The reception of the writings of Aristotle in early Christian literature

The author analyzes the reception of the writings of Aristotle by Christian authors of the pre-Nicene period. On the basis of studying citations of the philosopher and his followers in early Christian literature, it is possible to state that his work had a growing influence, though less than that of Plato. Pre-Nicene authors turned to various aspects of the teachings of Aristotle and the peripatetics, but, of course, mostly were interested in problems with theological or ethical implications. Te author also points out, however, that considerable atention was drawn to purely philosophical questions, as well as questions in the natural sciences. Even though Christian authors had different atitudes in evaluating Aristototle's literary heritage, he was, nonetheless, viewed as an authority and his works were used in constructing a Christian philosophical system. Te author has not been able to identify any instances of purposefully distorting or falsifying the position of Aristotle for the sake of apologetics. On the contrary, Christian authors atempted to argue with Aristotle in such a way that would have been viewed as correct and within the boundaries of the scholarly ethics of that time.