Origen (The Early Church Fathers) (Paperback)

by Joseph W. Trigg (Author) "We know Origen mainly through his thought..." (more)
Key Phrases: outer human being, divine oikonomia, hidden manner, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Son of God (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
'... it should whet the appetite of those who read it and encourage them to deepen their acquaintance with its subject ...' - Mary Sheather, Journal of Religious HIstory

'... we are in Trigg's debt for his labours.' - Thomas O.Loughlin, Milltown Studies

'The extracts form his works are well chosen and clearly translated ... Author an publisher are to be congratulated on this volume, one of the first five in what promises to be a useful series' - Graham Gould, Theology

... it should whet the appetite of those who read it and encourage them to deepen their acquaintance with its subject ... - Mary Sheather, Journal of Religious HIstory

... we are in Triggs debt for his labours. - Thomas O.Loughlin, Milltown Studies

The extracts form his works are well chosen and clearly translated ... Author an publisher are to be congratulated on this volume, one of the first five in what promises to be a useful series - Graham Gould, Theology

This work conveys something of the wealth of learning and passion for faith displayed by Origen in his writings. -- Journal of Religious History, Vol. 25 (Feb. 2001), no. 1

To the work of this thinker, Dr. Trigg here presents a useful, and indeed a distinguished, introduction. . . . -- Richard A. Norris, Anglican Theological Review, vol. 82, Spring, 2000

Trigg's work is well planned to extend knowledge of Origen's achievement to a new audience of teachers and students. -- Graham Gould in Theology, July/August, 2000

Product Description
Origen was the greatest and most influential Christian theologian before Augustine, the founder of Biblical study as a serious discipline in the Christian tradition, and a figure with immense influence on the development of Christian spirituality. This book presents, for the first time in English, a comprehensive and accessible insight into Origen's life and writings. It analyzes the principal influences that formed Origen as a Christian and as a thinker, his emergence as a mature theologian at Alexandria, his work in Caesarea and his controversial legacy. Fresh translations of a representative selection of Origen's writings, including some never previously available in print, present the development of Origen's theological thought and argument.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (September 14, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415118360
• ISBN-13: 978-0415118361
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #639,973 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Bible Through a Different Glass, January 28, 2001

By	E. T. Veal (Chicago, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Origen (c. 185 - c. 250) is, with Tertullian, one of the two prolific ante-Nicene Christian authors who is not recognized as a saint. That verdict on Tertullian, an apostate to the Montanist sect, is not surprising. Origen, however, was the most prominent Christian teacher and scholar of his day, remained steadfastly loyal to the Church, died as a martyr and was admired fervently by such great and unquestionably orthodox theologians as Gregory of Nyssa. Notwithstanding such credentials, his ideas fell under suspicion soon after his death, and "Origenism" has since borne a taint of heresy.

Joseph Trigg, an Episcopal clergyman and author of a previous life of Origen ("Origen: The Bible and Philosophy in the Third-century Church" (1983)), would like to restore his subject's reputation and introduce him to contemporary Christians. To that end, he has assembled this anthology of a dozen selections: seven Biblical commentaries, four homilies and a letter to St. Gregory the Wonder Worker. Most of these are excerpts from, or fragments of, longer works, but each is substantial in itself. None will be familiar to the non-specialist. Not included are Origen's best known treatise (the source of many later doubts about his orthodoxy), "Peri Archon" ("On First Principles"), and his apologia "Contra Celsum", both readily found elsewhere and neither typical of the author's work.

Origen's great subject was the interpretation of Scripture. These texts illustrate his approach, which differs strikingly from that of any modern commentator. The underlying theory is that, because God is the author of the Bible, every word of the text is significant. But, because God is supremely subtle, that significance is not evident to the untutored reader. The plain, obvious meaning is, to Origen's mind, usually the least important. The deepest, spiritual truths can be uncovered only through learned scholarship, augmented by prayer.

These principles lead to minute, painstaking analysis. Book I of the commentary on John's Gospel, 46 pages in this edition, is devoted to discussing two words. The conclusions reached through this effort can be unexpected and may often look arbitrary, as when Jeremiah's lamentations over Jerusalem are construed as an allegory of the mission of the Apostles or Jesus's washing of his disciples' feet is taken as symbolic of Christian pedagogy.

Because this way of reading Scripture is so foreign to our habits, these writings, if perused quickly and carelessly, are more likely to bewilder than enlighten. Origen's method and assumptions obviously bear no resemblance to modern Biblical scholarship, despite his sedulous care to establish the most accurate possible text. Nor can he be grouped with the fundamentalists. He agrees with them that the Bible is the very Word (and words) of God. From that premise, the draws the unfundamentalist conclusion that statements of fact are frequently not to be taken literally and that ordinary Christians get little out of Scripture without expert guidance.

To read Origen as more than an historical curiosity requires, then, the adoption of an unfamiliar perspective on the Bible. Fr. Trigg's introduction, while offering a useful account of Origen's career and posthumous reputation, unfortunately pays little attention to furnishing equipment for such a feat of intellectual imagination. A work like James Kugel's "The Bible As It Was", dealing with the very similar ancient Jewish hermeneutics, may help supply this need.

Origen is one of the most famous names in early Christian history, and this collection, though not fare for a casual Sunday afternoon, is the best available way for laymen to see a great mind at work in its most characteristic mode.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important New Translation of Origen, August 19, 2000

By	Cynthia B. Cohen (Washington, D.C., USA) - See all my reviews

This introduction to and translation of Origen appears in a highly respected series of key selected texts by the major Greek and Latin Fathers of the Church. Joseph Trigg, who is one of the foremost interpreters of Origen, provides fascinating and profound insights into Origen's life and writings in his introduction. He analyzes the principal influences that formed Origen as a Christian, his emergence as a mature theologian, and his controversial legacy. The translation is fresh and clear. Moreover, the book includes some writings by Origen that have not been available previously. This is an exciting book that I'd recommend to anyone -- scholar or not -- who wishes to explore the thought of one of the greatest and most influential Christian thinkers before Augustine.

Cynthia B. Cohen, Ph.D., J.D. Senior Research Fellow, Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University Washington, D.C.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Readable Translation of Previously Un-Translated Texts, February 21, 2006

By	Eros Faust "erosfaust" (Jacksonville, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

I am hoping as much to address the writer as to counsel the reader. To the reader I would say that this is a very reader-friendly translation. I like the fact that some modern expressions and idioms are used when it clarifies the text. If you are fascinated about the early church, or simply ancient history, these writings are full of issues which will stimulate thought.

To the writer, Mr. Trigg, I would ask that future volumes (for I assume you are still writing and translating) include a more extensive index for readers like me who would like to explore Origen by topic. The index to biblical verses, which is 12 pages long, and which you painstakingly prepared, is extensive and well done. But the topic and name index of just 6 pages is too short. If one wants to search for Origen's teachings on a particular topic, it could be easier.

I would also say this. You keep yourself in the background of this book, I am sure out of modesty. But I'd like to know where you found these texts. Are you working from the original texts or from copies. What condition are the original texts after over 1700 years. How did they come to be spread across Europe. How are they preserved? Were you permitted to photocopy the texts to translate them back in the U.S. or did you have to work there. You mention that much of Origen's writings were lost, but that much remains to be translated. How much is there? What are we missing?

Finally, I would ask the question, "Was Origen a Moral, Vituous Man?" What can we learn from his life? What is the lesson of his self-castration? What is the lesson of the austerity of his lifestyle? He addresses Gregory as "his son." Did he literally adopt him, was he merely a favored student, or did Origen not fully castrate himself? Were the rifts he caused among the early Christian churches the result of pridefulness or spite, or was he the innocent victim of jealous peers.

I have this feeling that Origen will be "re-discovered" someday soon and ordinary people (Christians and closet academics) will again want to know about him. Books like The Da Vinci Code make me believe that there is a thirst for knowledge about the early church that will only become more intense with time (and with release of the movie). I think we are at the beginning of a great upwelling of interest in this topic, and I think that your books will help to satisfy that need.