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How Did Paul Interact with Greek Philosophies in Athens? #681 · Scripture Central

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  For in him we live and move and have our being, as certain also
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  of your own poets have said, for we are also his offspring.
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  Hey listeners, this is Nick from Scripture Central and today's
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  podcast addresses the question. How did Paul interact with Greek
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  philosophies in Athens after being driven out of Thessalonica
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  and Berea by an angry mob, Paul was conducted down the coast to
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  Athens by the faithful Saints for his own safety, while Paul
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  waited for his companions Silas and Timothy to join him.
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  His spirit was stirred in him when he saw the city wholly
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  given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he and the
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  synagogues with the Jews and with the devout persons, and in
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  the market daily with them that met with him.
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  As Paul was preaching in the agora, he gained the attention
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  of certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics,
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  who had varying attitudes towards what they heard.
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  And some said, What will this babbler say?
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  Others. Some he seemeth to be a set of
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  forth of strange gods, because he preached unto them Jesus and
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  the resurrection. So they took Paul to meet with
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  the Erapagus on Mars Hill, right next to the Acropolis.
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  There the city rulers invited him to explain in greater detail
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  the new doctrine he was preaching.
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  Paul commenced his wellknown speech by discussing the
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  Athenian worship of an unknown God.
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  Here Paul shows a deep understanding of the language
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  and culture of his audience. As biblical scholars have
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  studied Paul's explanation address, it has become clear
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  that Paul was familiar with ideas common in Greek
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  philosophical circles since he had grown up in Tarsus, the
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  capital city of the Roman province of Celesia.
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  Paul was probably educated there and would have been taught Greek
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  language, literature, history, and public governance.
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  Now in Athens, Paul could deliver an effective prophetic
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  critique of many of the ideas prevalent in Athenian society,
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  contrasting supposed Athenian piety with the truth about
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  humanity, their origins, and their relationship to the true
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  God. One of the most prominent
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  philosophers known to Athens, for example, was Socrates, who
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  was famously tried for his beliefs and sentenced to death
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  on this same hill in 399 BC, almost 5 centuries earlier.
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  Though Paul may not have been deeply conversant with all of
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  Socrates's works, biblical scholar Craig S Keener has
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  observed how Paul is depicted in Acts chapter 17 as a new
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  Socrates for his hearing on this hill.
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  For the most part, Paul drew upon his knowledge of Stoic and
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  Epicurean thought throughout his speech, as he tries to share the
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  gospel in terms that both of those two groups would be more
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  likely to understand. Paul begins and ends his speech,
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  for example, by mentioning the Athenians ignorance of the true
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  God. While some philosophers such as
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  Socrates believe that those who claim to have knowledge in
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  reality did not, most philosophers, such as those in
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  Paul's immediate presence, valued knowledge highly and
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  confidently. Specifically, many Greek
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  thinkers valued knowledge of deities, and ignorance of a
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  deity was usually not a compliment.
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  However, Paul did not leave the Athenians to remain in
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  ignorance, but went on to teach them about God's true nature and
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  how they might come to know him. One aspect of this ignorance
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  likely included the Epicureans rejection of temples and
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  sacrifices. They saw intellectual exercise
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  as the only reasonable form of worship.
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  Well, they might have been enthusiastic to hear Paul teach
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  that God has not worshiped literally served with men's
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  hands as though God needed anything.
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  They would have immediately rejected the rest of Paul's
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  statement because Paul declared that serving God allows us to
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  feel after him and find him. Just because God does not
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  require our worship does not mean that he does not desire his
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  children to approach him and come to know Him, especially in
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  the ordinances performed in the temple.
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  Assessing his audience, Paul had more in common with the Stoics
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  than the Epicureans, for example.
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  On the one hand, Epicureans believed in God, yet viewed him
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  as an untroubled being uninvolved in human cares and
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  concerns. Paul, however, maintained that
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  God was intimately involved with the details of our lives, even
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  to the point of giving us life, breath, and all things.
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  Stoics, on the other hand, maintained that God was active
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  in the world, and so they could have agreed with many of Paul's
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  teachings. Stoics likewise may have been
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  more open to the idea of a resurrection than the
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  Epicureans, who rejected any idea of an afterlife, and were
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  likely those who mocked Paul when they heard of the
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  resurrection of the dead. While both groups of
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  philosophers believed in living according to one's reason and
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  training, Paul taught powerfully That was not enough.
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  Rather, all people must repent and live according to God's
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  will. Paul additionally cited the
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  Greek poets Epimendes and Ratus to demonstrate to both the
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  Epicureans and Stoics how your own poets have said for we are
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  also his offspring, referring to their status as children of God.
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  However, even these famous philosophers could not come to a
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  true understanding of what their declaration meant without
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  relying on the Spirit and listening to the Lord and His
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  prophets. For this reason, Paul invited
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  the Athenians to seek the Lord if they are willing to find him,
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  for he is not far from every one of us.
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  Ultimately, while Paul's teachings may not have had a
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  lasting effect on some of these philosophers who are willing to
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  repent, some of them did believe and were baptized.
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  Philosophers, however, would ultimately impede Paul's
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  preaching later on in his ministry.
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  About two years after this experience, Paul would write to
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  his converts in Corinth, warning them not to allow their
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  philosophical studies and interests to affect their faith.
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  Declaring your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but
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  in the power of God. We may not know exactly what
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  Paul's education included, but it is clear that the apostle had
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  extensive training in classical schools of thought in addition
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  to his training under Gamelio in the learning of the Jewish laws
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  and scriptures. While many philosophers would
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  prove detrimental to the faith of some Christians, Paul was
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  able to powerfully utilize his secular and spiritual training
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  to bring the Gospel to many who would have otherwise not heard
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  the message. Greek philosophy would continue
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  to have a rocky relationship with Christianity for the next
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  several centuries. As Daniel W Graham and James L
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  Sybak have observed, much of Roman science was beneficially
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  rooted in Greek mathematics, analysis, and philosophy, and
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  thus made important advances that we still depend on today.
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  What it could not do, however, was replace Revelation as the
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  proper medium for a knowledge of God.
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  Rather, we may use rational methods to organize the
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  teachings of the Scriptures, and we may profitably evaluate them
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  by the use of reason. But we do not need to adhere to
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  any school of Greek philosophy to understand Christian
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  doctrine. On the contrary, we should use
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  Christian doctrine to evaluate philosophical theories.
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  The problem of depending primarily on philosophical
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  theories became more pronounced in the 3rd and 4th centuries, as
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  later Christian thinkers believe the question of God's nature to
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  be one such theological inquiry, which the New Testament did not
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  elucidate sufficiently and began to force their doctrine to fall
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  in line with philosophical schools.
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  Rather than follow Paul's example and base their faith on
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  the Scriptures as elucidated by the teachings of the prophets,
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  they instead grounded their faith on the philosophies of men
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  only, using the scriptures when necessary to give them a shadow
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  of authority. Such a basis for belief cannot
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  last. In the Book of Mormon, Jacob
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  testified that to be learned it is good if they hearken unto the
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  councils of God. Indeed, the Lord encourages us
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  to gain a faithful education in modern times as well.
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  Seek ye out of the best books. Words of wisdom seek learning
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  even by study, and also by faith.
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  Paul's experience in Athens reflects this exact principle.
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  A true and saving knowledge about the nature of God and the
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  gospel is not something that can be worked out by ourselves to
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  suit our own predilections. Rather, truth and goodness must
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  be accompanied by a willingness to follow God and accept His
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  will in our lives. As we follow Paul's example, we
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  could more fully seek learning, even by study and also by faith,
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  and seek to maintain the Spirit in our lives.
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  President Russell F Nelson has taught become an engaged
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  learner. Immerse yourselves in the
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  scriptures to understand better Christ's mission and ministry.
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  Know the doctrine of Christ so that you understand its power
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  for your life. As we do so, we can, like Paul,
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  be able to distinguish truth from error more clearly, make
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  more inspired choices, and come to feel the Savior's love more
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  powerfully in our lives. Thank you for listening to this
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  presentation from Scripture Central.
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  For more information, please visit scripturecentral.org.