Answer
Plato (c. 428—348 BC) is arguably the most influential philosopher in human history. This reputation stems from his prolific writing about humanity’s biggest questions and the nature of logic and reality. Plato’s definitions and categories became the building blocks of Western philosophical discussion. Even those who disagreed with his conclusions still wrote and argued using his general system. It was inevitable that cornerstone ideas from major philosophies and religions would later find parallels in Plato’s writing. Among these is what Plato called “the Form of the Good,” or “the Idea of the Good.” This concept shares many characteristics with the biblical God.
The Form of the Good did not reflect a precise understanding of the God of the Bible; rather, Plato’s perspective resembled what Paul called the Athenians’ “unknown god” (Acts 17:23). Logic and reason allowed Plato to see something but not to perceive it as the Lord of Scripture. Plato’s work was commonly known in the New Testament era; his ideas were adapted to help explain Christian theology in the Middle Ages. But Plato’s “Form” is not the God of the Bible; it is an example of how even general revelation points us toward the Creator (see Psalm 19:1).
According to Plato, everything that exists reflects an ideal—a “form”—that is perfect, eternal, and exists beyond the physical. To say something is “beautiful,” for instance, is to say that it participates in the “Form of Beauty.” Square objects participate in the “Form of Square,” and so forth. We can identify a sketch of a poodle more quickly when the sketch closely aligns with the perfect, abstract form “Poodle.” Forms themselves can participate in a higher form. Square and Circle could be seen as subsets of the “Form of Perfect Geometry” or something similar. The forms Poodle, Bulldog, and Collie would all participate in the “Form of the Dog.” The exact names and number of the forms is not really Plato’s point; what’s important is the idea of how they interact.
This approach suggests a pyramid-like arrangement of forms, narrowing to a single point. That peak is the ultimate Form under which all other forms participate. This is Plato’s “Form of the Good”: the unique, eternal, immaterial, un-caused cause that is the source of everything else in existence. The Form, or Idea, of the Good is the singular basis of all reality in Plato’s philosophy. Negative attributes such as lies or cruelty would therefore be a lack of adherence to forms of Truth or Mercy.
Such attributes are exactly what biblical faith ascribes to the One True God, the Lord. He is the “first cause,” eternal, uncreated, and unique, the standard to which all other things are compared. That which is evil, ugly, or false is so because it deviates from God’s standards. However, Plato did not include qualities such as personhood or active engagement in his idea. While Plato’s Form of the Good, or Idea of the Good, is an abstract, impersonal concept, the God of the Bible is specific and personal.
When Christian philosophers such as Thomas Aquinas worked to explain God in philosophical terms, their work necessarily required adapting many ideas first associated with Plato. Much of what Plato understood about reality accurately reflected who and what God is. In that sense, Plato’s Form of the Good could be considered God, or vice versa. Strictly speaking, though, the two are separate concepts. This idea would be further developed in Aristotle’s unmoved mover.
