This is part 2  of the series blogging through the book On the Incarnation by Athanasius. You might want to start with part 1 and work your way through the series.

The opening statements of the first chapter in On The Incarnation refer to a prior work of Athanasius. That work is Against the Gentiles.

In what preceded we have sufficiently treated a few points from many, regarding the error of the Gentiles concerning idols and their superstition, how their invention was from the beginning, and that out of wickedness human beings devised for themselves the worship of idols.

On the INcarnation chap 1¹

The translator Behr suggests that “[both works] need to be considered together, for the first work sets up the problem that the second resolves.”² Therefore, before reading On the Incarnation, I took the time to read Against the Gentiles.

In Against the Gentiles, Athanasius explores how idolatry came into existence and then spends a great portion of the work refuting it in all of its forms. If I were to summarize the work, Against the Gentiles is a full length treatment of the concepts laid out in Romans 1:18-28. Athanasius will start by explaining the power all people have to direct their attention to God. He will then show that each person knows God but suppresses the truth that is available. He then traces the history of futility as mankind traded the Creator for the created. An exchange that leads down a path deeper and deeper into darkness, accepting various forms of idolatry and adopting sinful behaviors. He will also point to our need to avail ourselves of the ability we have to turn back to God. Throughout the work, Athanasius focuses on the rationality that exists in mankind. Therefore he dedicates part of the work toward defending the existence of the soul, for him the seat of rationality. He concludes by showing that Nature reveals a Creator.

A high level outline of the work (New Advent) would look something like this:

• Part 1
  • Introduction (chap 1)
  • The origin of evil (chap 2-7)
  • The origin of idolatry, its developments and refutation (chap 8-29)
• Part 2
  • An exploration of the soul of man (Chap 30-34)
• Part 3
  • Nature reveals the Creator (chap 35-44)
  • Concluding thoughts (chap 45-47)

The Opening

In the opening of his work, Athanasius is eager to “communicate in writing” about the faith in Christ to Macarius, defending it from the scorn and ridicule of the Gentiles. Athanasius’ aim is to “[refute] the ignorance of the unbelieving; so that the truth may then shine forth”. In doing so he hopes to reassure Macarius that what he believes is true.

I mean the faith in Christ the Savior—that no one may regard the teaching of our doctrine as worthless, or suppose faith in Christ to be irrational. Such things the pagans misrepresent and scorn, greatly mocking us, though they have nothing other than the cross of Christ to cite in objection. It is particularly in this respect that one must pity their insensitivity, because in slandering the cross they do not see that its power has filled the whole world, and that through it the effects of the knowledge of God have been revealed to all. For if they had really applied their minds to his divinity they would not have mocked at so great a thing, but would rather have recognized that he was the Savior of the universe and that the cross was not the ruin but the healing of creation.³

Against the Gentiles chap 1

In the Introduction, the translator Behr writes that both Against the Gentiles and On the Incarnation “are clearly, first and foremost, understood by their author to be an apology for the cross.”⁴ We can see that here in the opening.

The Proper State of Mankind

In the Introduction, Behr suggests that a key part of Athanasius’ work is the exploration of the proper state of human existence.

Athanasius characterizes the proper state of human existence from the point of view of what has been revealed by Christ in his work of salvation: human beings were created for communion with God through contemplation of his Word and Image, the Savior Jesus Christ. That is, Athanasius’ analysis is more concerned to determine, in the light of Christ, what is the proper characteristic or state of human existence, in contrast to what we have actually seen throughout history, rather than to speculate about primordial beginnings.⁵

For Athanasius, how a person directs their mind, toward either higher or lower things, is important for we were created to contemplate Jesus and through Him know the Father.

For God, the creator of the universe and king of all, who is beyond all being and human thought, since he is good and exceedingly noble, has made the human race according to his own image through his own Word, our Savior Jesus Christ.

He also fashioned the human being to be perceptive and understanding of reality through his similarity to himself, giving him also a conception and knowledge of his own eternity, so that preserving this identity he might never abandon his concept of God [… so that] he might rejoice and converse with the divine, living an idyllic and truly blessed and immortal life.

For having no obstacle to the knowledge of the divine, he continuously contemplates by his purity the image of the Father, the God Word, […cleaving], by the power of his mind, to the divine and intelligible realities in heaven.⁶

Against the Gentiles chap 2

Athanasius understands our being made in the image of God means that mankind has been given a rational soul where “intelligence resides” and from it “alone can God be contemplated and perceived.” With our soul we are to direct the mind to be in total contemplation of Jesus, whom Athanasius often refers to as the Image of the Father or the Word.

After describing these things, Athanasius turns to Adam as an example of how our minds should be as they were in the beginning.

Just as the Holy Scriptures say that the first created of human beings, who was called Adam in Hebrew, at the beginning had his mind fixed on God in unembarrassed boldness, and lived with the holy ones in the contemplation of intelligible reality, which he enjoyed in that place which the holy Moses figuratively called paradise; so purity of soul is sufficient to [reflect and] behold, through itself, God as the Lord himself said, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.”⁷

Against the Gentiles chap 2

It is only when we direct our mind towards things below rather than above that it becomes hindered in its knowledge of the Deity. In the next part we will explore how wickedness came into being.

Part 3

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1. Athanasius, Saint, Patriarch of Alexandria. On the Incarnation: Saint Athanasius (Popular Patristics Series Book 44) (p. 46). St Vladimir’s Seminary Press. Kindle Edition  ↩︎
2. Ibid p 15 ↩︎
3. Ibid p 15-16 ↩︎
4. Ibid p 16 ↩︎
5. Ibid p 21 ↩︎
6. Ibid p 19-20 ↩︎
7. Ibid p 20 ↩︎