Chapter Three: Man

Abstract

This chapter discusses the difference between Seneca' sand Paul's conception of God, and hence also the difference in their ideas concerning the relationship between God and man, becomes obvious. For Paul the Stoic conception of an immanent God, of a God whose spirit pervades man and thus speaks directly through his conscience, is of course out of the question. In Paul the distance between God and man is preserved, even when he maintains that the Gentiles too have knowledge of God's written law by reason of their conscience. What use is this if sin renders this knowledge of the law, written on their hearts, powerless. Man, every man, remains dependent, fully dependent, upon God's work of salvation. Hence even when Paul makes use, frequent use, of a term which also often occurs in the writings of Seneca, he does so within a framework far removed from Seneca's range of ideas.Keywords: Christ; God's salvation; Paul; Seneca; Stoic conception