In a paper that I recently read, "The Perils of Omnisignificance: Language and Reason in Mesopotamian Hermeneutics " by Eckhart Frahm, the concept of appealing to the distant past as the repository of truth is found in first millenium BC Mesopotamia. The question that came to my mind, upon discovering this, is that of "why". Why did the Mesopotamian philosophers, of that day, come to embrace the concept of ancient superior? Why did they believe that the past held the truth? For the Orthodox Christian, we look to the first century truth as the fountain of truth, simply because it was the first century believers, who had been taught by Christ, living and learning directly under his leadership.
Of course, the Orthodox church does not limit itself to only what is found in the first century. As the church has continued to grow and mature, our beliefs have not changed, but have been clarified over the centuries. As we have come to cultural situations where explanation is necessary, the church has promoted learning and understanding, and giving energy to the clarification of doctrine.
But the original question, "Why did the ancient Mesopotamian philosophers look to the further past for truth?" remains to be understood, at least by me. What was their thinking and their presuppositions built upon? What did they know about their ancestors and philosophical/intellectual predecessors, that we do not? To whom where they appealing? To whom did they intellectually submit?
The time frame for this paper is first millenium Mesopotamia. This would make these peoples contemporary with King David in Israel. This would make these people the descendants, 500 years past, of Abraham, who came from Mesopotamia. I do not, at this time, have an answer, but the idea of coming to an understanding of what drove ancient philosophers to embrace the hermeneutic they did, is fascinating.
Of course, the Orthodox church does not limit itself to only what is found in the first century. As the church has continued to grow and mature, our beliefs have not changed, but have been clarified over the centuries. As we have come to cultural situations where explanation is necessary, the church has promoted learning and understanding, and giving energy to the clarification of doctrine.
But the original question, "Why did the ancient Mesopotamian philosophers look to the further past for truth?" remains to be understood, at least by me. What was their thinking and their presuppositions built upon? What did they know about their ancestors and philosophical/intellectual predecessors, that we do not? To whom where they appealing? To whom did they intellectually submit?
The time frame for this paper is first millenium Mesopotamia. This would make these peoples contemporary with King David in Israel. This would make these people the descendants, 500 years past, of Abraham, who came from Mesopotamia. I do not, at this time, have an answer, but the idea of coming to an understanding of what drove ancient philosophers to embrace the hermeneutic they did, is fascinating.
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