MINUCIUS FELIX, OCTAVIUS 9 & 31
Marcus Minucius Felix (Roman lawyer) (flourished 200-240 AD; died c. 250)
Octavius, Chapters 9 & 31 – written between 210-245 AD
An apology for Christianity in the form of a dialogue between the Christian Octavius and the pagan Caecilius on a trip from Rome to Ostia. Minucius Felix serves as moderator and narrator of the dialogue.
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/octavius.html:
Estimated Range of Dating: 160-250 C.E.
http://www.tertullian.org/minucius/mf.htm:
Minucius’ Octavius – written between 210-245 – is in the main accepted.
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0410.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia), Fathers of the Church: Octavius (Minucius Felix):
Pagan accusation:
Chapter 9. Argument: The Religion of the Christians is Foolish, Inasmuch as They Worship a Crucified Man, and Even the Instrument Itself of His Punishment. They are Said to Worship the Head of an Ass, and Even the Nature of Their Father. They are Initiated by the Slaughter and the Blood of an Infant, and in Shameless Darkness They are All Mixed Up in an Uncertain Medley.
…
They know one another by secret marks and insignia, and they love one another almost before they know one another. Everywhere also there is mingled among them a certain religion of lust, and they call one another promiscuously brothers and sisters, that even a not unusual debauchery may by the intervention of that sacred name become incestuous: it is thus that their vain and senseless superstition glories in crimes. Nor, concerning these things, would intelligent report speak of things so great and various, and requiring to be prefaced by an apology, unless truth were at the bottom of it. I hear that they adore the head of an ass, that basest of creatures, consecrated by I know not what silly persuasion,—a worthy and appropriate religion for such manners. Some say that they worship the virilia of their pontiff and priest, and adore the nature, as it were, of their common parent.
…
And of their banqueting it is well known all men speak of it everywhere; even the speech of our Cirtensian testifies to it. On a solemn day they assemble at the feast, with all their children, sisters, mothers, people of every sex and of every age. There, after much feasting, when the fellowship has grown warm, and the fervour of incestuous lust has grown hot with drunkenness, a dog that has been tied to the chandelier is provoked, by throwing a small piece of offal beyond the length of a line by which he is bound, to rush and spring; and thus the conscious light being overturned and extinguished in the shameless darkness, the connections of abominable lust involve them in the uncertainty of fate. Although not all in fact, yet in consciousness all are alike incestuous, since by the desire of all of them everything is sought for which can happen in the act of each individual.
…
Christian argument denying it:
Chapter 31. Argument: The Charge of Our Entertainments Being Polluted with Incest, is Entirely Opposed to All Probability, While It is Plain that Gentiles are Actually Guilty of Incest. The Banquets of Christians are Not Only Modest, But Temperate. In Fact, Incestuous Lust is So Unheard Of, that with Many Even the Modest Association of the Sexes Gives Rise to a Blush.
"And of the incestuous banqueting, the plotting of demons has falsely devised an enormous fable against us, to stain the glory of our modesty, by the loathing excited by an outrageous infamy, that before inquiring into the truth it might turn men away from us by the terror of an abominable charge. It was thus your own Fronto acted in this respect: he did not produce testimony, as one who alleged a charge, but he scattered reproaches as a rhetorician. For these things have rather originated from your own nations. (Justifying it:)Among the Persians, a promiscuous association between sons and mothers is allowed. Marriages with sisters are legitimate among the Egyptians and in Athens. Your records and your tragedies, which you both read and hear with pleasure, glory in incests: thus also you worship incestuous gods, who have intercourse with mothers, with daughters, with sisters. With reason, therefore, is incest frequently detected among you, and is continually permitted. Miserable men, you may even, without knowing it, rush into what is unlawful: since you scatter your lusts promiscuously, since you everywhere beget children, since you frequently expose even those who are born at home to the mercy of others, it is inevitable that you must come back to your own children, and stray to your own offspring. Thus you continue the story of incest, even although you have no consciousness of your crime. But we maintain our modesty not in appearance, but in our heart we gladly abide by the bond of a single marriage; in the desire of procreating, we know either one wife, or none at all. We practise sharing in banquets, which are not only modest, but also sober: for we do not indulge in entertainments nor prolong our feasts with wine; but we temper our joyousness with gravity, with chaste discourse, and with body even more chaste (various of us unviolated) enjoy rather than make a boast of a perpetual virginity of a body. So far, in fact, are they from indulging in incestuous desire, that with some even the (idea of a) modest intercourse of the sexes causes a blush. Neither do we at once stand on the level of the lowest of the people, if we refuse your honours and purple robes; and we are not fastidious, if we all have a discernment of one good, but are assembled together with the same quietness with which we live as individuals; and we are not garrulous in corners, although you either blush or are afraid to hear us in public. And that day by day the number of us is increased, is not a ground for a charge of error, but is a testimony which claims praise; for, in a fair mode of life, our actual number both continues and abides undiminished, and strangers increase it. Thus, in short, we do not distinguish our people by some small bodily mark, as you suppose, but easily enough by the sign of innocency and modesty. Thus we love one another, to your regret, with a mutual love, because we do not know how to hate. Thus we call one another, to your envy, brethren: as being men born of one God and Parent, and companions in faith, and as fellow-heirs in hope. You, however, do not recognise one another, and you are cruel in your mutual hatreds; nor do you acknowledge one another as brethren, unless indeed for the purpose of fratricide.
Why justify it if you don’t do it? Regardless, it is apparent that free sex was taboo under the Roman government.
Miscellaneous:
http://www.salomoni.it/davide/theology/blog/archive/2004_07_01_davide-theology_archive.html, U of London Bachelor of Divinity: Davide’s Notes, ”Ignatius of Antioch and early persecutions”:
It is also interesting to review the Octavius of Minucius Felix, probably written in the late second century. There, the allegations against Christians assume a systematic form (the document was used as an apologetic piece); some of them are the following: … Christians are fools because they worship a crucified man. They are then said to "worship the head of an ass", and to be initiated "by the slaughter and the blood of an infant". They are also "mixed up in an uncertain medley in shameless darkness". Their is a "religion of lust", and they call themselves "promiscuously brothers and sisters". They also deal in incestuous relations.
http://www.paganlibrary.com/witch_hunting/persecution-modern_ancient.php, Persecution: Ancient And Modern:
I am told that, moved by some foolish urge, they consecrate and worship the head of a donkey, that most abject of all animals. This is a cult worthy of the customs from which it sprang! Others say that they reverence the genitals of the presiding priest himself, and adore them as though they were their father's … It is well-known too what happens at their feasts...On the feast day they forgather with all their children, sisters, mothers, people of either sex and all ages. When the company is all aglow from feasting, and impure lust has been set afire by drunkenness, pieces of meat are thrown to a dog fastened to a lamp. The lamp, which would have been a betraying witness, is overturned and goes out. Now, in the dark so favorable to shameless behavior, they twine the bonds of unnamable passion, as chance decides. And so all alike are incestuous, if not always in deed, at least by complicity; for everything that is performed by one of them corresponds to the wishes of them all...Precisely the secrecy of this evil religion proves that all these things, or practically all, are true. (Minucius Felix: Octavius)
http://frterry.org/History/Chapter_2/Chap.2%20Christians%20in%20a%20Hostile%20World.htm (Father Terry's Verbal Conscience), Chapter Two: I. Christians in a Hostile World First to Third Centuries, "A. Common Slanders":
1. There were three main accusations against the Christians:
a. They were atheists! They did not take part in the traditional or imperial worship. It was assumed that they had no religion. This mind set was unheard of in these ancient times. It threatened the stability of the city. They people thought that their rejected gods would come to destroy the empire through floods, earthquakes, plagues and invasions by hostile tribes. Christians were thought to worship some sort of donkey or a crucified thief. (The Jews were allowed to practice independently.)
See Handout #20
See Handout #21
b. Christians practiced incest! When they got together for their evening meals, it was only to indulge in orgies, and the worst kinds of wickedness between 'brothers and sisters'.
c. They were cannibals! The flesh and blood which they consumed was that of a child victim of ritual murder.
Yeah, that eucharist cop-out mistake caused a lot of problems.
http://frterry.org/History/Chapter_2/Chap.2%20Handout_20.htm (Father Terry's Verbal Conscience), Handout 20: Rumor:
About 200 A.D. Minucius Felix , a Roman lawyer, wrote a dialogue in which he reported a discussion between a Christian, Octavius, and a pagan. The pagan echoed the horrible rumors which were circulating about the Christians.
…
Everyone knows about their banquets, these are talked of everywhere,...On festivals they assemble for a feast with all their children, their sisters, their mothers, people of both sexes and every age. After eating their fill, when the excitement of the feast is at its height and their drunken ardor has inflamed incestuous passions, they provoke a dog which has been tied to a lamp stand to leap, throwing it a piece of meat beyond the length of the cord which holds it. The light which could have betrayed them having thus been extinguished, they then embrace one another, quite at random. … Minucius Felix, Octavius 9,6
http://www.enemies.com/gnostic-articles/pavlovs-gods/, Prolonged Persecution, “CANNIBALISTIC HUMANOID UNDERGROUND DWELLERS”:
Christians often met secretly at night, called each other "brother" and "sister" as they bestowed the "kiss of peace," and were supposed to eat Jesus' "flesh" and "blood." These latter practices led to widespread rumors of incest, nocturnal orgies, cannibalism and other obscene practices{/josquote}:
"This abominable congregation [the Christians] should be rooted out… a religion of lust and fornication. They reverence the head of an ass… some say that the objects of their worship include a man who suffered death as a criminal, as well as the wretched wood of his cross; these are fitting altars for such depraved people, and they worship what they deserve… Also, during initiations they slay and dismember an infant and drink its blood… "[7]
…
[7] The Octavius of Minicius Felix, Chapter IX , Argument: the Religion of the Christians is Foolish, Inasmuch as They Worship a Crucified Man, and Even the Instrument Itself of His Punishment. They are Said to Worship the Head of an Ass, and Even the Nature of Their Father. They are Initiated by the Slaughter and the Blood of an Infant, and in Shameless Darkness They are All Mixed Up in an Uncertain Medley.
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/s/m/smw6/Lecture_26.htm:
Why Were Xians Hated?
CP 214, Minicius Felix
lower class
slaves, women
secret society
immoral, orgiastic
subversive of state religion
http://www.freewebs.com/dark_guides/sraurbanlegend.htm, Dark Guides: Occult and Tarot Information:
History of
the legend:
This belief is directly traceable back to the first few centuries CE when the
early Christians were in conflict with the Roman authorities. The government
created false rumors in order to facilitate persecution of the Church:
They twisted elements of the Eucharist and said that the wine and wafer were
really the blood and flesh of ritually killed babies.
They noted that Christians often picked up newborns who had been abandoned to
die of exposure. The Christians then placed the babies in loving families to be
raised. The rumor implied that they were really collecting babies for
human sacrifice..
They implied that the Agape (Love) Feasts were
not group meals, but were really excuses to engage in sexual orgies, incest, sexual abuse of
children etc. [There appears to be
archeological evidence that Gnostic Christians did engage in ritual sex;
they regarded semen as a sacred fluid and consecrated their status with it. But
their rituals did not involve child abuse.] *Note from Lisa: Time period check,
people. Now a days sex with or even between anyone under 18 is seen as 'bad',
this was not based on the morals, lifestyles and terms or 'right and wrong'
that we now adhere to. It was not seen as abuse or even unnatural then, so calm
down.*
Minicus Felix, a first century Roman writer wrote about the Christian
groups:
"As for the initiation of new
members, the details are as disgusting as they are well known. The novice
himself, deceived by the coating of dough (covering a sacrificial infant),
thinks the stabs are harmless.
Then, it's horrible! They hungrily drink the blood and compete with one another
as they divide his limbs. And the fact they all share knowledge of the crime
pledges them all to silence. On the feast-day
they foregather with all their children, sisters, mothers, people of either sex
and all ages. Now, in the dark, so favorable to shameless behavior, they twine
the bonds of unnamable passion, as chance decides. Precisely
the secrecy of this evil religion proves that all these things, or
practically all, are true."
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10336a.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia), Minucius Felix:
The discussion bears on a small number of points: the possibility of man arriving at the truth, creation, Providence, the unity of God, the necessity of keeping the religion of one's ancestors and especially the advantage to the Romans of the worship of the gods, the low character of Christians, their tendency to conceal themselves, their crimes (incest, worship of an ass's head, the adoration of the generative organs of the priest, prayers addressed to a criminal, sacrifice of children) their impious and absurd conception of the Divinity, their doctrine of the end of the world and the resurrection of the dead, the hardships of their life, threatened, and exposed without remedy to all sorts of dangers, cut off from the joys of life.
…
He merely repels the accusation of incest and infanticide without describing the agape or the Eucharist (xxx and xxxi).
http://www.geocities.com/openlcc/olcc.html, Open Love Christian Community (OLCC):
Sacred sexuality was practiced by the Hebrews in Old Testament times; though at times it strayed into idolatry and worship of gods other than Jehovah. Yet we know from the lives of the wise Kings Solomon and David that concubines were employed in royal sexual ritual; quite apart from marriage and never once condemned in scripture by the Lord. …
Sacred sexuality is not nor has ever been focused on intercourse. Massage, breathing, touching, and oral stimulation are often emphasized. These practices take place during meditation, prayer, and praise in the worship of one's god.
The history of sacred sexuality for Christians is much more difficult to discover. A great many manuscripts and even practitioners of these arts were completely destroyed. We do know that early Christians in Roman lived together in a communal way with as many as one hundred people sleeping in the same room. Of necessity people slept, loved, and feasted in the same chambers used for their Christian services. In fact, group sex was often part of a marriage ceremony, celebrating the unity of two with the unity of all. Minicus Felix describes one large group of early Christians:
They recognize each other by secret signs and marks; they fall in love almost before they are acquainted; everywhere they introduce a kind of religious lust, a promiscuous `brotherhood' and `sisterhood.'
The Apostle Paul also acknowledged that believers in his time were sexually active. Yet most people only remember his warnings and select examples of pagan excess. His famous comment "that everything is permissible for me - but not everything is beneficial" (I Cor. 6:12) begins a discussion of sexual activity. Once we have an accurate understanding of what sexual immorality or fornication was in that time, we are prepared to accept the true role of sacred sexuality that remained. Indeed the context clearly shows Paul's concern was with prostitution and not with a proper, natural use of the body as the Temple of the Holy Spirit. In what sort of holy temple does no sacred worship take place?
Sacred sex ritualists in the Christian church were violently silenced by the growing Roman Catholic church - indeed many who preserved these truths that threatened that church's tyrannical, extrabiblical teaching were tortured and killed. In some cases, bishops and priests did castrations and other tortures themselves. Very hideous, gruesome tortures were often considered holy while a simple sex act between consenting adults was considered a great sin. Such was the warped nature of their thinking, letting us know it was more about power and control than pursuit of righteousness. If you're never studied this part of shameful church history we recommended you start with Fox's Book of Martyrs.
All this occured despite the fact many priests and even Popes had numerous mistresses as well as male lovers. The occasional convent was little more than a brothel where no money was exchanged - preserving they thought some technical measure of holiness. And to this day monestaries are often places where rampant homosexuality is practiced. Not a few former priests say sex rituals are practiced by half to three-quarters of the brothers, even suggesting that fellatio between males has no bearing on their vow of chastity. It was all about power and controlling the people for it was a life not many of them actually lived. St. Augustine's writing concerning sex also became accepted in what were to become protestant circles. …
Sacred sexuality is indeed one of the most beneficial and blessed aspects of human life. What other activity provides communion with God, bonding with other humans, improved health, improved friendships, stress reduction, emotional release, artistic expression, mental calming, physiological healing, and insight into self? …
Throughout Leviticus the scripture is very open on such subjects as menstruation, masturbation, bestiality, homosexuality, ejaculation, and incest. Yet in our modern times so influenced by neo-puritanical thought it is COMPLETELY ILLEGAL (under penalty of FCC fines) to read these and other parts of the Holy Bible on radio and TV! In fact if you showed Ezekial 23 to most parents they would consider it to be filthy pornography when in fact it part of divine writing.
http://essenes.net/manimarriage.html, Manichaeans & Marriage: Why Did The Manichaeans Eschew Sexuality?:
THE NATURE OF SEX IN SOME SECTS OF EARLY CHRISTIANITY
Of some non-Nazorean Gnostic sects it was said: "They recognize each other by secret signs and marks; they fall in love almost before they are acquainted; everywhere they introduce a kind of religious lust, a promiscuous `brotherhood' and `sisterhood.' Minucius Felix, Octavius 9, G. H. Rendall, trans., p. 337.[Note: The Order does not condone this degree of promiscuity!]