Origene di Alessandria (185–253)

I've liked Origen for some time. I don't agree with all of his theories, but he was, without question in my mind, the greatest of the Ante-Nicene Fathers. I always get a little perturbed when he is treated with contempt by other Christians--usually by people who have spent very little time actually studying him. His profound influence cannot be denied by anyone who is well acquainted with church history and theology. The man was prolific and inspired.

The Philocalia is a somewhat thematic show more compendium of Origen's thought. It was compiled by the Cappadocians Gregory Nazianzen and Basil the Great. I am probably going to be seen as biased since my greatest theological influences are primarily Alexandrian and Cappadocian, but this book would serve as a great introduction to Origen.

Some of the issues that Origen addresses here are hermeneutics, fatalistic determinism, the use of biblical allegory, the unity of the Bible, theodicy; also various gnostic and philosophical beliefs regarding the Bible, God and evil.
I have to say that I was quite impressed with Origen's refutation of the Gnostic and Platonist demonizing of matter. I had not read this before and it is very similar to my issues with Plotinus that I raised in my review to the Enneads. I highly recommend reading it. This portion is actually found in Eusebius and attributed to a certain Maximus, but it is claimed to be simply a word for word reiteration of Origen's points found in his work against Marcion.

I also was impressed with his refutation of fatalistic determinism. I have often thought, and said, that there are very few false theologies that are altogether new in the church. The Valentinian Gnostics held a form of Predestinationism that is quite similar to Calvinism. Indeed, they used the same proof texts from the New Testament to support it; and Origen's refutations hold good against Calvinism as well. Origen repeats some of the same criticisms I have had towards Calvinism, e.g. it makes God responsible for evil and compromises His Goodness, makes human beings guiltless, etc.

I have to say that Origen's appeal to allegory does attempt to gloss over the more difficult theological problems of the Old Testament, but overall I agree with his positions.

A good portion of this book comes from Origen's work Against Celsus, but there are enough novel textual sources to make this worth getting, even if someone already owns the Ante-Nicene ten volume set. show less

As metáforas amorosas da linguagem matrimonial exprimem o amor religioso, ou místico, e este último serve-se da linguagem mística para descrever o efeito sublime do amor; daí o emprego da linguagem do amor humano para tratar do amor divino: ela é suficiente para ilustrar como o amor é potência unificadora e transformadora. Sob tal perspectiva, é igualmente fácil compreender como um texto do gênero do Cântico dos Cânticos é considerado palavra divina endereçada aos homens. show more Embora Orígenes não tenha sido o primeiro a compor um comentário patrístico ao Cântico dos Cânticos, sua interpretação colhe misticamente a intensidade da linguagem do amor matrimonial, transpondo-a da atração sexual à relação amorosa religiosa. A leitura origeniana do motivo matrimonial no Cântico dos Cânticos funda-se na primazia do amor. Essa primazia, presente em Orígenes desde o início de sua atividade exegética e que culmina no Comentário e nas Homilias ao Cântico dos Cânticos, é a chave de leitura de várias questões da fé e da moral cristãs, mas que precisa de constante purificação. show less

Poucos são os comentários patrísticos ao Evangelho de Lucas que chegaram até nós. Entre eles, destaca-se o de Orígenes, constituído de 39 breves homilias. Um dos mais agudos teólogos dos primeiros séculos, Orígenes parte da letra do texto de Lucas para entrar, como diz várias vezes, em seu mistérios, isto é, seu sentido mais profundo. Todavia, Orígenes, que não ignora a assembleia diante de si, modera sua tendência especulativa e procura indicar-lhe como viver o Evangelho. show more Embora o original grego tenha se perdido, não restando dele mais que quase uma centena de fragmentos, Jerônimo, em seu período de expresso apreço por Orígenes, traduziu, salvo detalhes, bastante fielmente essas 39 homilias para o latim. Delas 33 tratam dos quatro primeiros capítulos do Evangelho de Lucas; as outras seis são dedicadas a outros temas de outros capítulos do mesmo Evangelho. A descontinuidade entre esses dois conjuntos de textos levou a suspeitar que Jerônimo talvez tivesse feito recortes em sua tradução. Mas a crítica moderna aponta que, se havia mais homilias - e havia -, elas tinham se perdido antes mesmo de chegar às mãos de Jerônimo. Mesmo assim, esta obra de Orígenes não deixou de influenciar escritores posteriores, como Ambrósio de Milão, cujo comentário a Lucas apresenta forte presença da homônima obra origeniana. show less

An excellent book and commentary by one of the greatest minds of the Christian church. Origen offers a spiritual interpretation of an obviously erotic poem.

He continues the struggle that many Jewish scholars had as to why this book is in the Holy Scriptures if it appears to have such erotic undertones. This is one of the Christian sources of the "Christ as bridegroom/ Church as bride" imagery, and influenced the reading of this book till even today.

Although many scholars no longer agree show more with Origens reading of the Song of Songs, his work and it's impact on Christian readings of the poem are still important to understanding the poem today. show less