After the death of Jesus Christ, many different people were touched by his teachings and regarded him as the Messiah, the deliverer of human sin. These people became known as the earliest groups of Christians, however not all of them were in agreement of the meaning of Christ’s message and the way that he wanted them to live. Some of these disagreements are shown in Paul’s letter to Corinth in 1 Corinthians in the Early Christian reader. Paul believes that his euangelion or good news is what all Christians should follow and the philosophy of other groups including the Wisdom Christians should be disregarded. In Paul’s eyes there is a completely negative view of the Wisdom Christians but their view of wisdom can be examined by looking at Plato’s Apology as translated by Mark Kremer. Plato and Paul may have been alive in different time periods but both had distinct and sometimes similar views on the topics of the meaning, the use and the credibility of wisdom.
One of the most prominent ideas that Socrates states and has been emulated Plato’s philosophy is the indication that there are truths in not knowing as indicated here: “… the one of you, human beings, is wisest, who, just like Socrates, realizes that in truth, he is worth nothing in regard to wisdom” (Apology, 23b1-3). These Greek philosophers are able to admit that there are a lot of things in the world that are still unknown and they believe that this is what makes them wise. They do not try to find a quick explanation for things that occur yet they ponder possibilities and question norms of society and the legal systems in place. From this the Wisdom Christians seem to use Plato’s critical eye and instead of blindly accepting everything Paul has to say they question him. Pa...
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... for the world to end while simply preaching the word of the Lord to save as many souls before its end.
In conclusion, both Plato and Paul’s ideas of wisdom are not exactly the same but they do share some similar philosophies. It is clear to see where a lot of the philosophy of the Wisdom Christians comes from by examining the work of Plato and Socrates. Although they do adopt the faith of Paul and believe in Christ, their roots came from the Greek philosophers and their ideas of wisdom were the core building blocks of their Christian faith.
Works Cited
Plato. Plato and Xenophon Apologies. Trans. Mark Kremer. Newburyport, MA: Focus/R. Pullins, 2006.
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1 Corinthians. Early Christian Reader. Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2013.
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Socrates insistence on finding the truly wise people pitches him against Euthyphro and Meletus. Euthyphro is religious by all means necessary. He even makes prophecies and has a firm claim on the fact that he is wise. He brings a murder charge against his father. On the other hand, Meletus is the man responsible fro bringing charges against Socrates with an aim of having him executed. Meletus, having been cross-examined by Socrates, is put to utmost shame for his lack of a firm grip on facts that are required of him (Desjardins 33). When questioning Euthyphro, Socrates makes an effort to truly find out from this religious man what holiness is. After engaging him for a while, Euthyphro is frustrated and leaves the conversation an angry man. This way of throwing doubt on someone’s beliefs is what Socrates’ signature way of argument became.
Paul the Apostle is the central figure in many New Testament writings. Many historians have attributed fourteen New Testament letters to Paul’s writing; seven of these letters are uncontested meaning historians are sure that Paul wrote them, the remaining seven are contested. Paul was not always a Christian; in fact, he persecuted Christians before Christ came and temporarily blinded him. Upon seeing Christ, Paul devoted his life to Christianity and set out to spread the teachings of Christ. Scholars often credit Paul’s leadership to the ability of the Church to become Hellenistic in one generation. Paul also answered specific worries and questions that his converters may have had in many of his writings; one of these writings is 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians, Paul set out to deal with the many believers in Corinth who are divided into the followings of Paul or Apollos rather than Christianity as a whole. The converts of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12-14 were divided during times of worship because of jealousy invoked by the spiritual gifts received from the “Spirit”; the worships and the church became a place to boast who is closest to God, instead of a place of worship, interpretation, and love. In 1 Corinthians 14:26-33, Paul set guidelines in times of worship to heal the divide among his converts present in 1 Corinthians 12-14.
Plato’s “Defense of Socrates” follows the trial of Socrates for charges of corruption of the youth. His accuser, Meletus, claims he is doing so by teaching the youth of Athens of a separate spirituality from that which was widely accepted.
The Theaetetus is composed of three main parts, each part being allotted to a different definition of what constitutes as knowledge. While the Theaetetus is focused primarily on how to define knowledge, the arguments faced by Socrates and Theaetetus greatly resemble arguments made by different later theories of knowledge and justification. I will argue in this essay that due to the failure faced by Socrates and Theaetetus in their attempt at defining knowledge, the conclusion that would be best fit for their analysis would be that of skepticism. In doing this I will review the three main theses, the arguments within their exploration that resemble more modern theories of knowledge and justification, and how the reason for the failure of the theories presented in the Theaetetus are strikingly similar to those that cause later theories of epistemology to fail.
Paul and Jesus both have similar topics they teach. Not only that, but Paul and Jesus have very similar teaching styles, with the key difference being how they react to mistakes made by their pupils. Paul and Jesus both lose their temper at points and get very angry, but Jesus transforms his anger into forgiveness, where Paul does not. These similarities and differences presented allow us to better understand what Jesus taught by referencing Galatians as a guide. Overall, we see that Mark and Paul’s letter to the Galatians show the similar beliefs Paul and Jesus had, but also show how they react when those beliefs are
First, Plato shows that the philosophy of Socrates started from an event that seems to have the arrangements of destiny – when he was middle-aged, Socrates’ friend, Chaerephone, strongly went to the temple Delphi at Athens to see if there was anyone wiser than Socrates? Immediately prophetic goddess Phithia replied that no one is wiser than Socrates. When Socrates heard this story and felt confused because he knew that he is not the wisest. Socrates thought and asked question himself, “What can the god mean? And what is the interpretation of his riddle?”, “he is a god, and cannot lie”. After some thought, Socrates found the way to try the questions. He said:” If I could only find a man wiser than myself,
...rison to the allegory, one can best grasp the concept of knowledge and how the Sun and our senses guide our education. The concept of our knowledge being a result of our surroundings in the world, rather than a text book, is simply fascinating. How would those who questioned our Earth being round rather than the earlier beliefs of it being flat without believing that there is more than what is seen. The Wright brothers were considered heretics because they had believed man could fly. It was by asking questions that they could not have known to be true, that promotes progress and development in the world. To be able to ask questions in a Socratic fashion, to question what one does not know, is learning. Plato was truly a man well before his time, as he was able to ask the questions that were deemed most difficult in an age where religion dominated knowledge.
Throughout the first 400 years that Christianity was present in the world it changed dramatically. It started small in an area near the eastern Mediterranean area but within these 400 years, it grew to encompass the whole of the Mediterranean and its surrounding. Throughout this time of growth, there was also much change within the beliefs of Christianity with the main belief centering around Jesus Christ. While Christianity grew and made it to new areas it was introduced to new people that interpreted the different scriptures and preaching of what it meant to be a Christian. Some of the most influential writings in these years came from Irenaeus of Lyons, a second-century writer, Christian, theologian, and bishop. He expressed his beliefs of what made a Christian a Christian within his writing. One of his most famous writings, The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, highlights the idea of the Holy Trinity and the Rule of Faith in the interpretation of the bible. Irenaeus believed that the Rule of Faith was ultimately necessary and required when reading and interpreting the word of Christianity saying, in the words of Isaiah, “If ye believe not, neither shall ye understand” (paragraph 3). In the eyes of Irenaeus, the Rule of Faith is one of the main things that makes a Christian a Christian.
This is no easy task for “if this man went down into the cave again and sat down in his same seat, wouldn’t his eyes-coming suddenly out of the sun like that-be filled with darkness?” (Plato, 5). Socrates is explaining that after becoming educated about the real truths it would be hard for a person to go back to a life where those truths are rejected. The freed man must use his reason to understand that those people in the dark still believe the shadows on the wall are real truths. They have not experienced for themselves what it means to be educated by the light and the man who has seen the light must proceed with patients and caution while trying to guild the prisoners out of the dark. He understands the struggle the prisoners will encounter, but through his understanding of his faith he knows not give up on the prisoners. This is because after he had become educated he was able to understand that putting his faith in God meant saving the prisoners. However, once they have reached the light it is up to them to decide what they truly want to put their faith into. So the man who has already seen the light will be understanding if a person chooses to follow a different faith based on the common truths they have experienced. For then, that person will have experienced the journey in becoming educated about the truths of their religion, and can use their reason to decide they want to follow a different faith. Similarly, in “The Confessions” Augustine describes his journey in discovering the truths about Christianity which he ultimately puts his faith
Jesus and Paul are two crucial characters in the New Testament. They both depict the Gospel on which Christianity is based upon, but there is debate about rather these two versions of the Gospel are complementary. Scholars like George Shaw claim that Paul is “anti-Christian,” and he “produced a fantastic theology” (Shaw 415-416). On the other hand, I believe that even though Jesus and Paul may present the Gospel different at times, they are still advocating the same religion. Through the understanding of the Gospels and Paul’s letters it is clear that Jesus and Paul have the same underlining goals and values.
In these letters Paul provides the most complete statement of the doctrine in the New Testament. If want to know the ins and outs of Christianity, let people check out the writings of Paul to the Romans. So says a notable interpreter. Because of that this note on Romans should earnestly by every Christian, as very important and contains the full spiritual object.
When they met each other, Onesimus became a believer of the Christian religion under Paul’s leading...
After Paul became a believer of the Christian faith, he started teaching the people he preached to that they were save...
Socrates was a Greek philosopher who lived from 469-399 B.C.E. Socrates believed that Philosophy was primarily a social activity, which in fact he made use of quite often. He would find himself roaming the streets of Athens questioning the youth or just anyone who would give him the chance to talk to them. Furthermore, Socrates questions drove people absolutely insane, until the point of absolute consternation if you will. He tried proving a point which is quoted “Look, here we are, two ignorant men, yet two, men who desire to know. I am willing to pursue the question seriously if you are” (Palmer, 31).Ultimately, this meant that the person Socrates was questioning actually didn’t know anything at all, just as well as Socrates himself, so which for the both of them would remain in search of the truth.
But only Christianity had the right combination of ingredients to appeal to both the masses and also eventually the ruling elite. Based on ancient scriptures, with a solid creation myth, its own collection of inspired writings, a convincing story about the appearance of God as a man (e.g. Jesus), a morality based upon personal maturity rather than harsh punishment, role models for both men and women, and a good organizational structure. Christianity was destined to grow to become the dominant religion. Greek philosophy was eventually extinguished by the hostility of Christianity towards other beliefs. Many of the followers of Greek philosophy were forced to move to Syria and other eastern countries to escape persecution by the Christian authorities. Many of the books they carried with them were translated into other languages. It would not be until the crusades, almost one thousand years later that Greek philosophy would be rediscovered by the Greek and Roman worlds.