This volume is a collection of thirteen essays offered in dedication to Professor C.G. Stead on his 80th birthday. Their theme is the philosophy underlying the presentation of Christian teaching in Late Antiquity. The essays deal with individual theologians (Augustine, Ambrose, Dionysius the Areopagite, Gregory of Nyssa), with ideological background (Christian and Roman universalism), and with the discussion of particular texts. A bibliography and brief appreciation of Professor Stead's contribution to Patristic studies are included.
Platonism and Christian Thought in Late Antiquity examines the various ways in which Christian intellectuals engaged with Platonism both as a pagan competitor and as a source of philosophical material useful to the Christian faith. The chapters are united in their goal to explore transformations that took place in the reception and interaction process between Platonism and Christianity in this period. The contributions in this volume explore the reception of Platonic material in Christian thought, showing that the transmission of cultural content is always mediated, and ought to be studied as a transformative process by way of selection and interpretation. Some chapters also deal with various aspects of the wider discussion on how Platonic, and Hellenic, philosophy and early Christian thought related to each other, examining the differences and common ground between these traditions. Platonism and Christian Thought in Late Antiquity offers an insightful and broad ranging study on the subject, which will be of interest to students of both philosophy and theology in the Late Antique period, as well as anyone working on the reception and history of Platonic thought, and the development of Christian thought.
The essays in Eastern Christianity and Late Antique Philosophy provide valuable insights into the central role of philosophical ideas in a period when paganism was in decline and Eastern Christians were forging their community identities.
Christianity began as a little-known Jewish sect, but rose within 300 years to dominate the civilised world. It owed its rise in part to inspired moral leadership, but also to its success in assimilating, criticising and developing the philosophies of the day, which offered rationally approved life-styles and moral directives. Without abandoning their allegiance to their founder and to Holy Scripture, Christians could therefore present their faith as a 'new philosophy'. This book, which is written for non-specialist readers, provides a concise conspectus of the emergence of philosophy among the Greeks; an account of its continuance in early Christian times, and its influence on early Christian thought, especially in formulating the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation; and finally a brief critical assessment of the philosophy of St Augustine - arguably the greatest philosopher of the first millennium.
This title was first published in 2002.Origen (AD 185 - 254) is regarded as one of the figures chiefly responsible for the contamination of biblical theology with pagan philosophy in the early church. Edwards argues that Origen set out to construct a Christian philosophy, yet he did so with the intention of preserving theology from the infiltration of pagan thought. Examining the question of philosophical influence on Christian thought, Edwards argues that scholars have often leapt to unjustified conclusions based simply on common vocabulary or parallel development. This book advances new interpretations of the early Christian systems which are generally called 'Gnostic', and the Doctrine of the Trinity in Origen's 'Platonist' teacher Clement of Alexandria. Edwards concludes that Origen's hermeneutics, eschatology, cosmology and Trinitarian theology are all related to his understanding of human nature, which is radically opposed to that of Platonism.
The Cambridge History of Philosophy in Late Antiquity comprises over forty specially commissioned essays by experts on the philosophy of the period 200–800 CE. Designed as a successor to The Cambridge History of Later Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy (edited by A. H. Armstrong), it takes into account some forty years of scholarship since the publication of that volume. The contributors examine philosophy as it entered literature, science and religion, and offer new and extensive assessments of philosophers who until recently have been mostly ignored. The volume also includes a complete digest of all philosophical works known to have been written during this period. It will be an invaluable resource for all those interested in this rich and still emerging field.
Late Antiquity seems to retreat in silence. However, Nietzsche drew attention to the fact that what we know about antique philosophy are not the voices of Plato or Aristotle that once sounded in Athens, nor those of Cicero or Seneca in Rome. They have come to us as perceived by the authors of the waning of the classical world, the world of Late Antiquity. This was a world about to perish, characterised by the decline of the Roman Empire and its legal system, and the tensions between the philosophy and paganism of Antiquity and Christianity. The medieval and our contemporary world are based on the works of Late Antiquity. This book discusses the disappearance of the foundation of philosophy: the knowledge and use of the Greek language; the birth of time as being merely temporary; the fall of the flesh; the role of women in the period; and the growing awareness of the approach of death. The boundaries of being become more emphatic and closer.
This insightful book brings profound new insights to the Trinitarian doctrines of “orthodox” Christianity. With clear and precise documentation, the book shows how these doctrines migrated into early Christianity from Greek philosophy. The various aspects of Trinitarian belief are isolated, linked to their Greek sources, and carefully analyzed to show they differ radically from biblical teaching. The Writings of early Church Fathers, portrayed in their historical context, show that during the second century, theological concepts taught in Platonism were adopted as Christianity struggled to end Roman persecution. Emperor Marcus Aurelius, a famous Stoic philosopher, was putting Christians to death because their belief did not conform to the Hellenized religion of the day. The book shows that the early church fathers sought to save their people’s lives by redefining the Christian God in Greek terms. Their efforts brought metaphysics to Christianity and ushered in concepts like the Trinity. After presenting the historical setting in which these philosophical errors were embraced as Christian doctrine, the book compares orthodox Christian theology today, called “classical theism,” to biblical teachings. The book identifies how Greek philosophy has influenced major attributes of God taught in classical theism. The book constitutes a major challenge to those who accept the tenants of classical theism but do not know the many aspects of their doctrine that are based on Greek philosophy.
