THE FOUR MOST FAMOUS AND IMPORTANT ANCIENT GREEKS

            These four names are what come to mind when one asks, “Who are the most famous ancient Greek leaders?”  Socrates (d.399 BCE), Plato (d.347 BCE), Alexander (d.323 BCE), and Aristotle (d. 322 BCE). Socrates was Plato’s teacher, Plato was Aristotle’s teacher (and later colleague), while Aristotle was Alexander’s teacher. There seems to be no evidence that Alexander ever knew either Plato or Socrates, although technically they could have met. Aristotle and Alexander died only a year apart.

     It seems that by then Aristotle had long since departed from Athens ahead of a possible Macedonian purge when Alexander’s army returned, “Lest,” in his own word… “Athens sin against philosophy twice.” – a not so vague reference to the death of Socrates at the hand of the Athenian Senate in 399 BCE. It seems unclear just how much influence on the young Alexander Aristotle had been while serving as his tutor for several years while he was a youth. While he was certainly not a philosopher, in many ways Alexander managed to shape the then Classical world more quickly and perhaps as significantly as these other famous men. He grew the Western Empire to include Egypt, Iran, and all the way to the edges of India and China.

         After his death Socrates’ memory was pretty much all the Athenians, as well as posterity, had as a result. At the same time, for a person who never held political power nor wrote any books, Socrates remains today at the top of the list whenever one looks for great Western thinkers. Indeed, his belief and style about what and how true education takes place comes down to us through all these centuries. I myself have for many years been deeply moved by his cryptic remark that “Wickedness runs faster than death.” Moreover, his insistence on the dialogical method of teaching has strongly affected my own teaching techniques.

            As for the contribution of Socrates’ prize student and interpreter, Plato’s works and influence speak loudly for themselves. It is not only possible but probable that no thinker in the Western tradition has been more influential than Plato. The entire history of Western theology, philosophy, and science has been patterned on the insights and emphases of Plato’s many dialogues. His Republic alone guarantees him a paramount position in Western philosophy. Only Plato’s pupil Aristotle could possibly have had more influence on Western thought than has Plato. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle constitute the apex of Western thought.

     It is a startling fact that these three thinkers, along with the accomplishments of Alexander, stand out as the beginning of what we know as Western culture, including politics, philosophy, science, and literature. In fact, however, among these four great Greek men only Alexander ever held political and/or military power. Socrates actually largely seems to have shunned such things, although he did serve for a time in the Athenian army. Plato had some ambitious hopes that his friend Dionysius 2nd, the ruler of Syracuse, would implement his political ideas but nothing concrete ever came of these plans. Aristotle also stayed away from making any sizable efforts in the political realm.

            Athens eventually fell to the Romans and their subsequent empire. Although there were several Roman thinkers who made contributions to the development of Western thought, such as Cicero, Plotinus, and Senaca, none of these rose to the intellectual level of the ancient Greeks. Eventually Christian thinkers, especially Augustine, sought to build their religious philosophy on the back of the ancient Greeks, but in spite of constructing elaborate thought systems, as well as powerful and complex political realms, none of these later thinkers ever managed to match, let alone supersede, the Early Greek thinkers.                 

IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD…

            Both the Book of Genesis and the first chapter of the Gospel of John begin with the words “In the beginning…” The former, of course, refers to the origin of the universe while the latter refers to the origin of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. In John’s Gospel Jesus Christ, God’s Son and humanity’s Savior, is introduced as “The Word.” Along with thousands of other folks, I have always been fascinated by this reference to Jesus Christ as “The Word”.

           The Greek term here for “Word” is logos and it can have a variety of meanings, several in the New Testament itself. Literally the term means simply ‘word’, plain and simple. It can also mean something that is said or written, even if it involves more than one word, somewhat similar to the way ‘word’ is used in English to refer to the latest message or gossip, as in “What’s the word?” Indeed, some ancient Greek philosophers, such as Heraclitus, even used the word to refer to the metaphysical principle that designs and governs the universe.

            What is amazing and fascinating about John’s use of the term to refer to the person of Jesus Christ, about whom many claims are made here in this text that clearly speak directly of philosophical and theological meanings and traditions. The Word is said to be eternal from the beginning of things, a participant in creation, indeed, the mediator of life and light to all people, and granter of life to all those who believe in, or receive him. John says that this Logos became flesh and lived among humankind in their world (John 1:1- 14).

            This is, indeed, a huge mouthful with which to begin one’s account of the life and work of Jesus of Nazareth. Not only is the person of Jesus of Nazareth said to be an aspect of the Godhead itself, but he is said to be God’s messenger to and savior of humanity. And all this as part of a plan for the fulfillment of the cosmic order. This beginning of John’s Gospel is absolutely unlike any of the other three Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life. Moreover, it speaks in a manner far more cosmic than the others would have ever dreamt to seek. The author, presumably not John the disciple of Jesus, is clearly thinking and writing in a manner far beyond them.

            Now, what has always startled me, and still does, is the dramatic literary shift that takes place in this first chapter at verse 10. Suddenly the scene shifts from the cosmic one to the human one. It is claimed that although this cosmic figure came into the human world, the majority of humans failed to recognize him for who and what he was, and thus failed to receive him and his message, even though receiving him would lead to being reunited with God. (v.12). John, whoever he was, in verse 14 shifts the focus of his message more concretely to the human, indeed, the historical dimension.

            Verse 14 of John’s Gospel has always been a very favorite of mine. It says that this “Word became flesh.” This is an amazing claim when viewed against the claims of other major religious leaders, whether in the West or the East. Most have never claimed that God in any form actually became flesh. Indeed, in most religious contexts this would be a blasphemous expression. To be sure, other Gods have occasionally been said to have entered the human realm, but almost always it is a magical or brief appearance at best. In Jesus’ case, however, the claim is that he “dwelt among us” and that seemingly for over thirty years. It is also said that he “dwelt among us and we beheld his glory…full of grace and truth.” (1:14).

‘Dwelt’ here is a metaphor built on the activity of “pitching a tent”, a temporary but nonetheless real activity, not an ephemeral one. I have always been fascinated by this image of the Son of God “pitching a tent” among us humans, incarnating himself into our life form and way of life. The time frame is temporary but nonetheless real. John goes on to say that those around him “beheld his Glory, Glory that befits the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” The term used here for ’glory’ is the Greek term doxa, as in doxology.  It seems a bit odd that John would refer to the atmosphere surrounding Jesus’ life and teaching as “Glory.”

The image is clarified by the following two terms ‘grace’ and ‘truth.’ These are not the usual notions one would think of when describing “Glory.” Grace and truth are solid, down to earth notions associated with quality of character and honesty, rather than with Kingly power and majesty. A few verses further along John repeats his use of these two crucial qualities when referring to Jesus (v.17). There is no record of people ever being drawn to and following Jesus because he was glorious and outwardly mighty. Rather, it was his graciousness and honesty that drew them to him. Two cases in point would be the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4) and the woman falsely accused of adultery in John 7 and 8. Repeatedly Jesus is described as being as behaving gracefully and truthfully.

In this regard I am reminded of the passage in Paul’s letter to the Philippians wherein he encourages the Christians there to “Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus, for although the Divine nature was his from the first, he did not think to snatch at equality, but made himself nothing, assuming the nature of a slave…Bearing the human likeness, revealed in human shape, he humbled himself and in obedience accepted even death  – death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8). This was and is the Jesus who captures my attention and holds my faith.