
“But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed. Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, ‘What does this babbler wish to say?’ Others said, ‘He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities’—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, ‘May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.’ Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new” (Acts 17:13-21)
Luke recorded Paul’s journey from Thessalonica to Athens in the above cited passage
from Acts 17. As usual, he went first to the synagogue, but then he went into the Agora,

the market place of Athens and center of social activity. I have prowled through the Agora, a thoroughly fascinating place, and found monuments indicating the location of shrines to various deities. It was there that Paul found philosophers willing to discuss with him. There were Epicureans who believed that the chief end of man was pleasure, pleasure to be derived from avoiding anything that would induce pain. This approach is similar to Buddhism. Epicurus, founder of the philosophy, suggested that the path to pleasure and avoiding pain would be to spend time growing vegetables in one’s own garden.
Stoicism, known as the philosophy of the porch (stoa), was founded by the philosopher Zeno. Like Epicureanism, Stoicism sought to avoid pain but by doing one’s duty and applying oneself to reason. Focused on regulated mental and physical activity, people would have no time for passion and the vicissitudes resulting from them, and thus would have a pain-free existence.
Paul would find much to debate with both of these rivalling philosophies, and evidently the Epicurean and Stoics talking with Paul were so fascinated with his ideas, especially this new god who rose from the dead, that they invited him to join them at the Council of the Areopagus, which at one time ruled Athens but had under the democracy become a forum for discussing and debating philosophical ideas. Paul agreed to their proposal and accompanied them to the Areopagus, and he had much to tell these council members. These thoughts rumbled through my mind as I wandered through this fascinating central square of old Athens.
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