To the Unknown God- Part A

These writings were based on my recent visit to Athens and when I stood on Mars Hill where Paul preached I started to pen for the edification of the body of Christ.  Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you; Acts 17:21-23.  

I have a deep urge in my heart to pen this because the world’s major religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam and other religions are making inroads as a variety of cults, new age Philosophies flourishing and not to forget the paganism had taken deep roots. This is not new to any one when we read God’s Word because it has been a practice to worship idols even before the birth of Christ. How do we carry the Gospel to the areas surrounded by the other forms of worship? As I have lived in different parts of the world like India, Nepal, Malaysia and Singapore the above forms of worship is very common. Recently I have visited Greece, Italy and Turkey and my focus was on Ephesus, Athens and Rome and the historical ruins and the archeology. Let us refer to Acts chapter 17, and here Apostle Paul is giving some guide lines to how to reason out and talk with the help of the Spirit of God to an unbelieving world.

Refer Acts of the Apostles, Paul preaching to Athenians: Acts 17: 16-33.

Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing. Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.  For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you; Acts 17:16-23.

Paul was not in Athens to show off his intellectual capacity to the people of Athens, nor to improve himself in Athenian philosophy. He knows it was only a vain glory; ^“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ”; Col 2:8. He was stirred in his spirit to bring Christ and to correct their disorders in religion and to turn them from serving the idols to serve the Living God. He was concerned and filled with compassion for mankind who were caught up in the perils and bondages of Satan and living in sin. He was annoyed with holy indignation at the heathen priests and philosophers who drove people to idolatry and led them in the wrong direction.

God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: Acts: 17:24-30.

Epicurean philosophers indulged in all the pleasures and senses of this world which is in direct contradiction to what Christ has taught; which is to deny the world and the things of this world. They do not believe that God made the world and He governs the world and they do not believe that man should pay attention to what God says and do not believe there is a judgement day.

 Stoicks really thought themselves to be as good as God and indulged themselves very much like the Epicurean philosophers and very much give to lust of the eye, the pride of life and the lust of the flesh. They also thought that a virtuous man is equivalent to God and in no way inferior to God. 

Babbler thought of himself as an idle fellow and equated himself to a ballet singer. They thought Paul to be a pitiful contemptible creature and thought he will get money here and there for what he is doing very similar to a bird which searches food and gets grain here and there.