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  • From: "Liz Fried" <lizfried AT umich.edu>
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: C-P: Paul and Plato
  • Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1999 12:38:20 -0400


Dear Jeffrey et. al.,
This morning I reread Galatians with some friends, and Plato's influence on
Paul seems obvious to me, so I would like to discuss it.

In 5:16ff Paul contrasts living after the spirit and living after the flesh.
The desires of the flesh are opposed to that of the spirit. Philo discusses
this as well. It seems to me this contrast between spirit and flesh is a
Platonic one. The flesh is transitory, subject to evil; the spirit is
permanent, eternal, not subject to evil. If you sow to the flesh you reap
corruption, if you sow to the spirit you reap eternal life (6:7).
Flesh=mortality; spirit=eternal life. That dichotomy seems to me to be
Platonic.

A friend this morning pointed out that Paul says in 5:19 "the works of the
flesh are *obvious.*" This must refer to natural law. I'm not sure what the
Platonic concept of natural law is, perhaps you will enlighten me. But it
seems by the phrase "it is obvious" that this is what Paul refers to.

When Paul contrasts "the Jerusalem above" (4:26) with the "present
Jerusalem" he contrasts the real=spiritual=heavenly Jerusalem with the
unreal=temperal=earthly Jerusalem. This seems to me also to be a Platonic
dichotomy. What is real is what is spiritual and eternal, what is unreal is
temporal and impermanent. The *real* sons of Abraham are according to the
spirit, the unreal according to the flesh. I don't think this can be
understood without understanding Plato.

The major part of the letter is Paul's contrast between spirit and flesh.
This contrast is based on Platonic thought it seems to me. This same
dichotomy is present in Philo, but it is based on Plato.

If Paul is not based on Plato, then I am not understanding Plato or I am
not understanding Paul, so perhaps we can discuss this.

All best,
Liz



Lisbeth S. Fried
Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies
New York University
51 Washington Sq. S.
New York, NY 10012
lqf9256 AT is3.nyu.edu
lizfried AT umich.edu





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