The Paul Factor: Impacting the Marketplace - Week 5: Paul the Philosopher

It is possible to fail in many ways...while to succeed is possible only in one way.
- Aristotle

Ahhhhh, philosophy. Do remember sitting in class with a glaze look as the professor taught the process of reason? Usually when anyone hears this word its an automatic turn off. It makes us think! Sometimes that hurts! Yet this one word has shaped mankind's thinking and ideas for centuries! The word means...

the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct.

Whenever I begin my apologetics class with my seniors, this is one area that I begin with. It lays down the foundation and challenges my students to be thinkers in this age of information. We have heard all our lives that God exist...yet what makes us so sure? We have grown up believing the Bible to be God's Word to man...yet how can we be confident in such a statement? What is my purpose in life? Why do I exist? Questions that have plagued mankind throughout time! So lets take a look at philosophy real quick. This will help us to understand Paul, the philosopher.

It is believed that Aristotle was the father of logic. Through Aristotle he developed a form of reasoning that is still practiced today, yet influenced first century Athens. Aristotle observed that the validity of any argument can be determined by its structure rather than its content (www.iep.utm.edu/aristotl/). Example: "All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore, Socrates is mortal" (www.iep.utm.edu/aristotl/) Basically Aristotle saw that as along as knowledge helped support truth, then the conclusion is confirmed to be true. In his work in ethics and politics, Aristotle identifies the highest good with intellectual virtue; that is, a moral person is one who cultivates certain virtues based on reasoning (www.iep.utm.edu/aristotl/).

Plato believed the following concerning life after death: No one really knows what happens after death, but it is reasonable to think that death is not an evil; there may be an afterlife, in which the souls of the good are rewarded, and the souls of the wicked are punished (Apology 40c-41c; Crito 54b-c; Gorgias 523a-527a)(www.iep.utm.edu/aristotl/).

Greek philosophy had such an influence in Paul's culture, that we are given a glimpse into his world. Acts 17 brings us along Paul's second missionary trip. We read that he had visited Thessalonica, Brea and stopped in Athens. Now at the time Athens was the place of philosophy and literature. It was seen as the place to be when it came to academia. The marketplace was filled with places to talk and debate the ideas of the time. We are told that Paul noticed many idols throughout the city. Luke also informs us that Paul reasoned with the "Jews and the God-fearing Greeks" in the marketplace. Now we are not given a time frame as to how long Paul was in Athens, but we can speculate it was long enough to give Paul time to dialogue with others and catch the ears of a group of philosophers known as the Stoics and Epicureans. Now the Stoics main ideas came from Zeno of Citium (333-262) who believed, "Man conquers the world by conquering himself. Start by developing an indifference to pain and pleasure, through meditation. Wisdom occurs when reason controls passions; Evil occurs when passions control us. (http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/latergreeks.html)" At the time of Paul it was believed that if on suppressed their desires, they would live a righteous life, thus creating morality based on their determined truth. For Epicureans, they built their ideas on a man named Epicurus (341-270). He believed that any form of religion and the belief in the gods was ignorance. "Virtue for Epicurus was a means to an end. That end is happiness. It is good to feel pleasure and to avoid pain, but one needs to apply reason to life. Sometimes pain is necessary in order to gain happiness. (http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/latergreeks.html)"
It was customary for men to face the council of Aeropagus, which was a judicial body of Athens. Their job was to supervise and control the many lectures and ideas that passed through the city. For Paul this was an opportunity that would allow him to continue sharing the gospel with the people of Athens or it would be rejected and he would be sent on his way. As we read Acts 17 we see Paul's presentation. In this passage there are three questions that Paul deals with.

One, how do you see the world created?

Paul's answer? "24 The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands."

Second, how do you see human beings?

Paul's answer? "25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’"

Third, how do you see life after death?

Paul's answer? "30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

We then see Paul being laughed out of the council. Athens rejected Paul's "philosophy". He was no longer allowed to participate in discussion in the marketplace. Yet Luke records the following,

Acts 17:33-34: At that, Paul left the Council. Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

In the midst of laughter Paul reached the hearts of some people! By Paul using reason he lead others to Christ! One of them being Dionysius, a member of the council! Damaris who is believed to be a woman of wealth. Marketplace converts!

As a body of Christ we cannot exclude philosophy in our faith. Through reason we can come to conclusions that provide a great argument for why we believe God exist. Why we hold onto the idea that God created. Why life after death is not a form of myth, yet an idea that holds everlasting consequences or hope. Paul was effective in his culture to impact the marketplace because through philosophy it open doors of dialogue. His meeting with Christ on the road to Damascus provided the proof of the Messiah who was described in the very Scriptures he memorized. This last Friday I was at our homecoming football game talking with some former students. In talking about life and school, they began to share with me lessons they learned from class and how they were applying them. One of them said the following, "I always heard you say it was our responsibility to preach the Gospel to people outside our doors. I never understood that until I started having conversations with other people in my classes. I always thought I had to preach to people. Yet, I have preached the Gospel to others by asking simple questions that has opened the doors of dialogue to share my faith. Now people are coming to me and asking me questions about God." This young man is preparing to be an EMT...a marketplace Christian! A mother brought me a letter from her son who serves in the military. Her son has been at boot camp and has been given a hard time by his Sgt. because of his faith. Yet this young man has stood his ground. The letter went on to share of an incident where his Sgt. and him got into a deep conversation about God. In the letter I could hear the boldness flow from his pen has he described how some of his buddies in his company came around and began to listen as he answered every question thrown at him. He concluded by saying his buddies now are asking him questions about his faith! A marketplace Christian soldier! Hear my plea...be prepared to have the answer to that which you profess! Paul shared his faith in the marketplace by understanding his culture and having an answer for them! If you have read my articles or have heard me speak, you have heard me say time and time again...Sunday school answers do not work in our culture. People want the why's to the what's. We live in the information age...so let's give them the information! You don't need a pulpit, its where God has placed you! Whether it be in a class room, barracks or business, your "rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct", through Christ can be the platform in which God has given to you to reach a generation! Church embrace it! Church learn to dialogue with others! Church arise as our forefathers did with boldness and courage who knew that the very talents given to them was for a reason, to impact the marketplace! Paul used Aristotle's model of an argument throughout his ministry...'All men are mortal; you are a man; therefore, you are mortal, thus you need salvation, Salvation can be found through Christ! Here are my reasons why I believe Christ to be the means of salvation.' Ahhh philosophy, you gotta love it!



His call. His gift to you. Your purpose. Irrevocable.