Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott Pitta
Wow. This is a lot of ground to cover.
NT writers occasionally quote from literature outside of the OT canon as we know it today. Having a line or two quoted in the NT does not justify including the entire body of literary work into the NT canon.
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Paul quoted Greek philosophers, in
1 Corinthians 15:33 is Menander an Athenian dramatist who lived between 342 BC to 291 BC. In
Titus 1:12 Paul takes a racial jab at Cretans with their own philosopher Epimenides living between 7th or 6th century BC, who was a poet, philosopher, supposed seer/prophet. Hence Paul refers to Epimenides of Knossos as a prophet. Not that Paul believed he was a prophet, because Paul obviously includes Epimenides n his dig against the Cretans. In
Acts 17:24-29, the apostle is confronted by Epicureans and Stoics, the apostle opposes the Epicureans by using the words from a Roman Stoic Philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Paul uses Roman/Greek philosophy theory (the origin of the world by mere coincidence and of atoms) which was what the Epicureans believed, and placed himself with the “Stoics” in their doctrine of the (Divine Wisdom and Providence creating and ruling all things). Not that Paul believed in the Σοφία the goddess of wisdom, just using their beliefs as an opening to the message of Christ. Σοφία is also what the Shekinah is in Mystic Kabbalah. Which the Gnostics would adopt into their Hellenized Kabbalist Christianity.
In
Galatians 5:23, the Apostle Paul uses the words of Aristotle. We see in
1 Corinthians 9:24, 1 Corinthians 13:12, 2 Corinthians 7:2,
Ephesians 1:22-23,
Philippians 1:21,
Philippians 3:19, 2 Timothy 4:6 Paul quotes Plato's words, and incorporates Plato's phraseology into his own Epistles. In
Acts 14:15, Paul and Barnabas scream out a quote from Plato in Greek to get the mob's attention. In
1 Corinthians 12:14-17, 1 Corinthians 12:25 Paul incorporates Socrates.