In his book The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture, Yoram Hazony invites readers to think beyond the reason-revelation dichotomy. Whereas the reason-revelation dichotomy may succeed in encapsulating the uniqueness of the New Testament, Hazony argues it is more difficult to make this distinction when applying the dichotomy to the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). This is because the primary texts of the Hebrew Scripture were written centuries before the distinction between reason-revelation were ever applied to them. Hazony’s goal by the end of his book is to guide readers through the Hebrew texts as works of philosophical significance – both that the Hebrew Bible can be read as a work of reason and how the Hebrew Bible can be read as a work of reason.
Dru Johnson takes a Hebraic approach to both the Old and New Testaments in his book Biblical Philosophy. In the seventh chapter, Johnson takes up the discussion of the Apostle Paul’s relationship with Hellenistic philosophy. Johnson asks the following three questions and provides each with an answer:
- Was Paul “role-playing” with Hellenistic philosophy?
- What kind of philosophical literacies did Paul assume of his various audiences?
- Doesn’t Paul take an anti-philosophy position in his epistles?
First, Johnson suggests that Paul articulates a form of Hellenistic philosophy, but states it in a mode and form to help his audiences better understand the true wisdom of Hebraic philosophy. Second, Johnson underscores that Paul assumes literacies in Israelite heritage as interpreted through the Hebrew Bible, the literature of Second Temple Judaism, and/or the Greco-Roman schools of philosophy. Third, Johnson states that Paul replaces the philosophies of this world with Hebraic philosophy as discerned implicitly and explicitly throughout his letters.
In closing, I will share two quotes from N. T. Wright. First, in his book Paul: A Biography, Wright states, “But at the heart of it he is teaching non-Jews to think Jewishly and teaching both non-Jews and Jews to think in the Jewish way as radically modified by Jesus.” Second, in his translation The New Testament For Everyone, Wright states, “The letter to Rome is by common consent not only Paul’s masterpiece but one of the most astonishing pieces of writing on any subject from any time or culture.” Wright continues, “It wrestles with some of the hardest problems in philosophy or theology and ranks with anything that Plato or Aristotle ever wrote.”
~ Boethius ~