1. In the first book of our reply to Celsus' book, The True Doctrine, as he entitled it, we ended with the remarks addressed to Jesus which he put into the mouth of the Jew, as the book had reached sufficient dimensions. We propose to write this book in reply to the charges brought by him against those of the Jewish people who have believed in Jesus. It is this very point to which we first call attention: why, when Celsus had once decided to introduce an imaginary character, did he not represent the Jew as addressing Gentile instead of Jewish believers? If his argument were written against us, it might have seemed very convincing. But perhaps this fellow, who professes to know everything, did not see what would be appropriately attributed to an imaginary character.

Notice, then, what he says to Jewish believers. He says that deluded by Jesus, they have left the law of their fathers, and have been quite ludicrously deceived, and have deserted to another name and another life. He failed to notice that Jewish believers in Jesus have not left the law of their fathers. For they live according to it, and are named from the poverty of their interpretation of the law. The Jews call a poor man Ebion, and those Jews who have accepted Jesus as the Christ are called Ebionites. Moreover, Peter seems to have kept the customs of the Mosaic law for a long time, as he had not yet learnt from Jesus to ascend from the letter of the law to its spiritual interpretation. This we learn from the Acts of the Apostles.