The Second Missionary Journey
Athens and Mars Hill
Acts 17:18-21 18 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. 19 And they took him,
and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new
doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? 20 For thou bringest certain strange
things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. 21
(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.)
Introduction
Paul, as the result of his efforts in the agora, was soon invited to join others at the Areopagus, otherwise called, Mars Hill. The invitation came from the Epicureans and the Stoicks. Their reasoning was that Paul was bringing a new doctrine. It was very strange to them, so they wanted to know what it all meant. One major reason for Paul’s invitation was because these individuals “spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear
some new thing. ”
Let us consider some things before we examine Paul’s message to these Athenians.
Areopagus
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THE CHIEF
The Areopagus Hill or Mars Hill is a bare marble hill next to the Acropolis in Athens. It is especially popular with travelers for its connections with a speech made by Paul the
Apostle.
The Areopagus, like most city-state institutions, continued to function in Roman times, and it was then that the Apostle
Paul delivered his famous speech about the identity of “the
Unknown God.” According to the biblical account (Acts 17):
In pre-classical times (before the 5th century BC), the Areopagus was the council of elders of the city, like the Roman Senate. Like the Senate, its membership derived
from those who had held high public office, in this case that of Archon. In 462 BC, Ephialtes put through reforms which
deprived the Areopagus of almost all its functions except that of a murder tribunal.1
The Epicureans
Epicureanism was a Greek philosophy started by Epicurus
(341—270 BC). It was still going strong in New Testament
times when Paul visited Athens on his second missionary
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journey. One of the groups that debated with Paul on the
streets of Athens was Epicurean (Acts 17:18); later, this
group brought Paul to the Areopagus for further
questioning (verse 19).
Epicureanism taught that the highest state a person could
attain was ataraxia—absolute peace—and aponia—
complete absence of mental, emotional, and physical
distress or need. Epicureanism has gotten a bad rap in
modern times because of a misunderstanding of its basic
tenets. People today tend to think it represents ultimate,
decadent luxury and indulgence. It’s usually contrasted
with Stoicism, which is thought to be the absolute absence
of desire. But these are extreme definitions that don’t quite hit the mark.
Epicurus’s goal was to teach people to relax and enjoy life
without worrying so much. His first step was to remove the
idea of the gods from the psyche of his followers. To
Epicurus, the gods did exist, but they lived so far away
from the affairs of man, in a permanent state of ataraxia, that they didn’t interfere with humanity—in fact, they
weren’t even aware of humanity.
With the removal of fear of the gods came two advantages
for the Epicureans. First, there is no judgment after death;
therefore, death shouldn’t be feared. Everything is material, so, whatever “soul” there is, it is connected to the physical body and ceases to exist upon death. Second, there is no
judgment during life. There is no way to appease a god who
doesn’t know you exist and doesn’t care about your life.
Therefore, you are free to find fulfillment in life outside of religious rules and expectations.
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What, then, is fulfillment, according to Epicureanism? If
we aren’t working for the favors of gods, in this life or the next, how can we live to the full in the moment? Epicurus’s
answer is more balanced than many understand. To him,
ataraxia was everything. It meant very simple but profound things like not being hungry, not being in distress, and not
worrying.
Absolute peace meant being comfortably fed, but not
overfed because that leads to stomach aches. Desserts and
fine food are okay if they are rare enough to be appreciated
but not so common as to be expected or desired. Too much
education is distressing because it awakens a desire to
understand things that are not understandable. Feelings, not
logic, most often reveal the truth about a situation. To an
extent, altruism and civil obedience are good because, if the society is healthy, it benefits you, too. But politics and
power are too stressful. Things like fame, marriage, and
wealth are artificial, and very often bring more heartbreak
than joy. At the same time, Epicureanism did not prohibit
such activities if a person found them beneficial.
So, in true Epicureanism, the best life is characterized by
sufficient food, a comfortable dwelling, peaceful
relationships, and good friends. Epicurus’s academy
followed this model; the school was in his home and garden
and included slaves and women….
Ultimately, what Epicureanism taught was a “fulfilled” life
free from pain, hunger, distress, worry—and God.
Considering the gods the Greeks knew—violent, lusty, and
capricious super-humans—they maybe aren’t to be
condemned for seeking to cast off the deities. But the 133
Epicureans didn’t understand that a fulfilled life can’t happen without the Creator-God who loves us and saved us.
It is good to have bread and friends. It is better to have the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 48) and the Friend who made the
ultimate sacrifice for us (John 15:13–15).2
The Stoics
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BCE. It is
a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asserting that the practice of virtue is both necessary and sufficient to achieve eudaimonia (happiness, lit. 'good spiritedness'): one flourishes by living an ethical life. The Stoics identified the path to eudaimonia with a life spent practicing the cardinal virtues and living in accordance with nature.
The Stoics are especially known for teaching that "virtue is the only good" for human beings, and that external things, such as health, wealth, and pleasure, are not good or bad in
themselves ( adiaphora) but have value as "material for virtue to act upon". Alongside Aristotelian ethics, the Stoic tradition forms one of the major founding approaches to virtue ethics. The Stoics also held that certain destructive emotions resulted from errors of judgment, and they
believed people should aim to maintain a will (called prohairesis) that is "in accordance with nature". Because of this, the Stoics thought the best indication of an individual's philosophy was not what a person said but how a person behaved. To live a good life, one had to understand the rules of the natural order since they thought everything was rooted in nature.
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Many Stoics—such as Seneca and Epictetus—emphasized
that because "virtue is sufficient for happiness", a sage would be emotionally resilient to misfortune. This belief is
similar to the meaning of the phrase "stoic calm", though the phrase does not include the traditional Stoic view that only a sage can be considered truly free and that all moral corruptions are equally vicious.
Stoicism flourished throughout the Roman and Greek world
until the 3rd century CE, and among its adherents was Emperor Marcus Aurelius. It experienced a decline after Christianity became the state religion in the 4th century CE.
Since then, it has seen revivals, notably in the Renaissance
(Neostoicism) and in the contemporary era (modern
Stoicism).3
The Mars Hill Message
Acts 17:21-34 KJV 21 (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.) 22 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. 23 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. 24 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; 25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as
though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and
all things; 26 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; 27 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: 28 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. 29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought
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not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven
by art and man's device. 30 And the times of this ignorance God winked
at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he
hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in
righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given
assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. 32 And
when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others
said, We will hear thee again of this matter. 33 So Paul departed from
among them. 34 Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed:
among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named
Damaris, and others with them.
Paul was invited to Mars Hill to expound on the teachings that he had been giving in the synagogue and in the Agora. An interesting bit of information is given to us in verse twenty-one. It seems a great many of the Athenians spent their time in either to tell or to hear something new. This would have been like waving a red flag in front of a raging bull! Paul would have never turned down an opportunity such as this to present the gospel. Paul used delicate tact in starting his dissertation. Dr. Garner writes: “"How very religious I observe you all to be in everything;" With delicate tact, Paul chose opening words that could not possibly provoke hostility at the outset.
His words were "seasoned with salt," for the occasion, as "wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove," to this pious, astute, over religious council…”4
He first mentioned that among the many idols located there, there was one that indicated that if they had missed any god, they had an idol to the
“unknown God.” Paul used this idol to lead into his message of salvation to these scholars. I would suppose that if we outlined Paul’s message, it would be like as follows:
1. First, he emphasizes the power of God. He related that it was God’s power that made the earth and all that is in it.
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2. Secondly, he states the fact that God is Omnipresent. He tells them that God is not far from anyone, 28 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. Paul shows his knowledge of secular literature by the last phrase of this verse. This would result in his listeners paying more attention to what he had to say.
3. Thirdly, he tells them that there is coming a day of judgment in which all must give an account. In this, he relates how God calls all men to repent. He told of the resurrection of Jesus and how that He died but rose again.
Some, when he talked about the resurrection, were very skeptical about it but others accepted the truth and wanted to learn more. Two individuals are mentioned which means that they were probably important people in Athens. Some wanted to hear Paul more and some followed after him.
Because of the amount of idolatry in Athens, there were not many that were saved.
Dr. Garner again relates this: “"And others in colleague with, in close harmony of faith with them," others who had believed in Jesus Christ and
"clave to" Paul's teachings of Jesus Christ. Ancient tradition says that Dionysius, the converted judge, became leader of the little flock (church) Paul left in Athens, though no scripture certifies it. However, since Paul taught glory was to be given to God in the church, by Christ Jesus, Ephesians 3:21, it is reasonable, necessary inference that he did leave a church when he left there.”5
Conclusion
When we enter Acts chapter 18, we enter into another phase of Paul’s Second Missionary Journey.
1 https://www.landlifetravel.com/areopagus-hill/
2 https://www.gotquestions.org/Epicureanism-Epicurean.html
3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism
4 Dr. Albert Garner, Power Bible CD, his comments on Acts 17:22
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5 IBID, his comments on verse 34
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