Gnostic and Catholic Appropriations of Platonism

What is it about?

This paper discusses the ways in which both Catholic orthodoxy and Gnosticism adopted and modified Platonism as they formulated their rival theological positions in the early centuries of the Christian era. The starting point for the analysis are the writings of Plotinus, who is considered the founder of Neoplatonism, and who wrote in the 3rd century CE. I have been studying Plotinus closely for more than a decade, and have published two lengthy previous papers on his thought. He represents an excellent touchstone for the analysis presented in this paper for two reasons. Firstly, his writings are the most systematic expression of the kind of interpretation of Plato that was prevalent during the relevant timeframe. Secondly, he directly engaged with Gnostics in his writings. In this paper I argue that the Catholic synthesis of Platonism and Judaism that came to its zenith in the writings of Augustine with his creation of "classical theism" in the wake of the Nicene settlement was deeply problematic. The manner in which this synthesis was achieved incorporated core unresolved tensions which would have fateful consequences for Western intellectual history. I argue that these tensions ultimately led to the emergence of modernity and, as that developed to its terminus, to nihilism. So, "Christian orthodoxy is to nihilism what the tadpole is to the frog" (page 102). I also consider Gnosticism, and aim to demonstrate that it represents a second possible pathway for reconciling Platonism and Judaism. I maintain that the Gnostic synthesis is defensible both intellectually and spiritually. I claim that it represents an ideal perspective for those of us who live in the contemporary West, who wish to escape the pervasive nihilism of our age that has been left in the aftermath of the implosion of Christendom.

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