Superstitious Minds
“Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ Hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you.” Acts 17:22-23
Webster’s Dictionary defines superstition as “any belief or attitude that is inconsistent with the known laws of science or with what is generally considered in the particular society as true and rational; especially such a belief in charms, omens, and the supernatural.” Some of the common ones I remember from childhood are the ones about a black cat crossing one’s path, walking under a ladder, stepping on a sidewalk crack, spilling salt on the table, and breaking a mirror. Unless one performed the required “ritual” for undoing the deed, then bad “luck” was sure to follow. (It’s just common sense to not walk under a ladder, especially if someone is on it holding a paint bucket!)
These folks in Athens, Greece had their own assortment of superstitions consisting of statues and idols in and around the city, and, just in case they had left one out, they created a special one to represent the one they missed. This statue or idol was named the UNKNOWN GOD. Well, I can feel fairly confident that the true and living God was unknown to them. However, the Apostle Paul set out to present Almighty God to them to give them an opportunity to believe in Him.
To those who were knee deep into idolatry, Paul’s description of the Lord was almost unbelievable to them: God made the world and everything in it. He doesn’t require an earthly dwelling place. He doesn’t need anything. He gives life and breath to all creatures. He created all people from one man Adam and set the bounds of man’s habitation. In Him all men have their being. We are His offspring. He is not gold or silver or stone carved by men’s hands. He pleads for men to repent because they will be judged by One whom He raised from the dead.
When the Athenians heard that last part, the part about God raising the dead, there were three different responses. Some mocked, some wanted to hear more later, and some actually believed–the same three responses that people have in this day and age. Many mock the word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ; many are curious, but not willing to repent and believe. They are like Felix, the governor of Caesarea before whom Paul appeared after being accused of sedition. Paul “reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come” before Felix who sent him away and said that when it was more convenient, he would call him back (Acts 24:24-25). There is no record in scripture that he ever requested to hear the gospel again. The thing is that once one has heard the gospel, a response is required, either positively or negatively.
The third group are those who take God’s word and the gospel seriously as they realize that this is the peace and freedom from the guilt of sin for which they have been searching. Those who believe find that faith is the cure for superstition and doubt.