Augustine has been noted to be heavily influenced by Platonism. Specifically it is often argued that he has been influenced by the Neo-Platonist Plotinus. You might want to read a little bit of his work the Eeneads to check on this. Chadwick has said that Augustine uses Plotinus' language to describe his relationship with God.
As you read have you found this to be so? How have you found it? Do you think he is adapting Platonism in a way that remain consistent with Biblical Christianity (a little anachronistic here perhaps)? Ancient Christianity? or has he gone too far?
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I wish I could answer this question, but I haven't studied enough Plato yet to do so.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid I used to eat play-dough...does that count?
I am by no means an authority on Plato or Augustine for that matter, so it would be difficult to really do justice to this question. I do think I could say with confidence that Augustine's theology is orthodox though. Unlike alot of early Christian theologians, such as Origen, I don't think Augustine's Platonism takes him outside the realm of orthodoxy or comes across as syncretistic.
ReplyDeleteI think Augustine's use of Allegory (under the influence of platonism?) can sometimes be a bit nutty. Although I think allegory can be a legitamate approach to interpreting scripture, we can get into murky territory when we divorce the scriptures from their historical and cultural groundedness. The idea that there is a higher "spiritual" meaning above the base "literal" meaning is not always a helpful dichotomy.
If you feel like reading up on this stuff...
ReplyDeletePlato: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato
Plotinus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plotinus
I think allegory was just more of an ancient thing. I would distinguish between the allegorical interpretation of Scripture, which by and large is a sham, Plato's allegories like the cave which are more for pedagogical purposes like Jesus' parables and Plato's myths, which try to explain something Plato really doesn't wish to argue as a doctrine like the myth of creation in Timaues (sp?).
That is its more an ancient thing than necessarily a Platonic thing.
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