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To answer the recent criticism I've added notes by other Christian excerpts. Greek Philosophy in the Christian ChurchThe neo-Platonists who Hellenized the earliest church took their cue from Greek philosophy, which declared that the spiritual good had become entrapped in the material evil. Official Christendom, seeking escape from the material world, concentrated its erudition on the spiritual to the neglect of the natural and cloistered what knowledge it had among a sterile elite, denying it to the "secular" world. This philosophy of education plunged the Western world into the Dark Ages of human ignorance, superstition, disease, and depravity.(by Dr. John Garr click for full article) Christians have been conditioned by centuries of tradition taught by an over-Hellenized, over-Latinized church to believe that human life is separated into two parts-the spiritual, which is inherently good, and the material, which is inherently evil. This dualism presents a bifurcated view of life that leaves most Christians confused, often living a lie, and bearing the burden of unnecessary guilt. Many view their bodies-particularly their sexual functions-as inherently evil, emotion-filled casings in which their spirits and souls of divine origin are trapped. Dualism crept into the teachings of the church as quickly as Gentiles came to dominate it in demographics and leadership. The Greek and Latin fathers of the ante-Nicene, Nicene, and post-Nicene eras progressively introduced Greek philosophy into the church, seeking to reconcile neo-Platonic rationalism with the Hebraic teaching of Jesus and the apostles. Among the first heresies that challenged the very existence of the nascent church was Gnosticism, which built upon the foundation of Platonism the concept that man was saved by secret knowledge, not by faith, as the New Testament writers declared. Among those who were most heavily influenced by Gnosticism was Marcion who was eventually excommunicated from the church by his own father for believing that Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament was the Demiurge, the evil god who created the material world and trapped the sparks of divinity of the human spirit in the evil of material bodies. He taught that Jesus was the good God who magically appeared on earth in the form of an apparition so that men might see him and follow his example. Jesus was not human, the Jewish Messiah born of a virgin in the fulfillment of the Old Testament, for the good God could not be trapped in an evil body, Marcion declared. He repudiated all of the Old Testament and most of the New Testament writings in favor of his own truncated canon that included an edited Gospel of Luke and some of Paul's epistles. R.C. Sproul gives a glimse of Greek philosophy speaking of the word Logos in Following Christ. The ancient Greeks were preoccupied with finding the ultimate meaning of the universe and the stuff from which everything was made. They perceived the vast diversity of creative things and sought for some point of unity that would make sense of it all. As in the case of Greek art, the thinkers of the day abhorred chaos and confusion. They wanted to understand life in a unified way. Thus, in many theories of philosophy that came before the writing of the New Testament, the Greek word logos functioned as an important concept. We think for example of Heraclitus, an early Greek philosopher, who is still revered by many as the patron saint of modern existentialism. Heraclitus had a theory that everything was in a state of change and that all things were composed ultimately of some form of fire. But Heraclitus required some explanation for the origin and root of things, and he located that in an abstract theory of a Logos.
We find the same concept in Stoic philosophy and even earlier in pre-Socratic philosophy. In early Greek thought there was no concept of a transcendent personal God who by his wisdom and sovereignty created the world in order and harmony. At best there was a speculative postulate of an abstract principle which ordered reality and kept it from becoming a blurb of confusion. This abstract principle they would call either a "nous" (which means mind) or the "Logos," an impersonal, philosophical principle. The concept of Logos was never considered as a personal being who would become involved with the things of this world, but the idea functioned merely as an abstraction necessary to account for the order evident in the universe.
The Stoics whom Paul debated at Mars Hill had a notion that all things were composed of an ultimate seminal fire, which they called the Logos Spermatikos. This referred to the seminal word, the word that contains within it procreative power, the word that begets life and order and harmony. We have all heard the expression "Every person has a spark of divinity in him." Such a notion of individual private sparks of divinity does not originate from Chnstianity, but from the Stoics. The Stoics believed that every individual object had a piece of the divine seminal fire in it, but again, the Logos in the Stoic concept remained impersonal and abstract.
By the time the Gospels were written, the notion of Logos was a loaded philosophical category. The apostle John dropped a theological bombshell on the philosophical playground of his day by looking at Jesus and talking about him not as an impersonal concept, but as the incarnation of the eternal Logos. He does not use the term in the same way that the Greeks did, but he baptizes it and fills it with a Jewish-Christian meaning. For John, the Logos is intensely personal and radically different from that which was found in Greek speculative philosophy. The Logos is a person, not a principle.
The second scandal to the Greek mind was that the Logos should become incarnate. For the ancient Greek nothing was more of a stumbling block than the idea of incarnation. Because the Greeks had a dualistic view of spirit and matter, it was unthinkable that God, if there was one, should ever take upon himself human flesh. This world of material things was viewed as being intrinsically imperfect, and for the Logos to clothe himself in the garb of a material world would be abhorrent to anyone steeped in classical Greek philosophy. The apostle John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, looked at the personal, historic Christ and saw in him the manifestation of the eternal person by whose transcendent power all things hang together. This concept, perhaps more than any other, gave clear attention to the deity of Christ in his total cosmic significance. He is the Logos that created the heaven and the earth. He is the transcendent power behind the universe. He is the ultimate reality of all things.
Introducing the New Testamentgives a brief overview of the Greek heritage in today's church. There is no such thing as a culture that comes from nowhere. We are all heirs to the past. In the world of the first Christians, the outward forms of administration and government were those of the Roman empire, but its cultural roots were embedded in a different world altogether. The way people spoke and thought, their aspirations and achievements, and their hopes and fears all went back to pre-Roman times. For though the Romans had shown themselves to be skilled in technology, building impressive roads and water-supply systems wherever they went, the underlying ideology of their empire had its real origins some 300 years before the time of Jesus, in the vision of Alexander the Great (356-323b.c.).
Alexander rose to fame almost overnight. He began as the son of a little-known local ruler in Macedonia, but he was such a brilliant general that, within a very short time, he was able to defeat armies much more prestigious than his own, and establish himself as undisputed emperor of the whole of the world that was then known to people living in the Mediterranean lands. The great Persian empire fell to his troops, followed by Egypt, and ultimately by other lands even further to the east. Just ten years after his first major success against the Persians, Alexander died at the early age of only thirty-three. But by then his empire stretched from Greece in the west to the Indian sub-continent in the east.
Politically, it did not survive his death intact. After much squabbling among Alexander's generals, his territories were divided, and it was nearly 300 years later that they were finally reunited, when the Roman Octavian (63b.c.-a.d.14) eventually secured the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea for his own empire.
Hellenism Octavian was himself a brilliant strategist. But he owed much of his lasting success to the fact that there was already a far-reaching cultural unity among almost all the nations he had conquered. In spite of their diverse national traditions, people throughout the Mediterranean world were deeply conscious of being part of a wider world. In both east and west, people had common hopes, similar educational opportunities, and much the same way of understanding life. They even spoke the same language: Greek.
All this sprang directly from the genius of Alexander the Great. Unlike many other dictators, Alexander was not addicted to the exercise of power just for its own sake. He was not a brutish, uncultured person. In his youth he had been a student of the great Greek philosopher Aristotle, and he never forgot what he had learned from him. Alexander was a fanatic for his own native culture, and was genuinely convinced that civilization had reached its ultimate goal with the Greek way of life. He was determined to share it with the whole world, and he took steps to ensure that Greek customs, religion and philosophy-even the Greek language-would all be adopted throughout his domains. Cities were built everywhere in the Greek style, incorporating Greek temples, theatres and sports arenas. The way of life that resulted-'Hellenism'-was to last for nearly 1,000 years after Alexander's death, and have a profound impact on the future course of the whole of Western civilization. Throughout its early centuries, the Christian church could not afford to ignore this massive cultural and ideological edifice. Church leaders eventually found themselves forced to articulate, even redefine, their faith in terms of the Hellenistic world-view, and the consequences of their doing so are still affecting the Christian church today.
The degree to which any particular nation accepted this Hellenistic culture naturally varied from place to place. Sometimes the changes were only superficial. The names of local gods and goddesses might be changed into Greek forms, but their worship often continued on in much the same way. In addition, ordinary working people had little time or opportunity for philosophical debates and sports activities, and it was generally the ruling classes who became most involved in such pursuits. They were also the ones who most often used the Greek language, for it meant they could make international contacts without the tedious necessity of learning several languages. But the Greek influence was everywhere, and in one way or another it penetrated to all sections of society.
It was in this Greek-dominated world that the earliest Christians proclaimed their message. For all its size and diversity, it was a world that was easy to reach with the good news about Jesus. There were few language problems; cultural barriers were minimal; and by the Roman age great roads were being built which would make it easy to travel from one part of the empire to another. But these were not the only factors that moulded the world of the first Christians. For by the first century a.d. many people also had other concerns.
Greek Philosophy Alexander had been inspired by a love for the great classical Greek philosophers. But by the time of the New Testament, their heyday was long past. Those who succeeded the original generation of creative thinkers were not of the same intellectual calibre, and much philosophy was concerned with detailed arguments about things that to ordinary people seemed trivial and irrelevant. But there were some whose ideas were more accessible than others, and who therefore attracted a following among many ordinary citizens.
THE STOICS These were quite an influential group in the New Testament period. This school of thought was founded by Zeno (335-263b.c.). He was a native of Cyprus, but went to Athens and eventually set up his own school in the Stoa Poikile ('the Porch'), from which the name 'Stoic' was derived.
Stoic philosophy was based on a belief that both the world and its people ultimately depend on just one principle: 'Reason'. Since the world itself operates by this standard, people who want to enjoy a good life must 'live in harmony with nature'. They could do this primarily through following their conscience, for that itself was also inspired by 'Reason'. This was something people could only do for themselves, and Stoics therefore laid great emphasis on living a life of 'self-sufficiency'. Many of them were widely respected for their high standards of personal morality. It was not uncommon for them to be prepared to commit suicide sooner than lose their self-respect and dignity. Chrysippus (d.c. 206b.c.) ensured Stoicism's survival as an influential school of thought, and in the following centuries it went through several phases. In the early Christian period its most famous advocates were Seneca (4b.c.-a.d.65, Epictetus (a.d.55-135) and Marcus Aurelius (a.d.121-180).
Inevitably, this way of understanding life did not convince everyone-not least because it did not seem to tackle the social realities of the day. If 'Reason' filled and inspired everything, then why were all people not the same? Why were there so many slaves condemned to eke out a wretched existence? The Stoic could reply that, in their minds, slaves were equal to the emperor, a claim that provided very little consolation either for slaves or those who were concerned for their welfare.
THE EPICUREANS These were another popular philosophical group in the Hellenistic age. They too had an ancient pedigree, tracing their origin back to the Greek Epicurus (341-270b.c.). Epicureans adopted a totally different view of life. Though many Greeks had debated what happens at death, they would have none of it. Death is the end, they said, and the only real way to make sense of life is to be as detached as possible from it. A good life consists in 'pleasure'. For Epicurus, this had meant things like friendship and peace of mind. But many of his followers interpreted it differently, and gained a reputation for reckless living.
These and other philosophical groups had many followers among the intellectual classes in New Testament times, but they never had much appeal for ordinary people. They were seldom able to stem the fears of the working classes, and in any case it was time-consuming and intellectually demanding to organize one's life this way. As a result, Greek philosophy had few points of contact with the mass of the people, who were not highly intellectual and had little opportunity for the leisurely pursuit of personal morality.
Religion Many people found it more natural to make sense of life in terms of religion, but for those who took Hellenism seriously, few certainties could remain. While the philosophers had produced systems of thought that were often incomprehensible, they had also questioned many traditional religious beliefs. There were those who still worshipped the old Greek and Roman gods, but they knew that many educated people had claimed to be able to prove that such deities did not really exist. International movements of trade and people had also made Europeans more conscious of the existence of other gods and goddesses in the eastern part of the Roman empire. Did they exist-and if so, how could they relate to life in the great urban centres of Greece and Italy?
Such ambiguities eventually led to what can appropriately be described as a failure of nerve in the Hellenistic world. While the philosophers had discredited traditional ways of making sense out of life, they had failed to establish a plausible alternative, and as a result huge numbers of people found themselves in a moral and spiritual vacuum. There was no shortage of religious ideas that could fill the gap, and people whose confidence in their inherited spiritualities had been eroded were ready to try anything that might give them new hope in an uncertain world.
Countries on the eastern fringe of the Hellenistic world had their own ancient religions, which were largely unknown to those living in the urban centres of the western empire. What little was known of them seemed to suggest they were more 'spiritual' than the rationalistic and materialist world-views of western thinkers. These factors, combined with a natural curiosity about the unknown, generated an increasing interest in non-western faiths. The fact that some of them at least looked as if they were compatible with the more accessible conclusions of Greek philosophy only served to heighten their appeal. Two aspects of western philosophy seemed especially congenial to these eastern faiths:
n In order to explain the existence of evil in the world, philosophers had often argued that this world is neither the only world, nor is it the best. There is, they suggested, another world of goodness and light, and that is the most important sphere of existence. People belong to it because they have a 'soul', a spark of light that is related not to bodily existence in this world, but to spiritual existence in the other world. Our brief existence here is merely an unfortunate encumbrance, and to find true meaning and fulfilment it is necessary to escape the body (which had been castigated as 'the prison of the soul' by Pythagoras).
n Alongside the moral philosophy of people like Plato, another major strand in Greek thinking had been concerned with natural philosophy-what would now be referred to as science-working out how things work, and how the universe fits together. As Roman and Greek thinkers explored the mysteries of the universe, they found themselves fascinated by the movements of the planets and the stars, which seemed to operate with such precision and regularity that many believed the key to the whole of life was somehow locked up within them.
So the way was prepared for the penetration of many oriental religions into the Roman empire. For a long time astrology had been of great interest to eastern sages. So had the possibility of reincarnation. It was not long before these speculations were combined with the conclusions of Greek scientists to produce a new kind of religious movement in the Hellenistic world.
GNOSTICISM This is a term often used to describe this movement today. There is a good deal of uncertainty about its precise origins, and a lot of disagreement as to whether it existed in the early first century, or whether it developed only later as a result of the spread of the Christian message itself. There is positive evidence of its existence in the second and third centuries a.d., from Gnostic documents as well as from the writings of church leaders who wrote to denounce it. At that time it was obviously a widespread religious movement. It is unlikely that Gnosticism existed in any organized form in the New Testament period, though these later groups did not construct their systems out of nothing but incorporated materials that had been in circulation for a long time. Several New Testament books appear to refer to notions that later became central to Gnostic thinking, and it is obvious that these ideas were floating around independently in the religious atmosphere of the earlier Hellenistic age.
Gnostic thinking was based on the belief that there are two worlds: the world of spirit, where God is, which is pure and holy; and the world of matter, where people are, and which is evil and corrupted. A God who is holy and pure, Gnostics argued, can by definition have no involvement in what goes on in the material world. Salvation (however it might be defined) cannot be related to life here, but can only be a quality to be found in the other, spiritual world. A person's best chance of finding ultimate meaning is therefore to escape from this material world into the spiritual one, and discover true fulfilment there. For most Gnostics, this chance to escape came at death, when the soul left the body behind. But not everyone would be automatically qualified to reach the world of spirit. To do so, a person must have a divine 'spark' embedded in their nature, otherwise they would simply return to this world to start another meaningless round of bodily existence. Even those who possess this spark of deity can never be absolutely certain of finding ultimate release, for the evil creator of this world (the Demiurge) and his accomplices (the Archons) jealously guard every entrance to the world of spirit. To get past them, the spark must be enlightened about its own nature and the nature of true salvation. For this, 'knowledge' (the Greek word was gnosis) was required. When Gnostics spoke of 'knowledge' they did not have in mind an intellectual knowing of religious dogmas, or indeed of science. They referred to a mystical experience, a direct 'knowing' of the supreme God.
In practical terms, this kind of belief could lead to two quite opposite extremes. Some argued that their aim of complete liberation from the grasp of the material world could best be achieved by a rigorous asceticism which would effectively deny the reality of their bodily human existence. But there were others who believed that, by virtue of their mystical 'knowledge', they had already been released from all material ties, and therefore what they did in their present life was totally irrelevant to their ultimate spiritual destiny. They saw it as their duty to spoil everything connected with life in the material world, including especially its standards of morality and what were regarded as conventional forms of behaviour. They might therefore promote anarchic and undisciplined behaviour as part of their spiritual quest.
It is not difficult to trace connections between this outlook and various groups who are mentioned in the New Testament, though we must remember there is no evidence that it had all been worked into a comprehensive system at this period. Nevertheless, Paul's letters to the church in Corinth often seem to be criticizing views that would certainly be congenial to later Gnostics, while Colossians, 1 John and Revelation also seem to be concerned with debates about people who were seeking to expound the Christian faith in similar terms.
MYSTERY RELIGIONS Direct emotional experience of God also played a key role in the various mystery religions which sprang up in the Roman empire. Mithraism was one of the best known of these, and was very popular especially among the officers in the Roman army. But there were many others, associated with the gods of Asia Minor and Egypt as well as traditional Greek practices. Like Gnosticism, these groups were by definition secret societies, and our specific knowledge of them is therefore inevitably limited. It seems likely however that many of them arose as developments from the various fertility religions which had been popular for thousands of years throughout the ancient Middle East. Their mythologies certainly seem to reflect the cycle of the seasons, as the new life of spring follows the barrenness of winter, all of it symbolized by the death and rebirth of the gods of fertility.
The ancient religions of Egypt and Palestine had generally celebrated this cyclical world-view in annual festivals in which priests and priestesses would act out the role of the deities, often in rituals with strong sexual overtones, and, in the Hellenistic mysteries, such rituals became mystical experiences for the individual worshipper. Their original mythology was transferred from the ongoing life of nature into the experience of individual people, who themselves spoke of undergoing the death and rebirth that had been so important to the prosperity of the ancient farmer.
A person could gain access to this mystical experience by way of an initiation ceremony. One account of the consecration of a priest tells how the subject was placed in a pit in the ground, covered with a wicker framework (Prudentius, Peristephanon X.1011-50). On this a bull (symbol of life and virility) was slaughtered, and its blood ran down and soaked the initiate. When the priest emerged, those around would fall down and worship him, for he himself had now been made divine through being drenched in the life of the bull. No doubt the initiation of a priest differed in some details from that of an ordinary person, but it is a safe guess that a similar pattern would be followed, while there is plenty of evidence to show that sexual rites of various kinds would often play a central part.
The Mysteries gave a sense of hope and security to their initiates, in both personal and social terms. Individuals gained a sense of personal meaning and purpose in life. They also became part of a distinctive group which shared the same secret experiences, and often operated as a mutual aid society in times of difficulty or hardship.
Harper's Bible Dictionary explains the merging of Christian beliefs with Greek philosophy: Philo, a wealthy Alexandrian Jew, both statesman and philosopher, the most prolific author of Hellenistic Judaism (i.e., the non-Palestinian branch of Judaism most influenced by Hellenistic culture). Although stemming from the period of the rabbinic sages Hillel, Shammai, and Gamaliel, as well as Jesus and Paul, Philo's writings are remarkably free of rabbinic concerns and betray no awareness of any Christian person or event. Rather, Philo combined a fierce loyalty to Judaism with a profound love of Greek philosophy to present a literary defense of Judaism to his racially troubled city and an extensive allegorical interpretation of Scripture that made Jewish law consonant with the ideals of Stoic, Pythagorean, and especially Platonic thought. The Soul of Science : Christian faith and Natural Philosophy explains God Made It Good Science rests not only on metaphysical convictions but also on convictions about value. A society must be persuaded that nature is of great value, and hence an object worthy of study. The ancient Greeks lacked this conviction. The ancient world often equated the material world with evil and disorder; hence, it denigrated anything to do with material things. Manual labor was relegated to slaves, while philosophers sought a life of leisure in order to pursue the "higher things." Many historians believe this is one reason the Greeks did not develop an empirical science, which requires practical, hands-on observation and experimentation.
Against the surrounding Greek culture, the early church defended a high view of the material world.?13? Christianity teaches that the world has great value as God's creation. Genesis repeats the joyful refrain again and again: "And God saw that it was good." In the words of Mary Hesse, a British philosopher of science, "there has never been room in the Hebrew or Christian tradition for the idea that the material world is something to be escaped from, and that work in it is degrading. Material things are to be used to the glory of God and for the good of men." As a result, "in western Europe in the Christian era there was never the same derogation of manual work. There was no slave class to do the work, and craftsmen were respected."?14?
The dignity of work became an even more prominent theme in the Reformation. The concept of "calling" was extended from church vocations to secular vocations. According to theologian Ian Barbour, Protestants believed that "man should serve God not by withdrawing to a monastic life but by carrying out any honest and useful job with integrity and diligence." This general enhancement of the dignity of work, Barbour says, served to endorse scientific work as well.?15?
John Calvin, for example, did not call merely for the devotional contemplation of creation; he also called for active labor in creation, both practically and intellectually. In Calvin's words, "there is need of art and more exacting toil in order to investigate the motion of the stars, to determine their assigned stations, to measure their intervals, to note their properties."?16?
In the spirit of the Reformation, the astronomer Johannes Kepler wrote of being "called" by God to use his talents in his work as an astronomer. In one of his notebooks, Kepler broke spontaneously into prayer:
I give you thanks, Creator and God, that you have given me this joy in thy creation, and I rejoice in the works of your hands. See I have now completed the work to which I was called. In it I have used all the talents you have lent to my spirit.?17?
In the same spirit, the early chemist Jean-Baptiste van Helmont insisted that the pursuit of science is "a good gift," given by God. This broad concept of calling lent spiritual and moral sanction to science as a legitimate way of serving God.
13 13. Thomas Torrance writes that the "Christian belief in the goodness and integrity of the physical universe . played an incalculable part in transforming the ancient worldview. It destroyed the Platonic and Aristotelian idea that matter is, if not evil, the raw material of corruption and unreality and the source of disorder in the universe, and it also ruled entirely out of consideration the pessimistic views of nature that emanated from the dualist sects such as the Manichaeans and Gnostics, thereby emancipating the material reality of the universe for serious scientific attention." From Divine and Contingent Order (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981), p. 67.
14 14. Mary Hesse, Science and the Human Imagination: Aspects of the History and Logic of Physical Science (New York: Philosophical Library, 1955), pp. 42-43. See also Harvey Cox, "The Christian in a World of Technology," in Science and Religion: New Perspectives on the Dialogue, ed. Ian G. Barbour (New York: Harper and Row, 1968), p. 263.
15 15. Ian Barbour, Issues in Science and Religion (New York: Harper and Row, Harper Torchbooks, 1966), pp. 48-49. This is not to overlook the fact that the monks did engage in labor, regarding it as one way to glorify God. Nevertheless, many historians have noted the distinctive emphasis in Protestantism on the moral and spiritual value of all labor. See, for example, Max Weber in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1958). For Luther, Weber says (p. 81), "every legitimate calling has exactly the same worth in the sight of God."
16 16. Cited in Eugene M. Klaaren, Religious Origins of Modern Science: Belief in Creation in Seventeenth-Century Thought (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), p. 41.
17 17. Cited in Christopher Kaiser, Creation and the History of Science (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), p. 127.
Notes on Col 2:8 Vain PhilosophyAgain, this is in answer to the recent criticism from a person promoting Greek philosophy. 1. Paul prays constantly that the believers in Colossae and Laodicea may really understand what they have in Christ, who is the storehouse where God has placed all the "treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (2:1-5). Gnostics claim access to a superior knowledge, but the secret of the Christian's life is to remain rooted in the Lord (vv. 6-7). Paul then lists a series of warnings. Spiritual reality is not to be found in "deceptive philosophy," but in union with a Christ in whom all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form (vv. 8-15). Spiritual reality is not found in legalism (vv. 16-17), in the worship of angels (vv. 18-19), or in an asceticism which makes a person look good, but has no value in restraining expressions of one's sin nature (vv. 20-23). Richards, L. (1991). The Bible Reader's Companion. Includes index. (814). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books. Paul was concerned that no false teacher take the Colossian believers captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy (cf. v. 4). He wrote here not against all philosophy but against false philosophy, as the Bible also speaks against false religion (James 1:26). The particular false philosophy at Colosse was "hollow" (kenes, "empty"), "deceptive," and based on human tradition . . . rather than on Christ. True Christian philosophy "take[s] captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5). Philosophy is the love of wisdom, but if one loves wisdom that is not Christ (the Sum of all wisdom, Col. 2:3), he loves an empty idol. Such a one will be "always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth" (2 Tim. 3:7). This kind of philosophy is based on the world's basic principles (stoicheia, "elementary principles" or "elemental spirits" [rsv]; cf. Col. 2:20; Gal. 4:3, 9). This may refer to the evil spirits who inspire such heresy and over whom Christ triumphed (cf. 2 Cor. 4:3-4; Eph. 6:11-12). Such a philosophy is demonic and worldly, not godly or Christlike. Unless believers are careful, such philosophy may ensnare them, taking them "captive." Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (2:677). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
So burdened was Paul, he was in spiritual conflict, wrestling in prayer against Satan who was seeking to lead these believers astray. Paul knew how to overcome Satan-prayer and the Word of God (Eph. 6:17-18). He longed to see the saints united in Christ, enjoying the riches of blessing in Him. The false teachers had their fascinating philosophies, but in Christ we have "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (v. 3). Any man-made philosophy that has no place for Christ is unworthy of our consideration. We are rich in Him; why lower ourselves to follow man-made doctrines? Let religious teachers come along with their "hidden doctrines"; we have all wisdom hidden in Christ, and we are "hid with Christ in God" (3:3). Man's philosophies are attractive. They give a show of wisdom and intelligence, and too often young Christians are "beguiled" by these "enticing words" (v. 4). How tragic it is when young people go off to secular schools and fall prey to man-made philosophies that deny Jesus Christ and the Bible. "Beware lest any man take you captive" (spoil you-v. 8), warns the apostle. How is the believer to overcome these philosophies? By walking in faith and growing in Christ. As you were saved by faith, so walk by faith. As you were saved by the Word, so walk according to the Word. As you were saved through the work of the Spirit, so walk in the Spirit. The Christian life continues as it began, by faith in God. Have roots that dig down into the richness of the Word. Have foundations that are strong, laid upon Jesus Christ. How important it is to be taught the Word of God! Believers fall prey to religious philosophies unless they are rooted in Christ, grounded in the Word, and built up in Bible truth.
Wiersbe, W. W. (1997, c1992). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (579). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books. Philosophy. Here the word stands for the heretical Gnostic or pre-Gnostic alternative to the true understanding of who the Messiah is. Human tradition here is pagan tradition, because it goes along with the elemental spirits of the world (see Ga 4:3N). Contrast it with Jewish tradition (including the Oral Torah; Mt 15:2-6, Mk 7:3-13, Ga 1:14) and with Messianic tradition (Ro 6:17; 1C 11:2, 23; 2 Th 2:15; 3:6). Stern, D. H. (1996, c1992). Jewish New Testament Commentary : A companion volume to the Jewish New Testament (electronic ed.) (Col 2:8). Clarksville: Jewish New Testament Publications Philosophy 5385 [philosophia /fil·os·of·ee·ah/] n f. From 5386; TDNT 9:172; TDNTA 1269; GK 5814; AV translates as "philosophy" once. 1 love of wisdom. 1a used either of zeal for or skill in any art or science, any branch of knowledge. Used once in the NT of the theology, or rather theosophy. (Enhanced Strong's Lexicon)
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