A Reconstruction of Against the Christians by Porphyry of Tyre

by M. David Litwa

Porphyry’s Against the Christians was the most hard-hitting, incisive, and lengthy critique of Christianity that the ancient world ever knew. It was so dangerous that three Christian emperors wrote decrees ordering it to be burned. The Christians succeeded in destroying it, but they did not destroy—or seek to destroy—the fragments and traces of the work in Christian authors themselves. Thus testimonies and fragments of Porphyry’s great work survive. This is the material translated and commented upon in this book. Its purpose is to correct the errors and massive gaps of R. J. Hoffmann’s 1994 translation, and to make a reliable translation readable for a new generation.

205 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 24, 2025

Reviews

[Ryan Boissonneault · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Neoplatonist philosopher Porphyry of Tyre, it could be argued, initiated the long tradition of serious biblical criticism in the 3rd century CE. Although not much of his original work survives, the fragments that remain—quoted for the purposes of refutation—highlight contradictions that have largely gone unanswered even today.

Porphyry was the first thinker we know of to highlight the quarrel between Paul and Peter, along with Paul’s blatant hypocrisy, in Galatians. For example, Paul is adamantly against the practice of circumcision among gentiles—as he vociferously denies that Jewish customs need to be observed by gentiles for salvation—but then actually circumcises Timothy in the book of Acts so that Timothy will join his mission. Not only does Paul contradict his own teachings, but he publicly rebukes Peter for the same transgressions; namely, appeasing the Jews by not eating with gentiles.

Paul said Jesus “spoke through him,” yet Paul is clearly guilty of dissimulation, when it’s clear that Jesus explicitly prohibits lying and deceit in the Gospels. How can this be squared? Short answer: It can’t.

The field of biblical criticism is often claimed to have been established in the 18th century, but its origins, in fact, reach back to Porphyry in the 3rd century. That’s why his works, even if underappreciated, deserve to be read today. And as far as translations go, this is probably one of the best—and the only one that I know of—that attempts to recreate the actual work, in order, from the existing fragments.

Also feel free to check out my own article on the topic: Crisis of Credibility: Porphyry’s Exposure of Hypocrisy and Contradiction in the New Testament.