Wednesday's thoughts

"At Least Be Perfect"
There is in every religion an aspect of progression. One of the functions of faith is to awaken us to our fullest potential. Christianity has that power and passion.

It has yet to be measured the influence of Greek thought on the Christian Church. We know that some of the Gospel of Mark was influenced by the writing of Homer.

It hasn't been linked in exact ways but I suspect there is influence in the New Testament from the classical Greek writers like Socrates and Plato.

For the sermon Sunday I chose to explore the idea of perfection. Plato believed there were ideal forms in our mind and we are influenced by these ideal forms. We work toward justice because we know, in an ideal way, what justice is.

Plato's idealism has a context. He was witness to the charges brought against his mentor, teacher, and friend. Socrates was accused of corrupting young people by enabling them to ask questions and question authority.

The trial was quick and the punishment called for Socrates to drink hemlock and administer the punishment himself.

It is in the backdrop of that travesty that Plato developed the idea that there are images of perfection that lure us into action. He knew the dark side of life but that didn't dissuade him from coming to the conclusion that we are motivated by the idea of the good.

His idealism was basically realistic. He knew how it is and he knew how it should be.

In The Republic he writes, "An ideal has an indispensable value for practice, in that thought thereby gives to action its right aim. So, instead of proving that the ideal state or man or woman can exist here, it is enough to discover the least change, within the bounds of possibility, that would bring the actual state nearest to the ideal."

How are you influenced by your understanding of perfection? How does this inform your life?

If you have thoughts on this write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your thoughts click on the box below.

I look forward to hearing from you.


Charles Schuster