Athens was the intellectual capital of the Roman Empire. When St. Paul arrived you imagine that he thought to himself “I am smart. I can convince these people about the faith with my superior arguments.” He was not successful. No Pauline Church developed in Athens. In ACTS we read that after Athens Paul went to Corinth. He tells us in the first epistle to that city that once there he decided “I would speak of nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Paul learned that what spreads the faith is not convincing talk but an authentic life based on the sacrifice of Jesus — a life characterized by generosity, kindness, forgiveness and love. We evangelize best by how we live, not by what we say.
MAY92018
By Church Staff
