this post was submitted on 01 Jan 2025
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Why is a Greek philosopher from before Jesus was born saying "God" like it's one person's name and saying he's omnipotent?
This seems made up.
You're either trolling or are critically stupid, but I'll bite. Concepts of and discussions about monotheism, the capabilities of deities, and the relationships between humans and their deities predated the birth of Jesus. Shocking, I know. There is no contemporary evidence that Epicurus said or wrote this quote - rather, it seems that it was an attempt to boil down some of his thoughts that was eventually written in English by Hume, who likely would have anglicized the word for a monotheistic deity as 'god'.
So Hume made it up. Thanks.
He was talking about small-g gods necessarily being imperfect in context of the Greek pantheon, but the quote was adapted to monotheistic/Abrahamic philosophical frameworks by biblical scholars centuries later since the underlying reasoning is also applicable to Yahweh.
The Jews would like a word.
The Jews had a pantheon for quite some time. Not that it's really relevant here.
Good point. Drag forgot that before the Roman Empire converted to Christianity the Greeks practiced Judaism
I know you're just a dumb troll, but I'll respond for the curious people that might read this. Alexander the great(who was also Greek and reigned between 336-323bc, so shortly after Epicurus was born), had one of the largest empires in history, reaching all the way to India. Alexander's legacy includes the cultural diffusion and syncretism that his conquests engendered, such as Greco-Buddhism and Hellenistic Judaism. So yeah. Hellenistic is another way of saying Greek, as in Greek Judaism. Which is where the god thing comes from, I guess.
So you're honestly telling drag that this is a genuine quote from Jewish philosopher Epicurus?
Not a direct quote, since ol' Epicurus didn't speak English. No quote marks, Drag'll notice. And I might've inserted the capital G myself, typing it. It's a God-damned habit, sorry.
Jesus was a Jew. Judaism predates Epicurus. (As do other monotheistic religions with omnipotent gods)
So you're saying the famous Greek philosopher Epicurus was Jewish a century before the Romans even conquered Greece? Source?
What? How do you get that from what I wrote?
Well Epicurus clearly isn't a Christian based on the time he was alive. Which is why drag said he wouldn't talk like a monotheist. But you said drag was wrong, because Judaism existed. The only reason that's a counterargument is if Epicurus was Jewish. If he wasn't, then there's no point to saying Judaism already existed, Epicurus wouldn't have talked about the gods like a Jew would. He was a Hellenist.
I'm not a christian or a monotheist of any kind either, and yet I can talk about their god in this exact way. My argument to you was Epicurus's religion is irrelevant, and so is his predating Jesus.
Polytheists don't talk like that.
I mean, thst is demonstrably incorrect, but ok.