NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Christ the Logos

In Christology, the conception that the Christ is the Logos (the Greek for "word", "wisdom", or "reason") has been important in establishing the doctrine of the divinity of Jesus Christ and his position as God the Son in the Trinity as set forth in the Chalcedonian Creed. Topics in Christianity Movements Â· Denominations Ecumenism Â· Preaching Â· Prayer Music Â· Liturgy Â· Calendar Symbols Â· Art Â· Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul Â· Church Fathers Constantine Â· Athanasius Â· Augustine Anselm Â· Aquinas Â· Palamas Â· Luther Calvin Â· Wesley Arius Â· Marcion of Sinope Pope Â· Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box: Christology is a field of study... This page is about the title, office or what is known in Christian theology as the Divine Person. ... This article is about logos (logoi) in ancient Greek philosophy, mathematics, rhetoric, Theophilosophy, and Christianity. ... For other uses, see Divinity (disambiguation) and Divine (disambiguation). ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This 11th-century portrait is one of many images of Jesus in which a halo with a cross is used. ... This article is about the Christian Trinity. ... The Chalcedonian Creed was adopted at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 in Asia Minor. ...

The conception derives from the opening of the Gospel of John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." In the original Greek, Logos is used, and in theological discourse, this is often left untranslated. For other uses, see Gospel of John (disambiguation). ...

Christian theologians to this day still debate whether the Divine Being and logos are analogous, synonymous, or distinct.^[1]

Many have seen this as evidence that there was a syncretism between (Christian) Christology and (secular) Platonism. The debate about the nature of Christ from the first century through the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE must be understood in light of the pervasive world view of Platonic dualism.^{[not in citation given]} Platonism is normally divided into four periods: Old Academy 347-267 BC, New Academy 267-80 BC, Middle Platonism 80BC-250 AD, and Neoplatonism 250 AD through to the Reformation^[2]. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article concerns secularity, that is, being secular, in various senses. ... Platonic idealism is the theory that the substantive reality around us is only a reflection of a higher truth. ... This page is about the title, office or what is known in Christian theology as the Divine Person. ... The Council of Chalcedon was an ecumenical council that took place from October 8 to November 1, 451, at Chalcedon (a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor), today part of the city of Istanbul on the Asian side of the Bosphorus and known as the district of KadÄ±kÃ¶y. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Platonism and early schools of thought in Judaism

In contradistinction to a specific religion, Platonism was a basic understanding of the operation of the cosmos, which saw the material world in a dualistic fashion; separated from a transcendent God, but communicated with by the logos (thought, wisdom, creativity).^[3] In simple terms: Platonism thought of the spirit world as good and the physical world as evil.

It is now widely believed among Jewish scholars that Phariseeism, Sadduceeism and the Pre-Gnostic cults which appeared in the second century BCE were a result of a syncretism of Hellenistic philosophy (in particular Platonism) and various Jewish beliefs ^[4]. Likewise, it is now widely accepted that even though fully developed Gnosticism did not appear until the beginning of the second century CE, Pre-Gnosticism was present in the second century BCE^[5]. This syncretism is clearly seen in the parallelism of the Rabbinic writings, the Old Testament apocrypha, Philo, and the writings of the Greco-Roman philosophers^[6]. It is further attested to by the Greco-Roman gifts that decorated Herod’s temple which were donated by Caesar, and the Greco-Roman mosaics that decorated the synagogues^[7]. For the followers of the Vilna Gaon, see Perushim. ... The sect of the Sadducees - possibly from Hebrew Tsdoki ×¦×“×•×§×™ [], whence Zadokites or other variants - was founded in the 2nd century BCE, possibly as a political party, and ceased to exist sometime after the 1st century CE. The Hebrew name, Tsdoki, indicates their claim that they are the followers of the... Hellenistic Judaism was a movement in the early (pre-70 AD) Jewish diaspora attempting to establish the Hebraic-Jewish religious tradition within the culture and language of Hellenism. ... Hellenistic philosophy is the period of Western philosophy that was developed in the Hellenistic civilization following Aristotle and ending with Neo-Platonism. ... Platonic idealism is the theory that the substantive reality around us is only a reflection of a higher truth. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Philo (20 BC - 50 AD), known also as Philo of Alexandria and as Philo Judaeus And as Yedidia, was a Hellenized Jewish philosopher born in Alexandria, Egypt. ...

Chalcedonian Christology and Platonism

Even though post-apostolic Christian writers struggled with the question of the identity of Jesus and the Logos, the Church’s doctrine that Jesus was the Logos never changed. Each of the first six councils, from the First Council of Nicea (325) to the Third Council of Constantinople (680-681) defined Jesus Christ as fully God and fully human.^[8]. Christianity did not accept the Platonic argument that the spirit is good and the flesh is evil, and that therefore the man Jesus could not be God. Neither did it accept any of the Platonic beliefs that would have made Jesus something less than fully God and fully human at the same time. The original teaching of John’s gospel is, "In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God . . . And the Logos became flesh and dwelt among us."^[9] The only development or evolution of doctrine was to condemn as heretical virtually every attempt to explain the how of the incarnation. The final Christology of Chalcedon (confirmed by Constantinople III) was that Jesus Christ is both God and man, and that these two natures are inseparable, indivisible, unconfused and unchangeable^[10]. The First Council of Nicaea, which took place during the reign of the emperor Constantine in 325, was the first ecumenical (from Greek oikumene, worldwide) conference of bishops of the Christian Church. ... The Sixth Ecumenical Council met on November 7, 680 for its first session; it ended its meetings, said to have been eighteen in number, on September 16 of 681. ... For other uses, see Heresy (disambiguation). ... Christ en majestÃ©, Matthias GrÃ¼newald, 16th c. ...

Notes

^ The Doctrine of the Logos
^ Edwin Moore: Neoplatonism in The Internet Encyclopeida of Philosophy, available at [1]. Also see, J.M. Dillion: "Plato/Platonism," in The dictionary of New Testament Background, ed. by Craig A. Evans and Stanley E. Porter, (Downers Grove: InterVarsety Press, 2000).
^ Edwin Yamauchi, "Pre-Christian Gnosticism: A Survey of the Proposed Evidence," (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1973), 15.
^ Jacob Neusner, From Politics to Piety: The Emergence of Pharisaic Judaism, (Providence, R.I.:Brown Univ. 1973), 8-11. Also see "Essays in Greco-Roman and Related Talmudic Literature," ed. by Henry A. Fischel, (New York: KTAV Publishing, 1977). This is a completion of articles written by the leading Jewish scholars today comparing Greek Philosophy with the Talmud. Leiberman has found several hundred parallelisms, many of them being direct quotes.
^ R. Mcl. Wison, "Gnosis and the New Testament, (Philadelphia: frotress Press, 1968), 3-6. Also see Everett Ferguson, "Backgrounds of Early Christianity, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Pub.1993), 288-289. Also see Edwin Yamauchi, "Pre-Christian Gnosticism," 16-18.
^ "Essays in Greco-Roman and Related Talmudic Literature," ed. by Henry A. Fischel, (New York: KTAV Publishing, 1977).
^ Richard Freund, "Secrets of the Cave of Letters," (Amherst, New York: Humanity Books, 2004) 142-143. Fine demonstrates that the Second Temple had Greek mythological motifs as a part of its decorations and sacred utensils. Also see "Sacred Realm: The Emergence of the Synagogue in the Ancient World," Ed. by Steven Fine, (New York: Oxford Press, 1996). Fine shows artifacts from Synagogues with Greco-Roman motifs.
^ New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia: The 21 Ecumenical Councils, available at 14388.
^ John 1:1;14 N.I.V. with Greek inserted.
^ Donald Macleod: The Person of Christ, (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1998), 185.

Bibliography

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Dillion, J. M. “Plato/Platonism.” in The Dictionary of the New Testament Background. ed. by Craig A. Evans and Stanley E. Porter. (CD-ROM) Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. 2000.
Essays in Greco-Roman and Related Talmudic Literature. ed. by Henry A. Fischel. New York: KTAV Publishing House. 1977.
Ferguson, Everett. Backgrounds in Early Christianity. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing. 1993.
Freund, Richard A. Secrets of the Cave of Letters. Amherst, New York: Humanity Books. 2004.
Greene, Colin J. D. Christology in Cultural Perspective: Marking Out the Horizons. Grand Rapids: InterVarsity Press. Eerdmans Publishing. 2003.
Hillar, Marian. Philo of Alexandria (20BCE-50CE). in The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. ed. by James Fieser and Bradley Dowden. 2006. Available at http://www.iep.edu/p/philo.htm.
Holt, Bradley P. Thirsty for God: A Brief History of Christian Spirituality. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. 2005.
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Letham, Robert. The Work of Christ. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. 1993.
Macleod, Donald. The Person of Christ. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. 1998.
McGrath, Alister. Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. 1998.
Moore, Edwin. “Neoplatonism.” in The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. ed. by James Fieser and Bradley Dowden. 2006. Available at http://www.iep.edu/n/neoplato.htm.
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_______ The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1971.
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Witherington, Ben III. The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. 1995.
_______ “The Gospel of John.” in The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. ed. by Joel Greene, Scot McKnight and I. Howard
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Contents

Platonism and early schools of thought in Judaism

Chalcedonian Christology and Platonism

Notes

Bibliography

See also

Contents

Platonism and early schools of thought in Judaism var ACE_AR = {Site: '756743', Size: '300250'};

Chalcedonian Christology and Platonism

Notes

Bibliography

See also

Platonism and early schools of thought in Judaism