Plato Christianus

[volgadon]

This might be of interest to many.

http://kcl.academia.edu/NiketasSiniossoglou/Papers/1055146/Plato_Christianus_The_Colonization_of_Plato_and_Identity_Formation_in_Late_Antiquity

Plato Christianus : The Colonization of Plato and Identity Formation in Late Antiquity by Niketas Siniossoglou takes a look at how Christians appropriated Plato, defining in the process border lines between Christinaity and Hellenism, that is, Neoplatonism. The history of ideas is always fascinating, but this in particular has had an immeasurable impact on the world and the very way we think.

[Damien the Leper]

Thanks for the reference, Volgadon. There is a class I will be taking next Fall that will be a survey of the influence of Platonism in the New Testament Canon.

[Ron Beron]

It is difficult to look at early Christian belief and not see the influence of Platonism and Neoplatonism in the teachings of Philo of Alexandria, Augustine, et al. It was simply a philosophic bridge to link the divinity of Jesus to an otherwise monotheistic Jewish belief.

[JeremyOrbe-Smith]

Looks cool; thanks for the tip, volgadon!

[volgadon]

It is difficult to look at early Christian belief and not see the influence of Platonism and Neoplatonism in the teachings of Philo of Alexandria, Augustine, et al. It was simply a philosophic bridge to link the divinity of Jesus to an otherwise monotheistic Jewish belief.

I think there was more to it than just that.

Platonism and neoplatonism did not always easily lend themselves as they stood to Christianising, and many pagan polemicists were acutely aware of it and fought Christian appropriation and rethinking of those ideas. Neoplatonism was the intellectual prism of much of the Hellenistic world, that can't be underestimated. Thinkers of any age tend to be engaged in a dialogue between the new and the old, taking, dropping and reshaping ideas, concepts and terms in light of each other. The process isn't always a conscious one.

[volgadon]

Thanks for the reference, Volgadon. There is a class I will be taking next Fall that will be a survey of the influence of Platonism in the New Testament Canon.

Sounds like an interesting class. I came across the paper looking for some more on Christian use of the allegory of the cave foran art history class, as the Christianised interpretation guided the concept and execution of much Gothic art.

[mfbukowski]

This might be of interest to many.

http://kcl.academia...._Late_Antiquity

Plato Christianus : The Colonization of Plato and Identity Formation in Late Antiquity by Niketas Siniossoglou takes a look at how Christians appropriated Plato, defining in the process border lines between Christinaity and Hellenism, that is, Neoplatonism. The history of ideas is always fascinating, but this in particular has had an immeasurable impact on the world and the very way we think.

I somehow missed this thread- thanks for the article and thanks for starting it!

[Bill Hamblin]

It is important to note that the Jewish philosopher Philo was an important intermediary in this, with his Platonizing commentary on the Torah. It is also interesting to note that Philo was preserved only among the Christians; the Rabbis completely ignored him.

[Bill Hamblin]

On which, see:

D. Runia, Philo in Early Christian Literature, (1993)

[volgadon]

This is a fantastic monograph on the early Jewish philosophers such as Philo in light of Homeric scholarship in Alexandria.

Maren R. Niehoff, Jewish Exegesis and Homeric Scholarship in Alexandria.

Here is a relevant portion from p. 187.

"In the last section of the book I have investigated Philo in the context of his colleagues and predecessors. He emerges as a relatively conservative figure who applied literary techniques with considerable caution, insisting on the unity and authenticity of the biblical text. At the same time, however, I have been able to show that Philo created a new synthesis between literal approaches of an Aristotelian orientation and Platonic allegory. In this respect he became a pivotal figure, who laid the foundation for subsequent syntheses in Greek literature, such as the one offered by Porphyry."