Disciple of Paul: Aristotle correctAristotle: Yes, and you are?Disciple of Paul: I am a Christian disciple of Paul.
It is an honor to meet you. Aristotle: why thank you. Now Pual, he was an apostle of Jesus and a leader of Christianity correct?Disciple of Paul: Yes he is known as the greatest missionaries of the early church. He endured sickness, rejection, and repeated attacks on his life to bring the message of Gods grace and forgiveness to gentiles. And yes Paul was largely responsible for the solid inception and growth of Christianity.
Aristotle: You said a messenger of Gods grace. May I assume that you see Jesus as God on earth?Disciple of Paul: Of course. We believe Jesus is the form in which God took here on earth. Why, does this trouble you in any way?Aristotle: Well first you must understand this. I believe matter and form exist as one. But only form can present without matter.
Matter cannot be present with out form. It is my belief that God exists in pure actuality. He exists in form, God, with the absence of matter, Jesus. In other words, God is only God, he is the first of all substances, and there is no formation of him on earth. Disciple of Paul: That is all very interesting, but it is Jesus who elected his people, and it is they who fulfilled the requirement of responding in faith. When I say elected I mean it is God speaking to his people, choosing them, as a part of his pre determined plan.
Do you believe that your life is pre determined?Aristotle: No not really. It is everybody’s responsibility to live a good life and to be successful. There are those that are blessed with luck, but I do not believe God intrudes upon everybody’s life. Disciple of Paul: Then by what I am hearing success to you is very different. I find success in living out Gods words. It was revealed to us through Jesus that our mission was to follow God and have faith, and as a result good will come to us.
Aristotle: You are right in that I believe differently. Happiness is the ultimate goal of life, and living is the process in which to get there. Anything astray from trying to achieve happiness I would consider a sin. Which is probably much different from what you would consider to be sin. Disciple of Paul: Sin or hamartia, in a sense, is right among us in the way that you think. I am not trying to be mean, but Paul says sin is the refusal to recognize God.
You may not be aware of it but you do this when you say that Jesus is not the human form in which God has taken here on earth. Aristotle: I do not necessarily refuse to recognize God, I just don’t think that sin has any relation to God. My belief in God is centered on our existence as humans, not in the way we live our day-to-day lives. I see God as the initiator of existence. Because everything is the result of some kind of motion and change cannot occur by itself, the motion had to have started at one point. This is what I call God, or the Prime Mover, in other words.
Disciple of Paul: In some ways that is very similar to what I believe about God as the creator, in that God not only was responsible for the initial motion but God created the world as we know it. Beginning with Adam and Eve and so on as explained in Genesis. Aristotle: Well, it was very nice speaking with you. Good luck in your life of faith to God. Disciple of Paul: You as well, and I hope you are able to reach ultimate happiness.
Philosophy Essays
