Celsus
Celsus (/ˈsɛlsəs/; Hellenistic Greek: Κέλσος, Kélsos; fl. AD 175–177) was a 2nd-century Greek philosopher and opponent of early Christianity. His literary work, The True Word (also Account, Doctrine or Discourse; Greek: Hellenistic Greek: Λόγος Ἀληθής), survives exclusively in quotations from it in Contra Celsum, a refutation written in 248 by Origen of Alexandria. The True Word is the earliest known comprehensive criticism of Christianity.
Celsus | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Roman Empire |
| Other names | Kélsos |
| Occupation | Philosopher |
| Notable work | The True Word |
| Era | Ancient philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Possibly Platonism, Aristotelianism, Epicureanism or Eclecticism |
| Language | Greek |
Main interests | Theology |
Hanegraaff has argued that it was written shortly after the death of Justin Martyr (who was possibly the first Christian apologist), and was probably a response to his work. Origen stated that Celsus was from the first half of the 2nd century AD, although the majority of modern scholars have come to a general consensus that Celsus probably wrote around AD 170 to 180.