Bruno Bauer's little-known, CHRISTUS UND DIE CAESAREN; DER URSPRUNGDES CHRISTENTHUMS AUS DEM ROMINSCHEN GRIECHENTHUM (1877) attempts toelaborate on Hegel's idea of a historical and scientific relationshipbetween Stoicism and Christianity. [Happily an English translation ofthis book was published (1999)]

I would like to share excerpts from Bruno Bauer (1877) as he encountered a Markan influence in Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 CE - 65 CE), tutor of Nero, betrayer of Nero, and perhaps the most prolific writer among the Stoic philosophers. Here they are:

(a) As a Stoic of the Greek tradition, Seneca wrote about sin and the need for a redeeming principle of forgiveness, saying,

"Some sins we have committed, some we havecontemplated, some we have desired, some wehave encouraged, and in some cases we are innocent only because we did not succeed. Bearing this in mind, let us be more just to transgressors, more heedful to those who rebuke us." (Seneca, ON ANGER, ca. 40 AD)

Very similar terms appear in MARK, viz.:

"When you stand in prayer, forgive whatever you have against anybody, so that the Spirit may forgive your failings, too." (MARK 11:25, ca. 70 AD)

(b) Seneca applied stylistic expressions to encourage Stoic followers to cease their grasping at the material world. He said:

"Cast away all riches if you are wise; no, rather, that you may be wise. If any bond holds you back, untangle it or just cut it off." (Seneca, EPISTLE 17, ca. 40 AD)

Again, very similar terms appear in MARK, viz.:

"And if your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off...And if your eye should cause you to sin, pluck it out." (MARK 9:43-47, ca. 70 AD)

(c) Seneca the Stoic also accepted the Immortality of the Soul. In his consolation to Marcia who grieved the loss of her men to war, Seneca wrote:

"There is no need for you to hurry to thetomb of your son...he has fled away andwholly departed from earth...soared aloftand sped away to join the souls of theblessed. A saintly band gave him welcome."(Seneca, EPISTLE TO MARCIA, ca. 40 AD)

Very similar terms appear in MARK, viz.:

"There is no need for alarm. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen. He is not here."(MARK 16:6, 70 AD)

(d) "What will serve us best, our God and Father hasalready placed before us. He did not wait for ourpetition. He gave it freely of His own accord."(Seneca, EPISTLE 100, ca. 50 AD)

The New Testament statement to the same effect seems nearly aword-by-word repetition of Seneca's language:

"Your Father knows what you need before youyou ask him," MATTHEW 6:8 (ca. 90 AD)

(e) The duality of the flesh versus virtue is emphasized by Seneca the Stoicagain and again. In this example Seneca addresses virtue as a soul:

"By these bones the soul is crushed, strangled andstained, and imprisoned in error, it is kept far fromits true and natural sphere. It constantly strugglesagainst this weight of the flesh in its effort to avoidbeing dragged back and sunk. It ever strives to rise tothat place from which it once descended. There awaitsits eternal peace, when it has passed from earth's dullmotley to the vision of all that is pure and bright."(Seneca, TO MARCIA, para. 23, ca. 50 AD).

Who can fail to be reminded of the identical duality of flesh and soul thatwe find in the New Testament?

"We...actually want to be exiled from the body andmake our home with the Lord." 2 CORINTHIANS 5:8(ca. 80 AD)

Here again is evidence that a background of Stoic Roman literature existedfor the writers of the New Testament, and that this background may havebecome foreground.

(f) Seneca was fond of describing the differences between the soul and the body.The body is the side that tempts us into indolence. The courageous souldoes not fear death, looking beyond it. Our Stoic Seneca wrote:

"The day will come which will tear you forth and lead youaway from the company of this foul and noisome abode.Withdraw from it now too as much as you can, and withdrawfrom pleasure, except such as may be bound up withessential and important things; estrange yourself from iteven now, and ponder on something nobler and loftier."(Seneca, EPISTLE 102, ca. 50 AD)

The language there is not dissimilar to the portrait of death's transitionlater issued by the Apostle Paul:

"For we know that when the tent we live in here on earthis folded up, we are to have a house built by God, aneverlasting home not made by human hands. For we groanin this tent...not because we want to put it off, butbecause we want to put the heavenly home on, allowingwhat is mortal to be swallowed up by life. God made usfor this very purpose, and gave us a token of what is tocome, that is, the Spirit...While we have our home in thebody, we are absent from God." 2 CORINTHIANS 5:1-6(ca. 80 AD)

I think the terminology is similar enough to note. Also, I think thewording by Seneca the Stoic reveals a unique stylistic clarity.

(g) Bauer's says that St. Paul copied from the Epistles of Seneca to writehis own Epistles, and not, as ancient history had written, the other wayaround. F.C. Baur taught that the oldest EPISTLES of St. Paul may bedated with LUKE and ACTS about 70-90 AD. Seneca's writings werecompleted around 50 AD giving ample time for redactors to employ theethical and theological sayings of Lucius Annaeas Seneca.

Bruno Bauer begins comparison with LUKE (70 AD) who is held by traditionto have been the traveling companion of St. Paul. Bauer reviews theBeatitudes of Jesus in Luke's Gospel:

"Happy are you who are poor:Yours is the kingdom of God.

Happy you who are hungry now:You shall be satisfied.Happy you who weep now:You shall laugh."(LUKE 6:21)

Bauer notices that this philosophy is similar to that of the RomanCynics in the days of Seneca. Cynics were against wealth and Senecagreatly admired the Cynic Grand Master, Diogenes and wrote abouthim often. Seneca thought him kingly in his ability to remainunaffected while surrounded by misers, swindlers, embezzlers andsoul-sellers in the world. Diogenes inspired Seneca to write:

"Property is the greatest source of affliction tohumanity. If you balance all our other troubles-- deaths, diseases, fears, longings, subjectionto labor and pain - with the miseries in whichour money involves us, then, the latter will faroutweigh the former." (Seneca, 49 AD, ONTRANQUILITY, section 8, trans. M. Hadas, 1958,Doubleday, p. 89)

(h)To attain the spiritual kingdom some Roman Cynics would renouncetheir homes, wives and children. There were many such wanderingteachers in Rome who called upon others to join them in their asceticmethods of moral advancement, because the rewards for such sacrificewere greater than the average person could imagine. This same sentimentwas echoed by Luke, who wrote:

"I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has lefthouse, wife, brothers, parents or children for thesake of the kingdom of God who will not be givenrepayment many times over..." (LUKE 18:29)

The Stoic ideal of being able to suffer; to carry ones burdens withdignity; to live in harmony with Nature and accept Her judgments;to do ones duty without complaining, including suicide if theEmperor demanded it, was a formidable ideal for anybody to ponder.Seneca wrote of the Cynic Demetrius:

"Among the many magnificent sayings of ourfriend Demetrius is the following, which I havejust heard; it still rings and reverberates in

my ears: 'No one is more unhappy than a manwho has never met with adversity.' He hasnever had the privilege of testing himself."(Seneca, 40 AD, ON PROVIDENCE, Section 3,trans. M. Hadas, 1958, Doubleday, p. 33)

This we can compare this with Luke's writing:

"Alas for you who have your fill now.You shall go hungry.Alas for you who laugh now.You shall mourn and weep."(LUKE 6:25-26).

Athenian Cynics from 300 years before Jesus had already perfected a typeof Epistle full of warnings and repentance. There were some Cynics whowent house to house (named, 'breakers of doors,' and 'inspectors of thespirit') who proclaimed to their hopeful listeners that a time ofrepentance was coming. This type of preaching was still at work withinvarious Stoic and Cynic preachers in Rome in the decades of Tiberius andJesus. The ancient Stoic Epictetus said,

"The true Cynic is an envoy from Jupiterto open the eyes of humanity so they cansee their errors, and to implore themwith uplifted arms to turn back from theroad from whence they seek frivolousthings to satisfy superficial delight."(Epictetus, 10 AD, DIATRIBE 3:22)

Since, Bruno Bauer argues, we now know that the New Testament was composedwell after the writings of Seneca, we can demonstrate that the well-knownsimilarity of these writings represents New Testaments writers copyingSeneca, and not the reverse, as was considered for centuries. Here area few more examples of obvious similarity:

"Will he be outraged that no eatable fruits grow onthorns and thistles?" (Seneca, ON ANGER 2:19, trans.Robert M. Gummere, 1917, Harvard U. Press)

That imagery reminds us of the well-known Scripture,

"Can people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from

thistles?" LUKE 7:16

As a Stoic of the Greek tradition, Seneca wrote about sin and the needfor a redeeming principle of forgiveness, saying,

"Some sins we have committed, some we havecontemplated, some we have desired, some wehave encouraged, and in some cases we areinnocent only because we did not succeed.Bearing this in mind, let us be more just totransgressors, more heedful to those whorebuke us." (Seneca, ON ANGER, ibid.)

That same sentiment is found in the New Testament, viz,

"When you stand in prayer, forgive whateveryou have against anybody, so that the Spiritmay forgive your failings, too." MARK 11:25

(i) Bauer notes Seneca frequently referred to Cato as a moral example. Thefollowing statement evokes a famous image:

"'But,' you ask, 'if a wise man receives a blow, whatshall he do?' Do what Cato did when he was struck in theface; he did not flare up. The wise man does not walkwith the crowd, but as the planets make their way againstthe whirl of the heavens, so he proceeds contrary tothe opinion of the world." (Seneca, ON CONSTANCY, 14,ibid.)

Naturally the well-known scripture comes to mind:

"Love your enemies, do good to those who hateyou...To the man who slaps you on the cheek,present the other cheek, too." LUKE 6:27, 29

We must bear in mind that Bruno Bauer is simply repeating what hasbeen known since before Tertullian: some key passages of Seneca matchkey passages of the New Testament. But due to more recent scientificdating, we date Seneca's writing before 50 AD, and the New Testamentwritings after 70 AD. Those matches evidently reveal a wide borrowingfrom Seneca, the great Stoic.

(j) Seneca found courage in the doctrine that our souls will outlive ourmaterial existence; that our souls are only traveling through this life.Seneca wrote the following at about 40 AD:

"All our possessions which dazzle us - children, honors,a beautiful spouse - are not our property; they are merelyborrowed properties which decorate the stages of our lives,and must be returned to their owners...We should loveall of our dear ones, but always with the thought thatwe have no promise that we may keep them forever, noreven for long." (Seneca, TO MARCIA, 10)

This same phraseology is evidently taken up again in the Epistles of theApostle Paul from around 60 BC or later.

"Our time is growing short. Those who have wives shouldlive as though they had none, and those who mourn shouldlive as though they had nothing to mourn for; those who areenjoying life should live as though there were nothing tolaugh about; those whose life is buying things should liveas though they had nothing of their own...The world as weknow it is passing away." 1 CORINTHIANS 7:29-31

I note that it seems to me that Seneca's writing flows more smoothly, moreoriginally, more organically, while the Pauline Epistle is a bit morerigid, more imitative.

(k) There is no need for you to hurry to thetomb of your son...he has fled away andwholly departed from earth...soared aloftand sped away to join the souls of theblessed. A saintly band gave him welcome.(Seneca, TO MARCIA 25 ibid.)

Luke the Evangelist also repeated this NeoPlatonic spiritual vision:

"Why look among the dead for someonewho is alive? He is not here. He is risen."LUKE 24:6

(i) Another of Seneca's stylistic expressions was applied to a praise ofthose Stoics who had taken vows of poverty. He said in ca. 40 AD:

"Cast away all riches if you are wise; no, rather,that you may be wise. If any bond holds you back,untangle it or just cut it off." (Seneca, EPISTLE 17)

This clearly reminds us of the admonitions of Jesus as expressed in thewriting of St. Mark at about 70 AD:

"And if your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off...And if your eye should cause you to sin, pluck it out."MARK 9:43, 47

The similarity of text and key-words was impressive in the second centurywhen the theory arose that Seneca copied the New Testament to write hisEpistles. It is impressive to social scientists today. Today's morescientific dating of the first century writings suggests a copying didoccur - but in the opposite direction.

(j) Let's briefly examine Seneca's stylistic structure in a text of his aboutspiritual transformation:

"I feel, my dear Lucilius, that I am being notonly reformed, but transformed...I therefore wishto impart to you this sudden change in myself...You cannot conceive what distinct progress Inotice that each day brings to me."(Seneca, EPISTLE 6, ca. 50 AD)

The on-going transformation to which Seneca refers is a Stoic preceptwhich holds that humans can rise up, as a new creation out of the old.These words may remind the New Testament scholar of similar phraseologyin the words of the Apostle Paul:

"Not that I have become perfect yet, I have not yetwon, but I am running, trying to capture the prize...I can assure you my brothers, I am far from thinkingI have already won. All I can say is that I forgetthe past and I strain ahead for what is still to come.I am racing for the finish." PHILIPPIANS 3:10-12(ca. 75 AD)

I aspire to appreciate the poetic riches of each of these texts from thefirst century. Both texts appear to be spontaneous, heartfelt confessionsof spiritual progress. Yet both are unusually similar in imagery. Ifthere is a question about priority, I will argue for Bruno Bauer's viewthat Seneca's wording has a more original ring to it.

5. I should add that Bruno Bauer also finds the influence of Josephus throughout the New Testament. Philo, too. This convinced him that:

(a) the New Testament was written later than tradition tells us; and

(b) Roman writers, with the Septuagint Old Testament and the writings of Josephus, Philo and Seneca, would have sufficient raw material to mold the New Testament to their artistic preferences.