Areopagus sermon
The Areopagus sermon refers to a sermon delivered by
History
Paul had encountered conflict as a result of his preaching in
- his soul was troubled and his heart was grieved, …he was exasperated and provoked to the last degree: he was in a paroxysm; his heart was hot within him; he had a burning fire in his bones, and was weary with forbearing, and could not stay; his zeal wanted vent, and he gave it.[4]
So Paul went to the synagogue and the Agora (Greek: ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ, "in the marketplace") on a number of occasions ('daily'),[5] to preach about the Resurrection of Jesus.
Some Greeks then took him to a meeting at the Areopagus, the high court in Athens, to explain himself. The Areopagus literally meant the rock of Ares in the city and was a center of temples, cultural facilities, and a high court. It is conjectured by Robert Paul Seesengood that it may have been illegal to preach a foreign deity in Athens, which would have thereby made Paul's sermon a combination of a "guest lecture" and a trial.[6]
The sermon addresses five main issues:[3]
- Introduction: Discussion of the ignorance of pagan worship (verses 23–24)
- The one Creator God being the object of worship (25–26)
- God's relationship to humanity (26–27)
- Idols of gold, silver and stone as objects of false worship (28–29)
- Conclusion: Time to end the ignorance (30–31)
This sermon illustrates the beginnings of the attempts to explain the nature of Christ and an early step on the path that led to the development of Christology.[1]
Paul begins his address by emphasizing the need to know God, rather than worshiping the unknown:
"As I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship — and this is what I am going to proclaim to you."
In his sermon, Paul quotes from certain Greek philosophers and poets, namely in verse 17:28. He alludes to passages from Epimenides[7] and from either Aratus or Cleanthes.
Paul then explained concepts such as the
After the sermon a number of people became followers of Paul. These included a woman named
In the 20th century, Pope John Paul II likened the modern media to the New Areopagus, where Christian ideas needed to be explained and defended anew, against disbelief and the idols of gold and silver.[8]
See also
- Christology
- Evangelisation
- Open-air preaching
- Unknown God
- Agnosticism
References
- ^ ISBN 1-4051-0901-7.
- ISBN 978-0-80103604-0.
- ^ ISBN 0-86554-864-1.
- ^ Gill, John. "Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible". Bible hub. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- ^ Acts 17:17
- ISBN 1-4051-7890-6page 120
- ^ Harris, J. Rendel. "A Further Note on the Cretans", Expositor Apr. 1907, 332–337. Quote:
- J. Rendel Harris' hypothetical Greek text:
Τύμβον ἐτεκτήναντο σέθεν, κύδιστε μέγιστε,
Κρῆτες, ἀεὶ ψευδεῖς, κακὰ θηρία, γαστέρες ἀργαί.
Ἀλλὰ σὺ γ᾽ οὐ θνῇσκεις, ἕστηκας γὰρ ζοὸς αίεί,
Ἐν γὰρ σοὶ ζῶμεν καὶ κινύμεθ᾽ ἠδὲ καὶ ἐσμέν.
- Translation:
They fashioned a tomb for you, holy and high one,
Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies.
But you are not dead: you live and abide forever,
For in you we live and move and have our being.
- ISBN 0-8264-1749-3.