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Platonism
Platonism. Plato's doctrines had a wide following in the Hellenistic age and made an impact on later Judaism. In the 3rd cent. AD a recasting of Plato's system by Plotinus (Neoplatonism) was developed by Porphyry in conscious opposition to Christianity.
The beginnings of an interweaving of Platonism with Christian thought go back to Clement of Alexandria and Origen. More important for Christian theology was the influence of Platonic doctrines on St Augustine, whose authority did much to secure for many Platonic notions a permanent place in Latin Christianity. Henceforth the Platonic Forms were regularly interpreted as the creative thoughts of God. The relevance of Platonism for Christian mysticism was appreciated by Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite and other spiritual writers of both E. and W. The Renaissance led to a revival of interest in Plato himself, and Platonic influences have continued to play an important part in Christian philosophy, especially in England. On the Continent Protestant orthodoxy, with its distrust of natural reason, has commonly been hostile to Platonism and in the 20th cent. there was theological criticism of Greek metaphysics. |
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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Platonism." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Platonism." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Platonism.html E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Platonism." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Platonism.html |
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Platonism
Platonism. The philosophical system found in Plato's writings or derived therefrom. Fundamental to Platonism is the conviction that truth cannot be found in everyday life and sensible reality, but in a (more real) ideal realm (of the ‘Forms’). To attain that, purification, both moral and intellectual (through dialectic and becoming accustomed to abstract thought), is necessary. Middle Platonism (1st cent. BCE–2nd cent. CE) developed a religious cosmology from the Timaeus, whereas Plotinus found inspiration for his doctrine of the One in the Parmenides. In addition to the ideal realm (of intellect) and the realm of ordinary life (of soul), Plotinus posited the One from which all else proceeds, which is unknowable except in ecstatic union. Such Neoplatonism was developed in particular by Porphyry, Iamblichus, and Proclus and had a great influence on later thought, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim.
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JOHN BOWKER. "Platonism." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Platonism." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Platonism.html JOHN BOWKER. "Platonism." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Platonism.html |
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Platonism
Platonism After the death of Plato (347 BCE), his philosophical teachings were continued into the Hellenistic era by his followers and were an influence on Judaism in the Book of Wisdom. Mankind is given immortality because human beings are made in the ‘image’ of God's own eternal self (Wisd. 2: 23).
In the NT there is a possible influence of Platonism (through Philo) on the epistle to the Hebrews. In 8: 5 the author uses the idea of a heavenly temple having its earthly, imperfect, counterpart. The Levitical priests minister in what is only a copy or shadow of the heavenly places, where Jesus exercises his priesthood. It is thought that these concepts of this epistle show awareness of Plato's theory that the ‘forms’ or ‘ideas’ laid up in heaven are the perfect realities of which there are imperfect reflections on earth. |
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W. R. F. BROWNING. "Platonism." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "Platonism." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Platonism.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "Platonism." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Platonism.html |
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Platonism
Pla·to·nism / ˈplātnˌizəm/ • n. the philosophy of Plato or his followers. See Plato. ∎ any of various revivals of Platonic doctrines or related ideas, esp. Neoplatonism and Cambridge Platonism (a 17th-century attempt to reconcile Christianity with humanism and science). ∎ the theory that numbers or other abstract objects are objective, timeless entities, independent of the physical world and of the symbols used to represent them. DERIVATIVES: Pla·to·nist n. |
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"Platonism." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Platonism." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-platonism.html "Platonism." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-platonism.html |
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