Epicureans, Stoics, Skeptics, and Cynics

Chapter 5 in the book is a a good one, and addresses what we started the group for. That chapter is 'From Greeks to Gospel.' But we haven't covered chapter 4 yet, and there are a few things to say about that.

In the opening paragraph Brown mentions "...the interaction of Greek and Jewish culture and religion which provided the milieu for the rise of Christianity." We have talked about that, and the next chapter elaborates the point. On page 54 in the section of Stoicism he says, "...Zeus, the universal Word or 'logos' which sustains all things." I don't think it is a coincidence that John starts the book of John, "In the beginning was the 'logos', and the 'logos' was with God, and the 'logos' was God."

Chuck and I had a talk recently about that word 'logos'. We can talk more about this later, but I think that language (words) is more fundamental to reality than numbers. That seems counter-intuitive today when everything seems to boil down to math and science. And there are certainly some similarities between language and mathematical equations. But they aren't the same. I think there is a reason the Bible doesn't say, "In the beginning was the equation for the unified theory, and the equation for the unified theory was with God, and the equation for the unified theory was God."

On page 59 we see a link between empiricism and skepticism. I think this is interesting because David Hume, in the 18th century, was an empiricist and a skeptic as well. I think the two things go hand in hand. Modern science is closely tied to empiricism, and a certain type of skepticism, too. David Hume, and others like him, have not exactly furthered God's kingdom. As for science, there is a lot of good in science, but it definitely needs a little more humility. It's purported claims upon reality are much more grandiose than what is warranted. In that audio link in the previous post, JP Moreland talks about Hume and his effect upon our modern world.

I'd like to hear any comments anyone has about that. When I know more about my July schedule I'll let you know, and we'll try to set up another meeting.