Think of yourself as a Christian, where God called you to present a case for Christianity before the philosophy professors at Harvard / Yale / IIT Universities. How would you react? Would you shy away, concluding that you had nothing to offer these intellectuals? Would you shake with fear believing that these men or women with massive IQ's might laugh at you as a babbling idiot?, It would be somewhat frightening experience to sit across Harvard / Yale / IIT professors and argue with them about your Christian faith. Yet, this is exactly what Paul faced in his day at Athens.
Context of Athens
'While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? ' Acts 17:16-19
Paul was angered and compassionate at the same time disturbed that men who were created to worship God were worshipping idols. As the city of Athens was filled with Idols, so he starts reasoning with Jews / Greeks on this Idol worship. We read about two set of Philosophers Epicurean and Stoic who argued with Pauland said “What is this babbler trying to say?” Before we go further we need to understand about who Epicureans were and who Stoics were.
Epicurean
An Epicurean was a follower of Epicurus who lived 300 years before the Christian era.
The Epicureans pursued pleasure as the chief purpose in life, and valued most of all the pleasure of a peaceful life, free from pain, disturbing passions and superstitious fears (including the fear of death). They did not deny the existence of gods, but believed that they had nothing to do with man.
They took as their motto, “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.”, There is no real meaning to life; it is all luck, and dependent on Lady Fortune.
For an Epicurean, there was no life beyond the grave, death ends it all, so there is nothing to fear ultimately and nothing to hope for ultimately
They were atheist, They had no belief in inner Soul or God. as they denied the existence of God.
Stoic
The Stoics were ones who put great emphasis on moral sincerity and a high sense of duty. They cultivated a spirit of proud dignity, and believed that suicide was better than a life lived with less dignity.
The doctrine of this group was that the world was created by God (For them God was a force) but that all things were fixed by Fate, even God was subject to Fate.
The Stoics believed that everything was god, and god was in everything. So they believed that all things, good or evil, were from “god,” and so nothing should be resisted, and they believed there was no particular direction or destiny for mankind.
Paul Argument with Philosophers
God is the Creator and Immense
'“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. ' Acts 17:24
“The God who made the world and everything in it , . . .” The world was created by an all-wise, all-powerful and loving God.
Furthermore, God is the Maker, not the thing made. God is not created by man in sticks and stones but it is God who made man and everything else that exists in this universe.
God is not a projection of man but God is greater than man, transcendent above His universe.
“The Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.” God is Lord of the earth and the universe, and He cannot be contained in man-made temples because He is a Spirit.
To make an idol of God or a temple to hold God is to make a mockery of God as his spirit fills the universe with his own presence.
God Is Self-Sufficient and Preserver
'And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. ' Acts 17:25
“And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything” -- God is the giver and does not have any needs for himself. Pagan idolatry taught that men had to please the gods, bring gifts to the gods, make sacrifices to the gods and serve the gods. However, the true God is the giver of everything, and he in no way needing man, but it is man who desperately needs God.
God Is the Preserver - “he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.”, The true God has providential control over his world, because of him we live and draw every breath
Whether we recognise it or not, we are dependent on God for our very existence, and it is he who gives us everything. How arrogant and stupid it is for men to declare their independency of God. With one simple command God can stop a man's breathing and snuff out his life!
God Is the Originator of Man / Governor of History
'From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. ' Acts 17:26
“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth, . . .” -- Paul declared that God made the human race one family, descending from one progenitor, Adam.
God Is the Governor of History “he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.” An all-wise, sovereign God has a predetermined plan for this world. This plan is not based on his foreknowledge whereby he looks down the corridors of time and sees how all things will turn out and then sets His plan.
God allows catastrophes, wars, violence and hard times so that men will seek him, and acknowledge their dependence on Him. It is pure self-delusion and absurd to think that anyone can operate without God. The reason men think they can exist apart from God is that they have placed some idol, whether physical or mental, as a substitute for God in their lives.
God Is Immanent / We are his offspring
'‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. ' Acts 17:28-29
“For in him we live and move and have our being . . .” -- God is so close to each person and it is by him we live and move and exist in earth. The true God does not want men to depend on idols, whether physical or mental, but on God. He wants men to acknowledge that they are totally dependent upon him for everything.
God Is the Parent of Man “We are his offspring.’”, We are his children
“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.’ Being an offspring of God or child of God, we should not to think that our divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thoughts of man.”
When you observe Paul’s arguments it was straight to shoot at the ideology's of Epicurean and stoics belief's. He was able to convince that the idol worship they were doing was wrong and many started following christ after they repented of their idol worshiping
'Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.'
What does this mean to us ?
Many of us have the traits of Epicurean behaviour in us to use life as pleasure and become like Stoic people in times of trouble to say it’s our fate to suffer like this. This may be the case for many who are in Christ and non-Christians as well.
We may be like the stoic philosopher saying God is everything and worshiping many idols of life like money, job, fame, pride and many materialistic things of life
Or we may live life like the Epicurean saying there is no tomorrow, enjoy life to fullest, as becoming christian you loose all the pleasures of life.
Repent and turn to God he is waiting to change what your thoughts are, God created each of us for a reason. the reason is to worship him and do his will in our life, this can happen only if we worship him.
'In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. ' Acts 17:30 God cannot act and enforce his will on us, unless we repent and surrender to him. The beauty of God is even though he created you, he has all the rights to make you obey, but he gives each of us a freewill to choose how we live our lives. Let us live a life committed to God and surrender to God. Thru this he will fulfil his promise on each one of us. As he has plans for you. 'For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord , “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ' Jeremiah 29:11
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