William Hemsworth is a convert to Roman Catholicism. Prior to his conversion, he received a Master of Divinity from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.
TERTULLIAN AND STOIC MATERIALISM
Within
the blessed Trinity the three persons of the Godhead are distinct but united in
nature. Throughout history many have tried to explain the Trinity in various
ways. For example, St. Patrick used the very popular description of the
three-leaf clover. In the earliest days of the church a theologian by the name
of Tertullian laid out a theory known as stoic materialism. The purpose of this
essay is to define this term and explain how it led to subordination in his
Christology.
Tertullian
was hugely influential in defending and developing doctrine in the early
church. During his time there were opposed the positions of Monarchianism and
Pagan Polytheism. The latter set forth that only one person is God, and because
of this it was actually the father that was crucified. This position, and his
retort, can be followed very easily in his work titled Against Praxeas.
He also opposed Pagan Polytheism which held to the view that the incarnation could
only be possible if there were more than one god.
Tertullian’s
response was to say that the Son was real, but distinct and not a different
God. The fact that Christ existed is a reality, and to this end he used the
definition of the word that was found in Stoic philosophy. Tertullian’s meaning
of “reality” took for granted the materialist notion found in Stoicism. If it
is real, it is material or physical. Since Christ was composed of a material substance
He must exist.
This
material substance is what composes our souls and God even though it is invisible.
When it comes to the rational principle of the universe. Tertullian, feds off
the wisdom of St. Justin Martyr. He calls the Son the eternal Logos, but he
only becomes the Logos when the Father speaks. Tertullian describes this type
of relationship as being like a ray of sunshine emanating from the sun. Father
and the Son are united in a Stoic krasis, an inter-penetration of spiritual
material.
This
view of Tertullian led him into subordinationism. Subordinationism holds that
Christ and the Holy Spirit are subordinate to the father in nature and being.
This can be seen in the way that Tertullian uses the metaphor of the sun and
ray. Though Tertullian defended the deity of Christ the idea of subordination
would lead to further problems. Among them were outright challenges to Christ’s
divinity. (William Hemsworth, For The Church: Essays on Ecclesiology,
Christology, and Church History [2017], 44-45)
