On the Location of God According to the Second Century Apologists

Response to Philosopher’s Concept of Location

Abstract

Apologists preached the existence of God using the argument in the Old Testament. Because the complete New Testament was absent in the second century, the Old Testament played a great role in the Christian doctrine. However this was no match for discussion with the philosophers of the day, since it was written for the Jews thousands of years before. Consequently, they must have tried to answer opponent’s questions by interpreting the Old Testament. Of these questions, this essay addresses the concept of location. It has been argued by Plato, Aristotle, and Stoicism, but the apologists (e.g., Justin the martyr, Theophilus of Antioch, and Athenagoras of Athens) could not use it in the same way, because the anthropomorphic God in the Old Testament never corresponded to the abstract philosophical concept of location. This essay analyzes how they addressed this question and in turn attempts to examine its relationship with early Christian thought.