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platonism and christianity

Many Christians today would be surprised to learn that they hold a … About This paper was in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course titled History of Philosophy and Christian Thought (PH520) taken at Veritas International University in February, 2013.

The early Christian church was heavily influenced by Plato, and the effects of Plato’s teaching can still be seen within Christianity today.

Platonism, as well as Christianity, says, Look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporary, only for a season; but the things which are not seen are eternal. This is particularly true when it comes to the topic of heaven.

For instance, Plato’s realm of distinct forms could all be internalized into God as His ideas, making ultimate reality much simpler. But, also like Philo, they did not believe that truth could conflict with truth….By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox.Get kids back-to-school ready with Expedition: Learn!Platonism: Ancient and medieval Christian Platonism,Platonism: Renaissance and later Platonism. This meant God himself played the role that Plato’s Form of the Good played in his philosophy.

In Platonism: Ancient and medieval Christian Platonism Like Philo, the Christian Platonists gave primacy to revelation and regarded Platonic philosophy as the best available instrument for understanding and defending the teachings of Scripture and church tradition. For example, the term ‘logos’ (Greek Λόγος ) originated with Heraclitus and meant reason or thought. from Spain writes:Nonetheless, in terms of philosophy, Christianity does share some important features with Plato. It also means that Plato’s Demiurge is a superfluous concept; a poor substitute for the God who makes all things from nothing. However, Platonism.For instance, Plato’s theory of the forms, and especially his notion of the Form of the Good, were ‘rolled together’ into the mind of the God of Scripture.

And even if I accept your point about Philippians 1:23 not affirming a.Plato of course was only one of the Greek philosophers, his ideas were refined and reformed and added to especially by Aristotle and it is said that all Western education and thought was "Aristotelian" until the times of the Reformations and Enlightenment. I said it showed a commonality between Platonic and NT anthropology.

But, also like Philo, they did not believe that truth could conflict with truth… Plato delivered his lectures at the Academy, a precinct containing a sacred grove outside the walls of Athens. Moreover, Plato’s forms were reconceptualized by Christians as divine ideas, which internalized them into God, meaning that they didn’t have a separate and independent existence apart from God.Now, the big difference between Christianity and Plato at this point was that Plato’s Form of the Good was an impersonal object, but God is personal. Overview. The Demiurge was the ‘craftsman’ who gave shape to the material universe by moulding the matter (which Plato believed to be eternal, which the Bible rejects) after the pattern of the forms. (If you haven’t received your first email within a few minutes, try checking your spam folder. We only remain conscious after death because God wills it so, not because He can’t destroy our souls.Nonetheless, early Christians certainly utilized some of Plato’s ideas, such as his theory of the forms, to construct defences of Christianity against competing philosophies.

He had two notions that he never really systematized into a single coherent worldview—his Form of the Good, and his Demiurge. The Christian religion also has set up this high principle, that the internal spiritual essence of man is his true essence, and has made it the universal principle." However, his Demiurge was in a real sense ‘subordinate’ to the realm of the forms. While Plato certainly believed in some sort of ultimate beneficent reality, so that many of his ideas are easily conformable to monotheism, he’s not really clear on the precise nature of that ultimate reality. From the days of the Early Church until the present, the Orthodox Church has made positive selective use of ancient Greek philosophy, particularly Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and the Stoics. The philosophy of Plato is eminently a theistic philosophy. Platonism was originally expressed in the dialogues of Plato, in which the figure of Socrates is used to expound certain doctrines, that may or may not be similar to the thought of the historical Socrates, Plato's master. As such, in many ways, Plato was on the right track, but the specifics of biblical theism he didn’t have access to better explain many of the things he ‘saw as through a glass darkly’.Christianity has a long and interesting interaction with platonic ideas; sometimes fruitful, many times detrimental. T.S. The early Christian church was heavily influenced by Plato, and the effects of Plato’s teaching can still be seen within Christianity today. The chief figures in the Old Academy were Speusippus(Plato's nephew), wh… However, Platonism was one of those philosophies that competed with Christianity in the early centuries of the church. But this also provided Christianity with several advantages. There were three periods: the Old, Middle, and New Academy. The Bible rejects atheism and materialism, as Plato did. (Answering the Euthyphro Dilemma),What is ‘good’? Did Christianity come from Plato’s philosophy?

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