Ref . Acts 17:16-34
The Parthenon in Athens
On Paul’s second missionary tour, he decided to go alone to the most famous of the ancient Greek cities, Athens. Named after the patron Greek goddess Athena, Athens is one of the world’s oldest cities, with recorded history of over three thousand years. During the time period that Paul would have visited Athens (50-51 CE), it probably had a population of fifty to seventy five thousand people and was home to many of the great Greek thinkers of the day. The city prided itself on being intellectual and had several buildings where the leading men of the city debated the great theological ideas of the time.
The city of Athens was absolutely full of temples to the various Greek gods. An ancient proverb said, “In Athens, there are more Gods than men”. There were temples to at least twelve different gods, plus hordes of statues to lesser deities throughout the city. The main attraction in Athens was the acropolis, the highest point in the city. On top of the acropolis stood one of the most magnificent structures in antiquity, the Parthenon. Already over four hundred years old when Paul would have seen it, it was one of the most famous temples in the world. With a height of over 50′ and 70 beautiful marble columns, it could be seen for miles in every direction. Inside the temple stood a forty foot statue of the goddess Athena.
With this backdrop, Paul began to debate with the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, trying to convince them that YHVH was the one true God and that his son Jesus had been resurrected from the dead. Paul was taken to a meeting of the Aeropagus, a prestigious council of the elders of Athens. Here, he was asked to present his case to explain to them about this Jewish God and the claim of His resurrected Son. In Acts 17:22, Paul stands up to address the men of the Aeropagus. What follows is one of the most amazing exchanges in all of the Bible. When you read the verses, read them as if a member of the Aeropagus had just asked Paul this question – ”We are not familiar with this particular deity that you talk about sir, tell us again what he is called and where may his temple be found?” Paul then tells them,(paraphrasing) “I perceive that you are very religious here in Athens because I have walked around and seen all the temples and statues to your gods. I even found one that had an inscription to an unknown god. Well let me tell you who this unknown god is….. It is YHVH and He is the one who made the world and everything in it and He’s is much too big to live in a mere temple like these that are made with human hands!”
Then Paul does something in Acts 17:26-28 that really gets their attention. Instead of quoting to them from the Hebrew Scriptures to try to convince them, Paul quotes from their own Greek poets to describe the creator of the universe. He gives lines from two of their well known scholars, Epimenides and Cleanthes to present YHVH as the creator of all, giver of all, and ruler of all nations and all of history. He used their philosopher’s own words to support his claims! Then to sum it up, Paul tells these great intellects that his God is not some object made of gold or marble to look like man’s image, but that He is much bigger than a mere statue and is immortal, invisible, indescribable, and His name is unspeakable! Then Paul tells them that in the past they were ignorant of this and God overlooked it, but now that I am telling you the truth, you must repent! There is a day coming and you will be judged!
What was their reaction? Some sneered at Paul and some said,”We’ll hear more later”. It also says that a few men believed. In all, Paul doesn’t get run out of town like he usually does, but there doesn’t seem to be much evidence of big changes in the hearts of the people of Athens. There is no other written evidence that Paul ever returns to Athens. Paul may be speaking to these same type of people when he wrote to another Greek city in 1 Corinthians 1: 20-31, “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles”.
About the author:
Bob is the creator of this site and a disciple of Ray Vander Laan. Along with his wife of 50 years, he teaches a Bible study at Christ’s Church in Roswell, NM. He is also an avid hunter and fisher.
i Agree with Paul there is unknown God and we see Him through His work and through nature He is alive He is 3in ONE God the Father,Son,holy Spirit I love him I trust Him with all my heart I rely upon Him I am nothing without Him ,Glory to Jesus
It is so strange how people have little problems believing in the endless myths and structures of Idols and man made stories that have been passed from one generation to the next. Example the story of Santa Claus or St Nick in other parts of the world is almost taken at face value.
But this chubby red suited work of fiction was knocked up by coca cola. It is amazing how quickly simple animations become wedged into the minds of people.
This is not the way God wants to be seen. God wants to be seen in a Spiritual Light thru the Hearts of people.
Doing the Right Thing is not a shape or form. It’s not a place, a smell or a color. The carnal mind needs an object to focus on, to associate with hence why almost all faiths today have some sort of artifact to cling to. This is a child like connection to earlier times in our development, the hand of mom or dad bond.
God does not wish His children to have such physical bonds. God wants Spiritual Bonds, Bonds that cannot be broken or destroyed. There is huge business in this ‘physical connection’ system. People have been making money out of faiths for 1000’s of years.
This is not God’s idea. These are the ideas of man.
God says the truth shall set you free. It does. Not only from eternal death but also the bonds set by others.
All the faiths today are ‘Location’ based. People have a need to soup up a particular place and deem God resides and attends on demand be it a Sunday , a Saturday or what ever day is called.
This used to apply to Old Israel when they lived under the Levitical Mosaic Laws of God. A structured physical law that offered no salvation , just the promise of a future Saviour. Well that Saviour has been born.
He was born in the city of David as prophesied. The Child was named Jesus as instructed. The Work of Jesus was to save His Creation by living a sin free life and thus shed His Blood for our sins. That is exactly what He did.
His Father Who sent Him raised Him from the dead after 3 days and 3 nights. Every Christian with true faith believes this. No gimmicks are required. No bespoke outfits, weird head gear. No memberships to a land based Org. It’s your faith, your trust, your belief.
In trillions of years from now, well actually time in the Spiritual realm does not exist, there is no ageing. Time was created to create order here on Earth. To control the seasons, reproduce, manage weather patterns etc.
But way into the future we will all be interconnected by God’s Spirit, we will never feel alone again. We will all be back in ‘Eden’ The place we were booted out of because of sin. God’s plan is certain. Nothing has been left to chance – nothing. Just believe in the plan and the Man – the Lord Jesus and His Father Who sent Him to redeem us all from Satan.
this is a very well put together explanation of what I believe. Thank you for sharing that–it makes me feel less alone here on earth.