Paul in Athens - Intro

This is a series of essays based on a sermon on Acts 17:16-34 I preached at Gate Church International on Sunday 27th November 2011. An MP3 of the sermon itself may appear on the Gate website in the near future.

In this section we see Paul going to the intellectual heart of Greek culture in Athens. Here we see that there were three key elements to Paul’s approach:

1. He met his opponents on their own ground, both physically and intellectually
2. He pointed them to a better way of life
3. He led them to the risen Christ

We will see how he did this, and apply the lessons to our own age. Today there is a common notion that science had done away with the need for God. This view is advanced by people like Richard Dawkins and others, but there is a very common belief that now we have scientific understanding we do not need God. This notion is complete nonsense.

In 2 Corinthians 10:5 Paul says “we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God”. There are many arguments made against God, but everyone of them contains the seeds of its own destruction. Let’s apply this to the notion that science has done away with the need for God.  

I’ll release the essays in three parts over the next few days:

1. Science's altars to an unknown God

2. More than turbo-charged chimpanzees

3. Raised from the dead