Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth — Page 78
GREEK PHILOSOPHY. We may conclude by pointing out that among most. Greek philosophers, even when they believed in God, revelation was not specifically mentioned as an essential instrument for the transfer of knowledge from God to man. . Rationality wedded to observation and human examination is all that is accepted as the most reliable means of gaining knowledge and truth. . This brief reference to Greek philosophy does not cover all the major Greek philosophers who have made an indelible mark on the history of human thought. The main purpose of this exercise is to present a brief review on the concept of rationality, revelation and truth, as found in the works of Greek philosophers whose words and fame have become eternal. It is here that we must introduce Socrates in his full image. . Socrates, the noblest of all Greek philosophers who presents no contradiction between his ideas and personal righteous deeds, is portrayed by many modern writers in a strange dusky light of contradiction. An outstanding moral teacher, largely seen today through the reflective mirror of. Plato, Xenephon and some others of his contemporaries,. Socrates is not as yet placed where he truly belongs. Of. Xenephon it must be said, that being himself a believer in the polytheistic mythology of the Athenians, he was largely responsible for attributing to Socrates the belief in many gods. That is why in all that is written on Socrates today, one repeatedly finds contradictory references to him as believing in many gods as well as in One, Who is the. Creator of the universe. Every fibre of his monotheist personality throbs with the life and spirit of a devotee to. One God. . His belief in the Unity of God was unshakeable; his defiance of the plurality of Greek mythology was uncompromising. Virtue, knowledge, truth and eradication 78