Bardaisan and Origen on Fate and the Power of the Stars

Bardaisan of Edessa (d. 222) is one of the earliest theologians to reflect on the proper place of the heavenly bodies within a Christian cosmology. Bardaisan draws on both biblical texts and contemporary philosophical notions to argue that planets and stars are created by God and are subject to the divine commandment, yet are also endowed with a certain freedom on account of which they will be judged on the last day. Bardaisan, wishing to maintain the oneness and goodness of God against Marcionite dualism, regards the heavenly bodies as responsible for undesirable events that are beyond the control of human will or natural law. This paper compares and contrasts Bardaisan's understanding of fate and astral power with that of his younger contemporary Origen. It argues that Bardaisan's cosmology is not an isolated phenomenon at the margins of the Christian world, but is part of a larger trajectory of speculative thought within third-century Christianity.