Simon Magus The Jewish Magician
SIMON MAGUS:
By : Kaufmann Kohler Samuel Krauss
ARTICLE HEADINGS:
Claims Messiahship.
Favored by the Jews.
"The early Christian Clementine "Recognitiones" (vii.-x.) represent Simon as a
Jewish magician instead of a Samaritan, stating that he was a member of a Jewish
household in Cæsarea, and that, when pursued by Peter, he fled to Judea. Mention
is made, moreover, of a magician named Simon who lived in this very city of
Cæsarea about the year 40 of the common era (Josephus, "Ant." xx. 7, § 2); so
that some scholars consider the two to be identical (Hilgenfeld,
"Ketzergeschichte," p. 170; Albert, "Die Ersten Fünfzehn Jahre der Christlichen
Kirche," p. 114, Münster, 1900; Waitz, in "Zeitschrift für Neutestamentliche
Wissenschaft," v. 128). This view can hardly be correct, however, although the
notice, like other similar ones, serves to show that there were such magicians
even among the Jews. The most reliable sources, including Justin Martyr, who was
a Samaritan by birth, call Simon a native of Cæsarea; and, in harmony with this
statement, the same authorities regard him as a pupil of Dositheus, the
Samaritan heresiarch (but see Dositheus). Simon was, furthermore, regarded by
all the Church Fathers as the great heretic from whose school and teaching
sprang all the later motley heresies of Christianity; and inasmuch as his system
contained Gnostic teaching, Gnosticism itself was ascribed to him, and a Gnostic
figure was seen in his alleged wife Helena".
Life
Acts of the Apostles
"The different sources for information on Simon contain quite different pictures
of him, so much so that it has been questioned whether they all refer to the
same person. Assuming all references are to the same person, as some (but by no
means all) of the Church fathers did, the earliest reference to him is the
canonical Acts of the Apostles, verses 8:9-24".
But there was a certain man, called Simon, which before time in the same city
used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was
some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest,
saying, This man is the Great Power of God. And to him they had regard, because
that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
Acts tells of a person named Simon Magus practicing magic in the city of Sebaste
in Samaria, being (supposedly) converted to Christianity by Philip the
Evangelist, but then trying to offer money to the Apostles in exchange for
miraculous abilities, specifically the power of laying on of hands. The sin of
simony, or paying for position and influence in the church, is named for Simon.
Verse 6.19 of the Apostolic Constitutions also accuses him of antinomianism.
Simony
religion
Main
buying or selling of something spiritual or closely connected with the
spiritual. More widely, it is any contract of this kind forbidden by divine or
ecclesiastical law. The name is taken from Simon Magus (Acts 8:18), who
endeavoured to buy from the Apostles the power of conferring the gifts of the
Holy Spirit.
Antinomianism
Dictionary: an·ti·no·mi·an·ism
(ăn'tĭ-nō'mē-ə-nĭz'əm) pronunciation
Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionary
n.
1. Theology. The doctrine or belief that the Gospel frees Christians from
required obedience to any law, whether scriptural, civil, or moral, and that
salvation is attained solely through faith and the gift of divine grace.
2. The belief that moral laws are relative in meaning and application as
opposed to fixed or universal.
ADORATION. - Voltaire, The Works of Voltaire, Vol. III (Philosophical Dictionary
Part 1) [1764]
"Is it quite true that Simon, called the Magician, was adored among the Romans?
It is not more true that he was utterly unknown to them. St. Justin in his
"Apology," which was as little known at Rome as Simon, tells us that this God
had a statue erected on the Tiber, or rather near the Tiber, between the two
bridges, with this inscription: Simoni deo sancto. St. Irenæus and Tertullian
attest the same thing; but to whom do they attest it? To people who had never
seen Rome—to Africans, to Allobroges, to Syrians, and to some of the inhabitants
of Sichem. They had certainly not seen this statue, the real inscription on
which was Semo sanco deo fidio, and not Simoni deo sancto. They should at least
have consulted Dionysius of Halicarnassus, who gives this inscription in his
fourth book. Semo sanco was an old Sabine word, signifying half god and half
man; we find in Livy, Bona Semoni sanco censuerunt consecranda. This god was one
of the most ancient in Roman worship, having been consecrated by Tarquin the
Proud, and was considered as the god of alliances and good faith. It was the
custom to sacrifice an ox to him, and to write any treaty made with a
neighboring people upon the skin. He had a temple near that of Quirinus;
offerings were sometimes presented to him under the name of Semo the father, and
sometimes under that of Sancus fidius, whence Ovid says in his "Fasti":
* Quærebam nonas Sanco, Fidove referrem,
* An tibi, Semo pater.
Such was the Roman divinity which for so many ages was taken for Simon the
Magician. St. Cyril of Jerusalem had no doubts on the subject, and St. Augustine
in his first book of "Heresies" tells us that Simon the Magician himself
procured the erection of this statue, together with that of his Helena, by order
of the emperor and senate.
This strange fable, the falsehood of which might so easily have been discovered,
was constantly connected with another fable, which relates that Simon and St.
Peter both appeared before Nero and challenged each other which of them should
soonest bring to life the corpse of a near relative of Nero's, and also raise
himself highest in the air; that Simon caused himself to be carried up by devils
in a fiery chariot; that St. Peter and St. Paul brought him down by their
prayers; that he broke his legs and in consequence died, and that Nero, being
enraged, put both St. Peter and St. Paul to death.
Abdias, Marcellinus and Hegisippus have each related this story, with a little
difference in the details. Arnobius, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Sulpicius Severus,
Philaster, St. Epiphanius, Isidorus of Damietta, Maximus of Turin, and several
other authors successively gave currency to this error, and it was generally
adopted, until at length there was found at Rome a statue of Semo sancus deus
fidius, and the learned Father Mabillon dug up an ancient monument with the
inscription Semoni sanco deo fidio.
It is nevertheless certain that there was a Simon, whom the Jews believed to be
a magician, as it is certain that there was an Apollonius of Tyana. It is also
true that this Simon, who was born in the little country of Samaria, gathered
together some vagabonds, whom he persuaded that he was one sent by God; he
baptized, indeed, as well as the apostles, and raised altar against altar.
The Jews of Samaria, always hostile to those of Jerusalem, ventured to oppose
this Simon to Jesus Christ, acknowledged by the apostles and disciples, all of
whom were of the tribe of Benjamin or that of Judah. He baptized like them, but
to the baptism of water he added fire, saying that he had been foretold by John
the Baptist in these words: "He that cometh after me is mightier than I; he
shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire."
Simon lighted a lambent flame over the baptismal font with naphtha from the
Asphaltic Lake. His party was very strong, but it is very doubtful whether his
disciples adored him; St. Justin is the only one who believes it.
Menander, like Simon, said he was sent by God to be the savior of men. All the
false Messiahs, Barcochebas especially, called themselves sent by God; but not
even Barcochebas demanded to be adored. Men are not often erected into
divinities while they live, unless, indeed, they be Alexanders or Roman
emperors, who expressly order their slaves so to do. But this is not, strictly
speaking, adoration; it is an extraordinary homage, an anticipated apotheosis, a
flattery as ridiculous as those which are lavished on Octavius by Virgil and
Horace".
AnteNicean Fathers, vol. 7, p. 379
"The Hebrews honoured and regarded the number seven as recorded in YHWH law-that
is, kept the seventh day, the seven holy days, etc. - but Simon and his
followers made a distinct change and honoured the number eight instead (i.e. the
eighth day-which becomes the first day of the week).
Eccl. Hist., II, 13, 6
"Christians" of Simon: "Simon was the author of all heresy. From his time down
to the present those who have followed his heresy have FEIGNED the sober
philosophy of the Christians, which is celebrated among all on account of its
purity of life. But they nevertheless have embraced again the superstitions o f
idols, which they seemed to have renounced; and they fall down before pictures
and images of Simon himself and of the above-mentioned Helena who was with him (
the images Of JUPITER and MINERVA ) ; and they venture to worship them with
incense and sacrifices and libations" .
Who Was Simon Magus
http://bibletools.org
"There are veiled references to Simon's false Christianity and similar heretical
sects in the New Testament. Jude 4, for example, is rather pointed against
Simon's principal doctrine—the heresy that one does not have to obey YHWH laws
after conversion. John, the apostle who completed the Bible, placed great
emphasis on Christians keeping YHWH commandments (I John 2:3-6). "
1 John 2:3-4 (King James Version)
3And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the
truth is not in him.
SIMON MAGUS:
By : Kaufmann Kohler Samuel Krauss
ARTICLE HEADINGS:
Claims Messiahship.
Favored by the Jews.
"The early Christian Clementine "Recognitiones" (vii.-x.) represent Simon as a
Jewish magician instead of a Samaritan, stating that he was a member of a Jewish
household in Cæsarea, and that, when pursued by Peter, he fled to Judea. Mention
is made, moreover, of a magician named Simon who lived in this very city of
Cæsarea about the year 40 of the common era (Josephus, "Ant." xx. 7, § 2); so
that some scholars consider the two to be identical (Hilgenfeld,
"Ketzergeschichte," p. 170; Albert, "Die Ersten Fünfzehn Jahre der Christlichen
Kirche," p. 114, Münster, 1900; Waitz, in "Zeitschrift für Neutestamentliche
Wissenschaft," v. 128). This view can hardly be correct, however, although the
notice, like other similar ones, serves to show that there were such magicians
even among the Jews. The most reliable sources, including Justin Martyr, who was
a Samaritan by birth, call Simon a native of Cæsarea; and, in harmony with this
statement, the same authorities regard him as a pupil of Dositheus, the
Samaritan heresiarch (but see Dositheus). Simon was, furthermore, regarded by
all the Church Fathers as the great heretic from whose school and teaching
sprang all the later motley heresies of Christianity; and inasmuch as his system
contained Gnostic teaching, Gnosticism itself was ascribed to him, and a Gnostic
figure was seen in his alleged wife Helena".
Life
Acts of the Apostles
"The different sources for information on Simon contain quite different pictures
of him, so much so that it has been questioned whether they all refer to the
same person. Assuming all references are to the same person, as some (but by no
means all) of the Church fathers did, the earliest reference to him is the
canonical Acts of the Apostles, verses 8:9-24".
But there was a certain man, called Simon, which before time in the same city
used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was
some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest,
saying, This man is the Great Power of God. And to him they had regard, because
that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
Acts tells of a person named Simon Magus practicing magic in the city of Sebaste
in Samaria, being (supposedly) converted to Christianity by Philip the
Evangelist, but then trying to offer money to the Apostles in exchange for
miraculous abilities, specifically the power of laying on of hands. The sin of
simony, or paying for position and influence in the church, is named for Simon.
Verse 6.19 of the Apostolic Constitutions also accuses him of antinomianism.
Simony
religion
Main
buying or selling of something spiritual or closely connected with the
spiritual. More widely, it is any contract of this kind forbidden by divine or
ecclesiastical law. The name is taken from Simon Magus (Acts 8:18), who
endeavoured to buy from the Apostles the power of conferring the gifts of the
Holy Spirit.
Antinomianism
Dictionary: an·ti·no·mi·an·ism
(ăn'tĭ-nō'mē-ə-nĭz'əm) pronunciation
Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionary
n.
1. Theology. The doctrine or belief that the Gospel frees Christians from
required obedience to any law, whether scriptural, civil, or moral, and that
salvation is attained solely through faith and the gift of divine grace.
2. The belief that moral laws are relative in meaning and application as
opposed to fixed or universal.
ADORATION. - Voltaire, The Works of Voltaire, Vol. III (Philosophical Dictionary
Part 1) [1764]
"Is it quite true that Simon, called the Magician, was adored among the Romans?
It is not more true that he was utterly unknown to them. St. Justin in his
"Apology," which was as little known at Rome as Simon, tells us that this God
had a statue erected on the Tiber, or rather near the Tiber, between the two
bridges, with this inscription: Simoni deo sancto. St. Irenæus and Tertullian
attest the same thing; but to whom do they attest it? To people who had never
seen Rome—to Africans, to Allobroges, to Syrians, and to some of the inhabitants
of Sichem. They had certainly not seen this statue, the real inscription on
which was Semo sanco deo fidio, and not Simoni deo sancto. They should at least
have consulted Dionysius of Halicarnassus, who gives this inscription in his
fourth book. Semo sanco was an old Sabine word, signifying half god and half
man; we find in Livy, Bona Semoni sanco censuerunt consecranda. This god was one
of the most ancient in Roman worship, having been consecrated by Tarquin the
Proud, and was considered as the god of alliances and good faith. It was the
custom to sacrifice an ox to him, and to write any treaty made with a
neighboring people upon the skin. He had a temple near that of Quirinus;
offerings were sometimes presented to him under the name of Semo the father, and
sometimes under that of Sancus fidius, whence Ovid says in his "Fasti":
* Quærebam nonas Sanco, Fidove referrem,
* An tibi, Semo pater.
Such was the Roman divinity which for so many ages was taken for Simon the
Magician. St. Cyril of Jerusalem had no doubts on the subject, and St. Augustine
in his first book of "Heresies" tells us that Simon the Magician himself
procured the erection of this statue, together with that of his Helena, by order
of the emperor and senate.
This strange fable, the falsehood of which might so easily have been discovered,
was constantly connected with another fable, which relates that Simon and St.
Peter both appeared before Nero and challenged each other which of them should
soonest bring to life the corpse of a near relative of Nero's, and also raise
himself highest in the air; that Simon caused himself to be carried up by devils
in a fiery chariot; that St. Peter and St. Paul brought him down by their
prayers; that he broke his legs and in consequence died, and that Nero, being
enraged, put both St. Peter and St. Paul to death.
Abdias, Marcellinus and Hegisippus have each related this story, with a little
difference in the details. Arnobius, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Sulpicius Severus,
Philaster, St. Epiphanius, Isidorus of Damietta, Maximus of Turin, and several
other authors successively gave currency to this error, and it was generally
adopted, until at length there was found at Rome a statue of Semo sancus deus
fidius, and the learned Father Mabillon dug up an ancient monument with the
inscription Semoni sanco deo fidio.
It is nevertheless certain that there was a Simon, whom the Jews believed to be
a magician, as it is certain that there was an Apollonius of Tyana. It is also
true that this Simon, who was born in the little country of Samaria, gathered
together some vagabonds, whom he persuaded that he was one sent by God; he
baptized, indeed, as well as the apostles, and raised altar against altar.
The Jews of Samaria, always hostile to those of Jerusalem, ventured to oppose
this Simon to Jesus Christ, acknowledged by the apostles and disciples, all of
whom were of the tribe of Benjamin or that of Judah. He baptized like them, but
to the baptism of water he added fire, saying that he had been foretold by John
the Baptist in these words: "He that cometh after me is mightier than I; he
shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire."
Simon lighted a lambent flame over the baptismal font with naphtha from the
Asphaltic Lake. His party was very strong, but it is very doubtful whether his
disciples adored him; St. Justin is the only one who believes it.
Menander, like Simon, said he was sent by God to be the savior of men. All the
false Messiahs, Barcochebas especially, called themselves sent by God; but not
even Barcochebas demanded to be adored. Men are not often erected into
divinities while they live, unless, indeed, they be Alexanders or Roman
emperors, who expressly order their slaves so to do. But this is not, strictly
speaking, adoration; it is an extraordinary homage, an anticipated apotheosis, a
flattery as ridiculous as those which are lavished on Octavius by Virgil and
Horace".
AnteNicean Fathers, vol. 7, p. 379
"The Hebrews honoured and regarded the number seven as recorded in YHWH law-that
is, kept the seventh day, the seven holy days, etc. - but Simon and his
followers made a distinct change and honoured the number eight instead (i.e. the
eighth day-which becomes the first day of the week).
Eccl. Hist., II, 13, 6
"Christians" of Simon: "Simon was the author of all heresy. From his time down
to the present those who have followed his heresy have FEIGNED the sober
philosophy of the Christians, which is celebrated among all on account of its
purity of life. But they nevertheless have embraced again the superstitions o f
idols, which they seemed to have renounced; and they fall down before pictures
and images of Simon himself and of the above-mentioned Helena who was with him (
the images Of JUPITER and MINERVA ) ; and they venture to worship them with
incense and sacrifices and libations" .
Who Was Simon Magus
http://bibletools.org
"There are veiled references to Simon's false Christianity and similar heretical
sects in the New Testament. Jude 4, for example, is rather pointed against
Simon's principal doctrine—the heresy that one does not have to obey YHWH laws
after conversion. John, the apostle who completed the Bible, placed great
emphasis on Christians keeping YHWH commandments (I John 2:3-6). "
1 John 2:3-4 (King James Version)
3And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the
truth is not in him.
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