John A. McGukin, The SCM Press A-Z of Origen (London: SCM, 2006), 228 pp. $22.99.
Origen was an early Christian scholar, essentially a Platonist with occasional traces of Stoic philosophy, and one of the most distinguished of the early fathers of the Christian Church. He is held to have been an Egyptian who taught in Alexandria, reviving the Catechetical School of Alexandria where Clement had taught. Notably, Origen produced a corrected Septuagint, using his knowledge of Hebrew. Moreover, he wrote extensive commentaries on all the books of the Bible, though his most famous work is On First Principles. However, his commentaries upon the individual books of the Bible hold much importance for today’s intellectual environ, for the goal of his commentaries was to give an exegesis that highlighted the deeper, hidden, spiritual truth of what God intended to relay to humanity.
Similar to Plotinus, for example, he contended that the soul passes through several, successive stages after death, eventually reaching God. In fact, he imagined that even demons being reunited with God. Unfortunately, his views of a hierarchical structure in the Trinity, the temporality of matter, and the preexistence of souls, were declared anathema in the 6th century. For all of the misgivings about him, however, Origen has had a profound effect upon the development of Western theology. In fact, Jerome once categorized him as one of the most profound Christian thinkers since the apostles. Origen was a text-obsessed thinker, one of the first biblical scholars in the Christian tradition. He was not a static thinker, however, as his views changed over the course of his life and theological production, which is point too frequently recognized. In his life, he had numerous adversaries and supporters, and the same seems to be true today as well.
The SCM Press A-Z of Origen provides interested readers with access to the life of Origen, his theological explorations, his influences, his works and the controversies associated with him in life and in death. All his writings are here placed squarely in the flow of his life, within the geography of his ecclesiastical relations and regional controversies. McGukin notes that his intention is to give an accurate and detailed (though the volume could have been much more detailed, but that would have belied its purpose as a modestly sized encyclopedia) picture of Origen. For each of the entries in this volume, footnotes cross-referenced to the bibliography provide the opportunity for further exploration and research into primary sources.
In keeping with its design, this A-Z of Origen provides a student of church history, the patristic period in particular, with a comprehensive reference to Origen. It also includes an overview of Origen’s own writings, a list of English translations of his works, a list of critical editions in both Latin and Greek, and a biography of his life. All of these features make this volume a sound starting place for the university or seminary student who wishes to delve deeper into this period of history. As Origen said, Hopou Logos agei (i.e., “Go wherever the Divine Wisdom leads you”).
Bradford McCall, Regent University