Logos
Logos (Gk., ‘word’ or ‘reason’). A term prominent especially in early Christian theology as a title or description of Christ. The Christian use depends on: (i) the popular Stoic idea (going back to Heraclitus, c.500 BCE) of a universal reason governing and permeating the world; and (ii) the Hebrew conception of God's word (as of his wisdom) as having an almost independent existence (e.g. Isaiah 55. 11). The prologue to the gospel of John (1. 1–18) identifies the Logos as incarnate in Jesus. To the apologists of the 2nd cent. the duality of the term was a welcome means of making Christology compatible with popular philosophy. Later on (e.g. by Athanasius), it was used to refer generally to the second person of the Trinity.
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Logos
