I agree with your quoted author completely. What the others who write in this commentary miss is exactly this misidentification that has causes so much grief, including the awful acts of the church in the past. Monarchical monotheism has a lot to answer for. We will get no progress in theology until we announce that this god is well and truly dead. One of the most distressing results of this identification is that the doctrine of creation has been placed in confrontation to scientific cosmology. The damage done do the intelligence has been incalculable.

Banjo,
I will not try to justify the deeds of evil men who call themselves Christian. The death of Jesus in Jerusalem should promote pacifism not violence. But alas, you keep beating us around the head and refuse to understand that those who perpetrated violence could not in any way be understood as following in the path of the gentle Galilean.

George wrote: "The thought occurs to me whether we Christians have not in the course of history constantly fallen prey to the temptation to exchange the paradoxical God of Christ’s Easter story for a “familiar god” conforming to the human notions and expectations of specific epochs. Wasn’t the identification of the Biblical God with the god of the ancient philosophers as described by Plato and Aristotle – so fateful for the history of Christian theology – precisely one of those substitutions?"

Dear George,

Aren't you describing what always happens? The original is made to conform with the familiar. Would Christianity have spread throughout the classical world if the paradoxical God of Christ’s Easter story had not taken on the familiar aspects of the god of the philosophers of that world?

Tacitus found the Jewish god offputting:

“…the Jews have purely mental conceptions of Deity, as one in essence. They call those profane who make representations of God in human shape out of perishable materials. They believe that Being to be supreme and eternal, neither capable of representation, nor of decay. They therefore do not allow any images to stand in their cities, much less in their temples. This flattery is not paid to their kings, nor this honor to our Emperors. From the fact, however, that their priests used to chant to the music of flutes and cymbals, and to wear garlands of ivy, and that a golden vine was found in the temple, some have thought that they worshiped father Liber, the conqueror of the East, though their institutions do not by any means harmonize with the theory; for Liber established a festive and cheerful worship, while the Jewish religion is tasteless and mean.”

However, the Christians added a divinity in human form like the familiar Roman and Greek gods and identified the original deity with the god of the philosophers. The early Christians did not fall prey to the temptation to exchange the paradoxical God of Christ’s Easter story for a “familiar god”. That exchange was essential to the Christian appeal to the peoples of the ancient world.

David F,
Interesting post. The early Christians in Rome were accused of atheism because they did not worship the standard gods. But there must be some truth in what you say. There has been a long argument about how early theology was influenced by Plato and Aristotle. Certainly the New Testament that was written in Greek and whose authors, mostly were surrounded by Greek culture resisted any influence. Platonism became Christianised Neo-Platonism as early as Augustine. Aristotle was used by Aquinas. Perhaps the biggest danger was the incorporation of Christianity by Constantine into the centre of Roman religion. It is easy to see monarchical monotheism mirroring the person of the emperor.

However, it is obvious, with the revival of Trinitarian theology, where we should proceed!

Dear david f (and Peter),

>>Aren't you describing what always happens? The original is made to conform with the familiar. Would Christianity have spread throughout the classical world if the paradoxical God of Christ’s Easter story had not taken on the familiar aspects of the god of the philosophers of that world?<<

I was not describing anything, I just offered a quote to Peter since I discerned therein a Barthian influence, and Peter is known to favour the theology of Karl Barth.

Your "taking on familiar aspects" is called inculturation, different from "conforming with". So the answer to your question is NO. If you remember, I was always in favour of a balance (no replacement or identification of one with the other) between the “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” and the “God of philosophers” as two “faces” of the same God.

What was “essential to the Christian appeal to the peoples of the ancient world” is so also today, which does not exclude the acceptance - after having passed through both the Middle Ages and Enlightenment - of a philosophical understanding of God, that has moved far beyond of what was originally available from ancient Greeks, and is hopefully comprehensible also to Christians with non-Western cultural roots.

Since Halík is a Catholic priest, I could offer as a counter-view the words of Benedict XVI in his 2006 Regensburg lecture:

"In the light of our experience with cultural pluralism, it is often said nowadays that the synthesis with Hellenism achieved in the early Church was a preliminary inculturation which ought not to be binding on other cultures. The latter are said to have the right to return to the simple message of the New Testament prior to that inculturation, in order to inculturate it anew in their own particular milieux. This thesis is not only false; it is coarse and lacking in precision."

Dear Sells,

Religions tend to incorporate the social structure extant at the time of their invention.

Constantine did not incorporate Christianity into the centre of Roman religion. He issued the Edict of Toleration which stopped the persecution of Christians. It was Theodosius who made Christianity the official religion of the Empire. Non-Christians were severely persecuted under Theodosius.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodosius_I contains an account.

In 1633 the Catholic church condemned Galileo as a heretic. Galileo quoted Cardinal Baronius (August 30, 1538 – June 30, 1607) known for saying, in the context of the controversies about the work of Copernicus and Galileo, "The Bible teaches us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go." This remark, which Baronius probably made in conversation with Galileo, was cited by the latter in his Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina (1615).

The incorporation of the Aristotelian view of the universe by Christianity was partly responsible for the hostility of the church to the discoveries of Copernicus and Galileo.

One influence of Greek culture upon Christianity is the mythology of the virgin birth. The KJV contains Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

In the original Hebrew the word, almah, meaning young woman, shall conceive. However, the Greek translation of Isaiah translated almah into parthenos which means virgin. This made Jesus similar to the pagan gods who were also born of a virgin.

Many pagan gods were born on or very near our Christmas Day, of a Virgin-Mother, in a Cave or Underground Chamber, led a life of toil for Mankind, were called by the names of Light-bringer, Healer, Mediator,Savior, Deliverer, were however vanquished by the Powers of Darkness, descended into Hell or the Underworld, rose again from the dead, and became the pioneers of mankind to the Heavenly world, founded Communions of Saints, and Churches into which disciples were received by Baptism and were commemorated by Eucharistic meals.

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1561/pg1561.txt points to “Pagan & Christian Creeds, Their Origin and Meaning” by Edward Carpenter which gives details.

*W\*/M*..quoting/PETER<<.."We..are invited..to.,become..what..we are."

Been/there,.done that...thanks.>>

YOU COULD..AT LEAST EXPAND/....BRO..[JESUS INVITED you]?
saying that..simply by loving..other..is/the way?....TO BECOME THAT WHICH...WE..ARE?

but/did you change?...[even]if...only..more skeptical?
regardless..of the change..it..had to have bought/YOU..closer TO WHAT YOur.wanting to ..become..[WHO-r-YOU?][who=i]
http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=6293&page=0

[OURS..IS EASY/.if/WE WANT TO..BE LIKE HIM/
loving/teaching/standing up/for.OTHER..[explaining.. caring sharing/...but

IMPORTANTLY..IS..that we earn it...by figuring-out
wHAT..*THAT PARABLE\/PARALLEL...IS REALLY Saying..[to me]..right now

[PETER].."Rather,..[living]..the Being..of Jesus..saves us
/from..[confused]/thinking...that we..*know..*good>>BY..my/WORKS/NOT JUST WORDS][lip/honorarium/..giving and*..[recieving

we well..[SHOULD/COULD/WOULD].know..[now]
that,/good/is\GOOD..BEcause all feel good..[IS/OF\god]
knowing..god=GOOD..

<<P>.and evil..and thus..[this LIVED SURETY]..saves us
from ideology..[creed/fear/greed]..and {IN}..theory [*]..
and re*turns us..to [higher].our sell'sF...">>

\/\/*/\/\:quote..<<>...Is itself.both a theory..>>

PLEASE WM..A TTIME TESTED/THEORY/
LEARNED AND EARNED.[and/YOU CANT FAKE IT]
BUT YES..ITS THEORY/..BUT..ONE ACTIVELY BEING..fIElD/TESTED/a working hypotheses/or a masters?

THEory*.<<\/\/*/\/\:quote>>..and an ideology..and where...do you end up.....yourself!>>

faiR ENOUGH..WM/WE...CAN/DO..END UP./OUR\.SELVES.
but..we alL have feet..of clay..

EVEN AT The end..our master doubted.[that doudt cost him...3 dayS IN HELL/BUT THE PAIR2B murded on the steps=3 DAYS AS WELL[]

WM,,..<<But,..that/is merely..my opinion..of such ruminations.>>

WONDERFUL*mate ..PLEASE SEE..ONLY TOGETHER,,can
this BE FIGURED OUT..[THE ME WE SEEK TO FIND=HE*...in all of thee

we=ME

WE
ME

ITS..A REFLECTION..THE MIRROr=HE

<<>*On the...'up' side,...you have achieved salvation..>>

i feel/..its more a waY..FOR ETERNAL CONSCIOUSNESS/OMNIPRESENT Holy.[S'..TO pass through eternity/..\[AS SOME SAY..WE ARE THE DREAM/..IN REALITY .ONLY THE SLEEPER EXIST

[know thyself/son..of the sUN...W=M]

<<>.by your/own definition:..
"Our salvation..is not..from*..the pains of hell>>

WE*ME.
PLEASE THINK..JESUS DID DIE/..aND HE DID RETURN
he didnt die..for our sins/or..he may have..bought them 'back'[BUT/I OWN\my..own sins/ti i can REPENT/THEIR MINE

my point is..deMONS SO LOVE THEIR SIN
[THEY CANT REALLY HURT THEmselves..MUCH/more once ya dead/
so goD LETS THEM..DO AS THEY WISh/..our last wish/gave us this body/to meet the need.

you just..need 'RECAL'/WHO YOU are..and
recall/why..why you came/..thAT GOD GRANTED..THYNE..thyne/WISH/

VIA THIS FLESH.

SEE SADLY/..MANY OF US,,\heard the cries/..from earth
and righteously CAME HERE..[incarnated].TO help-END IT/..BUT THIS PLACE IS LIke...a finger trap/...once ya spirit jumps iN..ITS HARD TO GET IT BACk..OUT..[and ya CANT JUMP..THE TRAIN/ONCE THE ride..has began/but\each..of us knew/ahead\OF TIME.

but..your fears/HURTS
AND SCREAMS...RISK BRINGING..YET..MORE GOOd spirits down

<<but..from ideas..that we think..are.."clear and distinct" as Descartes would have had it."

Congratulations>>

HONESTLY/YOU GUYS
ARE As bad as me

[beg/PARDON?]