The Influence of Platos Theories on Chrisianity - 1169 Words

On the surface, pagan culture and Christianity would appear to have very little in common. Traditionally, the Hellenistic pagan cultures worshipped multiple deities; the central of which were the twelve Olympians of the Greek Pantheon. Lesser divine beings and demi-humans also played a significant role in the Hellenistic culture. The worship of these deities was the mainstream of religion during the Hellenistic period until the rise of the great philosophers. Amongst these philosophers, Plato emerged as one of the founding fathers of Western philosophy. Living from roughly 428 BCE until 348 BCE, Plato’s theories predated Christianity by at least four centuries. Because of this, it can be assumed that early Christian worshippers used†¦show more content†¦Immediately upon the death of the body, the soul departs to the transcendent world and freed from the â€Å"the error and folly of men, their fears and wild passions and all other human ills, and for ever dwells, as t hey say of the initiated, in company with the gods.† For the souls who were not pure and corrupted by human life, Platonic theory asserts that they must first be cleansed before being permitted to dwell in the transcendent world. Plato states that these souls are doomed to wander the earth and are imprisoned in another body in order to free themselves from the vices of the physical world and once this is accomplished they are then permitted to rejoin the gods in the transcendent realm. All good deeds are rewarded while the wicked are punished. Platonic Influence on Christianity First and foremost, the Platonic influence on the Christian God must be discussed. According to the Christian Theology, God is the perfect being who is essentially the personification of intelligence, power, grace, goodness, freedom, and love. God is the source of all goodness in the world. In Colossians 1:16, this idea of greatness and power is reiterated. It is written that, â€Å"For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created