The unity and righteousness of God

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a mere housewife

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My husband read to me last Sunday night from Justin Martyr on the Sole Government of God, where he takes quotes from the Greek poets and philosophers to prove that all men know that there is one God, and that He is righteous, and requires righteousness from men. Besides being stunning poetry, it is incredible to realize that this came from the poets of the pagans. Here are some of my favorites:

"Afar from mortals place the holy God,
Nor ever think that He, like to thyself,
In fleshly robes is clad; for all unknown
Is the great God to such a worm as thou.
Divers similitudes He bears; at times
He seems as a consuming fire that burns
Unsated; now like water, then again
In sable folds of darkness shrouds Himself.
Nay, even the very beasts of earth reflect
His sacred image; whilst the wind, clouds, rain,
The roll of thunder and the lightning flash,
Reveal to men their great and sovereign Lord.
Before Him sea and rocks, with every fount,
And all the water floods, in reverence bend;
And as they gaze upon His awful face,
Mountains and earth, with the profoundest depths
Of ocean, and the highest peaks of hills,
Tremble: for He is Lord Omnipotent;
And this the glory is of God Most High."
(Aeschylus)

"I'll speak to those who lawfully may hear;
All others, ye profane, now close the doors!
And, O Musaeus, hearken thou to me,
Who offspring art of the light-bringing moon.
The words I tell thee now are true indeed,
And if thou former thoughts of mine hast seen,
Let them not rob thee of the blessed life;
But rather turn the depths of thine own heart
Unto that place where light and knowledge dwell.
Take thou the word divine to guide thy steps;
And walking well in the straight certain path,
Look to the one and universal King,
One, self-begotten, and the only One
Of whom all things, and we ourselves, are sprung.
All things are open to His piercing gaze,
While He Himself is still invisible;
Present in all His works, though still unseen,
He gives to mortals evil out of good,
Sending both chilling wars and tearful griefs;
And other than the Great King there is none.
The clouds for ever settle round His throne;
And mortal eyeballs in mere mortal eyes
Are weak to see Jove, reigning over all.
He sits established in the brazen heavens
Upon His throne; and underneath His feet
He treads the earth, and stretches His right hand
To all the ends of ocean, and around
Tremble the mountain ranges, and the streams,
The depths, too, of the blue and hoary sea."
(Orpheus, [i:4579897252]Diathecae[/i:4579897252])

"That time of times shall come, shall surely come,
When from the golden ether down shall fall
Fire's teeming treasure, and in burning flames
All things of earth and heaven shall be consumed;
And then, when all creation is dissolved,
The sea's last wave shall die upon the shore,
The bald earth stript of trees, the burning air
No winged thing upon its breast shall bear.
There are two roads to Hades, well we know;
By this the righteous, and by that the bad,
On to their separate fates shall tend; and He,
Who all things had destroyed, shall all things save."
(Sophocles)

"If there exists a God who walketh out
With an old woman, or who enters in
By stealth to houses through the folding-doors,
He ne'er can please me; nay, but only he
Who stays at home, a just and righteous God,
To give salvation to His worshippers."
(Menander, [i:4579897252]Auriga[/i:4579897252])

"Therefore ascribe we praise and honor great
To Him who Father is, and Lord of all;
Sole maker and preserver of mankind,
And who with all good things our earth has stored."
(Menander, [i:4579897252]Diphilus[/i:4579897252])

"For I deem that which nourishes my life
Is God; but he whose custom 'tis to meet
The wants of men, - He needs not at our hands
Renewed supplies, Himself being all in all."
(Menander, [i:4579897252]Piscatores[/i:4579897252])

I was wondering if anyone knows whether the Greek poets would have had access to Scripture, or if there is evidence that they would have read it. Some of the quotes are so like Scripture:

"If any one should dream, O Pamphilus,
By sacrifice of bulls or goats - nay, then,
By Jupiter - of any such like things;
Or by presenting gold or purple robes,
Or images of ivory and gems;
If thus he thinks he may propitiate God,
He errs, and shows himself a silly one.
But let him rather useful be, and good,
Committing neither theft nor lustful deeds,
Nor murder foul, for earthly riches' sake.
Let him of no man covet wife or child,
His splendid house, his wide-spread property,
His maiden, or his slave born in his house,
His horses, or his cattle, or his beeves,
Nay, covet not a pin, O Pamphilus,
For God, close by you, sees whate'er you do.
He ever with the wicked man is wroth,
But in the righteous takes a pleasure still,
Permitting him to reap fruit of his toil,
And to enjoy the bread his sweat has won.
But being righteous, see thou pay thy vows,
And unto God the giver offer gifts.
Place thy adorning not in outward shows,
But in an inward purity of heart;
Hearing the thunder then, thou shalt not fear,
Nor shalt thou flee, O master, at its voice,
For thou art conscious of no evil deed,
And God, close by you, sees whate'er you do."
(Philemon)
 
Heidi:
In [u:51f887a188]The City of God[/u:51f887a188] Augustine toys with the suggestion that maybe Plato visited Jeremiah. Apparently Plato did some traveling, visiting the wise men from wherever he ventured. He managed to go to Egypt, as was suggested at Augustine's time, when Jeremiah would have been there. But Augustine doubts that, since the dates don't coincide. But Plato also traveled to Persia, and may have come in contact with Daniel, when he was very old. It's possible, but who knows. I'm not a historian, so I don't know how well this fits together. But it is interesting.

The Jews were also a very active nation in the mercantile business, and traveled freely wherever their business took them. I don't doubt that their ideas went with them.

The question you ask can have at least two main ends: that the Greek philosophers came to this knowledge independently, thus proving the Biblical teaching that all men know; or that the basic gospel message was diffused throughout the world via the common trade of merchandise and ideas, possibly without the written Word. If I remember, that was something like Augustine's point as well. (I'm going to have to read that book again soon; it's getting hazy again. )

For myself, I would think that both are true. Paul too quotes the Greek poets, as shown in Acts 17. Paul is showing that what he has to say to the Athenians is not really new to them, except for the resurrection. And even of that he asks the king in Caesarea why it would be difficult to believe that God could do such thing, implying a consideration of all the things that any pagan religion believes their god can do.
 
That's really interesting, John: I didn't at all realise that Plato might actually have seen & talked with one of the prophets.

Thanks for your explanation and clarification: I don't know much about it, but it makes sense that the gospel must have been diffused in both ways. It is just so incredible to hear phrases like "He ever with the wicked man is wroth, but in the righteous takes a pleasure still..." Perhaps the almost identical resemblance of the words to Scripture is due to translation, but the resemblance of the idea has to be in the original.
 
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