hellenism and its influence on christianityhellenism and its influence on christianity

hellenism and its influence on christianity hellenism and its influence on christianity

Because among Greek philosophers there was a growing appreciation for the unity of the divine and for the notion that there may be a single simple divine principle underlying all things. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003)Google Scholar. storytellers. Jean Hering, tude sur la doctrine de la chute et de la prexistence des mes chez Clment d'Alexandrie (Bibliothque de lcole des hautes tudes, sciences religieuses 38; Paris: E. Leroux, 1923) 2834. Traditionally, "Hellenistic Judaism" was a designation for Judaism in the Greek-speaking world, including those Jews who spoke Greek and adopted (to some extent) a Greek way of life. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. 1.1.3; Lib. 14.16; Hom. Danilou refers the reader to Albinus/Alkinoos, Didaskalikos 16.2, however it is not this treatise, but Plato's Phaedrus, that Origen mentions several times in Cels. hb```a``Rf`f`r,@br2a?u,YWw DE@h7E30xTTT4y"@ 9% 2.20.112114; 6.12.135, Exc. The two following essays deal with the ancient Hellenism. ETHIOPIAN GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, MISSIOLOGICAL IMPLICATION OF PAULS APOLOGETICS METHODOLOGY IN ACTS 17:22-34 TO THE 21ST CENTURY MISSIONARY AMONG THE BURA PEOPLE OF HAWUL LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF BORNO STATE, NIGERIA, The One God and the Lord Jesus Christ: An Exegetical Examination of the High Christology Found in Paul, Mark, and John, The Early Christian Appropriation of Pagan Piety. 54 Princ. Origen defines the soul as an existence possessing imagination and desire [ ] (Princ. The period of Hellenistic influence, when taken as a whole, constitutes one of the most creative periods in the history of religions. : Peter Smith, 1973] 2). 16.6 (GCS 9, 97.2898.3). Neros persecution, which was local and short, was condemned by Tacitus as an expression of the emperors cruelty rather than as a service to the public good. 1.6.23 (also see 1.8.1). See esp. Ep. Thanks to Gretchen Reydams-Schils, as well as the graduate students, fellows, and faculty affiliated with the Center, who provided valuable critique. 15.35; Comm. As for the human soul in particular, Origen notes that besides having imaginative and impulsive capabilities, it also possesses reason (), which allows it to adjudicate on the myriad of images that bombard it every day. Rather than a god who dwelt in his temple, the diasporic traditions evolved complicated techniques for achieving visions, epiphanies (manifestations of a god), or heavenly journeys to a transcendent god. Luc. Die Hellenisierung des Christentums in der Geschichte der Theologie von Luther bis auf die Gegenwart, HellenisierungJudaisierung des Christentums als Deuteprinzipien der Geschichte des kirchlichen Dogmas: Mit ihm und in ihm. 50 Princ. 80 For additional dissonances between Plato and Origen, see Scott, Journey back to God, 5369; Blosser, Become Like the Angels, 16372, 21619. 3(1214); Plant. The opposition of the Jews to them led to breaches of the peace. %%EOF That became the lingua franca of all of these subject peoples. In 64 ce a fire destroyed much of Rome, and, in order to escape blame, the emperor Nero killed a vast multitude of Christians as scapegoats. 3.33). discussion. Religion from the death of Alexander to the reformation of Augustus: 32327, Religion from the Augustan reformation to the death of Marcus Aurelius: 27, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hellenistic-religion, ReligionFacts - Hellenic Reconstructionism. *A2$ [a5i8Q#a~ba>o&1Mq3~R728{w1.n;p!JMQcF/ )E Master's Thesis, Evangelical Theological Seminary, Theosis: Deification in Christian Tradition (Wipf & Stock), Theosis: Deification in Christian Theology, vol. Justin Martyr was a key figure during this period who helped reconcile Hellenism with Christian teachings. The two excerpts illustrate how the God, who probably used to be seen as a one of a human-like nature, turned into an unconditioned entity. On the opening chapters of Genesis as an allegory of the drama of pre-existent souls and their fall, see Peter W. Martens, Origen's Doctrine of Pre-Existence and the Opening Chapters of Genesis, ZAC 16 (2012) 51649. Reflecting this position, Tertullian once asked, What has Athens to do with Jerusalem? Despite this hostility, many Christians recognized the value of ancient letters. hbbd``b`Z$A,O H\ A It has received its most extended critique in Gavrilyuk, Paul L., The Suffering of the Impassible God: the Dialectics of Patristic Thought (Oxford Early Christian Studies; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004)CrossRefGoogle Scholar. 51 Princ. But distrust was increased by Christian detachment and reluctance to serve in the imperial service and in the army. The relation of the early church to late Judaism, The relation of the early church to the career and intentions of Jesus, The contemporary social, religious, and intellectual world, The internal development of the early Christian church, Relations between Christianity and the Roman government and the Hellenistic culture, The early liturgy, the calendar, and the arts, Theological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries, Political relations between East and West, The Photian schism and the great East-West schism, Christianity from the 16th to the 21st century, Scripture and tradition: the apostolic witness, Evangelism: the first teaching about the God of Jesus Christ, Catechesis: instructing candidates for baptism, Aversion of heresy: the establishment of orthodoxy, Restatement: respecting language and knowledge, Inculturation: respecting places and peoples, Development: the maturation of understanding, Schism: division over substantial matters, Characteristic features of the Christian concept of God, The belief in the oneness of the Father and the Son, Different interpretations of the person of Jesus, The doctrine of the Virgin Mary and holy Wisdom, Conflict between order and charismatic freedom, The basis for the doctrine of the Trinity, The new man: The human being in the light of Christ, New liturgical forms and antiliturgical attitudes, Veneration of places, objects, and people, Expectations of the kingdom of God in early Christianity, Expectations of the kingdom of God in the medieval and Reformation periods, Expectations of the kingdom of God in the post-Reformation period, The role of imminent expectation in missions and emigrations, Eschatological expectations and secularization, History of the interactions of philosophy and theology, Arguments from religious experience and miracles, Characteristics of Christian myth and legend, Messianic secrets and the mysteries of salvation, The church and the Byzantine, or Eastern, Empire, Church and state in Eastern and Western theology, Intellectualism versus anti-intellectualism, The tendency to spiritualize and individualize marriage, Missions to South East Asia and the Pacific, Ecumenism since the start of the 20th century. ISIS' growing foothold in Afghanistan is captured on film. 4(14); Somn. 2.9.3 (GK 406, 166.21167.9/Butterworth, 131). 2.5.2223 (GCS 8, 147.18/Lawson, 13435). } teachers' guide. 2.8.1/GK 380, 152.20). And how would the Hellenistic world have influenced Jesus? 3.1.3/GK 466, 197.9468, 198.2). 5.1.35; 5.4.3; Cels. translator's preface to book 3). But by this point in Greek philosophy, according to Harold W. Attridge of Yale Divinity School, there was a "growing appreciationfor the notion that there may be a single simple divine principle underlying all things." ; Translated Texts for Historians 51; Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2009) 2:28384 (Georgius Monachus, Chronicon [ed. For pre-existence in other Jewish texts from this same era, see Bostock, The Sources, 260361; Givens, When Souls Had Wings, 4651. Armstrong, A. H.; London: Cambridge University Press, 1967) 18292Google Scholar. `-Sr*Oz[%,qniD94iS=1MI}Oc&`c$1"N%! 2.9.2 where Origen claims that the goodness of these prelapsarian souls was the result of their Creator's beneficence (GK 404, 165.21). Just as we see in major Jewish communities in Egypt at this same time as well, and had been there for two hundred years before. 85 Note esp. 19 Comm. The Stoics (for whom the soul of the embryo derived from the souls of both parents) also accepted the theory of simultaneous origins, and apparently so too did some Platonists. With few exceptions, each of these religions, originally tied to a specific geographic area and people, had traditions extending back centuries before the Hellenistic period. The fundamental cause of persecution was the Christians conscientious rejection of the gods whose favour was believed to have brought success to the empire. 3:1011 (= Pamphilus, Apol. 6.73/GCS 4, 121.2930). Commentaire sur le Cantique des Cantiques, SC 375 (Paris: Cerf, 1991) 4089, n. 1. 84 Princ. The Hellenic spirita concept Harnack usually left undefinedconstituted a threat to the undogmatic gospel of Jesus. How would all of this have influenced Jesus? 72 Edwards, Origen against Plato, 410, 15961. first christians. 76 For a partial commentary on this passage, see Robinson, T. M., Plato's Psychology (Phoenix, Supplementary Volume 8; 2nd ed. 1.10.1; Comm. 33) where Origen explains at length what is meant by a heretic, and does so exclusively in terms of the violation of the church's rule of faith. Consider for instanceand I mean this as an examplewhether one should be considered a heretic who investigates the question of the human soul, since concerning it the Church's rule has handed down neither that it is derived from the propagation of the seed, nor that it is more honorable and more ancient than the structure of bodies. and ; 2 vols. 36, no. 970Google Scholar. 1.4.5); Ps 44:8[45:7] (Princ. Thus, while not formally included in the acts of the council, the bishops certainly had Justinian's letter and these anathemas fresh in mind when they formally condemned Origen at the council. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. 2. eccl. 1.3.81.4.1 which he claims is often said to adumbrate a fall from the incorporeal to the bodily condition (ibid., 92). . that only the Trinity is incorporeal (see 2.2.2; 2.3.3). 33 All three passages are cited at Princ. The Hellenistic world is that world that was created after the conquests of the near east by Alexander the Great at the end of the fourth century B.C. For a larger discussion of how philosophy engendered heresy for Origen, but could also be assessed positively, see Martens, Peter W., Origen and Scripture: The Contours of the Exegetical Life (Oxford Early Christian Studies; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012) 7277 and 11926CrossRefGoogle Scholar. 166; 17172; Jerome, Ep. 0 27.12, on the research-quality of Origen's theology. Many Christians also rejected the literary traditions of the Classical world, denouncing the immoral and unethical behaviour of the deities and heroes of ancient myth and literature. See as well, Pamphilus, Apol. He was a philosopher and scriptural interpreter who lived in Alexandria from around 30 B.C. 5.8), but he also used these terms to describe Christians he deemed orthodox (Comm. its literature. Philo of Alexandria had spoken of the Logos as mediating between the transcendent God and the created order. The period of Hellenistic influence, when taken as a whole, constitutes one of the most creative periods in the history of religions. Hft; Gtersloh, Germany: C. Berteslmann, 1950) 92185. We now come to the heart of the issue. 75 There are numerous references to Phaedrus in Origen's writingssee, for example, the index to Cels. " he!W'0`Y>},h)T:;M}&Dj75@10UGvIEf& 166; Cassiodorus, De Anima 7; Gregory the Great, Ep. eccl. Erskine, Andrew; Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World; Oxford: Blackwell, 2003) 26479Google Scholar; Drobner, Hubertus R., Christian Philosophy, in The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies (ed. 38 Crouzel, Henri, Origne (Paris: Lethielleux, 1985) 21623Google Scholar. 1.6.4; 1.7.1).Beyond these points, I think there are three additional worries with Edwards's reconstruction: (1) he does not address the full range of passages in Origen's corpus where he speaks of souls or minds existing before their bodies, including those passages that speak of these rational creatures falling in the primordial realm prior to their embodiment (among others, Princ. He tried to effect a synthesis between scripture and Platonic philosophy. Jo. 4 For more on the Hellenization of Christianity thesis, see esp. @TJ. Ic}Z-i"L\/E%u3%K.\a3wny2 ; Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1995) 11925Google Scholar. See also Dial. Cor. ), Christian Origins and Hellenistic Judaism (TENTS 10; Early Christianity in its Hellenistic Context 2; Leiden: Brill, 2013), 135-76. ; Darmstadt, Germany: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1992). 34.5; Comm. 71 See, for example, Bigg, Charles, Christian Platonists of Alexandria (Bampton Lectures, 1886; Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1886) 198Google Scholar (Origen adopted the Platonic doctrine of pre-existence); Hatch, The Influence of Greek Ideas, 204; Karpp, Probleme altchristlicher Anthropologie, 195. The reasons for this persecution are uncertain but have been ascribed, among other things, to the influence of Galerius, a fanatic follower of the traditional Roman religion; Diocletians own devotion to traditional religion and his desire to use Roman religion to restore complete unity in the empire; and the fear of an alienation of rebellious armies from emperor worship. mine). 1.3.1; Ep. The attitude of the earliest Christians toward paganism and the imperial government was complicated by their close association with Greco-Roman literary and artistic culture: it was difficult to attack the former without seeming to criticize the latter. 61 There is a substantial debate in the literature about whether rational souls were originally discarnate or were always associated with some sort of body. 3.1.2, Origen writes that living or ensouled things ( ) are moved from within themselves when there arises within them an image [] which calls forth an impulse [] (GK 464, 196.14197.1). berlegungen zur Grenzziehung zwischen Platonismus und Christentum, TRu36 [1971] 285302). While many Hellenistic Christians accepted Christ, it was difficult for some to accept the idea of Jesus as intermediary between God and the people. ISIS is in Afghanistan, But Who Are They Really? Gen. 11.2, Ep. See esp. I examine three representative Pauline texts1 Cor 8:4-6, Rom 11:36, and Col 1:15-17to see how Paul speaks about the Christian God. 3.9 (432a) and Philo, Leg. maps, archaeology & sources. Note also Cels. It was a shift from birthright to convinced religion. 23 De Anima 27 (see also 25 and 34 and the corresponding discussions in Waszink, De Anima). 1, with entire article on 2 Pet 1:4, Controversy, Mythicism, and the Historical Jesus, Origen's Commentary on John Spiritual Interpretation, Polemics, and Transformation, Eusebius' Use of the Jewish Authors' Citations in the Apodeixis, Theosis: Deification in Christian Theology - Edited by Stephen Finlan and Vladimir Kharlamov. I incline to the former view: see esp. For instance, in saying that the word of God that we encounter in scripture is the logos or the divine reason, by which he meant a combination of the ideas, Plato's ideas, which by that time were conceived by philosophers as being in the mind of God. And increasingly in the philosophical environment of the second and third centuries belief was becoming widespread that God was a very transcendent kind of being, that is, a being who is very distant from human kind. On the divine justice behind the diversity in this world, see Princ. Elsewhere: the only regrettable doctrine that has a real basis in his writings is the doctrine of the preexistence of souls (The Patristic Period [ed. 163, 165) where Origen appears to exclude the possibility of being labeled a heretic for one's view on the origin of the soul, since the church's rule has not handed down a pronouncement on the matter:But there are also certain other dogmas that are not included in the apostolic traditions. A common criticism of historic orthodox Christianity is the claim that early Christianity was corrupted by the intellectual forces of 'Hellenism.' (Hellenism, of course, refers to the influence of ancient Greek philosophy and culture, which spread throughout the Mediterranean world after the conquests of Alexander the Great in the fourth century BC.) The historical Hellenistic Age is defined as the period from the death of the Greco-Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great (323 bc) to the conquest of Egypt by Rome (30 bc), but the influence of the Hellenistic religions extended to the time of Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor (d. ad 337); these religions are confined to those that were active within the Mediterranean world. for this article. 1.32. Popular gossip soon accused the Christians of secret vices, such as eating murdered infants (because of the secrecy surrounding the Lords Supper and the use of the words body and blood) and sexual promiscuity (because of the practice of Christians calling each other brother or sister while living as husband and wife). Since these are personal objects of contemplation, there is nothing strained when Origen envisions souls not only contemplating, but also loving God and the Son (Princ. While the Latin phrase is ambiguous, the larger context clarifies how it should be understood: in the lines that immediately follow, Origen says that Jesus's soul had already (iam) completely entered the Word before it was united to the body (GK 362, 143.12). Daly, Robert J.; Bibliotheca Ephemeridum theologicarum Lovaniensium 105; Louvain: University Press, 1992) 189216Google Scholar; Ramelli, Ilaria L. E., Origen, Patristic Philosophy, and Christian Platonism: Re-Thinking the Christianisation of Hellenism, VC 63 (2009) 21739Google Scholar. A similar position was expressed even earlier in the Origenian scholarship. The first (or inner circle) was composed of devout, full-time adherents of the cult for whom the deity retained a separate and decisive identity (e.g., those of Yahweh, Zeus Serapis, and Isis). 82 See also Princ. Love your neighbor as yourself. Jo. The first version of this essay was delivered during the Logos Conference (University of Notre Dame, 2012) at the invitation of Michael Rea. 78 One of Plato's metaphors for this activity is nourishment (Phaedr. bible history quiz. Abstract. A place like Beth-shean, for instance, which still has a magnificent theater dating from the Hellenistic period. He expresses reserve about the value of philosophy, particular philosophical doctrines, or philosophers at Hom. Le Boulluec, Alain, La notion d'hrsie dans la littrature grecque, IIeIIIe sicles (2 vols. ; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1995) 1:4145Google Scholar; Gruen, Erich S., Jews and Greeks, in A Companion to the Hellenistic World (ed. 29 September 2015. For Origen, a just and good God would not assign blame to a soul that had not committed sin itself. 2.3.4; Cels. For another extended account of the fall, see the discussion that begins at Cels. 70 For Origen, as for other early Christian authors, the attractiveness of pre-existence was its ability to function as a theodicy. See Princ. Later at Princ. X.617e618d; Tim. 2, Issue 1, February 2015. HVnH+ venY$LAn--8$5)Kb-{U`+?"J1lvy)JwM{UQT=&U{Q5"0Vv/C/4"reU]Y\47k2c { _ &g&>|{K]T 7)Z*"7pScB`UK A And then, subsequent to that, the Roman imperial expansion, which would take that over politically. They wished only to reject all polytheistic myth and cult and all metaphysical and ethical doctrines irreconcilable with Christian belief (e.g., Stoic materialism and Platonic doctrines of the transmigration of souls and the eternity of the world). 3 Harnack describes the original gospel as a religion of life and feeling of the heart (ibid., 1:46) which suffered a decomposition as Hellenism increasingly overcame it (1:47, 49; on the fate of the gospel in the Greek world, see 1:56). 1.4); Princ. For many Jews, it seemed not to be a problem at all. 1.4; 6.3; 6.1314; 7.6; 7.4547; 7.71; Princ. 5.29, with commentary by Martens, Peter W., On the Confusion of Tongues and Origen's Allegory of the Dispersion of Nations, SPhilo 24 (2011) 10727Google Scholar. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Judy Blume described it in print, in her seminal 1970 novel, "Are You There God? de Boor; 2 vols. von Ivnka, Endre, Plato Christianus: bernahme und Umgestaltung des Platonismus durch die Vter (Einsiedeln: Johannes Verlag, 1964)Google Scholar; Meijering, E. P., Wie platonisierten Christen?, VC 28 (1974) 1528Google Scholar; de Vogel, Cornelia, Platonism and Christianity: A Mere Antagonism or a Profound Common Ground?, VC 39 (1985) 162Google Scholar; Christian Gnilka in Der Begriff des rechten Gebrauchs (: Die Methode der Kirchenvter im Umgang mit der Antiken Kultur [9 vols; Basel: Schwabe, 1984]) 1: 5463; Werner Beierwaltes, Platonismus im Christentum (Philosophische Abhandlungen 73; Frankfurt A. M.: Vittorio Klostermann, 1998); most recently, I. Ramelli, Origen, Patristic Philosophy, and Christian Platonism, 256263. See also Princ. We see this fellow Justin Martyr active in Rome around the middle of the century trying to explain the nature of Christ and the nature of his relationship to God in terms of certain philosophical theories, the philosophical theory that comes ultimately from stoicism that postulates a dichotomy between speech that is external and thought that's internal. Justin has a theology of the word of God that wrestles with the issue of what kind of status Jesus has as an intermediary between God and humankind. 2.9(22) (where he seems to endorse pre-existence) and Ep. 3.21; C. Jul. Gen. 13.3; Cels. 6.14. Ti. 31 Comm. Rather it is best understood as the study of archaic Mediterranean religions in their Hellenistic phase within both their native and diasporic settings. However, it is important to mention that among Platonists in antiquity, and indeed, even within Plato's writings, there was substantial debate, and differing views, about how souls became embodied. He has written for the "Valley Citizen" newspaper, where his work won first- and second-place awards in sports and outdoor features from the Idaho Press Club. Taylor Echolls - Updated September 29, 2017, Copyright 2023 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Education, Explore state by state cost analysis of US colleges in an interactive article, PBS Frontline: From Jesus to Christ - Hellenistic Culture, BBC Religions: The Basics of Christian History. 3.81 [SC 136, 182.34]). At any time in the 2nd or 3rd centuries, Christians could find themselves the object of unpleasant attention. So too Bostock: It must be recognized however that the Platonic or Pythagorean doctrine of pre-existence was not antagonistic to Jewish belief and that the difference between them was one of emphasis and viewpoint rather than of fundamental philosophy (The Sources, 260). Jo. 19 asserts that our souls are produced by God alone and in no way can be attributed to our parents, but it is not clear whether this creation happens with the emergence of the body or precedes it. Comm. See, for instance, Pamphilus, Apol. ad Greg. For more on the distinction between the church's teaching and the scholar's research, see esp., Kettler, Franz Heinrich, Der ursprngliche Sinn der Dogmatik des Origenes (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fr die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der lteren Kirche 31; Berlin: Alfred Tpelmann, 1966)Google Scholar. It is difficult (2) to explain how such a wide spectrum of figures fluent in Greek, both foe and friend to Origen, erroneously attributed pre-existence to him (e.g., Pamphilus, Epiphanius, Rufinus, Jerome, Theophilus, John of Jerusalem, Theodore of Mopsuestia, among others). 25 All these verses (as well as Lev 17:14, Rom 7:23 and Gal 5:19) are listed and discussed at Princ. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. In 313 the joint emperors Constantine and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan, a manifesto of toleration, which, among other things, granted Christians full legal rights. The Hellenization of Christianity is a long-standing and notoriously contentious historiographical construct in early Christian studies.

Why Are Alkenes More Reactive Than Alkanes Gcse, Hamm's Beer Scene O Rama Sign Parts, Articles H