foolish wisdom

Acts 17:16–34

After Paul left Berea, he traveled to Athens, then the center of world culture. They saw God as some sort of spirit power instead of the literal Father of our spirits. This replaced the worshiped of God himself with worship of His creations. They did not believe in revelation but relied on reason and debate. Because they put aside the things of God, their wisdom was foolishness.

Athenian philosophers “spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.” We see this tendency today with all the self-help books and advise to find yourself. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not new but eternal. When we put it aside and always seek “some new thing,” we put ourselves in danger of loosing our own dear testimony of the gospel.

Because of superstition, the Athenians made an alter to the 'unknown' god. Paul taught the Athenians that God in Heaven was the unknown God they worshiped, He made all people one blood, He made everything, and He is a living breathing being instead of stone. Paul's sincere testimony and witness of God, countered the philosophers’ reason and logic. Testimony more convincing than logic and reason, when preaching the gospel, because the philosophies of men cannot reach the spirit.

Because they loved to hear new and strange things, the philosophers listened to Paul.  Although they listened with their heads and reasonable minds, their ideas to seek out novel ideas did not allow them to understand the truth encountered in Paul’s message? Nevertheless, a few 'received the word with all readiness of mind,' 'clave unto him, and believed.' This is important on two levels. We cannot teach those with hard hearts, nor can we, ourselves, receive true doctrine if we don't first prepare ourselves to hear and understand the words of God.