Adversus nationes

work by Arnobius

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July 23, 2026

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Adversus nationes is a work by Arnobius, an early Christian convert who taught rhetoric in Africa around 300 CE. Composed as a defense of Christianity against pagan criticisms, it was written to demonstrate the inconsistencies within pagan beliefs to his local bishop. The text is divided into seven books. The first two books offer a general defense of Christianity against pagan slanders, while the remaining books critique Neoplatonism, anthropomorphism, and pagan mythology, concluding with an examination of idol worship, temples, and rituals.1

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patristic literature
Late 2nd to early 4th century
…by 300) sought in his Adversus nationes (“Against the Pagans”), like Tertullian and Cyprian before him, to free Christianity from the charge of having caused all the evils plaguing the empire, but ended up by launching a violent attack on the contemporary pagan cults. A surprising feature of this ill-constructed,…
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…by 300) sought in his Adversus nationes (“Against the Pagans”), like Tertullian and Cyprian before him, to free Christianity from the charge of having caused all the evils plaguing the empire, but ended up by launching a violent attack on the contemporary pagan cults. A surprising feature of this ill-constructed,…
Read More