I would never have made a good Stoic… although I applaud much of their thinking.
Stoicism was a Greek school of philosophy founded by Zeno in the 3rdcentury BC. It taught that the universe was governed by an all-pervading “Reason” (that Christians know to be “God”). Stoicism was inherently optimistic, for it believed that this “Reason” was good. As such, whatever happened in our world must also be good. We must therefore live in such a way as to not be troubled by the ebb and flow of events.[1] Rather, we should develop self-control and fortitude in order to overcome negative emotions… and develop the sort of clear unbiased thinking that will allow us to understand the universal “Reason” (logos).[2]
What do you think of that?
The trouble with me is that I have way too much passion to be a Stoic. I grieve and weep too much at the cruel injustices of the world, and am brought almost to despair at the level of evil and untruth that exists. But, paradoxically, like the Stoics, I know that the God who created the cosmos is fundamentally “good”.
How can I say this when faced with the obscenity of pandemics, tsunamis, cancer and Nazi extermination camps? Nature itself seems fundamentally flawed. This is entirely consistent with Christian thinking that understands that nature and humankind have both been corrupted and are waiting for God to make all things new (Romans 8:19-21).
Christianity gives me three reasons to hope:
- God the Father has assured me in Scripture that he has already set a time when all things will be renewed and every tear will be wiped dry (Revelation 21:1-4).
- God the Son (Jesus) has experienced terrible suffering, which he endured to pay the price for our sins. God therefore understands the suffering I experience.
- God the Holy Spirit inspires me to address suffering and injustice now, wherever I come across it.
On top of this, God promises to be with me in my suffering, giving me all I need to remain undefeated by it. (I’m currently battling cancer.)
The philosophical enemies of the Stoics were the Epicureans. (The Apostle Paul debated with both groups of philosophers when he was in Athens – see: Acts 17:16-18).
The Epicureans were impossible optimists. They dreamed of a utopian, egalitarian world – in which they didn’t need to acknowledge any god (or trouble themselves with thoughts of death and judgement), but only concern themselves with things rational – and making life as pleasurable as possible for everyone. However, their egalitarian dream was found to be unworkable because it lacked a foundation that guaranteed what ‘good’ was. In just a few years, it degenerated into unbridled hedonism (like it did again, much later in history in the 1960s). Marxism similarly (and inevitably) degenerates into bullying totalitarianism for the same reason – it has no ultimate foundation that determines what is truly true and good.
Charles Darwin allowed a Christian faith to flourished briefly in his life (whilst at Cambridge), but it died – primarily because he failed to understand the Christian answer to suffering. Please don’t be like him. Stoicism and Epicureanism don’t have much to offer as alternatives. Jesus, however, can lift you above your suffering so you are not crushed under it.
[1] William Carrol, “Metaphysics and the Experience of God: The Meditations of David Bentley Hart”, January 17, 2014[1]Uploaded to “Public Discourse” (a journal of the Witherspoon Institute) 17th January, 2014, see: https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2014/01/11916/William E. Carroll is Research Fellow in Theology and Science at the Aquinas Institute of Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford.
[2] See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism
