In the New Testament period these were two popular philosophies. Epicureans were skeptical about God or gods and believed the goal of life was pleasure—not necessarily wild living, but peace and tranquillity, surrounded by beautiful things.
Stoics believed in one God who prevaded everything. They emphasized logic and rationality, and most of them preached detachment from worldly things and learning to rise above passing emotions.
Stoics and Epicureans are mentioned in Acts 17:18, where Paul the apostle is preaching Christianity in Athens (see 928), the center of Greek philosophy. He does not get a warm reception from the intellectuals, who refer to him as a “babbler.”
