Specific teachings Tertullian's main doctrinal teachings are as follows:
God Tertullian reserves the appellation God, in the sense of the ultimate originator of all things, to the Father, who made the world out of nothing through his Son, the Word, has corporeity, though he is a spirit (, vii.; , vii). However Tertullian used 'corporeal' only in the
Stoic sense, to mean something with actual material existence, rather than the later idea of flesh. Tertullian is often considered an early proponent of the
Nicene doctrine, approaching the subject from the standpoint of the
Logos doctrine, though he did not state the later doctrine of the
immanent Trinity. In his treatise against Praxeas, who taught
patripassianism in Rome, he used the words "trinity", "economy" (used in reference to the three persons), "persons", and "substance", maintaining the distinction of the Son from the Father as the unoriginate God, and the Spirit from both the Father and the Son (, xxv). Though Tertullian considered the Father to be God (Yahweh), he responded to criticism of the
Modalist Praxeas that this meant that Tertullian's Christianity was not monotheistic by noting that even though there was one God (Yahweh, who became the Father when the Son became his agent of creation), the Son could also be referred to as God, when referred to apart from the Father, because the Son, though subordinate to God, is entitled to be called God "from the unity of the Father" in regards to being formed from a portion of His substance. Similarly
J. N. D. Kelly stated: "Tertullian followed the Apologists in dating His 'perfect generation' from His extrapolation for the work of creation; prior to that moment God could not strictly be said to have had a Son, while after it the term 'Father', which for earlier theologians generally connoted God as author of reality, began to acquire the specialized meaning of Father of the Son." As regards the subjects of
subordination of the Son to the Father, the
New Catholic Encyclopedia has commented: "In not a few areas of theology, Tertullian's views are, of course, completely unacceptable. Thus, for example, his teaching on the Trinity reveals a subordination of Son to Father that in the later crass form of
Arianism the Church rejected as heretical."
Eucharist Unlike many early Christian writers, Tertullian (along with
Clement of Alexandria) used the word "figure" and "symbol" to define the Eucharist, since in his book
Against Marcion he implied that "this is my body" should be interpreted as "a figure of my body"; others have also suggested that he believed in a
spiritual presence in the Eucharist.
Baptism Tertullian advises the postponement of baptism of little children and the unmarried, he mentions that it was customary to baptize infants, with sponsors speaking on their behalf. He argued that an infant ran the risk of growing up and then falling into sin, which could cause them to lose their salvation, if they were baptized as infants. Contrary to early Syrian baptismal doctrine and practice, Tertullian describes baptism as a cleansing and preparation process which precedes the reception of the Holy Spirit in post-baptismal anointing ( 6). includes the earliest known mention of a prayer for the consecration of the waters of baptism. Tertullian had an view of the baptism, thus the efficacy of baptism was not dependent upon the faith of the receiver.
The Church According to James Puglisi, Tertullian interpreted that in Matthew 16:18–19 "the rock" refers to Peter. For him, Peter is the type of the one Church and its origins, this Church, is now present in a variety of local churches. He mocked
Pope Calixtus or
Agrippinus (it is debated which one he was referring to) when he challenged him on the Church forgiving capital sinners and letting them back into the church.
Marriage Tertullian's later view of marriage, such as in his book
Exhortation to Chastity, may have been heavily influenced by Montanism. He had previously held marriage to be fundamentally good, but after his alleged conversion to Montanism he denied its goodness. He argues that marriage is considered to be good "when it is compared with the greatest of all evils". He argued that before the coming of Christ, the command to reproduce was a prophetic sign pointing to the coming of the Church; after it came, the command was superseded. He also believed lust for one's wife and for another woman were essentially the same, so that marital desire was similar to adulterous desire. He believed that sex even in marriage would disrupt the Christian life and that abstinence was the best way to achieve the clarity of the soul. Tertullian's views would later influence much of the
western church. Tertullian was the first to introduce a view of "sexual hierarchy": he believed that those who abstain from sexual relations should have a higher hierarchy in the church than those who do not, because he saw sexual relations as a barrier that stopped one from a close relationship with God. Tertullian made no references to the
book of Tobit; however, in his book
Adversus Marcionem he quotes the
book of Judith. He quoted most of the
Old Testament including many
deuterocanonical books, however he never used the books of
Chronicles,
Ruth,
Esther,
2 Maccabees,
2 John and
3 John. He defended the
Book of Enoch and he believed that the book was omitted by the Jews from the canon. He believed that the
epistle to the Hebrews was made by
Barnabas. When interpreting scripture, he would occasionally believe passages to be allegorical or symbolic, while in other places he would support a literal interpretation. He would especially use allegorical interpretations when dealing with Christological prophecies of the Old Testament. He held similar views as
Antidicomarians. J. N. D. Kelly argued that Tertullian believed that Mary had imperfections, thus denying her
sinlessness. Researchers such as Mark Ellingsen believe that Tertullian held to a view similar to the Protestant
priesthood of all believers and that the distinction of the clergy and the laity is only because of ecclesiastical institution and thus in an absence of a priest the laity can act as priests; his theory on the distinction of the laity and clergy is influenced by Montanism and his early writings do not have the same beliefs. Tertullian believed in
iconoclasm, and also in
historic premillennialism: that Christians will go through a period of tribulation, to be followed by a literal 1000-year reign of Christ. Tertullian attacked the use of
Greek philosophy in Christian theology. For him, philosophy supported religious idolatry and heresy. He believed that many people became heretical because of relying on philosophy. He famously stated: "What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?" Tertullian's views of angels and demons were influenced by the Book of Enoch. He held that the Nephilim were born out of fallen angels who mingled with human women and had sexual relations. He believed that because of the actions of the
watchers as described in the Book of Enoch, men would later judge angels. He believed that angels are inferior to humans, and not made in the image of God. He believed that angels are imperceptible to our senses, but they may choose to take on a human form or change shape. Tertullian also taught
fideistic concepts such as the later philosophers
William of Ockham and
Søren Kierkegaard.
Montanism The extent and nature of Tertullian's involvement to Montanism is now disputed by modern scholars. Montanism in North Africa seems to have been a counter-reaction against secularism. The form of Montanism in North Africa seems to have differed from the views of
Montanus, and thus the North African Montanists believed Catholic bishops to be successors of the apostles, the New Testament to be the supreme authority on Christianity and they did not deny most doctrines of the Church.
Tertullianists Tertullianists were a group mentioned by
Augustine as founded by Tertullian. There exist differences of opinion on Tertullianists; Augustine seems to have believed that Tertullian, soon after joining the
Montanists, started his own sect derived from Montanism, while some scholars believe that Augustine was in error, and that Tertullianists was simply an alternative name of North African Montanism and not a separate sect. == Moral principles ==