Chapter 2: Neoplatonism

• Jul, 12 2025

In Chapter II, “Neoplatonism,” R.J. Rushdoony critiques the pervasive influence of Neoplatonic thought on Western philosophy, religion, and culture. He defines Neoplatonism as a dialectical philosophy that exalts mind, spirit, and universals while devaluing the material world, bodily existence, and historical reality. Originating in Greek thought and developed by figures like Plotinus, Neoplatonism teaches that liberation comes through escape from the material into the spiritual—a concept that Rushdoony sees as anti-biblical and destructive.Neoplatonism assumes a dualistic worldview, where mind and matter are seen as opposing substances, and true reality belongs to the realm of ideas. This led to a religious and philosophical tradition that scorned the body, devalued history, and viewed salvation as ascent away from the physical world, not its redemption. Rushdoony sharply contrasts this with biblical faith, which affirms the goodness of creation, the resurrection of the body, and the material world's value under God's sovereign rule.He traces the influence of Neoplatonism from early Christian thinkers and Church Fathers, through medieval Catholic mysticism and the Renaissance (notably Marsilio Ficino), into Islamic mysticism (Sufism), and even into elements of Reformed theology. He criticizes modern Christian adaptations of Neoplatonic ideas under terms like “common grace” or natural law, which, he argues, often serve to undermine biblical authority.Rushdoony also examines the social consequences of Neoplatonism, including its role in misogyny. In viewing women as more material and less rational, Neoplatonism justified centuries of female subjugation in Western and Islamic thought. He also highlights how inverted Neoplatonism—which romanticizes nature and passion over reason—led to movements that idealized adultery over marriage, seeing lawful love as unnatural.Ultimately, Rushdoony argues that Neoplatonism leads to moral confusion, mistaking metaphysical tension for ethical conflict. The biblical diagnosis of sin, not dualistic substance, is the real source of human struggle. By replacing the biblical doctrine of man with Neoplatonic abstraction, humanity is castrated of its true identity and denied redemptive hope in history.

Author

R.J. Rushdoony

Chalcedon Founder

Narrated by

Nathan F. Conkey

Narrator, teacher, missionary