What is Christian Platonism?

Christian Platonism uses Plato’s philosophy and later Platonist ideas to help explain Christian theology. The Greek philosopher Plato (428–347 BC) has influenced Western thought for more than 2,000 years. His ideas affected the intellectual world in which Christianity spread. The apostle Paul encountered Greek philosophy during his ministry, especially in Athens (Acts 17:16–32). After the time of the apostles, Christian theologians used some of Plato’s ideas to defend their faith.

Christians found one Platonic idea especially helpful. It was the distinction between the changing physical world and a higher, unchanging reality. Plato illustrated the limits of human understanding with his famous allegory of the cave. He described prisoners who saw shadows on a cave wall and mistook them for reality. When a prisoner left the cave, he discovered a greater reality beyond what he had previously known.

Christian theologians found some similarities between Plato’s thought and biblical teaching about unseen realities. In 2 Corinthians 4:18, for example, Paul contrasted what is temporary and visible with what is eternal and unseen. It reads, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” However, Christianity did not simply adopt Plato’s view of the physical world. The Bible teaches that God created the physical world and called it good (Genesis 1:31). It also teaches that Jesus became human and physically rose from the dead. As a result, Christians look forward to the resurrection of their bodies and eternal life with God.

Augustine of Hippo (354–430 AD) used Plato’s ideas more effectively than any other theologian. Although raised by a Christian mother, Augustine rejected Christianity as a young man and explored other religions and philosophies. He later read the works of other Platonic philosophers. Their ideas helped him overcome some of his intellectual objections to Christianity. In particular, they helped him understand God as a spiritual being and evil as something other than a physical substance.

Platonism helped Augustine reconsider Christianity, but it did not provide everything he needed. He saw a major difference between Platonism and Christian teaching about Jesus Christ, sin, grace, and salvation. While Augustine used philosophical concepts in influential works such as Confessions and The City of God, he situated them within a Christian framework. His work strongly influenced Western Christian theology and its relationship with Plato for centuries.

Plato’s ideas also influenced the church in more complicated ways. His teaching about a greater, unseen reality pushed Christians to find unseen meaning in every story of the Bible. In their view, the literal meaning of the Bible’s words was only the first and lowest interpretation. By following Plato’s teachings, some Christian theologians sought a higher, hidden meaning in passages. This method, known as allegory, influenced the church’s reading of the Bible for centuries.

In the Middle Ages, Christian scholars gradually replaced Plato with Aristotle. Thomas Aquinas, among others, drew on Aristotle in the same way that Augustine did. In the 1500s, Protestant Reformers reacted against the church’s use of non-Christian philosophers like Plato. They argued that Christians should read the great philosophers. However, they thought people should study the Bible’s teaching without relying on Plato.

Nevertheless, Plato gave many early Christians useful concepts for explaining their faith. Plato’s ideas were influential among educated people in the Greek and Roman world. By using familiar concepts, Christian thinkers could explain biblical teachings in ways their culture could understand.

Christian thinkers did not simply accept Plato’s philosophy. They adopted some ideas, rejected others, and altered many to fit Christian teaching. From a Protestant perspective, philosophy can help Christians explain and defend biblical truth, but it should never determine what Christians believe. Plato’s influence on the history of Christian thought remains significant.