Platonism and Christianity assignment 1#

Essay Plan

Question: What should Christian theology make of Plato’s analogy of the cave?

Introduction

Estimated word count: 100

·         What is the question asking?

·         Specifically Christian theology

·         Should Christian Theology make something of the cave analogy? (Jowitt,1871,265-273)

·         If so, how? And what should be made of it?

Section one: Should Christian theology make something of Plato’s analogy?

Estimated word count: 500

·         Answering this issue will be the base upon which to build the next two sections leading to the conclusion. First it is necessary to establish whether Christian theology should endeavour to engage with a secular philosophy.

·         To establish whether Christian theology should make something of Plato’s analogy we have first to see what the church fathers made of it as these laid the foundations for Christian theology today. To learn from them and their mistakes. (giants shoulders)

·         Exploration of early Christian theology and the culture to which it was addressing with the gospel message, Hellenism. (MacCulloch,2009,ch1)

·         Did the patriarchs engage with the philosophy of the day? If so, why? (In following on the mission to the Gentiles and the great commission?)

·         Evidence in support of engagement.  Augustine(Augustine,1961,87), Justin Martyr (Kaye,unknown,2), (Kenny,2004,110-111), (Kearsley,1992,308), (McGrath,1998,92)

·         Putting specific focus on Augustine and Justin Martyr.  Augustine because he is perhaps the most prominent of the patristic theologians and Justin since he was perhaps the earliest Christian apologist and philosopher to concern himself with Hellenistic, more specifically, Platonist philosophy.

·         Is there any reason why Christian theology should avoid engaging with platonic philosophy?

·         What reasons could be given for avoidance or views implying the irrelevance of platonic philosophy to Christian theology? (Kearsley,1992,307)

·         Apathy.

·         The need to retain Christian theological fundamentals through isolation. Note that even Tertullian did not advocate apathy or isolation (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/tertullian11.html, 27/09/2011,ch7)

·         Engagement seems self-evident from patristic response and the weakness or lack of alternative arguments.  So Christian theology should engage with Platonism and it follows that it should also engage with ‘the cave’ analogy.

Section two: What parallels can be made?

Estimated word count: 500

·         This section will allow for a discussion of parallels while leading on to discussion of contrasts in ‘the cave’. 

·         Gives way for wider survey of opinions, on similarities and contrasts.

·         List of parallels: tiers of reality, welcoming of the transcendent.

·         Whole books have been written on the similarities, this also indicates that Platonism still influences contemporary theologians and why parallels should not be ignored. (Fox,1957)

·         Biblical imagery, including light and dark, aspects of holiness and comparison

·         Relation to persecution and issues in the early church:  The prisoners mock

·         The truth as freedom and the inability to deny it

·         The positive reactions and influences upon patristic theology encouraged by Platonist and Neo-Platonist writings, ‘the cave’ and the philosophical mind set of the period.(Reynolds,2009,82)

·          Augustine, Origen, Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria (Augustine,1961,144-146), (McGrath,2007,9), (Kaye, unknown, ‘52’) ‘seed bearing word’ or the ‘logos spermatikos’. (Reynolds,2009,82), (Allen,2007,28), (Reeves,2010,36-37), (McGrath,1998,46-48),(McGrath,1998,88-90),(McManners,1990,58-59)

·          ‘The cave’ as especially open to Christian input and interpretation, given the fact that it so closely follows Christian themes prima facie

Section three: Misgivings, contrasts, and problems

Estimated wordcount:500

·         Should we conclude then with Nietzsche? Christianity is some sort of popularized Platonism, or people’s Platonism? (Nietzsche,1973,32)

·         Laying the grounds for arguments and views that indicate problems, philosophical contrasts and misgivings about Christian theology in relation to the analogy of ‘the cave’ and wider Platonist thought.

·         It is clear that there are parallels in ‘the cave’ but are they limited?

·         We must put the cave analogy in its context. Plato writing not for a Christian audience AD but for a pagan audience a number of centuries BC. (Thiselton,2002,230), (Kraut,2008,10-12) Leading to anti-Christian Neo-Platonism (Kirwan,1989,3)

·         This is not Christian philosophy or theology (Reynolds,2009,70-71),(Reynolds,2009,82)

·         We must be careful then, to avoid being overzealous when drawing parallels.

·         Misgivings of patristic theologians (McGrath,1998,90-91), (McGrath,1998,42-43),(McGrath,1998,25), (MacCulloch,1987,62-63), (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/tertullian11.html, 27/09/2011,ch7), Tertullian, Irenaeus of Lyons, both concerned with defending scripture from heresy, and expressing the importance of apostolic tradition in defence against pagan interpretation and distortion.  Tertullian particularly in relation to classical philosophy (McGrath,25,1998)

·         Justin Martyr also notices problems with Platonism despite being greatly interested in how Christian theology manages to relate to it.  He clearly recognises the limits of the philosophy regarding his own Christian point of view (Reeves,2010,36)

·         The danger of losing gospel truths in wanting to engage with Platonism and make too much of ‘the cave’ analogy (McGrath, 1998, 90-91), (Kenny, 2004, 111) examples from the patristic period, e.g. Origen (McManners,1990,60-61), Clement of Alexandria (MacCulloch,1987,65), Augustine (Kenny,2004,114-115) Expressing the danger of going too far in collaboration with Platonism. This also seems evident in the contemporary publication cited earlier. (Fox,1957)

·         We should keep this in mind when making our own judgments.

·         There are clearly differences in the analogy to Christian theology and Platonist philosophy (Ward,2009,12)

·         Specific difficulties with ‘the cave’ analogy.

·         The dialogue and analogy are primarily concerned with the nature of forms, education and the state, not God.  

·          Primarily intellectual ascent, not spiritual

·         The earth that we perceive is essentially a prison which conflicts with the Christian doctrine of creation. Even  though elsewhere Plato seems to infer differently. (Ward,2009,10)

·         The forms are impersonal

·         The good is localised in a purely transcendental reality. It doesn’t seem like there is much of a merge.  The dualism Platonism affirms is very strict in the fact that the good is not also within the cave, not in personal or causal relation to the prisoners.

·         The analogy gives justification for affirming absolutes without God. Atheistic moral Platonism?

·         Eternality of the soul

·         The analogy is clearly limited, and Pagan philosophy, it could be argued was the source of many heresies (Nash,1984,214) in the patristic period and so caution is emphatically stated.

Conclusion: What have we made of it?

Estimated word count: 150

·         Christian theology should indeed make something of ‘the cave’ analogy and avoid apathy towards the subject.

·         There are striking parallels

·         It is easy to see how easily certain aspects of the analogy could be adapted to Christian theology

·         ‘The cave’ analogy as well as Hellenistic philosophy in general has its limits in relating to Christian theology; by no means can we assert that Platonism and Christianity are synonymous.

·         How can we apply what we have learnt to Christian theology today? Modern Christian theology should be concerned about its past and endeavour to understand different philosophical issues and influences that laid the foundations for modern study.

·         But Christian theology must, as has been realised, be cautious in engaging with secular philosophies.

·         We should engage with contemporary philosophies

·         We should be writing responses and summaries of theological relation to modern philosophies. E.g. post modernism

·         To retain Christian theology’s  academic value and giving reasons for why theological study is intellectually viable in today’s philosophical arena in continuation with what can be made from ‘the cave’ analogy.

·         In continuation with the example of the theologians of the patristic and post-patristic periods.

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