Angela Dykstra

The Impact of Christianity on Philosophy

The earliest Christian movement did not consider Jesus a deity, did not believe in the

Trinity, the salvation by grace, or the virgin birth. The first Christians – known as Jewish

Christians – began their movement in Jerusalem under the leadership of James, the brother of

Jesus (Fisher, 2005, p 362 ). Over 350 years later, St. Augustine “transferred Platonic and

Neo-platonic themes to Christianity” (Moore-Bruder, 2005, p 79). After approximately 900

additional years, “St. Thomas Aquinas blended Christianity with the philosophy of Aristotle.

Delineating the boundary between philosophy and theology, Christianity’s impact on

philosophy began in earnest when during “Aquinas’ time a distinction was finally beginning

to be made between philosophy and theology” (Moore-Bruder, 2005, p 89). While the

Christian movement incorporates the philosophies of metaphysics and epistemology, it

detours onto its own highway when followers are required to ignore established universal

truths.

Organized religion requires followers. Followers must think collectively rather than

individually. Christian theology evolved through sanctioned philosophical plagiarisms

perpetuated by a religious leadership seeking control over the individual thoughts of the

masses. According to the writings of Aquinas, ‘“Whenever Augustine, who was saturated

with the teachings of the Platonists, found in their writings anything consistent with the faith,

he adopted it; and whatever he found contrary to the faith, he amended’”(Moore-Bruder,

2005, p 79). Later, Aquinas maintained …“that philosophy is based on precepts of reason and

theology on truths of revelation held on faith” (Moore-Bruder, 2005, p 89). Where Plato
provided his theory of the divided line contrasting the difference between knowledge and

opinion”(Moore-Bruder, 2005, p 43), Christianity requires one to look at “reason as an

instrument of faith”(Moore-Bruder, 2005, p 89).

Key contributors to Christianity’s impact on philosophy on the theology side include

St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Augustine began his career as a professor of

rhetoric in Milan and converted to Christianity when he was 33 (Moore-Bruder, 2005, p 79).

St. Augustine created “the concept of a separate, immaterial reality known as the

transcendent God” (Moore-Bruder, 2005, p 80). St. Thomas Aquinas added to metaphysics

“by highlighting that existence is the most important actuality in anything, without which

even form (essence) cannot be actual” (Moore-Bruder, 2005, p 89). Long ago, St. Thomas

Aquinas put forth the modern day Christian controversy known as intelligent design theory

(Moore-Bruder, 2005, p 91).

The principle Christianized philosophical issues included the soul and God as an

omnipotent perfect being and as a creator of something (the universe) from nothing. It is

quite possible in this students’ opinion, that St. Augustine modified Aristotle’s version of the

three souls of humans (Moore-Bruder, 2005, p 68), when Christian doctrine required

acceptance of the “…Gospel story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus…” (Moore-

Bruder, 2005, p 81).

In closing, one can easily draw similarities between Aristotle’s three souls and

Christian doctrine supporting the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus into heaven. The

vegetative soul as described by Aristotle could equate to that of the “life” of Jesus as put

forth by Augustine. Aristotle’s animal soul which experiences sensations could represent the

“feeling” of tremendous pain when Jesus accepted to bear the burden of all humankinds’ sins.
And finally, Aristotle’s spiritual soul, which does not share body mortality but rather is “akin

to gods” (Moore-Bruder, 2005, p 68), with that of the ascension of Jesus back into heaven

”(Moore-Bruder, 2005, p 68 and 81). The above described trilogy is one of many indications

that while the Christian movement incorporates the philosophies of metaphysics and

epistemology, it detours onto its own highway when followers are required to ignore

established individual truths in favor of adopted sheeple group norms.

References

Fisher, M. P. (2005). Living religions. (Sixth ed.), Christianity and Islam (pp. 284-416).

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Moore-Bruder (2005). Philosophy: The power of ideas. (Sixth ed.), (pp. 1-98). Upper Saddle

River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.