Congregation Book Study, Week of November 11-17, 2024, Chapter 18, paragraphs 1-5, Answers.

Congregation Book Study, November 11-17, 2024, Chapter 18, paragraphs 1-5, Answers.

Congregation Bible Study (30 mins.) bt ch. 18 pars. 1-5 and boxes on pp. 142, 144.

Based on Acts 17:16-34

1-3. a) Why was Paul indignant in Athens?

Paul was indignant in Athens, because he saw that the city was full of idols and statues of false God in every corner, he knew that the true God, Jehovah, rejects idolatry and idol worship, and this bothered him a lot because he wanted people to worship the true God.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

In Exodus 20:4-5, God makes it clear that we are not to make or worship images of things in heaven, on earth, or in the sea, because He is a jealous God, who desires a pure and exclusive worship. Paul knew this very well when he saw so many idols in Athens. He felt upset because he knew that people were offending God by worshiping images made by human hands.

Paul loved Jehovah and knew that he hates idolatry, that is why his reaction in Athens was that of someone who deeply loves God and feels pain seeing so many people worshiping false gods, it was as if Paul was seeing a large number of deceived people losing the opportunity to know the true God.

1-3. b) What will Paul's example teach us?

Paul's example will teach us how to speak about our faith in a respectful and compelling way, even when we are in a place or with people who think very differently, we will learn to look for common ground with others in order to reason with them and help them understand more about God.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Paul shows us that it is important to remain calm and patient, even when people have ideas that go against what we believe, we read instead of arguing or getting angry Paul tried to speak to them with respect and logic, something that is key for others to really listen to and consider God's message.

Paul's example also teaches us that we should look for common ground with people, just as he did when he observed that the Athenians already had an altar to an unknown god. This gave him the opportunity to explain to them who the true God was. In this way, Paul connected with them on ground where they could understand him and be interested.

“In the market place” (Acts 17:16-21)

4, 5. Where in Athens did Paul preach, and why would it not be easy to preach in the marketplace?

Paul preached in two places in Athens: the Synagogue where the Jews sat and the Market Square, also known as the Agora. The latter place was like the center of life in Athens, where people gathered to trade, discuss important issues and spend time, especially intellectuals and philosophers.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

It was not going to be easy to preach in the market place because it was a place full of people who worshipped other gods and were deeply embedded in their culture and beliefs. The Athenians also placed a high value on debate and philosophical ideas, which made people harder to convince.

In Acts 17:17, we see that Paul preached both in the synagogue and in the marketplace. The synagogue was a place where people knew God’s law, so it was perhaps easier to start there, but in the marketplace he was surrounded by people with different beliefs and philosophies, and that made preaching there more difficult, because many people had no interest in the God of the Bible.

ANSWERS BASED ON THE BOX: ATHENS, CULTURAL CAPITAL OF ANTIQUITY

Athens was a very important city in ancient times, especially in the district of Attica. Since very ancient times there was already the famous Acropolis, a fortress on top of a hill that protected the city. The city became known and respected, partly because it had beautiful temples and buildings dedicated to its gods, such as the Parthenon, a large temple with an impressive statue of the goddess Athena.

A leader named Solon in the 6th century BC made many improvements in Athens that helped the poor and established a fairer form of government known as democracy. However, this democracy was not for everyone as only free citizens could participate, and most people in Athens were slaves, so they had no rights.

After winning the war against the Persians, Athens became very powerful and expanded its trade routes by sea. This meant that Athens could trade with far away places such as Italy, Sicily, Cyprus and Syria, thanks to this trade Athens became a centre of culture where the arts, theatre, philosophy and science flourished.

Although Athens was conquered by various powers, such as Sparta, Macedonia and finally Rome, it was still a very renowned city in the time of the apostle Paul. Although no longer as powerful, Athens maintained its prestige and was considered an important academic centre where wealthy families sent their children to study.

THE EPICUREANS AND THE STOICS

The Epicureans thought that although the gods existed, they did not care about people or get involved in their lives, so they said that there was no point in praying or making sacrifices, for them the most important thing in life was to enjoy and seek pleasure, but without falling into excesses they believed that knowledge was useful to free oneself from the fears caused by religious beliefs and they did not follow strict moral principles, although they preferred not to exaggerate in anything to avoid problems.

The Stoics, on the other hand, had a very different view. They believed that God was not a person, but rather a kind of force or energy that was in the entire universe, including the human soul. Some Stoics thought that, in time, the soul would disappear along with the universe, while others believed that the soul would rejoin that force. All Stoics thought that true happiness came from living in accordance with nature and accepting things as they are.