![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Joshua-Schachterle-Bart-Ehrman-Author-1-1.png\" "\\"Joshua")
<\/span><\/p>\nWritten by <\/a>Joshua Schachterle, Ph.D<\/a><\/p>\n Author | Professor | Scholar<\/p>\n Author | Professor | BE Contributor<\/p>\n Verified! See our editorial guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n Verified! See our guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n\nDate written: July 15th, 2024\n \nDate written: July 15th, 2024<\/p>\n Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. – Dr. Bart D. Ehrman<\/p>\n As an early theologian and Church Father, Tertullian provides us with an important historical view of early Christianity in North Africa<\/strong>. Moreover, his voluminous writings offer profound glimpses into the development of Christian thought during the 2nd and 3rd centuries.<\/p>\n A polemical and prolific writer, Tertullian\u2019s forceful rhetoric and unyielding stance on theological matters left a lasting mark on the trajectory of early Christian thought. In this article, I\u2019ll explore the life, writings, and theological contributions of Tertullian, examining his influence as the first Latin Christian author and his enduring impact on subsequent Christian thinkers.<\/p>\n Like most ancient Christian writers, Tertullian didn\u2019t give us many details about his life. Those we know come from veiled references in his own writings as well as two biographical sketches of him made two centuries later, one by Church historian Eusebius of Caesarea<\/a> and the other by priest and ascetic author Jerome.<\/p>\n Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus was born around 155 CE in the city of Carthage in Roman North Africa (modern-day Tunisia), where he would spend his entire life. Carthage was originally founded in the first millennium BCE by the Phoenicians and then developed into a large city-state like Athens or Rome. However, in 146 BCE, the Roman Empire conquered and destroyed the original city.<\/p>\n According to Caroline Winterer<\/a>, by the time Tertullian was born, Carthage had been developed by Rome into a massive metropolitan trading hub for the Roman Empire with a peak population of about 500,000 people. This meant, by the way, that while the original language of Carthage was Punic, a Semitic language, Tertullian and most citizens of Roman Carthage spoke Latin as their first language.<\/p>\n Tertullian spent his entire life in the city of Carthage. However, this afforded him amazing educational resources, as Carthage was the second-largest city in Roman North Africa (only Alexandria, Egypt was larger). By the mid-2nd century and time of Tertullian\u2019s birth, Christianity had spread to Carthage. It appears, though, that he was not born into a Christian family.<\/p>\n Church tradition, based largely on the biographies written by Eusebius and Jerome, says Tertullian was the son of a Roman centurion. Many have also claimed he trained as a lawyer, based partly on the many legal analogies used in his writings. However, in Tertullian: A Historical and Literary Study<\/a>, Timothy Barnes says that although Tertullian demonstrated general knowledge of Roman law in his writings, it would have been common to any educated citizen of Roman Carthage. Once again, we just don\u2019t know for sure. (Affiliate Disclaimer: We may earn commissions on products you purchase through this page at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting our site!<\/em>)<\/p>\n Both Jerome and Eusebius, again writing two centuries after Tertullian\u2019s death, also write that he was an ordained priest. However, Tertullian never states this, making the claim questionable at best. Moreover, in one of his writings, \u201cOn the Exhortation to Chastity,\u201d he seems to place himself among the laity rather than the clergy.<\/p>\n His first work, \u201cApology,\u201d was written in 197 CE and seems to hint about his conversion to Christianity (\u201capology,\u201d in this case, means a defense). Based on this date, early scholars of Christianity surmised he had converted not long before this year, but it\u2019s impossible to say for sure. He did convert, however, and in \u201cApology,\u201d he writes that a real Christian life requires a drastic act of conversion which changes everything. He therefore writes, “Christians are made, not born.” He also says that he was married to a Christian wife and even addressed two of his books to her.<\/p>\n As reflected in his writings, Tertullian was not an easygoing person. He wrote vehemently against heretics and other perceived enemies of the Christian life<\/strong>. As William Benham wrote of Tertullian in his 1887 Dictionary of Religion<\/a>, \u201cHis style is harsh, but vigorous and powerful.\u201d This seems to have described Tertullian\u2019s character, as well.<\/p>\n In the approximate year of 207 CE, when Tertullian was 52, he was attracted to a Christian movement known as the \u201cNew Prophecy,\u201d but also called Montanism after its founder Montanus. Without going into too much detail, Montanus, a recent convert to Christianity, had declared himself and two women named Prisca and Maximilla as prophets through whom the Holy Spirit spoke. Montanism would be officially condemned as a heresy in 381 CE, but it was highly controversial even in Tertullian\u2019s time.<\/p>\n While it was believed for years that Tertullian left the wider Christian church (or was excommunicated) to become a Montanist, most modern scholars find this assertion dubious<\/strong>. In Tertullian and Paul,<\/a> for instance, David Wilhite writes that it is far more likely that Tertullian merely believed much of what the Montanists said, much of which agreed with broader Christian theology but remained a part of the wider Carthaginian church. In addition, a later Christian Bishop of Carthage named Cyprian claimed that his entire theology came from Tertullian\u2019s writings. This would be highly unlikely if Tertullian had been condemned as a heretic.<\/p>\n Jerome writes that Tertullian lived a long life, probably dying in the year 220 CE. As the first prolific Latin Christian author, he was the predecessor to such important Latin theologians as the abovementioned Cyprian and Augustine of Hippo<\/a>. With that, let\u2019s turn to his writings and theology.<\/p>\n TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE of the Historical Jesus!<\/p>\n Think you know the Jesus of the Bible? Uncover the historical figure behind the texts!<\/p>\n __CONFIG_colors_palette__{“active_palette”:0,”config”:{“colors”:{“10c55”:{“name”:”Main Accent”,”parent”:-1}},”gradients”:[]},”palettes”:[{“name”:”Default”,”value”:{“colors”:{“10c55”:{“val”:”rgb(255, 133, 34)”}},”gradients”:[]},”original”:{“colors”:{“10c55”:{“val”:”rgb(19, 114, 211)”,”hsl”:{“h”:210,”s”:0.83,”l”:0.45,”a”:1}}},”gradients”:[]}}]}__CONFIG_colors_palette__ <\/span> sTART QUIZ<\/strong><\/span><\/span> <\/a> <\/p>\n It’s free!<\/em><\/p>\n Tertullian was an extremely prolific author. It\u2019s beyond the scope of this article to write in detail about every single one of his writings. Instead, I\u2019ll outline some broad themes in those writings, some of which he seems to have innovated.<\/p>\n Tertullian\u2019s writings can be divided into four main groups (see the table below). First, there are apologetic writings, that is, various defenses of Christianity against heretics or non-Christian naysayers. Then we have polemical writings, which either attack certain people or groups or express controversial opinions. Next, there are the dogmatic writings, which argue for the irrefutable truth of certain Christian principles. Finally, we have his writings on correct Christian morality.<\/p>\n Note also that Tertullian used most of his opinions to argue in some way against those he defined as heretics. This is a bit ironic, of course, since he himself was accused of heresy for his Montanist leanings.<\/p>\n![\"Tertullian\"](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tertullian.png\" "\\"Tertullian\\"")
<\/span><\/p>\nWhere and When Was Tertullian Born?<\/h2>\n
What Was Tertullian\u2019s Background and Education?<\/h2>\n
Tertullian\u2019s Writings and Significance<\/h2>\n
![\"Who](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Who-was-Tertullian.png\" "\\"Who")
<\/span><\/p>\n