THE INTERACTION OF GREEK PHILOSOPHY

AND EARLY CHRISTIAN THOUGHT

A Paper

Submitted to Dr. Rex Butler

of the

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Course

History of Christianity—Early & Medieval: HIST5200

in the Division of Theological and Historical Studies

Andrew D. Nance

B.M., University of Southern Mississippi, 2012

April 9, 2015

Philosophy and Christianity

Philosophy derives from two Greek words, φίλος and σοφία, i.e. love and wisdom

respectively. Placed together, philosophy means love of wisdom. To what degree different

philosophers (whether they described themselves as such or not) loved wisdom (consciously or

unconsciously) varied from culture to culture and time to time. A philosopher from a modern

literary work can elucidate the mysterious nature of wisdom that at some points seems so far

away from humans’ grasp yet can be so close at others. “A deadly sword, a healing hand, a back

that bent beneath its load; a trumpet-voice, a burning brand, a weary pilgrim on the road. A lord

of wisdom throned he sat, swift in anger, quick to laugh; an old man in a battered hat who leaned

upon a thorny staff.”1 In this short song Frodo mourns the death of the beloved Gandalf who

needlessly, so says Celeborn, fell in the net of Moria. But was his sacrifice really needless?

Perhaps his deeds were not so according to Galadriel.

As such the mysterious nature of wisdom remains, that at times humans cannot fully

understand it. Many across the centuries and continents have defined wisdom differently. Can

wisdom be a certain thought or belief? Can wisdom be a single action or deed? Is it a group of

thoughts pertaining to one theme or subject? Is it a system of thoughts or belief that pertains to a

more comprehensive worldview? Is wisdom a way of life that one lives out in light of a

worldview? Does wisdom refer to Hebrew wisdom literature filled with short two phrased

1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012), 360. In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf’s character at times seems as an ancient, powerful and wise sage and yet at other times as merely an old man. This is the inscrutable character of wisdom. This description of Gandalf also sounds similar to Augustine’s description of God in bk. I ch. IV of his Confessions, who attributes certain aspects to God but also asks “What then art thou, o my God?” These two descriptions of wisdom also come in beautiful literary forms. Frodo sings a song with rhyming verses describing Gandalf, who at once can be very gentle concerning meek and rural hobbits and then stalwart against the orcs of the White Hand or Red Eye. Augustine in his reflective theological treatise describes God with commas and loose isocolons in a varying asyndetonal and polysyndetonal encomium. The use of such language by Augustine in praising God supplies an example of a church father skilfully adapting Greco-Roman rhetoric for his needs. Rhetoric and philosophy, although the ones who utilized such ancient skills were often at odds (especially in Greco-Roman circles), were two ancient arts that early Christians found extremely effective in their lives and literature.

proverbs having immediate life application? Does wisdom refer to Grecian theoretical

speculation about knowledge, virtue, and abstract ideas?2 “Wisdom in the Jewish conception

comes from God and hence focuses on the capacity for moral discernment issuing in wise

choices. However, by the sixth century BC, sophia refers to a more theoretical knowledge, one’s

learning, judgment and aretē.”3

Is Wisdom a person? She is, according to Proverbs. Can this Wisdom be identified as a

god? In reaction against the immoral and pervasive polytheism of their culture, many Greek

philosophers attempted to speculate a singular virtuous god that some identified as the Logos.

With the various forms which wisdom can take in mind, one can narrow down the particular

strand of Greek philosophy that impacted Christianity in many positive ways.

In the cultural context of early Christianity, Alexandria in particular had a “rich

intellectual and theological tradition. Since its very beginnings, the city had been home to many

eminent philosophers. Its library was a jewel of the ancient world.”4 In light of this tradition,

teachers of the Alexandrian church found adapting Greek philosophy to Christianity more

beneficial than fighting against it. Unfortunately, “the relationship between philosophy and

Christian theology has been a major point of controversy within Christian thought throughout its

history.”5 On the one side of the spectrum, Tertullian remains one of the staunchest critics of, in

his view, syncretizing Greek philosophy with Christian theology.

2 Neither description of Hebrew or Greek wisdom exhausts the genres or themes of wisdom that exist in those two cultures. 3

Clinton L. Wahlen, “Wisdom, Greek,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings, ed. Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press Academic, 2008), 844. 4

Bryan Litfin, Getting To Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2007), 242. Cf. Robert Payne, The Holy Fire: The Story of the Fathers of the Eastern Church, (Crestwood: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1980), 23-24 for a vivid description of Alexandria; Justo Gonzalez, A History of Christian Thought: From the Beginnings to the Council of Chalcedon, vol. 1 (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1970), 186-87 has a more brief description. 5 Roger Olson, The Story of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries of Tradition and Reform (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press Academic, 1999), 84.

What indeed has Athens to do with Jerusalem? What concord is there between the Academy and the Church? What between heretics and Christians? Our instruction comes from “the porch of Solomon,” who had himself taught that “the Lord should be sought in simplicity of heart.” Away with all attempts to produce a mottled Christianity of Stoic, Platonic, and dialectic composition!6

On the other side of the spectrum, three Christian teachers with a positive viewpoint of

philosophy from Alexandria are Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen. Each of these

three men had some sort of interaction with Greco-Roman education as they grew up and are

largely indebted to Philo (as to how conscious they were of this remains a subject of much

scholarly speculation), an Alexandrian Jew (ca. 20 BC – 50 AD) and perhaps the most famous of

Jewish apologists, exegetes, and teachers who readily adapted Greek philosophy. Wahlen says,

“Jews settled widely throughout the ancient world, but Diaspora literary output was centered in

Alexandria. The best explanation for this phenomenon is that Alexandrian Jews who could afford

education in the gymnasia had access to it and were thus better able to interact with Hellenistic

ideas than were others such as Ben Sira of Jerusalem.”7 With such accessibility, Philo drew on

the Greco-Roman education available to him and left a lasting legacy which the three

Alexandrian church fathers, Justin, Clement, and Origen, continued.8

6

Tertullian, “The Prescription against Heretics,” in Latin Christianity: Its Founder, Tertullian, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, trans. Peter Holmes, vol. 3, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo: Christian Literature Company, 1885), 246.7

Wahlen, 843.8

These teachers’ positive outlook on synthesizing Greco-Roman philosophy with Christian theology would be in good keeping with Paul’s quotation of Menander in his first epistle to the Corinthians and his evangelism to Epicurean and Stoic philosophers at the Areopagus in Athens.

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Justin Martyr

Justin Martyr (ca. 100–165 AD), so named because of his martyrdom, “is without any

doubt the most important of the Greek Apologists of the second century.”9 Thanks to Eusebius

and Epiphanius, some details of Justin’s life are known to scholars. He was born in Flavia

Neapolis, also known as Shechem in ancient Samaria, to a Roman named Priscus son of

Bacchius. During his youth and after brief stints in almost every philosophical school of his day,

the Stoics, Peripatetics (Aristotelians), the Pythagoreans, and the Platonists, Justin finally

“became unsettled by a conversation with an old man who pointed him in the direction of the

books of the prophets. This ultimately was where he recognized the truth, and from then on he

wore a philosopher’s cloak to indicate that he was a Christian itinerant preacher.”10

Out of the eight works mentioned by Eusebius in Ecclesiastical History (Book 4 Chapter

18), only three remain today: First Apology, Second Apology, and Dialogue with Trypho. In his

First Apology (ca. 153-155 AD, possibly in response to Polycarp’s martyrdom?) addressed to

Emperor Antoninus Pius, Justin contended against a widespread rumor that Christians were

atheists, provided OT Scriptures as evidence that Jesus is God, and described baptisms and the

weekly Eucharist fellowships of Christians. He even claims that the Greek philosophers were

indebted to Moses and the prophets who taught truth before them.

And so, too, Plato, when he says, “The blame is his who chooses, and God is blameless,” took this from the prophet Moses and uttered it. For Moses is more ancient than all the Greek writers. And whatever both philosophers and poets have said concerning the immortality of the soul, or punishments after death, or contemplation of things heavenly,

9 Gonzalez, 101. Cf. Olson, 59; Frank Cross, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 920. Litfin considers Justin the first Christian philosopher to have paved the way for the other Christian apologists/philosophers, 54. 10

Hubertus Drobner, The Fathers of the Church: A Comprehensive Introduction (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2007), 77-78. Cf. Gonzalez, 101-102; Olson, 59; for a detailed account of his dialogue with the old man see Litfin, 56-58.

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or doctrines of the like kind, they have received such suggestions from the prophets as have enabled them to understand and interpret these things.11

Justin later appended his Second Apology as an addendum to his first in response against the

persecution by the Roman Prefect Urbicus. Justin says of Urbicus’ actions that, “the things which

are likewise being everywhere unreasonably done by the governors,” also occur throughout the

empire.12 Yet again he appealed to the Roman Emperor to stop persecution on unjust grounds

and asserted that Christians and their faith would continue because of their superior nature. “Our

doctrines are not shameful, according to a sober judgment, but are indeed more lofty than all

human philosophy.”13

Outside the New Testament, “the Dialogue with Trypho is the oldest extant anti-Jewish

apology.”14 In the form of a Platonic dialogue, it records a two-day debate with Trypho in which

the two educated men congenially converse about the Jewish and Christian faiths. Although the

writings of Justin Martyr are scant in comparison with his other Alexandrian brothers, he left

behind an enduring legacy of defending Christian faith while utilizing Greek philosophy against

those who misunderstood Christianity and/or would attempt to persecute it.

Clement of Alexandria

In light of Philo’s Jewish apologetic and exegesis of the OT and Justin Martyr’s bold

aegis under the righteous Lion of Judah against the abominable Gorgon of Rome, Clement of

Alexandria (ca. 150-215 AD, given name Titus Flavius Clemens) is rightly labeled by Chadwick

11 Justin Martyr, “The First Apology of Justin,” in The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, vol. 1, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885), 177.12

Justin Martyr, “The Second Apology of Justin,” 188.13

Ibid., 193.14

Drobner, 81.

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“The Liberal Puritan.”15 Although the facts are uncertain, the best historical reconstructions

indicate that Clement was born in Athens probably to a Roman imperial family. This would

explain his first two names (an exact replication of the infamous Roman Emperor Titus Flavius

Caesar who had destroyed the Jewish temple only 80 years prior to his birth) and his extreme

distaste for austere ostentatiousness among the Roman elites evident in some of his writing.

Although his aversion to the elite class protrudes in some of his writings probably

because of his background in a Roman imperial family, he nevertheless had a strong admiration

for Greek philosophy and was prone to utilize it into his works. According to Clement, he never

syncretized (as Tertullian accused) Greek philosophy with Christian theology, rather he

synthesized them.

Clement certainly did not attempt to reduce Christianity to a generic Greek philosophy with a veneer of the gospel thrown over it in order to make it palatable and acceptable to sophisticated Alexandrian minds. [Rather,] Clement is the prototype of the broad, liberally minded, intellectual and philosophical Christian theologian who seeks to synthesize Christian belief with culture as much as possible.16

His three preeminent writings, Protrepticus (also known as Exhortation to the Heathen),

Paedagogus, and Stromata (also known as Miscellanies) all draw heavily upon Greek

philosophy. “The Exhortation is a glowing appeal to the Greeks to listen to and abide by the New

Song. He confronts the old music with the new. All things in Creation are listening to the New

Song, which is so ancient that it came into the world before the morning star; and yet it is new,

and this is the mystery: for as Word, the song is ancient, and as Christ, it is new.”17 As a

philosophical admonition just like one of Aristotle’s, Protrepticus abounds with familiarity of

15 Henry Chadwick, Early Christian Thought and the Classical Tradition: Studies in Justin, Clement and Origen (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1966), 31-65. The second chapter of his book is titled “The Liberal Puritan.”16

Olson, 84-85. 17

Payne, 27.

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Greco-Roman mythology, religion, and philosophy while Clement urges his audience to come to

faith in the true Logos.

In the Paedegogus, Clement again urges men to submit themselves to a pedagogue, the

Logos.

When, then, the heavenly guide, the Word, was inviting men to salvation, the appellation of hortatory was properly applied to Him: his same word was called rousing (the whole from a part). For the whole of piety is hortatory, engendering in the kindred faculty of reason a yearning after true life now and to come. But now, being at once curative and preceptive, following in His own steps, He makes what had been prescribed the subject of persuasion, promising the cure of the passions within us. Let us then designate this Word appropriately by the one name Tutor (or Pædagogue, or Instructor). The Instructor being practical, not theoretical, His aim is thus to improve the soul, not to teach, and to train it up to a virtuous, not to an intellectual life.18

The idea that virtue is teachable goes directly back to Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, the fathers of

Greek philosophy.19 Additionally, just as Justin said, Socrates and Plato (whether they knew it or

not) were directly obligated to the Tanakh which promoted wisdom and virtue among the

Hebrew people. How far back in time does Wisdom extend? Might Proverbs have explained the

origin of Wisdom, the Logos, correctly as preceding the creation and yet is the same yesterday,

today, and forever?

18 Clement of Alexandria, “The Instructor,” in Fathers of the Second Century: Hermas, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, and Clement of Alexandria (Entire), ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, vol. 2, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885), 209.19

Whether these men can truly be considered the fathers of Greek philosophy can be debated. Almost every school of philosophy after Socrates claimed descendance from him. But as Justin mentions, Socrates could be in debt to another philosopher who lived just a generation before him: Heraclitus of Ephesus (ca. 540-480 BC). Heraclitus formed ideas concerning the Logos. “This logos holds always, but people always prove unable to understand it, both before they hear it and when they have first heard it. For even though all things happen in accordance with this logos, people show their lack of experience when they experience such words and deeds as I set out, distinguishing each one in accordance with its nature and saying how it is.” And also “You would not discover the limits of the soul although you travelled every road: it has so deep a logos.” Richard McKirahan, “Presocratic Philosophy,” in The Blackwell Guide to Ancient Philosophy, ed. Christopher Shields, 5-25 (Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2003), 12 and 16 respectively.

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Origen

The most prolific writer of all Alexandrians, Origen (ca. 185-254 AD) probably was the

most zealous of all the Alexandrians as well and even earned the epithet Adamantius, i.e. “man

of adamant.” Fortunately, Origen’s life was well documented by Eusebius. He was born in a

Christian family in Alexandria where his father Leonidas made sure he received a well-rounded

education. Leonidas was martyred during the persecution of Septimius Severus in 201 AD and

left behind Origen. Origen so desired to be martyred with his father that his mother had to hide

his clothes in the house so he could not run outside naked after his father. Origen also castrated

himself and became a eunuch for the sake of the kingdom, taking the command of Jesus in Matt

19 literally. These two pictures show the adamantium-like character that describes the fiery

church father.

Like his mentor, Clement of Alexandria, he loved speculation and far surpassed Clement in attempting to construct a synthesis of Greek philosophy and biblical wisdom in a grand system of Christian thought. He was a great genius and renowned scholar who produced approximately eight hundred treatises during his career and attracted even pagan aristocrats and would-be pagan philosophers to his Christian catechetical school.20

From his 800 treatises, which include sermons, commentaries, theological works, apologies,

textual notes, the Hexapla (a parallel version of the OT which had the Hebrew, the Hebrew

transliterated into Greek, and four versions of the LXX), a few stand out in particular: De

principiis (On First Principles) and Contra Celsum.

Origen’s Contra Celsum is a direct rebuttal to Celsus’ The True Logos. In his treatise,

Celsus degraded the Christian faith in Jesus as the Logos and claimed that he was a mere

magician and deceiver whose resurrection was a myth. Origen emphatically denied Celsus’

claims and systematically picked his argument apart so much that even without any manuscripts

20 Olson, 99.

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of Celsus’ work it can almost be completely remade because of Origen’s extensive quotes of

Celsus. On accusations of being simple minded, Origen responds:

And he asserts that certain persons who do not wish either to give or receive a reason for their belief, keep repeating, “Do not examine, but believe!” and, “Your faith will save you!” And he alleges that such also say, “The wisdom of this life is bad, but that foolishness is a good thing!” To which we have to answer, that if it were possible for all to leave the business of life, and devote themselves to philosophy, no other method ought to be adopted by any one, but this alone. For in the Christian system also it will be found that there is, not to speak at all arrogantly, at least as much of investigation into articles of belief, and of explanation of dark sayings, occurring in the prophetical writings, and of the parables in the Gospels, and of countless other things, which either were narrated or enacted with a symbolical signification, (as is the case with other systems).21

Origen obviously desires for any man to take his faith seriously by intellectually coming to grips

with all that can be understood by the human mind with the help of the Holy Spirit. Greek

philosophy can be a tool for such an endeavor, for all truth is God’s truth.

Conclusion

Christians must endeavor not to be proud because of their personal knowledge or

wisdom. “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will

thwart” (1 Cor 1:19). Although Christians must never boast in human philosophy, it can be a

wonderful tool used by God to enrich Christian maturity in Jesus and convert those who might be

skeptics of the faith. The three church fathers Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria and Origen

did so, and contemporary Christians would be wise to follow in their footsteps.

21 Origen, “Origen against Celsus,” in Fathers of the Third Century: Tertullian, Part Fourth; Minucius Felix; Commodian; Origen, Parts First and Second, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, trans. Frederick Crombie, vol. 4, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo: Christian Literature Company, 1885), 400.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Chadwick, Henry. Early Christian Thought and the Classical Tradition: Studies in Justin, Clement and Origen. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1966.

Clark, Elizabeth A. Clement’s Use of Aristotle: The Aristotelian Contribution to Clement of Alexandria’s Refutation of Gnosticism. New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 1977.

Clement of Alexandria. “The Instructor.” In Fathers of the Second Century: Hermas, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, and Clement of Alexandria (Entire), edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, vol. 2, The Ante-Nicene Fathers. Buffalo: Christian Literature Company, 1885.

Cross, Frank L. and Elizabeth A. Livingstone, editors. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Drobner, Hubertus R. The Fathers of the Church: A Comprehensive Introduction. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2007.

Ferguson, Everett. Backgrounds of Early Christianity. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003.

Gonzalez, Justo L. A History of Christian Thought: From the Beginnings to the Council of Chalcedon, vol. 1, revised ed. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1970.

Hatch, Edwin. The Influence of Greek Ideas on Christianity. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1957.

Justin Martyr, “The First Apology of Justin.” In The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, vol. 1, The Ante-Nicene Fathers. Buffalo: Christian Literature Company, 1885.

Litfin, Bryan M. Getting to Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2007.

Olson, Roger E. The Story of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries of Tradition & Reform. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press Academic, 1999.

Origen. “Origen against Celsus.” In Fathers of the Third Century: Tertullian, Part Fourth; Minucius Felix; Commodian; Origen, Parts First and Second, edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, trans. Frederick Crombie, vol. 4, The Ante-Nicene Fathers. Buffalo: Christian Literature Company, 1885.

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Payne, Robert. The Holy Fire: The Story of the Fathers of the Eastern Church. Crestwood: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1980.

Runia, David T. Philo in Early Christian Literature: A Survey. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993.

Sedley, David. The Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Shields, Christopher. The Blackwell Guide to Ancient Philosophy. Malden: Blackwell, 2003.

Tolkien, John R.R. The Lord of the Rings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012.

Wahlen, Clinton L. “Wisdom, Greek.” In Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings, edited by Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns, 842-847. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press Academic, 2008.

White, L. Michael. “Moral Pathology: Passions, Progress, and Protreptic in Clement of Alexandria.” In Passions and Moral Progress in Greco-Roman Thought, edited by John T. Fitzgerald, 284-321. London: Routledge, 2008.

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