Reading: The Greek Pantheon

Acts 17:22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

As Paul made his way around Athens he became more and more convinced that he was among a people who were very religious.  It was not difficult to discover what it was that made him think that.  This is a photo of one the Athens University buildings that was constructed in the 1800’s in the “classical style.”  Part of what that means is that it includes a pediment (the triangular area above the columns) where a depiction of the Greek pantheon is to be found.  The twelve gods of the pantheon are arrayed in various poses to depict their place in the scheme of things.  The depictions of these gods were found in a great many places around Athens as Paul made his way around the city as a tourist.  The most important of the gods would be found in the center and the lesser ones would spread out from the center to either end.

Paul, as he makes his way around the city and observes all the idols, cannot keep his mouth shut.  He soon begins to interact with the people he finds in the marketplace as he tells them that he has news for them about the God whose altar he found.  It was inscribed to an unknown God.  Paul soon runs into the guys who spent a great deal of their time in Athens thinking about philosophy and religion.  The professional thinkers in this regard became members of what is known as the Areopagus.  This was not only a hill on which they held their meetings; more importantly, it was the court of appeals for faith and philosophy.  Here the official members of the Areopagus would listen to presentations from visiting professors of philosophy and make judgments regarding whether these ideas might continue to be taught on the hallowed ground of the ancient city known for wisdom, i.e. Athens.  For, we are told, all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived in Athens spent all their time doing nothing except listening to the latest ideas.  It was, indeed, the forerunner of the modern university!

So Paul seizes on the opportunity to announce the good news of Jesus to these men who sat in judgment on the latest ideas.  To Paul this was much more than an idea.  It was a faith that touched one’s very life in all its aspects.  To the Athenians, this was another in a series of new ideas to be intellectually debated and verified or rejected.  So Paul has his work cut out for him.  While they are very religious, the listeners do not think their faith has any holes in it.  Except for that one God they did not know.  But they already had twelve and the pediments of all their public buildings depicted these gods for them.  What could Paul have to say that would interest them?  Just this:  the God you don’t know is seeking you out and he is not a God made of stone.  He is present in Jesus Christ. He is calling you to repent of service to those gods of stone.  Now, that was news!