It is no secret that the pagan philosophy of Stoicism has many parallels with Christian doctrine. In fact, this observation is generally accepted by biblical and philosophical scholars alike. These resemblances are most strongly represented within the moral and ethical teachings of both schools of thought and have been the subject of scholarly debate for many years. However the question lies not in whether such similarities exist but on how they came to be; and this can be answered no better than by the letters of both Lucius Annaeus Seneca, a stoic philosopher, and his contemporary, Paul the apostle. By considering their backgrounds, beliefs, and writings, one can draw one of two conclusions: either Paul was indeed greatly influenced by Stoic teachings or he was merely writing in the language common to his time.
During the first century A.D., when Paul was writing and ministering, Stoicism was the most popular philosophical movement in the Roman Empire. The movement, at first solely a Greek construct, was founded by Zeno of Citium sometime around 300 B.C. (Nash, 67-68). It came to Rome during the first century A.D. – largely due to the literature of one of its followers, Marcus Tullius Cicero – and soon grew to overtake the cultured centre of Roman thought (Thorsteinsson, 13). In principle, Stoicism was both materialist and pantheistic (Nash, 68-69). For the Stoics, everything in the universe was divine. This meant that their concepts of Nature and Natural Law were fundamental to their doctrine. On the one hand, Nature was a guiding principle that was synonymous with God. As such, on the other hand, the universe was ordered and followed a natural law (Hadas, 21, 23). It was this concept that brought another important aspect of S...
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Nash, Ronald H. Christianity & the Hellenistic World. Dallas: Zondervan, 1984. Print.
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Seneca. Moral letters to Lucilius. Trans. Richard Mott Gummere. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Loeb Classical Library, 1925. 3 vols. Web. 13 April 2014.
Thorsteinsson, Runar M. Roman Christianity and Roman Stoicism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print.
White, L. Michael. "Paul: His Life and Significance." White, L. Michael. From Jesus to Christianity. New York: HarperCollins, 2004. 143-168. Print.
...Epicureans and Stoics] offered a conception of the world and human nature which drew its support from empirical observations, reason and a recognition that all men have common needs” (6). Though both views opposed each other in various ways, they both provided man with a way to live and to care for oneself.
Frede, Dorothea. 'Stoic Determinism.' The Cambridge Companion to the Stoics. Ed. Brad Inwood. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press 2003. 179-205.
Murray, John. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. The Epistle to the Romans. (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1968)
Emperor Justinian I eventually banned stoicism when he closed all pagan philosophy schools in 529 AD. This was due to his belief that their pagan character was in conflict with Christian beliefs (Sedley). Although it dropped out of the public eye for thousands of years, Stoicism is slowly becoming more relevant in the modern day. The ‘Stoicism Today’ project, run by a team of cognitive behavioral therapists, launched International Stoic Week in 2012 (Robertson). These scholars hope to bring back Ancient Stoic principles, but also modernize the philosophy to ensure its revival.
As a worldview, Stoicism is a philosophical approach to help people to cope with times of great stress and troubles. In order to give comfort to humanity, the Stoics agree with the Pantheistic view that God and nature are not separate. Instead, the two forces are one. By believing that God is nature, humans have a sense of security because nature, like God, is recognized as rational and perfect. The perfection of nature is explained through the Divine, or natural, Law. This law gives everything in nature a predetermined plan that defines the future based on past evens (cause and effect). Because the goal for everything in nature is to fulfill its plan, the reason for all that happens in nature is because it is a part of the plan. It is apparent that, because this law is of God, it must be good. The Divine Law is also universal. Everything on the planet has a plan that has already been determined. There are no exceptions or limitations to the natural law. The world in the Stoics’ eyes is flawless, equal, and rational.
...al order. (Aristotle. “Politics.” Book I.vi.) The Romans had not yet reached these moral heights. Instead, the Romans enslaved any and all peoples they conquered. Finally, after hundreds of years of uninhibited enslavement, the stoics dared to challenge the Roman philosophy of slavery. The stoics believed whole-heartedly in an egalitarian social structure. This philosophy extended to the treatment of slaves and had a profound effect on Cicero. Cicero advocated for “treat[ing] slaves as we should employees.” (Cicero. “De Oficiis.” 1.41.) His theory of justice relied heavily on the phrase suum cuique (to each his own) and beating and mistreating slaves was unjustifiable because a Roman would never treat another Roman that way. (Cicero. “De Legibus 1.8.) This theory of, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you,” is a great leap in morality from old philosophies.
Seneca, Lucius Annaeus. Letters From a Stoic. Translation and Introduction by Robin Campbell. New York: Penguin, 1969.
A Roman hero is one who not only displays great pietas, but also acts in accordance with stoic beliefs. To be pious is to show great devotion to the duty of one’s family, the gods, as well as fate. Stoicism is the belief that one should act according to reason rather than personal desires, submitting oneself to the fate predetermined by the gods. In both pietas and stoicism, actions are performed in order to satisfy the needs of the greater good. Dissociating oneself from emotions allows the individual to pursue a state of ataraxia, emancipation from the torment induced by emotions. By adhering to stoic principles, one will not be moved by their passions, allowing for a full investment in one’s pietas. Aeneas...
P. Vander Waerdt, Philosophical Influence on Roman Jurisprudence? The Case of Stoicism and Natural Law ANRW 4.36 (1990)
Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a roman philosopher that lived from 4 B.C. to 65 A.D., offered some of the most influentially inspiring writings that argue the very purpose of life and the inward reflection of oneself. Seneca was a confidant of the Roman Emperor Nero and towards the end of his life procured many letters and writings of his beliefs to mentees. He is considered a major influence on the Christian theology because of the comparison between the morality expressed in his philosophy and verses in the Christian bible; specifically those concerning money and wealth as a path to evil and the treatment of man to one another. His philosophy expanded the traditional views of stoicism; a Hellenistic ideology that addresses the ways in which one
The current inquiry considers some of the chief notions of the Stoics, but more specifically it focuses upon one important question: what does it mean to follow nature for the Stoics? To answer this question, the testimonies of several of the Stoics are pooled and examined together in the end. Not only does this inquisition illustrate chief attributes of Stoicism, but those attributes are eventually evaluated in light of their coherence as well.
In Sarah Ruden’s book, Paul Among the People, Ruden strives to disprove modern society’s common belief that the apostle Paul was a man strongly against women and homosexuality. She makes the claim that he was actually fighting for more equality and love than what Roman society allowed in Paul’s time and even before his time. Ruden compares the words Paul wrote around the middle of 50 A.D. and into the early 60 A.D.’s against other popular literary works of the Roman first and second century B.C.in an effort to challenge contemporary negative thoughts regarding Paul. Despite the negative opinions that a majority of modern society hold about the apostle, Sarah Ruden does a remarkable job of refuting the claims that Paul was a misogynist homophobe by putting Paul in perspective inside the society that he lived in. She claims that Paul was offering equality and a better life for the people of his time. By doing this, Ruden attests that Paul was not the negative man that most people believe but that he actually fought for more equality and compassion than what he is given credit for by most people today.
Lucretius, a famous Epicurean poet, took a stand against the superstitions and fears that the Romans had toward the state religion. He claimed that religion and the fear of gods was what caused unhappiness. Lucretius wrote a story where the Greek princess Iphigeneia was killed by her father Agamemnon, with the hope that he could win the favor of the gods by sacrificing his own daughter. In this case 'religion stood with all that power for wickedness . . .too many times /religion mothers crime and wickedness'; (Lucretius 452). The Romans at that time saw themselves as 'laying foully groveling on earth, weighed down /by grim religion looming from the skies, threatening mortal men';(Lucretius 451). Epicureanism offered some Roman people something that they could seek in order to escape the fears of the gods and religion in general.
Koester, Helmut Dr. “St. Paul: His Mission to the Greek Cities & His Competitors“. 13 September 1997.
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