Intimations of Christianity Among the Ancient Greeks (Routledge Classics)

This book is a true gem.If there is anything that can be taken from the string of books by Reza Azlan, especially Zealot, it is that the four Gospels were almost certainly NOT written by Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. It was a Neo-Platonic world, and the authors were writing the Jesus story in Neo-Platonic language, selling the Jesus story to Roman readers in language they could understand. The great — and largely untold story — is how Greek Philosophy informed the message contained in the New Testament. Yet there are precious little literature explaining this connection, and what is available out there is inadequate.This book of Simone Weil is definitely not. It is in a class by itself.Even before Reza Azlan, it was recognized that there was a Platonic and Neo-Platonic base to the New Testament and Jesus story. The great benefit of Weil’s book is that she extends this link to other areas of Greek literature. Thus we learn through her discussions of Aeschylus that Prometheus serves as the prototype of the Jesus story and the Passion of Christ. She points out that sometimes the wording used is exactly the same in the NT and Greek sources. This is hardly surprising since NT scripture was written in Greek.Equally important is her discussion of the Pythagoreans and Pythagorianism. Not much original discussion is made on the Pythagoreans, because not much original material has not survived. Through Weil’s philosophical acumen and her powers to intuit from the surviving doctrine, she is able to give what it is one of the most penetrating discussions available to Pythagoras and the Pythagoras doctrine. And yet, Weil always returns to the main topic of her book, which is how these doctrines were co-opted into Christian doctrine.This book is that it can be read from many perspectives. Weil’s treatment can be viewed as a book of Greek Philosophy and literature. Her analysis and discussion on Greek literature and philosophy is brilliant. Equally important is her discussion on the classical Greek playwrites. Imitations of Christianity as a separate treatment of Christian philosophy.Sometimes her discussion of Greek literature and philosophy is overdone and a too academic, as she throws in the original Greek terminology used in her examples. This may throw off general readers that do not read Greek.This book stands on its own. This is hardly a criticism and does not detract to the importance of this book. Use of original Greek terms is unavoidable since the connection of Greek classics and NT writers is being discussed.The reader can read and re-read many times and get something new. A general reader may have a tough going at times reading this book. I would recommend those readers take their time to follow her discussion and the insights obtained are great.

Simone Weil was one of the transcendent geniuses of our time. The archetypal intellectual/activist - the clarity of her insight and the depth and weight of her oeuvre is remarkable, incredible for anyone - no less someone in their twenties and early thirties. A brilliant comet of a being, coursing luminously through the profanity and darkness of the mid-twentieth century to an early end, mercilessly, intensely engaged in the vortex of social change, yet seen by her contemporaries only from a distance - she died at a mere 34!This book is a compilation of Weil's papers on Greek Philosophy. The papers were published separately, are here collated to follow the development of her conception that many of the dominant themes in Greek philosophy, myth, and tragedy prefigure the major motifs in Christianity: divine love for humanity, universal love, altruistic sacrifice, humility, harmony, egalitarianism, etc. While numerous studies have examined the accepted fact that Greek thought, especially Platonism, formed the matrix for the emergence of Christianity, Weil's trenchant insights elevate the discourse and are of the greatest relevance to the human situation.The book begins with an examination of these ideas in Greek Myth and Tragedy. She then turns to Homer in her seminal essay, "The Iliad - Poem of Force". She then discusses the works surrounding the figure of Prometheus whom she perceives as Christ-like, proceeds to a discussion of major themes in Plato, primarily referencing the Republic and the Symposium. The book ends with an extended discussion of what Weil identifies as the Pythagorean Doctrine, and a brief historical sketch of Greek Science.Weil read the originals in Attic Greek, in which she was proficient. We know that she had contemplated a translation of the Iliad and perhaps more. As we near a half-century since her unfortunate death, Weil's prose has garnered universal regard. But, for the brief span of her maturity, the Nazis were ever at her heels, limiting her output. The works assembled in this slender volume represent the culmination of her thinking in the field of classical thought and piece together her signal vision which, in my opinion, is the first to accurately locate the meaning of the grand theme of eros in the project of Greek philosophy. She cites Plato, Symposium 196b: " . . . Love neither causes nor submits to injustice, be it among the gods or among men. For when suffering happens to him he does not suffer by force, for force cannot reach Love. And when he acts, he does not proceed by force, for each one consents to obey Love in everything." Love is thus diametrically opposed to force. Weil claims this dynamic to be: " . . . the very centre of all Greek thought, its perfectly pure and luminous core." Further: "Plato, in this passage, affirms as strongly as possible that that alone is just which is completely withdrawn from contact with might. Now there is but one faculty of the human soul which might (force) cannot touch, either to influence it or to prevent its use. This is the faculty of consent to the good, the faculty of supernatural love. This is also the only faculty of the soul from which no brutality of any sort can proceed. It is therefore the only principle of righteousness in the human soul. The analogy obliges us to think that this is also the principle of divine justice. But since God is perfectly just, He is entirely Love."In the Republic, they are juxtaposed as opposing views in the arguments of Socrates and Thrasymachus. Socarates notably perceived justice as the culmination and equilibrium of the virtues. Weil observes: " . . . in Plato's mind, justice, temperance, courage and wisdom are not natural virtues. Supernatural Love is their inspiration and immediate source, and they cannot proceed from elsewhere. The intelligence, where it is creative, in true poetry, and even in techniques where it discovers things that are truly new, proceeds directly from supernatural love. Herein is a capital truth."While, judging from "The Iliad - Poem of Force" (which is here translated "Poem of Might"), this volume may not represent the finest translation of these important papers (please see the definitive Holoka translation of the aforementioned essay), it is a priceless boon to have them collected in one inexpensive venue. If you are a lover of Weil's many gifts, as I am, you will want to spend some time reflecting on this one. These intricate musings have enhanced my understanding of Weil, Greek, and Early Christian thought, stand side by side with her better-known works, and merit a wider audience.