One can understandably wonder why the Catholic faithful should familiarize themselves, at least at a basic level, not only with the Jewish roots of their faith, but also with ancient Greek culture and philosophy. After all, Pentecost happened in Jerusalem, not Athens. That is true, as it is true that none of this intellectual and cultural baggage is of absolute necessity to make our way to Heaven: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor 12:9)
One could arguably say that sometimes it is even better not to pay attention at all to this complicated philosophical stuff, since, as the apostle Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 8:1: “knowledge inflates with pride.” That is also very true. And this is why the entire Christian tradition is filled with testimonies of saints and great theologians, reminding us that holiness comes through the listening of God’s whispers, which we primarily find in silent prayer, not books.
See, for instance, what Isaac of Nineveh (c. 613 – c. 700), a famous saint and theologian of the Orthodox Church, says on this topic: "Many seek eagerly, but only those who remain in constant silence do find... Every man who delights in the abundance of words, even if he says admirable things, is empty deep inside. If you love the truth, be a lover of silence." And this is only one among many reminders of our utter powerlessness to grasp God’s mystery with words.
But, at the same time, Jesus is called the “logos”, in the prologue of John’s Gospel. “Logos” is a Greek word, which we translate into English as “Word”. In coming to dwell among us, the divine Word not only acted, he spoke to us, using human words. And in doing so, he revealed something of God’s mystery to us. Which means that human words also are effective conduits of the divine truths, if filled with grace. Therefore, we shouldn’t underestimate the role of words. They can also foster an encounter with God. “Thus, faith comes from what is heard.” (Rm 10, 17)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is pretty clear about both truths. Firstly, that “our human words always fall short of the mystery of God”. And secondly, that, “in speaking about God like [we do], our language is using human modes of expression; nevertheless, it really does attain to God himself, though unable to express him in his infinite simplicity.” (CCC, 42-43). In sum, human words echoing those of the divine Word offer a reliable glimpse of God's real identity. Just as the Word is a bridge between God and us, our human words can be bridges leading to God.
It is also said: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Mt 22: 37). Which means that our whole self, our mind included, is meant to actualize our commitment to love God. And that’s exactly why Paul tells the Ephesians he is writing to that he prays for them, so “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give [them] a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him.” (Ep 1:8). It follows from what we have said that thinking is also a means of knowing, loving and serving God.
It so happens that thought develops and unfolds through the use of language and that most early Christian thinkers meditated upon God’s unfathomable mysteries in Greek. The founding texts of our ecclesial tradition (namely the four Gospels, the book of Acts, the apostolic letters and the book of Revelation) were all written in Greek. The most sublime truths human beings were told by God were “imbedded” into a pagan language, into Greek words carrying with them an array of ideas, cultural references, linguistic possibilities that were originally foreign to the Biblical thought.
The Bible reveals us God’s heart. So, it is as if, to present himself before us, God clothed his heart first with the Hebrew language, because he wanted to speak first and foremost to his chosen people. But when he undertook the job of revealing to the whole world the greatest mystery of all (that of the Trinity) through the sending of his Son and his Holy Spirit, he decided to clothe his heart with the Greek language. That is the first reason why learning a few things about ancient Greek culture and philosophy is relevant to us. But there are many more...
One other good reason is that Judaism itself, though opposed to any kind of paganization of its faith (see the two books of the Maccabees), also underwent a process of Hellenization of their culture, i.e. a process of adaptation to Greek culture and adoption of some Greek cultural features), resulting, for instance, in the writing of some important biblical texts in Greek, those we call deuterocanonical (1). The Book of Wisdom, last book of the Old Testament to be written, was originally composed in Greek, “most likely in Alexandria, Egypt”, around the year 50 BC.
And there are many more reasons...
__________
(1) Hellenization, for better or for worse, started with the expansion of the Greek Empire and the Macedonian conquest of Judea and Samaria by Alexander’s army in the year 333 BC. Prior to that, the Jewish people had been living under Persian rule for about two centuries.
One could arguably say that sometimes it is even better not to pay attention at all to this complicated philosophical stuff, since, as the apostle Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 8:1: “knowledge inflates with pride.” That is also very true. And this is why the entire Christian tradition is filled with testimonies of saints and great theologians, reminding us that holiness comes through the listening of God’s whispers, which we primarily find in silent prayer, not books.
See, for instance, what Isaac of Nineveh (c. 613 – c. 700), a famous saint and theologian of the Orthodox Church, says on this topic: "Many seek eagerly, but only those who remain in constant silence do find... Every man who delights in the abundance of words, even if he says admirable things, is empty deep inside. If you love the truth, be a lover of silence." And this is only one among many reminders of our utter powerlessness to grasp God’s mystery with words.
But, at the same time, Jesus is called the “logos”, in the prologue of John’s Gospel. “Logos” is a Greek word, which we translate into English as “Word”. In coming to dwell among us, the divine Word not only acted, he spoke to us, using human words. And in doing so, he revealed something of God’s mystery to us. Which means that human words also are effective conduits of the divine truths, if filled with grace. Therefore, we shouldn’t underestimate the role of words. They can also foster an encounter with God. “Thus, faith comes from what is heard.” (Rm 10, 17)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is pretty clear about both truths. Firstly, that “our human words always fall short of the mystery of God”. And secondly, that, “in speaking about God like [we do], our language is using human modes of expression; nevertheless, it really does attain to God himself, though unable to express him in his infinite simplicity.” (CCC, 42-43). In sum, human words echoing those of the divine Word offer a reliable glimpse of God's real identity. Just as the Word is a bridge between God and us, our human words can be bridges leading to God.
It is also said: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Mt 22: 37). Which means that our whole self, our mind included, is meant to actualize our commitment to love God. And that’s exactly why Paul tells the Ephesians he is writing to that he prays for them, so “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give [them] a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him.” (Ep 1:8). It follows from what we have said that thinking is also a means of knowing, loving and serving God.
It so happens that thought develops and unfolds through the use of language and that most early Christian thinkers meditated upon God’s unfathomable mysteries in Greek. The founding texts of our ecclesial tradition (namely the four Gospels, the book of Acts, the apostolic letters and the book of Revelation) were all written in Greek. The most sublime truths human beings were told by God were “imbedded” into a pagan language, into Greek words carrying with them an array of ideas, cultural references, linguistic possibilities that were originally foreign to the Biblical thought.
The Bible reveals us God’s heart. So, it is as if, to present himself before us, God clothed his heart first with the Hebrew language, because he wanted to speak first and foremost to his chosen people. But when he undertook the job of revealing to the whole world the greatest mystery of all (that of the Trinity) through the sending of his Son and his Holy Spirit, he decided to clothe his heart with the Greek language. That is the first reason why learning a few things about ancient Greek culture and philosophy is relevant to us. But there are many more...
One other good reason is that Judaism itself, though opposed to any kind of paganization of its faith (see the two books of the Maccabees), also underwent a process of Hellenization of their culture, i.e. a process of adaptation to Greek culture and adoption of some Greek cultural features), resulting, for instance, in the writing of some important biblical texts in Greek, those we call deuterocanonical (1). The Book of Wisdom, last book of the Old Testament to be written, was originally composed in Greek, “most likely in Alexandria, Egypt”, around the year 50 BC.
And there are many more reasons...
__________
(1) Hellenization, for better or for worse, started with the expansion of the Greek Empire and the Macedonian conquest of Judea and Samaria by Alexander’s army in the year 333 BC. Prior to that, the Jewish people had been living under Persian rule for about two centuries.