christianity

Modern Stoic Philosophers: My Favorite Maxims: Viktor Frankl, Nelson Mandela, and Others
Philosophy

Modern Stoic Philosophers: My Favorite Maxims: Viktor Frankl, Nelson Mandela, and Others

Bruce Strom 0

Why don’t the Roman Stoics discuss justice as much as Plato? In the direct Radical Democracy of Athens, the citizens served on the juries and passed the laws, which meant that ordinary citizens participated in rendering justice. This is why Socrates sought to educate ordinary citizens on justice. But in the Roman Empire, the totalitarian Emperors and their servants were responsible for the administration of justice, the ordinary citizens no longer directly influenced the administration of justice. But that is not the case in modern America and most democracies, many ordinary citizens serve on juries and vote for many political officials, local and national. Justice should be our concern.
You can make a strong argument that Stoicism, like Judaism and Christianity, is founded on the two-fold Love of God and neighbor, that you should Love God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength and love your neighbor as yourself. Plus, we have the St Maximus the Confessor corollary, that we should be eager to forgive our neighbor. […]

Martin Luther King, Youth and Schooling, Lewis’ Biography
Civil Rights

Martin Luther King, Youth and Schooling, Lewis’ Biography Chapters, 1 and 2

Bruce Strom 9

The biographer David Levering Lewis observes that “the King family belonged to what is known as the school hard preaching, of which cult of personality, and occasional pinch of exploitation, and sulfurous evangelism are indispensable ingredients.” Martin’s maternal grandfather founded the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, and his father, Martin Luther King Sr, grew it into one of the largest and most prestigious black Baptist Churches in Atlanta.

His family was known for their involvement with civil rights. After the disastrous 1906 Atlanta race riots, his maternal grandfather was one of the charter members of the local NAACP chapter. He helped defeat a local bond issue that did not fund any new black schools and was instrumental in advocating the building of Booker T Washington High School, the first school in Atlanta for secondary education. […]

Loving God in Deuteronomy, and a Gentile’s Defense of Judaism, Part 2
Judaism

Loving God in Deuteronomy, and a Gentile’s Defense of Judaism, Part 2

Bruce Strom 1

When studying the rabbinical commentaries on Deuteronomy, I was struck by the number of times the commandment to Love God was repeated in various forms, including the commandment to Fear God, which is roughly equivalent, so I decided to count them, there are about twenty repetitions. This was surprising to me as a Christian, for as St Paul exhorts, “the letter” of the law “kills, but the Spirit gives life.” […]

Medieval Jewish and Christian Commentators, My Gentile Defense of Judaism, Part 1
Judaism

Medieval Jewish and Christian Commentators, My Gentile Defense of Judaism, Part 1

Bruce Strom 1

At roughly the time of Jesus, an inquirer requested of both Rabbi Shammai and Rabbi Hillel, “Convert me to Judaism on condition that you will teach me the entire Torah while I stand on one foot.” Shammai pushed the man away with the building rod he was holding. Undeterred, the man then came before Hillel with the same request. Hillel responded, “That which is hateful unto you, do not do unto your neighbor. This is the whole Torah; all the rest is commentary. Now, go and study.” […]

The Cruel Roman Emperor Commodus, Son of the Good Stoic Emperor Marcus Aurelius
Greek and Roman History

The Cruel Roman Emperor Commodus, Son of the Good Stoic Emperor Marcus Aurelius

Bruce Strom 0

The wise stoic reign of Marcus Aurelius, beloved by all, was followed by the murderous reign of Commodus, hated and feared by all, who would be assassinated by his closest companions. The disastrously reckless cruelty of Commodus, and his neglectful reign, which nearly caused the disintegration of the Roman Empire, colors the opinion of both ancient and modern historians. What historians mention, but do not emphasize, are the similarities between the soldier Hadrian and Commodus. Both liked to fight in the ring as gladiators. Both decided to halt the Roman policy of expansion, seeking strategic withdrawal. And Marcus Aurelius was as wary of his adoptive grandfather Hadrian as he was of his wayward son Commodus. […]

Were the Christians Actively Persecuted by Marcus Aurelius, Stoic Philosopher and Good Roman Emperor?
Greek and Roman History

Were the Christians Actively Persecuted by Marcus Aurelius, Stoic Philosopher and Good Roman Emperor?

Bruce Strom 0

Today we will reflect on this question: Did the good Roman Emperor and Stoic Philosopher Marcus Aurelius actively persecute Christians? Why wasn’t Marcus Aurelius and other stoics impressed by the martyrdom of Christians in the arena? How could Marcus Aurelius espouse Christian values in his Stoic Meditations, while also including […]

History of Christian Persecutions, New Testament Through Marcus Aurelius
Greek and Roman History

History of Christian Persecutions, New Testament Through Marcus Aurelius

Bruce Strom 2

How widespread was the Christian persecution under the Roman Empire? Usually, it was a local affair, not until the reign of Diocletian was an empire-wide systematic persecution of Christians undertaken. The persecution under Nero was limited to Rome itself. The extent of the local persecution depended on the enthusiasm or cruelty of the local officials, many local officials had no enthusiasm for persecuting the local Christians, turning a blind eye. Overall, the number of persecutions was not huge, rarely were the Christian persecutions systematic, targeting all Christians. Indeed, the Christian martyrs in the twentieth century alone, mostly in Russia, dwarfed the number of Christian martyrs from the preceding nineteen centuries combined. […]

Marcus Aurelius Biography
Greek and Roman History

Biography of Marcus Aurelius, Stoic Philosopher and Roman Emperor

Bruce Strom 3

Summarizing his life, Cassius Dio tells us that Marcus Aurelius “did not display many feats of physical prowess; yet he had developed his body from a very weak one to one capable of the greatest endurance. Most of his life he devoted to beneficence, and that was the reason, perhaps, for his erecting a temple to Beneficence on the Capitol.” […]

St Neilos the Ascetic, Philokalia
Morality

St Neilos on Ascetic Discourses in the Philokalia

Bruce Strom 0

St Neilos contrasts the holy men “who live for the soul alone, turning away from the body and its wants,” the holy men who have no need to flatter the wealthy because they live simply, to those of us who, “instead of courageously struggling against our difficulties, come fawning to the wealthy, like puppies wagging their tails in the hope of being tossed a bare bone or some crumbs. To get what we want, we can them benefactors and protectors of Christians, attributing every virtue to them, even though they may be utterly wicked.” […]

Summary of St Augustine’s Confessions of Faith and Repentance
Morality

Summary of St Augustine’s Confessions of Faith and Repentance

Bruce Strom 1

The Confessions are both a testimonial and a prayer. St Augustine tells us how he embraced Christianity after he was active in the Manichean sect, a New Age dualistic system where good and evil competed more or less evenly, and where Jesus was totally divine without a trace of mortality. St Augustine had many of the same questions that we hear atheists and agnostics raise today, such as: How can intelligent and sophisticated men believe in superstitions about an Almighty God? How can God be Almighty when sin has such a hold in the world? What is the nature of evil? […]