Word Gems: Bible: Paul's Pagan Sources

The apostle Paul liberally borrows
words, phrases, concepts, from the
pagan-wise of his day. If Paul's words
are "infallible," then, so are the
many pagan original sources.

Preview and Summary: Many of the so-called pagans brought to humankind the most advanced thinking ever produced. Paul, a Hebrew by birth, was also a Greek, in terms of education. And he would draw upon the wisdom of this adopted culture as support for his teachings.

"Paul quotes the Pagan sage Aratus, who lived in Tarsus [Paul's home town] several centuries earlier, describing God 'in whom we live and move and have our being' ... Just as Plato had written that we now only see reality 'through a glass dimly,' so Paul writes, 'for now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face.' ... Plato, in his allegory of the cave, had spoken of humankind's misperception of reality. Paul, too, says the same: 'At present all we see is the baffling reflection of reality.'" Peter Gandy

Though I've known this information for some time, I still find it rather startling - especially, when a "most beloved scripture," such as, "in whom we live and move and have our being," is revealed as originating from a non-biblical source.

And yet, bringing to mind just now, and having read, Will Durant's "Story Of Civilization" volume on the history of ancient Greece, I am less shocked. If you peruse that work, you will find a treasure-trove of wisdom from the great and wise of the past. There is reason why almost every college textbook will begin with an acknowledgment, "This subject was first explored the by ancient Greeks..."!

There is wisdom to be found in the Bible, but it is the height of folly and provincial thinking to suggest that God loved the Hebrews more than the Greeks, and that the Bible, more than other sources, is the repository of all wisdom. It is simply not true.