[225 words]
Paul, upon entering Athens in Acts 17:16-34, found a deeply religious city. It was full of idols (v. 16). There was a Jewish synagogue (v. 17), and there were the religious philosophies of the Epicureans and Stoics (v. 18). There were so many different religious ideas that the Athenians even had an altar “to the unknown god” (v. 23). This religious plurality and division upset Paul (v. 16), but instead of staying upset, Paul began where the people were and used the altar “to the unknown god” (v. 23) to teach them, saying, “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.” Paul pointed them to the One and Only Living, Almighty God, who created the heavens and earth (vv. 24-31).
Our world today is not much different than what Paul found in Athens in Acts 17. We, too, live in a deeply religious world. Some of the religious group names have changed, and there are many more religious groups than in Paul’s day, but the same problem exists. Paul’s solution to the religious division is our solution: to learn about “the God who made the world and everything in it” (v. 24). Before there can ever be any type of religious unity in our world today, we must first get to know the true and living God (1 Cor. 8:6).
Mark T. Tonkery
Bates Hill church of Christ
Zanesville, OH