Philo's De Aeternitate Mundi

The Problem of Its Interpretation

Bibliographic Data

ID4065231
AuthorsDavid T Runia (0000-0003-4020-5249, 1Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105, corresponding author)
Year1981
Volume35
Issue2
Pages105-151
Publication date1981-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueVigiliae Christianae (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0042-6032 • E-ISSN: 1570-0720
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/157007281x00306
OpenAlexW2039320843
LanguageEN
Citations received28

While On the Eternity of the World is customarily printed in the collections of the writings of Philo and is often ascribed to him, only a minority of scholars regard it as authentically his. The principal basis for denying the work to Philo runs as follows. In many of his writings, Philo has dealt with God's creation of the world. God is omnipotent over the universe, even to the point of being able to destroy it, should he wish. However, if the world is destructible, it cannot be eternal; to believe in the eternity of the world, then, is in effect to deny God's ultimate power over it. Precisely because the treatise affirms the eternity of the world, the majority of scholars deny the treatise to Philo... All in all, the treatise, genuine or not, is relatively unimportant

Art · Biblical studies · Epistemology · Eternity · Hebrew Bible · Interpretation (philosophy) · Literature · Physics · Power (physics) · Principal (computer security) · Theology · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Christian Theology and Mission · Philosophy · Theology and Philosophy of Evil

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