NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Jesus Christ the Logos

In Christology, the conception that Jesus Christ is the Logos (a Greek word meaning "word", "wisdom", or "reason") has been important in establishing the doctrine of Jesus' divinity, as well as that of the Trinity, as set forth in the Chalcedonian Creed. Christology is a field of study within Christian theology which is concerned with the nature of Jesus the Christ. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Look up logos, Î»ÏŒÎ³Î¿Ï‚ in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Divinity has a number of related uses in the field of religious belief and study. ... For other uses, see Trinity (disambiguation). ... 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 Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God." In the KJV, and most other English editions, Logos is translated as "Word". In theological discourse, the word Logos is often left untranslated. The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the canon of the New Testament, traditionally ascribed to John the Evangelist. ... This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ...

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. Platonism is normally divided into four periods: Old Academy 347-267 BCE, New Academy 267-80 BCE, Middle Platonism 80BCE-250 CE, and Neoplatonism 250 CE through the Reformation^[1]. 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. ... Christ is the English translation of the Greek word (ChristÃ³s), which literally means The Anointed One. ... 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. ... It has been suggested that Combative dualism be merged into this article or section. ...

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).^[2] In simple terms: Platonism thought of the spirit world as good and the physical world as evil. There were two major forms of Platonic philosophy in the Middle period. They were Stoicism, which was prevalent among the upper class, and Epicureanism, which was prevalent among the lower classes. A restored Stoa in Athens. ... Epicureanism is a system of philosophy based upon the teachings of Epicurus (c. ...

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 the syncretism of Greek philosophy and various Jewish beliefs^[3]. 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^[4]. 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^[5]. 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^[6]. So Judaism evolved from the second century BCE through the first several centuries CE as it came into contact with Platonic philosophy. The word Pharisees comes from the Hebrew ×¤×¨×•×©×™× prushim from ×¤×¨×•×© parush, meaning a detached one, that is, one who is separated for a life of purity. ... The sect of the Sadducees - 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 teachings... Syncretism is the attempt to reconcile disparate, even opposing, beliefs and to meld practices of various schools of thought. ... Classical (or early) Greek philosophy focused on the role of reason and inquiry. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Chalcedonian Christology and Platonism

Even though post-apostolic Christian writers struggled with the question of how Jesus became 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 CE) to the Third Council of Constantinople (680-681 CE) defined Jesus Christ as fully God and fully human.^[7]. 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."^[8] 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^[9]. There is no explanation of how. The orthodox Christology of Jesus Christ as it has been accepted by the Church from the first council in 325 CE is not a product of syncretism with Greek philosophy, even though it uses the terminology of the Logos. "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever."^[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. ... Events May 20 - First Council of Nicaea - first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church: The Nicene Creed is formulated, the date of Easter is discussed. ... 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. ... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ... The doctrine of the Incarnation of Christ is central to the traditional Christian faith as held by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and most Protestants (some Protestant denominations do not hold the doctrine of the Trinity). ... Separate articles treat Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Orthodox Judaism. ...

Notes

^ 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 N.I.V. with Greek inserted.
^ Donald Macleod: The Person of Christ, (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1998), 185.
^ Hebrews 13:8 NIV.

Bibliography

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Essays in Greco-Roman and Related Talmudic Literature. ed. by Henry A. Fischel. New York: KTAV Publishing House. 1977.
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Contents

Platonism and early schools of thought in Judaism GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Chalcedonian Christology and Platonism

Notes

Bibliography

Platonism and early schools of thought in Judaism