Stoicism and Christianity

"If thy faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small." - Proverbs 24:10

There is a question that has been asked more and more lately with the rise in popularity of Stoic Philosophy - Can you be both a Stoic and a Christian? To me, with my limited knowledge of Stoicism, this seems quite possible. Avoiding a label that may be considered contradictory, I consider myself to be Christian with a great interest in Stoicism and I do see how it can help us become more ethical, thoughtful, and less emotionally led people. It's a philosophy which invites the student to face their problems head on, which I've rarely done up to this point in my life. Stoic Philosophy is simple, yet intriguing and complex all at once - quite similar to the Bible and the writings of the Apostle Paul.

My first introduction into Stoicism was an article written by Ryan Holiday, which made me want to learn more. Shortly after, I read his book "The Obstacle Is the Way," a book that I can highly recommend. This made me want to delve further into Stoicism and read the Stoics themselves. I watched some videos on Stoicism that were posted on YouTube and felt I was being led down the right path after watching a Ted Talk by Jules Evans entitled "How Philosophy Can Save Your Life."  It dealt with mental disorders like social anxiety and showed me how philosophy has benefited those with similar experiences to my own.

I can't say that I'm a card-carrying Stoic yet. The label probably wouldn't fit, considering I've only read Aurelius and some Epictetus, without much practice in the real world. If you look at Stoicism as a philosophy of growth, and not the be-all, end-all to the inner workings of the human condition, then I think there is a lot that can be learned by studying these philosophers.

Going back to the original question - this podcast from the Painted Porch is a good place to start on the subject of Christianity and Stoicism. Pastor Michael Jones, who considers himself a Stoic, talks about some of the teachings that Christians have to be somewhat careful of. He discusses how Stoicism has the inclination of only teaching a person to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps," while the Christian lives life under the power of God, not just by our power alone.

I agree with the Pastor that it's hard to believe that Paul wasn't influenced by the Stoics in some way when you read the New Testament. One of the reasons that this blog has the title "The Stoic's Helmet" is because of a link between Stoicism and Christianity that I'd found on my own. Paul talks of putting on the armor of God - the helmet and the sword being the word of God...

"Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." - Ephesians 6:17

If God has created us to be creative, surely there is some of His influence in the writings of the Stoics. I may be way off base here, but maybe Stoicism was meant to influence Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament; a series of letters to the Church which still defines Christianity as we now know it.

Pastor Jones also says that, "Christians don't stand before God on our own merits but on the merits of Christ. The self-reliance of Stoicism can be a danger." I think that this is true, we have to be a bit more discerning as Christians who study the Stoics.

All in all, after listening to the podcast I would consider it just as possible for a Christian to be a Stoic as it is for an atheist to be a Stoic, considering that most of the Stoics were neither, being raised Pagan. Stoic Philosophy and Christianity both have a beauty that I find accessible and enlightening. No matter how the world changes around us, we're still the same contemplative beings, with our own difficulties and questions, that lived and died 2000 years ago.