DeWitt (Norman) - "St. Paul And Epicurus"

    Link to the full text of the book: St Paul and Epicurus



    Not everyone is interested in this topic, but many people are, and those may find that a connection between Epicurus and apparently-obscure verses in the Bible will push them over the line into reading more about Epicurus.


    So in the interest of preparing a list of "highlights," let's prepare a list of the verses, with the verse itself, that DeWitt suggests refers to Epicurus or Epicurean philosophy. DeWitt has a table of all verses cited in his book on page 194. It appears, however, that this is a full table of all verses referenced, and most readers will be more interested in only that selection that seems to directly refer to Epicurus.


    Here is a link to view the table being worked on at Google Docs. If you would like to help add to the list, please send me a private message and I will send you a link with edit capability. Thanks!



    Bible Reference
    		 Verse Translation Summary of Connection Page Reference in SPAE
    Phillipians 3:18-19
    		 18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
    19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

    Going through these Bible verses in St Paul and Epicurus reminds we why the book has good information, but is somewhat narrowly targeted to people who want to compare Epicurus to Christianity. Many of the cites in the table are to rather fine points of Christian theology. The ones I think are most useful are those where it seems clear that in complaining about "elements" and similar things, Paul is directly criticizing Epicurean philosophy. Those are worthwhile finding for future use.

    https://docs.google.com/spread…eG3N_8qc/edit?usp=sharing

    I just noticed that the online version of St Paul and Epicurus does not contain the "Verses Newly Explained or Translated" table. If someone is looking for a particular verse, such as when we are putting together this spreadsheet, they will need that table.

    Here it is - attached

  • Cassius

    Changed the title of the thread from “DeWitt (Norman) - St. Paul And Epicurus” to “DeWitt (Norman) - "St. Paul And Epicurus"”.