# The Falsification of Human Ontology – How Philosophy Rewrote Man and Justified Religion - Author: Paul Csavdari - Site: MEKORAH - Content type: Article - Editorial status: Current position - Canonical URL: https://paulcsavdari.blog/2026/07/09/the-falsification-of-human-ontology-how-philosophy-rewrote-man-and-justified-religion/ - Published: 2026-07-09T00:03:29+02:00 - Last revised: 2026-07-09T00:03:29+02:00 ## Subject Collections - [Humanity and God’s Image](https://paulcsavdari.blog/ai/category/humanity-and-gods-image.md): Articles exploring human nature, conscience, freedom, moral responsibility, sin, and the biblical meaning of the image of God. Canonical category page: https://paulcsavdari.blog/category/humanity-and-gods-image/ ## Official Summary What happened in Alexandria in the 3rd century BC was not a mere translation of the sacred texts. It was an ontological coup d’état: a radical redefinition of what a human being is, and through that redefinition, a hijacking of the entire revelation. Greek philosophy… ## Full Text What happened in Alexandria in the 3rd century BC was not a mere translation of the sacred texts. It was an ontological coup d’état: a radical redefinition of what a human being is, and through that redefinition, a hijacking of the entire revelation. Greek philosophy could not tolerate Moses’ premise: that man is created in the image and likeness of God. For the Hellenized philosophers, that claim was unacceptable, dangerous, and subversive. #### 1. What “the Image of God” Really Means The foundational premise of Mosaic theology is crystal-clear: man is made “in the image of God.” This is not a vague metaphor or a future promise. It is a declaration of identity, an ontology of inherent dignity. To bear God’s image means to possess conscience, moral discernment, freedom of choice, and personal responsibility. It means that man is called to live in truth and justice not because he must climb toward some ideal, but because that is already his nature. This vision excludes from the outset any idea that man is essentially corrupt, fallen, or incapable of good. In the Torah given through Moses, God speaks directly to the people and treats them as fully capable of understanding, choosing, and living in truth. No mediator, no myth, no artificial salvation system is required. Only faithfulness. #### 2. Greek Ontology: An Incompatible Paradigm For Plato, man is a prisoner of illusions, dominated by passions and desires. Only through severe discipline, top-down education, and the rule of the enlightened few can he hope for liberation. Aristotle continues the pattern: man needs an external political and moral order to compensate for his inner deficiencies. Human nature, in their view, is unstable and unreliable. Here lies the essential rupture: if man is not inherently worthy, if he is ontologically defective, then he cannot receive the Law directly from God. He needs mediation. And that is precisely what the philosophers introduced into theology: they rejected the image of God as the starting premise and replaced it with an anthropology of distrust. This move is not neutral. It has a very clear stake: the justification of authority. Only a “fallen” man can be ruled. Only a man “sinful from birth” needs priests, sacrifices, temples, dogmas, and salvation schemes. #### 3. Alexandria: The Place Where Ontology Was Falsified In the Library of Alexandria, under Ptolemaic patronage and the direct influence of philosophers such as Demetrius of Phalerum, the Torah was translated, but not only translated. It was revised. The Septuagint emerged not as a simple Greek version of the Hebrew text, but as an ideological product adapted to Hellenistic philosophical sensibilities. For Greek philosophy to “digest” Moses’ revelation, the central premise had to be altered. It could not accept a text that proclaimed man as the image of God. So, in the very first chapters of Genesis, myths were inserted that completely change the portrait of man: - Eden, where man “falls” from a state of purity. - The Flood, where the entire human race is presented as profoundly corrupt. - The Tower of Babel, where human community is punished for ambition. None of these narratives existed in their present form in the authentic Mosaic tradition. They are late additions, designed to support an ontology of suspicion. Man is no longer the bearer of God’s image; he is suspect, weak, guilty by his very nature. #### 4. From Philosophy to Religion: How the Myth Became the Norm Once the premise is changed, the entire system reconfigures itself. The Law is no longer a covenant between God and a responsible human being; it becomes an instrument of discipline. It is no longer a call to truth, but a system of sacrifices, rituals, and intermediaries. Philosophy, in the name of “reason,” created a religion based on fear and artificial salvation. This religion rests on myths, not revelation. And the myth has one clear function: justification of power. The story that man fell becomes the basis for imposing hierarchy. The priest becomes indispensable. Sacrifice becomes a requirement. Forgiveness becomes a bargaining chip. #### 5. Paul: The Legal Theology of the Fall When Paul formulates the doctrine of inherited sin and salvation by grace alone, he is merely carrying forward this mistaken ontological premise. In his letters the Law is said to have been given “to expose sin.” Man is, by essence, a sinner. Moses is valid only as a forerunner of grace. This is neither Jesus’ vision nor that of the prophets. It is a synthesis between the myths inserted into Genesis and Greek philosophy’s view of human nature. The irony is that Paul himself senses the tension: if man really is that corrupt, then neither sacrifices, nor the Law, nor his own will can save him. Everything is reduced to an external legal act: grace offered unilaterally. Man is no longer a covenant partner; he is a passive beneficiary. #### 6. The Consequences That Reach Us Today The religion that still dominates the world today is the product of this ontological falsification. It is not built on the image of God, but on the idea that man is guilty, weak, fallen. Everything built throughout history, from religious empires to dogmas and excommunications, has its root in this change of premise. And that change happened in Alexandria. There the image was lost. There philosophy replaced revelation with myth. There man was redefined, not to be understood, but to be controlled. Everything that followed was merely the consequence of that betrayal. ## Attribution The interpretations and conclusions belong to Paul Csavdari. The AI-generated voice is the narrator, not the author. © Paul Csavdari. All rights reserved.