I was pondering about has religion been influenced by man's ideology, philosophy, opinion, theories, schools of thoughts, Rome and Greek culture. Four men who have influenced religion are the following: Aristotle, Plato, St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.
Background History:
Aristotle(384-322 BCE):was a student at Plato's school, the Academy. Aristotle later opened his own school, the Lyceum, and became the tutor to the Greek king and conqueror Alexander the Great (356–323 BCE). He wrote about politics, art theory, nature classification, physics (the science of matter and energy and their interactions), and speech. For Aristotle, a person's intellect was his or her most important quality. Aristotle did not try to discover any ultimate reality. Rather, his starting point was the world of reality that humans perceive. He taught that the intellect should be used in the observance of nature. In terms of ethics, he taught a balanced path, featuring the avoidance of extremes. The highest good for anything was the realization of its nature and purpose. Hence, for humans, the highest good was to exercise the specifically human skill of rationality (reasoned thought). Aristotle and Plato were perhaps the most influential of the classical Greek philosophers.
Greco-Roman Religion and Philosophy
World Religions Reference Library, 2007
Plato: (born 428/427 bce, Athens, Greece—died 348/347, Athens), ancient Greekphilosopher, student of Socrates (c. 470–399 bce), teacher of Aristotle (384–322 bce), and founder of the Academy, best known as the author of philosophical works of unparalleled influence. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/464109/Plato
The teachings of Socrates gave rise to many schools. Perhaps his most important student was Plato, whose teachings and writings, such as The Republic, have been among the most influential in Western philosophy. Plato's writings consist primarily of dialogues, or conversations, usually with Socrates as one of the speakers. Plato wrote about moral virtue, how to lead a good life, and the nature of knowledge. He also wrote about the immortality of the soul. In fact, Plato was the first of the Greek philosophers to offer an extensive argument concluding that the soul was immortal. In many ways Plato blended much of the work that had come before. His conception was that humans wanted to become one with the bigger and eternal world of the Idea and the Ideal, of which the waking world was only a shadow.World Religions Reference Library, 2007
St. Augustine:Augustine of Hippo was born in Thagaste, (the modern day city of Souk Ahras in Algeria), on the 13th of November in 354. He died on the 28th of August in 430 in Hippo Regius (the modern day city of Annaba in Algeria), where he had been named Bishop thirty-five years earlier. As it is difficult to encapsulate any renowned figure, it is especially difficult to do so with Augustine of Hippo. As a philosopher and theologian, Augustine of Hippo vacillated between an optimistic Hellenistic view in his earlier years and a more pessimistic Christian view in his later years. Moving between such extremes, he accommodated a wide array of disciplines and thought in his over-arching desire to make sense of a world, in both theory and practice, seemingly so full of conflict, strife, and loss. Thus, it is one of his most revered traits and innovative aspects of his writings that he was able to commune diverging aspects from the four schools of Hellenistic philosophy (Epicureans, Stoics, Skeptics, and Platonists) along with various doctrines of Christian ideology. Among his voluminous body of work that includes numerous letters, sermons and exegetical texts, he is most known for his Confessiones (Confessions) 397–401, De civitate dei (On the City of God) 413–427, De trinitate (On the Trinity) 399–422/6, and De libero arbitrio (On Free Will), 386/8. http://www.egs.edu/library/augustine-of-hippo/biography/
St. Thomas Aquinas: Thomas Aquinas was born in the Kingdom of Naples at Rocca Secca purportedly between the years 1225 and 1227. He died on the 7th of March in 1274 at Fossa Nuova. Thomas Aquinas was a Dominican Friar, Theologian and Philosopher. He was of the Scholastic tradition, which emphasized dialectical reasoning as a means with knowledge. Scholasticism, as was Thomas Aquinas, was greatly influenced by the Aristotleelian resurgence and Neo-Platonism, both of which Scholastics, and Thomas Aquinas in particular, would seek to reconcile with Christian theological doctrine. Two of the most important works in this tradition, which subsequently created a tradition, are the Summa contra Gentiles(1259-1264), and the Summa Theologica (Summary of Theology), (1265-1274), considered to be Thomas Aquinas’ masterwork. Within thus contains his renowned proofs for the existence of God through faith and reason, both of which, for the “angelic doctor,” originate in God.
http://www.egs.edu/library/thomas-aquinas/biography/
Christianity has been influenced by men philosophy, ideology, theology, schools of thoughts( theories) and culture. That is why it is important for Christians to study the history of their church and founders. So is Christianity today established on the teachings of JESUS(YESHUA) or Man's theology that is the reason for all the schisms within the Body of Christ!?!
Background History:
Aristotle(384-322 BCE):was a student at Plato's school, the Academy. Aristotle later opened his own school, the Lyceum, and became the tutor to the Greek king and conqueror Alexander the Great (356–323 BCE). He wrote about politics, art theory, nature classification, physics (the science of matter and energy and their interactions), and speech. For Aristotle, a person's intellect was his or her most important quality. Aristotle did not try to discover any ultimate reality. Rather, his starting point was the world of reality that humans perceive. He taught that the intellect should be used in the observance of nature. In terms of ethics, he taught a balanced path, featuring the avoidance of extremes. The highest good for anything was the realization of its nature and purpose. Hence, for humans, the highest good was to exercise the specifically human skill of rationality (reasoned thought). Aristotle and Plato were perhaps the most influential of the classical Greek philosophers.
Greco-Roman Religion and Philosophy
Plato: (born 428/427 bce, Athens, Greece—died 348/347, Athens), ancient Greekphilosopher, student of Socrates (c. 470–399 bce), teacher of Aristotle (384–322 bce), and founder of the Academy, best known as the author of philosophical works of unparalleled influence. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/464109/Plato
The teachings of Socrates gave rise to many schools. Perhaps his most important student was Plato, whose teachings and writings, such as The Republic, have been among the most influential in Western philosophy. Plato's writings consist primarily of dialogues, or conversations, usually with Socrates as one of the speakers. Plato wrote about moral virtue, how to lead a good life, and the nature of knowledge. He also wrote about the immortality of the soul. In fact, Plato was the first of the Greek philosophers to offer an extensive argument concluding that the soul was immortal. In many ways Plato blended much of the work that had come before. His conception was that humans wanted to become one with the bigger and eternal world of the Idea and the Ideal, of which the waking world was only a shadow.World Religions Reference Library, 2007
St. Augustine:Augustine of Hippo was born in Thagaste, (the modern day city of Souk Ahras in Algeria), on the 13th of November in 354. He died on the 28th of August in 430 in Hippo Regius (the modern day city of Annaba in Algeria), where he had been named Bishop thirty-five years earlier. As it is difficult to encapsulate any renowned figure, it is especially difficult to do so with Augustine of Hippo. As a philosopher and theologian, Augustine of Hippo vacillated between an optimistic Hellenistic view in his earlier years and a more pessimistic Christian view in his later years. Moving between such extremes, he accommodated a wide array of disciplines and thought in his over-arching desire to make sense of a world, in both theory and practice, seemingly so full of conflict, strife, and loss. Thus, it is one of his most revered traits and innovative aspects of his writings that he was able to commune diverging aspects from the four schools of Hellenistic philosophy (Epicureans, Stoics, Skeptics, and Platonists) along with various doctrines of Christian ideology. Among his voluminous body of work that includes numerous letters, sermons and exegetical texts, he is most known for his Confessiones (Confessions) 397–401, De civitate dei (On the City of God) 413–427, De trinitate (On the Trinity) 399–422/6, and De libero arbitrio (On Free Will), 386/8. http://www.egs.edu/library/augustine-of-hippo/biography/
St. Thomas Aquinas: Thomas Aquinas was born in the Kingdom of Naples at Rocca Secca purportedly between the years 1225 and 1227. He died on the 7th of March in 1274 at Fossa Nuova. Thomas Aquinas was a Dominican Friar, Theologian and Philosopher. He was of the Scholastic tradition, which emphasized dialectical reasoning as a means with knowledge. Scholasticism, as was Thomas Aquinas, was greatly influenced by the Aristotleelian resurgence and Neo-Platonism, both of which Scholastics, and Thomas Aquinas in particular, would seek to reconcile with Christian theological doctrine. Two of the most important works in this tradition, which subsequently created a tradition, are the Summa contra Gentiles(1259-1264), and the Summa Theologica (Summary of Theology), (1265-1274), considered to be Thomas Aquinas’ masterwork. Within thus contains his renowned proofs for the existence of God through faith and reason, both of which, for the “angelic doctor,” originate in God.
http://www.egs.edu/library/thomas-aquinas/biography/
Christianity has been influenced by men philosophy, ideology, theology, schools of thoughts( theories) and culture. That is why it is important for Christians to study the history of their church and founders. So is Christianity today established on the teachings of JESUS(YESHUA) or Man's theology that is the reason for all the schisms within the Body of Christ!?!