annul the whole
authority of the Old Testament if he had not succeeded in giving it a
particular interpretation. He does this by combining other passages of
Genesis with the narrative, and then finding in it no longer
circumcision, but a prediction of the crucified Christ.]

[Footnote 223: Barn. 9. 6: [Greek: all' ereis, kai men peritetmetai ho
laos eis sphragida].]

[Footnote 224: See the expositions of Justin in the Dial. (especially,
16, 18, 20, 30, 40-46); Von Engelhardt, "Christenthum Justin's", p. 429,
ff. Justin has the three estimates side by side. (1) That the ceremonial
law was a paedagogic measure of God with reference to a stiff-necked
people, prone to idolatry. (2) That it--like circumcision--was to make
the people conspicuous for the execution of judgment, according to the
Divine appointment. (3) That in the ceremonial legal worship of the Jews
is exhibited the special depravity and wickedness of the nation. But
Justin conceived the Decalogue as the natural law of reason, and
therefore definitely distinguished it from the ceremonial law.]

[Footnote 225: See Ztschr fur K.G. I., p. 330 f.]

[Footnote 226: This is the unanimous opinion of all writers of the
post-Apostolic age. Christians are the true Israel; and therefore all
Israel's predicates of honour belong to them. They are the twelve
tribes, and therefore Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, are the Fathers of the
Christians. This idea, about which there was no wavering, cannot
everywhere be traced back to the Apostle Paul. The Old Testament men of
God were in a certain measure Christians. See Ignat. Magn. 8. 2: [Greek:
hoi prophetai kata Christon Iesoun ezesan].]

[Footnote 227: God was naturally conceived and represented as corporeal
by uncultured Christians, though not by these alone, as the later
controversies prove (e.g., Orig. contra Melito; see also Tertull. De
anima). In the case of the cultured, the idea of a corporeality of God
may be traced back to Stoic influences; in the case of the uncultured,
popular ideas co-operated with the sayings of the Old Testament
literally understood, and the impression of the Apocalyptic images.]

[Footnote 228: See Joh. IV. 22, [Greek: hemeis proskunoumen ho oidamen].
1 Clem. 59. 3, 4, Herm. Mand. I., Praed Petri in Clem., Strom. VI. 5. 9
[Greek: ginoskete hoti eis theos estin, hos archen panton epoiesen, kai
telous exousian echon]. Aristides Apol. 15 (Syr) "The Christians know
and believe in God, the creator of h