Chapter IX. - Paul at Berea and Athens.
At Berea Paul again commenced his work by going into the
synagogue of the Jews to preach the gospel of Christ. He says of them, "These
were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with
all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things
were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were
Greeks, and of men, not a few." {LP 87.1}
In the presentation of the truth, those who honestly desire
to be right will be awakened to a diligent searching of the Scriptures. This
will produce results similar to those that attended the labours of the apostles
in Berea. But those who preach the truth in these days meet many who are the
opposite of the Bereans. They cannot controvert the doctrine presented to them,
yet they manifest the utmost reluctance to investigate the evidence offered in
its favour, and assume that even if it is the truth it is a matter of little
consequence whether or not they accept it as such. They think that their old
faith and customs are good enough for them. But the Lord, who sent out his
ambassadors with a message to the world, will hold the people responsible for
the manner in which they treat the words of his servants. God will judge all
according to the light which has been presented to them, whether it is plain to
them or not. It is their duty to investigate as did the Bereans. The Lord says
through the prophet Hosea: "My people are
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destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected
knowledge, I will also reject thee." {LP 87.2}
The minds of the Bereans were not narrowed by prejudice, and
they were willing to investigate and receive the truths preached by the
apostles. If the people of our time would follow the example of the noble
Bereans, in searching the Scriptures daily, and in comparing the messages
brought to them with what is there recorded, there would be thousands loyal to
God's law where there is one today. But many who profess to love God have no
desire to change from error to truth, and they cling to the pleasing fables of
the last days. Error blinds the mind and leads from God; but truth gives light
to the mind, and life to the soul. {LP 88.1}
The unbelieving Jews of Thessalonica, filled with jealousy
and hatred of the apostles, and not content with having driven them from their
labours among the Thessalonians, followed them to Berea, and again stirred up
the excitable passions of the lower class to do them violence. The teachers of
the truth were again driven from their field of labour. Persecution followed
them from city to city. This hasty retreat from Berea deprived Paul of the
opportunity he had anticipated of again visiting the brethren at Thessalonica.
{LP 88.2}
Although the opposers of the doctrine of Christ could not
hinder its actual advancement, they still succeeded in making the work of the
apostles exceedingly hard. God, in his providence, permitted Satan to hinder
Paul from returning to the Thessalonians. Yet the faithful apostle steadily
pressed on through opposition, conflict, and persecution, to carry out the
purpose of God
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as revealed to him in the vision at Jerusalem: "I will send
thee far hence unto the Gentiles." {LP 88.3}
From Berea Paul went to Athens. He was accompanied on his
journey by some of the Bereans who had been newly brought into the faith, and
who were desirous of learning more from him of the way of life. When the apostle
arrived at Athens, he sent these men back with a message to Silas and Timothy to
join him immediately in that city. Timothy had come to Berea previously to
Paul's departure, and with Silas had remained to carry on the work so well begun
there, and to instruct the new converts in the principles of their holy faith.
{LP 89.1}
The city of Athens was the metropolis of heathendom. Paul did
not here meet with an ignorant, credulous populace, as at Lystra; but he
encountered a people famous for their intelligence and education. Statues of
their gods and the deified heroes of history and poetry met the eye in every
direction; while magnificent architecture and paintings also represented the
national glory and the popular worship of heathen deities. {LP 89.2}
The senses of the people were entranced by the beauty and
glory of art. Sanctuaries and temples, involving untold expense, reared their
lofty forms on every hand. Victories of arms, and deeds of celebrated men, were
commemorated by sculptures, shrines, and tables. All these things made this
renowned city like a vast gallery of art. And as Paul looked upon the beauty and
grandeur surrounding him, and saw the city crowded with idols, his spirit was
stirred with jealousy for God, whom he saw dishonoured on every side. {LP 89.3}
His heart was drawn out in deep pity for the
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citizens of that grand metropolis, who, notwithstanding their
intellectual greatness, were given to idolatry. Paul was not deceived by the
grandeur and beauty of that which his eyes rested upon, nor by the material
wisdom and philosophy which encountered him in this great centre of learning. He
perceived that human art had done its best to deify vice and make falsehood
attractive by glorifying the memory of those whose whole lives had been devoted
to leading men to deny God. {LP 89.4}
The moral nature of the apostle was so alive to the
attraction of heavenly things, that the joy and splendour of those riches that
will never fade occupied his mind, and made valueless the earthly pomp and glory
with which he was surrounded. As he saw the magnificence of the city, with its
costly devices, he realized its seductive power over the minds of the lovers of
art and science. His mind was deeply impressed with the importance of the work
before him in Athens. His solitude in that great city where God was not
worshipped was oppressive; and he longed for the sympathy and aid of his
fellow-labourers. As far as human fellowship was concerned, he felt himself to
be utterly isolated. In his Epistle to the Thessalonians he expresses his
feelings in these words: "Left at Athens alone." {LP 90.1}
Paul's work was to bear the tidings of salvation to a people
who had no intelligent understanding of God and his plans. He was not travelling
for the purpose of sight-seeing, nor to gratify a morbid desire for new and
strange scenes. His dejection of mind was caused by the apparently
insurmountable obstacles which presented themselves against his reaching the
minds of the people of Athens. Grieved at the idolatry everywhere visible about
him, he felt a holy zeal for his Master's cause. He
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sought out his Jewish brethren, and, in their synagogue at
Athens, proclaimed the doctrine of Christ. But the principal work of Paul in
that city was to deal with paganism. {LP 90.2}
The religion of the Athenians, of which they made great
boast, was of no value, for it was destitute of the knowledge of the true God.
It consisted, in great part, of art worship, and a round of dissipating
amusement and festivities. It wanted the virtue of true goodness. Genuine
religion gives men the victory over themselves; but a religion of mere intellect
and taste is wanting in the qualities essential to raise its possessor above the
evils of his nature, and to connect him with God. On the very stones of the
altar in Athens this great want was expressed by the inscription, "To the
Unknown God." Yes; though boasting of their wisdom, wealth, and skill in art and
science, the learned Athenians could but acknowledge that the great Ruler of the
universe was unknown to them. {LP 91.1}
The great men of the city seemed hungering for subjects of
discussion, in which they would have opportunity to display their wisdom and
oratory. While waiting for Silas and Timothy to meet him, Paul was not idle. "He
disputed in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the
market daily with them that met with him." The great men of Athens were not long
in finding out this singular teacher, who presented to the people doctrines so
new and strange. {LP 91.2}
Some who prided themselves upon the extent of their
intellectual culture entered into conversation with him. This soon drew a crowd
of listeners about them. Some were prepared to ridicule the apostle as one far
beneath them, socially and
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intellectually, and said jeeringly among themselves, "What
will this babbler say? Other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange
gods; because he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection." {LP 91.3}
The Stoics and the Epicureans encountered him; but they, and
all others who came in contact with him, soon saw that he had a store of
knowledge even greater than their own. His intellectual power commanded the
respect and attention of the more intellectual and learned; while his earnest,
logical reasoning, and his power of oratory, held the promiscuous audience. Thus
the apostle stood undaunted, meeting his opposers on their own ground, matching
logic with logic, and philosophy with philosophy. {LP 92.1}
They reminded him of Socrates, a great philosopher, who was
condemned to death because he was a setter forth of strange gods. Paul was
counselled not to endanger his life in the same way. But the apostle's discourse
riveted the attention of the people; and his unaffected wisdom commanded their
respect and admiration. He was not silenced by the science or irony of the
philosophers; and, after exchanging many words with him, and satisfying
themselves that he was determined to accomplish his errand among them, and tell
his story at all hazards, they decided to give him a fair opportunity to speak
to the people. {LP 92.2}
They accordingly conducted him to Mars' Hill. This was the
most sacred spot in all Athens, and its recollections and associations were such
as to cause it to be regarded with superstitious awe and reverence, that with
some amounted to dread. Here, the most solemn court of justice had long been
held to determine upon criminal cases,
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and to decide difficult religious questions. The judges sat
in the open air, upon seats hewn out in the rock, on a platform which was
ascended by a flight of stone steps from the valley below. At a little distance
was a temple of the gods; and the sanctuaries, statues, and altars of the city
were in full view. {LP 92.3}
Here, away from the noise and bustle of crowded
thoroughfares, and the tumult of promiscuous discussion, the apostle could be
heard without interruption; for the frivolous, thoughtless class of society did
not care to follow him to this place of highest reverence. Around him here were
gathered poets, artists, and philosophers,--the scholars and sages of
Athens,--who thus addressed him: "May we know what this new doctrine, whereof
thou speakest, is? for thou bringest certain strange things to our ears; we
would know, therefore, what these things mean." {LP 93.1}
The apostle stood calm and self-possessed in that hour of
solemn responsibility, relying upon the divine assurance, designed for such a
time as this, "It shall be given you what ye ought to say." His heart was
burdened with his important message, and the words that fell from his lips
convinced his hearers that he was no idle babbler: "Ye men of Athens, I perceive
that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by and beheld your
devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To the Unknown God. Whom
therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you." With all their
intelligence and general knowledge, they were ignorant of the true God. The
inscription upon their altar showed the strong cravings of the soul for greater
light. They were reaching out for Infinity.
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{LP 93.2}
With earnest and fervid eloquence, the apostle continued:
"God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of
Heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped
with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life,
and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to
dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before
appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord,
if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from
every one of us." {LP 94.1}
Thus, in the most impressive manner, with hand outstretched
toward the temple crowded with idols, Paul poured out the burden of his soul,
and ably exposed the fallacies of the religion of the Athenians. The wisest of
his hearers were astonished as they listened to his reasoning. His words could
not be controverted. He showed himself familiar with their works of art, their
literature, and their religion. Pointing to their statuary and idols, he
declared to them that God could not be likened to forms of man's device. The
works of art could not, in the faintest sense, represent the glory of the
infinite God. He reminded them that their images had no breath nor life. They
were controlled by human power; they could move only as the hands of men moved
them; and those who worshipped them were in every way superior to that which
they worshipped. Pointing to noble specimens of manhood about him, he declared,
"Forasmuch, then, as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the
Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device."
{LP 94.2}
Man was created in the image of this infinite
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God, blessed with intellectual power and a perfect and
symmetrical body. The heavens are not large enough to contain God; how much less
could those temples made with hands contain him. Paul, under the inspiration of
his subject, soared above the comprehension of the idolatrous assembly, and
sought to draw their minds beyond the limits of their false religion to correct
views of the true Deity, whom they had styled the "Unknown God." This Being,
whom he now declared unto them, was independent of man, needing nothing from
human hands to add to his power and glory. {LP 94.3}
The people were carried away with admiration of Paul's
eloquence. The Epicureans began to breathe more freely, believing that he was
strengthening their position, that everything had its origin in blind chance;
and that certain ruling principles controlled the universe. But his next
sentence brought a cloud to their brows. He asserted the creative power of God,
and the existence of his overruling providence. He declared unto them the true
God, who is the living centre of government. {LP 95.1}
This divine Ruler had, in the dark ages of the world, passed
lightly over heathen idolatry; but now he had sent them the light of truth,
through his Son; and he exacted from all men repentance unto salvation; not only
from the poor and humble, but from the proud philosopher, and the princes of the
earth. "Because He hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in
righteousness by that Man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance
unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." {LP 95.2}
As Paul thus spoke of the resurrection from the dead, his
speech was interrupted. Some mocked;
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others put his words aside, saying, "We will hear thee again
of this matter." Thus closed the labours of the apostle at Athens; for the
Athenians persistently clung to their idolatry, and turned away from the light
of a true and reasonable religion. When a people are wholly satisfied with their
own attainments, little more need be expected of them. Highly educated, and
boasting of their learning and refinement, the Athenians were constantly
becoming more corrupt, and having less desire for anything better than the vague
mysteries of idolatry. {LP 95.3}
Many who listened to the words of Paul were convinced of the
truths presented, but they would not humble themselves to acknowledge God, and
to accept the plan of salvation. No eloquence of words, no force of argument,
can convert the sinner. The Spirit and power of God can alone apply the truth to
the heart of the impenitent. Of the Athenians it may be said, "The preaching of
the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but to them that are saved it is
the power of God." {LP 96.1}
In their pride of intellect and human wisdom may be found the
reason why the gospel message met with so little success among that people. Our
Saviour rejoiced that God had hid the things of eternal interest from the wise
and prudent, and had revealed them unto babes in knowledge. All worldly wise men
who come to Christ as poor, lost sinners, will become wise unto salvation; but
those who come as distinguished men, extolling their own wisdom, will fail to
receive the light and knowledge which he alone can give. {LP 96.2}
The labours of Paul in Athens were not wholly in vain.
Dionysius, one of the most prominent citizens, and some others, became converts to Christianity,
and joined themselves to him. The words of the apostle, and the description of
his attitude and surroundings, as traced by the pen of inspiration, were to be
handed down through all coming generations, bearing witness of his unshaken
confidence, his courage in loneliness and adversity, and the victory he gained
for Christianity, even in the very heart of paganism. {LP 96.3}
Inspiration has given us this glance at the life of the
Athenians, with all their knowledge, refinement, and art, yet sunken in vice,
that it might be seen how God, through his servant, rebuked idolatry, and the
sins of a proud, self-sufficient people. The words of Paul become a memorial of
the occasion, and give a treasure of knowledge to the church. He was in a
position where he might easily have spoken that which would irritate his proud
listeners, and bring himself into difficulty. Had his oration been a direct
attack upon their gods, and the great men of the city who were before him, he
would have been in danger of meeting the fate of Socrates. But he carefully drew
their minds away from heathen deities, by revealing to them the true God, whom
they were endeavouring to worship, but who was to them unknown, as they
themselves confessed by a public inscription. {LP 97.1}