Paul in Athens

Neither of the two groups of philosophers that Paul encountered were familiar with Paul's Jesus, they both took him to task to explain this new and different philosophy. The Stoics and the Epicureans were the practical opposites of each other, and the philosophy of each was in opposition to the teaching of Paul.

The Stoics taught that the true philosophy of life was a total indifference to both the sorrows and pleasures of the world; while the Epicureans sought relief from life's sorrows in the studied pursuit of its pleasures.

In opposition to the Stoics, Paul taught that we should weep with those who weep, and rejoice with those who rejoice. In opposition to the Epicureans, Paul taught that we should deny ourselves to all ungodliness and worldly lusts.

The Areopagus was a high outcropping, accessible by a flight of stone steps cut into the rock, leading to open air seats, where the judges, called Areopagites, held trials for criminals, and held hearings for grave religious questions. Since this was evidently an unofficial proceeding, this place was probably selected by those interested in hearing Paul, in hopes of generating a show - after all, these Athenians lived for " talking about and listening to the latest ideas."

Instead of his typical audience of Jews and proselytes, Paul now has an assembly of demon-worshipers. He cannot, therefore, open the Scriptures, and begin by speaking of the long-expected Messiah. The Scriptures, and even the God who gave them, are to them, unknown. Before he can preach about Jesus as the Son of God, he must introduce to them a true concept of God himself.

This aspect makes Paul's speech to the Athenians different from all others recorded in Acts. Paul recognized the difference in the beliefs his listeners, their widely disparate world views, and began by defining the true concept of God.

When we speak to the skeptical unbeliever, it is essential that we begin with a proper concept of the God of the Bible. Some people's God is a demon, like those worshipped by the Athenians, to some people, God is the same as the universe, to others, God is a part of the universe and subject to it, like us. It is not difficult to understand why the skeptic cannot accept a God like these.

We are all familiar with artist's renderings of God, an old man with a long, white beard, like Michelangelo's painting of God breathing life into Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Many people have anthropomorphic (human-like) ideas of God, ideas that are easy for a thinking person to knock down (a "straw-man" argument).

What examples of questions that people ask about God can you think of that demonstrate that they don't have an adequate concept of God?