Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 4.djvu/172

COLOSSIANS Jews by Eichhorn, heathen followers of Pythagoras by Grotius. They have also been called Chaldean magicians, Judaizing Christians, Essenes, Ebionites, Cabbalists, Gnostics, or varying combinations of all these (see Jacquier, Histoire, I, 316; Cornely, Introduction, III, 514). The main outlines of their errors are, however, stated with sufficient clearness in the Epistle, which contains a two fold refutation of them: first, by a direct statement of the true doctrine on Christ, by which the very foundations of their erroneous teaching are shown to be baseless; and secondly, by a direct polemic in which is laid bare the hollowness of what they put forth under the specious name of "philosophy". Here, philosophy in general is not condemned, but only the philosophy of those false teachers (Hort, Jud. Chr., 118). This was not "according to Christ", but according to the "tradition of men" and was in keeping only with the very alphabet of worldly speculation (κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου-see Gal., iv, 3). Josephus and Philo apply the word philosophy" to Jewish teaching, and there can be no doubt that it was applied so in Coloss., ii; some of its details are given in 16-23: (1) The false teachers wished to introduce the observance of Sabbaths, new moons, and other such days. (2) They forbade the eating and drinking and even the very tasting and touching of certain things. (3) Under the false pretence of humility they inculcated the worship (Opnokela) of angels, whoni they regarded as equal or superior to Christ. The best modern commentators, Catholic and non-Catholic. agree with St. Jerome that all these errors were of Jewish origin. The Essenes held the most exaggerated ideas on Sabbath observance and external purism, and they appear to have employed the names of the angels for magical purposes (Bel. Jud., II, vii, 2–13; Lightfoot, Col. and Dissertations). Many scholars are of opinion that the "elements of this world" (σTOIXеia ToÛ Kóσμov) mean elemental spirits; as, at that time, many Jew's held that all material things had special angels. In the Book of Henoch and the Book of Jubilees we read of angels of the stars, seasons, months, days of the year, heat, cold, frost, hail, winds, clouds, etc. Abbott (Eph. and Coloss., p. 248) says that "the terin properly used of the elements ruled by these spirits might readily be applied to the spirits themselves, especially as there was no other convenient term". At any rate, angels play an important part in most of early apocryphal books of the Jews, e. g. in the two books just mentioned, the Book of the Secrets of Henoch, the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, etc.

It may be noted in passing, that the words of the Epistle against the superstitious worship of angels cannot be taken as condemning the Catholic invocation of angels. Dr. T. K. Abbott, a candid non-Catholic scholar, has a very pertinent passage which bears on this point (Eph. and Coloss., p. 268): "Zonaras says there was an ancient heresy of some who said that we should not call on Christ for help or access to God, but on the angels. . . This latter view, however, would place Christ high above the angels, and therefore cannot have been that of Colossians, who required to be taught the superiority of Christ." The objection sometimes brought from a passage of Theodoret, on the Council of Laodicea, is clearly and completely refuted by Estius (Comm. in Coloss., II, 18). Another difficulty may be mentioned in connexion with this portion of the Epistle. The statement that the vain philosophy was in accordance with "the tradition of men" is not any disparagement of Apostolic traditions, of which St. Paul himself speaks as follows: "Therefore, brethren, stand fast; and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word or by our Epistle" (II Thess., ii, 14). "Now I praise you, brethren, that in all things you are mindful of me: and keep my ordinances as I have delivered them to you" (I Cor., xi, 2.-See also II Thess., iii, 6; 1 Cor., vii, 17; xi, 23; xiv, 33; II (or., i, 18; Gal., i, 8; Coloss., ii, 6, 7; 11 Tim., i, 13, 14; ii, 2; iii, 14; II John, i, 12; III John, 13). Finally, the very last verse, dealing with the errors (ii, 23), is considered one of the most difficult passages in the whole of the Scriptures. "Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in superstition and humility, and not sparing the body; not in any honour to the filling of the flesh." The last words of this verse have given rise to a multitude of the most conflicting interpretations. They have been taken as a condemnation of bodily mortification, and as an exhortation to it. Modern commentators devote much space to an enumeration of the many opinions and to an exhaustive study of these words without any satisfactory result. There can be little doubt that the opinion of Hort, Haupt, and Peake (Exp. Greek Test., 535) is the right one, viz. that the correct reading of this verse became irrevocably lost, in transcription, in very early times.

CONTENTS. First Part (i, ).-The Epistle consists of two parts, the first two chapters being dogmatico-polenical, and the last two practical or moral. In the first part the writer shows the absurdity of the errors by a direct statement of the supereminent dignity of Christ, by Whose blood we have the redemption of sins. He is the perfect image of the invisible God, begotten before all creatures. By Him and for Him were created all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, spiritual as well as material, and by Him are all things upheld. He is the Head of the Church and He has reconciled all things through the blood of His cross, and the Colossians "also he hath reconciled... through death". St. Paul, as the Apostle of the Gentiles and a prisoner for their sakes, exhorts them to hold fast to Christ in Whom the plenitude of the Godhead dwells, and not to allow themselves under the plausible name of philosophy, to be re-enslaved by Jewish traditions based on the Law of Moses, which was but the shadow of which Christ was the reality and which was abrogated by His coming. They are not to listen to vain and rudimentary speculations of the false teachers, nor are they to suffer themselves to be deluded by a specious plea of humility to put angels or demons on a level with Christ, in the creator of all, the master of angels, and conquer of demons.

Second Part (iii, iv).-In this portion of the Epistler St. Paul draws some practical lessons from the fore- going teaching. He appeals to them that as they are risen with Christ they should mind the things that are above; put off the old man and put on the new. In Christ there is to be neither Gentile nor Jew, barbarian nor Scythian, bond nor free. The duties of wives and husbands, children and servants are next given. He recommends constant prayer and thanksgiving, and tells them to walk with wisdom towards them that are without, letting their speech be always in grace seasoned with salt, that they may know how to answer every man. After the final greeting, the Apostle ends with: "The salutation of Paul with my own hand. Be mindful of my bands. Grace be with you. Amen".

—External Evidence.—The external evidence for the Epistle is so strong that even Davidson has gone to the extent of saying that "it was unanimously attested in ancient times". Considering its brevity, controversial character, and the local and ephemeral nature of the errors dealt with, it is surprising how frequently it was used by early writers. There are traces of it in some of the Apostolic Fathers, and it was known to the writer of the Epistle of Barnabas, to St. Polycarp, and Theophilus of Antioch. It was quoted by Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, etc. From the Muratorian Fragment and early versions it fr is evident that it was contained in the very first collections of St. Paul's Epistles. It was used as Scrip-