Plotinus (205-270 C.E.), a precursor of such thinkers, developed a system that was based chiefly on Plato’s theory of ideas. Plotinus introduced the concept of a soul separate from the body. Professor E. W. Hopkins said of Plotinus: “His theology . . . had no little influence upon the leaders of Christian opinion.”

Corrupting Pollutants

It has been noted that “the Christian Platonists gave primacy to revelation and regarded Platonic philosophy as the best available instrument for understanding and defending the teachings of Scripture and church tradition.”

Plato himself had been convinced that there exists an immortal soul. Significantly, one of the most prominent false teachings that crept into “Christian” theology is that of the immortality of the soul. Accepting this teaching can in no way be justified on the grounds that doing so made Christianity more appealing to the masses. When preaching in Athens, the very heart of Greek culture, the apostle Paul did not teach the Platonic doctrine of the soul. Rather, he preached the Christian doctrine of the resurrection, even though many of his Greek listeners found it hard to accept what he said.​—Acts 17:22-32.