Introduction to Origen

Last class we studied Origen, a guy who was dedicated to understanding the Christian message at its depths and contributed the first systemic theology of Christian thought. Origen lived from 185-251 in Alexandria, a city rich in learning. The wealth of his family allowed him to study, and the martyrdom of his father for his Christian faith must have encouraged his own devotion to the message. Up until this time no one had really sat down and made sense of Christian thought so one of the responses to Christianity was a mocking disdain of it as a folk religion. Origen's

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Origen's Allegorical Method

During this second night on Origen we explored his theme of warfare and his allegorical approach to reading. 1) Origen's third theme of warfare. He has an interesting twist on this idea that is linked to being a martyr. He feels we are called first to an inner war - to fight that which brings conflict within our soul. Having fortified our character, we are called to change the world through active non-resistance. So how do we fortify our character, you may ask? Origen says through training. He believed that God acts as a divine goldsmith who hammers us into

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