to
chance, nor to fate. He is in all things perfect, and possesses
equally
every absolute of virtue, neither diminishing nor decreasing, but
remains
ever the same and unchanging.
Hilary, The Trinity,
(A.D. 356), 2:6
The Father is He to
whom all that exists owes its origin. He is in
Christ; and through Christ He is the source of all things. Moreover, His
existence is existence in itself, and He does not derive His existence
from anywhere else. Rather, from Himself and in Himself He
possesses the
actuality of His being. He is infinite because He Himself is not
contained in something else, and all else is within Him. He is
always
beyond location, because He is not contained; always before the ages,
because time comes from Him....God, however, is present everywhere; and
everywhere He is totally present. Thus, He transcends the realm of
understanding. Outside of Him there is
nothing, and it is eternally His characteristic that He shall always
exist. This is the truth of the mystery of God, of the
impenetrable
nature which this name Father expresses. God is invisible,
unutterable,
and infinite.
Gregory of Nazianus,
Second Oration on Easter (A.D. 383), 45:3
God always way, and
is, and will be: or better, He always is. Was and
will be are portions of time as we reckon it, and are of a changing
nature. He, however, is ever existing; and that is how He names
Himself
in treating with Moses on the mountain. He gathers in Himself the
whole
of being, because He has neither beginning nor will He have an
end. He
is like some great sea of Being, limitless and unbounded, transcending
every conception of time and nature.
Gregory of Nyssa,
Against Eunomius, (A.D. 383), Jaeger, 2:163
We judge it proper,
therefore, to believe that that alone is truly divine
whose existence is found to be eternal and infinite, and in whom all
that
is contemplated is ever the same, neither increasing nor diminishing.
Augustine, Sermons,
(A.D. 391-430), 7:7
Being is a name of
unchangeableness. For everything that is changed
ceases to be what it was and begins to be what it was not. Being
is. True being, pure being, genuine being is had only by Him who does not
change.
Augustine, The True
Religion, 25:46
The first decision to
be made is whether we should prefer to believe
those who call us to the worship of many gods, or those who call us to
the one God. Who can doubt that it is preferable to follow those
who
call us to one, especially when those worshipers of many agree that this
one God is the ruler of all others? And certainly, rank begins at
one. Those, therefore, are to be followed first who say that there is only
one
supreme God, the true God, who alone is to be worshipped. If truth
does
not shine forth from them, then a change is to be made.
John of Damascus, The
Source of Knowledge, 3:1:5
The Divinity is
perfect and without defect in His goodness, in His
wisdom, in His power, without beginning, without end, eternal, infinite,
and to put it simply, perfect in every respect. If we were to
speak of
many gods it would be necessary to recognize a difference among the
many. But if there is no difference among them, there is but one and not
many. And if there were a difference among them, where then were their
perfection?
Ibid., 3:1:8
[We believe] in one
Father, the beginning and cause of all things,
begotten of no one, but uncaused and unbegotten, alone subsisting;
Creator of all things, but Father by nature of One only, His Only-
begotten Son and our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ...There never
was a time when the Father was and the Son was not; but always Father,
always Son, who is begotten of Him; for one cannot be called father
apart from a son.
Ibid., 3:1:9
It seems that the
most authoritative of all the names spoken of God is
"WHO IS," as He did Himself say on the mountain in answer to
Moses....For, since He holds all existence in Himself, He is like a sea
of being, boundless and infinite.
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