Read Acts 17:16-34
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+17:16-34;&version=NIV
Paul’s address was before Athens’ “Council of Ares,” the government of this Greek city–state. His strategy was: (1) seek a point of contact, which here was an altar dedicated to an “unknown god,” vv. 22–23; (2) discuss the nature of God and His relationship to the creation, showing that even Greek poets and philosophers have glimpsed the truths Paul now presents, vv. 24–28; and (3) affirm that God, who calls on all to reject idolatry and repent, has not only appointed a day of judgment but has proven His intervention in human affairs by the resurrection of Jesus, vv. 29–31.
Discussion question
Do you feel philosophers that were disputing what Paul said was good or bad? Why?
Reflection question
Has there been a time in your life that you didn’t question something that you should have?
Has there been a time in your life that you did question something and regretted it later?
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Even though the philosophers disputed what Paul was saying, the fact that they did, gave Paul an opening to teach the Greeks about the one, true God and, as it says in Acts, some people believed. One of the points I got from this reading is that even though you might not convince a person you are speaking to with your witness, you never know who else might hear or see your witness and be affected.
ReplyDeleteI also don't think it was a bad thing that the philosophers were disputing what Paul was saying as it gave him even more opportunity to reach others about Jesus Christ. I agree with Doug that we never know who might be listening even if we aren't reaching our intended target. And, isn' it better to reach "one" than none at all!
ReplyDeleteAt the time, Paul might have thought that it was bad, and was not going that well. But looking back, went good. Like the others said, he did have followers. And maybe others that did not agree at the time, changed their minds later & seeked god.
ReplyDeletejeanie said:
ReplyDeleteThis reading brought to mind that, Paul was not the first to have a problem with
others questioning them. All through the Bible the ones carrying the gospel to others were me-lined with naysayers and critics.
Most of the time these negative people where
of the same race as those carrying the message.
I think that there is a parallel between good and evil drawn through the scriptures.
This factor gives a place of reference for the we the students of God's word to form our
opinion. I believe that God wants us to search out the truth for ourselves. This way we can learn to discriminate between the truth and false doctrine. This just my thought on this. I know that the opposition was a frustration to people like Paul. However it is very clear that he did not let that stop him.
There have lots of times that I regretted thing that I have done and failed to do. I
will try to be more reflective in the future. I hope to make better decision in the future than I have in the past. I pry that God will guide me and give me more wisdom.
I'm sure Paul was aware that the Greek philosophers spent most of their time debating various ideas. It wasn't just Paul they argued with, they argued with everybody about everything. There were large open buildings made just for that purpose. Some of them are still there today. I think in the long run the discussions were good because it gave more people a chance to hear both sides.
ReplyDelete