Some more on philosophy...
We're reading Book VI of The Republic right now, which contains Plato's epistemology and metaphysics. It's surprising how much Platonic though Christendom has swallowed as its own, when in reality "what has Athens to do with Jerusalem," to quote Tertullian.
The best example of a Platonic concept invading Christian belief is the the idea in some Christian circles that believers are to abstain from any and all pleasure. Some Christians feel guilty about having sex with their spouse, or drinking a glass of wine, or enjoying a good stout. This guilt arises more out a Platonic understanding of material things rather than a Judeo-Christian belief in the goodness of God's creation. Plato viewed the body as a prison. God views the body as something worth raising again.
So are we not to use the tools of philosophy handed down by the Greeks? Perhaps we should remember Origen's words: "Plunder the Egyptians, but never make a golden calf."
Wow. Two patristic quotations in one posting. What a nerd...
The best example of a Platonic concept invading Christian belief is the the idea in some Christian circles that believers are to abstain from any and all pleasure. Some Christians feel guilty about having sex with their spouse, or drinking a glass of wine, or enjoying a good stout. This guilt arises more out a Platonic understanding of material things rather than a Judeo-Christian belief in the goodness of God's creation. Plato viewed the body as a prison. God views the body as something worth raising again.
So are we not to use the tools of philosophy handed down by the Greeks? Perhaps we should remember Origen's words: "Plunder the Egyptians, but never make a golden calf."
Wow. Two patristic quotations in one posting. What a nerd...