CHRISTIANITY IN THE SECOND CENTURY: THE CASE OF TATIAN

Written by Emily J. Hunt Reviewed By Andrew Gregory

Ancient sources tell us that Tatian wrote at least five books, but modern readers have access to a complete text of only one, The Oration to the Greeks. The fact that Tatian’s other writings have not been more fully transmitted is one reason that he remains such a shadowy figure today. Another reason is the nature of the period in which Tatian lived, the second half of the second century. This was a period when many Christian beliefs and practices were still in a greater state of flux than would soon be the case, for boundaries between what would come to be considered either orthodox or heretical were often not yet clearly established.

Christianity in the Second Century: The Case of Tatian is a useful and wide-ranging introduction both to this period in general, and to Tatian in particular. Three major strengths may be noted.

First, Hunt ranges broadly in the material that she uses to cast light on the second century. Although selecting texts and topics that are pertinent to the study of Tatian, she also offers useful discussions of a number of areas that must be approached by anyone wishing to understand the period in which the writings of the NT were collected and transmitted to subsequent generations. Thus chapter two serves as an introduction to contemporary philosophy, especially Middle Platonism, and chapter one as an introduction to the study of the second century. There Hunt outlines recent scholarly discussions on the relationship between Christians and Jews in this period, on the place of Christians in the Roman world, and on the debate over how what was to become dominant as orthodox Christianity began to emerge at the end of the second century from the matrix of competing expressions with which it was already in competition.

Hunt makes a number of generalisations, as is inevitable, but she offers a useful introduction to the great fluidity of second century Christianity. This brings us to the second strength of the book, its author’s sensitivity to the limits of our knowledge about, and access to, this period. Hunt reminds us that decisions made by the time of Ireneaus make it very difficult for us to get behind his presentation of Tatian, subsequently expanded by other heresiologists, as a heretic.

The third strength is Hunt’s detailed attention to the text of the Oration. Relatively little attention has been given to this text, so Hunt helps to plug a significant gap. Contra Robert Grant, who follows the heresiological tradition of Irenaeus and others, Hunt argues that there is no evidence from his own writings to support the charge that Tatian was influenced by Valentinianism. Nor does she accept the charge that Tatian was an Encratite, someone who carried ascetic practices to an unacceptable extreme. Such charges are more likely to reflect differences between what was considered acceptable in the western and eastern churches, and Tatian is unlikely to have been considered unusual in Mesopotamia, even if he was elsewhere.

Hunt’s Tatian was a faithful pupil of Justin Martyr who inherited the Christian philosophical tradition of his master and transmitted it in turn to others, thus playing an important role in the development of Christianity in Syria. Further, he may not have been aware of his debt to Middle Platonism, so Christianised already was the form in which he learned it from Justin. Neither a Valentinian nor an Encratite, Tatian was a Christian philosopher and apologist whose reputation was to suffer on account of circumstances and developments beyond his control.

Hunt’s monograph is an important treatment of a neglected text and its author, and offers welcome light on a murky but important period in the development of Christianity.


Andrew Gregory

Oxford