The purpose of these interview question were to get a better understanding between Christianity and Stoicism. So since I could not get a live interview with Greg Boyd senior pastor at Woodland Hills Church I emailed him some questions about it and here are the answers he came up with.
Hi Christian, sorry I couldn't get this to you in time for your project. But here are my short answers to your questions.
1. First of all are you familiar with stoicism?
--> YES
2. As a Christian Pastor and theologian would you say that stoicism closely relates to the Christian religion?
And in what aspects does it or does it not?
--> Stoicism has strongly influenced Christianity since at least the third and fourth centuries. It explains why so many Christians pray to accept suffering as God's will instead of revolting against it, as Jesus did. It's also why Calvinist thing everything is predestined by God. I see Stoicism and the movement that Jesus birthed as almostly completely antithetical. Stoicism strives to be a peace with the way things are. The movement Jesus founded assumes that the way things are is OFF, because the world is seiged by Satan and other forces of evil that must be resisted, and eventually defeated.
3. You talk a lot about serving the kingdom and building the kingdom in your sermons, I think that goes along with being a stoic thinking of bettering your life and the others around you. Do you think they are talking about it in the same sense as you are? Even if they aren't does it still have some connections?
--> I think all similarities are superficial. In the kingdom, we aspire to live and serve like Jesus to advance the reign of God over and against the Devil. Stoicism basically says, "what is, is right, so embrace it."
4. An idea of Christianity that does not go along with stoicism is the idea of always praying to god for certain outcomes. A stoic would tell you I think that you should not worry about those outcomes as you cant control them. Or maybe that go has already given us the tools we need; we just have to use them. What are your thoughts on prayer and the stoic idea of controlling what is in your control and being indifferent to those not?
--> your absolutely right. As I said above, in the kingdom movement that Jesus birthed, we pray to a personal God in order to change the course of events, whereas in Stoicism a) there is no personal God, and b) you cannot change the course of events. All is fated.
5. In life a stoic would believe that perfection is attainable on your own through reason, known as sages. What are you thoughts on the idea of perfection?
Although you may not agree with the perfection part, do you think that reason is big part of living a better Christian like life or is something else a bigger part of that?
--> NO. I think the call to love and serve enemies looks foolish and irrational to people who rely on reason. Yet, this is what disciples of Jesus are called to do. Also, while we should strive for perfection, the perfection we strive for is not according to REASON, but according to Jesus Christ. It's the ideal of love...a love that wars against evil.
6. Forgiveness is something that runs high in both Christianity and Stoicism but I think that they are thought of in a different way. For a stoic I think forgiveness is more about not being mad at someone or controlling the emotion you have about someone who has wronged you. I think in their thinking the forgiveness process comes even before the wrong doing and you should prepare in a way that you don't necessarily need to forgive because you feel you haven't had a wrong done to you. So if you don't place high admiration for your wife's beauty in the first place you will not get mad or blame the adulterer. But in the Christian thought of forgiveness I think it comes after the wrong is done, saying ok you have done this and now I forgive you. What are your thoughts or opinion on forgiveness in both stoicism and Christianity?
--> I think you got it right. In Christ, we forgive because we have been forgiven, despite the fact that we may DEEPLY care about another took by wronging us. Forgiving by virtue of not being invested in the world or in people is a very cheap kind of forgiveness, and one that is contrary to Christ.
Love the way you think deeply about things Christian. Keep it up!
Greg
Hi Christian, sorry I couldn't get this to you in time for your project. But here are my short answers to your questions.
1. First of all are you familiar with stoicism?
--> YES
2. As a Christian Pastor and theologian would you say that stoicism closely relates to the Christian religion?
And in what aspects does it or does it not?
--> Stoicism has strongly influenced Christianity since at least the third and fourth centuries. It explains why so many Christians pray to accept suffering as God's will instead of revolting against it, as Jesus did. It's also why Calvinist thing everything is predestined by God. I see Stoicism and the movement that Jesus birthed as almostly completely antithetical. Stoicism strives to be a peace with the way things are. The movement Jesus founded assumes that the way things are is OFF, because the world is seiged by Satan and other forces of evil that must be resisted, and eventually defeated.
3. You talk a lot about serving the kingdom and building the kingdom in your sermons, I think that goes along with being a stoic thinking of bettering your life and the others around you. Do you think they are talking about it in the same sense as you are? Even if they aren't does it still have some connections?
--> I think all similarities are superficial. In the kingdom, we aspire to live and serve like Jesus to advance the reign of God over and against the Devil. Stoicism basically says, "what is, is right, so embrace it."
4. An idea of Christianity that does not go along with stoicism is the idea of always praying to god for certain outcomes. A stoic would tell you I think that you should not worry about those outcomes as you cant control them. Or maybe that go has already given us the tools we need; we just have to use them. What are your thoughts on prayer and the stoic idea of controlling what is in your control and being indifferent to those not?
--> your absolutely right. As I said above, in the kingdom movement that Jesus birthed, we pray to a personal God in order to change the course of events, whereas in Stoicism a) there is no personal God, and b) you cannot change the course of events. All is fated.
5. In life a stoic would believe that perfection is attainable on your own through reason, known as sages. What are you thoughts on the idea of perfection?
Although you may not agree with the perfection part, do you think that reason is big part of living a better Christian like life or is something else a bigger part of that?
--> NO. I think the call to love and serve enemies looks foolish and irrational to people who rely on reason. Yet, this is what disciples of Jesus are called to do. Also, while we should strive for perfection, the perfection we strive for is not according to REASON, but according to Jesus Christ. It's the ideal of love...a love that wars against evil.
6. Forgiveness is something that runs high in both Christianity and Stoicism but I think that they are thought of in a different way. For a stoic I think forgiveness is more about not being mad at someone or controlling the emotion you have about someone who has wronged you. I think in their thinking the forgiveness process comes even before the wrong doing and you should prepare in a way that you don't necessarily need to forgive because you feel you haven't had a wrong done to you. So if you don't place high admiration for your wife's beauty in the first place you will not get mad or blame the adulterer. But in the Christian thought of forgiveness I think it comes after the wrong is done, saying ok you have done this and now I forgive you. What are your thoughts or opinion on forgiveness in both stoicism and Christianity?
--> I think you got it right. In Christ, we forgive because we have been forgiven, despite the fact that we may DEEPLY care about another took by wronging us. Forgiving by virtue of not being invested in the world or in people is a very cheap kind of forgiveness, and one that is contrary to Christ.
Love the way you think deeply about things Christian. Keep it up!
Greg
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