Understanding Idolatry Through Acts 17

Welcome
Prayer
Song
Silence

Paul's Journey to Athens

Acts 17.16-18
February 26th 2017
Milk

We left off last week with Paul having gone to Athens – a two hundred and fifty mile journey probably by boat, and then calling for Silas and Timothy to join him. Then we read verse 16:

Acts 17:16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

As a result of his spirit being stirred in him, we now read our text for today beginning at verse 17:

17 Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. 18 Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. 19 And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? 20 For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. 21 (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)

The Relevance of Idolatry Today

Alright, back to verse 16 and 17:

Acts 17:16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

Now, I maintain that the living word always has application for people of any age and today it certainly has application for us. We may think that we are a “Christian nation” when we survey the country, and that we are nothing like the Greeks who actually had temples built for their divergent Gods, but we are not one whit less idolatrous if we think about it.

The Greek word for idol is I-Do-LON which means an image or thing, especially one that is inordinately adored. The Greek word for idolatry is KATA-I-DO-LOS with kata meaning down, the word for idolatry is down before an inordinately adored image or thing. We only bow down before those things that we give allegiance, that we serve, that we worship and adore.

Adoration, service, worship and allegiance take the life-time or life of an individual and GIVE it to the adoration or service of the image or thing adored. It’s as simple as that. Take your mind, your heart, your thoughts, your activities, your interests, your devotions, what you give the most time and attention to, what you give the most of your resources to, what really has your heart, and you and I can easily quantify and qualify whom we adore and serve.

Now back in the day, biblical idolatry was sort of defined as “divine honor paid to any created object.” Since God is the only “thing” or “being” NOT created then any honor paid to any other thing could be called idolatry. We can idolized other human beings, animals, stars and planets, other created beings or things we choose to create for ourselves. In the absence of a visible tangible God our tendency to worship the tangible is proverbial.

Going all the way back to the Old Covenant the Children of Israel found themselves in a bit of a predicament.

Biblical Example of Idolatry

In Numbers 21:5- we read:

5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

What a great story that typifies the healing salvation of Christ Jesus, right? We are all bitten by these flying rats and God promises to heal all.

The Brass Serpent and Idolatry

Who, in faith, will simply look upon the caduceus – the brass serpent wrapped around the pole held up by Moses. Of course many perished because that solution was way too easy, or too simple or foolish, but the way was provided freely.

The Fate of the Brass Serpent

What happened to the Brass Serpent? Jump out to First Kings where the reign of Hezekiah is described. There we find something interesting as chapter 18 verse 3 says:

3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did. 4 He removed the high places, (the altars built) and brake the images (the idols), and cut down the groves (where they would cut idols out of tree stumps), and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan – which means, this thing is just a piece of brass.”

The Origin and Consequence of Idolatry

Paul describes the origin of idolatry in Romans 1:21-25 as the result of Man first forsaking God and then sinking into ignorance and moral corruption. It is as easy to do as slipping on wet concrete. The reasons for this seem to include the fact that humans are created to worship, adore, and serve something as a means to escape themselves – so if it isn’t the true and living God it is really easy for it to become something else – almost anything else. So where the COI and their forms of idolatry often included the worship of trees, rivers, hills, stones, OR the worship of the heavens (sun, moon, and stars) or heroes (like deceased ancestors or mythical figures) or of course created things, (like the brass serpent) our modern idolatries are not much more advanced when we think about it.

We have our nature worshippers (those who worship the creation more than the creator) the star gazers (who trust more in astrology and palm readers than the living God) hero worship (like no other in our sports heroes, rock-stars, and Hollywood icons) and of course all the created things we have surrounded ourselves with – technological, artistic, visual, sensual. I know people who spend ten times more attention on the food they eat and its contents than they do on God – and these are professed Christians!

The Seriousness of Idolatry

Idolatry is as rampant today as it was back among the Greeks. And here is the truly frightening thing – of all the sins mankind commits it is at the top – to place anything or anyone before the Lord God. Just look at the first two of the ten commandments:

There is one God have No OTHER God’s before Him. Make no graven images.

This is what the second commandment actually says:

Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Now, before we get carried away and start tearing down all the art around this place, these commands were all in the context of worshipping and knowing God. It was NOT an indictment against artwork, statues, or forms. We know this because God had Moses make a brass serpent didn’t He? And He had men of skill carve two cherubim (which were in heaven, right?) And gave His Spirit so men could have the ability to create and ornament his temple.

It is so easy to step out of context on things like this. And what is the context of the Second Commandment?

Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: (and the next verse adds) Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.”

Not only is idolatry natural (to the natural man) and easily embraced if we are not cognizant of its seductive powers, it seems the COI were conditioned and influenced by Egyptian idolatry when they were in captivity to them. So in many ways, their wandering in the desert may have been God’s way of purging the practice and inclination out of them. Apparently, when it came to the Brass Serpent they were not yet…

Idolatry and Paul's Mission in Athens

Frankly, it was their national curse and it appears that only those who were completely sold-out for God ever got free of the tendency to worship idols. And so it is with us even to this very day. So Paul was greatly disturbed by the amount of idols in Athens. And what do we read next (verse 17)

17 Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.

To me, the “therefore” that starts verse 17 off says that idolatry had influenced not only the pagans but ALSO the Jews and those who were proselytes at the gate. In other words it slipped even in and among those who worshipped the true and living God. Amalgamation. Cooperation. Justification. Compromise. Important words when interacting with people different than ourselves. Never ever good when speaking of idols and the True God. Luke tells us that Paul therefore “disputed in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons (non-Jew proselytes at the gate, and in the market daily with them that met with him.

The Role of the Agora

And in the market. The Greek term translated market is AGORA and in Greek culture all buying and selling was done therein. Because it was the central location for “people gathering” we English speakers call the fear of crowds AGORAPHOBIA. I mean, this Paul is on fire. He is sharing and planting and illuminating wherever and whenever he can. To me he knows something the rest of the world around him are not in on. Having been trained by Jesus directly in the Sinai desert I’m sure he was aware of the importance of the Gospel message to those people. I am also convinced that he knew the end of that age was wrapping up and it was time for all to put away their idols and receive Christ – especially the Jews.

Apparently after going to their synagogue Paul wandered to the marketplace to reach out to more Gentiles – the Athenian Greeks. (verse 18)

18 Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.

Philosophy in Athens

Among almost all (if not all) the cities of the world Athens was distinguished as the most cultivated in terms of culture, arts, medicines and more than anything else, Philosophy. I want to take a minute and help convey to you what philosophy is, and where it sort of originated. Breaking the word down we first get Philos – from that we get Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. So philos means “fond of,” or “friend to.” Then we get to Sophos – like the girl's name, Sophia. Sophos means “wisdom.”

So philosophy, while I have heard it defined today as the study of living, is from the original Greek point of view – “a fondness for wisdom.” Appealing to this definition Christians ought to LOVE and ADORE philosophy because Christians ought to love and adore the wisdom . . . of God (which is the only real wisdom we care about).

Wisdom has then been defined as “knowledge applied.” And in this we find a direct link between learning (gaining and obtaining knowledge) and then applying it. Paul has entered Athens. And here a love for wisdom abounded. But it was a love for human wisdom – and this is the difference between the philosophy of Christians and the philosophy of others (like the Greeks). We want, seek, follow and love (are greatly fond of) the wisdom of God. This is our philosophy. In Athens, Paul was about to be confronted with the collective wisdom of Men – which usually works in opposition to the wisdom of God.

So when Christians speak out against philosophy (the love of wisdom) what they really mean is loving the wisdom of Man) because unquestionably, especially if a believer turns from the wisdom of Men, then we would be very fond of the wisdom of God. Let me illustrate this on the Board:

The Wisdom of Man vs. The Wisdom of God

					PHILOSOPHY
				          (love of wisdom)

Wisdom = knowledge applied
All people ought to love wisdom
Christians ought to love wisdom of God

World God
Athens Heaven
Wisdom of Man Wisdom of God

WISDOM OF MAN (from the Greeks)
Paramedies and Heraclitus
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
(From this basis extends all the offshoots to Paul’s day)

Wisdom of God (Word and Spirit)

Used 150 Times in the OT and

Wisdom from God

50 Times in the New Testament.

Wisdom from God is of course the source of all things: For example God’s wisdom is the reason behind the skills people have to create and do things, to understand Him, to make decisions in this life. Scripture makes the value of His wisdom clear, saying:

Psalm 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

However, the wisdom of Man is tomfoolery to God as we read what’s on the wall:

Jeremiah 9:23 “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:”

The Wisdom of Man

Of course 1st Corinthians chapter one says it all, doesn’t it about our wisdom? Ready? Listen closely to what Paul says (especially in light of him being confronted by the Greeks and their philosophy of Man:

1st Corinthians 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. 18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

The Philosophers of Man

Well standing before Paul were some philosophers of Man who apparently had never heard the Gospel or message of Christ. First line of verse 18:

18 Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoics, encountered him.

Let’s briefly talk about these two philosophical views – those of the Epicureans and those of the Stoics. Epicureans were named after a man named, that’s right, Epicurus, who lived about 300 years before Jesus. Epicureans denied that the world was created by God, the immortality of the human soul and that “the gods” (whomever they might be) exercised any care or interest in human affairs. One of the distinguishing doctrines of Epicurus was to say that pleasure was the highest good a person could achieve and that all virtues were practiced as a means to discover and maintain pleasure.

Epicurean Philosophy

Now, when we talk about pleasure from the Epicurean stance we are not talking about sensual pleasures – that was a philosophy of Erristipus of Cyrene, who was a student of Socrates. And that philosophy is known as hedonism today. But Epicurus did not mean indulging in our basal appetites or degraded vices presented what he called “rational pleasure,” which to be rational had to be properly regulated and governed. For him, the purpose of (his) philosophy was to attain a happy, tranquil life which is characterized by ATARAXIA – freedom from fear and APONIA – the absence of pain.

We could talk for days on this philosophy and remember, it had been around for three hundred PLUS years before Paul ran into these Epicureans. This is like our trying to step in and understand a philosophy that has been studied and practiced since 1717!

In any case, Epicureanism did touch on some elements of hedonism but only in so much as such hedonism was reasonable. For me, modern Epicurians are seen in

The Greek Philosophy Foundations

What may be described as a ivory tower, Ivy league, pipe-smoking Professor who, in moderation drank every night, ate fatty meats on weekends and had a moderately lived extra-marital affair once a year with a co-ed. All within reason, you know.

And of the Stoics. The Greek word for porch is stoa and since it was on a porch or stoa that the founder of Stoicism taught, his students (300 years before Christ) were called Stoics. A man name Zeno was the founder of the sect and the porch from where he taught was located? You guessed it, right here in Athens.

Unlike the Epicureans, the Stoics believed that the Universe was created by God; that all things were fixed by fate (or the fates) and that even God was under the dominion of fatal necessity. Therefore, said the Stoic, the fates were to be submitted to and along the way it would be good to learn to restrain all passions and affections; that happiness consisted in the insensibility of the soul to pain and that a man should gain an absolute mastery over all the passions and affections of his nature. We cannot help but see many of Pauline truths about mastery over the flesh present in the Stoics some 300 years prior. Because the Stoics believed self-mastery important they held to strict views regarding virtue – and guess what? Like the Hebrew Pharisees the Stoics prided themselves on their own righteousness.

Finally, the Stoics believed that “matter was eternal,” (something that founder of Mormonism borrowed from them) and that God was either the animating principal of the world or that all things were a part of God. Finally, in terms of the future, after-world status of Man the Stoics fluctuated between themselves on this as some held that the soul would exist only until the destruction of the universe while others thought it would finally be absorbed into the Divine Essence and become a part of God. We will see some of their views become part of what Paul has to say to them next week.

Western Philosophies Overview

I want to take these last few minutes and just for your information so a quick review of the philosophies of Man since Aristotle that are out there and serving as part of the foundation for most of man-made philosophies today.

When it comes to the study of philosophy and its historical influences there is a debate (a controversy even) that some would call ridiculous but others maintain as valid. That is do the philosophies of Man begin with the Greeks (the fountain of what is called “Western Philosophy”) or are there other philosophies that pre-date the Greek and then ride along side it (namely, what is called “Eastern Philosophy.”)

The German philosopher Martin Heidegger once famously said that “ONLY the Greek and German languages are suited for real philosophy” so we can tell that there has been a long prejudice against Eastern Philosophies by some and because of this there is often just a focus on the contributions of Western Philosophy in academia. It’s not that I don’t think there is a vast and important body of Eastern philosophy out there but today I am just going to admit it and cover the west.

Early Greek Philosophers

Thales of Miletus (c. 624 – 546 BCE). Of the Milesian school. Believed that all was made of water.

Pherecydes of Syros (c. 620 – c. 550 BCE). Cosmologist.

Anaximander of Miletus (c. 610 – 546 BCE). Of the Milesian school. Famous for the concept of Apeiron, or "the boundless".

Anaximenes of Miletus (c. 585 – 525 BCE). Of the Milesian school. Believed that all was made of air.

Pythagoras of Samos (c. 580 – c. 500 BCE). Of the Ionian School. Believed the deepest reality to be composed of numbers, and that souls are immortal.

Xenophanes of Colophon (c. 570 – 480 BCE). Sometimes associated with the Eleatic school.

Epicharmus of Kos (c. 530 – 450 BCE). Comic playwright and moralist.

Philosophers of the 5th Century BCE

Heraclitus of Ephesus (c. 535 – c. 475 BCE). Of the Ionians. Emphasized the order and mutability of the universe.

Parmenides of Elea (c. 515 – 450 BCE). Of the Eleatics. Reflected on the concept of Being.

Anaxagoras of Clazomenae (c. 500 – 428 BCE). Of the Ionians. Pluralist.

Empedocles (492 – 432 BCE). Eclectic cosmogonist. Pluralist.

Zeno of Elea (c. 490 – 430 BCE). Of the Eleatics. Known for his paradoxes.

Protagoras of Abdera (c. 481 – 420 BCE). Sophist. Early advocate of relativism.

Antiphon (480 – 411 BCE).

Timeline of Philosophical Thought

Early Classical Era

Sophist. Hippias (Middle of the 5th century BCE). Sophist. Gorgias (c. 483 – 375 BCE). Sophist. Early advocate of solipsism. Socrates of Athens (c. 470 – 399 BCE). Emphasized virtue ethics. In epistemology, understood dialectic to be central to the pursuit of truth. Critias of Athens (c. 460 – 413). Atheist writer and politician. Prodicus of Ceos (c. 465 BC – c. 395 BCE). Sophist. Leucippus of Miletus (First half of the 5th century BCE). Founding Atomist, Determinist. Thrasymachus of Miletus (c. 459 – c. 400 BCE). Sophist. Democritus of Abdera (c. 450 – 370 BCE). Founding Atomist. Diagoras of Melos (c. 450 – 415 BCE). Atheist. Archelaus. A pupil of Anaxagoras. Melissus of Samos. Eleatic. Cratylus. Follower of Heraclitus. Ion of Chios. Pythagorean cosmologist. Echecrates. Pythagorean. Timaeus of Locri. Pythagorean.

400-300 BCE Antisthenes (c. 444 – 365 BCE). Founder of Cynicism. Pupil of Socrates. Aristippus of Cyrene (c. 440 – 366 BCE). A Cyrenaic. Advocate of ethical hedonism. Alcidamas (c. 435 – c. 350 BCE). Sophist. Lycophron (Sophist) (c. 430 – c. 350 BCE). Sophist. Diogenes of Apollonia (c. 425 BCE – c 350 BCE). Cosmologist. Hippo (c. 425 – c 350 BCE). Atheist cosmologist. Xenophon (c. 427 – 355 BCE). Historian. Plato (c. 427 – 347 BCE). Famed for view of the transcendental forms. Advocated polity governed by philosophers. Speusippus (c. 408 – 339 BCE). Nephew of Plato. Eudoxus of Cnidus (c. 408 – 355 BCE). Pupil of Plato. Diogenes of Sinope (c. 399 – 323 BCE). Cynic. Xenocrates (c. 396 – 314 BCE). Disciple of Plato. Aristotle (c. 384 – 322 BCE). A polymath whose works ranged across all philosophical fields.

Hellenistic Era Philosophers

300-200 BCE Theophrastus (c. 371 BCE–c. 287 BCE). Peripatetic. Pyrrho of Elis (c. 360 – 270 BCE). Skeptic. Strato of Lampsacus (c. 340 BCE–c. 268 BCE). Atheist, Materialist. Epicurus (c. 341 – 270 BCE). Materialist Atomist, hedonist. Founder of Epicureanism. Zeno of Citium (c. 333 – 264 BCE). Founder of Stoicism. Timon (c. 320 – 230 BCE). Pyrrhonist, skeptic. Chrysippus of Soli (c. 280 – 207 BCE). Major figure in Stoicism.

200-100 BCE Carneades (c. 214 – 129 BCE). Academic skeptic. Understood probability as the purveyor of truth.

ROMAN REIGN Roman era philosophers

100 BCE – 1 CE Lucretius (c. 99 – 55 BCE). Epicurean.

1-100 CE Cicero (c. 106 BCE – 43 BCE) Political theorist. Philo (c. 20 BCE – 40 CE). Believed in the allegorical method of reading texts. Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BCE – 65 CE). Stoic.

100-200 CE Epictetus (c. 55 – 135). Stoic. Emphasized ethics of self-determination. Marcus Aurelius (121–180). Stoic.

200-400 CE Sextus Empiricus (fl. during the 2nd and possibly the 3rd centuries CE). Skeptic, Pyrrhonist. Plotinus (c. 205 – 270). Neoplatonist. Had a holistic metaphysics. Porphyry (c. 232 – 304). Student of Plotinus. Iamblichus of Syria (c. 245 – 325). Late neoplatonist. Espoused theurgy. Augustine of Hippo (c. 354 – 430). Original SinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace.. Church father. Proclus (c. 412 – 485). Neoplatonist.

Medieval Philosophers

500-800 CE Boethius (c. 480–524). John Philoponus (c. 490–570).

800-900 CE Al-Kindi (c. 801 – 873). Major figure at Islamic philosophy. Influenced by Neoplatonism. John the Scot (c. 815 – 877). Neoplatonist, pantheist.

900-1000 CE Al-Farabi (c. 870 – 950). Major Islamic philosopher. Neoplatonist. Saadia Gaon (c. 882 – 942). Al-Razi (c. 865 – 925). Rationalist. Major Islamic philosopher. Held that God creates universe by rearranging pre-existing laws.

1000-1100 CE Ibn Sina (Avicenna) (c. 980 – 1037). Major Islamic philosopher. Ibn Gabirol (Avicebron) (c. 1021–1058). Jewish philosopher. Anselm (c. 1034–1109). Christian philosopher. Produced ontological argument for the existence of God. Al-Ghazali (c. 1058–1111). Islamic philosopher. Mystic.

1100-1200 CE Peter Abelard (c. 1079–1142). Scholastic philosopher. Dealt with problem of universals. Abraham ibn Daud (c. 1110–1180). Jewish philosophy. Peter Lombard (c. 1100–1160). Scholastic. Averroes (Ibn Rushd, "The Commentator") (c. 1126-December 10, 1198). Islamic philosopher. Maimonides (c. 1135–1204). Jewish philosophy. St Francis of Assisi (c. 1182–1226). Ascetic.

1200-1300 CE Robert Grosseteste (c. 1175–1253). Albert the Great (c. 1193–1280). Early Empiricist. Roger Bacon (c. 1214–1294). Empiricist, mathematician. Thomas Aquinas (c. 1221–1274). Christian philosopher. Bonaventure (c. 1225–1274). Franciscan. Siger (c. 1240 – c. 1280). Averroist. Boetius of Dacia. Averroist, Aristotelian.

1300-1400 CE Ramon Llull (c. 1232–1315) Catalan philosopher. Meister Eckhart (c. 1260–1328). Mystic. Duns Scotus (c. 1266–1308). Franciscan, Scholastic, Original Sin. Marsilius of Padua (c. 1270–1342). Understood chief function of state as mediator. William of Ockham (c. 1288–1348). Franciscan. Scholastic. Nominalist, creator of Ockham's razor. Gersonides (c. 1288–1344). Jewish philosopher. Jean Buridan (c. 1300–1358). Nominalist. John Wycliffe (c. 1320–1384). Nicole Oresme (c. 1320-5 – 1382). Made contributions to economics, science, mathematics, theology and philosophy. Hasdai Crescas (c. 1340 – c. 1411). Jewish philosopher. Gemistus Pletho (c. 1355 – 1452/1454). Late Byzantine scholar of neoplatonic philosophy.

Renaissance and Early Modern Philosophers

1400-1500 CE Nicholas of Cusa (1401–1464). Christian philosopher. Lorenzo Valla (1407–1457). Humanist, critic of scholastic logic. Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499). Christian Neoplatonist, head of Florentine Academy and major Renaissance Humanist figure. First translator of Plato's complete extant works into Latin. Pico della Mirandola (1463–1494). Renaissance humanist.

1500-1550 CE Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536). Humanist, advocate of free will. Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527). Political realism. Sir Thomas More (1478–1535). Humanist, created term "utopia". Martin Luther (1483–1546).

Major Western Christian Theologians and Influential Thinkers

Major Western Christian theologian.

Petrus Ramus (1515–1572).

1550-1600 CE

John Calvin (1509–1564). Major Western Christian theologian. Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592). Humanist, skeptic. Pierre Charron (1541–1603). Giordano Bruno (1548–1600). Advocate of heliocentrism. Francisco Suarez (1548–1617). Politically proto-liberal.

Influential Philosophers of 1600 to 1700

1600-1650 CE

Herbert of Cherbury. Nativist. Francis Bacon (1561–1626). Empiricist. Galileo Galilei (1564–1642). Heliocentrist. Hugo Grotius (1583–1645). Natural law theorist. François de La Mothe Le Vayer (1588-1672) Marin Mersenne (1588–1648). Cartesian. Robert Filmer (1588–1653). Pierre Gassendi (1592–1655). Mechanicism. Empiricist. René Descartes (1596–1650). Heliocentrism, dualism, rationalism. Baltasar Gracián (1601–1658). Spanish catholic philosopher

1650-1700 CE

Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679). Political realist. Antoine Arnauld (1612–1694). Henry More (1614–1687). Jacques Rohault. (1617–1672) Cartesian. Ralph Cudworth (1617–1688). Cambridge Platonist. Blaise Pascal (1623–1662). Physicist, scientist. Noted for Pascal's wager. Margaret Cavendish (1623–1673). Materialist, feminist. Arnold Geulincx (1624–1669). Important occasionalist theorist. Pierre Nicole (1625–1695). Geraud Cordemoy (1626-1684). Dualist. Robert Boyle (1627–1691). Anne Conway, Viscountess Conway (1631–1679). Richard Cumberland (1631–1718). Early proponent of utilitarianism. Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677). Samuel von Pufendorf (1632–1694). Social contract theorist. John Locke (1632–1704). Major Empiricist. Political philosopher. Joseph Glanvill (1636–1680). Nicolas Malebranche (1638–1715). Cartesian. Isaac Newton (1643–1727). Simon Foucher (1644–1696). Skeptic. Pierre Bayle (1647–1706). Pyrrhonist. Damaris Masham (1659–1708). John Toland (1670–1722).

Key Thinkers from 1700 to 1800

1700-1750 CE

Gottfried Leibniz (1646–1716). Co-inventor of calculus. John Norris (1657–1711). Malebranchian. Jean Meslier (1664-1729) Giambattista Vico (1668–1744). Bernard Mandeville (1670–1733). Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (1671–1713). Samuel Clarke (1675–1729). Catherine Cockburn (1679–1749). Christian Wolff (1679–1754). Determinist, rationalist. George Berkeley (1685–1753). Idealist, empiricist. Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755). Skeptic, humanist. Joseph Butler (1692–1752). Francis Hutcheson (1694–1746). Proto-utilitarian. John Gay (1699–1745). David Hartley (1705–1757). Julien La Mettrie (1709–1751). Materialist, genetic determinist.

1750-1800 CE

Voltaire (1694–1778). Advocate for freedoms of religion and expression. Thomas Reid (1710–1796). Member of Scottish Enlightenment, founder of Scottish Common Sense philosophy. David Hume (1711–1776). Empiricist, skeptic. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778). Social contract political philosopher. Denis Diderot (1713–1784). Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714-1762). Claude Adrien Helvétius (1715–1771). Utilitarian. Etienne de Condillac (1715-1780). Jean d'Alembert (1717–1783). Baron d'Holbach (1723–1789). Materialist, atheist. Adam Smith (1723–1790). Economic theorist, member of Scottish Enlightenment. Richard Price (1723–1791). Political liberal. Immanuel Kant (1724–1804). Deontologist, proponent of synthetic a priori truths. Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786). Member of the Jewish Enlightenment. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781). Edmund Burke (1729–1797). Conservative political philosopher. William Paley (1743–1805). Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826). Liberal political philosopher. Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832). Utilitarian, hedonist. Sylvain Maréchal (1750–1803) Anarcho-communist, Deist Dugald Stewart (1753–1828). William Godwin (1756–1836). Anarchist, utilitarian. Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797). Feminist. Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805). Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762–1814).

1750-1800 CE

Voltaire (1694–1778). Advocate for freedoms of religion and expression. Thomas Reid (1710–1796). Member of Scottish Enlightenment, founder of Scottish Common Sense philosophy. David Hume (1711–1776). Empiricist, skeptic. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778). Social contract political philosopher. Denis Diderot (1713–1784). Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714-1762). Claude Adrien Helvétius (1715–1771). Utilitarian. Etienne de Condillac (1715-1780). Jean d'Alembert (1717–1783). Baron d'Holbach (1723–1789). Materialist, atheist. Adam Smith (1723–1790). Economic theorist, member of Scottish Enlightenment. Richard Price (1723–1791). Political liberal. Immanuel Kant (1724–1804). Deontologist, proponent of synthetic a priori truths. Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786). Member of the Jewish Enlightenment. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781). Edmund Burke (1729–1797). Conservative political philosopher. William Paley (1743–1805). Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826). Liberal political philosopher. Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832). Utilitarian, hedonist. Sylvain Maréchal (1750–1803) Anarcho-communist, Deist Dugald Stewart (1753–1828). William Godwin (1756–1836). Anarchist, utilitarian. Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797). Feminist. Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805). Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762–1814).

Modern Philosophers and Intellectual Movements

1800-1850 CE

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744–1829). Early evolutionary theorist. P.S. de Laplace (1749–1827). Determinist. Joseph de Maistre (1753–1821) Conservative Comte de Saint-Simon (1760–1825). Socialist. Madame de Staël (1766–1817). Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834). Hermeneutician. G.W.F. Hegel (1770–1831). German idealist. James Mill (1773–1836). Utilitarian. F.W.J. von Schelling (1775–1854). German idealist. Bernard Bolzano (1781–1848). Richard Whately (1787–1863). Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860). Pessimist. John Austin (1790–1859). Legal positivist, utilitarian. William Whewell (1794–1866). Auguste Comte (1798–1857). Social philosopher, positivist. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882). Transcendentalist, abolitionist, egalitarian, humanist. Ludwig Feuerbach (1804–1872). Max Stirner (1806-1856). Anarchist. Augustus De Morgan (1806–1871). Logician. John Stuart Mill (1806–1873). Utilitarian. P.J. Proudhon (1809–1865). Anarchist. Charles Darwin (1809–1882). Margaret Fuller (1810–1850). Egalitarian. Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855). Existentialist. Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862). Transcendentalist, pacifist, abolitionist.

1850-1900 CE

Sir William Hamilton, 9th Baronet (1788–1856). Sojourner Truth (c. 1797–1883). Egalitarian, abolitionist. Harriet Taylor Mill (1807–1858). Egalitarian, utilitarian. Mikhail Bakunin (1814–1876). Revolutionary anarchist. Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902). Egalitarian. Hermann Lotze (1817–1881). Karl Marx (1818–1883). Socialist, formulated historical materialism. Friedrich Engels (1820–1895). Egalitarian, dialectical materialist. Herbert Spencer (1820–1903). Nativism, libertarianism, social Darwinism. Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906). Feminist. Wilhelm Dilthey (1833–1911). Edward Caird (1835–1908). Idealist. T.H. Green (1836–1882). British idealist. Henry Sidgwick (1838–1900). Rationalism, utilitarianism. Ernst Mach (1838–1916). Philosopher of science, influence on logical positivism. Franz Brentano (1838–1917). Phenomenologist. Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914). Pragmatist. William James (1842–1910). Pragmatism, Radical empiricism. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900). Naturalistic philosopher, influence on Existentialism. W. K. Clifford (1845–1879). Evidentialist. F.H. Bradley (1846–1924). Idealist. Vilfredo Pareto (1848–1923). Social philosopher. Bernard Bosanquet (1848–1923). Idealist. Gottlob Frege (1848–1925). Influential analytic philosopher. Cook Wilson (1849–1915). Hans Vaihinger (1852–1933). Specialist in counterfactuals. David George Ritchie (1853–1903). Idealist. Alexius Meinong (1853–1920). Logical realist. Henri Poincaré (1854–1912). Josiah Royce (1855–1916). Idealist. Andrew Seth Pringle-Pattison (1856–1931). Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913). Linguist, Semiotics, Structuralism. Émile Durkheim (1858–1917). Social philosopher. Giuseppe Peano (1858–1932). Edmund Husserl (1859–1938). Founder of phenomenology. Samuel Alexander (1859–1938). Perceptual realist. Henri Bergson (1859–1941). John Dewey (1859–1952). Pragmatism. Jane Addams (1860–1935). Pragmatist. Pierre Duhem (1861–1916). Karl Groos (1861-1946). Evolutionary instrumentalist theory of play. Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947). Process Philosophy, Mathematician, Logician, Philosophy of Physics, Panpsychism. George Herbert Mead (1863–1931). Pragmatism, symbolic interactionist. Max Weber (1864–1920). Social philosopher. Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936). J. M. E. McTaggart (1866–1925). Idealist. Benedetto Croce (1866–1952). Emma Goldman (1869–1940). Anarchist. Rosa Luxemburg (1870–1919). Marxist political philosopher. G.E. Moore (1873–1958). Common sense theorist, ethical non-naturalist. Martin Buber (1878–1965). Jewish philosopher, existentialist.

1900-2000 CE

George Santayana (1863–1952). Pragmatism, naturalism; known for many aphorisms. H.A. Prichard (1871–1947). Moral intuitionist. Bertrand Russell (1872–1970). Analytic philosopher, atheist, influential. A.O. Lovejoy (1873–1962). Max Scheler (1874-1928). German phenomenologist. Ernst Cassirer (1874–1945). Nikolai Berdyaev (1874–1948). Existentialist. Giovanni Gentile (1875–1944). Idealist and fascist philosopher. Ralph Barton Perry (1876–1957). W.D. Ross (1877–1971). Deontologist. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955). Christian evolutionist. Hans Kelsen (1881–1973). Legal positivist. Moritz Schlick (1882–1936). Founder of Vienna Circle, logical positivism. Otto Neurath (1882–1945). Member of Vienna Circle. Nicolai Hartmann (1882–1950). Jacques Maritain (1882–1973). Human rights theorist. José Ortega y Gasset (1883–1955). Philosopher of History. C.I. Lewis (1883–1964). Conceptual pragmatist. Gaston Bachelard (1884–1962). Georg Lukács (1885–1971). Marxist philosopher. Walter Terence Stace (1886–1967) Karl Barth (1886–1968). C. D. Broad (1887–1971). Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951). Analytic philosopher, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, influential. Gabriel Marcel (1889–1973). Christian existentialist. Martin Heidegger (1889–1976). Phenomenologist. Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937).

Prominent Philosophers of the 20th Century

Marxist philosopher. Rudolf Carnap (1891–1970). Vienna Circle. Logical positivist. Walter Benjamin (1892-1940). Marxist. Philosophy of language. Brand Blanshard (1892–1987). Roman Ingarden (1893–1970). Perceptual realist, phenomenalist. Susanne Langer (1895–1985). Friedrich Waismann (1896–1959). Vienna Circle. Logical positivist. Georges Bataille (1897-1962). Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979). Frankfurt School. Xavier Zubiri (1898-1983). Materialist open realism. Leo Strauss (1899–1973). Political Philosopher. H.H. Price (1899–1984). Gilbert Ryle (1900–1976). Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900–2002). Hermeneutics. Jacques Lacan (1901–1981). Structuralism. Alfred Tarski (1901–1983). Created T-Convention in semantics. E. Nagel (1901–1985). Logical positivist. Karl Popper (1902–1994). Falsificationist. Mortimer Adler (1902–2001). Frank P. Ramsey (1903–1930). Proposed redundancy theory of truth. Theodor Adorno (1903–1969). Frankfurt School. Ernest Addison Moody (1903–1975). Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980). Humanism, existentialism. Karl Jaspers (1905–1982). Existentialist.

Influential Theories and Philosophical Movements

Eugen Fink (1905–1975). Phenomenologist. Ayn Rand (1905–1982). Objectivist, Individualist. Kurt Gödel (1906–1978). Vienna Circle. Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995). Hannah Arendt (1906–1975). Political Philosophy. H.L.A. Hart (1907–1992). Legal positivism. C.L. Stevenson (1908–1979). Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961). Influential French phenomenologist. Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986). Existentialist, feminist. Willard van Orman Quine (1908–2000). Simone Weil (1909–1943). A.J. Ayer (1910–1989). Logical positivist, emotivist. J.L. Austin (1911–1960). Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980). Media theory. Alan Turing (1912–1954). Functionalist in philosophy of mind. Wilfrid Sellars (1912-1989). Influential American philosopher Albert Camus (1913–1960). Absurdist. Paul Ricœur (1913-2005). French philosopher and theologian. Roland Barthes (1915-1980). French semiotician and literary theorist. J. L. Mackie (1917–1981). Moral skeptic. Donald Davidson (1917–2003).

Noteworthy Philosophical Contributions

Louis Althusser (1918-1990). R. M. Hare (1919–2002). P. F. Strawson (1919–2006). John Rawls (1921–2002). Liberal. Zygmunt Bauman (born 1925). Polish sociologist and philosopher, who introduced the idea of liquid modernity. Frantz Fanon (1925–1961). Post-colonialism Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995). Post-structuralism Michel Foucault (1926–1984). Structuralism, Post-structuralism, Postmodernism, Queer theory. John Howard Yoder (1927–1997). Pacifist. Bernard Williams (1929-2003). Moral philosopher. Jean Baudrillard (1929–2007). Postmodernism, Post-structuralism. Allan Bloom (1930–1992). Political Philosopher. Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002). French psychoanalytic sociologist and philosopher. Jacques Derrida (1930–2004). Deconstruction. Guy Debord (1931-1994). French Marxist philosopher. Richard Rorty (1931–2007). Pragmatism, Postanalytic philosophy. Robert Nozick (1938–2002). Libertarian. David K. Lewis (1941–2001). Modal realism. Hilary Putnam (1926-2016). David Malet Armstrong (born 1926).

Noam Chomsky (born 1928). Jürgen Habermas (born 1929). Jaakko Hintikka (born 1929). Alasdair MacIntyre (born 1929). Aristotelian. Charles Taylor (born 1931). Political philosophy, Philosophy of Social Science, and Intellectual History John Searle (born 1932). Alvin Plantinga (born 1932). Reformed epistemology, Philosophy of Religion. Jerry Fodor (born 1935). Thomas Nagel (born 1937). Alain Badiou (born 1937). Tom Regan (born 1938) animal rights philosopher Saul Kripke (born 1940). Jean-Luc Nancy (born 1940) French philosopher. Joxe Azurmendi (born 1941). Basque Philosopher, Political philosophy, Social philosophy, Philosophy of language Derek Parfit (1942-2017). Giorgio Agamben (born 1942). state of exception, form-of-life, homo sacer, and the concept of biopolitics Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (born 1942). Post-colonialism, Feminism, Literary theory Peter Singer (born 1946) Moral philosopher on animal liberation, effective altruism John Ralston Saul (born 1947). Slavoj Žižek (born 1949). Hegelianism, Marxism and Lacanian psychoanalysis Cornel West (born 1953). Judith Butler (born 1956). Poststructuralist, feminist, queer theory Ken Wilber (born 1949). Integral Theory.

OR . . . . The Only True God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.

Q and A PRAYER