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Slide 1: Paul in Athens 16th January 2005 1
Slide 2: Jerry Springer the Opera  BBC was right not to give into those who want to limit our religious freedom: it is wrong for others to tell us what we are allowed to believe. I watched it only because they wanted me not to. Jane Edwards, Watford http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/4154385.stm 2
Slide 3: Jerry Springer the Opera  I support the showing of the Opera, I only caught about half of it and I would now like to go and see it performed live! Those that disagree have the choice not to watch. Even though the show contains a great deal of religious and moral aspects portrayed in what might not be a favourable light, in this day and age it can be good to just open your mind and have a sense of humour about these issues. There are more important things to concern ourselves with than bickering over swearing and decency. X, Surrey, UK http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/4154385.stm 3
Slide 4: Jerry Springer the Opera  I didn't even know the Jerry Springer opera was on until the "outcry." I probably wouldn't have watched it either if my curiosity hadn't been aroused by all the protests about depravity and language. I did watch the show, and I enjoyed it. Personally, I can't understand what all the fuss is about - there was nothing in it that an intelligent person would either take seriously or be offended by. Jamie, London, UK http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/4154385.stm 4
Slide 5: Introduction    “…there was nothing in it that an intelligent person would either take seriously or be offended by.” We live in a society that has fallen under the insidious influence of postmodernist philosophy. Steve has already talked about postmodernism in our society last year so I won’t spend long reminding you of it. 5
Slide 6: Defining Postmodernism    The 6th Edition of the Columbia Encyclopaedia defines it as a term used to designate a multitude of trends—in the arts, philosophy, religion, technology, and many other areas—that come after and deviate from the many 20th-cent. movements that constituted modernism…. In general, the postmodern view is cool, ironic, and accepting of the fragmentation of contemporary existence. It tends to concentrate on surfaces rather than depths, to blur the distinctions between high and low culture, and as a whole to challenge a wide variety of traditional cultural values. 6
Slide 7: Defining Postmodernism    The key point of postmodernist philosophy is that they don’t believe in any one way. It can be summarised as all beliefs are equally valid except those that claim to be true. Those who claim to know the truth are seen as intolerant and bigoted. 7
Slide 8: Postmodernism  Josh McDowell (a minister in the USA) writes,   “As a Bible-believing adult, you undoubtedly accept some things to be absolutely and universally true; that is, true for all people, in all places, and at all times. You also accept that these absolutes are determined by God and communicated to us through His Word.” However…“Truth to a postmodern world is created rather than discovered, each culture determines its own truth that is true only in and for that culture. Postmodernist contend that anyone who claims to hold an objective truth that unfavourably judges the values, beliefs, or lifestyle of another person is intolerant and bigoted.” 8
Slide 9: Paul in Athens   Tonight I am going to look at Paul’s stay in Athens as described in Acts 17. I think we can learn a lot about our own society and our reaction to it from:    What Paul Saw What Paul Felt What Paul Did  We will see that Paul was distressed by what he found in the city and I am going to look at how he responded. 9
Slide 10: Set the Context 1    In Acts 16 Paul has the vision of the man from Macedonia begging him to leave Asia and come to Europe. On his arrival in Europe Paul meets with rapid success with the conversion of Lydia in Philippi. This followed by a series of problems with imprisonment in Philippi, a mob in Thessalonica which then followed him to Berea. 10
Slide 11: Set the Context 2     It seems that the hatred was directed against Paul personally or at least focused at him. The Brothers clearly decided that it was too dangerous for Paul to remain in Berea. His companions, Silas and Timothy, stayed behind to continue the promising work in Berea. The Brothers got him safely to Athens, a sea journey of some 300 miles, while his companions followed on. 11
Slide 12: Paul Waited     And at Athens Paul waited. This is the only time you will find the words Paul and waiting in the same sentence. He was on his own and he was further away from home than he had ever been before. He at least knew the language as thanks to Alexander the Great the Greek language was the language of the eastern Mediterranean. 12
Slide 13: Athens at the Time of Paul     It is difficult to describe the role that Athens held in contemporary society as there isn’t really a modern equivalent. Rome was the centre of power at the time which is why Paul was so keen to get there, as recorded in his letters. But Athens was the centre of culture and education. This was based on the traditions of the great philosophers and scientists who had been attracted there at its heyday. 13
Slide 14: Athens at the Time of Paul    Athens was now full of teachers who taught what the historic masters had discovered. The city was a centre of learning, capitalising on its past by attracting sons of rich Romans to Athens to learn debating and rhetoric. Romans were the first of the great tourist and they travelled their empire to see the sights and benefit from a broad education. 14
Slide 15: Athens at the Time of Paul     The nearest equivalent to the role of Athens in our society are the Renaissance cities of Northern Italy such as Florence. The foundations of our modern world were laid down by thinkers in these cities, such as Michael Angelo and Leonardo da Vinci. We go off as tourists to see the cities and learn what they understood about the world around them hundreds of years before we were born. We travel to experience the Renaissance culture. 15
Slide 16: What Paul Saw      So Paul waited! You can imagine him wondering streets as a tourist. You can imagine him going to the market to buy food and watching the daily life of Athens. You can imagine him stopping to listen to groups of students gathered around their teachers And Paul response is made clear in Acts 17:16  “While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.” 16
Slide 17: What Paul Saw     A city full of idols John Stott notes that the word uses is difficult to translate as it is not a modern Greek word and Luke’s use of it is the only know occurrence on antiquity. Stott suggests that the word is stronger than ‘full’. Part of the word implies ‘luxurious growth’ so a better image may be a forest of idols. 17
Slide 18: What Paul Saw   The word also implies overgrow or swamped by so may be the translation would better be ‘smothered by idols’. A famous Athenian writer, Xenophon, who lived around 400 BC described Athens as:  “one great alter, one great sacrifice”.  A Roman satirist joked that it was easier to find a god in Athens than a man. 18
Slide 19: What Paul Felt       But Paul did not see the joke. What he felt was great distress. The Greek word used by Luke to describe Paul’s reaction is used by doctors today to describe a seizure or epileptic fit. This was not some mild annoyance which Paul would get over in a few minutes. Paul was irritated, provoked and roused to anger. This is a real feeling response not some intellectual exercise. 19
Slide 20: Manchester United Score    At this point while I was writing the sermon there was a roar of excitement from the lounge where, my daughter’s future husband, is watching Manchester United play Liverpool My wife, who is hiding in the study with me, comments that its such a terrible shame that we can’t get so emotional about Christianity. My future son-in-law is doing just this, he is expressing his emotions. 20
Slide 21: What Paul Felt     We can further understand the emotion Luke is describing by looking at how this word is used in Greek translations of the Old Testament which Luke would have been familiar with. It is regularly use to describe God’s reaction to the idolatry of the Israelites. It is used when they made the golden calf at Mount Sinai. It is used to described God’s anger over the gross idolatry and immorality at the Baal of Peor. 21
Slide 22: God Provoked  Moses warned the Israelites with his last words about the way they provoked God (Deuteronomy 31:27-29):  If you have been rebellious against the LORD while I am still alive and with you, how much more will you rebel after I die! Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officials, so that I can speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to testify against them. For I know that after my death you are sure to become utterly corrupt and to turn from the way I have commanded you. In days to come, disaster will fall upon you because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD and provoke him to anger by what your hands have made." 22
Slide 23: God Provoked And we see through out the Old Testament that God is provoked time and time again by the actions of the Israelites.  They had many problems but the single one that provoked God most was their idolatry.  They constantly turned to other Gods and worshiped them in extreme ways.  23
Slide 24: God Provoked  In  Isaiah 65:2&3 we see God say: “All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations- a people who continually provoke me to my very face, offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of brick….” 24
Slide 25: God Provoked    None of this should have come as a shock to the Israelites as the prohibition on idol worship is fundamental. Look at the first commandments in the Ten Commandments. In Exodus 20:2 we read:  “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” 25
Slide 26: God Provoked   It is clear that there is only one God rather than many Gods that you can pick and choose between. The next verse reinforces this:  “You shall have no other gods before me.”   The double reinforcement that there is but one God and no other. Our God is the only and unique God. 26
Slide 27: God Provoked  The ten commandments continue in Exodus 20:4-6:  “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.” 27
Slide 28: A Jealous God   God describes himself as ‘jealous’. Now jealousy is normally seen as a negative emotion and it is in many contexts.   Jealousy over the success of a sporting rival. Jealousy over the success of a friend in examinations.  To be jealous of someone who threatens to outshine us in beauty, brains, or sport is sinful, because we cannot claim a monopoly on talent in those areas. 28
Slide 29: A Jealous God   On the other hand jealousy can be seen as an entirely justified response to the actions of someone who has made a clear commitment to another. If a third party enters a marriage, the jealousy of the injured person, who is being displaced, is righteous, because the intruder has no right to be there. 29
Slide 30: A Jealous God  God is described as jealous, indeed He names Himself as Jealous to Moses in Exodus 34:14  “Do not worship any other god, for the LORD , whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”  God will not tolerate being displaced from His rightful place by the worship idols – what ever they may be. 30
Slide 31: What Paul Felt  John Stott comments:   “So the pain which Paul felt in Athens was due neither to bad temper, not to pity for the Athenians' ignorance, nor even to fear for their eternal salvation. It was due rather to his abhorrence of idolatry, which aroused within him deep stirrings of jealousy for the Name of God, as he saw human beings so depraved as to be giving to idols the honour and glory which were due to the one, living and true God alone. 31
Slide 32: What Paul Felt  Stott continues:   Moreover this inward pain and horror, which moved Paul to share the good news with the idolaters of Athens, should similarly move us. Incentives are important in every sphere. Being rational human beings, we need to know not only what we should be doing, but why we should be doing it. 32
Slide 33: What Paul Felt   And motivation for mission is specially important, not least in our day in which the comparative study of religions has led many to deny finality and uniqueness to Jesus Christ and to reject the very concept of evangelizing and converting people. How then, in the face of growing opposition to it, can Christians justify the continuance of world evangelization? 33
Slide 34: What Paul Felt   The commonest answer is to point to the Great Commission, and indeed obedience to it provides a strong stimulus. Compassion is higher than obedience, however, namely love for people who do not know Jesus Christ, and who on that account are alienated, disorientated, and indeed lost. 34
Slide 35: What Paul Felt   But the highest incentive of all is zeal or jealousy for the glory of Jesus Christ. God has promoted him to the supreme place of honour, in order that every knee and tongue should acknowledge his lordship. Whenever he is denied his rightful place in people's lives, therefore, we should feel inwardly wounded, and jealous for his name. 35
Slide 36: What Paul Felt  As Henry Martyn expressed it in Moslem Persia at the beginning of the 19th century,  “I could not endure existence if Jesus was not glorified; it would be hell to me, if he were to be always…dishonoured.” 36
Slide 37: What Paul Did  Paul stopped waiting and started doing what God had commissioned him to do as described in Acts 17:17:  “So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the Godfearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.” 37
Slide 38: What Paul Did     Paul’s emotional reaction to Athens’ idolatry spurred him into positive action. He didn’t throw up his hands in despair and say he could not change things, that the task was to big, that he was just one man. No he stuck to his normal strategy of teaching the Jews and God-fearing Greeks in the synagogue. In the synagogue he reasoned with the people there from the scripture seeking to show that Jesus was the Messiah. 38
Slide 39: What Paul Did    During the rest of the week Paul went into the market place, which did duty as both marketplace and centre of public life, and argued there with `casual passers-by'. He became like one of the other teachers using this method to preach the gospel to those in the market. In the market-place he gave the same message but started forma different starting point. 39
Slide 40: What Paul Did    In the market place he was challenged by the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. These were two groups of teachers who had opposing world views. Both actively taught in Athens and would have been keen to dispute with any new comer who started teaching anything different. 40
Slide 41: The Epicureans    The Epicureans, or `philosophers of the garden', founded by Epicurus (died 270 BC), considered the gods to be so remote as to take no interest in, and have no influence on, human affairs. The world was due to chance, a random concourse of atoms, and there would be no survival of death, and no judgment. So human beings should pursue pleasure, especially the serene enjoyment of a life detached from pain, passion and fear. 41
Slide 42: The Stoics   The Stoics, or `philosophers of the porch' (the stoa or painted colonnade next to the agora where they taught), founded by Zeno (died 265 BC), acknowledged the supreme god but in a pantheistic way, confusing him with the `world-soul'. The world was determined by fate, and human beings must pursue their duty, resigning themselves to live in harmony with nature and reason, however painful this might be, and develop their own selfsufficiency. 42
Slide 43: What Paul Did     Paul took on anyone and presented them with the gospel in a form relevant to them. To Jews he preached from the scriptures. To those with no knowledge of the scriptures he used a different starting point. But he delivered his message to everyone whether people in the synagogue or people selling olives in the market or the equivalent of university professors teaching their students. 43
Slide 44: What Paul Did    He used every opportunity to deliver the message driven by the Jealousy for his God in the face of the idolatry of the Athenians. He used every opportunity he had to deliver the Gospel. He exploited the local culture – note Luke’s comment about the Athenians in v21:  “All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.” 44
Slide 45: Application     Athens in the time of Paul is both Alien to us and strangely familiar. It is alien because we don’t recognise a city full of idols with many completing temples and numerous gods. We don’t recognise the market place with olive sellers and philosophers both peddling their goods and ideas side by side. We wouldn’t recognise an Epicurean philosopher if one fell out of a tree and hit us. 45
Slide 46: Application     It is familiar because the same things seem to interest the people then as now. They liked to socialise in public places. They liked to spend their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas. They faced a world that lacked any certainty as any philosophy and any gods were equally valid, however unlikely. 46
Slide 47: Application      Our society has many of these characteristics. There is a craving for ‘News’ and for ‘Gossip’. There is a love for fashionable new ideas. There is a lack of belief in anything because all ideas are treated as valid. And a deep distrust of certainty and those who claim to have answers. 47
Slide 48: Application      The parallels between Paul’s experience in Athens and our growing experience of postmodernist philosophy is clear. We can see many things that Paul saw. He faced people who believed in everything and nothing at the same time. He faced people who reacted badly to Paul’s certainty in God and his absolute trust in Him. Despite the differences we have much to learn from Paul in Athens. 48
Slide 49: Application      Having seen something similar to what Paul saw, do we feel the same way that he felt. Remember his reaction was to be greatly distressed. Are we distressed by the society we see around us or have we got use to it? Paul had an advantage as he had arrived by boat and walked into Athenian society. We live here and may be numb and blind to the society we live in. 49
Slide 50: Application     I think that many of us are distressed by the society we see evolving around us. But we need to ask ourselves what is the cause of our distress. Paul was distressed because he was jealous for God’s honour. He saw a society that did not recognise God and it distressed him that God was not honoured. 50
Slide 51: Application   John Stott’s challenges us all when he notes that the highest incentive of all for mission is zeal or jealousy for the glory of Jesus Christ. God had promoted Jesus to the supreme place of honour, in order that every knee and tongue should acknowledge his lordship. Whenever he is denied his rightful place in people's lives, therefore, we should feel inwardly wounded, and jealous for his name. 51