What Stoics Find in the New Testament (Episode 222)

Michael picks up the New Testament for the first time and does something unusual: he treats Jesus not as a religious figure, but as a philosopher. A contemporary of the Stoics and Epicureans, teaching in the same era, competing for the same minds. The results are surprising.

Some of Jesus’ core teachings land hard from a Stoic lens. Vice lives in desire, not action. The cowardly adulterer is worse than the bold one — he has two vices instead of one. Virtue demands the right reason, not just the right deed. Film your charity for Instagram and you’ve already collected your reward. Turn the other cheek isn’t passive — it’s radical character consistency. And loving your enemies? If you only love your friends, you’re not doing anything impressive. Everyone does that.

But then things get complicated. What’s the ethical function of miracles? Why does faith matter if the Stoics demand knowledge? And if heaven promises a hundredfold return on your sacrifice, doesn’t Christianity collapse into delayed hedonism?

Michael and Caleb wrestle with all of it — the overlaps, the tensions, and the parts that don’t resolve neatly.

(03:00) Reading Jesus as a Philosopher

(07:30) Vice Lives in Desire, Not Action

(12:30) Virtue Requires the Right Reason

(17:00) Turn the Other Cheek

(22:00) Love Your Enemies

(28:00) Cast the First Stone

(37:30) The Danger of Appearances

(41:30) Where a Stoic Pushes Back

(51:20) Ted Chang and the Literature of Faith

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Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations:

https://ancientlyre.com/

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