THE DE-HELLENIZATION OF CHRISTIANITY IN THOMAS HOBBES

Abstract

Thomas Hobbes is widely known due to his work on political philosophy. However, although less known, there is an important hobbesian theological reflection, itself lo-cated within the protestant tradition. In this paper, we expose an important aspect of that reflection: his rejection of what he considers to be elements alien to the Chris-tian faith, taken from Greek culture and added by scholastic theology to the simple original Christian message. An important part of that addition would be Aristotle’s philosophy, assumed by Catholic theologians in order to explain articles of faith such as the doctrine of transubstantiation, or the existence of Purgatory. We show how this rejection is determined by the assumption of a materialist ontology and a sensist theory of knowledge. We end the paper showing briefly how Hobbes’ rejection of clas-sical culture is compatible with his account of Providence.