Saint Athanasius of Alexandria

Contra Gentes

4th c.

Classic translation

Apologetics · English translation, 1890

Contents

• Part I
• Introduction:--The Purpose of the Book a Vindication of Christian Doctrine, and…
• Evil No Part of the Essential Nature of Things. The Original Creation and…
• The Decline of Man From the Above Condition, Owing to His Absorption in…
• The Gradual Abasement of the Soul From Truth to Falsehood by the Abuse of Her…
• Evil, Then Consists Essentially in the Choice of What is Lower in Preference to…
• False Views of the Nature of Evil: Viz., That Evil is Something in the Nature…
• Refutation of Dualism From Reason. Impossibility of Two Gods. The Truth as to…
• The Origin of Idolatry is Similar. The Soul, Materialised by Forgetting God…
• The Various Developments of Idolatry: Worship of the Heavenly Bodies, the…
• Similar Human Origin of the Greek Gods, by Decree of Theseus. The Process by…
• The Deeds of Heathen Deities, and Particularly of Zeus
• Other Shameful Actions Ascribed to Heathen Deities. All Prove That They Are but…
• The Folly of Image Worship and its Dishonour to Art
• Image Worship Condemned by Scripture
• The Details About the Gods Conveyed in the Representations of Them by Poets and…
• Heathen Arguments in Palliation of the Above: and (1) 'the Poets Are…
• The Truth Probably is, That the Scandalous Tales Are True, While the Divine…
• Heathen Defence Continued. (2) 'The Gods Are Worshipped for Having Invented the…
• The Inconsistency of Image Worship. Arguments in Palliation. (1) The Divine…
• But Where Does This Supposed Virtue of the Image Reside? in the Material, or in…
• The Idea of Communications Through Angels Involves Yet Wilder Inconsistency…
• The Image Cannot Represent the True Form of God, Else God Would Be Corruptible
• The Variety of Idolatrous Cults Proves That They Are False
• The So-called Gods of One Place Are Used as Victims in Another
• Human Sacrifice. Its Absurdity. Its Prevalence. Its Calamitous Results
• The Moral Corruptions of Paganism All Admittedly Originated With the Gods
• The Refutation of Popular Paganism Being Taken as Conclusive, We Come to the…
• But Neither Can the Cosmic Organism Be God. For That Would Make God Consist of…
• The Balance of Powers in Nature Shews That it is Not God, Either Collectively…
• Part II
• The Soul of Man, Being Intellectual, Can Know God of Itself, if it Be True to…
• Proof of the Existence of the Rational Soul. (1) Difference of Man From the…
• (3) The Body Cannot Originate Such Phenomena; and in Fact the Action of the…
• §33. The Soul Immortal. Proved by (1) its Being Distinct From the Body, (2) its…
• §34. The Soul, Then, if Only it Get Rid of the Stains of Sin is Able to Know…
• Part III
• Creation a Revelation of God; Especially in the Order and Harmony Pervading the…
• This the More Striking, if We Consider the Opposing Forces Out of Which This…
• The Same Subject Continued
• The Unity of God Shewn by the Harmony of the Order of Nature
• Impossibility of a Plurality of Gods
• The Rationality and Order of the Universe Proves That it is the Work of the…
• The Presence of the Word in Nature Necessary, Not Only for its Original…
• This Function of the Word Described at Length
• Three Similes to Illustrate the Word's Relation to the Universe
• The Similes Applied to the Whole Universe, Seen and Unseen
• Conclusion. Doctrine of Scripture on the Subject of Part I
• Doctrine of Scripture on the Subject of Part 3
• Necessity of a Return to the Word if Our Corrupt Nature is to Be Restored