Acts 17

In our final bit of Hellenistic lit, we've looked at Acts 17. Please note the references to the Epicureans and Stoics as well as allusions to two Greek writers:

1) Aratus, The Phaenomena, about the stars/astrology, in which he gives an opening invocation to Zeus, saying "for we are indeed his offspring."

2) Epimenides, Cretica, a poem in which the speaker addresses Zeus:

They fashioned a tomb for thee, O holy and high one—
The Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies!
But thou art not dead: thou livest and abidest forever,
For in thee we live and move and have our being.

One final concept to note in this passage -- Paul uses rational logic to make his point. Here's a summary of his argument, after the philosophers ask him to explain his strange stories about the resurrected Jesus:

1) We both worship a deity

(PROOF= your idols, temples, and altar to an unknown god)

2) My deity, unlike yours, does not live in a temple or need your petty sacrifices

3) My deity, like yours, determines our fates

4) My deity, like yours, created "offspring" and "lives and moves" in us

(PROOF= two Greek poets who worshiped Zeus)

5) Therefore, if Point #4 is true, then the real deity could not be a statue in a temple

6) Therefore, my concept of a deity is much stronger, and you should listen up because He is no longer putting up with nonsense and will one day come to judge us all

Wasn't Paul an amazing evangelist? He was well-read, logical, sympathetic, observant, and bold. I hope you will study and remember this passage!