From: Michael Phillips (mphilli3@mail.tds.net)
Date: Mon Apr 27 1998 - 00:12:32 EDT
At 12:16 AM 4/27/98 EDT, Paul Dixon wrote:
>Some of us studied Greek so we could better understand the scriptures
>(please, no slam or slight intended whatsoever). Obviously, when it
>comes to sacredness and lasting value and worth, there is no comparison
>between the Greek pagan writers and the scriptures. Of course, one's
>presuppositions do come to bear significantly here, but some do put
>little or no sacred value whatsoever in the pagan writings.
A little study of the Cappadocian 'fathers' (a category in which I
include, by right of Pelikan's work, Macrina, a woman, related to one of
the Gregory's, or two, and who did some magnificent writing of her own)
would suggest that they were eminently familiar with the writings of the
Greeks (not pagans, please, which means something else entirely) and they
were Greek (and felt sorry they knew little Hebrew and that God had not
used a more reasonable (less barbaric / pagan, by the way) language /
people to work the works), and that their concepts, invested heavily in the
Trinity and the Unity, and the apophatic approach to the Godhead (to all
of which you owe a great deal, I presume) were derived from their work in
the philosophy of the Greek culture. Try Pelikan's <book>Christianity and
Classical Culture</> for an excellent introduction to the natural theology
of the Cappadocian's, derived from Classical Culture / Philosophy / Thought
(and it uses the Greek).
--- "Celui qui est proche de l'Eglise est souvent loin de Dieu." (Those who are near the Church are often far from Godde). --Freely translated from Les Proverbes Communs, Circa 1500.
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