{"id":11211,"date":"2015-02-05T17:23:49","date_gmt":"2015-02-05T17:23:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/for\/?p=11211"},"modified":"2015-02-05T17:28:36","modified_gmt":"2015-02-05T17:28:36","slug":"influence-of-aristotelian-thought-on-christianity-explored-during-first-theologian-in-residence-lecture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/featured\/2015\/influence-of-aristotelian-thought-on-christianity-explored-during-first-theologian-in-residence-lecture\/","title":{"rendered":"Lecture explores influence of Aristotelian thought on Christianity"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Dr. Jim Miller is the featured speaker of this year\u2019s Theologian-in-Residence lecture series at Tusculum College. <\/p><\/div>\n

The influence of Greek philosophy and ideas, particularly those of Aristotle, on Christianity were explored Tuesday during the first session of the annual Theologian-in-Residence lecture series at Tusculum College.<\/p>\n

In the \u201cBaptism of Aristotle,\u201d Dr. Jim Miller discussed how Christians in the classical world used the intellectual framework of Aristotle to express theology. Dr. Miller, president of the Presbyterian Association on Science, Technology and the Christian Faith, is leading the lecture series, which is sponsored by Tusculum College and partially funded by Ron Smith.<\/p>\n

\u201cChristianity includes a combination of strands of Jewish and Greek philosophy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dr. Miller defined the \u201cclassical world\u201d as starting with creation, peaking at the time of medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas and concluding around the time of Ren\u00e9 Descartes.<\/p>\n

For the classical world, knowledge came through ordinary sensory experience, logic and intuition, explained Dr. Miller, an ordained Presbyterian minister who is currently the co-chair of the Broader Social Impact Committee of the Human Origins Program at the Smithsonian\u2019s National Museum of Natural History.<\/p>\n

Additionally, truth in the classical world was determined by Biblical tradition and Aristotelian tradition, Miller said. He added that he had named the lecture, \u201cBaptism of Aristotle\u201d because of how the Aristotelian intellectual framework was used during the classical period to express theological ideas.<\/p>\n

The classical worldview also involved a vertical cosmic dualism, celestial versus terrestrial, which was developed through Greek scientific and mathematical studies, he continued. In the classical world, the celestial was considered perfect as the motion seen in the heavens had regularity and geometric perfection, whereas motion on earth was irregular.<\/p>\n

Greek mathematician and astronomer Ptolemy devised a geometric system of the heavens with earth in the center, which lasted more than a century as the prominent theory about the universe. Ptolemy was committed to the idea that the heavens were perfect and developed geometry to explain what appeared to be non-circular orbits and irregular motion, Dr. Miller said.<\/p>\n

This is one of the Greek concepts whose influence can be found in Christianity. \u00a0During a Sunday service, worshippers may recite the Apostles Creed, which speaks of Jesus descending into hell and then ascending into heaven, Dr. Miller noted, reflecting the classical idea of celestial perfection and terrestrial imperfection.<\/p>\n

While Christian ideas about the soul are rooted in Judaism, he said, Aristotle\u2019s concept of the soul as a form of the body was also adopted by Thomas Aquinas, who is considered the preeminent medieval theologian.<\/p>\n

Another example can be found in the first chapter of the gospel of John when the term \u201clogos\u201d is used to describe Jesus. The Greek concept of logos is a divine orderliness, that which brought out order in the world, he explained.<\/p>\n

The Greek and Jewish traditions came together in the ancient world in places like Antioch, Dr. Miller said. That city was a cultural crossroads where a significant Jewish community settled after the Hebrew nation was dispersed during the Babylonian conquest. Many chose to stay in that area after Israel was resettled by Jews in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah and were there during the conquest of Alexander the Great, when Greek thought permeated through the region. It was to these Jews that Paul first spoke when he went to Antioch during his missionary journeys, he further noted, and the New Testament says that believers in Jesus were first called \u201cChristians\u201d in Antioch.<\/p>\n

The next session of the lecture on Tuesday, Feb. 10, will be \u201cHow the World Was Divided.\u201d In this lecture, Dr. Miller will explore how the scientific revolution of the 16th<\/sup> and 17th<\/sup> centuries challenged the Aristotelian culture of the classical world and its practical theological legacy. The series will continue on Feb. 17 with a focus on modern scientific developments and their theological significance and conclude on Feb. 24 with a look at the theological implications of the history reviewed in the previous lectures for practical Christian living in the 21st<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

The sessions begin at 10 a.m. in the Chalmers Conference Center in the Niswonger Commons on the Tusculum College campus. There is no charge to attend the lecture series, but reservations are required as lunch is provided in the college\u2019s cafeteria. To register or for more information, please call 423-636-7304 or email eestes@tusculum.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Jim Miller discussed how Christians in the classical world used an Aristotelian intellectual framework during the first session of the Theologian-in-Residence program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nLecture explores influence of Aristotelian thought on Christianity :: Tusculum University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/featured\/2015\/influence-of-aristotelian-thought-on-christianity-explored-during-first-theologian-in-residence-lecture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lecture explores influence of 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