PHIL 2123 The History of Christianity and Western Thought Lecture 2 The Apostle John and the Gnostics

The Apostle John 1st a brief look at Paul and the Ancients He provides the only references to “philosophy” and “philosophers” in Col. 2:8 and Acts 17:18 respectively. In Acts 17:18 he shows knowledge of Epicurean and Stoic philosophy and says “...as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ “ Affirms that some Greek thinkers had genuine insights into the existence and character of God. But the Gospel of Jesus is something that cannot be found in these philosophic systems. Therefore, Romans 1:19 states that men are “without excuse” Philosophies without Christ are “hollow” and “deceptive” He used Stoic terms at times rather than Platonic, but not to affirm these systems of thought, rather to give his contemporary audience a point of reference. His understanding of the body and soul of the human person was distinctly Jewish.

John’s Gospel A major battleground Fiercest in the prologue (John1:1-18) The “word” in 1:1 is the logos John was appealing to the Hellenistic mind Philo (Hellenistic Jewish philosopher) had done this and used logos as well. He attempted to fuse Greek philosophy and Jewish philosophy. John was clearly echoing the opening of Genesis and the logos’ role in Creation. John was probably using common Stoic and Hellenistic terminology to affirm the logos’ position. Refuting “Docetism” a Christology that taught that Jesus’ physical body was an illusion. A type of Gnosticism. Gnosticism would crop up again and again and again...

Socrates The Pre-Socratics= A.) Diogenes Laertius- first historian of philosophy, said that the Greeks were the 1st great philosophers. i. Musaeus - the first, composed a geneology of the gods ii. Pythagoras (6th century B.C.)- first to use term “philosophy”, which meant, love of wisdom. iii. 2 Schools= Dogmatists & Skeptics, a. Dogmatists= things can be known b. Skeptics= things cannot be known B.) The dividing line between pre-Socratic philosophy and classical philosophy is Socrates, who lived in the 5th century B.C.

Socrates (cont.) Socrates (5th Century B.C.) A Christian before Christ? Nothing written by him Endeavored to discover the nature of the forces that governed the world and human life. He became a martyr and therefore a type of “saint” in the philosophical world. Executed in 399 by the Athenian state for disbelief in the official gods and corrupting the youth. His prime student was Plato, the major source of information about him. He rejected the relativism of the Sophists, who believed that man was the “measure of all things” He believed that he was great because he was aware of his own ignorance (The Oracle at Delphi is supposed to have told him this

Socrates (cont.) He sought out people whom he thought might be able to give him the answers to the important questions of life and interrogated them rigorously: 1- What is justice? 2- What is virtue? 3- What is common in the lives of those who exemplify these things? Hence, he is said to have coined the phrase “The unexamined life is not worth living.” All of these questions however, were subordinate to the “human soul, so “know thyself”. His method= Dialectic and introspection These are healthy thinking processes, but only if they are related to the Author of ALL truth, Jesus.