Blogging Towards Sunday, July 20, 2025

Acts 17:16-31 & 1 Corinthians 1:17-31

Acts 17 tells of Paul preaching Jesus as Savior among the pantheon of the diverse gods of the Roman Empire within the public debate space of Mars Hill. Ancient Athens was the Harvard, and/or Oxford of the ancient world: the center of cultural and intellectual sophistication. Those who hear Paul, mostly Stoics and Epicureans, are not impressed by what they consider to be a simplistic philosophy. 1 Corinthians, the letter of pastoral advice from Paul to the church in ancient Corinth (Greece) speaks of the foolishness of God and the wisdom of humanity, teasing out an admonition to keep faith simple. Similar to our current expression of KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid), Paul says the Corinthians are trying to be overly fancy, elitist and privileged, going against the very principal of Christianity – that we most see, experience and know the living God in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah.

Some things to know about the ancient world that help to decode today’s scriptures and Paul’s gospel message of KISS are:

The Aeropagus (in Greek) – Mars Hill (in Latin) is the setting of the story in Acts 17. It was an elevated hill (still existing today) in Athens where the Pantheon is located. The name Areopagus also referred, in classical times, to the Athenian governing council, later restricted to the Athenian judicial council or court that tried cases of deliberate homicide, wounding, and religious matters,

Stoicism is an ancient Greek philosophy focused on virtue, self-control, and living in accordance with nature to achieve inner peace and happiness. Stoics believe that external events are beyond our control, but our judgments and reactions are within our power, emphasizing self-improvement through cultivating wisdom, justice, temperance, and courage. The ultimate goal of Stoic practice is eudaimonia, often translated as flourishing or living well, which is achieved through cultivating virtue and inner peace.

Epicureanism, was a philosophical what we might call a religious system founded by Epicurus (341–270 BC) in ancient Greece, is a philosophical system focused on achieving happiness and tranquility through the absence of pain and the pursuit of simple pleasures. It emphasizes moderation, friendship, and a materialist view of the universe: rejecting the fear of death and divine intervention. Epicureanism posits that pleasure is the ultimate good and pain is the ultimate evil. Epicureans advocate for a life of moderation, focusing on simple pleasures and avoiding excess, pursuing a state of freedom from mental disturbance and anxiety by limiting desires by focusing on simple pleasures like friendship and philosophical conversation, and cultivating contentment.

Questions for Reflection & Examen:

• What engaged, enraged, or surprised you in these texts?
• Acts 17 tells of Paul articulating the gospel of Jesus in new words and a new way.  Each time the gospel encounters a new culture, the church articulates, or embodied the gospel, in a new way?  How is Acts 17 different than what we’ve already seen in the story of the church in Acts?
• Paul tells the Corinthians that resurrection life appears like foolishness in the eyes of the wisdom of the world. What does that mean?  How do you agree or disagree?  How have you experienced the gospel as foolish wisdom?
• How is Paul is telling the Athenians and the Corinthians to KISS the gospel and Jesus-centered life (Keep It Simple Stupid).  How do we often complicate the gospel and life rooted in Jesus?
• What are the authors of our readings, Luke and Paul, possibly trying to tell us as the church today through this text?  How are we called to change to incarnate the gospel in our cultural context?