Q & R: Greek philosophy

Here’s the question …

Hi Brian,
I was wondering … do you find it concerning that everything we think we know is in one way or another founded on Greek philosophy? I was stunned last night when I remembered that everything from our perceptions about the divine, the way we approach reading and learning, our understanding about heaven and hell all hang by my best estimation on either Greek or Greco-Roman philosophies … and in theology, Plato seems to have am especially wide influence that is buried down to the level of what I think are our basic assumptions.
Sorry to just throw that at you point blank like this, but it’s kind of freaking me out. Just wondering if you know of anyone, or have had any experience with this? My knee jerk reaction is to try and throw as much of the Greek philosophy relating to God and the bible out the window as I can …
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Response after the jump …

Great question. This concern – that much of what we call Western Christianity may be framed more by Plato, Aristotle, and Plotinus than Abraham, Moses, and the Hebrew Prophets – is at the core of my upcoming book, A New Kind of Christianity. I explore the possibility that Greek dualism has combined with Roman imperialism to subvert our faith in a profoundly Jewish wandering rabbi. In the first of the ten questions around which the book is structured, and throughout the book, really, I try to discern the shape of the biblical narrative centered in Jesus … but outside the parameters set by the Greek love of dualism and the Roman love of domination.
I don’t want to become simply “anti-Greek,” of course. Plato, Aristotle, and their associates were geniuses and human society has been immeasurably enriched by their thinking. But as a Christian, I’d like to interpret them in light of Jesus, rather than Jesus in light of them. It’s ironic … some of my loyal critics are quick to accuse others of syncretism (mixing Christian faith with other things) when it comes to contemporary philosophy and culture, but few people seem willing to address the pervasive and longstanding syncretism of Christian faith with Greek and Roman philosophy/politics/culture.