S7E21 – AH – “Jack’s Bookshelf: Plato”, After Hours with Dr. Louis Markos

Matt kicks off another series of “Jack’s Bookshelf” by talking to Dr. Louis Markos about the Greek Philosopher, Plato.

S7E21: “Jack’s Bookshelf: Plato” (Download)

Show Notes

Introduction

Quote-of-the-week

I turn to the greatest Christian apologist of the twentieth century, C.S. Lewis, to asses how his radically creative yet fully orthodox views on the nature of choice, sin, and heaven represent a perfect fusion of platonic thought and Christian doctrine.

Source

Biographical Information

Dr. Louis Markos is a Professor of English and Scholar in Residence at Houston Christian University, where he holds the Robert H. Ray Chair in Humanities. He teaches courses on film, on the Classics, British Romantic and Victorian Poetry and Prose, as well as on C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. He’s been on the show discussing his books: Heaven and Hell: Afterlife in the Western Poetic Tradition, and The Myth Made Fact: Reading Greek and Roman Mythology through Christian Eyes, and today About Plato, drawing from his 2022 book, From Plato to Christ: How Platonic Thought Shaped the Christian Faith.

Chit-Chat

• From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics by Louis Markos
• From Plato to Christ: How Platonic Thought Shaped the Christian Faith by Louis Markos

Discussion

01. “The Man”

Q. Before connecting to C.S. Lewis, let’s start with Plato himself. Who was Plato at a high level? When did he live? What sort of world was he born into?

• Socrates
• Aristotle
• Alexander the Great
• Antony Flew

02. “Praeparatio evangelica”

Q. Is it safe to say that prior to Socrates and Aristotle, the groundwork for Christian theology and reason was not present?

• Pythagoras
• Parmenides
• The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton

03. “Not liking Plato”

Q. You made a comment that some Christian denominations will say “this is Plato” to discount things they don’t like. What is it that they don’t like about Plato?

• Jordan Peterson
• It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
• Medieval Wisdom for Modern Christians: Finding Authentic Faith in a Forgotten Age with C. S. Lewis by Chris R. Armstrong

04. “Key Themes”

Q. Can you talk about some of Platos key themes, particularly some that relate to Lewis himself?

• The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

It’s all in Plato, all in Plato: Bless me, what do they teach them at these schools?

C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle

• Friedrich Nietzsche
• Michel Foucault
• Timaeus by Plato

• The Republic by Plato

05. “Influences”

Q. What sources was Plato reading from that inspired his thinking? Was there an organic thought progression that led to belief in a deity? Or do you think that God was placing revelation in his heart in order to help prepare the world for Christ?

• The Apology of Socrates

I neither know nor think that I know.

Socrates

• Homer

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying,

Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
    Creator of heaven and earth.
 And praise be to God Most High,
    who delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Genesis 14:18-20

 So Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his words and deeds.

Acts 7:22

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

Acts 17:22-23

06. “The Myth of the Cave”

Q. Can you walk through what you wrote about Plato’s myth of the cave?

• Gorgias by Plato
• Phaedrus by Plato
• Phaedo by Plato
• The Symposium by Plato
• Pythagoras

The society we have described can never grow into a reality or see the light of day, and there will be no end to the troubles of states or indeed, my dear Glaucon, of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers…

Plato, The Republic

07. “It’s all in Lewis”

Q. Let’s dive into some of the key works of Lewis: Mere Christianity, The Great Divorce, The Last Battle. Can you connect these works to some of what you’ve been discussing?

• The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
• The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
• The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis
• The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
• The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
• Miracles by C.S. Lewis

“We know nothing of religion here” we think only of Christ. We know nothing of speculation. Come and see. I will bring you to Eternal Fact, the Father of all other facthood.”

“I should object very strongly to describing God as a ‘fact.’ The Supreme Value would surely be a less inadequate description…”

C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

• Dante

‘Fool’, he said, ‘put it down. You cannot take it back. There is not room for it in Hell. Stay here and learn to eat such apples. THe very leaves and the blades of grass in the wood will delight to teach you.’

• Sigmund Freud

Wrap-Up

Concluding Thoughts

–

More Information

• Louis Markos’ Amazon
• From Plato to Christ: How Platonic Thought Shaped the Christian Faith by Louis Markos

Support Us!

• Please follow us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
• We would be grateful if new listeners would rate and review us on their preferred podcast platform.