This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Christianity and Neoplatonism is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
 |
This article or section is missing citations or needs footnotes. Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (April 2008) |
 |
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Hellenistic philosophy and Christianity. () |
Neoplatonism was a major influence on Christian theology throughout Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages in the West notably due to (1) St. Augustine of Hippo, who was influenced by the early Neoplatonists Plotinus and Porphyry, and (2) the works of the Christian writer Pseudo-Dionysius, who was influenced by the later Neoplatonist, Proclus.
Contents |
Late Antiquity
Central tenets of Neoplatonism, such as the absence of good being the source of evil, and that this absence of good comes from human sin, served as a philosophical interim for the Christian theologian Augustine of Hippo on his journey from dualistic Manichaeism to Christianity. When writing his treatise 'On True Religion' several years after his 387 baptism, Augustine's Christianity was still tempered by Neoplatonism, but he eventually decided to abandon Neoplatonism altogether in favor of a Christianity based on his own reading of Scripture.
Many other Christians were influenced by Neoplatonism, especially in their identifying the Neoplatonic One, or God, with Jehovah. The most influential of these would be Origen, the pupil of Ammonius Saccas and the late 5th century author known as Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite.
Neoplatonism also had links with Gnosticism, which Plotinus rebuked in his ninth tractate of the second Enneads: "Against Those That Affirm The Creator of The Kosmos and The Kosmos Itself to Be Evil" (generally known as "Against The Gnostics").
Due to their belief being grounded in Platonic thought, the Neoplatonists rejected gnosticism's vilification of Plato's demiurge, the creator of the material world or cosmos discussed in the Timaeus. Although Neoplatonism has been referred to as orthodox Platonic philosophy by scholars like Professor John D. Turner, this reference may be due in part to Plotinus' attempt to refute certain interpretations of Platonic philosophy, through his Enneads. Plotinus believed the followers of gnosticism had corrupted the original teachings of Plato.
Despite the influence this 'pagan' philosophy had on Christianity, Justinian I would hurt later Neoplatonism by ordering the closure of the refounded School of Athens in 529.1
Middle Ages
Pseudo-Dionysius proved significant for both the Eastern Orthodox and Roman branches of Christianity. His works were translated into Latin by John Scotus Eriugena in the 9th century.
In the Middle Ages, Neoplatonist ideas influenced Jewish thinkers, such as the Kabbalist Isaac the Blind, and the Jewish Neoplatonic philosopher Solomon ibn Gabirol, who modified it in the light of their own monotheism. Neoplatonist ideas also influenced Islamic and Sufi thinkers such as al Farabi and Avicenna.
Neoplatonism survived in the Eastern Christian Church as an independent tradition and was reintroduced to the west by Plethon.
References
- ^ See Rainer Thiel, Simplikios und das Ende der neuplatonischen Schule in Athen, and a review by Gerald Bechtle, University of Berne, Switzerland, in the Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2000.04.19. Online version retrieved June 15, 2007.
Literature
- Gerard O'Daly, Platonism Pagan and Christian: Studies in Plotinus and Augustine, Variorum Collected Studies Series 719 (2001), ISBN 978-0860788577.
See also
- Hellenistic philosophy and Christianity
- Neoplatonism and Gnosticism
- Pseudo-Dionysius
- Christ the Logos
- Irenaeus
- Origen
- Cappadocian Fathers
- Maximus Confessor
- Basil the Great
- Gregory of Nyssa
- Gregory of Nazianzus
External links
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 17 September 2008, at 07:33.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Christianity and Neoplatonism".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.