To the Unknown God-Part B

I realized that Athens is a very learned place and a place for Philosophers, when I visited I can see it has one of the best place for Universities and education. For the Athenians Christine Doctrine is worshipping of strange gods, and worshipping new demons.  So for Paul it was a harder market towards Athenians to bring the doctrine of resurrection and Jesus dying for the world to remove the sins of people. In general we can say Athenians lost the benefit of the Christian doctrine because they dressed it up in a pagan dialect and attributed it towards worshipping of strange gods. Paul was at Aeropagus which is called Mar’s Hill, and was the town house of the city where the magistrates met up for business and the court house justice was generally kept. This was also the theatre place in the University where the learned meet and often discuss and communicate their notions. In this court at Athens when someone denies any God, they are liable to the censure of this court. This is the place Paul was invited to explain the new doctrine of Christ and His resurrection. The good thing which came out after Paul’s speech was Athenians were willing to listen to this strange doctrine even though they debated, and some mocked. The natives of Athens looked upon Paul’s doctrine as strange, very different from the Philosophy they had been taught and professed. Athenians were always for new things: new government, new gods, new Philosophy, new demons, new fashioned images and altars for their gods, new schemes, new plans and forms for new government and new notions and were always given to change. When I stood at the foot of Mar’s Hill I realized that journey for Paul was not easy in that culture at that time, but for me it has been a blessing because I understand Scripture in depth after my visit.

Now we can understand when Paul stood at Mar’s Hill and spoke it was a new sermon and a new doctrine to the heathens at Athens. The scope of their discourse was completely different, while for Paul his aim was to bring them to the knowledge of the only Living and true God. He wanted to instruct them in the first principle of all religions and that is there is a God, and one and only true God and warned them not to worship the false gods made out of human hands. Paul is really concerned that they were mingling the idolatries in all of their current affairs and day to day life and in fear worshipped demons, the spirits which inhibited the images. He is warning about the superstitious beliefs of the people and he charged them in that crime for giving the glory to the false gods and not the true God.

Athenians had a set up an altar “To the unknown God,” and Paul addressed their written inscription to the unknown God. When they inscribed as “unknown God” that means Athenians have acknowledged that there is a God, and the only God which was unknown to them at that time. It is extremely sad to know Athens, being a place for monopoly of wisdom, the true God was inscribed as an unknown God.

·         Some people think this ‘unknown God’ is the God of Jews, whose nature is unsearchable and whose name is ineffable. It is also possible they heard from the Jews and from the writings of the Old Testament about the God of Israel who proved Himself to be above all other gods, and also who hides Himself based upon Isaiah 45:15; “Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour”. The heathens of Athens also believed that this God of Jews is an uncertain God and for them an uncertain deity of Moses without a name.

·         Some other people of Athens think that it will be their happiness to know Him. There was a narration at Athens especially when there was a great plague. When the plague raged when there was continuous sacrifice, people were advised to let go of some sheep as pleased, where they lay down and they wanted to build a proper altar to a proper God who is in charge of removing that kind of pestilence and plague. Athenians do not know what to call Him, and they inscribed it, “To the unknown God”.

·         The Gentiles in general and the Athenians in particular, their devotions were not governed by their philosophers but by their poets and their idle fictions. Homer’s works became the Bible of their pagan theology which is demonology, and their philosophers tamely submitted to it. They rested in their speculations, disputed among themselves and taught it faithfully to their scholars.

Paul wanted to reform their philosophy and give them the notion of the one and one true God, and bring them off from their polytheism and idolatry. Paul taught them the one whom he serves is the God Almighty, God of heaven and the earth and he wanted Athenians to serve that God alone leaving idolatry and polytheism. The world has been like this from the beginning and it was from eternity is the Aristotle’s school of thought and they denied that God formed the heavens and the earth. The world was made by a fortuitous concourse of atoms, which has been in a perpetual motion, and accidently jumped into this frame was the Epicurus school of fancied thought pattern. Paul has been continuously debating with the scholars of the above schools of thought and maintains that God is the alpha, the Omega and the beginning and the end. He reasoned out with them that God according to the contrivance of an infinite wisdom and power made the world and all that is there in. He tried to part the notion that God is the proprietor, rightful owner and possessor of all powers, riches, in this world and in the heavens who is invisible. Do we think that this kind of reasoning is easy? If we think that mission work is hard today, and the ground is hard, what do we think of this place Athens as a mission ground?

Paul reasoned out using the Word of God that God is the great benefactor of the whole creation, including mankind to whom He has given His breath. He breathed into the first man, gave us this soul and He formed the spirit of man within him. God holds our souls in life, every moment the breath goes out, and He gives it back to us in His grace the next moment, and it is His air we breathe, but in His Hands is our breath; Dan: 5:23;  “But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.”

Paul taught them how all the people of this world are made of one blood, but placed in different nations, in their different political capacity. God has dispersed them into communities for their mutual preservation and benefit even though they were made of one blood and of one and the same nature. What God has determined regarding an event must not be disputed because it is unchangeable and cannot be altered because it was determined before even it is appointed. God has appointed the time of our coming into the world and the time of leaving based on Ecc: 3:1-2.  “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted”.