Dear Khazeh,
<<Except that if you really carefully read Baha'u'llah He reveals that the
Authors of Classicism derived their inspiration from the Prophets...>>
Thanks for the quotations. I'm in agreement with Mark on this question.
Recent scholarship on the Greek dependency theme, if anyone is interested in the
contemporary scholarship on this question, argues that the Jews barrowed from
the Greeks rather than the Greek barrowing from the Jews. To overturn this view
it is necessary to over turn much in biblical scholarship with regard to the
dating of texts--among other things.
Early on, both cultures appear to have believed simply in an underworld,
and gradually the idea evolved of an afterlife where people were rewarded or
punished. This seemed to have evolved in Greek and Roman culture, influencing
both Jewish ad Christian thought. Just reading Homer, Virgil, and then Dante,
in succession, the natural evolution is easy to see.
You mentioned Keven Browne has written extensively on the Greeks and the
Scholastics and the Faith. Is this online? Where might I find this? I'm
interested to know if any Baha'i has actually tackled the main questions as I've
been studying this now for many years and am still in the middle of it.
Here are a few of the obvious issues:
<<Even Socrates visited the Jewish doctors in the Holy Land, consorting with
them and discussing the principles and basis of their religious belief. After
his return to Greece he formulated his philosophical teaching of divine unity
and advanced his belief in the immortality of the spirit beyond the
dissolution of the body. Without doubt Socrates absorbed these verities from the wise
men of the Jews with whom he came in contact. (Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith -
Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 272)>>
1. If we accept the dating of biblical scholars, had Socrates visited
Palestine in his life time there is no biblical texts from that period which present
the the immortality of the spirit beyond the dissolution of the body, at least
not in the way spoken of by Socrates, nor in a way that is significantly
different from that of the Greeks that preceded Socrates--even Homer! Jews had an
idea of resurrection, following their Babylonian captivity, rather than the
immortality of souls.
2. The writings of Socrates show that he speaks of a plurality of gods, to
which he was devoted, right to the very end of his life.
<<O thou handmaid of God! It is recorded in eastern histories that Socrates
journeyed to Palestine and Syria and there, from men learned in the things of
God, acquired certain spiritual truths; that when he returned to Greece, he
promulgated two beliefs: one, the unity of God, and the other, the immortality of
the soul after its separation from the body; that these concepts, so foreign
to their thought, raised a great commotion among the Greeks, until in the end
they gave him poison and killed him. And this is authentic; for the Greeks
believed in many gods, and Socrates established the fact that God is one, which
obviously was in conflict with Greek beliefs.>>
3. Its very hard to see that Socrates promulgated the unity of God, or that
either of these beliefs had anything to do with the death of Socrates, as the
account of his trial presents a wholly different picture.
<<The Founder of monotheism was Abraham; it is to Him that this concept can
be traced, and the belief was current among the Children of Israel, even in the
days of Socrates. The above, however, cannot be found in the Jewish
histories; there are many facts which are not included in Jewish history.
(Abdu'l-Baha,
Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 54)>>
4. This belief can be found in well known Jewish and Christian histories as
that's where the dependency theme originated before Muslims adopted and
modified it, and this material was well known among the learned in Europe at the time
'Abdu'l-Baha was living.
<<After him came Socrates who was indeed wise, accomplished and righteous. He
practised self-denial, repressed his appetites for selfish desires and turned
away from material pleasures. He withdrew to the mountains where he dwelt in
a cave. He dissuaded men from worshipping idols and taught them the way of
God, the Lord of Mercy, until the ignorant rose up against him. They arrested
him and put him to death in prison. Thus relateth to thee this swift-moving Pen.
What a penetrating vision into philosophy this eminent man had! He is the
most distinguished of all philosophers and was highly versed in wisdom. We
testify that he is one of the heroes in this field and an outstanding champion
dedicated unto it. He had a profound knowledge of such sciences as were current
amongst men as well as of those which were veiled from their minds. Methinks he
drank one draught when the Most Great Ocean overflowed with gleaming and
life-giving waters. (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 146)>>
*There is nothing problematic in Baha'u'llah's depiction of Socrates (above)
in Tablets of Baha'u'llah, apart from the context of the Greek dependency
theme itself.
Warmest,
Michael
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