REL275 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Epistle To The Philippians, Stoicism, Umbilical Cord
Document Summary
28 september: review, suicide, for stoics, advocated indifference. The only thing inside your control is your will. Because for stoics, suicide is a virtuous death. Probably had some kind of education, so likely that he was familiar with them: it is debated whether paul is contemplating suicide. We can assume this is not paul writing by his own hand not a professional scribe. We really do not know who phrased the final product. To clarify his teaching about the coming of christ: philippians 2, 2:1-2, seems like something like disunity going on in the community. Paul needs to exhort them to have unity, same mind. From a hermeneutic of suspicion, people would say he is trying to make them into clones or little pauls". A good teacher wants his students to cut the umbilical cord and surpass him. Another hermeneutic would disagree not about paul, ultimately about christ. Christ, wants what is good for the people: brilliant, but not practical.
