In the series of articles published by Ancient Jew Review discussing the new translation of Origen's Contra Celsum by Joseph Trigg and Robin Darling Young, two particularly interesting new pieces have been posted.
The first article, by Mark Randall James, proposes reading Origen's work as a philosophical exercise in Socratic-dialectical style: a mode of philosophizing that is not exhausted at the level of technical concepts and scholastic argumentation, but aims at the examination of beliefs and the pedagogical benefit of "ordinary people." James argues that Origen, following the example of Socrates and Epictetus, returns to fundamental concepts of Stoic philosophy not to arrive at abstract definitions, but to activate them in everyday life. Particularly interesting is the emphasis on the use of Stoic logic and the connection of dialectic with a kind of philosophical training that Origen considers theologically legitimate as well.
Mark Randall James, "Contra Celsum as Socratic Philosophy"
In the second article, by Samuel Pomeroy, Origen emerges as a thinker who develops a political-theological approach of the pre-Constantinian Church. In this approach, worldly order, law, and public worship are read through the axis of Logos–demons–nations. The author shows how Origenian demonology functions as an interpretive key to the conflict between "natural law" and local/national legislations, and how Origen shifts the discussion from a simple acceptance of Celsus's cosmopolitan framework toward a new scheme, where Christ-Logos becomes the criterion of moral and political order. Thus, Origen's cosmopolitan vision is not grounded in a worldwide state, but in a universal ethos oriented toward the Logos—a view that places him in fruitful dialogue with contemporary discussions concerning natural law, ecology, and world religions.
Samuel Pomeroy, "Origen as Political Theologian"
Έφυγε από τη ζωή πλήρης ημερών η ομότιμη καθηγήτρια του Πανεπιστημίου Paris-IV, Marguerite Harl. Η εκλιπούσα υπήρξε μαθήτρια του Henri-Irénée Marrou και διηύθυνε το γνωστό project "La Bible d’Alexandrie". Εκτός από τη μετάφραση των Ο΄ η Harl εργάστηκε κυρίως στον Ωριγένη και τους Πατέρες των πρώτων αιώνων. Αναφέρω μερικές από τις σημαντικότερες δημοσιεύσεις της: La Langue de Japhet (1992), Le Déchiffrement du sens: Études sur l'herméneutique chrétienne d'Origène à Grégoire de Nysse, Institut d'études augustiniennes (1993), Origène d'Alexandrie et la fonction révélatrice du Verbe incarné (1959) και La Bible grecque des Septante : du judaïsme hellénistique au christianisme ancien, μαζί με τους Gilles Dorival και Olivier Munnich (1994).