Acts 17:22-31
“The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands,” vs. 24
Paul realized that he needed to change his strategy in dealing with the Athenians. Instead of quoting from Hebrew scriptures he begins with more of a philosophical approach, hoping that he can get them into a conversation about the nature of God. His point is clear: God is more than human minds can comprehend…and we should never imagine that God can be contained. All the shrines and temples of Athens, no matter how grand and beautiful, are not the dwelling place of the one true God. God is invisible and all-powerful and all things have come into existence according to God’s plan. Paul’s approach wasn’t convincing for most in his audience. Many of the intelligentsia scoffed at what he had to say. To their ears he was just another religious babbler and his words were nonsensical. In recent years there has been a surge of folks who hold that God-talk is a by-product of superstition and that scientific discovery has eliminated the need for God from the cosmic equation. Their atheism is unconvincing to followers of Jesus, mostly because the notion of God that they are rejecting is totally inadequate. God is beyond time and space, and totally beyond our comprehension. God is all that is…and more, the life force of the universe. As one psalmist has said, “Only a fool says that there is no God!”
Thought for the Day: Why has atheism become so appealing for so man
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