“For in him we live and move and have our being.” As some of your own poets have said, “We are his offspring.”

Acts 17:28 (NIV)

The most important characteristic of any nation is what it thinks of God. The theological foundations of any people will, in the end, determine their policies and practices in every area of national life. Culture is but the expression of what a nation really believes and who they really are.

Paul understood the principles of cultural engagement and diplomacy when he addressed the Athenian luminaries who dealt with civic affairs on Mars Hill. He had been brought there by Epicureans and Stoics. The former group said that men were just collections of atoms and that the best life was built around pain avoidance and the pursuit of quiet pleasures. The latter group urged men to be realistic and to keep a “stiff upper lip” in the face of life’s trials. Both schools emphasized man’s ability to sort things out for himself, but they both made room for the existence of gods.

Paul boldly used Epimenides’ words which would shake their most cherished philosophies to the core. The true and living God ruled the world not as an impersonal force separate from his creation. On the contrary, as Creator, every person was subject to His rule where they “lived” by His decree and will; “moved” under the guidance of His providence; and “had their being” in the very image of God.

Paul traced a connecting thread from poems about Zeus to biblical truth about Yahweh. The knowledge of their culture was so familiar to Paul that he likely quoted Aratus, a Stoic, who in his book, Phenomena, spoke of the heathen god, Zeus. Here it was this phrase appeared—“we are his offspring.” Paul the preacher was Paul the scholar. He turned the pagan thinking of his day on its head by exposing the errors of Aratus. By Aratus’ understanding, all people were subjects of a distant indifferent idol. Paul refuted Aratus and commended the true God to their consciences.

Paul was no stranger to cross-cultural studies. From Tarsus to Jerusalem to Damascus to Antioch, from Pharisee to Apostle, from the Middle East to Europe, he had sought to impact his world for God. His eyes and ears were ever alert to each new setting. It is not at all surprising that he began his address on Mars Hill with the words, “ . . . as I walked around and observed your objects of worship . . .” (v. 23).

Some Christians have made separation from the world a central tenet of their faith, and there is a point to their caution. The culture can be treacherously seductive. One can be over engaged or under engaged with the world. Paul maintained a cultural fluency through close observation while guarding his heart from society’s sub-Christian allure.

article adapted from Kairos Journal

First Baptist Church of Perryville is located on Rt.40, east of Rt. 222.