Plato and Aristotle, Fresco from The School of Athens in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican City
Virtuous pagan is a concept in Christian theology that addressed the fate of the unlearned—the issue of nonbelievers who were never evangelized and consequently during their lifetime had no opportunity to recognize Christ, but nevertheless led virtuous lives, so that it seemed objectionable to consider them damned. Prominent examples of virtuous pagans are Heraclitus, Parmenides, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Trajan, and Virgil.
A Christian doctrinal formulation of this concept, though not universally accepted, is known as the "Anonymous Christian" in the theology of Karl Rahner, which is analogous to teachings of the gerim toshavim in Judaism and Hanifs in Islam.[1]
^Davies, William David; Davies, W. D.; Allison, Dale C. (1997). Matthew: Volume 3: 19-28. A&C Black. p. 423. ISBN 9780567085184. Rather did he hold the position stated in the Apocalypse of Sedrach: 'there are nations which have no law, yet fulfill the law; they are not baptized, but my divine Spirit enters them and they are converted to my baptism, and I receive them with my righteous ones in the bosom of Abraham. [There were rabbis who taught that righteous heathen would be saved: t. Sanh. 13.2; b. Sanh. 105a. Recall also Paul's thoughts in Rom 2.14-16: Gentiles who do the law written on their hearts may have good consciences on the last day.] The context, however, does not explicitly teach two judgements; and we are not persuaded that 'the least' are to be identified with Christians (see below). Further, we have little doubt before Matthew, the scene concerned all humanity. At the same time, 25.31-46 may very well imply that Matthew thought salvation possible for those outside the church. We are reminded of Karl Rahner's so-called 'anonymous Christian'.
Virtuouspagan is a concept in Christian theology that addressed the fate of the unlearned—the issue of nonbelievers who were never evangelized and consequently...
Polytheism Secular paganism Sentientism Totemism Virtuouspagan Worship of heavenly bodies Peter Brown (1999). "Pagan". In Glen Warren Bowersock; Peter Brown;...
Africa and the Near East. Although they share similarities, contemporary pagan movements are diverse and as a result, they do not share a single set of...
vernacular Irish sources agree that the druids played an important part in pagan Celtic society. In his description, Julius Caesar wrote that they were one...
mythology Neoplatonism and Christianity Sol Invictus Saint John's Eve Virtuouspagan Economic struggles meant a "substantially poorer quality of life" from...
Lowther. Iconography of Charlemagne Seven Champions of Christendom Virtuouspagan Larousse Dictionnaire de la Langue Francaise Lexis, 1993: Brave, Vaillant...
Christian principles, albeit with concessions to the pagan community. Private, albeit not public, pagan sacrifices and rites were to remain legal. Across...
Wicca (English: /ˈwɪkə/), also known as "The Craft", is a modern pagan, syncretic, earth-centered religion. Considered a new religious movement by scholars...
human beings had to accept their fate as according to divine will, and virtuous acts should be performed for their own intrinsic value. Another philosophy...
Martyr of charity Military saints Athleta Christi Miles Christianus Church Militant Seven Champions Virtuouspagan Catholic Church portal Saints portal...
ABC-CLIO. Ross, Anne (1974). Pagan Celtic Britain: Studies in Iconography and Tradition. Sphere Books Ltd. Ross, Anne (1986). The Pagan Celts. B.T. Batsford....
particularly as a tool for reconstructing and analysing the historical pagan beliefs and national identity of Latvia. The minute details of most, if...
Finnic paganism, or Finnic polytheism was the indigenous pagan religion of the various Finnic peoples, such as the Baltic-Finns, Volga-Finns, Sámi and...
main areas of discussion were virtue, leading to the conception of the virtuouspagan, knowledge, leading to discussions about the merits of ancient wisdom...
texts survive detailing the mythology of the Baltic peoples during the pagan period, knowledge of such beliefs may be gained from Roman and German chronicles...
and use the term witchcraft for their beliefs and practices. Other neo-pagans avoid the term due to its negative connotations. The concept of witchcraft...
and the Critics" a "Northern 'theory of courage'" – the heroic or "virtuouspagan" insistence to do the right thing even in the face of certain defeat...
folk poetry collected in the 19th century often deals with pre-Christian pagan themes, and has allowed scholars to study Finnish mythology in more detail...
such as author Daniel Quinn, sculptor Lawson Oyekan, and many contemporary Pagans. English anthropologist Sir Edward Tylor initially wanted to describe the...
Trajan"). Among medieval Christian theologians, Trajan was considered a virtuouspagan. In the Renaissance, Machiavelli, speaking on the advantages of adoptive...
capital, Kiev. Even there, however, popular resistance led by volkhvs, pagan priests or shamans, recurred periodically for centuries. Popular resistance...
offering a positive view of Cleopatra. Chaucer began his hagiography on virtuouspagan women with the life of Cleopatra, depicted in a satirical fashion as...
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