From Protology to Eschatology: Competing Views on the Origin and the End of the Cosmos in Platonism and Christian Thought

by Joseph Verheyden (Editor), Geert Roskam (Editor), Gerd Van Riel (Editor)

This volume contains the proceedings of an international conference held in Leuven in June 2017 as a follow-up to a previous meeting that dealt with views on the origin of the cosmos in Greek philosophical and early Christian tradition (published in STAC 104, 2017). The second conference focused on how both traditions have reflected on the end or the goal towards which the cosmos is moving. The Judeo-Christian concept of a creation with temporal development and the philosophical notion of the eternity of the world evidently represent two very different positions. Yet there are also clear signs of convergence and of the latter influencing the former. The essays show there is common interest in reflecting not only on the principles that govern cosmology and on how the cosmos is reverting on its principles, but also on the answers provided in each tradition.

269 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Alan Fuller · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is clear that the intellectual idea of the world's eternity and the Judeo-Christian idea of a creation with chronological growth represent two quite distinct points of view. Nevertheless, despite their disparate beginnings, there are also some obvious indications of overlap and the latter's effect on the former. Both the Christian and (Greek) philosophical traditions share an interest in considering not just the cosmological laws and how the universe is returning to its laws, but also the solutions offered by their own traditions in this area. The solution may be found in Plato and the Bible, but it is also believed that they must be interpreted.

But the idea that “justice is guaranteed by the cosmic order; the universe is such that overall justice is rewarded and evil punished” does not fit this overall picture. p.48