Personality of God

Personality of God

Greek Philosophical Personality of God

The early Christian theologians appropriated Greek philosophical thinking in a very selective manner to elaborate their understanding of God. They criticized the Skeptics and Epicureans but took over elements of Stoic speech and thought about divine providence. Above all they appropriated Platonic and neo-Platonic ideas about the divine that were regarded as useful in criticizing popular Greek and Roman mythological language (Armstrong, 1994). The emphasis on unity in neo-Platonic philosophy was employed in criticizing Greco-Roman polytheism, for God conceived as one and unchangeable stood in sharp contrast with popular language about ...