Stoic and Christians serving of God or Logos
Both Stoic and Christian followers believe in serving God’s will. Neither the Christians nor the Stoic believe that God who is their logos does or follows the will of humans. They both acknowledge the will of God and work to serve it fully. They believe in God’s will in terms of performing operations like provision of food, blessings, and giving of life. The Stoics were monotheists in that, they believed in one God as their Logos (Engberg-Pedersen, 2005) Here, they could be compared in the evolving monotheism of Judaism, particularly that of Moses during the time of Old testaments. Christian’s perception of the logos is derived from chapter one in John’s Gospel where it is translated regularly as the word. In this Gospel, it explains that at the beginning of the world there was the word, which was with God, and who was that Word. The concept is that this Word was with God from the beginning of everything (Kamesar, 2004). Through his power, everything came to existence and without him, nothing could have been there. The gospel also states that, in Him, there was life and this life was the light of all human races. He explained the power of light over darkness, hence being superior over it.
In the Gospel of John, he clearly recognizes the Logos as Jesus who was the sent messiah. The Gospel of John states that the word turned to be flesh and lived among the human kinds. It claims that Jesus came from heaven sent by the Father, filled with grace and truthfulness. John the baptism also testified concerning him saying that Jesus had more power than him since he had existed before his birth. Christians also believe in the holy trinity; that is, God the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is contrary to the Stoics’ who were monotheistic in their beliefs. For Christians, Christ who is their logos is God in self- righteousness and salvation. He is God who could be identified to men since he came to earth and experienced their sufferings before ascending to heaven (Kamesar, 2004). The monotheism in Stoics differs from Christianity in different perspectives. In Christians, there are opposing powers of the enemy, Angels, and Demons, which is contrary to Stoics where there is just one Logos. Christianity and Stoic believe in serving the superpower being who happens to be their God. He is their highest being in life who they serve as their master. They both believe that those who pray the super being received their rewards here on earth (Bialecki, & Del Pinal, 2011).
Askesis
The early Christians adopted the Stoics idea of spiritual life that involves defined training of one mind, body, and passions. This idea is more observed in Orthodox Christianity. These Christians are observed to have a strong observance of Greek philosophy. Though modern Evangelism seems to exercise Loyola’s spirituality, the strong observances have been overthrown by the overwhelming love of Jesus as their logos. The Christian religion has also developed Stoic’s initiative of believing in serving the city of god. They believe that good people should give their best in serving the city of God first and then offer service to their own specific tribe as the second priority (Engberg-Pedersen, 2005). This is the most fundamental idea in that, it elaborates that despite the tribal and racial differences, all humankind share a common divine nature (Rosenberg, 2014)
The Logos made flesh
In many cases, Christianity drew on the Stoic ideas; there are crucial differences that exist in the belief of Logos. According to the gospel of John, Jesus is the sent messiah, Logos made of flesh. This close and living being came to rescue the life of Christians from sins. Stoic belief in and serve a distant and unknowable force of destiny, this contradicts with Christians in that, they serve a living being with flesh and blood. This person was born in a certain location and time as explained in the scriptures. The being that Christians lay the foundation of their beliefs on, descended from heaven and was born of humans. He lived among the human beings and learned their sufferings. He had flesh and blood and went to an extent of crying though he was a supreme and powerful being. In the scriptures, it is outlined that he cried when he heard about the death of Lazarus and suffered for the sake of saving Christians. He was crucified on the cross where He died like any other living being (Thorsteinsson, 2006).
Stoic believers lay their faith in a pantheistic force. It is believed that Christian’s faith is based on an emotional love revealed by Jesus who is their Logos when he was on earth. He associated with people and acted as a servant to them rather than their master. Contrarily to Stoic who believes in the power of nature as a totality of everything. From a Logos perspective, the relationship between Christians and stoics is considerably different. The linkage between believing in God in Christianity differs from Stoics’ belief in their Logos. For Stoic, it is a distant relation based on cold ideas of duty and belief in good value, though it is still intellectual (Thorsteinsson, 2006). In Christianity, the relationship appears more and well established. It elaborates more emotional, needy, constantly full of dialogues, regular back and forth connections with God who is their Logos, being and as needy as humans who believe in him. The relationship with God in Christians is more emotional, more physical, and full of pleasure than in Greek philosophy. In Christians, it is observed that their God is portrayed as being full of hunger for their love, praise and when they turn to Him through prayers and penance, he runs to meet them. This is elaborated in the Hymn of David’s Psalms in scriptures (Engberg-Pedersen, 2005)
Emotional and Needy
As stated in a point above, Christianity is extremely and more expressive than Greek beliefs; full of moaning, groaning, cries of resentment or despair, in addition to joy and ecstasy. The whole thing of neediness and emotions is outlined in the Psalms of David in the Holy book of Christians. These facts do not apply evenly since there is some followers of Christ as their logos, who are more cautious especially Orthodox Christianity. In Christianity contrarily to Stoic Logos, Christians plead and beg their God to fulfill their needs, they pray to plead to be released from daily suffering, be freed from slavery, for sick people to receive healing power and comfortableness in their day-to-day activities (Lisagor, 2014). This is utterly different from the proud and self-reliant followers and believers of Stoic Logos. The Greek Philosopher who was a Stoic outlined that in Stoic, if one needs anything good, instead of pleading from someone else, they should get it for themselves. In Stoic, people believe in themselves and what they own (Rosenberg, 2014).
Believing In the Grace of God
The Greek philosophers who transformed to Christianity faith explained that Christians believe wholly in the external help from their Logos, who is their God and creator of all creatures. For they believe in the trinity, they too seek assistance from the Holy Spirit, they ask for his grace mercy, and power to save the people and bring changes to them when they feel weak and unable to stand strong (Kamesar, 2004). Stoic believes that their help comes from their own reasoning, not from God, they do not believe in God’s grace or act of mercy. One has to reason and work hard to help him or herself when they reach rock bottom. They do not believe that God lifts His people once they call for assistance from Him and put them back on their feet.
Christians and Stoic believe On Enemy
Christians are not monotheism and they believe in the trinity and enemy. Christians believe in Satan as their enemy towards their success in life. This enemy acts in a rival way of God and works contrarily to his will. He prevents Christians from fulfilling the will of their Logos and their superpower being. God is the light to Christians and His path is full of light that overcomes all powers of darkness brought by Satan the enemy. Christians have a tendency in believing that Satan was allowed to take charge of many activities that takes place here on earth and in all ways endeavors to put them into temptations and destroy them. In addition, not only does Satan confuse the Christians, but also has a crowd of followers. Stoic believers, sometimes talk of the enemy to their belief. Contrarily to what Christianity believers recognize as an enemy, Stoic believes their enemy to fulfill Lagos will is typically their lower self, living a bad way of life, an inhumane way of living as opposed to their divine self. For them, the world is a place where their power is the only limit to a happy life (Lisagor, 2014). For Christians, the world is in one way or another controlled by supernatural powers, where one can believe in more than one god and a risky place where human beings live together with the evil spirits which work to destroy them (Fontana, 2000).
There are no issues like possession by the evil powers in Greek philosophy. If given a chance to look at the gospels and come across issues to do with evil powers and possessions by the devil, Stoic believers would be shocked. They do not have any reference to evil power possession. They believe that, if a person gets ill, it is all because of their bad thinking or bad behaviors. Christians believe in the existence of evil supernatural beings in their midst contrarily to Stoic who only believes in kind daemons (Esler, 2004).
Believe Towards Human Nature
Christianity as they base its mode of living to the life of Christ, beliefs in the existence of sin of origin. Through reasoning and God’s intervention, sins are forgiven. Human beings are not perfect beings; they are prone to making mistakes and have to ask for God’s forgiveness while on earth (Lisagor, 2014). In Stoic followers, human beings’ lives are perfectible through reasoning alone. Nature has made human beings rational and can use this rationale through reasoning to become perfect. Stoic believes that one becomes perfect through the art of living.
Christians believe more in final things like death and final judgment, heaven, hell, and the ultimate destiny of humankind than Stoic does. This has been observed and more emphasized in ecclesiastical doctrine. They believe wholly in the resurrection of the body from death and ascending to heaven or hell for eternal life or destruction. Some Christians also believe in a place where those who have died in a state of grace go through limited torture to carry out penance for their sins. Stoics contrarily are not certain on what they believe in after their death, this is supported by the fact that this is rarely mentioned in their beliefs (Thorsteinsson, 2006). Christians in addition have much-unrelated eschatology to Stoics in that they believe all creations will collapse, but it would entirely be redeemed during the end of times and the world when Jesus will be coming to save the dead and living believers (Esler, 2004).
Stoics, in contrast, suppose that things will just persist for a while and afterward the entire world will explode into flames, and then everything will be re-established. Another significant difference in consideration to modern Stoicism and Christianity is that great numbers of modern Stoics are nonbelievers and don’t necessarily believe in the Logos or Divine intervention, although still believe in developing one logical action which is to precisely do what is right and avoid bad behaviors. Even if Stoic does not know what will happen after death, they believe in doing what is right which is similar to the teaching of Jesus in the gospel and as per the teaching of God in the early Christians (Engberg-Pedersen, 2005).
Forms of worships to God, Love for One Another, and Teaching
Christians worship their God in music where they celebrate the life of living and the dead ones. Christians show love to each other following the exemplary life that Jesus led when He descended to earth from heaven. This love brings Christians together as a community contrarily to the Stoic rational. Christians love is humble, kind and serving. Christians teaching on forgiveness differs from Stoic. Christians’ belief in teaching on the forgiveness as observed from the time of Jesus trial and during his death. He forgave all those who wronged him (Bialecki, & Del Pinal, 2011). Contrarily, Stoic do not forgive, this is because even if they might suffer physical pain, they would not feel abused. They are just disturbed by what is within their control that is, their inner quality and virtues. This way, Stoics prevent themselves from being harmed by outside forces. Due to this reason, they would follow the verbal abuses rather than bodily injury. However, it did not matter even to seek forgiveness for the fault that could likely be common to every community member who followed Stoic beliefs (Rosenberg, 20
References
Bialecki, J., & Del Pinal, E. H. (2011). Introduction: Beyond Logos: Extensions of the Language Ideology Paradigm in the Study of Global Christianity (-ies).Anthropological Quarterly, 84(3), 575-593. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/anthropological_quarterly/v084/84.3.bialecki.html
Engberg-Pedersen, T. (2005). The relationship with others: Similarities and differences between Paul and Stoicism. Zeitschrift fur die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und Kunde der Alteren Kirche, 96(1/2), 35-60. Retrieved from http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/zntw.2005.96.issue-1-2/zntw.2005.96.1-2.35/zntw.2005.96.1-2.35.xml
Esler, P. F. (2004). Paul and Stoicism: Romans 12 as a Test Case. New Testament Studies, 50(1), 106-124. Retrieved from http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=AA72DC2C5720E25BFD2AA9D0571678C5.journals?fromPage=online&aid=213153
Fontana, B. (2000). Logos and Kratos: Gramsci and the ancients on hegemony. Journal of the History of Ideas, 61(2), 305-326. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/jhi/summary/v061/61.2fontana.html
Kamesar, A. (2004). The Logos Endiathetos and the Logos Prophorikos in Allegorical Interpretation: Philo and the D-Scholia to the Iliad. Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies, 44(2), 163-181. Retrieved from http://openpublishing.library.duke.edu/index.php/grbs/article/viewArticle/81
Lisagor, M. (2014). Logos. Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion, 1037-1039. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-1-4614-6086-2_392
Rosenberg, R. S. (2014). The Human Quest and Divine Disclosure according to Walker Percy. logos, 17(1). Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/logos/v017/17.1.rosenberg.html
Thorsteinsson, R. M. (2006). Paul and roman stoicism: Romans 12 and contemporary stoic ethics. Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 29(2), 139-161.Rettrived from http://jnt.sagepub.com/content/29/2/139.short