Tag: Acropolis

Bible Passages Tour (Mediterranean)(VI)

Neal Pollard

The Acropolis towers over the 4.5 million people who call Athens home. From nearly any point around this iconic spot that looms 450 feet above sea level, you can see it from the heights. In Acts 17, we see an example of the division of labor with Paul and his fellow-missionaries. Timothy and Silas have stayed behind doing follow up in Thessalonica while Paul goes on to Athens. Cosmopolitan man of education and experience that he is, Paul is still agitated and disturbed by the rampant idolatry of the place.

Visiting the city today, you see evidence of the mythology of Poseidon and Athena complete with temples dedicated to their honor and that of so many gods. Paul began as he always did in any new place, attempting to reach the Jews in the synagogue (Acts 17:17) while also making effort to evangelize in the marketplace. The Epicureans, rugged individualists and materialists, and Stoics, devoted to reason above all else, were intrigued and incensed by Paul’s “new teaching” (Acts 17:18). These philosophers brought him to the Aeropagus (hill of Ares in the Greek; “Mar’s Hill” in the Latin) so he could explain himself.

Many believe that, just as Socrates had done over 450 years earlier, Paul was called before their supreme court and tried for his “strange” beliefs. There are parallels between Socrates defense and Paul’s. Second, Dionysius, who will believe Paul’s preaching, is an Aeropagite or judge on this court. Third, it fits with Luke’s theme of Paul testifying before magistrates–the Philippian magistrates, the Corinthian proconsul, the Roman governors at Caesarea, the Jewish Sanhedrin, King Agrippa, and, ultimately, the Caesar. If it was a trial, it was also a masterful sermon. Paul uses their own philosophy, their own philosophers, and their own presuppositions to preach God and the resurrection of His Son and the judgment to come.

Standing on Mar’s Hill this afternoon, with the Parthenon jutting out on the Acropolis across the way, I thought about how Paul was given such a huge forum and he rose to the occasion. He gave us a masterful example of how to reach the unbelieving, biblically illiterate of any age. Ultimately, his message centered on the resurrection and the responsibility we have to stand before God, that we must believe that God is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6).

Right before we went to the top of Mar’s Hill, the preacher for the church at Athens, Dino Roussos, spoke to us about this event and even quoted (in Greek, of course) a portion of Paul’s sermon. How great to see the Lord’s church alive in a city where it seems Paul had, at best, only nominal success! How thankful we continue to be that Paul was willing to boldly go where no Christians had gone before to plant the first gospel seeds that are still producing today!

Vulcan The Iron Man

Neal Pollard
I took an hour to go over to see one of the iconic figures of the south, Birmingham’s cast iron statue of “Vulcan.” Built 110 years ago for the World’s Fair in St. Louis, it is the largest cast iron statue in the world. This is a nod to the iron industry that put Birmingham, Alabama, on the map starting in the 19th century. I remember this imposing figure from when I was a little boy and our family visited this “big city.” At that time, Vulcan’s torch would shine red if there was a traffic fatality and green if a traffic accident wasn’t fatal. It was, and is, a fascinating icon and landmark.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of this unique statue is the prominent place it occupies in the skyline as you approach the city from several points of origin. If you had no other clue, you would know you were in Birmingham as soon as you saw Vulcan. The city takes understandable pride in the distinctiveness he lends it.

Other cities in our nation’s history and in other nations throughout time have had landmarks that set it apart and are even synonymous with it. In Jesus’ day, Egypt had the sphinx and the pyramids, Greece had the acropolis, Italy had the Colosseum, and nearer to Palestine was Petra (in modern Jordan) and the lion of Babylon (in modern Iraq). The Romans had their iconic statues and buildings that often towered over the cities within its empire.

Jesus may have fired the imagination of the first-century disciples with His picturesque imagery, calling us a city set on a hill or a light of the world (Mat. 5:14-16). Our distinctiveness is not based on physical prominence, not our church buildings or having famous members. It centers on how well we reflect the mission and character of Christ as a congregation and as individual members of it. When people hear about the church of Christ, they should know who we are and, while they may try and say evil against us (cf. Ti. 2:8), the charge of wrongdoing should not stick. Instead, they should look at us and see a reflection of Christ. A community could have no better landmark! May we work to provide it.
vulcan