"So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." — James 4:17
“If it is not right, do not do it, if it is not true, do not say it.” — Marcus Aurelius
Christianity. Stoicism. What are they? What do they mean? Is there a difference? Are they the same? What famous individuals practice(ed) these philosophies/religions? What can these philosophies/religions teach me about day-to-day life circumstances? Can an individual follow both?
These are the types of questions and topics that will be discussed and researched in this blog. For today’s post, we will take a brief look into the histories, similarities, differences, and life long lessons from these highly impactful practices of daily life.
Definition(s): from Oxford dictionary.
Christianity:
the religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, or it’s beliefs and practices.
Stoicism:
the endurance of pain or hardship without the display of feelings and without complaint.
an ancient Greek school of philosophy founded at Athens by Veno of Citium. The school taught that virtue, the highest good, is based on knowledge; the wise live in harmony with the divine Reason (also identified with Fate and Providence) that governs nature, and are indifferent to the vicissitudes of fortune and to pleasure of pain.
So now that we have a defined view of these two beliefs, let’s take a brief look into their histories..
Stoicism began in the 3rd century BC and was practiced by famous names such as Epictetus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius (Daily Stoic, 2019). The main teaching of Stoicism is wrapped around virtue and the belief that you cannot control external circumstances, only your emotions and your reactions to these circumstances. Summum Bonum, an expression used by Cicero, one of ancient Rome’s greatest orators, is Latin for “the highest good.” To the Stoics, this was what they defined as Virtue. Their aim was to strive towards having a virtuous life.
3 centuries later a man by the name of Jesus of Nazareth was born, and 33 years later he was crucified upon a cross and 3 days later was resurrected from the dead, thus giving birth to a new religion called, Christianity. As stated above, Christianity is the practice of following the teachings and lessons of Jesus Christ. His teachings all come from his father, God, and his story is one of the most well known stories in all of history. (The Bible is actually the number 1 selling book of all time!) The core belief of Christianity is that Jesus Christ came down (...or was sent...) from Heaven with one singular purpose — to take on the sin of the world so that we might be able to reside with Him and His Father in Heaven after we die. The way there is simple, yet it takes a difficult leap of faith — you must believe that Jesus is God’s only son, and that he died for you on the cross, taking away all of your sins and making you clean so that you may enter the gates of Heaven.
While Christianity is often referred to as a religion and stoicism a philosophy, they both are specific walks of life/beliefs. They both promote virtue and pushing through the hard times of life in a positive light. The difference is that stoicism suggests that you go through these trials alone and that you must rely on your own volition, whereas Christianity suggests that you do not have to be alone, that through the belief in Christ Jesus that you are actually helped through the divine intervention of the Holy Spirit.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.” — Matthew 5:38-40 (NIV).
This verse, from the book of Matthew in the Bible, is an excerpt from some of the teachings of Jesus Christ. While the origin of the idiom of an “eye for an eye” comes from the ancient Mesopotamian teachings of Hammurabi (18th century BC — 18 centuries before Christianity and 15 centuries before stoicism), Jesus uses this well known saying to make an interesting point.. He (Jesus) is suggesting that instead of taking matters into your own hands, and passing out your own judgement, He would rather you let go of your pride and allow God to have the final say. How many times have you been tricked or cheated and thought, “I’ll get you for that!” Christ simply asks us to give them more. Give them what they want and then some. Isn’t this peculiar?
So what does Stoicism say? Given a similar circumstance, Epictetus might have the following to say:
“Remember that it is we who make difficulties for ourselves — that is, our opinions do. What for instance, does it mean to be insulted? Stand by a rock and insult it, and what have you accomplished? If someone responds to insult like a rock, what has the abuser gained with his invective?” — Discourses I, 25.28-29
This, in a sense, is similar to Jesus’ teaching. Epictetus suggests that instead of lashing back out in anger or ill-contempt, that we simply respond like a rock. We do not throw back a witty or snide comment. We do not return insult with insult. We simply do not respond.
Stoicism and Christianity are meant to enrich the people’s lives of those who practice as well as those who come into contact with those who practice. Through the course of the next several months we will dig deeper into what it truly means to be a Christian and what it truly means to be a Stoic. Should we strive to be one or the other, neither, or both?
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