How to Think About God: An Ancient Guide for Believers and Nonbelievers

Written by Marcus Tullius Cicero

Narrated by Shaun Grindell

A vivid and accessible new translation of Cicero's influential Stoic writings on the divine



Most ancient Romans were deeply religious and their world was overflowing with gods—from Jupiter, Minerva, and Mars to countless local divinities, household gods, and ancestral spirits. One of the most influential Roman perspectives on religion came from a nonreligious belief system that is finding new adherents even today: Stoicism. How did the Stoics think about religion? In How to Think about God, Philip Freeman presents vivid new translations of Cicero's On the Nature of the Gods and The Dream of Scipio. In these brief works, Cicero offers a Stoic view of belief, divinity, and human immortality, giving eloquent expression to the religious ideas of one of the most popular schools of Roman and Greek philosophy.



On the Nature of the Gods and The Dream of Scipio are Cicero's best-known and most important writings on religion, and they have profoundly shaped Christian and non-Christian thought for more than two thousand years, influencing such luminaries as Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Dante, and Thomas Jefferson. These works reveal many of the religious aspects of Stoicism, including an understanding of the universe as a materialistic yet continuous and living whole in which both the gods and a supreme God are essential elements.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Highbridge Company
• Translator: Philip Freeman
• Release date: Nov 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781684576425

Marcus Tullius Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero Minor ou Cicéron « le Jeune » (né en juillet 65 voire pendant l'année 64 av. J.-C., mort après 25 av. J.-C.) est le fils de l'orateur et homme d'État romain Cicéron. Il est consul suffect en l'an 30 av. J.-C. au lendemain de la dernière Guerre civile de la République romaine. Même s'il ne jouit pas de la même renommée que son père, Cicéron le Jeune se distingue par son action militaire, « se sentant plus soldat que philosophe ».

Reviews for How to Think About God

[schneider_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a very short book in the Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers series of Cicero's thoughts and musings on how to think about god, ironically titled "How to Think About God: An Ancient Guide for Believers and Nonbelievers".
It is good. It is more of a reason-based approach that Cicero meditates on. It is very short like I states earlier, one hour and seven minutes, but that does not mean it is light reading. Heavens no. This is some pretty deep thoughts this ancient thinker was going over.
It is a good audiobook and the reader, Mr. Shaun Grindell, did a very good job.
I give it three stars at this juncture (the first time through) and will listen to it again and see if I can pick more up as the topic is pretty deep...
Would recommend to any who are into the age of reason, philosophy and/or deep thoughts on the world around them.