Table of Contents

Origen among Christians, Jews and Gnostics - Christian and Jew; The Church in Alexandria; Christian heterodoxy in Alexandria; Christological considerations; Concluding remarks on Origen. The God of Origen and the Gods of Plato: Platonism and the name of God; Studying philosophy in Alexandria; God, philosophy and revelation; The divine creator; Christ as Logos; The Trinity, ousia and hypostasis. The doctrine of the soul in Origen: Did Origen believe in the pre-existence of the soul?; Interlude - the pre-existence of the soul of Christ; The pre-existent soul - does "On First Principles" contradict itself?; A pilgrimage of souls; Image, likeness and the fashioning of saints; Eschatology and mysticism. The interpretation of scripture: Notes toward a definition of allegory; Allegory and the philosophers; The Alexandrian tradition; Origen and the Word of God; The mystery of Christian maturation; Mysticism, Platonism, Jewish literalism; Word and sacrament; Objections and replies; Conclusion.