Did you know Aristotle considered the perfect human (morally) and how society would treat such a person? His conclusion was not that society would love and accept such a person but rather that it would ostracize and perhaps even kill such a person. Aristotle’s Politics and Jesus When the Greek philosopher Aristotle ponders on what the ideal government would be like, he takes a moment to wonder what it might be like for a perfect man to be among its citizens. Aristotle imagines this person as one “whose virtue is so pre-eminent that the virtues or the political capacity of all the rest admit of no comparison with [his], [he] can be no longer regarded as part of a state; for justice will not be done to the superior, if he is reckoned only as the equal of those who are so far inferior to him in virtue and in political capacity. Such a one may truly be deemed a God among men.” He says this to show “that legislation is necessarily concerned only with those who are equal in birth and in capacity; and that for men of pre-eminent virtue there is no law—they are themselves a law. Any would be ridiculous who attempted to make laws for them.” (That last part reminds me of the apostle Paul’s words in Romans 2:14) Since, Aristotle surmises, democratic states have been concerned with equality above everything else, they would resolve to ostracize such a person (at best) and kill them (at worst), but that the ideal, “natural” response would be only to “joyfully obey” such a person and that anyone else like him should be made kings for life, presumably to bring about the greatest peace and prosperity the government had ever seen. Aristotle’s conclusions about the ostracism and murder of the perfect citizen bear striking resemblance to what ended up happening to Jesus centuries later. Now this can hardly be called a prophecy since Aristotle was speaking on his own behalf and not God’s but it is prophetic in that Aristotle was a really smart guy who seemed to know a lot about human nature. Isn’t it interesting that his prediction was fulfilled in how Jesus was crucified by the religious leaders of his time? They were afraid of losing their power and jealous of Jesus’ influence. Jesus publicly humiliated them for loving money and power rather than God and people. Even more so it is interesting how, according to Aristotle, they should have just bowed the knee to the humble King of the Jews and joyfully obeyed him. I think it’s most interesting in how this applies to Today. Metaphorically, people are still ostracizing and killing Jesus. And Jesus is still literally accepting those who would joyfully obey. Meaning in life comes from relationships, and the greatest relationship (one with the true God) gives us the most meaning. To be right with one’s Maker is true riches and power and love (Luke 16:10-13). The alternative is for us to be the one (rightly) ostracized. truth4seekers.wordpress/2010/10/12/aristotles-politics-and-jesus/ So they cried out again, “Crucify Him!” Then Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, “Crucify Him!” --Mark 15:13-14
Posted on: Mon, 02 Sep 2013 00:56:57 +0000
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