Primary Authors & Sources
From Epicurean physics and Roman moral philosophy through Neoplatonism to Boethius, students read the Hellenistic schools and the late antique dialogue with Christian faith. Lucretius’s On the Nature of Things is the great Latin Epicurean poem—nature without providence, the foil Christian theism must answer. Cicero’s Academic Questions, De Finibus, and De Officiis bring Roman rhetoric and duty ethics into the classroom of moral philosophy. Epictetus’s Works state Stoic discipline of the will for students who will later preach grace against self-sufficiency. Plotinus’s Enneads are the summit of pagan Neoplatonism that Augustine and the fathers both used and corrected. Boethius’s Theological Tractates and Consolation of Philosophy stand at the threshold where classical philosophy and Christian consolation meet. Together they serve apologetics and ethics that know the schools.
What You Will Study
Students study Hellenistic schools including Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Skepticism alongside late antique Christian philosophical dialogues in Clement, Origen, and early Augustine. The course examines how Pauline and patristic authors engaged Stoic ethics, Epicurean materialism, and skeptical challenges to certainty about God and morality. Readings include primary Hellenistic fragments and Christian responses that model apologetic and missionary encounter with dominant worldviews. Students analyze the tension between biblical revelation and philosophical autonomy in early Christian intellectual life. Attention falls on ethical parallels and metaphysical conflicts that remain relevant for counseling, evangelism, and cultural critique in modern house church ministry throughout the Keys.
Course Objectives
Objectives include explaining core teachings of major Hellenistic schools, comparing Stoic and Christian concepts of virtue, passion, and providence, evaluating patristic use of philosophy in catechesis and apologetics, and writing essays on biblical responses to ancient skepticism and hedonism. Students will identify Hellenistic influences in contemporary self-help and spirituality movements. The course cultivates discernment when borrowing philosophical language for theological purposes. Students will articulate limits of natural morality apart from regenerating grace. Assessments require primary source engagement demonstrating comprehension of Hellenistic vocabulary and Christian rejoinders in historical context.
Ministry & Life Application
Hellenistic philosophy explains the moral and spiritual alternatives Paul confronted and that still appear in modern disguises across American culture. Pastors can counsel anxious members influenced by Stoic self-sufficiency or Epicurean escape without recognizing ancient pedigree. House church evangelism in the Florida Keys benefits when leaders understand worldviews behind neighbor's objections to faith. Pastoral ministry gains apologetic and homiletical resources for addressing fear, pleasure, and doubt with gospel truth. This course strengthens intellectual ministry that serves souls trapped in philosophies of self-salvation or despair.