Category Archives: logos
Team 6, Question 3
John’s Logos Hymn is a prologue that introduces the reader to who Jesus is in relation to God by implicitly describing Jesus rather than naming him. “The Logos” or “Word” in John were favored as masculine synonyms to “Sophia” which is a personification of Wisdom. (John 1:2) says, “He was in the beginning with God” which emphasizes the divinity and trueness of the Word. As White talks about the later Jewish tradition he makes the relation to Genesis in saying, “Wisdom was the other ‘person’ present at creation when God said ‘Let us make human kind in our own image’ (Gen 1:26)”. (White 43) The Word, became flesh and lived amongst the people, The Word was in the world and the world did not know him, nor did they accept him. But for those who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God. John the Baptist was sent before Jesus, many people confused John to be their savior but he himself was not the light, rather as a witness to testify to the light. Johns influence amongst the people was crucial in helping them understand that the Law did come through Moses, but grace and truth came through The Word, Jesus Christ.
In the Greek moral tale of the “choice of Hercules”, Hercules comes across a fork in the road. On one side, the latter offers to show him a smooth and easy path to happiness. Whereas on the other side, the former promised only a rough and difficult road to noble deeds. Hercules path is the path of virtue. (White 43). Whereas in Proverbs 7 there is a similar situation, only that the young man follows the latter, and goes like an ox to the slaughter. The young man would be the second of God’s creations, one that can be molded like clay and corrupted. Philo makes an interpretation of Genesis with two interpretations of mankind. The first, is Sophia in the heavenly logos for she comes from God and is true. See personification of Sophia. (White 45) The second of course, is the creation of the physical human creature of earth. Physical humans are patterned in the image of the first, the first is also The Word, and of course The Word being Jesus. This is how many people attribute Jesus to being the only perfect being to walk the earth and how all humans were made in his image.
As a 1st century ready of John, depending on if my ideals were based on a Jewish Law or Greco-Roman way of life I would understand Jesus to be the light. I would better comprehend that the way to get to God would be through Sophia, which would lead me to be foolish and believe in the cross only if I desired the purpose of it. I would understand the personification of wisdom and would associate it with King Solomon’s ideas of wanting to love and marry Sophia. I wouldn’t have any expectations of the rest of the bible as I can’t avoid my own bias of knowing the good news from The Word.
ROJ: 4/7; Team 5, Question 3
In John 1:1-18, the Word (the Logos) was not just present with God before all created things were created, the Word (the Logos) was God (v.1). The Word (the Logos), also known as the light of men and the Son, is making people children of God (v.12). Though no one has direct visual access to God, as the Word (the Logos) has become flesh and dwelt among men (v.14) he is and has made God known (v.18). The whole world, everything that came into existence, was created by the Word (the Logos) (v.3,10), yet despite this the world did not know or accept him (v.10-11). Even his own people, presumably the Jews, did not receive him. The world’s very existence depends on the Word (Logos), and he is the source of life and light (v.4), yet they did not receive him. The community seems to be those who recognize the necessity to receive the Word (the Logos) when others did not, and now have been made children of God. Now this community also sees the glory of the Father through the Son (v.14). The Word (the Logos) is significant for the community because in him is life and the light of men (v.4), the opportunity to be children of God, and as seen in 11:25 the Word (the Logos) is the resurrection and the life.
According to Philo of Alexandria, a devout 1st century Jew who applied Platonic philosophy to Jewish cosmology, there is a dichotomy between the heavenly Logos and earthly humanity. He sees two types of humans: the heavenly man who is the offspring of God, free of corruption and earthly substance, and the earthly man disparate and not the offspring of God. Sophia or personified wisdom, is the feminine counterpart to the masculine Logos term. She is active in the activity of creation and makes the “holy souls” prophets and “friends of God”, and to approach God one must be a lover of Sophia (White 46).
As a 1st century reader of John, I would be fairly familiar with the concepts of Sophia and Logos, and I would understand that it is the personification of virtue, reason and wisdom that has taken on human form. Logos actually being God himself doesn’t seem to be present in the established understanding prior to John. As a 1st century reader, I would also expect that Logos would be necessary for getting to God, just by necessity of him representing wisdom and truth, not mentioning that he is God.
Despite some differences, John also writes that the Word (the Logos) was also involved in the activity of creation, that he gives the right to be children of God (John 15:15 “friends”) and is the way to approach God. Like Philo’s Logos, Jesus also fully displays the glory of God (is without corruption) and is the Son (offspring in Philo’s terms) of the Father. In addition, though no one had visual access to God (v.18), as in Greek contexts when Sophia/Logos is a very active agent under a transcendent though indifferent God, Logos in the Gospel of John, while also being God, has made God known as the intermediary between God and earthly man.
ROJ: 4/7; Team 1, Question 1
Chapter three of Scripting Jesus, by L. Michael White, brings up some interesting thoughts on the idea of wisdom. White explains how wisdom was personified as either Sophia or Logos by many writers such as Philo, Sirach and Solomon. It is clear that early Greek mythology was seeping into the writers’ understanding of Wisdom. Sirach and Solomon allude to a female personification of wisdom that speaks in various instances in the Bible. “Sophia”, as they call her, says that she has been there since the beginning; helping God with the creation of the Universe. Her presence at creation would imply that she is somehow divine. That is where the polytheistic principles of early Greek mythology seeped into the writing. Adding to that point, White quotes Philo who says that Logos was made in the image of God, whereas humans were made from the Earth in the image of the image of God. In other words, humans were made in the image of Logos. Philos’ writings clearly reflect the polytheistic principles of the time. He was a believer that Logos helped God with creation, and sits with him in heaven. His description of Logos is shares similarities with how Jesus is later referred to as sitting at the right hand of God in heaven.
Heraclitus and Cicero provide a shift in the thinking about the divine. Heraclitus begins by explaining how humans do not even possess the power to comprehend Logos when they see it. Heraclitus is trying to establish that the divine are the only beings that can understand Logos and that humans in their imperfect nature are impossible of doing so.
Cleanthes uses the Greek God Zeus as a metaphor for God in his poem to Zeus. Cleanthes’ poem illustrates a divinity that is omnipotent. He says that Zeus controls all things. The language of the Greek cosmology of the time is seen in the writing when Cleanthes says that all things spin around the earth, which obeys him.
Heraclitus, Cicero, and Xenophon all describe different relationships between humanity and the divine. Heraclitus describes how humans and the divine will remain distant because humans are incapable of even understanding Logos. Cicero describes a close relationship between humanity and the divine where the divine are everywhere and in everything. Xenophon brings up the story of vice and virtue appearing to Heracles, which was brought up in White’s book in less detail. The relationship Xenophon describes is one where the divine test humans and in turn will reward them for being virtuous and not taking shortcuts in life.
Heraclitus, Cicero, Xenophon, and Cleanthes all were writing about divinity in an interesting time. They are stuck in some of their polytheistic roots but moving towards more of a monotheistic view. This makes their writings quite interesting due to their varying descriptions of God and divinity.
ROJ 4/7: Team 2, Question 1
In reading chapter three of Scripting Jesus, White sets up this idea of wisdom otherwise known as the personified woman, Sophia, or its male counterpart, Logos. This is an important introduction to the Heraclitus, Cicero, Cleanthes and Xenophon texts which each illuminate their philosophy behind their own interpretation of wisdom, virtue, and reason. First, we must recognize that White primarily emphasizes Sophia in the book of Luke, and both Sophia as well as logos in the view of Philo. Second, it is vital to be aware that each philosophy, regardless of contextual background, had its own twist on what reason looked like. Although there are different twists, there is an overarching theme of a higher wisdom or understanding apart from what mere humans can fathom.
Beginning with Heraclitus and Cicero, we see a shift of the divine. This shift is contrary to what the average human would like to admit: that logos can be known by the divinity alone. Heraclitus hits this perspective on the head by comparing human opinion to “children’s play” and referring to people as deceived, using Homer as an example. In this work it is clear that humans cannot understand logos. Reason is considered by Heraclitus as something that “humans always prove unable to understand” (10.1). We can thus deduce that the divinity alone understands logos while humans fail to fully grasp it. Cicero goes even further as to rationalize the existence of gods due to the fact that humans portray only a small fraction of perfection and that perfection in its entirety is held by gods. Within his texts, logos in hypothesized to be in several different entities such as gods or even the world being the ultimate god. However, Cicero concludes that there must be gods whom are governing the world and all that is in it. This displays the on-going idea of polytheism, the belief in many gods, but also illustrates a shifting idea that gods have control over the world with this divine understanding. This impedes on the idea that humans can harness logos due to the idea that divinities hold all reason, that of which they use to council the world.
Divine power is thus seen as holding all reason, but how can that be further described? Cleanthes gives us insight of his perspective in Hymn to Zeus. The hymn describes Zeus (a metaphor for God) as omnipotent, mover of nature, the father of mortal creatures, and the one whom permits all that happens on earth and heaven alike. In addition, Zeus is portrayed as a being in which man should partner with in order to live a good life with intelligence. Therefore, God is portrayed as sovereign: all-knowing and all-powerful. Cleanthes recommends praising the sovereign God because he has created us as his offspring and life with him leads to intelligence or logos. Reverting back to the idea of logos, based on this poem, we see that a view of understanding is that it can in a sense be harnessed by humans but not without the ordination of it by God.
Lastly, we look at Xenophon’s text called Memorabilia. This work personifies both vice and virtue as women. White gives us a summarized version of this story in chapter 2 of Scripting Jesus so we have already had some insight into what Heracles chooses and why. However, Xenophon goes further into the matter, not only elaborating on the story but in doing so explains what is pleasing to the gods. Through conflict between the women, it is revealed that virtue is more important to the gods. The character virtue gives a few reasons as to why. First off, what is the reward in being handed everything without need? There is no reward, there is simply endless amount of compulsion. Second, where is honor without work? Virtue argues that there is no honor without first working for it. Through the struggle the honor is rewarded and also well-deserved. Lastly, the gods cast out vice because they find favor with virtue instead. In explaining why virtue is better over vice, we are revealed what part human plays with the gods in the eyes of Xenophon. Human must struggle and labor for virtue since the gods reward this kind of behavior whereas they detest those whom do not work for good things.
Throughout these several sources we see different interpretations, expectations, and perceptions of gods and God. I would argue that there are two major similarities through these texts: 1) God and man are in some kind of relationship, and 2) God has some form of higher understanding (logos) than mankind. Although these relationships differ and the amount of knowledge the gods or God harnesses may differ, the idea of a higher being somehow governing the world through relationship with man is evident throughout.