At the last Rural Ministries monthly prayer meet-up on Zoom (first Tuesday of each month), we reflected on Acts 17 and the ways in which Paul engages with the culture that he encounters in Athens. In our own very changeable society and culture, we’re facing shifting landscapes, attitudes and ‘standards’, which include changes in institutional church, both in rural and urban contexts. I’m left wondering what we can glean from this passage for today and how we engage with the world and culture around us.
To put it into context, Paul is embarking on what we now know as his second missionary journey. He has travelled a considerable distance by land and sea through Asia Minor and the northern regions of the Mediterranean and is now in Athens. He has been separated from his companions Silas and Timothy, so wonders around the city while he waits for them to arrive. What he discovers there leaves him ‘deeply distressed’, the city is full of idols. While this is not a Christian or Jewish city, Paul is clearly affected by what he witnesses. This city is a melting pot of different cultures, philosophies, and people groups. New ideas to be thoroughly dissected are welcomed by some groups, while rejected by others.
Do we find ourselves deeply affected and distressed by what we see around us in our towns and villages today? Or do we perhaps find ourselves a little passively disengaged as we wonder what kind of biscuits to serve on Sunday, or how many songs or hymns we’re going to sing, or whether the volume will cause more complaints this week?
The passage of Acts (17:16-34) gives us an account of the different ways that Paul responds to these feelings he has and how he engages with the culture he finds in Athens. Three different people groups get three different approaches from him.
Firstly, he engages with the Jews and devout people. There is no doubt that Paul is a strong character and not one to shy away from conflict or difficult situations and conversations. We have numerous accounts of him addressing ‘wrongs’ he sees in the church communities that he’s visited or even planted. Here, we read that he argues with the Jews and devout that he encounters in the synagogue. These would be his people. Kind of like us arguing amongst ourselves as fellow Christians. I imagine this to be a ‘no holds barred’ conversation with those who possibly should know better.
Secondly, he debates with the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. These are deep thinkers but from a different tradition or belief system. He boldly speaks of the message and good news of Jesus to these men, who would regularly wrestle with meaning and truth all day long, some of whom accuse him of ‘pretentious babbling’.
He is then taken to the Areopagus, where the Athenian governing council gather. He is taken there to explain why he is introducing a new idea about a ‘foreign deity’ to the people. Here we see a different approach again. They ask Paul to explain what he’s been saying. The invitation here is what’s important, it ushers in not argument or debate but a chance to relay the message clearly and concisely. He does this before the council and other Athenians who are gathered there. This third way is important because Paul speaks directly to the culture and beliefs that he saw in Athens which were unique to the Greek people. He begins the monologue with observations from the city that he’s been walking around, and the things that don’t really make any sense to him, like the altar To An Unknown God. He does, however, engage with their own customs and even quotes their own philosophers and poets. These words he chooses - “In him we live, move and have our being”, are thought to be the words of Epimenides; and then, “For we too are His offspring”, this comes from the poem Phaenomena, reminding readers to always remember Zeus.
Paul reminds them that through all their fumbling ways, God is indeed ‘not far from us all’. I love the ways that Paul’s emphasis homes in on what their beliefs share with the message he himself brings, it’s just a different perspective but the ‘essence’ is still the same. These searchers, these life-long learners have stumbled upon part of the human existence that rings true but isn’t quite there in its fullness – they are already close to God.
Some of those present become believers and some scoff at this ludicrous new idea. And I suppose that is the reality for us in sharing our own faith or even ideas.
The invitation from this passage is for us to continually consider who we’re actually speaking and engaging with, what actually needs to be said and/or omitted and what’s the appropriate way to respond (e.g Paul is said to have mentioned the name Jesus to the philosophers but not at all to the Areopagus council).
Who needs the argument anyway?
Who needs the debate?
Who needs connection and awakening?
We can see all these approaches present in the life of Jesus through the Gospels. We only see him argue with the religious elite, and it was when they were putting up unnecessary or even impenetrable barriers between the people and God; He debates with many people, Nicodemus, the disciples, teachers, everyday encounters etc; and He is sensitive to those who need connection, healing and awakening, the woman at the well, Mary Magdelene, and pretty much everyone he heals physically.
For us today, this dynamic life of following Jesus means engaging with the world around us, with people in churches, those in ‘high’ office and those who clean the toilets; it means engaging with neighbours, thinkers, haters, arm-chair theologians and philosophers; and it means connecting with the hurt and the broken and the curious. But maybe if we stop ourselves for a short second before speaking, check our motives and our desired outcome, and spend a moment to ask what the best approach is, what’s the best form of response that’s needed here, we’d have greater level of interest on what we’re saying or trying to relay. Maybe starting with what we share and what we have in common is more effective than starting with what’s wrong with someone or how we’re different. Maybe that could prevent us reinforcing the barriers that divide us and we’d realise, like Paul said, none of us are really that far from God.
Jon Timms Director: Scotland & North of England
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