Donna Cooper - Tertullian's use of Aristotle in his theory of the Incarnation.

This paper will examine Tertullian’s use of ancient theories of reproduction and conception. In De carne Christi Tertullian describes, in explicit detail, the physiological processes involved in the conception of Christ and the virgin Mary’s pregnancy. His discussion indicates that Tertullian had a sound knowledge of ancient theories of conception. In this paper, I propose that Tertullian uses Aristotle’s theory of conception to explain how Mary conceived Christ and to support his doctrine of the incarnation. Tertullian’s use of Aristotle’s theory of conception is significant because the predominant theory of conception in the second century was the dual-seed theory of the Hippocratics. Tertullian adopts the less popular Aristotelian theory because it supports his argument against Gnostic opponents who denied the reality of Christ’s flesh. Aristotle proposed that the female provided the matter (menstrual blood) for the embryo. The male provided the form which changed the woman’s matter into an embryo. In De carne Christi, Tertullian claims that Mary provided the matter (of Christ’s flesh) while the Spirit provided the form. Mary’s role as the sole provider of the matter strengthened Tertullian’s claim that Christ’s flesh was truly human and that his birth was real. Tertullian claims that the only reason the Word entered the womb was in order to take flesh from it. 

Tertullian’s use of Aristotle’s theory of conception has been largely ignored by scholars. I propose, however, that it is a significant aspect of his polemic against the Gnostics and needs to be considered in order to fully understand Tertullian’s arguments in De carne Christi.