“Agora of Athens” by Raphael
Two related quotations:
Professor G.B. Stones:
The “Monty Python” view of Palestine [of New Testament times] as a sort of Jewish state under Roman occupation misses out on the fact that, culturally speaking, it’s a very Hellenized country. It was part of Alexander’s empire already, so it’s been under Hellenic influence for three centuries [i.e., by the time Jesus was born].
The “Monty Python” view of Palestine [of New Testament times] as a sort of Jewish state under Roman occupation misses out on the fact that, culturally speaking, it’s a very Hellenized country. It was part of Alexander’s empire already, so it’s been under Hellenic influence for three centuries [i.e., by the time Jesus was born].
Peter Adamson (Interviewer):
As a matter of historical possibility, do we think that Paul could have read Stoic texts? Or is the idea more that Stoicism was “in the air” in his intellectual environment?
As a matter of historical possibility, do we think that Paul could have read Stoic texts? Or is the idea more that Stoicism was “in the air” in his intellectual environment?
Professor G.B. Stones (Durham University):
I find it more plausible to think that it was “in the air”. He clearly has very profound rhetorical training. He writes Greek that is indicative of a high level of Greek education.
These comments fit into the debate over to what extent Christianity was “Western” in orientation from the beginning.
Both comments can be found in the first few minutes of History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps, Episode #108 (“On the Greek Church Fathers”). This is a series of audio recordings (podcasts) started in December 2010 by this Peter Adamson, an academic. A new episode is released semi-weekly.
I discovered the podcast series just recently and like the ones I’ve heard, though I can’t follow what he’s saying a lot of the time, I must admit. As of this writing in April 2015, he’s up to episode #221 about somebody living in the 1100s AD called Hildegard of Bingen. (At this rate, the series might finally finish recording in the 2020s.)