The events of Acts 17 take place as the Apostle Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy to join him in Athens, the center of intellectual, philosophical, and religious discussion of that day. Many of the monuments in this great city were dedicated to pagan gods, which greatly upset Paul, who believed there was only one true God whose Son was Jesus Christ.
“While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was troubled within him when he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with those who worshipped God, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there” (Acts 17:16-17).
In approximately 100 words, post your response to the devotion above. Replies to your fellow students are encouraged but not required.
Paul’s talks with the people of Athens resulted in an invitation to address the Areopagus, originally a court. But Paul was not on trial in a formal sense. At this time in the history of Athens, the Areopagus was a place where new ideas were heard and tested.
“Then Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said: ‘Men of Athens! I see that you are extremely religious in every respect. For as I was passing through and observing the objects of your worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed: TO AN UNKOWN GOD. Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it – He is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in shrines made by hands’” (Acts 17:22-24).
What do you think of Paul’s claim that there is only one true God? Are there many paths to God? Are there many paths to reach “oneness with the One” as proposed by Eastern Pantheistic Monism? Your answer to these questions will have a profound impact on your worldview.
In approximately 100 words, post your response to the questions above