Salvation by law: The protreptic theology of Ad Autolycum.

Theophilus of Antioch is a second-century Syrian bishop, who sought to promote in three books, collectively known as Ad Autolycum, a religion that is essentially a form of Christian Judaism. Given that these books make up less than half of his reported writings, and given that his thought is generally considered by scholars as atypical, Theophilus is an intriguing historical conundrum. While he has not received the same amount of attention as other second-century theologians, some very fine research has surfaced. Much of this scholarship is concerned with the source of the bishop's thought. This dissertation advances that work by attempting to define the rhetoric and identify the focus of Theophilus' theological system as it is exhibited in Ad Autolycum. First, regarding Theophilus' rhetoric, confirming the general impression of contemporary Theophilian scholarship, it is here claimed that his extant corpus suggests a Christianity without a need for a savior figure. Furthermore, while it may be presumed that the person of Christ is indispensable to even the earliest Christianities, there is no evidence in Ad Autolycum that either his incarnation or passion are of any importance to this bishop. While this feature makes Theophilus difficult to contextualize, a systemic-descriptive analysis of his rhetoric in Ad Autolycum has led to the conclusion that this difficulty must be evaluated against the background of his protreptic theology. Second, regarding Theophilus' focus, there is an inextricable correlation between law and salvation unparalleled in early Christian thought. His writings promote a religion that is in its explicit elements, its anthropology, logology and soteriology, structured around the idea of salvation by law. In other words, at the center of Ad Autolycum is a nomos-based soteriology. Further, this bishop, unlike his predecessor, Ignatius, and his contemporary, Irenaeus, does not engage in anti-Jewish polemic. Actually, his soteriology appears to justify comparison with that of Hellenistic Judaism. Whatever Theophilus' theological context might prove to be under closer scrutiny, this dissertation recommends that his religion in Ad Autolycum be identified as nomistic Christianity.Ph.D.Ancient historyBiblical studiesClassical literatureLanguage, Literature and LinguisticsPhilosophy, Religion and TheologyReligionSocial SciencesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/130106/2/9712072.pd