GREEK PHILOSOPHY & PLATO'S SPIRITUALISM

Plato's Spiritualism

Plato elevates the spirit/soul as supreme and degrades the body as despicable. By dissociating the wholeness of man, he also discarnate the incarnated Christ

For Plato, man is dissociated into separate parts, the body is regarded as despicable and the spirit/soul as supreme, even divine. The result then is, there is no need for and no capability for true repentance and sanctification which involves man as a WHOLE. 

Professor Carsten Johnsen's book Agape & Eros, pg 223 states ..." The early Church was intensely aware of the simple fact that it is the goodness of God that "leadeth to repentance" (Romans 2:4). Our hope as Christians is that the One who loves us will give us repentance (2 Tim. 2:25). Metanoia has this in common with Agape. It is a source of rejoicing and sadness at the same time. It is a smile through tears. To be "sorrowed to repentance" is to be "made sorry after a godly manner." (2 Cor. 7:9) But that "godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of" (verse 10), so rather a gladness-producing kind."  Read Johnsen's book here : http://www.temcat.com/L-4-Topical-Library/Sermons/AgapeEros.pdf 

It is repentance that causes our response as a WHOLE to God. The incarnate Christ makes us WHOLE, He writes the law bodily in our hearts when we respond unconditionally to love God with ALL our heart, soul and mind. 

Whilst Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism meditative practices dissociate eastern minds ( and now the west ), Greek philosophy & Plato's spiritualism dissociates the west uniting the world in "pan-holyism", a unitive form of one world religion where bodies are unreal and the only reality is the soul/spirit, inherently supreme and perfectly pure, the Universal God Consciousness in-born in everyman. For the east " God is One, God is All". For the western Christian "Jesus One, Jesus All".... these mantras lead all to pantheistic Nirvana ! 

  • The impact of Platonic idealism is identical to eastern meditative contemplation whereby the mind is brought to silence to discover the inner-divine by withdrawing within. By detaching from reality, they detach into cold nothingness but are compensated by neural phenomena of tranquility and oneness with the Universe. But where is love, joy, hope and optimism ?

  • In this dissociated NON-WHOLE mind-state of altered reality, one cannot grasp any sense of the need of sanctification. If the body is born evil, it will be evil ! And since the spirit/soul is divinely pure, why is there a need for sanctification ? To Christ's question, " Will you be made WHOLE ? " what will Spiritualism answer ? Unequivocally- " Man is to be made WHOLE ? What is WHOLE ? "