This week we explored the origins of one of the most well-known phrases in Scripture: “In him we live and move and have our being.” Many in the class were interested to learn that the above phrase is a direct quote from a sixth century poem about Zeus, the king of the Greek gods. Not…
This week we studied the beginning of Paul’s sermon at the Areopagus (beyond verse 22)! Paul seized the opportunity to tell the Athenians and Areopagus Council about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in terms they would understand. His prop was an altar to an “unknown god,” and Paul used that as his jumping…
This week we read through Paul’s speech at the Areopagus, and although I thought we were going to discuss more of it, we basically made it through one verse. It’s not my fault! ? We discussed the different translations of a rare Greek word in Acts 17:22 “deisidaimonesterous” (lit: δεισιδαιμονεστέρους). Was Paul following the classical…
This week we summed up the previous weeks’ (and months’) lessons about Athens, the Areopagus, Aeschylus’ play “The Oresteia,” Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, and Zeno. We also discussed Paul’s broad education in Tarsus and Jerusalem, and how his travels informed his discussion in Athens. We had a great discussion about everything from classical Greek philosophy,…
If you’ve donated to a nonprofit organization within the past few years, you’ve likely got an inbox full of donation requests for what some consider to be a “made-up holiday.” The good news is that the narrative around this “new” non-holiday has finally started to turn, and people are seeing it for what it really…
Do we seriously need ANOTHER study Bible? Isn’t the market saturated? What makes this study Bible different than others currently on the market?