Socrates – Ancient Philosopher or Christian Prophet?
Ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates, has been labelled by some Church fathers a “Christian” despite living four centuries before Jesus Christ. This was often attributed to Socrates’ proposal of multiple philosophical opinions that are reflected in the theological framework of Christianity. Still, the rationale of Socrates as a “pre-Christian saint” is challenged by many early Christian Church fathers. Vassilios Adrahtas appraises the constructs of the early Christian perspective on the appropriation of Socrates in Socrates Christianus – Images of Socrates in early Greek Christian literature. Adrahtas’ appraisal encompasses key 2nd and 3rd century Christian writings that were crucial in the …show more content…
According to Adrahtas, Justin the Martyr presents the Socratic perspective as Christian prophecy and is “something more crucial” than just philosophy. He demonstrates Socrates as a religious reformer of ancient Greek religious ideas, in an equivalence of the Old testament prophets. In the eyes of Justin, prophecy and philosophy are not necessarily separate entities but on the contrary, share the same vocation, only are different versions of it. This vocation is namely the understanding and discernment of God throughout the history of humankind. Justin perceived that the series of philosophers who followed in succession were God’s method of intervening and guiding the Greek world and their beliefs towards the monotheistic God. Moreover, that Socrates was a significant part of this divine intervention. It is noteworthy to mention here that, Adrahtas’ position on Socratic philosophy is almost explicitly implied, through his own logical reasoning and deduction. Adrahtas states clearly that “Socrates can be justified from a Christian point of view, because he did appreciate the need of God’s revelation.” This conclusion was reached where a set of arguments were presented in the article that lead to this logical conclusion. He begins the argument by stating that Socrates is “wisest among Greeks” and that “the aim of philosophy…is discovery of truth.” Therefore because Socrates believed that he “knew nothing” and testified that “ …only God know the things which are concealed from us”, then he was in fact a true philosopher and the “(allegedly) wise” philosophers were in fact not true philosophers at
Ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates, has been labelled by some Church fathers a “Christian” despite living four centuries before Jesus Christ. This was often attributed to Socrates’ proposal of multiple philosophical opinions that are reflected in the theological framework of Christianity. Still, the rationale of Socrates as a “pre-Christian saint” is challenged by many early Christian Church fathers. Vassilios Adrahtas appraises the constructs of the early Christian perspective on the appropriation of Socrates in Socrates Christianus – Images of Socrates in early Greek Christian literature. Adrahtas’ appraisal encompasses key 2nd and 3rd century Christian writings that were crucial in the …show more content…
According to Adrahtas, Justin the Martyr presents the Socratic perspective as Christian prophecy and is “something more crucial” than just philosophy. He demonstrates Socrates as a religious reformer of ancient Greek religious ideas, in an equivalence of the Old testament prophets. In the eyes of Justin, prophecy and philosophy are not necessarily separate entities but on the contrary, share the same vocation, only are different versions of it. This vocation is namely the understanding and discernment of God throughout the history of humankind. Justin perceived that the series of philosophers who followed in succession were God’s method of intervening and guiding the Greek world and their beliefs towards the monotheistic God. Moreover, that Socrates was a significant part of this divine intervention. It is noteworthy to mention here that, Adrahtas’ position on Socratic philosophy is almost explicitly implied, through his own logical reasoning and deduction. Adrahtas states clearly that “Socrates can be justified from a Christian point of view, because he did appreciate the need of God’s revelation.” This conclusion was reached where a set of arguments were presented in the article that lead to this logical conclusion. He begins the argument by stating that Socrates is “wisest among Greeks” and that “the aim of philosophy…is discovery of truth.” Therefore because Socrates believed that he “knew nothing” and testified that “ …only God know the things which are concealed from us”, then he was in fact a true philosopher and the “(allegedly) wise” philosophers were in fact not true philosophers at