Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.
while Paul was waiting for them at Athens - "The apostle was now alone in Athens, the most celebrated city of Greece (then called Achaia) and the cultural capitol of the world ... He remained alone at Athens for some time longer, for though he had sent word to Silas and Timothy to 'come to him with all speed' (Vers 15) when Timothy did come to Athens, bearing news of the sufferings of the Thessalonian believers, Paul could not bear to keep him but again 'thought it good to be left at Athens alone' and sent him back to establish and encourage them in the faith (1 Thes 3:1-5). Considering the distance between the Macedonia churches and Athens, Paul must have spend a considerable period of time at Athens and mostly alone, except as converts were won. Thus did he sacrifice himself for the good of those he had been forced to leave. Finally Timothy, with Silas, rejoined Paul at Corinth (Acts 18:5) bearing good news from Macedonia (1 Thes 3:6-7)." (Stam)
his spirit was provoked within him - "The apostle wa not filled with wonder at the beauty of Athens' art and architecture, at her subtle and refined philosophies, at her union of religions. He saw all this in the light of truth and reality. He was rather agitated and upset at the spectacle of men bowing down, not merely to that which their own hands had made, but to the spiritual forces of evil that induced them to 'worship and serve the creature more than the Creator' (Rom 1:25 cf. Dan 10:21; Eph 2:2; 6:12) And he was appalled at the sin that accompanied these heathen religions (Rom 1:26-32). with all their vaunted wisdom, the Athenians could not even settle on a god! One worshipped this 'deity' and another that. Most worshipped different gods on different occasions. So great was the confusion that Pliny says that in Nero's time Athens contained over 3,000 public idols in addition to countless idols possessed by individuals. On every hand there were statues to gos and demi-gods. Practically every 'deity' was represented including those 'unknown.' Petronius (Sat. XVII) says humorously that it was easier to find a god than a man in Athens, and our Scripture states that the city was 'crowded with idols.'" (Stam)
he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons - "If we may go by Paul's procedure in other synagogues, he doubtless reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, proving that Jesus was the promised Christ and offering them salvation through His finished work—something Peter had not done at Pentecost (Acts 13:38-39 cf. Acts 2:38)." (Stam)
marketplace - "The 'agora'. The Athenian agora was crowded with works of art and beautifully painted porticoes in which philosophers lectured to their pupils, as well as with temples and the usual adjuncts of a forum." (Walker)
Epicurean and Stoic philosophers - "Philosopher - followers of Epicurus (341-270 B.C.), who believed that happiness was the chief end of life. The Stoic philosophers, who regard Zeno (340-265 B.C.) as their founder and whose name came from Stoa Poikile (Painted Porch) where he taught in Athens, emphasized the rational over the emotional. They were pantheistic. Their ethics were characterized by moral earnestness and a high sense of duty, advocating conduct 'according to nature.'" (Ryrie)
"Epicurus was born in Samos 342 B.C., and settled in Athens thirty-five years later as a teacher of philosophy. He taught that pleasure is the chief end of man, pleasure, i.e. not in the sense of the gratification of each desire as it arises, but in the sens of securing the greatest possibly amount of happiness in life when all the interests concerned have been taken into account. He regarded the gods as living a life of calm felicity, far removed from earthly turmoil and dissociated from all interference with mundane things. He gathered his disciples together in a famous garden for instruction. The Epicureans did not believe in the immortality of the soul; to them man's existence ceases with death. They were the materialists and utilitarians of Greek philosophy." (Walker)
"The other great philosophy then prevalent in Athens [Stoic]. The Stoics were followers of Zeno, a native of Cyprus, who flourished about 278 B.C. They were so called because he taught in a painted 'Stoa' (portico). The practice of virtue for its own sake was his favourite doctrine, and the great end of existence was considered to be the attainment of a state of mind which is not disturbed by either good or evil, pleasure or pain. He taught the need of mortifying the senses to this end. The Stoics, unlike the Epicureans, were strong believers in a spiritual universe, but were practically pantheists, holding the all-pervasiveness of the divine essence and the final absorption of human spirits into the divine. Their system was also strongly tinged with fatalism. It will be seen, therefore, that their tenets bore a strong resemblance to those of Hindu philosophy, especially to the doctrines of the Vedanta school. In fact, Stoicism was really oriental in origin and represented the contact of eastern influences and doctrines with the world of western classic thought. Zeno himself appears to have sprung from an Asiatic stock. Tarsus, St. Paul's birthplace, was a famous centre of Stoic teaching." (Walker)
"Secular history indicates that the Epicureans held forth in what was known as 'the Garden,' while the Stoics met in 'the Porch,' from whence their name was derived." (Stam)
"The Epicureans were followers of Epicurus who had flourished at Athens more than three centuries before. They were virtually atheists, in that they taught that whatever god or gods there were, were too far removed from man to be concerned about his sins or sorrows. They believed in neither creation, nor the continued existence of the soul after death, nor resurrection nor judgment. There was nothing to disturb or alarm. It follows naturally that the Epicureans held that the enjoyment of pleasure was man's 'chief end' and 'highest good' in life. Hence some—evidently most—gamve themselves over to lives of gross sensuality and vice. Their philosophy gave them free license to do so. Others, like Epicurus himself, indulged in more refined pleasures, yet all gave themselves to self-gratification. If sensual excesses were to be avoided it was only because they did not ultimately lead to the greatest pleasure. The Stoics were the disciple of Zeno, a contemporary of Epicurus, whose philosophy was however, almost exactly the opposite. They were pantheists and fatalists, and taught that virtue was man's 'chief end' and 'highest good.' They believed in the suppression of all natural feeling and strove to accept fate with calm composure, indifferent alike to pain and pleasure, that they might become the masters rather than the slaves of circumstances. With respect to their morals it might appear on the surface that they approximated Christianity, but in fact they were as far from it as were the Epicureans. Their teachings did not rest upon revealed truth. They were but a natural reaction to the excesses of Epicureanism ... It was but man's attempt to make the most of himself. It produced a kind of phariseeism which looked down with scorn upon any who either wept or rejoiced. It knew nothing of the loving sympathy taught in the Scriptural exhortation: 'Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep' (Rom 12:15). What was more, its self-discipline was often affected rather than real and like the Pharisees they were hypocrites, simply unwilling to acknowledge their sin and their need of a Savior." (Stam)
Jesus and the resurrection - Since the word 'resurrection' is feminine in Greek, they possibly regarded it as the name of a goddess, especially as they were wont themselves to erect statues to Piety, Modesty, and other personified and deified attributes. If so, Paul seemed to them to be preaching about two alien deities, the one 'Jesus' and the other 'Resurrection'. It is clear, at any rate, that the apostle taught in Athens the great facts about the Saviour, His death and resurrection." (Walker)
Areopagus - "The venerable council that had charge of religious and educational matters in Athens in Paul's time. It possibly met on the Hill of Ares W of the Acropolis, the hill also being known as the Areopagus, though some think it met in a building in the agora (marketplace)." (Ryrie)
"Standing near the agora, and a little west of the famous Acropolis, was a hill called 'Mars' Hill' (the literal translation of 'Areopagus'), so named from the legend of the trial of the god Mars supposed to have taken place there. Its brow was crowned with a temple erected to that deity. It was approached by a flight of sixteen steps. It has been generally supposed that the Athenian philosophers led St. Paul to this hill as a quiet spot, in order to give him a special hearing. An objection to this view lies in the fact that it was not a convenient place for the gathering of any very considerable audience. The name 'Areopagus', moreover, belonged not to the hill only but to a famous council which was wont to meet there, the members sitting in the open air on stone benches cut out of the solid rock. They were all, at least originally, men who had filled important magisterial offices, being upwards of sixty years of age. Their decisions, alike in matters of state and questions of religion, were regarded with superstitious reverence. Even under the Romans, they retained a good deal of authority and constituted the most august body in the whole of Attica. From the time of Chrysostom at least, it has been suggested that St. Paul was dragged before this court to stand a sort of trial. While the context does not favour formal judicial proceedings, we may perhaps understand that, as Ramsay suggests, he wa required, as a strange lecturer, to give an account of his doctrine before the court and pads a test as to its character. Readers in South India will recall the once famous 'tamil Sangam' of Madura, whose imprimatur was considered necessary for any tamil author or literary work. St. Paul, so far from acting on the defensive before the famous council, seized the opportunity for setting forth the facts of Christianity before the most learned and aristocratic company of 'Sastris' which the western world contained." (Walker)
strange things ['strange god's in AV] - "Lit. 'demons.' The word occurs 60 times in the New Testament and is always translated devils except here. It is significant in this connection that demons were behind their idol worship, and that angel spirits are called gods in Scripture because, like the rulers of this world, they are supposed to represent God (Psa 82:1,6; 86:8; 95:3; 96:4-5; 97:7,9, etc)." (Stam)
while Paul was waiting for them at Athens - "The apostle was now alone in Athens, the most celebrated city of Greece (then called Achaia) and the cultural capitol of the world ... He remained alone at Athens for some time longer, for though he had sent word to Silas and Timothy to 'come to him with all speed' (Vers 15) when Timothy did come to Athens, bearing news of the sufferings of the Thessalonian believers, Paul could not bear to keep him but again 'thought it good to be left at Athens alone' and sent him back to establish and encourage them in the faith (1 Thes 3:1-5). Considering the distance between the Macedonia churches and Athens, Paul must have spend a considerable period of time at Athens and mostly alone, except as converts were won. Thus did he sacrifice himself for the good of those he had been forced to leave. Finally Timothy, with Silas, rejoined Paul at Corinth (Acts 18:5) bearing good news from Macedonia (1 Thes 3:6-7)." (Stam)
his spirit was provoked within him - "The apostle wa not filled with wonder at the beauty of Athens' art and architecture, at her subtle and refined philosophies, at her union of religions. He saw all this in the light of truth and reality. He was rather agitated and upset at the spectacle of men bowing down, not merely to that which their own hands had made, but to the spiritual forces of evil that induced them to 'worship and serve the creature more than the Creator' (Rom 1:25 cf. Dan 10:21; Eph 2:2; 6:12) And he was appalled at the sin that accompanied these heathen religions (Rom 1:26-32). with all their vaunted wisdom, the Athenians could not even settle on a god! One worshipped this 'deity' and another that. Most worshipped different gods on different occasions. So great was the confusion that Pliny says that in Nero's time Athens contained over 3,000 public idols in addition to countless idols possessed by individuals. On every hand there were statues to gos and demi-gods. Practically every 'deity' was represented including those 'unknown.' Petronius (Sat. XVII) says humorously that it was easier to find a god than a man in Athens, and our Scripture states that the city was 'crowded with idols.'" (Stam)
he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons - "If we may go by Paul's procedure in other synagogues, he doubtless reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, proving that Jesus was the promised Christ and offering them salvation through His finished work—something Peter had not done at Pentecost (Acts 13:38-39 cf. Acts 2:38)." (Stam)
marketplace - "The 'agora'. The Athenian agora was crowded with works of art and beautifully painted porticoes in which philosophers lectured to their pupils, as well as with temples and the usual adjuncts of a forum." (Walker)
Epicurean and Stoic philosophers - "Philosopher - followers of Epicurus (341-270 B.C.), who believed that happiness was the chief end of life. The Stoic philosophers, who regard Zeno (340-265 B.C.) as their founder and whose name came from Stoa Poikile (Painted Porch) where he taught in Athens, emphasized the rational over the emotional. They were pantheistic. Their ethics were characterized by moral earnestness and a high sense of duty, advocating conduct 'according to nature.'" (Ryrie)
"Epicurus was born in Samos 342 B.C., and settled in Athens thirty-five years later as a teacher of philosophy. He taught that pleasure is the chief end of man, pleasure, i.e. not in the sense of the gratification of each desire as it arises, but in the sens of securing the greatest possibly amount of happiness in life when all the interests concerned have been taken into account. He regarded the gods as living a life of calm felicity, far removed from earthly turmoil and dissociated from all interference with mundane things. He gathered his disciples together in a famous garden for instruction. The Epicureans did not believe in the immortality of the soul; to them man's existence ceases with death. They were the materialists and utilitarians of Greek philosophy." (Walker)
"The other great philosophy then prevalent in Athens [Stoic]. The Stoics were followers of Zeno, a native of Cyprus, who flourished about 278 B.C. They were so called because he taught in a painted 'Stoa' (portico). The practice of virtue for its own sake was his favourite doctrine, and the great end of existence was considered to be the attainment of a state of mind which is not disturbed by either good or evil, pleasure or pain. He taught the need of mortifying the senses to this end. The Stoics, unlike the Epicureans, were strong believers in a spiritual universe, but were practically pantheists, holding the all-pervasiveness of the divine essence and the final absorption of human spirits into the divine. Their system was also strongly tinged with fatalism. It will be seen, therefore, that their tenets bore a strong resemblance to those of Hindu philosophy, especially to the doctrines of the Vedanta school. In fact, Stoicism was really oriental in origin and represented the contact of eastern influences and doctrines with the world of western classic thought. Zeno himself appears to have sprung from an Asiatic stock. Tarsus, St. Paul's birthplace, was a famous centre of Stoic teaching." (Walker)
"Secular history indicates that the Epicureans held forth in what was known as 'the Garden,' while the Stoics met in 'the Porch,' from whence their name was derived." (Stam)
"The Epicureans were followers of Epicurus who had flourished at Athens more than three centuries before. They were virtually atheists, in that they taught that whatever god or gods there were, were too far removed from man to be concerned about his sins or sorrows. They believed in neither creation, nor the continued existence of the soul after death, nor resurrection nor judgment. There was nothing to disturb or alarm. It follows naturally that the Epicureans held that the enjoyment of pleasure was man's 'chief end' and 'highest good' in life. Hence some—evidently most—gamve themselves over to lives of gross sensuality and vice. Their philosophy gave them free license to do so. Others, like Epicurus himself, indulged in more refined pleasures, yet all gave themselves to self-gratification. If sensual excesses were to be avoided it was only because they did not ultimately lead to the greatest pleasure. The Stoics were the disciple of Zeno, a contemporary of Epicurus, whose philosophy was however, almost exactly the opposite. They were pantheists and fatalists, and taught that virtue was man's 'chief end' and 'highest good.' They believed in the suppression of all natural feeling and strove to accept fate with calm composure, indifferent alike to pain and pleasure, that they might become the masters rather than the slaves of circumstances. With respect to their morals it might appear on the surface that they approximated Christianity, but in fact they were as far from it as were the Epicureans. Their teachings did not rest upon revealed truth. They were but a natural reaction to the excesses of Epicureanism ... It was but man's attempt to make the most of himself. It produced a kind of phariseeism which looked down with scorn upon any who either wept or rejoiced. It knew nothing of the loving sympathy taught in the Scriptural exhortation: 'Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep' (Rom 12:15). What was more, its self-discipline was often affected rather than real and like the Pharisees they were hypocrites, simply unwilling to acknowledge their sin and their need of a Savior." (Stam)
Jesus and the resurrection - Since the word 'resurrection' is feminine in Greek, they possibly regarded it as the name of a goddess, especially as they were wont themselves to erect statues to Piety, Modesty, and other personified and deified attributes. If so, Paul seemed to them to be preaching about two alien deities, the one 'Jesus' and the other 'Resurrection'. It is clear, at any rate, that the apostle taught in Athens the great facts about the Saviour, His death and resurrection." (Walker)
Areopagus - "The venerable council that had charge of religious and educational matters in Athens in Paul's time. It possibly met on the Hill of Ares W of the Acropolis, the hill also being known as the Areopagus, though some think it met in a building in the agora (marketplace)." (Ryrie)
"Standing near the agora, and a little west of the famous Acropolis, was a hill called 'Mars' Hill' (the literal translation of 'Areopagus'), so named from the legend of the trial of the god Mars supposed to have taken place there. Its brow was crowned with a temple erected to that deity. It was approached by a flight of sixteen steps. It has been generally supposed that the Athenian philosophers led St. Paul to this hill as a quiet spot, in order to give him a special hearing. An objection to this view lies in the fact that it was not a convenient place for the gathering of any very considerable audience. The name 'Areopagus', moreover, belonged not to the hill only but to a famous council which was wont to meet there, the members sitting in the open air on stone benches cut out of the solid rock. They were all, at least originally, men who had filled important magisterial offices, being upwards of sixty years of age. Their decisions, alike in matters of state and questions of religion, were regarded with superstitious reverence. Even under the Romans, they retained a good deal of authority and constituted the most august body in the whole of Attica. From the time of Chrysostom at least, it has been suggested that St. Paul was dragged before this court to stand a sort of trial. While the context does not favour formal judicial proceedings, we may perhaps understand that, as Ramsay suggests, he wa required, as a strange lecturer, to give an account of his doctrine before the court and pads a test as to its character. Readers in South India will recall the once famous 'tamil Sangam' of Madura, whose imprimatur was considered necessary for any tamil author or literary work. St. Paul, so far from acting on the defensive before the famous council, seized the opportunity for setting forth the facts of Christianity before the most learned and aristocratic company of 'Sastris' which the western world contained." (Walker)
strange things ['strange god's in AV] - "Lit. 'demons.' The word occurs 60 times in the New Testament and is always translated devils except here. It is significant in this connection that demons were behind their idol worship, and that angel spirits are called gods in Scripture because, like the rulers of this world, they are supposed to represent God (Psa 82:1,6; 86:8; 95:3; 96:4-5; 97:7,9, etc)." (Stam)
No comments:
Post a Comment