Meddling with the Gospel

Abstract The second-century philosopher Celsus disparaged Christians who “alter the original text of Gospel three or four many times” ( Cels. 2.27). Scholars have understood this passage as a critique multiple distinct Gospels, but Celsus’ invective is better explained by comparison with elite polemics (e.g., Gellius, Lucian, Galen) against readers lack discernment and arbitrarily alter manuscripts. For Celsus, Christians’ irresponsible textual practices reveal their cultural inferiority. complaint about varying copies what thinks to be same work: “the Gospel.” Christian thinkers in second third centuries—including Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, author(s) Little Labyrinth— also participate discourse good bad readers. This article thus illuminates wider ancient Mediterranean politics reading which early textuality emerged.