The ancient Greek philosopher Plato gave us Platonism. Its most interesting concept is its theory of Forms, it says that the physical world is but a shadow of the true reality. Platonism says that there are objects that are abstract such as a number 3, the sum of two plus two, or the properties of something like the color red, or shapes like round and triangle, these exist independently of the physical world. also things that could have been but never were. This world of Forms is very similar to our Christian concept of Heaven, which also is abstract, within a non-material reality that is ideal and perfect. Most of these ideas can be found compiled in Plato's Republic, which if you were to study it, you would find that much of the Neo Platonic, Gnostic and Christian concepts come from Greek Philosophy. 433
In Acts 7:51. Steven says to the Sanhedrin, “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit is the immaterial essence within us that connects us to God. In Christian theology, this is Christ and the Logos, but it also corresponds to the second aspect of the Platonic Trinity: Intelligence or Nous. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Greeks, who had long embraced a Trinity comprising one Unknowable God, the Logos (or Intelligence-Nous), and the Soul, which could evolve through Gnosis, or knowledge of the divine. Choosing not to seek the Logos means remaining soulless, unintelligent, and disconnected from God, thus rendering oneself without spiritual worth. This is why Socrates said, "The un-examined life is not worth living" 432
