Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • A Note On Philo of Alexandria - Dan Peterson

    Uploaded by

    yahya
    5 views12 pages
    This document summarizes a blog post by Dan Peterson about Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher from Egypt who lived in the 1st century AD. Philo sought to reconcile Jewish scripture with Greek philosophy by allegorically interpreting scripture. He was one of the first to develop "negative theology" and the concept of the Logos. Though little known in his own time, Philo had significant influence on the development of Christianity and Islam through his emphasis on allegorical interpretation of religious texts.

    Original Description:

    Original Title

    A Note On Philo Of Alexandria _ Dan Peterson

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    This document summarizes a blog post by Dan Peterson about Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher from Egypt who lived in the 1st century AD. Philo sought to reconcile Jewish scripture with Greek philosophy by allegorically interpreting scripture. He was one of the first to develop "negative theology" and the concept of the Logos. Though little known in his own time, Philo had significant influence on the development of Christianity and Islam through his emphasis on allegorical interpretation of religious texts.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    5 views12 pages

    A Note On Philo of Alexandria - Dan Peterson

    Uploaded by

    yahya
    This document summarizes a blog post by Dan Peterson about Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher from Egypt who lived in the 1st century AD. Philo sought to reconcile Jewish scripture with Greek philosophy by allegorically interpreting scripture. He was one of the first to develop "negative theology" and the concept of the Logos. Though little known in his own time, Philo had significant influence on the development of Christianity and Islam through his emphasis on allegorical interpretation of religious texts.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 12

    Trending:

    (https://www.patheos.com/)
    Epiphany (https://www.patheos.com/trending-topics/e/epiphany) | New Year

    (HTTPS://WWW.PATHEOS.COM/BLOGS/DANPETERSON)

    Get newsletters and updates

    L AT TER-DAY SAINT (//WWW.PATHEOS.COM/L AT TER-DAY-SAINT)

    A Note On Philo Of Alexandria


    LAST UPDATED ON: OCTOBER 5, 2019 AT 12:41 AM

     SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 BY DAN PETERSON (HTTPS://WWW.PATHEOS.COM/BLOGS/DANPETERSON/AUTHOR/DANPETERSON)

    (https://wp-media.patheos.com/blogs/sites/186/2018/12/1600px-
    Tarieven S
    Alexandria_-_Egypt.jpg)
    Sunset in Alexandria, Egypt, in 2006 (Wikimedia Commons public domain photograph)

    I first published this column in the Provo Daily Herald back sometime in 2007:

    A rough contemporary of Jesus, Philo of Alexandria has had enormous


    influence on the development of religious thought not only among his fellow
    Jews, but in Christianity and Islam as well. Yet he is little known, except
    among specialists.

    Philo Judaeus, as he is sometimes called, received a superb education in


    Greek literature and philosophy and rose to prominence in the large Jewish
    community of ancient Alexandria. He dedicated his life to the service and
    defense of Judaism. Indeed, in 40 A.D. he was chosen to lead a Jewish
    delegation to Rome, where he appealed to the emperor Caligula to intervene
    on behalf of Egyptian Jews who were being persecuted by their Gentile
    neighbors and leaders.
    yeltne
    Bentley SYNCHRO

    eltneB
    Download
    the eBook
    Open

    But Philo’s real interests were not political. He sought to defend Judaism
    against the charge of sophisticated pagans that it was primitive and
    backward. This he did by writing a vast, multi-volume commentary on what
    we now know as the Old Testament, in which he attempted to show that, in
    fact, all of the wisdom and insight of Greek philosophy — the most
    prestigious thinking, the “science,” of his day — actually originated in the
    writings of Moses.

    Philo seems to have read the Bible only in Greek. And he did so using an
    allegorical technique that he had borrowed from the leading scholars of his
    homeland, pagan Hellenistic Egypt. They were embarassed by the rather
    crude stories about the gods that they found in their beloved Homer, and
    they wanted to save that poet from himself. Philo, too, was embarassed by
    some of what he found in scripture. Among the things that he particularly
    disliked was the notion that God might have a physical body. Thus, Philo read
    the stories and rules of the Bible as allegories that really taught the
    philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. The historical personalities and events
    described in Jewish scripture faded into relative insignificance and became, at
    his hands, personifications of abstract ideas and ethical virtues. The ancient
    Hebrew prophets, it turned out, were really Middle Platonic philosophers.
    Philo was among the principal developers of what is known as “negative
    theology.” According to this approach, we can or should say nothing positive
    about God. We should not call him “just,” for instance, since that would seem
    to mean that his justice has some kinship to human justice. We should not
    call him “wise,” for his wisdom is utterly different from ours. We should only
    deny that he is unjust, and say that he is not unwise. In this way, by removing
    attributes from God in much the way that a sculptor chips away marble from
    his statue, we can eventually reach a quite accurate notion of God by knowing
    completely what he is not.

    Another doctrine associated with Philo is that of the “Logos,” or (as it is


    commonly but inadequately translated) the “Word.” (This same term appears
    in the first chapter of the gospel of John.) Philo’s God was so exalted above
    human conceptions, so transcendent, that Philo was obliged to speak of an
    intermediate divine being, the Logos, who connected that distant God with us
    and the world we live in. Scholars debate whether Philo invented this idea, or
    whether he was reflecting much more ancient Jewish notions of a secondary
    God who was subordinated to the higher God like a son to a father.

    Philo seems to have had no disciples among Jews in his own day, but his
    impact on Christianity may have been enormous. It is probably no
    coincidence that Clement and Origen of Alexandria, when they opened their
    famous Christian school there in the third century, applied the tools of
    allegorical interpretation to the Bible in order to neutralize its
    anthropomorphisms and other embarrassments. And, later, after the rise of
    Islam, Philo’s style of allegorizing became very influential among Muslims —
    particularly among the Shi‘ite sect known as the Isma‘ilis, who, in the form of
    the medieval Fatimid dynasty, ruled Egypt for approximately two centuries.

    If Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all offspring of Abraham, they are also
    — at least in today’s mainstream forms — the descendents of a relatively little
    known Alexandrian named Philo.
    Posted from Park City, Utah

    (mailto:?
    subject=I
    wanted
    you
    (https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?
    to
    text=Asee
    note this
    on site&body=Check
    Philo out
    of this
    (https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php
    Alexandria%20-
    site
    u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.patheos.com%2Fblo
    %20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.patheos.com
    https://www.patheos.com/blogs/d
    note- note- note-
    on- on- on-
    philo-philo-philo-
    of- of- of-
    alexandria.html%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26
    alexandria.html%3Futm_medium%3Dsoc
    alexandria.html)

    FAMILY RSS (//WWW.PATHEOS.COM/RSS/MORMON-FEEDS) TAGGED WITH:

    UNCATEGORIZED (HTTPS://WWW.PATHEOS.COM/BLOGS/DANPETERSON/CATEGORY/UNCATEGORIZED)

    ALEXANDRIA (HTTPS://WWW.PATHEOS.COM/BLOGS/DANPETERSON/TAG/ALEXANDRIA)

    JEWISH (HTTPS://WWW.PATHEOS.COM/BLOGS/DANPETERSON/TAG/JEWISH)

    JUDAEUS (HTTPS://WWW.PATHEOS.COM/BLOGS/DANPETERSON/TAG/JUDAEUS) ...MORE


     PREVIOUS POST

    SEPTEMBER 29, 2019


    Comrade Stalin and the Pope's Divisions

    (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2019/09/comrade-stalin-and-
    the-popes-divisions.html)
    NEXT POST 

    SEPTEMBER 29, 2019


    "Faith and Science are Symbiotic"

    (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2019/09/faith-and-science-are-
    symbiotic.html)

    BROWSE OUR ARCHIVES

    Select a Category

    Select a Month
    GET THE LATEST UPDATES FROM
    SIC ET NON
    AND
    BEST OF PATHEOS

    Enter email address

    SIGN ME UP!

    YOU WILL ALSO RECEIVE SPECIAL OFFERS FROM OUR PARTNERS THAT HELP MAKE THIS CONTENT FREE FOR YOU. YOU CAN OPT OUT AT ANY
    TIME.
    Yes, I want the Patheos Best of Patheos Newsletter as well

    Please also opt me in for Exclusive Offers from Patheos’s Partners Privacy and Data Policy (/privacy-policy)

    FOLLOW US!
    ( h t t p s : // w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m / S i c - e t - N o n - 1 6 7 6 3 8 4 4 4 2 6 3 3 6 3 6 )

    Search this blog... GO!

    OTHER RELATED CONTENT


    (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/equalityforhap
    christian-marriages/)

    1
    Hindu-Christian Marriages
    (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/eq
    christian-marriages/)
    EQUALITY FOR HAPPINESS
    (HTTPS://WWW.PATHEOS.COM/BLOGS/EQUALITYFO
    CHRISTIAN-MARRIAGES/)
    R E L AT E D P O S TS F R O M

    Sic et Non

    (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2 (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2
    and-constitution.html) the-book-of-mormon-for-the-satanic-cause-of-
    FA M I LY
    ( H T T P S : / / W W W. PAT H E O S . C O M / M O R M O N ) anti-semitism.html)
    FA M I LY

    (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2 (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2
    years-on.html) and-reflections.html)
    FA M I LY FA M I LY
    ( H T T P S : / / W W W. PAT H E O S . C O M / M O R M O N ) ( H T T P S : / / W W W. PAT H E O S . C O M / M O R M O N )

    T R E N D I N G AT PAT H E O S FA M I LY

    (https://www.pa Couple to Couple League Rolls Out Revelation90


    to-couple-
    (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thepursuitofholiness/2024/01/couple-to-
    league-rolls-
    out- couple-league-rolls-out-revelation90/)
    revelation90/)
    Cincinnati, OH, January 10, 2024 – Couple to Couple League, the premier provider of...
    (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thepursuitofholiness/2024/01/couple-to-couple-league-
    rolls-out-revelation90/)

    (https://www.pa Thebes of the Hundred Gates


    of-the-hundred-
    (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2024/01/thebes-of-the-
    gates.html/)
    hundred-gates.html/)
    We left our boat this morning and headed over the great...
    (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2024/01/thebes-of-the-hundred-
    gates.html/)
    (https://www.pa How to Become Your Child’s Digital Mentor
    to-become-
    (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/terrygaspard/2024/01/how-to-become-
    your-childs-
    digital-mentor- your-childs-digital-mentor-2/)
    2/)
    Working with families has been my passion for many decades and one...
    (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/terrygaspard/2024/01/how-to-become-your-childs-
    digital-mentor-2/)

    (https://www.pa "Vanity of Vanities"


    of-
    (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2024/01/vanity-of-
    vanities.html/)
    vanities.html/)
    I want to call to your attention an upcoming fireside in...
    (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2024/01/vanity-of-vanities.html/)

    (https://www.pa 3 Disturbing Youth Culture Trends We Can't Afford...


    culture-trends/)
    (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscenteredfamily/2024/01/youth-
    culture-trends/)
    The future of the rising generation is filled with anticipation and excitement,...
    (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscenteredfamily/2024/01/youth-culture-trends/)

    (https://www.pa You Need to Do Remote Right


    need-to-do-
    (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/intentionalinsights/2024/01/you-need-to-
    remote-right/)
    do-remote-right/)
    Work has changed. The traditional 9-to-5 office job is fading as remote...
    (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/intentionalinsights/2024/01/you-need-to-do-remote-
    right/)

    VIE W ALL FAMILY BLOGS (HT TPS://WWW.PATHEOS.COM/MORMON)

    (https://www.facebook.com/Patheos/)

    (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5u2f85lX38wm6NEne5pXFw)

    Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In

    Subscription Support (mailto:support@getadmiral.com?subject=Patheos Subscription Support)

    About Us (https://www.patheos.com/about-patheos)

    Videos (https://www.patheos.com/editorial/videos)

    Podcasts (https://www.patheos.com/editorial/podcasts)

    Library of World Religions (https://www.patheos.com/library)


    Advertise With Us (https://www.patheos.com/about-patheos/advertising)

    Write for Us (https://www.patheos.com/write-for-us)

    Privacy Policy (https://www.patheos.com/privacy-policy)

    Terms of Service (https://www.patheos.com/terms-of-use)

    Do Not Sell My Data (https://privacyportal.cookiepro.com/webform/8becd7f7-c923-4cd4-814a-


    e08c34baf60b/draft/f9dd159d-d007-43b0-a267-2b05605a52c3)

    Contact Us (https://www.patheos.com/about-patheos)

    Radiant Digital (https://www.radiantdigital.com/)

    Manage Newsletter Subscriptions (https://www.patheos.com/subscribe/preference-center)

    Unsubscribe From Notifications (https://www.patheos.com/push-notifications)

    Sitemap (https://www.patheos.com/sitemaps)

    Copyright 2008-2023, Patheos. All rights reserved.

    You might also like