September 2010
1 post
Rejecting the Rejected...
Rejecting Plato’s Apple has moved to: www.rejectingplatosapple.wordpress.com
See you there! (If anyone bothers to read my posts!)
Rejecting Plato's Apple
Why did I call this blog ‘Rejecting Plato’s Apple’?
I found James Thwaites summarised his entire writings from ‘Church Beyond The Congregation’ and ‘Renegotiating the Church Contract’ well:
“The same addiction to the idol as continued down to this day. The serpent’s action in the Garden was no different to what he did via Plato in the fifth...
July 2010
0 posts
Paul Verses Pagan Greek Gnosticism
Here is a great article I stumbled across when talking to someone on Facebook.
http://www.herealittletherealittle.net/index.cfm?page_name=Colossian-Heresy
A great read of what heresy Paul was combatting in the Colossian church. Here are snippet of what was said:
“Of the “pleroma,” ISBE states:
“For the Gnostics God is the ultimate, nameless, unknowable being called...
June 2010
2 posts
Hebraic Minds Think Alike?
Here is a blog that has done an article on a very similar topic about Hebraic and Greek thinking. It was refreshing to see someones views on this too.
“What’s the difference between thinking like a Hebrew and thinking like a Greek? No, there’s no punch line, let me explain.
When I say Hebrew or Greek, I’m not necessarily referring to the concept of nationality. Rather, I’m talking...
May 2010
1 post
The Great Dividing Range (Hebraic vs Platonic)
It is important for Christian’s to realise HOW INVOLVED God is with His creation and OUR LIVES. The gospel continually declares that God is forever present in our reality, no matter what we think, feel or do in the present reality.
James Thwaites open up Chapter 4 of his book ‘Renegotiating the Church Contract’ with the following:
“The Platonic worldview did not come from God. It is not...
April 2010
3 posts
Gospel Of Dionysus (Bacchus)
The Gospel Of Experience
Well! This took me by surprise. I wrongly referred to Bacchus being the Greek God of wine. In fact that is the Roman interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus.
In researching further Dionysus’ character and what he represents, his influence in the church is much more recognizable than I thought so originally. Dyonysus is the Greek god of wine, ecstasy and...
Counterfeit Gods
This is a book by Timothy Keller. I want to get this and I want to read it. It sounds like a book that tackles exactly what I am trying to talk about. My sources for writing on the subjects of Plato are the books by James Thwaites, ‘Church Beyond The Congregation’ and ‘Renegotiating the Church Contract’; and also ‘Plato’s Republic, Abridged And Modernised, A...
The Platonic Rift In Evangelism
I’m writing three articles at the moment.
I’m hoping to get one done soon. In the meantime, I want to post this quick.
I met a Baptist minister who was taught that there was a gulf, void, pit or division separating man from God and that obstacle was sin. I’ve seen this preached in many churches. I’ve also seen this needs to be stressed to non-believers so they may see the circumstance they...
March 2010
9 posts
Ideals Exalted In Our Imaginations
THE PLATONIC TWIST
Before I continue, I had a friend comment on my last writing about the ‘Gospel of Nike’.
They lovingly said:
“Sounds an awful lot like “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations” to me.
be careful to make the distinction between generic situations that affect all believers, and specific revelation God gives you about specific things…”
This is true....
The Gospel Of Nike
THE FALSE GOSPEL OF REVIVAL
You’re probably thinking the brand Nike, right?
It’s an interesting name for a brand don’t you think? Let’s see if we can find Nikes origin. Let’s go back to ancient Greece.
Nike means ‘victory’. Victory was seen in the Olympian games. Victory was also a god. Nike is seen engaged in raising a trophy, or in battle inscribing the victory of the conqueror on a...
Testing The Platonic 'Jesus'
A JESUS OF LIGHT
Following on my previous post, a friend of mine had an experience with ‘Jesus’. What do you think of this experience?
“What was there was a plethora of colors that defied description, colors so bright it hurt my eyes to stare at them. Then I saw HIM, in the midst of the rainbows; it was Him, Jesus standing over me, glowing like the sun. I tried to get up but...
The Hebrew Gospel to a Greek Church (Part 6)
OUR GREEK CHURCH TODAY
Very dangerous doctrines are coming into the church these days that side with hedonism/humanism. These delight our ears but compromise us entering into creation to fully embrace what God has in store for us.
We are seeing the platonic mindset now manifesting in varieties of ways in different churches this day because it has not been recognized. Hedonism came in long ago,...
The Hebrew Gospel to a Greek Church (Part 5)
PLEASURE SEEKING GRECIAN FAITH
To pursue pleasure and happiness is to turn them into a god. Is it any wonder, the Greeks had Gods and monsters of happiness and pleasure?
Dionysus (M) and Euterpe (FM) were the Greek gods of pleasure.
Aphrodites (FM) and Eros (M) (aka Cupid), were the gods of sex.
Eros’ daughter was Hedone (aka Voluptas), who was the goddess of sensual pleasure. (Now you know...
The Hebrew Gospel to a Greek Church (Part 4)
THE THWAITE’S THOUGHTS
Jim Thwaites also touches on this:
“Saints in every nation are being challenged to be reconciled to the original inhabitants of their lands. In this process there is a growing restoration of the body of Christ to the land or, to use another term, to the creation. Romans 8 says that the creation cries out for the sons to come. To this day the cry from deep within...
The Hebrew Gospel to a Greek Church (Part 3)
IN THE BIBLE
It was an issue Paul addressed against the Corinthian church. This was hedonism. Hedonism mixed with Gnosticism. Both Hedonism and Gnosticism manifest from the platonic agenda. What always opposes the platonic agenda is the gospel and this is what Paul emphasizes to the church in Corinth. But too often, both the platonic agenda and the gospel are fused together when the preacher...
The Hebrew Gospel to a Greek Church (Part 2)
HUMANISM TO HEDONISM TO PLATONISM
Humanism isn’t new. It can be traced back to the platonic agenda. The sixth-century BCE pantheists Thales of Miletus and Xenophanes of Colophon prepared the way for later Greek humanist thought. Xenophanes chose not to recognise the gods of his time. Instead Xenophanes reserved the divine for the principle of unity in the universe. The later philosopher...
The Hebrew Gospel to a Greek Church (Part 1)
THE REVIVAL HYMN
Tom Muller wrote an interesting article on Humanism in the church, inspired by a youtube video entitled the ‘Revival Hymn’. His comments at the end of his note were provoking:
“The difference is that on one hand we have somebody who’s trembling because he’s gonna be hurt in hell. And he has no sense of the enormity of his guilt and no sense of the enormity of his crimes and...
February 2010
2 posts
Landscape Of The Mind
I remember driving to C3 College last year. While in the car, God said something profound to me (word in season):
“People can only see what they know/think/believe.”
I didn’t think that much of what God said until he gave me a vision.
A pastor, father and a banker were heading off to a small town. When they walked over a hill, reached the top and surveyed their destination,...
Rejecting Plato's Apple
You might think this name sounds weird - but this is a mission. A mission to promote awareness. Have you ever wondered why you think the way you think?
The scary thing is, people know how you think and every day, compete with others to make you think the way they think. Companies want to get in your head and know what you want.
Unfortunately today, so do churches.
Now we all know religion and...