The Role of Greek Philosophy in the Great Apostacy
The great apostasy was a concept associated with the Christian religion used to describe the falling away from the original Christian ways and teachings. When the Christian teachings were first communicated by Jesus Christ and the prophets, they were plain, pure, and straightforward to understand. Some of the teachings in the latest and translated version of the bible still confirm that God the father and his son Jesus Christ are tangible and separate beings. Other similar teachings include the belief that man is created in the image of God and that there are three separate members of the Godhead.
The Greek philosophy is believed to have played a significant role in the great apostasy. It allowed people to view things differently, create, and analyze certain ideas in a different light. However, on the one hand, Christian teachings and morals are believed to have predated the Greek philosophers. From that viewpoint, it can be argued that the Greek philosophy had zero influence on Christianity and the apostasy. On the other hand, it is also true that Christianity was born in a word dominated by the Greek philosophers.
The concepts concerning the incomprehensible mystery of God and the holy trinity were considered philosophical and nonscriptural. The Greek philosophers also strongly maintained the idea that God was simply a spirit void of any feelings or passions. These and other “philosophical” concepts had a significant influence on early Christian teachings. Most of the people that indorsed these concepts would later become strong and very influential Christian converts who strongly opposed the simplest teachings of early Christianity, like the teaching of Jesus as the only begotten son of God and the death and resurrection of the Messiah.
The impact of the collision was a synthesis between the Greek philosophical concepts and the early Christianity teachings. The resulting orthodox Christians significantly lost the truthfulness regarding the true nature of God and three separate members of the holy trinity. The consequences can be felt in different creeds of Christianity to date. Modern Christians oppose the idea of a tangible God and a Godhead of three separate beings. Most of them are adamant that God is a spirit and intangible and that the Godhead is only one God and not three separate beings. Most of the biblical language in early Christianity has been maintained, but the hidden meanings in these teachings have been explained in the modern philosophical light.
