Philosophy and the Human Situation
The Open University provides some free podcasts on Philosophy and the Human Situation. You can find them on iTunes here.
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Thoughtful Reflections on Faith and Life
Dear Mr.Beddard and readers intersted in”What The Bible Reallly Teaches,”
The bible has one mention of the word plilosophy and one mention of the word philosopher. Let us examine what the Bible says about philosophy and philosopher. Phiosophy first at Colossians 2:8,9. First quoted from the New World Translation Of The Holy Scriptures and then others from the web site http://www.biblize.com :
http://www.watchtower.org/e/bible/col/chapter_002.htm
“8 Look out: perhaps there may be someone who will carry YOU off as his prey through the philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary things of the world and not according to Christ; 9 because it is in him that all the fullness of the divine quality dwells bodily.”
http://biblize.com/search?q=colossians+2%3A8%2C9&q_scope=
AMP © 8See to it that no one carries you off as spoil or makes you yourselves captive by his so-called philosophy and intellectualism and vain deceit (idle fancies and plain nonsense), following human tradition (men’s ideas of the material rather than the spiritual world), just crude notions following the rudimentary and elemental teachings of the universe and disregarding [the teachings of] Christ (the Messiah).
9For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form [giving complete expression of the divine nature].
ASV © 8(1) Take heed lest there shall be any one that maketh spoil of you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the (2) rudiments of the world, and not after Christ: [Note: 1) Or See whether 2) Or elements ; See Ga 4:3 margin] 9for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily,
KJV © 8Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
9For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
NASB © 8See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
9For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
NIV © 8See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
9For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
NLT © 8Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 9For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.
Now the word “philospher” at Acts 17:18 and I am going to quote from the book “Bearing Thorough Witness About God’s Kingdom” concerning Paul and the witness he gave at the Areopagus (Mars Hill) in Athens:
“18 But certain ones of both the Ep‧i‧cu‧re′an and the Sto′ic philosophers took to conversing with him controversially, and some would say: “What is it this chatterer would like to tell?” Others: “He seems to be a publisher of foreign deities.” This was because he was declaring the good news of Jesus and the resurrection.”
Concerning beliefs of the EPICUREANS AND STOICS:
The Epicureans and Stoics were followers of two separate schools of philosophy. Neither believed in a resurrection.
The Epicureans believed in the existence of gods but thought that the gods had no interest in men and would neither reward nor punish them, so prayer or sacrifice was useless. Epicureans held pleasure to be the supreme good in life. Their thinking and actions were devoid of moral principle. Moderation was urged, however, on the grounds that it prevented the negative consequences of overindulgence. Knowledge was sought only to rid a person of religious fears and superstition.
The Stoics, on the other hand, believed that all things were part of an impersonal deity and that the human soul emanated from such a source. Some Stoics held that the soul would eventually be destroyed along with the universe. Other Stoics believed that the soul would ultimately be reabsorbed by this deity. According to Stoic philosophers, happiness was to be obtained by following nature.
That is what the Bible says about “philosophy” and “phiosophers.”
Warm Christian Love,
Randy