The Biblical Job Against Zeno the Stoic: Living Purposively Versus Dying for Meaning

Abstract

Zeno the Stoic and the biblical Job react very differently to stressors in their lives. While Zeno succumbs to a relatively minor accident and takes his life, Job withstands cataclysmic losses, survives, and ultimately is restored. While Zeno’s search for meaning ends in his suicide, Job’s sense of purpose enables him to survive and ultimately thrive. The essential difference is that while Zeno greatly catastrophizes a relatively minor stressor in a desperate search for meaning, Job lives a life of purpose which gives his life intrinsic meaning. This distinction may be most relevant in today’s chaotic world, with so many young people striving to “find themselves” in often the most destructive ways. While Job is resilient, Zeno is not. Job’s biblical faith provides the grounding for his self-knowledge. Zeno the Stoic does not seem to have this foundational self-knowledge and is searching for signs that he is not adrift in an indifferent world. For some people, at least, biblical religion seems to provide a healthy foundational view which gives life essential purpose.