Paul and the Stoics

Paul and the Stoics

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Solomon_Kane_1928 posted on r/neoplatonism18h

Jesus lived in proximity to Greek culture. Galilee was largely populated by Greeks and Hellenistic Jews before more conservative practitioners of Second Temple Judaism migrated into the area and established towns like Nazareth. He lived only a few miles from Sepphoris, which was strongly Greek. He lived about 18 miles from Scythopolis, one of the major cities of the Decapolis, a collection of Greek city states. Gadara of the Decapolis was a famous center of Greek philosophy, in particular Epicureanism and Cynicism. Though Jesus was himself an practicing Jew, his disciples were certainly Hellenized, by their names. When Paul carried Christianity into the Greek world, he also borrowed from Greek philosophy, such as using the word "Logos". There is much scholarly discussion about Paul's connections to Stoicism. Dr. Engberg-Pedersen discusses it in this book.