An amazing confluence of persons and events, at a time of great spiritual and intellectual ferment.... That is, in the centuries immediately preceding the Incarnation of Christ, the Father's Holy Word, Logos of the Beginning and order of Creation, Alpha to Omega....
What Plato made explicit in his contemplation was his fully conscious awareness of a Presence beyond himself, the divine Nous, as his partner in a divine–human dialogue. This it was which drew Plato on his quest for Truth. He did not "contact" divine Nous by means of sensory perception or reasoning. Rather it was experienced as an "event" taking place in the movements of his own soul, being drawn by/from a Source outside of or "beyond" himself, a Source moreover perceived to be "Beyond" the natural world altogether.
Perhaps this is why Justin Martyr found Plato's school at Athens so attractive: Perhaps he had had similar experiences. But this was long after the decease of Plato himself. The point is, the two men had intimations of divine Truth that would only be made fully explicit in the Incarnation of Christ and in the descent of the rauch Elohim, the Holy Spirit of God. It has been said that not only the Old Testament, but also classical philosophy, found their "fulfillment" in the coming of Christ.
You wrote:
When a man has the spiritual gift of "ears to hear" or "eyes to see" he does not need to rationalize God or imagine Who He might be or what He might be like.So very true!
Anselm of Cantebury — the great saint and doctor of the Catholic Church — was a man of soaring intelligence who placed the highest value on reason. Yet unlike his similarly gifted correspondent Gaunilo, a preeminent "man of reason," Anselm was convinced that faith always has priority over reason. In other words, it was illegitimate to "reason" one's way into faith. Gaunilo evidently thought (I am still studying their correspondence) that such an attempt is perfectly legitimate.
Anselm expresses his faith in these sublime lines [Proslogium XV]:
“O Lord, you are not only that than which a greater cannot be conceived, but you are also greater than what can be conceived.”This of course means that God is not "reducible" to the categories of human reason in the first place. And that it is a grave error to believe otherwise.
Which I imagine is why God gave us His Revelation by means of the Holy Scriptures: We couldn't possibly figure out all of God's Will and intentions from our own native abilities, but needed God to provide us with guidance in these matters.
Anyhoot, just wool-gathering today, I guess. FWIW.
Thank you ever so much, dearest sister in Christ, for your splendid essay/post!