Philosophy Archives - History of Christianity

The Development of Platonism and Its Influence on Christianity

February 1, 2025February 1, 2025 Stephen Bedard No Comments

Platonism, the philosophical system founded by Plato in the 4th century BCE, has had a profound impact on Western thought. Its influence extends beyond philosophy into theology, particularly in Christianity. Over time, Platonism evolved into Middle Platonism and later Neoplatonism, with each phase contributing significant ideas that shaped Christian theology. Classical Platonism Plato (c. 427–347 … Read More “The Development of Platonism and Its Influence on Christianity” »

Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy

June 29, 2020June 29, 2020 Stephen Bedard No Comments

Theology

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius (477-524) was born approximately fifty years after the death of Augustine of Hippo. Like Augustine, Boethius was a Christian philosopher who was heavily influenced by Hellenistic philosophy. You may enjoy this short video on Boethius’s most famous work, Consolation of Philosophy.

History: The Neglected Discipline

February 12, 2020March 21, 2020 Stephen Bedard No Comments

General History

I recently did a Twitter poll that came up with some interesting results. Most of my followers are Christians, many of them interested in academics. I wanted to know which academic discipline they identified with most. Here are the results: During the time of the poll, three of the four options went back and forth … Read More “History: The Neglected Discipline” »

Did the Apostle Paul Reject Philosophy?

October 20, 2017April 22, 2020 Stephen Bedard No Comments

Apostle Paul

The early church was born into a fertile garden of philosophy. Platonists, Epicureans, Stoics and Cynics were active far beyond the area that we think of today as Greece. But what is the relationship between Christianity and philosophy? Specifically, did Paul, who was so influential in the development of Christian theology, reject philosophy? Some Christians … Read More “Did the Apostle Paul Reject Philosophy?” »

3 Related Areas to Church History

October 19, 2017May 18, 2020 Stephen Bedard No Comments

General History

Study the history of the Christian church is a huge task. It includes two thousand years of history spanning the entire globe. One could spend their entire life studying the history of the church and only comprehend a fraction. Having said that, there are some related areas of history that very much affect the history … Read More “3 Related Areas to Church History” »