Are you an Epicurean or Stoic?

St. Paul, in his great Acts 17 address, walked the fine line speaking to two different audiences. Even though this address was a few thousand years ago, I think that many people in our culture fall into these two categories.

EPICUREANS

“The Epicureans, we recall, believed that the gods, if they existed, were very far away, and had more or less nothing to do with human beings. As a result, they were supremely happy… to live as quietly as possible with just the right amount of everything. The ideal life is independent, untroubled, unworried about larger questions, including that of one’s own destiny.” – N.T Wright (Acts for Everyone)

You might be an epicurean if your view of God is one who stands far off in the clouds, watching us from afar, occasionally pulling some levers to make sure that the world keeps going. If you lean this way, you might find yourself thinking a lot about comfort – staying away from messy relationships, thinking about the next apartment or house that you want to live in, or looking at magazines to find out what the next upcoming style is going to be. The goal, since God is far off and will probably send everyone to heaven someday, is too live a quiet life and be comfortable in material things.

STOICS

“The Stoic, by contrast, would be happy to hear that there is indeed a divine life which is in all human beings.” – N.T. Wright (Acts for Everyone)

You might be a stoic if you consider yourself spiritual. Stoics, as they looked at the beauty of the human race or of creation, did not ignore the impulse in their hearts that something divine exists. The problem is that because of their uncertainty, they worshiped lots of different idols – clinging onto whatever the latest spiritual fad was.

RESPONDING TO THE TWO GROUPS

To the Epicureans, Paul proclaimed that the God that they thought to be far away was right here, right now. In fact, God came down out of human history to be with them! No longer could they live a quiet life, minimizing God as a distant, isolated, unknowable Being.

To the Stoics, Paul proclaimed that their divine inclinations were true, but that there was one way, one truth – which God proved through the death and resurrection of Jesus. No longer did they have to go from spiritual idol to spiritual idol – from fad to fad. They could be clear on who to worship and who to follow. They could turn around, repent, and follow someone who could actually change their lives and equip them to change the world. They could remove their fuzzy spiritual life that sounded good on the outside but was hollow on the inside.

Which side do you lean on?