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A Semi-Ignorant Layman's Impression of Christian Platonism

Up till about two years ago, I hadn't even heard of the term "Christian Platonism." Then, I was exposed to it a few times in the context of the Surprised by Hope book discussion class the Bibliovore and I co-led at a previous congregation. We didn't have time to get into the details at all, but named one of our children after an early Christian Platonist, so I figured that now is a good time for me to learn more about the concept with you.




Definitions


In order to define Christian Platonism, we need to have a sense of what its predecessors were/are. These are, mainly, Platonism, Aristotelianism, and Christianity. (Sources are, respectively, Britannica, Britannica, and World History Encyclopedia.)

Platonism developed out of Socrates' influence, because Plato was a pupil of Socrates. Both were Greek philosophers who thought, taught, and wrote about "the good life." Plato's surviving works are usually taken to summarize his views, but as the Bibliovore notes, the opposite case can be made that he didn't really believe what he wrote in these rather rambly dialogues. What are the main ideas expressed, to most, from the writings we have?
  • The "Forms" (e.g., Beauty, Equality) are pure ideas that give meaning to the world
  • The soul has 3 parts (reason, spirit, appetite) which must be in harmony for life to be good
  • A thing's genus or family is more real than the thing itself
  • Literature and philosophical ideas outlive their writers

Aristotelianism developed out of dialogue with Plato, since Aristotle was a student of his who further developed some aspects of his thought. Aristotle's lecture notes (not dialogues) survived and influenced many parts of Western civilization and the "Great Conversation", particularly medieval Islamic philosophy and Christian Scholasticism. What are his main ideas and contributions?
  • Formal logic (deductive and syllogistic reasoning)
  • Vocabulary for the study of grammar
  • Importance of sensory experience for gaining knowledge
  • Poetry imitates life



Christianity sprang from the life, death, resurrection, and teachings of Jesus Christ. Its central beliefs are expressed in the 3 ecumenical creeds (see this post for expansion on the idea of core doctrines.)

Finally, Christian Platonism (source: Christ Over All, from a Reformed Baptist perspective) can be defined as "theological metaphysics of the Great Tradition." The parts of this are
  • Metaphysics, a broad area of philosophy that tries to understand what reality is. Theologically speaking, the reference source for Christian metaphysics are the canonical Scriptures.
  • The Great Tradition, or orthodox teaching carried forward intact from the overall overlap among the Church Fathers' writings and work done in the Middle Ages
Per the referenced essay, one central idea of Christian Platonism is that reality goes beyond, and is represented by, various material things/beings.

Historical Sketch


My main source for this section is Britannica's topic and medieval philosophy article.

Ancient


Plato wrote around 300 BC; he influenced Jewish thought in the centuries afterward. Philo of Alexandria was a Jewish philosopher familiar with Plato's and contemporaries' work around the turn of the first century (15 BC). Gregory of Nyssa, who influenced multiple branches of Christianity, lived and wrote in the fourth century AD, combining Plato's ideas with church fathers' writings including Origen.

Medieval


Key Christian thinkers incorporating Platonic and Neoplatonic thought included Augustine (Neoplatonism), Boethius (Platonism), John Scotus, Anselm, and those who taught in the school of Chartres attached to a cathedral of the same name.

Renaissance and Beyond


Plato's ideas had been part of thought and writing for so long that they diluted and percolated to the point of being difficult to recognize in some lines of thought. Greek transcripts of his and Neoplatonist works became available in western Europe.

Key Features with Impression


Sources for this section are Christ Over All (cited above), a Credo podcast, and author interview. The formulation of Christian Platonism is the one described by Hans Boersma.

The first signature feature of Christian Platonism mentioned is "Platonism by negation." True/positive statements describing the Platonic worldview include (1) non-material "things" do exist; (2) processes beyond physical ones influence the universe; (3) universals exist alongside particular examples; (4) things beyond mankind are the reference/measure for other things in the universe; and (5) it's possible to have true knowledge.

The second signature feature is sacramentalism--that is, "that (1) every created thing and every historical reality participates in God and thereby (2) is a sign, or sacrament, that points back to God." Created things are more than symbols (recall that for Plato the Forms/ideas were the most-real things).

The third signature feature is a primarily allegorical interpretation of the Scriptures. Thinkers in the Christian Platonist tradition ground this feature in Thomism (Aquinas' ideas) for the most part. Scripture participates in (is a particular expression of) Christ in addition to being situated in history. The idea of "Christ on every page" requires allegorical interpretation of passages that don't overtly mention Christ (lots of the Old Testament, for example).

Overall, I don't see any overt contradictions between this formulation of Christian Platonism and orthodox Christian belief (primarily expressed in magisterial Protestant, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic branches). If taken to extremes, any part of it can be abused or misinterpreted and probably has been, but taking all elements together and recognizing that Christianity is and continues to be a historical faith will keep one on the middle of the road.

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