Athens was the philosophical center of the world; it was a city famous for its intellectual tradition. It was in Athens where the famous philosopher Socrates taught his brightest student, Plato.
As Paul walked around Athens, he became greatly distressed at the idolatry he observed in the city. Historians estimate that the city of Athens had over 30,000 idol statues or shrines. There is an ancient joke that says if you were to walk through the city Athens during this time, you were more likely to find a god than a man.
The Greek vocabulary in v.16 indicates that Paul was infuriated at the multitude of temples and idols he saw. And because of this, Paul was motivated to continue his practice of reasoning with the Jews in the synagogue and Gentiles in the marketplace (v. 17).
Paul's message to the Athenians serves as an example for believers on how to defend the faith against a secular culture, that is, a society of unbelievers, especially those who are unchurched and are not familiar with the message of biblical Christianity.
To outline Paul's defense, I will discuss 3 major components of his message:
I. Who God Is
II. Who We Are, in Light of this God
III. What the Gospel Is
When we defend the Christian faith, these three things should take priority in our discussions.
