If you have never been to Athens, Greece and have the opportunity one day to go, it would be an enriching time for you. The seas and land regions are extraordinary. The architecture is amazingly beautiful which reflects centuries of history. In 2012, I enjoyed a short time in Athens with seminarian friends; just enough to “taste” history [and the delicious food]. However, sometime in the future I would like to return to travel the surrounding islands.
Scripture recounts the spreading of the Gospel in Athens. It was very important for the proclamation of the One true Living God to be shared in Athens, because the Greeks were polytheistic—they believed in many gods, as well as worshiped them as idols. Athens was the center for culture, the home for major schools of thought—scholars and philosophers—and the hub for expressing literary skills.
Stoics and Epicureans—groups of philosophers—were open to debate about all aspects of life. Interestingly, the Epicureans believed the goal of life was to seek pleasure and live in happiness; always trying to avoid pain or self-sacrifice. This goal is contrasted with the Stoics whose focus was seeking human wisdom, gaining intellectual knowledge, and living as one with nature; they were very disciplined and suppressed the value of self-focused pleasure. These philosophers and educators formed the Council called the Areopagus. These groups managed to cohabitate, mingle, and respect their neighbor with differing thoughts. What a concept!
The Lord sent the Apostle Paul to Athens and very quickly Paul realized the different viewpoints he would need to address if he was going to share the Gospel of Christ’s love and forgiveness. So, he chose to connect with these philosophers based on respecting their current situation, beliefs, or level of understanding. Paul found common ground, quoted the Athenian’s literature, and started a discussion to pique their interest in order to enlarge their understanding.
When we are sent or nudged by the Lord to talk to other people about our love for Jesus, we need to approach things in a similar way. We hold things in common with other people, so we listen very carefully to identify them. Evangelizing is not a beating down of human ideas, it is a lifting up of the Truth of God’s wisdom, mercy, and goodness above all human thought. When we speak the Truth in Love. we see more clearly the heart of God.
Acts 17-22-34 NLT
22 So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, 23 for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.
24 “He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, 25 and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. 26 From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.
27“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. 28 For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29 And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.
30 “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. 31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”
32 When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.” 33 That ended Paul’s discussion with them, 34 but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
Prayer: Lord, we thank you for Luke’s account of the Apostle Paul’s visit with the Athenians in Greece. We are blessed to witness his approach to sharing the Gospel in the midst of such contrasting beliefs and mindsets. As we live each day, please help us to listen to the people around us and learn more about them. At your appointed time, please help us to talk about your saving grace and the way to breathe in the Life of heaven into our needy souls. Maybe God will lead you, today, to plant a seed in the life of another person that he will later water and grow. In Jesus’ name. Amen.