The Soteriological Argument Christ the ‘Via Universalis Animae Liberandae’

This chapter analyzes the various salient features of the Porphyrian–Chaldaean soteriological propaganda which formed the centrepiece of the great literary campaign against the Christians before and during the emperor Diocletian's persecution. Porphyry, who was writing as probably the most erudite philosophical and religious authority of the period, and was probably supported officially by the Roman government, developed a twofold system of argumentation which resulted in making him the most formidable antagonist of Christianity in antiquity. The main strategy of this system was (I) the eradication of Christianity, and (2) the offer of salvation not only to the philosopher but also to the common man. It appears that The Philosophy of the Oracles played a highly significant role in the development of this strategy, and this assumption can be made based on the analysis of the data common to the polemics of Augustine, Eusebius, and Arnobius.

Ancient history · Archaeology · Argument (complex analysis) · Argumentation theory · Art · Christianity · Emperor · Epistemology · Literature · Persecution · Political science · Politics · Salient · Augustinian Studies and Theology · Classical Antiquity Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies