Christians themselves appealed to exorcisms and miracles for evidential value in public discourse. Thus Origen, arguing against Celsus and addressing pagans, claimed that Christians were still expelling evil spirits and performing cures and that he had witnessed some of these incidents.[14] Similarly, Athanasius in the 350s portrays the Egyptian hermit Anthony as confronting skeptics by challenging them either to cure these demoniacs with their ideas and idols or to just observe Christ’s power healing them; then, Athanasius declared, Anthony himself cured them.[15]
