Book contents
- Knowledge, Faith, and Early Christian Initiation
- Knowledge, Faith, and Early Christian Initiation
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Knowledge, Pedagogy, and Initiation
- 2 Knowledge of the Real
- 3 Simplicity and Power
- 4 Hiddenness and Revelation
- 5 The Harbor on High
- 6 Training the Senses
- 7 Catechesis in Late Antique Italy
- 8 The Memory of Christ
- 9 North African Catechesis after Augustine
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
3 - Simplicity and Power
Tertullian of Carthage and Ritual Knowing
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 October 2023
- Knowledge, Faith, and Early Christian Initiation
- Knowledge, Faith, and Early Christian Initiation
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Knowledge, Pedagogy, and Initiation
- 2 Knowledge of the Real
- 3 Simplicity and Power
- 4 Hiddenness and Revelation
- 5 The Harbor on High
- 6 Training the Senses
- 7 Catechesis in Late Antique Italy
- 8 The Memory of Christ
- 9 North African Catechesis after Augustine
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Tertullian provides evidence in several writings addressed to catechumens of the ways in which Christian contestations about ritual related to knowledge of God. Against what he describes as the obfuscations of heretical and pagan ritual, Tertullian emphasizes the simplicity of Christian ritual as a fitting mode for expressing true divine power. This chapter focuses on De spectaculis, De oratione, De baptismo, and Tertullian’s appeals to the Rule of Faith.
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- Knowledge, Faith, and Early Christian Initiation , pp. 69 - 92Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023