{"id":310,"date":"2020-11-12T18:08:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T23:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=310"},"modified":"2020-12-09T19:04:10","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T00:04:10","slug":"a-tale-of-four-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2020\/11\/12\/a-tale-of-four-cities\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tale of Four Cities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Modern-day tourists walking in the steps of the apostle Paul can still reach out and touch the spectacular ruins of a trio of ancient cities. 

In three consecutive chapters \u2013 Acts 17-19 \u2013 the Bible documents Paul\u2019s missionary experiences in Athens, Corinth, and Ephesus.  Each city had a patron Greek goddess, and the identity of each community was fashioned according to the strengths and weaknesses of its particular mythological deity. 

Paul first went to Athens.  If you\u2019re trying to imagine a contemporary equivalent, think Boston. 

Even though the Golden Age of Greece was 400 years in the rear view mirror by the time Paul arrived, Athens still pictured itself as a cultural trendsetter.  The Good Life came down to the right people cultivating the right ideas.  The city was famous for its philosophers and the stunning marble temples of the Acropolis.  Its civic leaders, to put it bluntly, were the stuffed shirts of the first century.  The goddess to whom the city was dedicated was Athena \u2013 the Greek embodiment of wisdom.  How would Paul fare against the self-described smartest people in the world?

Paul next traveled to Corinth, where the Good Life was centered around good times. Think Las Vegas.  We\u2019re still expecting an archeologist to uncover an engraving that says, \u201cWhat happens in Corinth, stays in Corinth.\u201d 

Corinth was a bustling business center, sailor\u2019s town, and full-time Party Central.  Its patron deity was Aphrodite, the goddess of love.  One thousand cult prostitutes were employed at her temple, which was situated at the top of a high hill.  At dusk they would descend into the city to ply their trade.  It\u2019s worth noting that whenever a Greek play included a character from Corinth, that actor was portrayed as drunk.  How will a straight-lace Jew like Paul function in an environment like Corinth?

Paul next crossed the Aegean Sea to the metropolis of Ephesus, which was a hotbed of diverse spiritualities.  Think San Francisco with Shirley MacLaine as mayor. 

Ephesus (whose ruins are pictured above) was dedicated to the worship of Artemis, who was portrayed locally as the earth mother goddess.  Her spacious temple was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.  The Good Life included easy access to horoscopes, potions, magic spells and alternative lifestyles.  What will Paul have to say to people with New Age sensibilities?   

Athens proves to be a tough nut to crack. 

Paul ventures into the marketplace, trying to win a hearing for Jesus.  \u201c<\/strong>A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him.  Some of them asked, \u2018What is this babbler trying to say?\u2019  Others remarked, \u2018He seems to be advocating foreign gods.\u2019  They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.\u201d (Acts 17:17-18)

The Greek word translated \u201cbabbler\u201d is actually \u201cseed-picker.\u201d  This is Athenian slang for someone who, like a bird, picks up bits and pieces of this and that and tries to patch together a new way of seeing things.  Notice that Paul\u2019s audience assumes he isn\u2019t promoting God (singular), but gods (plural).  They apparently believe he\u2019s advocating a male god named Yesous<\/em> (Jesus) and a goddess named Anastasia<\/em> (the Greek word for resurrection).  So far this is not going particularly well.

But Paul manages to build some bridges.  Even though most of the philosophers shrug and walk away, a few feel powerfully drawn to this new message. 

Things go better in Corinth, where Paul ministers for 18 months and establishes a large (if unruly) new congregation.  And he spends more than two years in Ephesus, where followers of Jesus will thrive for centuries. 

So, Paul stands in the presence of the smartest people in the world and says, \u201cYou\u2019ve overlooked the most important aspect of reality.\u201d  He walks into the Party Zone and declares, \u201cThere is so much more to life than feeling good.\u201d  And he sits down in the lounge of religious relativism and says, \u201cLet me tell you about Someone who is more than just another option on the spiritual smorgasbord.\u201d 

But one of his greatest successes, which tends to be overlooked, comes in the Macedonian town of Berea, one of those places you would visit chiefly because you were on your way to somewhere else.

These days only a few tourists visit what remains of ancient Berea.  There are no impressive ruins to explore.  We actually know very little about this community. 

But we do know that the Bereans\u2019 search for the Good Life took them down a very different path.  When Paul and his partner Silas arrive in Berea (on their way to somewhere else), \u201cthey went to the Jewish synagogue.  Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.\u201d (Acts 17:10-11)

Today, if someone calls you a Berean, you are being paid an extraordinary compliment. 

A Berean is someone who does her homework.  Who thinks for himself.  Who isn\u2019t content to hitchhike on someone else\u2019s convictions.  Who wrestles, searches, and struggles with the enduring questions associated with the meaning of life.   

When you think about your future, do you ever hope that one day you might \u201cbe somebody\u201d? 

Be a Berean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s never too late to embrace the life-changing habit of studying God’s Word.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Modern-day tourists walking in the steps of the apostle Paul can still reach out and touch the spectacular ruins of a trio of ancient cities.  In three consecutive chapters \u2013 Acts 17-19 \u2013 the Bible documents Paul\u2019s missionary experiences in Athens, Corinth, and Ephesus.  Each city had a patron Greek goddess, and the identity of each community was fashioned according… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[100,3],"class_list":["post-310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bible-study","tag-history"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":332,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310\/revisions\/332"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}