Against Celsus 3.38

Faith concerning Antinous, or any other such figure, whether among Egyptians or Greeks, is, if I may so call it, an unlucky faith; but faith concerning Jesus would seem either lucky or thoroughly examined: lucky among the many, thoroughly examined among very few. And if I say that a certain faith is, as the many would call it, lucky, in this too I refer the matter to God, who knows the causes of what is allotted to each who comes into human life. The Greeks too will say that even among those considered wisest, good fortune is in many respects the cause, for example regarding what teachers one had and falling in with the better ones, when there are also those who teach opposite doctrines, and regarding upbringing among better people. For many have had an upbringing in such circumstances that they were not allowed even to form an impression of better things, but always, from earliest youth, were either the favorites of licentious men or masters, or in some other misery that prevented the soul from looking up. The causes of these things are surely to be found in the reasons of providence, but they are not easily grasped by human beings. It seemed good to me to say this in a digression, because of how much a faith, of whatever kind, does when it takes hold first. For one had to say that differences in people's faiths arise from different upbringings, as they believe more or less fortunately; and from this to rise to the point that what is called good fortune and what is called misfortune would seem to contribute even for the more accomplished to their seeming more rational and to their more rationally adhering to most doctrines. But enough of this.