Living in Modern Day Athens
Paul, on his second missionary trip, entered the beautiful cosmopolitan city of Athens for the first time. Paul would have no doubt been astounded by the beautiful architecture. On a high hill overlooking Athens was the acropolis, the government building, and next to it one of the most beautiful temples in the world, the Parthenon, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena [show pictures]. Yet among all this architectural beauty, the first thing Paul was struck by were the idols he saw everywhere. Construction was in process on the largest Temple in Athens, the Olympian, dedicated to the worship of Zeus. There were so many idols they created an idol to an unknown god just in case they missed one. The fact that Paul was disturbed by this is quite remarkable considering every city Paul had been in on his missionary journey had idols and temples for worshipping the Greek and Roman gods and goddess but this city took the award, and it disturbed Paul. He found himself in a culture which was very religious, yet didn’t know the one true living Creator God. In this city religious tolerance was the norm, they were all good, worship whichever god or goddess works for you, as long as you didn’t claim your god to be the superior to anyone else’s, or worse yet yours was the only god or religion (sound familiar?).
Athens was also a center of education, particularly of philosophical thought. People came from around the world to be educated in Athens. Before Paul, Athens had been the home of Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. The two main philosophical trends in Paul’s day were the Epicureans and Stoics. Epicureans basically believed the primary goal of life was seeking happiness, however by Paul’s time it had declined to seeking pleasure. While the Stoics on the other hand placed thinking above feeling and tried to live in harmony with nature and reason, suppressing their desire for pleasure (LASB).
What’s amazing to me as I think about Athens is how closely our American society is reflecting Athens. What do I mean by that? First, you need to understand our culture is changing whether we like it or not. Younger generations don’t think like their parents or grandparents generation. The term coined for this change is post-modernism. The modern culture most of us grew up with was based on certainty, clear morality - right and wrong, science was considered irrefutably true and unbiased, and it could explain everything, and it has a very positive view of humankind to solve all its own problems. But after two world wars, the cold war, the fall out of the sexual revolution of the sixties and its long term impact on the family, and global terrorism there has been a major shift in the thinking and priorities of a younger generation. Post-moderns no longer believe in certainty, or even that there is objective truth at all, neither science nor religion will be able to give us all the answers. Humanity isn’t all that great after all and there is a skepticism toward people and pessimism about the future (think global energy crisis, world pollution, global warming).
The reason I say it reflects Athens, at least in a religious and philosophical sense, is because in Athens, they were a very spiritual people (even Paul said that) and had a smorgasbord of religious and spiritual options and philosophical ideas, and these spiritual options were all seen as equal and valid, except by those which claim to be the only way, which were seen as narrow-minded or ignorant. In fact, Christians and Jews were called atheists by the Greeks because they only believed in one God.
Today younger generations tend to consider themselves very spiritual, unfortunately it isn’t organized religion they seek, like Christianity, but rather they seek religious experiences which they hope will bring them happiness and fill in the emptiness they are experiencing (Epicurean philosophy). They might try a little New Age, Eastern Meditation, Buddhism, Astrology, or all of them even mixed with a little Christian spirituality and see absolutely nothing wrong with it. It’s basically the attitude ’if it works, if it makes me happy, if it makes me feel good, then do it’. There is no longer the view that there is one absolute truth, one right religion, or even moral absolutes. For them it depends on the situation and whose perspective it is coming from. They can say things like, "that might be true for you, but I don’t see it that way." Everything is relative to the individual’s perspective. And they are very skeptical of anyone who makes absolute claims. In fact they just tend to tune them out. They no longer see in black and white, but shades of gray. So the purpose of life tends to be a pursuit of happiness, many times through whatever self-gratification they enjoy.
I realize for many of you this may paint a bleak picture of our young people, and it certainly doesn’t describe all young people, it is simply a way for us to understand the changes in worldview which are going on. It’s not the religious landscape you grew up in, and it can be overwhelming being increasingly surrounded by this foreign culture, especially knowing they are the future of our country and our churches. How do we reach out and share faith with a younger generation that thinks so differently?
First, I want to encourage you because we actually have an enormous opportunity in front of us. Like the people of Athens, young people today are very open to discussing spirituality. Paul had an open door to share Christ because the people loved to hear about other religions and ideas. The problem we have is not their unwillingness to talk about faith, it is ours. And because we don’t talk about it, then they think it must not be that important to us. They realize the world is messed up, families and relationships are broken are highest rates in our nations history, they realize there is something missing. That’s why they are turning to spirituality in droves, they just don’t realize God is the proper destination of their spiritual searching and yearning, and so they try different forms of spirituality to fill the God shaped void in their life. One of the hurdles we have to overcome however is their skepticism of Christianity because they don’t trust organized religion or see it as relevant to their lives. The title of a recent book by pastor and author Dan Kimball explains these young people the best, They like Jesus, but They Don’t Like the Church.
Engaging the Culture/Faith Sharing that Connects
Paul’s Approach to Faith Sharing in a Pluralistic Culture
1. Opening Ourselves to God’s Heart for Lost People (v. 16)
How do we share Jesus with this skeptical, spiritual yet pluralistic culture which will increasingly dominate our country? On the one hand we can’t stick our head in the sand and hope everything will turn out okay by doing nothing, and on the other hand we can’t do evangelism or faith sharing, as I like to call it, like it has been done in the past because it won’t connect with young people. [Story of brother-in-law Will at Myrtle Beach, "do you know where you will go if you were to die today", four spiritual laws]. I believe we’re going to need to engage the culture similar to what Paul did with the people of Athens.
But before we look at that, the first thing I want us to realize is that we need to open ourselves to God’s heart for lost people, those who are disconnected from God. When Paul arrived in Athens, he didn’t come to share Christ with the people, or at least not at that time. Maybe he needed a break after all the difficulties he had in his previous mission work. It says he was just there waiting for his fellow missionaries to show up so they could continue on their mission. Yet while he was there it says, "he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols." Do you know what happened with Paul? God gave him a burden for idol worshipping people. When Paul saw all these idols, he realized that they represented people who were trapped in religious bondage to false gods and idols rather than being in a personal relationship with the living God through Jesus Christ. Once God’s burden was on his heart he couldn’t just sit by and do nothing, he had to do something to make a difference in the lives of the people of that city. Even though he didn’t have the support of his fellow missionaries, because they hadn’t showed up yet, he went and forged ahead with an inner passion.
I begin with this because without God’s heart for lost people there won’t be any inner passion or fire to share faith. We won’t be like the shepherd who leaves the 99 sheep who are safely in the fold, to search unceasingly after the one lost sheep who wandered away. If we try do it without God’s heart we will do it out of a sense of guilt or obligation, "the pastor told us we need to be sharing our faith this week, so here it goes." When God gives us his heart for people we don’t just see the problems in our community, the "idols" which are worshipped, the families which are broken, we begin to really "see" the need behind them. Their real need is for a relationship with God, following his purposes and ways, and we will have to do something about it. Bill Hybels, pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, calls this a ’holy discontent.’
Do we see the people and the spiritual need behind the "idols" and have an inner drive to help bring them to Christ? I don’t know about you, but I know I could use more inner fire, I think we need to pray and ask God. [Pray]
2. Begin Where You Are; With People Whom You Share Common Interests, Heritage, Proximity, or Life Situations (V. 17)
With this God given burden, it can be overwhelming seeing the need around us, and we wonder where do we begin? The danger is doing nothing out of fear of where to begin. Or we get the paralysis of analysis. We analyze the problems...aim...aim...aim...and never fire. Paul faced a whole city where not one person knew Christ. Paul didn’t begin sharing Jesus by tackling the whole city of Athens at once. That would have been impossible. Paul began in the most natural place, with those he shared the most in common with, the God-fearing Jewish and Greek people. He was a Jew, and so he did what he had done in every previous city he had been to, he started at the Synagogue, reasoning with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles that Jesus truly was the Messiah. Since they already knew about God and the Bible, and were expecting the Christ, Paul only had to move them this much [fingers close together].
I realize most of us aren’t going to go half-way around the world, to a foreign city to share Jesus with someone, but we can be missionaries right where we are. God has already placed people in our life whom we share common heritage (family), proximity (that’s the people you live near or work with), common interests (exercise class, seniors). I know a couple of pastors who actually enjoy exercising (just kidding) and go to the exercise club and rub shoulders with unchurched people who share the same interest. Perhaps there are other young mothers, or retired couples, sports (coaching, community sports -- number one men’s outreach for Wesley Park was softball teams), . Or perhaps life situations, you are a young mother,
Imagine God has placed them near you because he hoped to use you to touch their lives. The key word here is intentional relationships with unchurched people. The problem we have is that we don’t connect who God has placed in our life with our responsibility to share faith with them. As Barb R. likes to say, to be Jesus with skin on, and if given the opportunity to share the hope we have in Jesus. Our tendency is to hang out with or do things we have in common only with those who are Christians.
Pray and ask God to reveal who he wants your life to touch.
3. Meet People Where They Are At
The next thing we see Paul do is meet the people where they were at. Notice how Paul went to them, he didn’t expect them to come to him. Jesus said, "go and make disciples of all nations" he didn’t expect them to come to us. The shepherd went to the lost sheep. God puts the responsibility on our shoulders. Why do we seem to expect lost people will just show up at our church door one day? The old model of church was open the doors of the church and people will come in and we don’t have to do anything. That might have worked 30 years ago, that’s not true anymore, we must go and invite. In John’s gospel, Philip went to Nathaniel, and said he had found the Christ, but when Nathaniel was skeptical he said, "come and see for yourself." For the 40 Days of Community we are going to challenge you to go and invite unchurched folks to attend. Each small group will also go into our community to do a free service project, to demonstrate God’s love.
Paul didn’t just meet people where they were at physically, he met them where they were at spiritually. When Paul was invited to speak at the Areopagus he didn’t stand up and cast judgment on the people of Athens, "you are all sinners and you are going to hell unless you follow Jesus." They didn’t even know there was a God, or Jesus. Paul simply looked at all the false idols around him and rather than judge them, he actually complemented them saying, "Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious," which they were. Imagine how much effort it took to worship all these idols, they must have been religious. It’s just that they were worshipping false gods.
4. Seek Common Ground / Speak their Language
Along with meeting people where they are at, we need to seek common ground and speak their language. When Paul went before the educated philosophers, he didn’t quote Scripture (which they didn’t even know). He used his own words, and he spoke their language. He quoted two Greek poets. NRS Acts 17:28 For "In him we live and move and have our being"; as even some of your own poets have said, "For we too are his offspring." The first is a quote from Epimenides (600 BC) and Aratus (315 -- 240 BC). Paul was familiar enough with their culture, and their interests that he earned a hearing. They were willing to listen to him (up to a point) even though he used the quotes from their philosophers to support his own conclusions.
One of the problems we have as Christian is we have a tendency to live in our own little world, use our own special language, and don’t connect with the culture around us. We don’t know what people are watching on TV, we don’t know what people are listening to or reading. I’m not saying we need to do everything these people do, but we should at least have a familiarity.
Young people consider themselves to be very spiritual, it’s just that their spirituality isn’t necessarily Christian, or based on a personal relationship with God. We need to be careful how we treat people who are not yet believers in Christ. We need to begin where they are at, let them explain their spirituality and beliefs (remember they are more likely open to talking about it that we are). The more judgmental we are of their behavior, the quicker they will leave. We need to demonstrate we understand their perspective by listening to them before we tell them ours. We need to earn the right to be heard. Don’t try to correct or judge their spirituality because it will push them away. Also, be careful how you use the Bible because not all people find it authoritative for their life. For some it’s just a history book. This doesn’t mean we don’t use God’s Word, it just means we just need to be careful how we use it.
Don’t act like you’ve got all the answers, because you don’t. We are seekers together, and in our relationship with Christ we have found the answer to our yearning.
Pray and ask God to help turn the discussion to spiritual matters. How do we take the focus on the things of this world and steer it toward faith conversations?
5. Share the Good News but Leave the Results up to God (v. 32, 34)
"32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject...34 A few men became followers of Paul and believed."
When Paul did finally mention the resurrection of Jesus and the coming judgment he faced three immediate responses:
1. Some sneered. They thought Paul’s word were ridiculous. How could a man rise from the dead?
2. Some wanted to hear more, their interest was piqued.
3. Some believed in Jesus and followed Paul’s teaching.
The results are up to God. We can’t let our fears to drive us. "They will reject me if I tell them about Jesus." "They won’t be my friend anymore."
