Religion and Philosophy
Evaluative Essay 1
3000 BC-AD 476
Morgan Brown
HIEU 201
Most people have some type of moral compass that we abide by in our lives. We grow to
make choices based on what we are taught to believe is morally sound. Our morals become our
virtue. As we’re all born into different belief systems and cultures, most times we see things
from different points of view but can still determine good from bad. A virtuous person is
someone who typically lives according to a high moral standard in life. Virtue is described as
having good character and high standards. As we are all different and belong to different
cultures, that means we all belong to different religions. With that, essentially all religions place
a high importance on virtue among other things. In this essay, I will explore Marcus Aurelius’
understanding on the teaching of Zeno and compare them with other writings about Christianity.
Although Stoic philosophy teaches virtues of justice and wisdom and urges humans to suffer
through the tragedy of life with courage regardless of any challenges before them, the Christian
philosophy adopts an acceptance of this fallen world and advocates for similar virtues but is set
apart by offering ultimate hope through the belief in and works of Jesus Christ.
Virtue is of high importance of Stoicism. The school of Stoicism teaches that virtue truly
builds knowledge. Stoics believe that all things that enter their lives are results of virtue or the
lack thereof. In Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, expresses the teachings of Zeno. Aurelius
states, “Every moment think steadily as a Roman and a man to do what you have in hand with
perfect and simple dignity, and feeling of affection, and freedom, and justice; and to give
yourself relief from all other thoughts.”1 Aurelius is teaching interpreting what virtue looks like
to Roman Stoics in this quote. In essence he’s saying you give good to get good and bad to get
1 Aurelius, Marcus. “Meditation (Ce, 167).” Daily Life Through History, ABC-CLIO, 2020.
dailylife2.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1529153. Accessed 5 Feb. 2020.
bad. That reminds me of treating people how you want to be treated. For Stoicism, it’s alluding
to the best way for man to lie is to be morally sound.
Everything comes from the way in which you chose to live your life, virtue. “For the
person with virtue, pain, failure, poverty, even death did not matter because the only ‘real’ thing
was virtue.”2 Living a virtuous life was the only way to make a difference.
While Stoics maintained that virtue was a main priority, this was not the case for
Christianity. Christian believers do not agree that virtue is of great importance. In Matthew 5 of
The Holy Bible there’s a detailed list describing people of virtue that God will bless. “God
blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice…God blesses those who are merciful…God
blesses those who work for peace.”3 The most critical aspect of Christianity is God himself.
Everything about us should glorify His name. A person can have virtue and high morals but if
you’re doing things for the wrong reasons, it means nothing to God.
Stoicism and Christianity contrast quite a bit but they still have some similarities. For
one, just believing in something that some believe, can’t be proven, requires some faith on your
part. As a Christian, I know it often takes a lot of faith to stand on the foundation of my beliefs.
Both entities believe in virtue and that it’s a good thing to acquire but to different importance
levels. As we’re all imperfect to some degree as humans, we know that we will fail at certain
things, but virtue enables us to push through. Both Stoics and Christians believed that even the
most faithful person with all the right characteristics and attributes will fail at times. Stoics and
Christians value virtue and don’t pretend to be perfect people. Christians specifically deal with
2 Aurelius et. al., “Meditations (Ce 167).
3 “Matthew 5.” The Holy Bible, 2005, NLT. (1095-1100).
their shortcomings by believing that they are judged from their sins but pray for forgiveness,
while stoics believe that they face things head-on here on earth for their “bad” virtue.
Virtue is essential in both Stoicism and Christianity. While it’s viewed differently by
both sides, they both abide and live in a sense by a moral compass and standards. Stoics believe
that virtue is of the utmost importance in life while Christians believe that glorifying God is
most important. Both strive for perfection but understand that true perfection doesn’t exist as we
all fall short in some way and always will. The most important thing is that both Stoics and
Christians never stop trying to live a virtuous life.
Bibliography
Aurelius, Marcus. “Meditation (Ce 167).” Daily Life Through History, ABC-CLIO, 2020.
dailylife2.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1529153. Accessed 5 Feb. 2020.
“Matthew 5.” The Holy Bible, 2005, NLT. (1095-1100).
