BEWARE THE PLATONIZED CHRIST

 

Logos philosophy and theology has regained popularity in recent years. Many individuals find themselves discovering something true in the writings of ancient writers like Plato and Maximus the Confessor, or even these truths parced out in the popular work of Jordan Peterson. However, we must make certain distinctions from platonism/neoplatonism itself, especially in regard to the person of Christ.

1. Neoplatonic metaphysics embraces the idea that the material universe is the image of a more ideal reality. In the study of forms, the image is one or more steps removed from the archetype, each reproduction of the image (the image of an image, etc) in some ways renders the original more opaque. Christ is not a platonic image of the Father, that is, not an imperfect image, but the image in its fullness: "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." Christ, as the Wisdom of God, is the articulation of the Father as Son- even to the Father. In His Son, the Father can see His own active image manifested as Self and other, being interior to the Son (the Father is in Me as I am in the Father) and distinct from Him. Reciprocally, the Son can see the Father in as He accomplishes His will in manifesting the image perfectly. Christ is not a degraded image of the Father, but bears the wholeness of His image in Himself for all eternity.

2. The Logos cannot be impersonal, nor generic. Regarding personhood St Maximus writes, "There is no unhypostasized nature." Every nature, be it man or God, can only manifest in a hypostasis- a person. Consider human nature; this singular nature is shared by many individual human persons but just as those many persons cannot exist apart from human nature, neither can nature exist apart from its hypostatization in individual persons. The same principle applies to God as Creator, as Logos specifically. The Logos for this reason must necessarily be a distinct Divine Person- the Creative Infinitude who chooses to freely manifest the Divine Nature outwardly and to condescend toward mankind to raise the whole man, both in body and spirit, toward Himself. Likewise, the Logos must maintain His uniqueness as Person in order to communicate His nature- first symbolically in the world, then in actuality by grace- without overwhelming human persons with the Divine Nature.

We must be wary of a platonized version of Christ who manifests the Father imperfectly, or else the impersonal Logos who cannot maintain uniqueness nor communicate the revelation Himself by reason or intention.

Jesus the Christ.

Son of God.

Perfect Image of the Father.

Divine Logos.

All must be found in the one God-Man.