Pagan Origin of Partialist Doctrines

by John Claudius Pitrat

Tatian, one of the most prominent ecclesiastical writers of the second century, established the sect of the Tatianists, who believed that Jesus Christ had not really suffered, and that he had not redeemed the world by his blood. They also held the doctrine of Metempsychosis. Of the many works of Tatian we have only his Discourse against the Pagans, and his Diatessaron.

Apelles established a sect of his name, in 145. The Apellites denied the resurrection of the body; believed in Metempsychosis; and also that God had entrusted a spirit of fire to create the world.

In the second century, Montan, a native of Ardaban, in Mysia, established the sect of the Montanists, which split and ramified into the Artotyrites, the Ascites, Ascodrutes, etc. They all believed the doctrine of Metempsychosis.

The Ophites, a sect of the second century, professed that the world had been created, and was governed by evil Eons or geniuses, and that God had sent Jesus Christ, his Son, to oppose the evil geniuses. They held the doctrine of Metempsychosis.

In the second century the sect of the Cainites denied the resurrection of the body, and believed in Metempsychosis.

The above sects compose the large body of Christians in the second century; and yet we do not find in their doctrines anything like the dogma of endless hell. They all, except perhaps the Millenaries, believed in the doctrine of Metempsychosis. And as those extracts are from Roman Catholic authors, who had the greatest interest in disguising the true doctrines of those sects, it follows that it is an undeniable fact, that the Christians of the second century neither did believe nor knew any thing about such a dogma as endless hell.

Corollary. Since the Christians of the second century neither believed the dogma of endless hell, nor knew anything about it, therefore the Christians of the first century neither believed this dogma, nor knew anything about it; for had they believed it, or known any thing about it, the Christians of the second century would have preserved that belief, or at least would have mentioned it. Consequently, it is an undeniable fact that the Christians of the first century were not taught by the apostles the dogma of endless hell.

Let us examine, now, the doctrines of the various Christian sects, which sprung up in the third century.

Tertullian, one of the Fathers of whom we have spoken above, had joined the Montanist sect; but afterwards he disagreed with them, and he founded, at about the fifth year of the third century, another sect, called Tertullianists. This sect lived several centuries, for in the time of St. Augustine, towards the end of the fourth century, they had a denominational organization at Carthage, Africa. Probably they held the same belief as Tertullian, in regard to the dogma of endless hell.