Acts 17: Paul in Athens

Paul was used to preach first in synagogues, but in Acts 17 he is preaching in the marketplace where gentiles could listen to him.

18 And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers as well were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What could this scavenger of tidbits want to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming?

The Greeks were like scholars of today: they are very curious, they like to ask questions, to learn new things, and they look to themselves as smart and rational people. The reaction of the philosophers resemble the reaction in a university.

AI: The primary goal of an Epicurean was not "wild partying" (a common misconception), but Ataraxia — a state of tranquil calm (as in nirvana?). Because the gods were in a state of perfect ataraxia, they would never "pollute" their peace by listening to human prayers, judging sins, or managing the universe. When Paul spoke of a God who "commands all men everywhere to repent" because He has "appointed a day on which He will judge the world" (Acts 17:30-31), he was attacking the very core of Epicurean peace. To an Epicurean, a body coming back to life was scientifically impossible and philosophically disgusting. The goal was to be free of the body, not to have it restored. They called Paul a spermológos ("seed-picker" or "babbler"). To these sophisticated philosophers, Paul sounded like a street-peddler selling "superstition" (Greek: deisidaimonia).


AI: The Stoics were the "Moralists". The Stoic did not seek "pleasure" like the Epicurean; they sought Virtue (aretē). They believed the universe was a rational, orderly system. To be happy, one must align their will with the "Providence" of the universe. They taught that you cannot control external events (sickness, war, poverty), but you can control your reaction to them. Stoics were Pantheists. They believed God was not a person outside the universe, but the "Soul of the World"—a divine, rational fire that permeated everything. They used "Logus" to describe the "Reason" that holds the stars in place and gives humans logic. It resembles Christianity but: Paul’s God was a Creator who made the world, not just a force that was the world. This God has a will and can be grieved. Stoics were famously proud of their self-sufficiency. Paul’s message was that humans are sinners who cannot save themselves and must repent. To a Stoic, "repentance" looked like weakness. Stoics believed in the "Great Conflagration"—that the universe is periodically destroyed by fire and starts over. They believed the soul might survive for a while but eventually merged back into the "Divine Fire." The idea of an individual, physical body rising from the dead was illogical to them.

Even though the stoics seemed more Christians, they thought that through reasoning (and their superior way to look things) they could get the answer for a better life. In Christianity, it is different: the Creator moves to his creatures, show love and call them to repentance and acceptance through Jesus.