We are questioned sometimes on why our blogcast is called “Apostoic Venn.” Well, here goes,
Stoic and Christian values, though born from wildly different worldviews, share a surprising overlap when it comes to building an unshakeable character. Both Stoicism and Christianity emphasize cultivating resilience and perseverance that smile in the face of chaos and handle “suffering with a smirk” (our Apostoic catchphrase). For Stoics, it’s all about controlling what you can; your thoughts, words, actions, and reactions, while accepting the rest with the tranquility of a monk. Christianity, meanwhile, provides the answers and motives that Stoicism cannot (why pursue virtue? In whose control are the indifferents?), urging believers to trust in God’s providence and turn trials into opportunities. Within the Christian and Stoic venn overlap, there lives a holy detachment from that which you cannot control, enhanced by the reason of the Stoics, and perfected in faith in Christ as the King of all. An adherent to the Christian faith, and an aspirant to the sweeping call to wisdom, temperance, and peace set forth in broader strokes in the scriptures, may benefit from the practical doses of concise and targeted thinking the stoic writers have to offer, as a supplemental toolbox for bringing their character and mentality a little closer to Christlikeness.
How Stoicism and Christianity Tackle Suffering with a Smirk
A big chunk of the Stoic and Christian values crossover is their take on suffering; Both see it as a gym for the soul. Epictetus reckoned that challenges were chances to flex and hone virtues like patience, courage, and justice, turning life’s curveballs into a cosmic “hold my beer” moment. Christian teachings, like James 1:2-3, tell folks to “count it all joy” when trials hit, building perseverance and maturity and a chance to suffer for Christ. Imagine Epictetus and the Apostle Paul bonding over stale bread in a Roman jail, swapping tips on grinning through the grind. Both ditch despair for grit, agreeing that real contentment comes from an unshakeable core, not from external circumstances going your way. While Paul’s unshakeable core is faith in Christ and Epictitus’ in the pursuit of virtue and alignment with natural law, both have a lot of useful tips for your playbook when it comes to corralling your own character.
Ethical Alignment: Stoic Duty Meets Christian Love
Ethics tie these traditions together too, with a shared call to live justly, show kindness, pursue virtue, and not be that guy who hogs all the amphitheater seats or takes your brother’s wife (looking at you Herod). Stoicism’s push to act in harmony with nature includes looking out for the common good and putting to death the contradictory inclinations of our fleshly desires. Christianity comes from the opposite direction but arrives at a similar practical place in ethics. The Christian scriptures teach that our nature is to do evil since the fall, and that Godliness is the fight against that corrupted nature, achievable only substitutionally through Christ’s blood. Jesus teaches to “love your neighbor as yourself,” emphasizing self-sacrifice and brotherly love. Both slam selfishness and overindulgence, preaching moderation and integrity; Stoics because it’s logical, Christians because the pursuit of the highest good is no more and no less than the pursuit of being like Jesus. The Stoicism and Christianity overlap here is clear: upright living is touted, and chasing virtue in Stoicism and Christianity is an indispensable element to improvement of life for yourself and others.
What about us? Why is our blogcast called “Apostoic Venn?”
Simply put, we are devout believers in Jesus Christ. The reality of the human condition and the way to ultimately transcend it, as set forth in the Old and New Testaments, is the only thing that makes sense out of this world for us. We are also proponents of reading. We are not as well read as we’d like to be, and will never reach the end of that lengthy quest. But we read opposing views, alternative beliefs, the great works of literature, some crappy ones, self-help and financial books, fiction, economics, and science. Everything is fair game for our interests. In that pursuit, we discovered the stoics and loved them, not as a replacement or parallel for our faith, but as a supplement to our characters and life. There are many practical discourses and thought processes in the stoic writings that we have found useful in our pursuit of being a little more Christlike. Thus, these unique articles presenting Stoic philosophy through the lens of a Christian worldview were conceived, together with a newly coined term, Apostoic Venn.
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Apostoic Venn is a partner ministry of Covenant Christian Church (REC), in Greenville, Michigan.
Guest-Posting Policy
Apostoic Venn has an ecumenical attitude. We seek to join hands with allies from other branches of Christ’s church, and march side by side. Our topics are wide-spread and far reaching. We welcome guest post submissions, and will lend our platform to those that are a fit. If you’ve got something for our culture, don’t hesitate to write an article and submit it to us for guest-post consideration. We do not need to align with everything our guests have ever produced in order to platform a valuable piece. Our consideration is article by article.
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