What if one read the Bible without the influence of Plato? Or Gnostic Dualism?
What if we read it for what it said and not for the idea’s we put into it…
One cannot believe how much Gnostic heresy has seeped into Christianity by way of Plato…
Blessings,
iggy
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2 comments:
If you want to take all the Gnosticism and Platonism out of the bible, you're going to lose most of the Psalms, almost all of Paul and the first half of John.
The fact is that there were some smart people in the early church, and smart people read Plato. It's pretty much that simple.
The dualism that seeps into Christianity comes not from Gnosticism but from Manichaeanism by way of Augustine.
I agree and disagree... Augustine was greatly schooled in Plato... and that is the main area that I see that dualism entered... I see Calvinism the result of a Dualist theology that was condemned by the early church fathers... as well as Gnosticism...
I am not sure where you are getting we lose anything... in fact i think if we entered the Hebraic thought behind Psalms, and understand that Paul and John we writing against Gnosticism, we gain greater understanding also...
the issue is when we read Genesis or think ALL of Paul or John was against Gnosticism...
The point is as one reads Genesis most often it is taught man is an "immortal being" yet God casts Adam and Eve out BEFORE they eat of the Tree of Life... we have a view man is body, soul, and spirit, or body and soul... yet in Genesis simply just read, man becomes an animated living creature by the breath of God...
We add into the bulk of Scripture what is not there because of the influence of Plato... who taught man was an immortal being... that always existed after death always will...
You are also right that there are many other "heretical"groups that have influenced... most of the teachings in error today are just rehashing of earlier heresies... that is why I recommend people to read the early fathers to gain more insight into what they were against.
So, again, though have you tried to do this?
Blessings,
iggy
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