Search

Lucian was an important rhetorician, satirist and sophist of Roman Empire in the second century AD. Scholars looked back on his religious thought from various angles and reached different conclusions. The key to having a true grasp of Lucian's religious thought is to understand his works as an integral whole. It can be seen that Lucian adopted the technique of ridicule and used philosophical concepts as an arm to attack sacrifice, criticize prophesy, and satire gods. He applied rigorous rational thinking to fustigate every vulnerable spot in traditional religion. However, Lucian was not an atheist. His criticism was not a complete break with traditional Greco-Roman religion or a stark denial of the necessity of belief, but an endeavor to enhance traditional religion to a new theology level and explore a theoretical foundation for traditional religious activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]