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Origen composed at least thirty-two books of a commentary on the Gospel according to John, at the request of St. Ambrose of Milan. Of these, only nine books are extant in almost complete form, although we have selections of others persevered in other collections of the works of Origen. The commentary proceeds verse by verse, and is particularly notable for its emphasis on the spiritual meaning of the Gospel. This volume contains books 1,2,6, and 10, and fragments of books 4 and 5. Origen's main interest is the allegorical interpretation of the Gospel according to John, which makes this an important work in the study of Origen's mystical thought. A secondary interest is the refutation of Valentinian gnosticism. According to Eusebius, Ambrose had been a Valentinian before his conversion by Origen, and Origen refers to the Gnostic writer Heracleon regularly throughout the commentary in order to refute his views. Although the refutation of Heracleon may have been a stimulus for the composition of this work, Origen moved beyond this goal in order to present a commentary on the Gospel which would appeal to the growing number of educated Christians who wanted a scientific exegesis. The author's writing covers a wide range of historical, theological, philosophical and etymological topics, all focused on this Gospel of ""spiritual food."" ""We might dare to say,"" Origen says as he begins his commentary, ""that the Gospels are the first-fruits of all Scriptures, but that the first-fruits of the Gospels is that according to John. How great must be our understanding, that we may be able to understand in a worthy manner the word which is stored up in the earthen treasures of paltry language."" The Spirit-led exegete can thus draw out of the words and symbols a higher level of insight. This ""spiritual gospel"" is the reality of which Christ's acts were symbols; it is the secrets hidden in the mysteries of Christ's words.

Tabla de contenidos provista por Syndetics

• Abbreviations
• Preface(p. vii)
• Select Bibliography(p. ix)
• Introduction(p. 3)
• Book 13 (p. 69)
• Book 19 (p. 166)
• Book 20 (p. 205)
• Book 28 (p. 292)
• Book 22 (p. 342)
• Index of Proper Names(p. 421)
• Index of Holy Scripture(p. 427)

Notas de autor provistas por Syndetics

Origen is the foremost member of the School of Alexandria, the first school of genuinely philosophical Christian theology. His Platonism is of an older form, uninfluenced by the Neoplatonism of Plotinus, so his philosophy is quite distinct from that of Augustine of Hippo on a number of issues, but especially on the issue of original sin and freedom of will and on the justification of God's permitting evil in the world. Origen became a center of controversy because of his contention that even the Devil would in the end return to God, and he seems to have held that a person enjoys as many successive lives on earth as are needed to return to God after the Fall. However, all matters concerning the interpretation of his thought are controversial. The other members of the school are Clement of Alexandria (c.150-c.213) and Irenaeus of Lyons (died c.202).

(Bowker Author Biography)