- Oct 4, 2016
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A thread on the relationship between Stoicism and Christianity. (I may actually throw in the relationship of Christianity with Zoroastrianism as well, and even talk a bit about pre-Christian paganism etc).
One problem I have seen in Christianity is a lot of defensiveness. Christians, especially on the social conservative end of the spectrum (Protestants especially), frequently cannot actually acknowledged when there is anything positive to say when it comes to other religions and philosophies even when they actually mirror traditional Christian values and beliefs! And it's not just that, there are even times when the Judeo-Christian tradition has been positively influenced by such things.
Anyway back to the defensiveness, as Christians we believe in the exclusiveness of our Faith as far as Salvation, and having a restored relationship with God goes. So there is some degree of nervousness in some people who most likely equate or conflate the ability to say something positive about some other Faith tradition outside the Judeo-Christian tradition as some kind of slippery slope towards Unitarianism, or some other kind of belief. But I would maintain this should not be the case, you can acknowledged the positive and not ditch that Jesus is the only way to salvation etc.
But I think this has been a problem for centuries. To start with it makes Christians and Christianity seem petty. Secondly, growing up especially attending parochial schools (Lutheran and Southern Baptist) Christians can be so much better at preaching than actually practicing their Faith. In particular, I recall the concept of hearing a lot about "Agape" growing up, but seeing or experiencing only on very, very rare occasions. I can say that a number of my secular instructors growing up were much better when it came to virtues like patience compared to some Christian counter parts. Anyway, this phenomenon undermines the veracity claims of the Faith. It makes people wonder if Christianity is simply an idealogy or such concepts like Agape are just slogans and ideals that are never realized.
And thirdly, like the previous statement concerning slogans and ideologies etc. I think some of this concept is something that is God allowed or ordained, namely many Christians have a deeply flawed concept concerning what it means to be a Christian. It's for that reason, that I think the rise of postChristian society is not entirely bad. It's bad in general but sometimes it is a reaction to something areas of institutional Christianity that are not worth saving. Essentially in my own life, I left the Faith for a fear years and came back but was better off for it in the end and I think that sometimes also happens with other people.
Anyway leave your comments, objections and other responses below and take care,
Pavel
PS - the thread got so long I forgot the 1st part! There is some good life advice to be had from Stoicism, it has a number of Christian parallels if you pay attention. IF you don't mind a few PG-13 cuss words, I recommend "10 Stoic Teachings Of Marcus Aurelius We Desperately Need Today (Practical Stoicism)"
One problem I have seen in Christianity is a lot of defensiveness. Christians, especially on the social conservative end of the spectrum (Protestants especially), frequently cannot actually acknowledged when there is anything positive to say when it comes to other religions and philosophies even when they actually mirror traditional Christian values and beliefs! And it's not just that, there are even times when the Judeo-Christian tradition has been positively influenced by such things.
Anyway back to the defensiveness, as Christians we believe in the exclusiveness of our Faith as far as Salvation, and having a restored relationship with God goes. So there is some degree of nervousness in some people who most likely equate or conflate the ability to say something positive about some other Faith tradition outside the Judeo-Christian tradition as some kind of slippery slope towards Unitarianism, or some other kind of belief. But I would maintain this should not be the case, you can acknowledged the positive and not ditch that Jesus is the only way to salvation etc.
But I think this has been a problem for centuries. To start with it makes Christians and Christianity seem petty. Secondly, growing up especially attending parochial schools (Lutheran and Southern Baptist) Christians can be so much better at preaching than actually practicing their Faith. In particular, I recall the concept of hearing a lot about "Agape" growing up, but seeing or experiencing only on very, very rare occasions. I can say that a number of my secular instructors growing up were much better when it came to virtues like patience compared to some Christian counter parts. Anyway, this phenomenon undermines the veracity claims of the Faith. It makes people wonder if Christianity is simply an idealogy or such concepts like Agape are just slogans and ideals that are never realized.
And thirdly, like the previous statement concerning slogans and ideologies etc. I think some of this concept is something that is God allowed or ordained, namely many Christians have a deeply flawed concept concerning what it means to be a Christian. It's for that reason, that I think the rise of postChristian society is not entirely bad. It's bad in general but sometimes it is a reaction to something areas of institutional Christianity that are not worth saving. Essentially in my own life, I left the Faith for a fear years and came back but was better off for it in the end and I think that sometimes also happens with other people.
Anyway leave your comments, objections and other responses below and take care,
Pavel
PS - the thread got so long I forgot the 1st part! There is some good life advice to be had from Stoicism, it has a number of Christian parallels if you pay attention. IF you don't mind a few PG-13 cuss words, I recommend "10 Stoic Teachings Of Marcus Aurelius We Desperately Need Today (Practical Stoicism)"