History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps HoP 500c Troels Engberg-Pedersen on St Paul and the Stoics
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Oct 3, 2026 
Troels Engberg-Pedersen, Emeritus Professor of New Testament Exegesis at the University of Copenhagen, explores Paul’s dialogue with Stoicism. They discuss Paul between Judaism and Hellenism, Stoic influences on law, sin, and transformation, Christian communities as alternative polises, altruism and happiness, moral progress, worldly “indifferents,” and pneuma as material spirit. A lively portrait of Paul as both theologian and philosopher.
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Paul Was Both Jewish And Hellenistic
- Paul’s Jewish identity and Greek philosophical formation were not contradictions in the first century.
- His excellent Greek, Septuagint knowledge, Tarsus background, and Stoic connections show why Judaism and Hellenism should not be separated artificially.
Stoic Concepts Structure Paul’s Christian Argument
- Paul uses specifically Stoic concepts such as duties, progress, moral exhortation, and akrasia to explain Christian transformation.
- Romans 7 and 8 parallels Stoic passion theory by depicting liberation from failed judgment through Christ and the pneuma.
Christian Conversion Mirrors Stoic Transformation
- Stoic conversion and Pauline faith both involve a radical cognitive transformation toward one governing good.
- Stoics discover living according to nature; believers recognize God’s loving act in Christ and receive the pneuma through baptism.
