Acts 17:18 “Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.”
It appears that the God and Jesus Christ that our forefathers worshiped, preached, and taught is once again falling into the category of “strange gods”. The general philosophies of the “Epicureans” and “Stoicks” lives on in our day. Basically, the “Epicureans” didn’t totally deny that there is a God, but they didn’t believe that He created the world or anything else and neither does He have any control over or influence over the affairs of men. On the other hand, the “Stoicks” allow that there is a God, and that He made the world, but beyond that they have a severely convoluted view of how God relates to mankind and of what God deems as right and wrong. In our day we have all manner of belief systems; everything from no deity at all, to worshiping the devil, to worshiping some man or some institution, to worshiping self, and the list goes on. Lest we fall into despair, remember that the Lord told His discouraged Prophet, “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.” (I Kings 19:18). The result of this widespread and growing confusion is that there is no core foundation for the definition of right and wrong, moral or immoral, honest or dishonest. This confusion is like a cancer that is spreading across our Country, and now people are literally dying because of it. Laws and governmental decrees cannot fix this problem. Public education cannot fix this problem. Social programs cannot fix this problem. Even the best medical and psychological care cannot fix this problem. A massive police force cannot fix this problem. Social networks on the internet cannot fix this problem. While it may seem strange or old fashioned to the masses, the best antidote to this confusion is to stand up straight and tall, as Paul did, and boldly preach “Jesus, and the resurrection”! Everyone will not believe, but like in Paul’s day, “when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter” (Acts 17:32)! Some will indeed hunger to hear more and will go to Church. And to get a head start, parents must take their children to Church, and teach them the Word of God; following the pattern that God gave to Moses for us: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)! John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States of America, declared: “So great is my veneration for the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country and respectable member of society.” And George Washington, our first President, once said: “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.” Let us take heed and pray!