Greek Philosophy Part 2: The Architects of Deception

Why This Matters: The Missing Link in Christian History

In Part 1, we were introduced to Greek philosophy and began understanding this foundation — because this is what the current world is centered around.

We learned about the first Greek philosopher, Thales of Miletus, known as the father of Greek philosophy. Now we must go deeper — learning about the other Greek philosophers and how their influence spread and grew.

Though this lesson has nothing to do with the Scriptures directly, it has everything to do with the history of the world and the main influences behind much of the mindset that many of us hold today.

Historical Context: The Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages (Medieval Period) — spanning from the 5th century following the fall of the Western Roman Empire until the early 15th century at the beginning of the Renaissance — Christianity began to spread around the world.

You would not be Christians today without this history that followed during this period.

Pythagoras: Mystery Religion and Occult Mathematics

The Mystic Mathematician (c. 530 BC)

Around 530 BC, a philosophy based on the teachings of Pythagoras was thriving in a Corinthian colony in southern Italy. He is best remembered for his mathematical formula known as the Pythagorean Theorem.

Pythagoras was influenced by Anaximander, a Greek philosopher who was a student of Thales. The line of occult knowledge was being passed down, teacher to student.

Initiation into Mystery Religions

Pythagoras grew up on the island of Samos but traveled the Mediterranean with his merchant father. He lived in Egypt, where he studied its religion and was initiated into the Egyptian mystery cults.

Captivity in Babylon

In 525 BC, the Persian king Cambyses II invaded Egypt, and Pythagoras was carried off to Babylon as a prisoner. Remember: at this time, Babylon was under Persian control. It was just a decade and a half earlier that King Cyrus let Yahudah go back and rebuild the Temple.

While Yisrael was split and trying to rebuild itself, the devil was busy creating his new religion. He knew Yisrael was prophesied to have a Redeemer, and Satan began preparing his people for the change that Yahuah would bring.

It is said that Pythagoras was treated well in Babylon. While there, he learned astrology, mathematics, music, and a very mystical worship of the gods.

Pythagoreanism: The Occult Philosophy

In his travels to Egypt and Babylon, he was initiated into the mystery religions. He was initiated into the Egyptian and Chaldean Mysteries and became well-versed in the esotericism of both the East and the West.

Greek philosophy is just the Greeks' adaptation of the mystery pagan religions of the Egyptians. All their knowledge comes from the Egyptians.

Pythagoras was a great influence of the occult and esotericism for the Greeks. His influence is well known even within Freemasonry.

Pythagoras laid the foundation for future Greek philosophers. That's why you need to understand him.

The Sophists: Where Christian Debate Culture Began

After the Peloponnesian War

Nearly a century after Pythagoras, Athens and Sparta went to battle in the Peloponnesian War. The war significantly weakened the Greek city-states, particularly Athens, and left Greece divided and vulnerable.

Athens — once a powerful naval and political force — lost its empire and influence. They experienced significant economic and social disruption. A new philosophy fueled by the effects of war formed among a new generation that was made soft by prior success.

The New Philosophy: Materialism and Relativism

These people began to question the old ideas of absolute good. This new movement taught that virtue was defined by personal desires and personal feelings. Materialism became the ultimate goal of life.

Who Were the Sophists?

Sophist means "clever or skilled man." The Sophists traveled from city to city teaching various subjects like rhetoric, philosophy, and politics to wealthy young men — often focusing on the art of persuasive argumentation rather than absolute truth.

Of course, they did this for a fee. Their teaching methods, often seen as prioritizing winning a debate over absolute truth, eventually gained a negative connotation known as "sophistry" — intellectually dishonest arguments or manipulation of logic.

The Sophists promoted materialism and even atheism. They believed that all matter was comprised of the smallest particles called atoms. They claimed that all cultures and religions were human inventions. The existence of the gods was debated.

Socrates: Guided by a Demon, Founder of Western Philosophy

The One Who Changed Everything (469–399 BC)

The philosopher Socrates (469–399 BC) was one of the philosophers who stood against the Sophists by arguing for the existence of objective standards of Good and Evil.

Socrates is noted as the founder of Western philosophy and was known as one of the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought.

Influenced by Pythagoras and Mystery Religions

Though Socrates was not around during the time of Pythagoras, he was absolutely influenced by Pythagoras. Socrates' beliefs about reincarnation (transmigration of the soul) were similar to those of Pythagoras and the Pythagorean Society.

All this is the mystery religions being passed down. It's not just about a way of thinking — it is the occult dealing with spiritual demons that are giving them this way of thought.

Socrates' Philosophy

Socrates taught that instead of abandoning oneself to passions, human emotions, and impulses, the virtuous person controlled his thoughts and emotions through the study of philosophy.

By living a virtuous life and doing good deeds, a person could obtain true happiness. He was not well received at his time and was a mockery to most Athenians.

The Athenians demanded that he denounce his philosophy. When he refused, they demanded his suicide. Socrates stated that he did not fear death because it is the goal of philosophy to reject material things and prepare the soul for the afterlife.

The Divide in Philosophy: Pre-Socratic vs Post-Socratic

Socrates brings a divide in Greek philosophy. Philosophy up until the time of Socrates is labeled as "pre-Socratic philosophy". It emphasized rational explanations and logic over mythology.

After Socrates, philosophy shifted towards a greater focus on individual ethics and the examination of personal virtue.

Socrates moved intellectual pursuits away from physical science and into the abstract realms of ethics and morality.

Greeks Invented "Morality"

Before Socrates, good and evil was not really a concept thought of by these people. That was not their way of thought. They were lawless.

Socrates did not bring law to them, but he did bring the thoughts surrounding good and evil. This began to prepare the Greeks (which then was taken over by the Romans) and provoked them to a different way of thinking.

The Heresy of Socratic Philosophy

Socrates believed that people don't desire what is bad. He taught that if someone does something bad, it must be out of ignorance or unwillingly.

Socrates believed the complete opposite. These philosophers did not know Yahuah, and they made religion based on their own thoughts.