What is the connection between the logos of greek philosophy and the logos of johns gospel. The meaning of logos in the prologue of johns gospel. According to trinitarian theology, the logos was a. Theology, in contrast to the detached thinking of philosophy. What is the relation between the logos of greek philosophy. In the book of wisdom this personification is more directly implied 18. In the beginning, was the logos a person, a word, or something else. Discussion of the metaphysics of ancient greek philosopher, heraclitus logos. In this article on, brian chilton discusses a concept he learned in arnold fruchtenbaums book yeshua.
The book of wisdom, which was composed at alexandria a century before. Aug 01, 1991 protagoras and logos brings together in a meaningful synthesis the contributions and rhetoric of the first and most famous of the older sophists, protagoras of abdera. Logos is the greek word transcribed as reason, word, speech, or principle. Deane then provides the greek text of the wisdom of solomon with a critical apparatus, along with the english translation and text of the latin vulgate for sidebyside comparison. Jul 16, 2016 logos christology is the best kept secret in church history. The church fathers and two books theology biologos. In greek philosophy, it related to a universal, divine reason or. Johns logos would not be understood by jews and his book would only be familiar to someone practiced in the pagan mystery cults that flourished in the hellenistic world.
Heraclitus, greek philosopher remembered for his cosmology, in which fire forms the basic material principle of an orderly universe. Christianity stack exchange is a question and answer site for committed christians, experts in christianity and those interested in learning more. The word logos is the term by which christian theology in the greek language. Christ the logos, font of greek philosophy forge and anvil. Nov 04, 2012 the greek term logos typically translated as word in english has a rich history in greek philosophy. The following is another guest article by lindsay wheeler, and it originally appeared on henry makows website in february of 2019.
For stoics, the logos was understood to be the presence of divine rationality in the material universe that both animates it and gives it the particular order that we observe. In addition to illustrating valuable methods of translating and reading fifthcentury b. Bible commentaries theologyphilosophy the biologos forum. Greek passages, the book marshals evidence for the important philological conclusion that the greek word translated as rhetoric was a coinage by plato in the early fourth century. May 23, 2019 philo 20 bcad 50, a hellenistic jew from alexandria, wrote many books combining hebrew and greek theology and philosophy. This theory is supported by the fact that philo is a nearcontemporary of john. He tried to prove that the hebrew davar word was the same as the greek logos. The apologists labored to establish a personal difference between the father and the son.
His primary contribution lies in his apprehension of the formal unity of the world of experience. A exercise that some may think is spiritual, while lacking any sense of a divine as the creator and giver of wisdom. Oct 24, 2019 christ the logos, font of greek philosophy october 24, 2019 october 24, 2019 by lh 73 comments. Though the concept defined by the term logos is found in greek, indian, egyptian, and persian philosophical and theological systems, it became particularly significant in christian writings and doctrines to. Philo was committed to the jewish faith and found no conflict harmonizing jewish theology and greek philosophy. Little is known about his life, and the one book he apparently wrote is lost. It is hoped that the series, like its name, will carry forward this old and venerable tradition. This debate mostly centers over the usage of the article. The greek, metaphysical concept of the logos is in sharp contrast to the concept of a personal god described in anthropomorphic terms typical of hebrew thought. Heraclitus of ephesus used the word logos around 500 bce to describe his concept of the regularity with which the universe seemed to.
The are many types of catholic theology including biblical theology, john paul iis theology of the body, moral theology, dogmatic theology, and historical theology. Logos christology fell out of favor in christianity. Greek thought and divine revelation agape bible study. Platonism is part of the vital structure of christian theology. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. When applied to the universe, greeks were speaking to. When applied to the universe, greeks were speaking to the rational principle that governs all things. The author argues that a particular trajectory stemming from greek heraclitian and platonic philosophy to nonorthodox and early christian theologies provides a fruitful resource for contemporary discussions. Jun 11, 20 ancient philosophy may not be as much a system as it is a method for attaining of wisdom. Logos philosophy and theology britannica encyclopedia britannica. Plato and aristotle, who attacked the problem of epistemology. The greek term translated word in this verse is the word logos. Christianity is the wests most important worldview. The philosophic development, a minority movement in any age, is divided into three stages.
Nov 26, 20 christianity is the wests most important worldview. The christian scholar of this name was a native of alexandria eusebius, church history 6. The schools and ideas of ancient greek philosophy strove to transform the individuals way of perceiving and being in the world. Protagoras and logos brings together in a meaningful synthesis the contributions and rhetoric of the first and most famous of the older sophists, protagoras of abdera. When the apostle john wrote his gospel, he opened with words that would have stirred the hearts of jew and greek alike. For the concept in philosophy, rhetoric, linguistics, psychology, and theology, see logos.
Though the concept defined by the term logos is found in greek. How plato influenced early christianity the logos bible. It is the belief that the son or logos existed eternally in the mind of god, but not as a distinct person from him until he was begotten by the father before the foundation of the world. The beginnings of science 19 june 2019 well, i should point out that this is not your typical book on the presocratic philosophers. Most of the schools of greek philosophy were represented among the. Philo wrote allegories of old testament books authored by moses. But the two have far more in common than just importancein fact, plato helped set the intellectual stage for the early church. Logos philosophy and religion synonyms, logos philosophy and religion pronunciation, logos philosophy and religion translation, english dictionary definition of logos philosophy and religion. This book presents a critical evaluation of the doctrine of the trinity, tracing its. The word theology comes from the greek word theologou derived from greek philosophy. Aristotle,greek philosophy,logos theology truth speller. The term logos is used a great deal in the old testament, although it does not have a univocal meaning. The greek name origenes signifies born of horus, an egyptian falconheaded deity. It hardy seems like god has a problem with using greek philosophy as.
Wilbur gingrich, a greekenglish lexicon of the new testament and other early christian literature chicago. Philo, the jewish philosopher from alexandria in the early first century, blended judaism with greek philosophy, and many christians later followed his example. Jul 27, 2018 additionally, every month there are free books available through logos, and occasionally that book is a course. This is the logos theology and its attendant language of light. The author brings this tradition into dialogue with contemporary science. The name hermeneia, greek, has a rich background in the history of biblical interpretation as a term used in the ancient greekspeaking world for the detailed, systematic exposition of a scriptural work.
The greek word logos traditionally meaning word, thought. The greek philosophers search for the meaning of life illuminated by the divine revelation of christian theology documents church doctrine miscellaneous documents this is the way, beloved, in which we find our savior, even jesus christ, the high priest of. The greek philosophers search for the meaning of life illuminated by the divine revelation of christian theology documents church doctrine miscellaneous documents this is the way, beloved, in which we find our savior, even jesus christ, the high priest of all our offerings, the defender and helper of our infirmity. Aug 23, 2014 aristotle,greek philosophy,logos theology truth speller. Old testament period the old testament represents gods creative act as speaking, i. Greek philosophy in general had little interest in gr. In this second edition, edward schiappa reassesses the philosophical and. I emphasie read because i understand that sophies world is even better, but i havent managed to get my hands on that book to date. If you want something that explains their philosophies in simple english, the best book that i have read is the dream of reason. Philo wrote allegories of old testament books authored by moses, interpreting them in the light of greek philosophy. For heraclitus, logos provided the link between rational discourse and the worlds rational structure. Although the very earliest beginnings of christianity were not related to greek philosophy in any substantial way, by the time christianity became a fully institutionalized religion, greek philosophical concepts had integrated almost fully with christianity.
He used the term, logos,refer more than 0 times in his writings, in many varied ways. Greek philosopher plato logos logos is the greek term meaning the word. The word logos is the term by which christian theology in the greek language designates the word of god, or second person of the blessed trinity. John had consecrated this term by adopting it, the greeks and the jews had used it to express religious conceptions which, under various titles, have exercised a certain influence on christian theology, and of which it is necessary to say. Logos christology is the best kept secret in church history. Eusebius records the jibe of the neoplatonist porphyry that origen, though a greek by. Classical logoschristology had its origins with the apologists of the second century who needed an offensive against the modalism of the orthodox. It hardy seems like god has a problem with using greek philosophy as a context for christianity.
The book of wisdom begins with an indepth prolegomena covering the progress of greek philosophy, jewishalexandrian philosophy, the books influence on the theology of the new testament, and more. Philos logos is based on a greek philosophy of reason, going back to plato and stoicism. Two books or courses are added to the free one each month at a steep discount. Campbells discussion of the following is excerpted from john y. The life of messiah from a messianic jewish perspective in that the logos of johns gospel was not influenced as much by greek philosophy as much as it was by jewish theology. Logos is a term in western philosophy, psychology, rhetoric, and religion derived from a greek word variously meaning ground, plea, opinion, expectation.
Though in biblical greek the term is mostly employed in the sense of word, we cannot properly dissociate the two significations. Christian theology is inextricably linked with ancient hellenistic philosophy. Christ the logos, font of greek philosophy october 24, 2019 october 24, 2019 by lh 73 comments. Logos signifies in classical greek both reason and word. Additionally, every month there are free books available through logos, and occasionally that book is a course. The article lists six ways that the rabbinical understanding of memra aramaic for. Campbells discussion of the word logos in a theological word book of the bible edited by alan richardson new york. The greek word transliterated logos which was used by john in. Philo of alexandria internet encyclopedia of philosophy. The greek term logos typically translated as word in english has a rich history in greek philosophy. Philo made a synthesis of the two systems and attempted to explain hebrew thought in terms of greek philosophy by introducing the stoic concept of the logos into judaism. The gospel of john begins with a hymn to the word which identifies jesus as the logos and the logos as divine. Logos christian theology 32 titles logos christianity.
Later church fathers took philo as their guide rather than jewish theology. Ancient philosophy may not be as much a system as it is a method for attaining of wisdom. Speaking of affordable books, you can also custom tailor subscriptions to bookbub to get email updates for discounted kindle books. Does early greek philosophy have its antecedents in the. The word theology comes from the greek words theos, meaning god and logos, meaning rational speech. For stoics, the logos was understood to be the presence of divine rationality in the material universe that both animates it. Greek religion and philosophy encyclopedia of the bible. John uses it in the title of the book of revelation, apokalupsis ioannou tou theologou, the revelation of john the theologos. Wilbur gingrich, a greek english lexicon of the new testament and other early christian literature chicago. Apr 15, 2017 in the beginning was the logosand the logos was made flesh.
The central idea of the logos is that it links god and man, hence any system in which the logos plays a part is monistic. We see this word incorporated into a variety of technical terms such as biology a word about living things and theology a word about god. The word logos in the prologue of johns gospel is a word with a very. The word theology is used to refer to any informed discussion about god or religion.
Tillichs conception of philosophy was profoundly shaped by the vision of classical greek thought in which philosophy is the detached search of the thinker for the objective, universal, immutable, and neccessary object of thought. The greek translation of the hebrew scriptures, the septuagint, renders logos hundreds of times across various books. Most accounts of protagoras rely on the somewhat hostile reports of plato and aristotle. Explaining the dynamic unity of reality as conceived by ancient greek philosophy with the metaphysics of space and the wave structure of matter. Philo 20 bcad 50, a hellenistic jew from alexandria, wrote many books combining hebrew and greek theology and philosophy. Perhaps the most extensive accounting of the logos was by philo of alexandria, a hellenistic jew who lived around the time of christ. It is impossible to imagine a time when god was without thought. Greek philosophers like plato used logos not only of the spoken word but also of the unspoken word, the word still in the mind the reason.