***God is near you, he is with you, he is within you.***
But ultimatley Seneca was wrong. Paul describe the state of pre Christian pagans...
"Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands-- remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and WITHOUT GOD in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ."
***XLI. Doesn't it strike you in some ways as rather remarkably similar to what any Christian might think--except for the final line?****
I can see that. But I can see the same words on the lips of any New Ager! An outside observer might find alot of similarities between Christianity and New Ageism - but we know they are literally worlds apart. The devil's in the details.
Christianity, ultimatley, is not defined in terms of morality but of relationship - relationship to the person of Christ. Very moral people can still be very lost and on their way to hell.
***There was a lot that Christians learned from the stoics***
I have to admit it's been a while since I've studied the Stoics. It's relationship to Pauline theology was, at one time, a very "hot" theological topic.
Of course ultimately he was wrong--he was a pagan. But the Church has never denied the debt it owes to human reason by way of Greek and Roman thought. Do you think there could have been an Augustine without a Plato? That was the point I was making. She would never have been able to penetrate the mystery of the Trinity as far as she did, for instance, without Plato and then Plotinus. Later St. Thomas would build his Summa on Aristotelian logic and metaphysics. Not only this, but Church morality was based on the Natural Law which had been the foundation for Roman Law long before the Church even existed. The Church has always affirmed this linkage between faith and reason. There is really no need to denigrate the contributions of classical thought as if it took something away from the faith. It only added to the depth of our understanding of the faith.