Preparation for the Gospel

E82072

Preparation for the Gospel is a lengthy early fourth-century Christian apologetic work by Eusebius of Caesarea that compiles and critiques pagan philosophy and religion to demonstrate the superiority of Christianity.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Christian apologetic work
theological treatise
addressesTopic critique of idolatry
critique of oracles
the nature of God
the origin of pagan cults
the relationship between Greek philosophy and Hebrew revelation
associatedWith Early Church Fathers
Patristic literature
author Eusebius of Caesarea
circulation Byzantine manuscript tradition
critiques Greek mythology
pagan philosophy
pagan religion
polytheism
dateWritten early 4th century
followedBy Demonstration of the Gospel
genre apologetics
polemical literature
hasSignificance key document in the history of Christian–pagan debate
major source for otherwise lost Greek texts
historicalPeriod Constantinian era
influenced later Christian apologetics
intendedAudience Christian intellectuals
educated pagans
language Ancient Greek
mainPurpose to demonstrate the superiority of Christianity over pagan religion and philosophy
to prepare readers for the Christian Gospel
numberOfBooks 15
partOf Eusebius’s apologetic project
placeOfComposition Caesarea Maritima
preservesFragmentsOf Middle Platonist philosophers
Stoic philosophers
lost pagan authors
relatedWork Chronicle of Eusebius
Ecclesiastical History
religiousTradition Christianity
structure multi-book treatise
supportsView that Christianity fulfills earlier religious insights
that Greek philosophy borrowed from Hebrew wisdom
theologicalOrientation pro-Nicene Christianity
titleInGreek Εὐαγγελικὴ προπαρασκευή
titleInLatin Praeparatio Evangelica
translatedInto Latin
modern European languages
usesAsSources Jewish writings
pagan historians
pagan philosophers

Referenced by (2)

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