The Christian Element In Plato And The Platonic Philosophy

Excerpt from The Christian Element in Plato and the Platonic Philosophy The translator deems it right to supply what many Christian readers will probably regard as a deficiency in the representation given in the treatise of Ackermann, concerning the Christian element in the writings of Plato. It has respect to that part of the representation which bears on the doctrine of the atonement, and which the author exhibits as 'the summit of the Platonic, as of the Christian wisdom and knowledge' (p. 249). But in this he seems to identify atonement with redemption, and to make no account of the substitutionary character of the sufferings of Christ, or of the atonement, ordinarily and strictly so called. The following passage from the Lectures of the late Archer Butler presents, in this respect, the proper complement to the representation of Ackermann: 'There runs through all the views of Plato a want of any distinct apprehension of the claims of Divine justice in consequence of human sin. Even in his strongest references to punishment, it is still represented mainly, if not entirely, under the notion of a purificatory transition, a severe but beneficial káƟapois. This arises partly from his conception of the Divine character, partly from his theory of the human soul itself. From the former, inasmuch as he considers the attribute of indignant wrath, or its results, inapplicable to Deity: - from the latter, because in considering the soul essentially in its higher elements divine, he could only look upon the misfortunes of its bodily connection as incidental pollutions which might delay, but could not ultimately defeat, its inalienable rights. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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A summary of the late antique Hellenic-Christian conflict regarding the compatability of Platonism and Christianity.

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.

In this book, a group of renowned international scholars seek to discern the ways in which Simone Weil was indebted to Plato, and how her provocative readings of his work offer challenges to contemporary philosophy, theology, and spirituality. This is the first book in twenty years to systematically investigate Weil's Christian Platonism. The opening essays explore what actually constitutes Weil's Platonism. Louis Dupre addresses the Platonic and Gnostic elements of her thought with respect to her negative theology, and the Christian Platonism of her positive theology as found in her reflections on beauty and the Good. degree to which her teacher Alain influenced her Platonism. Michael Ross contends that Weil's interest in Plato is in ethical Platonism. Essays by Robert Chenavier and by Patrick Patterson and Lawrence Schmidt consider the importance of matter and materialism in Weil's Platonism and argue that it is key to understanding her political thought. A middle group of essays addresses more classically metaphysical themes in Weil's thought. Vance G. Morgan examines her use of Greek mathematics. Florence de Lussy analyzes Weil's distinctive, mystical Platonic reflections on Being in the last notebooks from Marseilles. Emmauel Gabellieri discusses Weil's metaxology, that is, the mediation and relatedness of Being, shown in her speculative thought. set of essays considers Weil's relevance for contemporary spirituality and moral theology. Cyril O'Regan examines her thinking on violence and evil. Eric Springsted looks at the conceptual links that exist between Weil and Augustine. Finally, David Tracy contends that Weil is the foremost predecessor of recent attempts to reunite the mystical and prophetic. Drawing together some of the top Weil scholars in the world, this collection offers important new insights into her thought, and will be appreciated by philosophers and theologians.