Resources on Neo-Platonism?

[clawrence9008]

I am interested to see if there are resources (basic, intermediate, and advanced) out there that discuss the impact that Neo-Platonist philosophy had on patristic and medieval Christianity. Preferably some resources that discuss Western Christianity, and others that discuss Eastern/Byzantine Christianity. The only one that I am presently aware of is Pseudo-Dionysius and the Metaphysics of Aquinas by Fran O’Rourke.

 

[RamistThomist]

Cambridge Companion to Plotinus. Kind of dry but it will tell you everything you want to know. Anything by Lloyd Gerson or Eric Perl is generally the standard in the field.

That's the easy answer to your question. The hard answer is it depends. You will find Neo-Platonic elements in many early Christian thinkers, but only up to a point. For example, Augustine "feels" Neo-Platonic, given his dislike of married sex. But he doesn't call God "Beyond Being," which a Neo Platonist would do. Gregory of Nazianzus calls God "an ocean of Being" and classical theism has generally called God "Being," not beyond being.

On the other hand, Thomas Aquinas's structure is one of Exitus and Redditus, and that is Neo-Platonic (but of course, Thomas isn't a Neo-Platonist).

 

[DNM300]

Potentially of interest is Craig Carter’s Interpreting Scripture with the Great Tradition published by Baker Academic

Note: Unfortunately there is 2cv on the cover.

 

[jwright82]

Issue 81 Article 3 - The End is Not the Beginning… In Fact, Not Even the End - Affinity - Affinity

Foundations: No.81 Autumn 2021 The End is Not the Beginning… In Fact, Not Even the End Michael Horton* Introduction The relation between Christianity and Platonism has always been a controversial topic – even since the second century. For a variety of reasons, Plato’s school was a more...

www.affinity.org.uk

Here's an interesting article by Michael Horton on Neo-Platonism in general and the early Church, especially Origen and Irenaus. Hope it works.