1 1 o Science Religion and Reality 



the one hand, he had before him the Hebrew biblical doctrine of 

 Creation with God as a separate existence outside the world which 

 He had produced at a definite date by definite acts and which He 

 continued to guide in every detail. On the other hand, Philo, 

 basing himself on Platonic thought, developed a conception of a God 

 without emotions, without attributes and consequently without 

 name, changeless and imperceptible by man, self-sufficient. This 

 God is simply existent and has no relations to any other being. Such 

 is the God of the Platonic idea. Such a God could not act upon the 

 world nor create nor guide it. The two views were incompatible. 



Under these circumstances Philo resorted to a device which 

 we have already seen adopted and which can be traced in one 

 form or another as far back as Heracleitus (535-475 b.c). He 

 introduced an existence between God and the world. Physis, 

 phronesis, wisdom were similar previous attempts. Philo's device 

 was the logos. The concentration of attention on these and similar 

 theological complexities was bound to turn men's attention away 

 from phenomenological study. 



There was, however, a yet further reason for the " flight from 

 phenomena "in late Jewish and early Christian thought. Ever 

 since the Socratic revolution a section of thinkers had regarded the 

 material universe as containing something essentially without 

 worth or even evil. This had been emphasised by certain interpre- 

 ters, at least, of the Platonic doctrine of Ideas. The worthlessness 

 and evil charcter of the world fitted in well with the Jewish doctrine 

 of the Fall. Thus the view had no difficulty in entering Jewish 

 thought. Though Philo is at some pains to avoid the conclusion 

 that the world is necessarily evil, it may be doubted whether his 

 efforts are successful. Thus the " sins of the flesh " became a 

 theological commonplace which passed over into Christian thought. 



St. Paul's teaching was certainly influenced by this idea of the 

 physical basis of sin. " We know that the Law is spiritual : but 

 I am carnal, sold under sin" (Romans vii. 14). Under these 

 circumstances Christianity for a time turned entirely away from 

 phenomena. St. Paul does not conceal his contempt for the 

 triviality of Greek physical philosophy. It is not so much that 

 it is false as that, for him, it is trivial and irrelevant. " When 

 ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by physis 

 are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or 

 rather are known of God, how turn yet again to the weak and 



