Ancient Philosophers Pointed Toward Christ
Story★★★★The teaching and writings of the ancient Gentile world were, all unconsciously, pointers to Christ. Men were still exclaiming with Job in agony, “Oh that I knew where I might find Him!” It is true that “the world by wisdom knew not God.”
The world by its own efforts failed to find the truth, and the thinkers of ancient Greece failed to solve the problems of life. St. Paul’s message to the Athenians, on Mars Hill, was: “Whom ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you.” The Stoics, philosophers like Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius, “Seekers after God,” as Dean Farrar called them, express thoughts of moral purity, not unworthy of the New Testament, and their teaching contributed to the preparation for the coming of Christ.
Greece with its refined tastes and beauty, and Rome with its austere discipline and physical strength, were stepping-stones towards the truth which Christ was to bring.
The point
Ancient pagan wisdom, though incomplete, pointed toward truth and prepared the way for Christ's revelation.