Paul preached his most famous sermon in Athens, to a leading group of philosophers and thinkers. The group spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.

Paul knew the scriptures up and down. He usually preached to Jewish listeners and Gentile converts to Judaism. To these audiences Paul reasoned from the scriptures, their trusted texts. Notice the Bereans, who examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

But not the Athenians. They worshipped a host of other gods and followed a variety of pagan philosophies. The religion of the Jews didn’t amount to much in their minds, so Paul set his normal scriptural arguments aside.

Paul quoted Epimenides and Aratus, two philosophers recognized in Athens. Their writings helped him bridge between the emerging faith in Jesus and the tired worship habits of the Greeks. It worked – although some scoffed, others became followers of Paul and believed.

I’m curious – how Paul came across the writings of these philosophers? Texts in that day were limited (plus no free shipping). Paul worked to read and understand the thinkers of the world around him. It took effort to even get a look at the writings of others, let alone think through their philosophies and understand their ideas.

Paul masterfully demonstrated the wisdom of reading broadly. Through his consideration of their view of the world, Paul helped these Greeks understand that they were closer to the true God than they realized. People responded gratefully. I benefit from the same practice.

And that’s all excuse I need to buy a book today.

Acts 17 in week eighteen of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Kyle Glenn