Celsus

Celsus was a Platonist writing around 150 CE. He is believed to have been of Egyptian origin. In Rome, he became astonished at the rising Christian revolution and sought to educate himself about the the origins of Christian ideas. He learned from Christian literature, religious followers and Jewish sources as well. Thinking that every religion must justify itself, Celsus attempted an examination of Christianity in his book True Discourse (c 178), which met with fierce opposition. His misunderstanding of Christian beliefs made his book unsuccessful. Little of the original text remains, though some parts have been recovered from Origen's treatise Against Celsus, written sometime around 246. According to Origen, Celsus criticized the Gospels, denounced belief in the incarnation of Christ thinking Jesus to be an imposter, and praised the superiority of the Greeks over Christians in matters pertaining to religion and philosophy. Little is known about the details of Celsus' life.

Andrea Parra