When St. Paul went to Athens he apparently decided to show his stuff. He was smart, he was educated, he knew rhetoric as well as anyone. According to the Acts of the Apostles he made a brilliant presentation — but failed to move hearts toward conversion. His first letter to the Corinthians suggests that after that experience he decided to “proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” In our own time we have seen that the powerless of the cross possesses true power. The example of non-violence as practiced by Gandhi and Dr. King embraced the powerless of the cross and moved hearts and minds not by exerting greater force but by applying greater love.
