Acts 17:22–23 (NKJV)
Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:
I still don’t understand what faith is and isn’t—especially saving faith.
Faith can be divided into three levels—none, faith in something, and faith in Christ. Many non-Christians would say that they don’t believe that Christianity is true, but they believe that something is true. They’re convinced that the universe isn’t random. Something else is going on; they’re just not sure what. These people can be close to being Christians, yet they’re definitely not there yet.
These are the kind of people Paul preached to in Acts 17. His sermon begins on their terms. He compliments the men of Athens for their faith in “the unknown God.”
In verse 23 he finally gets to the point.
“Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you,”
Still, he just talks about their faith in something until verse 31.
But even with all this excellent lead-in, the crowd reaction to his mention of the resurrection is remarkably close-minded. Some even mocked him. So Paul left.
However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them. — Acts 17:34 (NKJV)
Obviously, you like this approach. You definitely didn’t start out this series with the gospel. You only started talking about “graduating” out of this universe on day 16 of our dialogue. It felt like you were “sneaking in” the gospel.
It’s good to start on someone’s own familiar ground. For the men of Athens, that was the inscription on their altar. For 21st century Americans, it could be almost anything. Christians need to listen to folks for a while to find out what they already believe. If it’s that something is true, then start from there. If they don’t even believe that, then I’d start where I started this series—explaining how we can know that something is true.
That’s why I often use science. This Steven Hawking quote from A Brief History of Time is one of my favorites. I’d say it supports the view that something is true.
The laws of Science, as we know them at present, contain many fundamental numbers, like the size of the electric charge of the electron and the ratio of the masses of the proton and the electron. … The remarkable fact is that the values of these numbers seem to have been very finely adjusted to make possible the development of life. … One can take this either as evidence of a divine purpose in Creation and the choice of the laws of science or as support for the strong anthropic principle.
Time out. He used the word “adjusted”? That sounds like he’s a believer.
Yeah, but a believer in what?
So, you think he just believes that something is true.
Absolutely. Hawking would later co-author The Grand Design, which I’ve already explained my disagreement with. I don’t know if that creator is the “something” he was thinking of when he wrote A Brief History of Time, but I kind of doubt it. I think the word “adjusted” implies a sentient creator.
Yeah. The “nothing” that is the creator in The Grand Design doesn’t sound capable of making adjustments.
Right, but note that my way of presenting theology, which mirrors the tactic used by Paul in the Areopagus, is extremely uncommon nowadays.
I think the belief that something is true is an underappreciated part of our belief that Christianity is true. For example, just yesterday, I talked about experiencing the presence of God and how that strengthens our faith.
But it’s really the underlying belief that something is true that’s strengthened. We’ve already figured out that the something is Christianity.
Curious. I never thought about it that way.
So, when anyone senses God’s presence, or sees His hand in things, they’re sensing that something is true. This can make them ready to hear about God. They should be wondering, “What just happened?”
We should just tell them. To paraphrase Paul’s line in Acts 17:23, “Therefore, this something you suspect is true without knowing, Him I proclaim to you.”
I suppose if something like that happened to me, I’d be more interested than I am.
Of course. You’ve been a remarkably gentle skeptic; some would call you a seeker. I’ve now finished covering Christianity in theory and Christianity in fact. I’d like to move on to Christianity in practice. That means walking through the book of James. You game?
Sure. See you tomorrow.
