I have a theory, something like this:
POINT 1: Human wisdom tends in two directions:
- Pain is bad.
- Good is good.
We’ve called those two divergent views by the names “Epicureanism” and “Stoicism.”
When Paul was brought to Mars Hill he found himself in the middle of the fight between the Epicureans and the Stoics. “Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him” (Acts 17:18).
POINT 2: Our culture (for centuries, but especially for the last 50 years) has been largely shaped by Epicureanism, the pursuit of pleasure or the avoidance of pain.
(The technical amoung you would want me to mention that this sort of hedonistic version of Epicureanism would probably not be recognizable by Epicureaus himself. Non-the-less, but the time the New Testament rolls around the creed of Epicureanism can be stated clearly, “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” See 1 Corinthians 15:32.)
This Epicurean push can be seen in the logic behind arguments for abortion, euthanasia, and the general melee and tumult of the sexual revolution.
POINT 3: We would expect a cultural push-back, and we would expect that in the form of Stoicism.
Indeed this thing we expect is what we see.
You can download a daily Stoic app, and the works of Seneca and Marcus Aralius are being republished, and guys like Jordan Peterson are tapping into the old wisdom of the Stoics for our day.
So, it behooves us to do what we can to get our heads around the basic contours of Epicureanism and Stoicism.
POINT 4: Christianity and Epicureanism are almost always and in every way opposed to one another, but there is some common ground between Christianity and Stoicism.
This is an opportunity and a temptation.
When Christians and Stoics are talking, for example, there are common themes of good and bad, right and wrong, the place of suffering, etc. But, there is the temptation of mistaking Stoicism for Christianity. They are different.
To that end, I commend to you this essay. It comes from the end of Lightfoot’s Commentary on Philippians, and takes up the old legend that there was a correspondence between St. Paul and Seneca.
It is most helpful as it compares and contrasts the sayings of the Stoics with Chiristian doctrine.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
PrBW
