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Jumpstarter 6 of 10

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Question 6
Responding to the charge that early leaders were “heavily influenced by Greek philosophy,” Bercot says early Christian beliefs largely come from taking the New Testament “very literally and very seriously,” and challenges critics to “show me an example.” What would count as a real example either proving or disproving his claim, and what does this debate expose about how modern Christians decide which parts of the New Testament to take literally?
Another way to ask: Bercot says early Christians mostly got their beliefs by taking the New Testament very literally, and he asks critics to show a real Greek-philosophy influence. What would be a strong example for or against his claim, and what does this argument show about how Christians today decide what to take literally?

Direct Answer A real example, in Bercot’s terms, would be a specific teaching where an early Christian author clearly departs from New Testament teaching because of philosophy, not Scripture—something a critic can point to in the text. The debate exposes that modern Christians often accuse “Greek influence” without reading the sources, and that the deeper issue is selective literalness: which New Testament teachings we will “take very literally and very seriously.”

Support from Transcript:

  • Bercot reports the accusation: early leaders were “heavily influenced by Greek philosophy” and therefore “stray from what the apostles had taught.”
  • His response is a challenge: “show me an example of what you’re talking about,” and he says critics often “have never even read the early Christian writings.”
  • He calls the claim “absurd” because early beliefs match what one would believe if they “looked at everything the New Testament teaches… very literally and very seriously.”
  • He states: “The early Christians got their belief system directly from the New Testament. They didn’t get it from Greek philosophy.”
  • He qualifies Clement/Justin: they sometimes “quote from philosophers… when their teachings harmonize with… Scripture,” which he treats as different from being shaped by philosophy.
Discussion Follow-ups What New Testament passages do we instinctively spiritualize or soften today—and then call earlier Christians ‘extreme’ for taking literally? Are we willing to do Bercot’s homework step: read the actual texts and test claims with direct quotations?