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Acts 17:22-34

Paul Addresses the Areopagus

22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, To the unknown god. What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, [1]25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,27 that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,28 for

In him we live and move and have our being; [2]

as even some of your own poets have said,

For we are indeed his offspring. [3]

29 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, We will hear you again about this.33 So Paul went out from their midst.34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.


Footnotes

[1] Greek made by hands
[2] Probably from Epimenides of Crete
[3] From Aratus's poem “Phainomena”

TOPIC OVERVIEW: "Mapping the Terrain—The Glorious Church"
Biblical Reference / Church / The Glorious Church
(1 Corinthians 5:12-13) -- "The Archimedean Point"
Biblical Reference / Church / The Church in Decline
(Acts 17:28) -- "Cultural Diplomacy"
Biblical Reference / Church / The Pastor, Culture & Public Duty
(2 Corinthians 10:3-5) -- "Capturing Every Thought for Christ"
Biblical Reference / Church / The Pastor, Culture & Public Duty
(Colossians 2:8-9) -- "The Christian and Philosophy"
Biblical Reference / Church / World Religions & Worldviews
(Acts 17:22-25, 29-30) -- "Better All the Time?"
Biblical Reference / Corruption / Idolatry
(Acts 17:24-25, 29) -- "Blind Faith"
Biblical Reference / Corruption / Idolatry
(Acts 17:25-26, 29) -- "Her God or the God?"
Biblical Reference / Corruption / Idolatry
(Acts 17:25-27) -- "One Creator, One Ancestor, One Goal"
Biblical Reference / Corruption / Prejudice
(Acts 17:23-26) -- "Evangelism and the Doctrine of Creation"
Biblical Reference / Education / Evolution & Intelligent Design
(Proverbs 1:7a) -- "The Bible's Radical Claim about Knowledge"
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"Clement of Alexandria on 'Mars Hill'" -- [200]
Historical Precedents / Church / The Church's Prophetic Voice
"Clement of Alexandria on 'Mars Hill'" -- [200]
Historical Precedents / Church / World Religions & Worldviews
"Why Rome Lasted as Long as It Did: Augustine of Hippo (354 - 430)"
Historical Precedents / Virtue / Justice
"We Genuinely Repent" -- Southern Baptist Convention (1995)
Quotations & Writings / Virtue / Repentance
"Where Are the Influential Preachers?"
Current Trends / Church / The Church in Decline
"Where Are the Influential Preachers?"
Current Trends / Church / The Pastor, Culture & Public Duty
"Bridging the Gap"
Insight