Without Lifting A Finger

Credo  quia  absurdum   is a Latin phrase that means "I believe because it is absurd", originally misattributed to Tertullian in his  De Carne Christi .    It is believed to be a paraphrasing of Tertullian's " prorsus   credibile   est ,  quia   ineptum   est " which means "It is completely credible because it is unsuitable", or " certum   est ,  quia   impossibile " which means "It is certain because it is impossible". These are consistent with the anti-Marcionite context in which they occur.    Early modern, Protestant and Enlightenment rhetoric against Catholicism and religion more broadly resulted in this phrase being changed to "I believe because it is absurd", displaced from its original anti-Marcionite to a personally religious context.

Credo quia absurdum is a Latin phrase that means "I believe because it is absurd ." It is a paraphrase of a statement in Tertullian 's work De Carne Christi , "prorsus credibile est, quia ineptum est", which can be translated: "it is by all means to be believed, because it is absurd". [1] The context is a defence of the tenets of orthodox Christianity against docetism : Crucifixus est Dei Filius, non pudet, quia pudendum est; et mortuus est Dei Filius, prorsus credibile est, quia ineptum est; et sepultus resurrexit, certum est, quia impossibile. — (De Carne Christi V, 4) "The Son of God was crucified: there is no shame, because it is shameful. And the Son of God died: it is by all means to be believed, because it is absurd. And, buried, He rose again: it is certain, because impossible." The phrase does not express the Catholic Faith , as explained by Pope Benedict XVI : "The Catholic Tradition, from the outset, rejected the so-call...