Did you ever wonder why Christianity resonated so strongly among the Greeks? Not that it didn’t also spread to Persia, Central Asia (Armenia was the first officially Christian nation), North Africa, etc., within the first century, but the Greeks (including those in what’s now Turkey) really took to it.
Did you know that ancient Christians, as early as the first century, marvelled at how the Greeks had been prepped to understand their Christian message?
Did you know that Plato referred to a monotheistic god, albeit unknown to him, as “logos” centuries before John the Evangelist? Yes, when John called Christ, “Logos,” he was purposely representing a concept formulated by Plato and his followers.
Did you know that when the New Testament cites the Old Testament, it does not cite the Hebrew bible, but rather a Greek version of it?
The Greek religion was deeply antithetical to Christianity, but it was so patently antithetical to the truth that is Christianity that many of its discontents gained deep insight to a truth they could never have completely fathomed.
That’s why the Essenes were fascinated by Greek (Hellenistic) culture. John evidently had been an intense scholar of Greek before joining Christ, and this was no pagan pursuit of his. (Yes, humble fishermen could also be scholars.) His use of Greek has been called virtually native, using clever plays on words, making profound literary references, and displaying intimate knowledge of subtle connotations.
I've read much of Plato's works, but I haven't run across his use of "Logos" as you report. As for John "purposely" using Plato's teachings, whatever, I can't seem to find that in any of what he wrote to us...John, 1, 2, 3, or Rev., if he was the writer as most think (and I do).
The Greek religion was deeply antithetical to Christianity, but it was so patently antithetical to the truth that is Christianity that many of its discontents gained deep insight to a truth they could never have completely fathomed.
Okay, sounds right.