Notes

Intellectuals are some of the most difficult people to convince. Paul went to Thessalonica to convert the epicureans. The Stoics were founded by Xeno: Pursuit of virtue primary good. pantheistic materialists. World soul-type belief. These people in Athens loved to debate the common good. Intellectuals are a hard culture to reach. Bible writes they loved to sit and talk about latest ideas. Paul said, "you are very religious!" Affirms desire to know God, for their serious desire to obtain wisdom (not by theory or patronization but by the reality, their vigorous and true philosophy). Paul saw their objects of worship. "To an unkown god" is one of the descriptions! Paul then proceeds to speak of that unkown god. Our Lord does not live in a temple served by human hands; His Holiness is without necessity. In our Lord we live, move, breath. The divine being is not like gold or stone, not made in God's mind. God has overlooked this before! However, the ressurection of the dead marks a new era (in which God does not overlook that?) Paul begins with what Athenians DO know. He gives a great cosmic summary of human history in relation to our Lord. When we witness we ought to ask, who am I sharing Christ with?. What do they know? Who are they? You can ask questions: "Do you ever go to church?" We must use some reasoning with others. Scripture helps us know how to do that. The divine law helps us to understand how to reason (perhaps in a certain ironic way). For instance, look at the difference between animals and humans, you may offer to an evolutionist.

Just because only a few people converted with Paul does not make Paul a failure. Paul did what his duty to God required. We cannot harness results but only give our own effort, our own best effort.