VIRTUOUS LIVING - Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

The Stoics believed in God. They “argued that the maker of the heavenly bodies mustbe superior to man, who could not make them, and therefore be a God” (Sandbach1975:71). God was also understood as logos related to the noun cognate with the verblegein which means, “to say”. This could refer to “speech” or “expression”. Logostherefore implied “the explanation of a thing which may be the account or formula ofits constitution and the statement of its purpose” (Sandbach 1975:72). God was theorigin of the material universe, and the same God was responsible for its qualities andthe source of reason for humankind’s intelligence (cf Sandbach 1975:101-108).Relevant in Stoic moral thought was the development of the term logos, a term usedin Christian theology to refer to Jesus Christ. According to stoicism, “logos was reestablishedas Providence or nature ruling the universe according to eternal laws”(Ehrenberg 1964:332). Some of the characteristics of the logos included: a materialall-pervading Spirit (pneuma), a dynamic force which provided an ultimateexplanation of the physical phenomena as the basis for the Stoics’ rational psychologyand ethics. By this spirit, Stoics advanced the equality of all people and stronglybelieved that “it was in every human being’s power to gain complete virtue”(Ehrenberg 1964:332).Stoicism might have been the forerunner of some Christian thought later. Christianteachers, such as Clement, though not agreeing completely with the philosophicalsystem of the Stoics, built on their thinking, largely by modifying their language.Where the Stoics had developed the necessary principle of God, the Christians madeHim transcendent. Where the Stoics resigned themselves to fate, the Christiansoffered hope. Where they attributed happiness to the intelligent who were at homewith reason, Christians offered salvation for all, through faith as the way to happiness.People would cross over from a life of wickedness into a life of righteousness throughmere repentance and believing in the power of God to transform them. Anotherwisdom tradition, perhaps as old and parallel to the Hellenistic one, was Jewish. Letus look at some important aspects of this Jewish wisdom tradition.3.3.1.2 Jewish wisdom traditionJewish Wisdom tradition as found in the Scriptures usually refers to three main texts,namely Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. In addition, the Psalms and Song of Songs are231