“What Does Not Kill Me Makes Me Stronger”: Paul and Epictetus on the Correlation of Virtues and Suffering
Do Paul and Epictetus have a way to correlate suffering with the growth of virtues? This essay discusses passages in Epictetus’s Discourses, which speak of the moral ἀγών and Paul’s catena in Rom 5:3-5. While suffering does not have a direct formative influence on “virtues” for either thinker, it ca...
| Published in: | The catholic biblical quarterly |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Catholic Biblical Association of America
2020
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| In: |
The catholic biblical quarterly
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Epictetus 50-130, Dissertationes
/ Pauline letters
/ Suffering
/ Virtue
B Agōn / Hope |
| RelBib Classification: | HC New Testament NBE Anthropology NCB Personal ethics TB Antiquity VA Philosophy |
| Further subjects: | B
Dignity
B AGON (The Greek word) B EPICTETUS, ca. 55-135 B agon B Epictetus B Suffering B Paul B Hope B Virtues |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Do Paul and Epictetus have a way to correlate suffering with the growth of virtues? This essay discusses passages in Epictetus’s Discourses, which speak of the moral ἀγών and Paul’s catena in Rom 5:3-5. While suffering does not have a direct formative influence on “virtues” for either thinker, it can be meaningfully inferred from the heart of their religious and philosophical convictions and used to provide further evidence for what each author sees as “happiness” or “salvation.” For Epictetus, this happens through the strengthening of rationality and virtues; for Paul, through the specific virtue of endurance in the service of hope. In Epictetus’s worldview, suffering and its assault on human dignity are powerfully countered by human beings’ inherent and God-given rationality. For Paul, suffering can be borne by those who anchor their existence in the love of God. |
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| ISSN: | 2163-2529 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The catholic biblical quarterly
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/cbq.2020.0048 |