Did Jesus Study Greek Philosophy? The Hidden Influence on His Teachings

Alternative Narratives of Christ: A Socratic Saviour? 

Did Jesus Enjoy the Sages? 

7 to 9 min read 

Did Jesus embrace the ideas of the great Greek philosophers? To understand how Hellenistic philosophy may have influenced his teachings, we should try to appreciate these influences, let's consider the following:

Alexander the Great introduced Greek culture making Israel a cultural synchronicity, it lasted well beyond his era! Jewish communities were also living in Greece since those times! However, around 160-170 BCE in Israel, Judas Maccabeus fought against Greek assimilation, succeeding and finally establishing his family dynasty called the Hasmoneans. Unfortunately, after internal conflict, it all ended. Roman conquest happened. Pompey Magnus in 63 BCE marched in and Greek and Roman culture planted itself firmly, yet still resisted.

Greek Settlements in Galilee 

During the Jesus years, cities like Tiberias and Sepphoris existed in Galilee. Sepphoris was adorned with Greek architecture and cultural influences—the ruins still exist. Galileans were rural people with access to philosophical ideas. Stoicism, Aristotelianism, and Platonism would have informed Nazareth, Capernaum and Magdala. The hellenic worldview integrated with old Rabbinic paradigm. Even figures like Paul of Tarsus and the author of John’s Gospel used specific philosophical themes into their writings. 

Sepphoris 

John 8:32: Jesus’s teaching, 'Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,' parallels Plato’s idea that philosophy liberates the soul (Phaedo 67d).

Matthew 6:34: Jesus's advice to not worry about tomorrow resonates with Seneca’s Stoic emphasis on focusing on the present (Letters from a Stoic).

The Anti-Jesus Sources 

The Talmudic portrayal of Jesus 500 CE stems from an older verbal 'Pantera' tradition, pre-dating Celsus 120-130 CE, who mentioned the polemics therein, in his writings against the Christians. The Talmud includes accusations of Jesus violating Jewish law, burning food on the Sabbath. Yes, it sounds petty, but there are more to these things than I can cover here. The offence of food burning, seems to imply that his prosecutors were framing him of practicing some kind of pagan ritual. In the bible the man was called a Samaritan. Orthodox Jews recognised these people as heretics—this snobbery is a common theme. 

How do you think traditional Jews saw their hellenised townsfolk, given that Greco-Roman culture was shared by their Roman oppressors?

The Galilean in the Talmud was considered to have 'led the Jews astray'. What is interesting is the polemic about him burning his food in public; is it a reference to how Greeks made their offerings to their gods? It also points at poor behaviours like consuming it openly, an attempt at discrediting any divine rumours by pinning old hellenised stereotypes onto him. 

Overlaps and Striking Similarity

Philo of Alexandria said the soul is divine and virtuous people are 'sons of God,' reflecting Stoic ideas of the divine Logos and universal reason. This sounds like Christianity. 

The universalism and inner spirituality of Jesus, was at odds with strict ritual observances that later followed. We know Jesus was not welcomed at all by religious leaders because it contrasted with covenantal law going back to Abraham and Moses. The shift aligns with philosophical values surrounding personal virtue and the universality of the divine. 

Heraclitus: “The divine is the logos, present within all things, and accessible through inner reflection.” (Fragments, 50)

Jesus: "The kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:21)

Plato: “He who loves the truth and is gentle in spirit is the true philosopher, akin to the divine.” (Republic, 514a)

Jesus: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." (Matthew 5:9)

Tiberias Galilee

People who lived within synchronised Jewish communities achieved new visions surrounding moral and intellectual enlightenment. They could consider one another as 'sons of God' under such paradigms. When God, Eloah or Elohim could be interchangeable with Platonic and Stoic ideals. This synthesis of divine qualities may easily have shaped the Jesus movement, driving theological discourse with the rigid Rabbinic Orthodoxy of the time. 

Conclusion... 

The Greek translation of Hebrew Scriptures (the Septuagint) also introduced subtle philosophical perspectives into Jewish discourse. Torah consuming Galileans inherited generations of Zeus, Hermes and Socrates, and all that comes with it! A synthesis of the philosophical and theological took form, poles apart from the prevailing Jewish norms of the Sanhedrin in Roman occupied Jerusalem. 

The Shoelace Thing: When Intellectuals Meet The Intelligent

The Difference Between Being Clever and Being Wise

The Uni Boffin vs. Handy Man Joe... 

6 to 8 min read

Let's try and nail this one down for good, shall we? The difference between an intellectual character and an individual with practical skills, comes down to the nature and application of their respective talents. 

The family intellectual will usually indulge in a few academic ideas, anything, be it philosophical, theological, the sciences, or politics; material which is usually evidence-based or well sourced. They think. Intellectuals develop opinions and strengthen them by finding parallels from valued sources. It's an academic thing. 

Yes, critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis of information all factor into their disciplined approach to seeking truth. Why? Well, the intellect is usually associated with academic pursuits, and the intellectual might also be familiar with research and scholarly material and methodology. It fits their world view and habitual way of consuming information.

The Non-Intellectual Person Who is Good at Doing Stuff...

You also have to give credit to those people who developed proficient practical skills! They exhibit both knowledge and intelligence when performing specific jobs. They solve problems, create things or both! The adjective word 'intellectual' does not apply to these roles in the same manner. In many ways, a taskmaster or DIY expert will have different skillsets that involve both knowledge and hands on applied intelligence. 

The Self-Educated Intellectual Is Awesome! 

Now hold on! It's important to put it out there, 'intellectuals' are not exclusively the highest of the high! No, you don't have to be an eyebrow posturing YouTube debater with a posh degree! Forget pompous professors in tweed jackets! 

Have you ever argued politics online or down the pub? Tried to digest a little of your country's history or wrestled with the finer details of the mind? Bosh! That's your intellectual flame. Don't forget, you can be a cleaner or a carer and also an insightful intellectual. 

Intelligence can Pack a Punch! 

Show some appreciation for our athletes! This class of intelligence is made up of both spatial awareness, trained muscle memory, and mental strategy. Consider the athletic IQ involved in sports; they use spatial awareness, split-second decision-making under intense pressure. Athletes must adapt to the game, they also have to practice coordination, reading the game and reacting in time—high speed calculation is not easy.

Mike Tyson is an example of boxing genius! The same goes for the unsung mechanic who can fix any engine with his eyes closed! You recognise intelligence when you appreciate the skills people have. The skilled barista whipping up latte art and delighting customers under pressure! Intelligent people are not necessarily intellectual. Intellectuals are not necessarily intelligent. 

Our Intelligence Zig-Zags! 

After learning about intellectualism recently, I stopped buying into the old fallacy that intellectuals are the smartest. You see, intelligence zig-zags, and it's as diverse as the entire catalogue of Funko Pop figures! Bright sparks, intellectual or not, often struggle with some very basic tasks: Einstein was notably absent-minded and forgetful, he struggled with his shoelaces and personal relationships. 

Isaac Newton often neglected himself and could not cook. An intellectual type character might hold that superiority complex and be distant in their thoughts juggling ideas and arguments. I think that's a fair point to conclude on, I don't want to write anymore. We all have strengths and weaknesses, sorted.  

Theology Down The Park: Is Muscular The Answer?

Muscular Christianity: Saviour or Spoiler for Europe?

Unusual Gatherings at Speakers Corner

7 to 9 min read

Bob the Builder

Speaker's Corner is situated in Hyde Park, London. It has long been a place for open debate and free expression. Here we can expect to find Bob Soco, who seems like a nice man. However, some may find him distasteful when he raises his volume in his debates and uses sneaky sophism. Butting in and demanding evidence is comical before the brief moment of wordless bible page turning. It is an unusual gathering to watch. 

Bob really is a compelling character who could fit beautifully into a novel or film. Everyone should see the dialogue heat up; respect and self-restraint are called-for in that place, it can seem like it's balancing on a knife edge! Soco Studio captures all the footage of Bob as he dismantles Islamic views from his right-wing Christian paradigm. The videos are edited before being uploaded onto YouTube. 

Bob 'the Builder' Soco has praised Tommy Robinson, and stands firmly patriotic, proud of his English heritage—fair play. It is almost like a continuation of those old Atheism vs. Theism debates common during Christopher Hitchins days. Instead, Bob Soco brings Christianity vs. Islam, but also he'll oppose the liberal media and secularism. Of course, his debates are selectively uploaded for the target audience. I doubt Bob Soco would upload videos like this one below, where he is outplayed:

Response to Bob Soco's Blog here: Why Europe Needs a Muscular Christianity

Embellishing his blog, Bob Soco has an excellent image of what appears to be a cool looking modern-styled Templar Knight with a firearm. Perhaps, just for respect, we should not assume this is the actual image he had in mind when he literally refers to 'Muscular Christianity'. 

The Political Divisions

As I write this, the UK has protested and counter-protested and many criminals rioted. The hundreds of people who have peacefully expressed legitimate concerns about mass immigration, knife crime and Islamism are tarred with the same far-right brush brandished by the British government, leftists and mainstream media. Sadly, grandmothers and grandfathers, moderates and neutrals have all been recorded by social media content creators, one in particular filmed himself being dragged into the same police vans!

Now, go back to Soco, who, before all of this, called Islam an evil religion; think of all those non-violent, non-muslim moderates, blameless of any crime sat in the back of a police riot van on the evening of the Westminster protest. There are extremes and lines of division entrenched across the country.

The Righteous Anger of a Christian? 

Bob's prosecution and labelling of an entire religion as 'evil' is not just overly simplistic, but ignorant of the complexity, cultures, and nuances within any faith! Historical atrocities of Christianity clearly exist, such as the Crusades to the Spanish Inquisition. The church castrated choir boys and targeted children for unspeakable crimes—no single religion holds a monopoly on moral virtue! 

Simplistic religious comparisons or judgments are often inaccurate and unfair. I don't know why Bob doesn't recognise that despite all of our faults and virtues, people bring their own ideas and interpretations to their religions? There has to be a better way? 

'You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.' 

                                    in the Bible somewhere

The Builders Blog

In his blog, Bob Soco says Europe will need Muscular Christianity, especially due to it's low birth rates. I don't know what this kind of Christianity entails precisely, but it is supposed to defend us against his perceived threat coming from his baneful 'elites' who support Islam. It is not invalid logic, but is it correct? 

His blog accuses the immigration policies of liberal politicians and secularism for Europe's decline, while pointing at that old Jewish-focused conspiracy theory blaming Jews for distraction and manipulation. Bob offers no meaty evidence. It is a dry read and confusing in places, but his overuse of 'elites' and 'super elites' are the familiar conspiracy theory buzzwords we've all heard before! 

This passionate character points to the fact that immigration is high, a risk, he said, will change European culture. This is a fair concern and vital for political discussion, but not a beefy counter religious intervention as he proposes. Although we might be on the same page on some points we cannot expect Christian forces to pressurise Europeans into breeding more! What denominations will make Islamic couples use contraception? Church and State need to be separate. 

Is Secularism Really That Bad? 

Western secularism is a principle that emerged from the enlightenment, and it guides the Western world, shaping British culture. It has promoted scientific fact, while also granting a multi-faith country. It also supported Catholicism in the 17th century, as well as the other major faiths today. It is not anti-theistic, many western secularists have a religion. 

That being said, such principles could still restrict religious practices that are perceived to be harmful to anyone, and end public funding for such activities; it can influence the regulation of immigration wisely. Some of these elected secular politicians have not listened to the people when they should have. This does not mean western secularism is the enemy. 

Reflections of Itself

As we have seen, Bob 'the Builder' Soco genuinely portrays Islam as a kind of clashing civilization holding dangerous values. Indeed, we can say, similar sentiments may have once been held by his own Saxon ancestors when their holy sites were vandalised by Emperor Charlemagne. This Christian Holy Roman muscle did what Bob is accusing the Islamic folk of doing in his videos; they butchered people—pagan Germanic people. These people died because they did not care to convert to his Jesus religion. 

My Conclusion... 

Not all Christians/Muslims are violent, yet both religions have profound histories in conquest. If you accept varying degrees of anti-social behaviour do exist across our vast spectrum of religiosity, you'll see that when a Christian demonises Islam it's simply another antisocial act in itself! Don't ignore that both the Quran and the Bible have passages that can be interpreted as extreme! There is moral religious inconsistency. 

Primarily, we aren't Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist, but human. These labels are another layer, clothing for the soul, but yet, often weaponised. There's quite a radical feel to Bob's blog and his YouTube channel—things must have been heating up for some time in London. I hope it improves soon. 

The Psychology of My Alien Encounter

What Stared Back: An Encounter Beyond Common Understanding! 

7 to 9 min read

The Incident...

One evening, while drying off from my shower, I experienced something extraordinary. Could've worded that better, I know, but it was a vivid mental connection, a mind link, not my underwhelming chipolata. I supposed the extraterrestrial being was in its ship orbiting the planet. Yeah, totally batshit mental, right? The encounter was so intense, so real, that it has since left a mark on my psyche.

In a sudden overwhelming moment, I felt a mental state akin to a strong visual memory, realtime. A strange face, dark surroundings, cluttered with black and transparent plastic tubing, wires, and the luminosity of screen glare and diodes. Large humanesque eyes with pupils like an ibex fixated on me; their sharpness invaded my mind, directing my attention to the one eye. 

How Did I Feel? 

A stirring of fear and marvel was dizzying as I held firm to take in as much as I could, curiosity initially planted me there. Soon, I would feel insignificant. I sensed his disgust, his cold, calculating observation revealed powerfully emitted thoughts I could easily absorb intellectually. 

Questioning Myself 

I think I know what the crack was here! Prior to this, I was charged, buzzing, firing neurons, imagination was racing, a tad elated. I was in awe after watching a tv show featuring Spitfires, machine gun fire and evasive flying stimulated my imagination. I still do empathise with the astonishing World War II pilot who fought dogfights above Britain. I suspected my state of mind must have somehow aligned into that higher frequency of the beings observation. Honestly, at the time, I believed it was a connection, pure paranormal madness. Yes, it was very realistic to be fair, but that's how your imagination works.

Famous Corn-Based Snack With Same Alien 

Reaching Out for Answers

After the experience, I turned to the internet, desperate to understand what had happened like a pilchard. It was confusing, I can forgive myself. Wikipedia had a cracking article on Greys, the stereotypical alien species often depicted in popular culture. The face I saw held some resemblance to them. However, the entity I experienced was mentally dominant and war-like. Its black almond eye-caps were torn off. Damaged grey synthetic rubber coverings surrounded its exposed chalk-coloured wrinkled skin. This was not a small, humanoid figure but a tall, ancient powerful creature, similar to us hiding behind unnatural materials. I decided I should draw what I experienced, pencil sketching came first. I updated it, quite proud of the thing. 

Damage around eye-hole

The encounter left me somewhat obsessed. It was bizarre, a mind link from orbit, wow! However, being a realist, I had to poke it and question the ordeal. In another of my own blogposts on archetypes, here, I remembered exploring how such forms emerge in society. 

A little reflection

Who is giving rise to whom? The SciFi culture of the 1930s and 40s undoubtedly sparked our collective consciousness into thinking, awakening our fears, planting that cold, intelligent extraterrestrial into our imagination. As alien beings took form, developing in our books and film it acquired familiarity and now the typical grey space invader has our own homonid form. Nonetheless, it remains a soulless, logical observer from the dark void of space, not an angel, a demon, nor is it a monster, but maybe an amalgamation of all three!

The grey alien is an emergence of our existential anxieties peering into our possible future—will we become emotionless, purposeless super-minds? Will future Elon Musks' amplify our grey matter while our hearts wither away? What path is humanity on? 

Making the monster...

Old television shows like 'Ancient Aliens' used to appropriate any ancient artifact with large or almond-shaped eyes as proof of alien contact. I enjoyed my thoughts of war pilots before engaging in a war-like extraterrestrial, who was hostile. My vivid imagination empowered this archetype. It was all like a mental ideomotor effect, the puppetry of my own representation with strings pulled by the weight of Roswell, Betty and Barney Hill, Travis Walton, so called government cover ups, YouTube sightings, the Dudley Dorito, UFO communities, abductee accounts, the general media and hollywood, it has become a social manifestation. 

The Warning

The mind is always threading together its own rich tapestry, building a coherent worldview along with its vivid archetypal characters. Archetypes are  part of a culture's lore. I hope humanity will not become like those soulless super-intelligent aliens, profoundly synthetic and unnatural. Do they visit us from the future in hope of finding a solution to their own failures? Our global warming failure anxieties are personified as the face of this grim unnatural alien. As we continue sharing these encounters, they become more valid. Perhaps we should consider them as lessons from the higher aspects of our awareness instead? 

What Was This? 

Experiencing your own mental representation of an archetype can be unsettling, but also insightful. They are our deep concerns, interconnected creations nurtured globally in the collective consciousness. Our potent contemporary mythologies are impressive. They are channels of human belief forged into legitimate thought forms, personifications of our nightmares, dreams, or hopes. It is almost theological. Perhaps it is? Is this modern theology?

With eye-cap in situ

Starmer vs Sunak Election Debate

Televised Debates: An Ultimate Frustration-Fest

5 min read

No Compelling Character's Here! 

Ugh, mate. Where do you even begin? With the fact that debates aren't usually rapid fire responces? Come on, questions need more than a forty five second TIME LIMIT!? Rishi, why are you cutting disabled peoples PIP, you ****?! Maybe we'll begin with that weird popularity-gameshow-feel? It could have been aptly called 'Don't get booed!' It knobbled any real meaningful exchange—great thinking, itv! Public discourse is an outlet and they're supposed to be a grand showcase of political excellence, flirting their grand ideas to the masses, that's right, isn't it? 

This is like watching a telly debate

This supposed itv debate was a real chance to show my family what the Keir Starmer was really about with regard to all the important issues. Yep, his father was a nurse or some b*****ks, and his mother made tools. That was most of it, well, unless you count his anti-Tory, parliamentary programmed polemics, which was no more than stating the bleeding obvious that the country is ****. Such dystopia to come!

First off, can we acknowledge that CONSTANT interruptions need to change? It was a bit of a one way assault from a terrified Tory—noisy, rude, with scare tactics, my face rarely left my palm. Sir Keir had no bite, like Stallone in one of those old Rocky films where the dude isn't fighting back. Rishi, playing the angry posh kid did whatever he could to get his way. Neither party had a chance to properly explain anything and the moderator was a news reader—did itv let her do a news report on herself?  

We shouldn't forget the dodgy facts. Look, everyone has different viewpoints, but straight off bull***t shouldn't be allowed in these debates, we used to have fact checkers but that's clearly gone. Don't you think a candidate should be dishonourably disqualified if they lie or twist the truth? 

It may appear that I'm saying televised debates are a complete waste of time, because I am, quite frankly. They're about as informative as a hayes mini cooper manual for fitting a kitchen. As this is my blog, I have a responsibility to call out for some kind of meaty, proper lengthy debate—maybe a Netflix or YouTube event would do it justice because itv are sporting a no frills value lettuce. 

Who is the Algorithm?

Naked Attraction: TV gone nuts?

British Gameshow Erotica: Exploiting Our Obsession with Seedy TV

6 to 7 min read

Naked Attraction isn't the same as watching Baywatch for the first time as a kid in the Nineties. It's a bare-all bonanza of boobs, balls, butts with banter, bringing a buffet of bulging bits binding Brits to their boxes with a barrage of bewitching bodies! 

Curiosity Served Raw: 

In a genuine Naked Attraction world would be strange; everyone's nude and everyone primarily remembers you because of your peculiarities, everyone will know a Fiona Floppy Flaps or Donkey Dick Dave. The selling point is the gradual process of unveiling, which in such a real world, might reflected or portrayed as the slow and gradual build up to the person? Objectification is why the contestants break up; this fact is ongoing proof in every episode. The pseudoscientific 'sex facts' add another layer of comedy just like 'Open House', because of it's so-called cutting edge-ucation. Naked Attraction as a world would be very silly. 

Desire for Meat? 

As a TV show, the raw physical presence on the live meat market is positively dissected and judged by contestants who might make you tilt your head. The unconventional format does not stop the laughable predictability of who a contestant might pick. It's supposed to entice our innate animalistic desire to attract a mate, but please, forgive my ignorance; I only half watch it in the background while I write these blogs or draw silly cartoons, I can tell what they want. It's like being a candle in the dark for the self-loving nympho contestants. The internet is rife with direct, intravenous filth, so why do we bother watching this drivel? 

The Comparison Game

Let's face it, there's a weird kind of voyeurism involved in these shows. A lot women find it hilarious, there are men, like me, rooting for mr micro to get picked. No, it's never cocktail sausage Colin, but always a confident dullard with a gargantuan horse size monstrosity, penduluming in-between his knees, hypnotising the contestants and viewers alike. We tune-in and might end up comparing ourselves or gawping at the madness of it, have a giggle at the weird and wonderful. Some people – all ages included – do like to oggle, others prefer erotic paperbacks, or possibly google image results of Anne Widdecombe. We have imagined regressing back to when our primary sex organs defined our breeding outcomes? Another mesolithic period?! The chosen get fed, clubbed and dragged into a cheap hotel/cave. 

British Smut: Laugh Out Loud, But Also Think It Through

How they turn every flirtatious moment into a punchline feels somewhat like putting tomato ketchup on a delicious steak—yeah, it'll get a laugh, but it diminishes the succulent flavour. Countless people profess that good sex involves a connection; a little fornication is fine, but to see it reduced to saucy puns and risqué humour for eleven seasons is tiring, don't you reckon? Try something new, they could all take turns in a big white cube to prove how good they are at shagging or make the presenter do her job dressed like gimp Madonna's tit suit—Richardson never has a go! 

The Whole Thing Failed Anyway! 

Yeah, duh, Naked Attraction doesn't prioritize the forging of enduring bonds. No, because is about tits and cocks and cheap tv ratings. The media haven't celebrated any marriages between previous contestants who chose one another because they only hook up for a jump. Unbelievable how the experiment failed. 

Normal Attraction Coming Soon! 

Does the constant barrage of vulgarity, boasting, shock tactics, and euphemisms all overshadow the unseen reality of the beauty of great relationships? Yes. If Naked Attraction has failed, would that mean regular, everyday attraction has won? No. 

Naked Wisdom

Is it healthy watching it with your wife? Is it good for couples? Are we now mindless consumers? Certainly not. I'm quite the detective: 'Ha! That woman who hates high pitched men just said she doesn't go for big todgers. . . she just rejected the baby-dick with the deep voice,' 

My better half: 'So, what?' 

Me: 'So, duh, she'll either pick average Joe five incher or that fucking Leviathan cock who talks like Joe Pasquale!' 

'Look, stop, you gotta. . . listen, not all women are bothered about penis size!' 

'She just picked hung helium Harry, you're all bloody dark horses!'