Mark Edwards: Origen and the Platonists: Two Recent Studies

This paper responds to two articles in Origeniana Nona (2009), which purport to refute the arguments showing that Origen sharply distinguished Christianity from Platonism. In reply to Joseph O’Leary’s criticism of the author’s monograph, Origen against Plato, it will argue that, while it is possible to discover many homologies between Christianity and Platonism, Origen himself chose to accentuate the differences, which appeared to him profound and not merely residual; if Platonism means not merely the holding of  views that Plato also held, but the acceptance of  views distinctive to Platonism with conspicuous reverence for Plato himself, it would be more judicious to follow Tzamalikos in calling Origen an “anti-Platonist”. The second half of the paper reviews a catalogue of passages adduced by P.F. Beatrice from First Principles the Commentary on John to prove that Origen maintained a Platonic doctrine of the pre-existent soul. It will argue that these passages either refer to the flal of angels or can be read as passing allusions to theories that Origen himself did not entertain.