Dr Paul Allen

  Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, better known as Tertullian, lived circa 160 – 240 A.D. This Christian scholar and writer became famous for defending the early Christian faith against heretical attacks and for coining one of the most important theological terms in Christianity. Early in the 3rd century, a priest called Sabellius began teaching that God had three different forms or “modes” which he flipped between Father, Son, or Spirit. He described God as having three masks, which God selected, depending on what he was trying to reveal to mankind. This was a heroic attempt to explain why God is sometimes called the Father while at other times, the Son, and yet also the Holy Spirit. But this attempt by Sabellius didn’t sit right with Tertullian, who countered it with his own, more biblical, explanation. At that time there wasn’t even a word that existed for the three natures of God. So Tertullian made one up. He called his concept the Trinity. As I’m sure you realize… the...

“Blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” “It is certain because it is impossible.” “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” Such tart epigrams are typical of the works of Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus —or Tertullian. A native of Carthage, he had been reared in a cultured pagan household and trained in the literary classics, speech making, and the law. About 196, when he turned his powerful intellect to Christian topics , he changed the face of thinking and literature in the Western church . Up to this point, most Christian writers had used Greek—a flexible, subtle language, perfect for philosophizing and hair splitting. And often the Greek-speaking Christians carried this bent for philosophy into their faith. Though the African Tertullian knew Greek, he preferred writing in Latin, and his works reflect the Latinspeaking Romans’ practical, morals-oriented streak. This influential lawyer drew many other writers to his favorite language. While Greek Christi...