The Modern Areopagus – Learning a Theological Approach from Paul in Athens

Acts 17 records Paul in Athens alone, following time spent with Silas in Thessalonica and joined by Timothy in Berea. Paul had preached the gospel in the synagogues of these cities for multiple Sabbaths, with recorded conversions in both locations, and the converts included Jews, devout Greeks, and what the author describes as leading women in both cities. Jealousy incited leading Jews in Thessalonica to drive out Paul and Silas from their city, and later, when these same Jewish leaders heard Paul and Silas had gone to Berea, they went and stirred up trouble in Berea as well. Due to this opposition, we see Paul depart from Berea, leaving Silas and Timothy there, and continue to Athens. By looking at Paul’s approach here in Acts 17 with the Athenians, we observe that his methodology is one that theologians can use in the twenty-first century. Though first-century Athenians were concerned with spiritual matters, and their Parthenon and Acropolis reflect the gods and goddesses worshipped, believing in one deity was abnormal and not assumed. Current work in the field shows interest in understanding the Greco-Roman beliefs as Nijay Gupta’s Strange Religions or Sandra Glahn’s Nobody’s Mother so aptly reveal. Even so today, belief in one God or any gods is not assumed in the secular culture of the West, though the contemporary cultural deification of those who mimic the vices, prowess, and beauty of those from the ancient pantheons is unrefuted. The twenty-first century has its share of epicureans, stoics, philosophers, critics, and debaters, yet the gospel strikes to the heart of truth amid the tumultuous chaos. Observing Paul in Athens at the Areopagus encourages theologians in the contemporary age to converse and witness to the purity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.