…then He
said, “Behold, I have come
to do Your
will, O God.”
He takes away
the first that He
may establish
the second.
By that will
we have been sanctified
through the
offering of the
body of Jesus
Christ once for all.
Hebrews
10:9–10
It
is God’s will that the body, that is, the life, death, resurrection, and
ascension into heaven by Jesus Christ that His will, (God’s) sanctification is
possible. It is not by the will of man, it is only by the will of God who
enables, draws, to Him (John 6:44, 65), yet many believe and teach in so-called
Christian Churches that man can save himself. This libertine theology that man
is free by his free–will can choose salvation is another form of Platoism,
especially Neoplatonism which has a religious aspect to this philosophy.
Plotnius who is considered to by the father of Neoplatonism is cited; According
to Plotinus, the basis of all reality is an
immaterial and indescribable reality called
the One or the Good. There are several levels of reality that
emanate from the One, much like ripples in a
pond emanate from a dropped stone. The second level of
reality is Mind or Intellect (nous). Mind
results from the One’s reflection upon itself. The level below Mind
is Soul. Soul operates in time and space and
is actually the creator of time and space. Soul looks in two
directions—upward to Mind and downward to
Nature, which created the physical world(Italics mine).[1] This philosophy, or rather theology of
Plotinus, and other Neoplatonism followers has found this fact that there is
several ways to the Mind, (God). The Bahai faith believes in such Neoplatonic
theology, and the Universalists teach that man can come to God by any way they
deem possible. Some Christian Churches rely on the Supernatural revelations,
i.e., speaking in tongues (which is physic–babble), emotional displays, as
barking, being slain in the spirit, etc. These are believed to be the way a way
to the throne of God, a special knowledge (Gnosticism), and this is honoring
God. Is it? Beware! Jesus gave us this warning: “Then if anyone says to you,
‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, “look He is there!’ do not believe it. For
false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to
deceive, if possible the elect” (Mark 13:21–22). Paul makes this mention: “the
coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power,
signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who
perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be
saved” (2Thessalonians 2:9–10). There is only one way to God: Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ! He is the way, the truth, and the life: “Jesus said
to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through Me” (John 14:6). There is, and this cannot be overstated:
ONE WAY, not many, and that way is by Jesus Christ and His propitiation
sacrifice on the cross that man can be saved, not of himself, rather by the
will of God.
Neoplatonism
has had it affect on Eschatology, that which was derived from this religious
mysticism, has had its affect on many people and their theological Eschatology.
There has been a blending of Platoism, and Neoplatonism forming two models of
Eschatology:
1.
SPIRITUAL VISION MODEL
At
this point, we shift specifically to the topic of Platonism and Christian
eschatology.
According to Craig Blaising, there have been two broad models of eternal
life
that have held by Christians since the time of the early church. The first he
calls, the
“spiritual
vision model.”25 This model is influenced
by Platonism.26 With this model,
heaven
is viewed primarily as a spiritual entity. Heaven is the highest level of
ontological
reality—the
realm of spirit as opposed to base matter. “This is the destiny of the saved,
who
will exist in that nonearthly, spiritual place as spiritual beings engaged
eternally in
spiritual
activity.”27 The spiritual vision model,
Blaising argues, is a combination of
biblical
themes and cultural ideas that were common to the classical philosophical
tradition.
The biblical themes the spiritual vision model draws upon include:
1.
the promise that believers will see God.
2.
the promise that believers will receive full knowledge.
3.
the description of heaven as the dwelling place of God.
4.
the description of heaven as the destiny of the believing dead prior to the
resurrection.28
In
addition to the biblical themes, the spiritual vision model also drew upon
cultural
(Greek)
ideas that were common to the classical philosophical tradition:
1. a
basic contrast between spirit and matter.
2. an
identification of spirit with mind or intellect.
3. a
belief that eternal perfection entails the absence of change.29
According
to Blaising, “Central to all three of these is the classical tradition’s notion
of
an
ontological hierarchy in which spirit is located at the top of a descending
order of
being.
Elemental matter occupies the lowest place.”30 Heaven
is realm of spirit as
opposed
to matter. Heaven is a nonearthly spiritual place for spiritual beings who are
engaged
only in spiritual activity. This heaven is also free from all change. Eternal
life,[2]
therefore,
is viewed primarily as “cognitive, meditative, or contemplative.”31 The
spiritual
vision model has led many Christians to view eternal life “as the beatific
vision
of
God—an unbroken, unchanging contemplation of the infinite reality of God.”32
In
his book, Models of the Kingdom, Howard A. Snyder points out that a
purely
spiritual
view of the kingdom, which he calls “the kingdom as inner spiritual experience
model,”
“may be traced to the influence of Platonist and Neoplatonist ideas on
Christian
thinking.
. . .”33 According to Snyder this model
“draws to some degree on Greek
philosophical
roots.”34 He also states that “One can
sense the Platonism lying behind this
model.”35 Snyder says: “Historically this model has
often been tainted with a sort of
Platonic
disdain for things material, perhaps seeing the body or matter as evil or at
least
imperfect
and imperfectible. It is thus dualistic, viewing the ‘higher’ spiritual world
as
essentially
separate from the material world.”36
The
spiritual vision model was inherently linked to allegorical and spiritual
methods
of interpretation that were opposed to literal interpretation based on
historicalgrammatical
contexts.
Blaising also notes that the spiritual vision model “was intimately
connected
with practices of ‘spiritual interpretation’ that were openly acknowledged to
be
contrary
to the literal meaning of the words being interpreted.”37 “The long term practice
of
reading Scripture in this way so conditioned the Christian mind that by the
late Middle
Ages,
the spiritual vision model had become an accepted fact of the Christian
worldview.”38
2.
NEW CREATION MODEL
In
contrast to the spiritual vision model, the second model Blaising discusses is
the
“new creation model.” This model is contrary to Platonism and the spiritual
vision
model
and emphasizes the physical, social, political, and geographical aspects of
eternal
life.
It emphasizes a coming new earth, the renewal of life on this new earth, bodily
resurrection,
and social and political interactions among the redeemed.39 As he states,
“The
new creation model expects that the ontological order and scope of eternal life
is
essentially
continuous with that of present earthly life except for the absence of sin and
death.”40 Thus, eternal life is embodied life on earth.
This approach “does not reject
physicality
or materiality, but affirms them as essential both to a holistic anthropology
and
to the biblical idea of a redeemed creation.”41 This
approach, according to Blaising,
follows
the language of passages like Isaiah 25, 65, 66; Revelation 21; and Romans 8
which
speak of a regenerated earth. A new creation model emphasizes the future
relevance
of matters such as renewal of the world and universe, nations, kings,
economics,
agriculture, and social-political issues. In sum, a new creation model operates
on
the belief that life in the future kingdom of God is largely similar to God’s
purposes
for
the creation before the fall of Adam, which certainly involved more than just a
spiritual
element. Thus, the final Heaven is not an ethereal spiritual presence in the
sky.
As
Russell D. Moore points out, “The point of the gospel is not that we would go
to
heaven
when we die. Instead, it is that heaven will come down, transforming and
renewing
the earth and the entire universe.”42 Far
from being only a spiritual entity, the
eternal
destiny of the redeemed includes a holistic renewal of human existence and our
environment:
The
picture then is not of an eschatological flight from creation but the
restoration
and
redemption of creation with all that entails: table fellowship, community,
culture,
economics, agriculture and animal husbandry, art, architecture, worship—
in
short, life and that abundantly.43
The new
creation model appears to have been the primary approach of the church
of
the late first and early second centuries A.D. It
was found in apocalyptic and rabbinic
Judaism
and in second century Christian writers such as Irenaeus of Lyons.44 But, as
Blaising
asserts, the spiritual vision model would take over and become “the dominant
view
of eternal life from roughly the third century to the early modern period.”45
IMPACT
OF PLATONISM ON ESCHATOLOGY
Randy
Alcorn has specifically addressed the impact of Platonism on Christian
eschatology.
In doing so he has coined the term, Christoplatonism. As the title
suggests,
Christoplatonism
is a philosophy that “has blended elements of Platonism with
Christianity.”46 But as he points out, this merger is not a
good thing since this mixture of
Platonism
with Christianity “has poisoned Christianity and blunted its distinct
differences
from
Eastern religions.”47 According to Alcorn,
Christoplatonism’s pervasive influence[3]
has
caused many Christians to resist the following biblical truths: bodily
resurrection of
the
dead; life on the New Earth; eating and drinking in Heaven; walking and talking
in
Heaven;
living in dwelling places; traveling down streets; going through gates from one
place
to another; ruling; working; playing; and engaging in earthly culture.48
Christoplatonism
is also evident when the following beliefs are held:
1.
Belief that our eternal dwelling place is in a spiritual dimension and not on
earth.
2.
Belief that planet earth is basically evil and is beyond restoration.
3.
Belief that heaven is entirely beyond human comprehension.
4.
Belief that our experience in eternity will be mostly that of spiritual
contemplation
and
inactivity.
5.
Belief that there is no time or linear progression of history.
6.
Belief that there will be no nations or governments.
Alcorn
believes that Christoplatonism has had “a devastating effect on our ability to
understand
what Scripture says about Heaven, particularly about the eternal Heaven, the
New
Earth.”49 He cites a statistic from Time
to support this in which two-thirds of
Americans
who believe in resurrection of the dead do not believe they will have
resurrected
bodies.50
According
to Alcorn, prevailing ideas of Platonism imposed on eschatology rob
Christians
of their hope. “The human heart cries out for answers about the afterlife,” but
the
answers are not being given, he claims.51 Many
Christians are led to believe, as John
Eldredge
has pointed out, that “eternity is an unending church service,” a “never-ending
sing-along
in the sky.”52 Trying to long for an
eternity that is primarily spiritual does not
offer
real hope. Alcorn states, “Trying to develop an appetite for a disembodied
existence
in a
non-physical Heaven is like trying to develop an appetite for gravel. No matter
how
sincere
we are, and no matter how hard we try, it’s not going to work. Nor should it.”53
Alcorn
claims that this misunderstanding about the nature of Heaven has its roots in
Satan.
“Satan need not convince us that Heaven doesn’t exist. He need only convince us
that
Heaven is a place of boring, unearthly existence. If we believe that lie, we’ll
be
robbed
of our joy and anticipation.”54 Alcorn
mentions that in his research he collected
more
than 150 books on Heaven, both old and new. “One thing I’ve found is that books
about
Heaven are notorious for saying we can’t know what Heaven is like, but it will
be[4]
more
wonderful than we can imagine,” he says.55 “However,
the moment we say that we
can’t
imagine Heaven, we dump cold water on all that God has revealed to us about our
eternal
home. If we can’t envision it, we can’t look forward to it. If Heaven is
unimaginable,
why even try?”56
The above was given to you for contemplation
and will be developed on the next blogs. What can be seen is that Platoism, and
Neoplatonism has had an affect on the Christian Church, that is, Christians.
How has these philosophic ideologies affected you? Are you willing to make
changes if deemed necessary if any falseness is found in your Church?
And without controversy great
Is
the mystery of godliness:
God was manifested in the flesh,
Justified
in the Spirit,
Seen by angels, preached among
The
Gentiles, believed on
In the world, received up in glory.
1Timothy 3:16
Pray for Your Church, Prepare For The Sabbath
Richard L. Crumb
[1]
Christopher Kirwan, “Plotinus,” in The Oxford
Companion to Philosophy, ed. Ted Honderich (New
York, NY: Oxford University
Press, 1995), 689–90.
32 Ibid.
33 Snyder, Models
of the Kingdom, 42.
34 Ibid., 52.
35 Ibid.
36 Ibid., 54.
37 Blaising,
“Premillennialism,” 165.
38 Ibid.
39 Ibid., 162.
40 Ibid.
42 Russell D.
Moore, “Personal and Cosmic Eschatology,” in A Theology for the Church,
ed. Daniel L.
Akin (Nashville: B&H, 2007), 912.
43 Ibid., 859.
44 Blaising, “Premillennialism,”
164.
45 Ibid.
46 Alcorn, Heaven,
475.
47 Ibid.
42 Russell D.
Moore, “Personal and Cosmic Eschatology,” in A Theology for the Church,
ed. Daniel L.
Akin (Nashville: B&H, 2007), 912.
43 Ibid., 859.
44 Blaising,
“Premillennialism,” 164.
45 Ibid.
46 Alcorn, Heaven,
475.
47 Ibid.
No comments:
Post a Comment