Reason # 5: Problem Stated: A Christoplatonic Allegorical Interpretive Method
Many people have embraced the anti-christ's methodology of language interpretation instead of the apostolic method of language interpretation. Dr. Randy Alcorn coined this type of methodology and philosophical view "Christoplatonism" (Heaven, p. 459-466). In his book on heaven he shows how those who have embraced this pagan and corrupt philosophy will interpret things that are meant to be taken literally as symbolic or as allegories which really do not correspond to an actual reality. A Judeo-Christian interpretive method, which contrasts the Christoplatonism methodology, takes the statements of Scripture in its most plain and obvious meaning. The evil Christoplatonic interpretive methodology arose from the minds of an unredeemed, natural philosopher Plato whose idea that the physical was bad and the spiritual was good permeated the minds of those in the first century of Christ's life. The Jew Philo (20 BC- AD 54) was heavily influenced by Greek philosophy and he tried to synthesize Greek philosophy with the Bible to make the two into one. He allegorized much of the OT and and later others who were influenced by this practice spread this into the early new churches after the death of the apostles. For example, Justin Martyr was slightly influenced by this ideology when he said that the covenant ladies of Jacob were symbolic of two races of people. Leah represented the Jews and Rachel represented the church. Though this methodology was not practiced much it was there in seed form and by the 200's two men, Clement of Alexandria (115-216 AD) and Origen (185-254 AD), made this Christoplatonic method of biblical interpretation the norm for how the Bible was interpreted. One of the strongest and most essential aspects of Christoplatonism is its underlying ideology of the material world. Since it is Platonic at its root it reveals its fruit through the rejection of physical pleasures. As Dr. Alcorn notes, "one of Christoplatonism's false assumptions is that spiritual people should shun physical pleasures" (p, 463). Consequently, those who embrace this Platonic ideology will begin with an assumption in their interpretive methodology that physical pleasure is bad. This then leads them when reading texts in the Bible on polygyny to see that inherently as either bad or less than the ideal. Their presupposition then functions like a set of glasses that they read their Bible through and that set of glasses distorts everything they read. Thus the biblical examples of polygyny must be either fleshly, bad, evil, or at the very least less than ideal as it portrays an inordinate desire that has expressed itself through the taking to oneself multiple ladies in a conjugal union.
Solution? The error of Christoplatonism is one of the most serious sins pervading Christendom. This is one of the most pervasive sins among both the academy (Bible Colleges & Seminaries) and among the body of Christ as a whole. This was one of Satan's first tricks to dilute the teachings of Christ and the apostles. This damnable and devilish methodology has diluted almost every doctrine in the Bible at one point or another in history. Normally, however, no born again Christian is thoroughly diluted in all doctrinal areas. To be a Christian one must affirm at least some basic and fundamental truths which are literal, real, physical and counter to Christoplatonism. Therefore, the way to resolve this is to point out to someone what doctrines they do have right and show that they arrived at that position by a literal or normal methodology of taking the words of Scripture in the plain sense. For example, all truly born again Christians affirm the physical and literal resurrection of Christ. To deny Christ literally arose from the grave in a physical body is a public admission of not being a Christian and an outright rejection of Christ (1 Cor. 15). But to arrive at the conclusion that Christ did indeed arise in a physical body we must take the Bible in its literal, plain, and most straightforward sense and in that too we must accept the idea that the physical body is good and holy lest we place Christ Jesus back into a less than ideal circumstance by asserting he lives now again a physical resurrected body that is fleshly, less than ideal, or outright sinful. If the body is bad or less than ideal Christ should have arose only spiritually but not physically. To help those caught in this sin we must teach and train them in how if their Christoplatonic thoughts were applied consistently to other portions of the Bible it would actually destroy the most essential and fundamental doctrines of the faith. Then we must work backwards and show them the places where Christoplatonic thought has undermined and distorted their ability to see Scripture clearly in other places, which is often in the case of polygyny as well as in other places that pertain to the physical world that God views as good. For example, Dr. Alcorn notes that those trapped in the Christoplatonic thought "read passages in the prophets promising that God's people will live forever on a righteous Earth, then assume this must mean a spiritual blessing in an incorporeal Heaven. We read that we will have resurrection bodies and will eat and drink at tables with Christ and fellow believers, yet we don't actually envision this to be true. We read the last two chapters of Revelation about nations on the New Earth and kings of those nations bringing their treasures into the city, yet we don't believe there will be real nations or kings in those nations. Many doubt there will be a city at all. The examples go on and on" (p. 468) The solution to recognizing the validity of polygyny begins with the return to a literal hermeneutic that is characteristic of a Judeo-Christian worldview instead of the Christoplatonic allegorical hermeneutic.
Many people have embraced the anti-christ's methodology of language interpretation instead of the apostolic method of language interpretation. Dr. Randy Alcorn coined this type of methodology and philosophical view "Christoplatonism" (Heaven, p. 459-466). In his book on heaven he shows how those who have embraced this pagan and corrupt philosophy will interpret things that are meant to be taken literally as symbolic or as allegories which really do not correspond to an actual reality. A Judeo-Christian interpretive method, which contrasts the Christoplatonism methodology, takes the statements of Scripture in its most plain and obvious meaning. The evil Christoplatonic interpretive methodology arose from the minds of an unredeemed, natural philosopher Plato whose idea that the physical was bad and the spiritual was good permeated the minds of those in the first century of Christ's life. The Jew Philo (20 BC- AD 54) was heavily influenced by Greek philosophy and he tried to synthesize Greek philosophy with the Bible to make the two into one. He allegorized much of the OT and and later others who were influenced by this practice spread this into the early new churches after the death of the apostles. For example, Justin Martyr was slightly influenced by this ideology when he said that the covenant ladies of Jacob were symbolic of two races of people. Leah represented the Jews and Rachel represented the church. Though this methodology was not practiced much it was there in seed form and by the 200's two men, Clement of Alexandria (115-216 AD) and Origen (185-254 AD), made this Christoplatonic method of biblical interpretation the norm for how the Bible was interpreted. One of the strongest and most essential aspects of Christoplatonism is its underlying ideology of the material world. Since it is Platonic at its root it reveals its fruit through the rejection of physical pleasures. As Dr. Alcorn notes, "one of Christoplatonism's false assumptions is that spiritual people should shun physical pleasures" (p, 463). Consequently, those who embrace this Platonic ideology will begin with an assumption in their interpretive methodology that physical pleasure is bad. This then leads them when reading texts in the Bible on polygyny to see that inherently as either bad or less than the ideal. Their presupposition then functions like a set of glasses that they read their Bible through and that set of glasses distorts everything they read. Thus the biblical examples of polygyny must be either fleshly, bad, evil, or at the very least less than ideal as it portrays an inordinate desire that has expressed itself through the taking to oneself multiple ladies in a conjugal union.
Solution? The error of Christoplatonism is one of the most serious sins pervading Christendom. This is one of the most pervasive sins among both the academy (Bible Colleges & Seminaries) and among the body of Christ as a whole. This was one of Satan's first tricks to dilute the teachings of Christ and the apostles. This damnable and devilish methodology has diluted almost every doctrine in the Bible at one point or another in history. Normally, however, no born again Christian is thoroughly diluted in all doctrinal areas. To be a Christian one must affirm at least some basic and fundamental truths which are literal, real, physical and counter to Christoplatonism. Therefore, the way to resolve this is to point out to someone what doctrines they do have right and show that they arrived at that position by a literal or normal methodology of taking the words of Scripture in the plain sense. For example, all truly born again Christians affirm the physical and literal resurrection of Christ. To deny Christ literally arose from the grave in a physical body is a public admission of not being a Christian and an outright rejection of Christ (1 Cor. 15). But to arrive at the conclusion that Christ did indeed arise in a physical body we must take the Bible in its literal, plain, and most straightforward sense and in that too we must accept the idea that the physical body is good and holy lest we place Christ Jesus back into a less than ideal circumstance by asserting he lives now again a physical resurrected body that is fleshly, less than ideal, or outright sinful. If the body is bad or less than ideal Christ should have arose only spiritually but not physically. To help those caught in this sin we must teach and train them in how if their Christoplatonic thoughts were applied consistently to other portions of the Bible it would actually destroy the most essential and fundamental doctrines of the faith. Then we must work backwards and show them the places where Christoplatonic thought has undermined and distorted their ability to see Scripture clearly in other places, which is often in the case of polygyny as well as in other places that pertain to the physical world that God views as good. For example, Dr. Alcorn notes that those trapped in the Christoplatonic thought "read passages in the prophets promising that God's people will live forever on a righteous Earth, then assume this must mean a spiritual blessing in an incorporeal Heaven. We read that we will have resurrection bodies and will eat and drink at tables with Christ and fellow believers, yet we don't actually envision this to be true. We read the last two chapters of Revelation about nations on the New Earth and kings of those nations bringing their treasures into the city, yet we don't believe there will be real nations or kings in those nations. Many doubt there will be a city at all. The examples go on and on" (p. 468) The solution to recognizing the validity of polygyny begins with the return to a literal hermeneutic that is characteristic of a Judeo-Christian worldview instead of the Christoplatonic allegorical hermeneutic.