An apostate against Christianity

Julian, known as Julian the Apostate by his opponents, was Roman emperor from 361 to 363. He was the last pagan ruler of the Roman Empire, and the only one who wrote an extensive treatise against Christianity. Julian was brought up as a Christian but apostasized later in life, becoming a zeolus pagan and Neo-Platonist. As emperor he attempted to do away with Christianity, which had become the state religion of the Empire under Julian's predeccesors Constantine the Great and Constantius (who were incidentally Julian's relatives). This pagan counter-offensive came to an abrupt end when Julian was killed in combat against the Parthians in 363.

Loeb Classical Library have translated all of Julian's extant writings, and published them in three volumes. The most interesting volume is this, the third, since it contains a re-construction of Julian's treatise against Christianity, "Against the Galileans". As usual in this series, the Old Greek original text is reproduced alongside the English translation. (Other English translations of "Against the Galileans" are also available here at Amazon.com.)

"Against the Galileans" is a very interesting text. Many of Julian's arguments against Christianity feel very modern, showing that critics of the Christian message had pretty much the same objections then as now. Some of the emperor's arguments can be used even by atheists, others could presumably be used by New Age believers. Obviously, Julian also has a few arguments of his own. The term "Galilean" is Julians insulting name for the Christians.

In a short review like this, only the barest outline of Julian's arguments are possible. To Julian, the Christians are wicked people who have apostasized from the pagan traditions of their fathers to Judaism. But they distort even the Jewish Bible, and sometimes the words of Jesus himself. Thus, their creed is completely new and hence false. In the ancient world, everything new was suspect by definition, as the old and venerable was seen as better.

Julian doesn't believe that the Jews are the chosen people. After all, the Jews are insignificant and have often been conquered by stronger nations, such as Egyptians, Babylonians and Romans. God cares for all of humanity, not just for a small nation in a part of Palestine. The God of the Jewish Bible must be a purely local god, a subordinate to the highest God. Besides, the Jews are primitive, have no great poets and scientists, and their laws are more cruel than those of the Romans. Despite this criticism of the Jews, Julian is nevertheless quite pro-Jewish. He prefers the ancient traditions of Israel to the novelty of the "Galileans". Indeed, Julian even writes that the Jews in many ways resemble the pagans, for instance in their sacrifices. Julian actually wanted to rebuild the Jewish temple, a project that came to naught when he fell in battle.

A large part of Julian's text deals with what we would call "Bible difficulties". To Julian, Christianity distorts the Jewish Bible (the Old Testament). There are no prophecies of Jesus in the OT, the Jewish laws are forever and cannot be suspended as Paul argued, and the consistent monotheism of the OT is incompatible with the Trinity. Perhaps more sarcastically, Julian argues that the Christians distort their own New Testament as well. For instance, he points out that neither Matthew, Mark, Luke nor Paul ever refers to Jesus as "God". Only John does this, but Julian assumes that the Gospel of John was written later than the others, and hence lack value. Julian then mocks the Christians for worshipping corpses, by which he means Jesus and the martyrs.

A common pagan argument against Christianity seems to have been that the Christians were common folk, almost wretches. This elitist argument is rehashed by Julian, who write that the apostles deluded maidservants, slaves and women, and people like Cornelius and Sergius, of whom no further historical record exists. He belittles the miracles of Jesus, pointing out that they took place in a few Palestinian villages, and hence were unimportant. How can a creed that began in a remote rural region and has only existed for 300 years, mostly among the underclass, really be divine, especially if its inherently illogical as well? That seems to be the gist of Julian's arguments.

No matter what one might think of "Against the Galileans", it is nevertheless a fascinating read, especially considering that it was written by a man who was, albeit for a few years only, the ruler of the Roman Empire.