Category Archives: Plotinus

gerson on dualism in plotinus

Posted on February 18, 2015 by christopher fisher

Plotinus and other Platonists identified matter with evil. Plotinus scholar, Lloyd P Gerson, explains their dualism in his pivotal work Plotinus: We have already encountered briefly Plotinus’ identification of matter with evil. Such an identification, along with the identification of … Continue reading →

Posted in People, Platonism, Plotinus | Leave a comment

plotinus reveals the mystery

Posted on August 8, 2014 by christopher fisher

The mystery cults were religious orders that existed from before the time of Plato. Mystery cults held their secrets very closely, hence the name. But modern readers can piece together their secrets with the varied sources that are in existence. … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Mystery Cults, Platonism, Plotinus | 3 Comments

an overview of neo-platonism

Posted on July 31, 2014 by christopher fisher

Neo-Platonists during the first few centuries AD would never call themselves Neo-Platonists. To them they were just Platonists, teaching the teachings of Platonism. They expanded Platonism, as described in my previous article, developing the attributes of the Summum Bonum, their … Continue reading →

Posted in Gnostics, Platonism, Plotinus, Theology | 7 Comments

the church fathers claim a pagan as their own

Posted on October 30, 2013 by christopher fisher

Ammonius Saccas was a Greek philosopher who was active around 240AD. Ammonius Saccas taught Neoplatonism and spawned two renowned pupils: the Christian Origen and the Neoplatonist Plotinus. Plotinus, in turn, had a pupil who claims to have also known Origen. … Continue reading →

Posted in Church Fathers, Church History, Greek History, History, Plotinus | 1 Comment

hitler rants against open theism

Posted on September 24, 2013 by christopher fisher

The latest offering from realityisnotoptionalTV:

Posted in Augustine, Bible, Calvinism, Figures of Speech, God, Omnipresence, Omniscience, Open Theism, Plato, Plotinus, Theology | 1 Comment

the summum bonum

Posted on August 20, 2013 by christopher fisher

It is important to understand Augustine’s teaching on the ultimate good (summun bonum) because it is the source of many doctrines in modern Christianity. Without this key teaching, many of the negative attributes of God may have never solidified. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Augustine, God, Greek History, History, People, Plato, Plotinus, Theology | 6 Comments

the origin of impeccability

Posted on August 14, 2013 by christopher fisher

Impeccability is the doctrine that God (and/or) Jesus “could not” sin, as opposed to “did not” sin. There is a distinction. In one model God and Jesus are incapable of sinning and in the other model God and Jesus choose … Continue reading →

Posted in Augustine, Bible, Calvinism, God, Morality, Open Theism, People, Plato, Plotinus, Theology | 2 Comments

how God describes himself

Posted on July 24, 2013 by christopher fisher

There is a cavernous disconnect between how Christians describe God and how God describes himself. Here is one example of a typical Christian answer: God is a Spirit and is the Creator of all things. He alone is eternal (has … Continue reading →

Posted in Calvinism, God, Omnipresence, Open Theism, People, Plotinus, Theology | 2 Comments

God is not omnipresent

Posted on July 14, 2013 by christopher fisher

A few weeks ago, my 3 year old daughter asked me “where is God?” Before I could respond one of my 5 year old boys interjected with the Christian cliché “God is everywhere.” I looked straight at him and asked: … Continue reading →

Posted in Calvinism, God, Omnipotence, Omnipresence, Omniscience, Open Theism, People, Plato, Plotinus, Theology | 18 Comments