Seeping of Paganism into Christendom

"VERY early in their history the Christian churches that were

founded by the apostles came under heathen influence. 

These churches were, outside of Judea, planted in the midst of the heathen, and were largely composed of converts from heathenism. To the heathen they looked for their accessions. The apostles had to warn the flock continually against the subtle influence of the heathen philosophy. 

To the Colossians Paul wrote: Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man

spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the traditions of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 

To Timothy he gave this warning.
1 Timothy 6:20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to your trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called; 

21 Which some professing have erred concerning the faith.

These two texts describe in terms as accurate as they are brief the philosophy of the heathen world. It was this philosophy, so flattering to human pride, that was responsible for the gross abominations of idolatry, as the principle on which it was based was responsible for idolatry itself.

Romans 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened.

It is not necessary here to give a detailed account of the pagan

philosophy. The text just quoted sufficiently indicates that it was wholly of man—the product of the unregenerate human heart. 

While those who taught the people took the title of “philosophers”—lovers of wisdom— they had not, nor did they profess to have, any sort of an idea as to what wisdom is. Nor did they think that it is possible for man to find out. Their philosophy, therefore, was simply vain and idle speculation as to the cause of things. As the inspired history says of the Athenians: 

They Acts 17:21 ...spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.

he Platonists believed that all men are not simply the offspring of Deity, but that they are a part of Him—that every man is essentially divine. 

--It follows from this that they believed in the pre-existence of souls.

--Further, since divinity is always the same, the divine essence in man must have had as great wisdom before it entered into the human body as it ever could have. 

--Therefore, they held that all knowledge is inherent in man, but latent until it is developed by circumstances. The man, therefore, who would know wisdom, according to this philosophy, must simply look within.

The learned Mosheim, writing of the first century, says that... 

"..it is not to be denied, that even in this century the perverse Jewish custom of obscuring the plain language of Scripture by forced and frigid allegories, and of diverting words from their natural and proper meanings, in order to extort from them some recondite sense, found admirers and imitators among Christians."

Thus early were men beginning to depart from the simplicity of the word. 

--But it was not till in the second century, after all the apostles had passed away, that we find very marked evidences of degeneracy.

One of the most noted of these philosophers who came over to

Christianity was Justin Martyr, who lived from about 110 to 165 AD. Bishop A.C. Coxe, in his laudatory preface to the writings of Justin, says that: "After trying all other systems, his elevated tastes and refined perceptions made him a disciple of Socrates and Plato. So he climbed toward Christ."

As well talk of climbing toward the stars by burrowing in the ground. But this shows that Justin’s Christianity, when he at last joined the church, was simply a matter of philosophical taste. 

Bishop Coxe himself says as much in the same preface, remarking that: "He wore his philosopher’s gown after his conversion, as a token that he had attained the only true philosophy." 

E.J. Waggoner