The central tenets of Plotinus’s “Neoplatonism

by | Feb 27, 2025 | Essays

 

Considering the central tenets of Plotinus’s “Neoplatonism,” discuss how it might have impacted the formation of doctrine in early Christianity as well as how Christianity might have otherwise adopted some components of Ancient, Hellenistic and Roman philosophy.

Instructions: provide an answer using scholarly resources to back up your assertions.

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


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God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

Plotinus’s Neoplatonism, with its emphasis on a transcendent One and the hierarchical emanation of reality, significantly influenced the development of early Christian doctrine. Conversely, Christianity, emerging within the Hellenistic and Roman world, naturally absorbed and adapted elements from those philosophical traditions.  

Plotinus’s Neoplatonism and Early Christianity:

Plotinus’s system, articulated in the Enneads, posited a hierarchical structure of reality emanating from “The One,” a transcendent, ineffable source of all being. This concept profoundly resonated with early Christian theologians seeking to articulate the nature of God and the relationship between God and creation.  

Plotinus’s Neoplatonism, with its emphasis on a transcendent One and the hierarchical emanation of reality, significantly influenced the development of early Christian doctrine. Conversely, Christianity, emerging within the Hellenistic and Roman world, naturally absorbed and adapted elements from those philosophical traditions.  

Plotinus’s Neoplatonism and Early Christianity:

Plotinus’s system, articulated in the Enneads, posited a hierarchical structure of reality emanating from “The One,” a transcendent, ineffable source of all being. This concept profoundly resonated with early Christian theologians seeking to articulate the nature of God and the relationship between God and creation.  

  • Influence on Trinitarian Doctrine:
    • The concept of “The One” as the ultimate source provided a philosophical framework for understanding the Father as the origin of the Godhead.
    • The “Nous” (Intellect) in Plotinus’s system, emanating from “The One,” was seen as analogous to the Logos (Word) in John’s Gospel, providing a philosophical basis for understanding the Son as the divine intellect and mediator between God and creation.
    • The “Soul,” emanating from the “Nous,” provided a way of understanding the holy spirit.
    • As stated by scholars such as Andrew Louth, in his book “The Origins of the Christian Mystical Tradition: From Plato to Denys,” early Christian theologians found in Plotinus a philosophical language that could be adapted to explain the Christian understanding of the trinity.
  • Influence on Theological Anthropology:
    • Plotinus’s concept of the soul’s ascent to “The One” through contemplation and purification influenced Christian mystical theology.  
    • The idea of the soul’s inherent connection to the divine resonated with Christian teachings on the imago Dei (image of God) and the soul’s potential for union with God.
    • As shown in the works of Augustine of Hippo, who was heavily influenced by Plotinus, we can see the combination of platonic concepts and christian theology.  
  • Influence on understanding of evil:
    • Plotinus’s understanding of evil as a lack of being, or a distance from the one, helped early christian theologists understand how a good god could create a world with evil.

Adoption of Hellenistic and Roman Philosophy:

Christianity, emerging within the cultural milieu of the Hellenistic and Roman world, inevitably absorbed and adapted elements from those philosophical traditions.  

  • Stoicism:
    • Stoic ethics, emphasizing virtue, reason, and acceptance of fate, influenced Christian moral theology.  
    • The Stoic concept of natural law resonated with Christian ideas of divine law and moral order.  
    • Early christian writers such as Seneca, were very popular.
  • Platonism:
    • Platonic idealism, with its emphasis on the eternal and unchanging Forms, influenced Christian understandings of God and the spiritual realm.
    • Plato’s concept of the soul’s immortality and its separation from the body resonated with Christian teachings on the afterlife.
  • Aristotelianism:
    • Aristotle’s logic and metaphysics influenced Christian scholastic theology, particularly in the later Middle Ages.  
    • Aristotle’s concept of God as the “Unmoved Mover” provided a philosophical basis for natural theology.
  • Roman Law and Governance:
    • The Roman legal system influenced the development of canon law and church governance.  
    • The Roman concept of universal law and order resonated with Christian teachings on divine law and the kingdom of God.
  • Hellenistic Mysticism:
    • Various Hellenistic mystery cults and gnostic movements influenced early christian mystical thought.

Scholarly Resources:

  • Louth, Andrew. The Origins of the Christian Mystical Tradition: From Plato to Denys. Oxford University Press, 2007.
  • Armstrong, A. H. Plotinus. Penguin Books, 1991.
  • Chadwick, Henry. The Early Church. Penguin Books, 1967.
  • Augustine, of Hippo. Confessions.
  • Dodds, E. R. Pagan and Christian in an Age of Anxiety: Some Aspects of Religious Experience from Marcus Aurelius to Constantine. Cambridge University Press, 1965.  

These interactions between Neoplatonism, Hellenistic philosophy, Roman thought, and early Christianity were complex and multifaceted, shaping the development of Christian doctrine and theology in profound ways.

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