Paul stood up at the Areopagus and said: “You Athenians, I see that in every respect you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines, I even discovered an altar inscribed, ‘To an Unknown God.’ What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands, 25 nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything. Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything. 26 He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions, 27 so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us. 28 For ‘In him we live and move and have our being,’ as even some of your poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ 29 Since therefore we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the divinity is like an image fashioned from gold, silver, or stone by human art and imagination. 30 God has overlooked the times of ignorance, but now he demands that all people everywhere repent 31 because he has established a day on which he will ‘judge the world with justice’ through a man he has appointed, and he has provided confirmation for all by raising him from the dead.” 32 When they heard about resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, “We should like to hear you on this some other time.” 33 And so Paul left them. 34 But some did join him, and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the Court of the Areopagus, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
In Acts 17:22-34, St. Paul delivers one of the most remarkable speeches in the Acts of the Apostles. Standing in the cultural and intellectual heart of ancient Athens, Paul addresses the philosophers of the Areopagus, a distinguished body originally tasked with judicial and religious matters, but by Paul’s time functioning more as a forum for philosophical and civic dialogue.
Surrounded by countless shrines and altars to various deities—both major and obscure—Paul singles out one altar bearing the inscription, “To an Unknown God” (v. 23). This altar likely reflected the Athenian desire not to offend any divine being through ignorance. In their attempt to cover all spiritual bases, they revealed a deeper hunger: the human longing to worship the divine, even when that divine reality is only dimly perceived (cf. Rom. 1:19-20).
Paul seizes this moment to reveal that what they have worshiped without knowing, he now proclaims fully: the one true God, the Creator of all things, who “does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands” (v. 24). This God is not contained by temples or statues, nor is He served as though He had needs (Ps. 50:12-13). Rather, He is the source of life, breath, and existence itself (cf. Gen. 2:7; Job 33:4). Paul even quotes their own poets: “In Him we live and move and have our being” (v. 28)—a line from Epimenides, and “For we too are his offspring” (v. 28), from Aratus—illustrating the partial truths embedded in natural reason and cultural expressions.
Yet, Paul does not leave the Athenians in abstraction. He calls them beyond their “times of ignorance” (v. 30)—a phrase that implies God’s merciful forbearance in the past (cf. Wis. 11:23-12:2)—and into repentance. Now, with the full revelation of God in Jesus Christ, the time for unknowing is over. God has “set a day” for judgment, and the proof is this: Jesus has been raised from the dead (v. 31).
This mention of the resurrection was the turning point, as it was an intellectual stumbling block for the Greeks. For many Greeks, especially Stoics—who emphasized reason, virtue, and inner self-mastery—and Epicureans—who pursued tranquility through moderate pleasure and believed the gods were distant and uninvolved—the idea of bodily resurrection was not only foreign but foolish. Their philosophical traditions often regarded the body as a prison for the soul, and salvation as liberation from matter. Hence, the idea that the dead would rise—bodily—was met with scoffing (v. 32). Yet for Paul, and for all Christian faith, the bodily resurrection is essential (cf. 1 Cor. 15:12-20). It is not a symbol but a promise and proof that God’s redemptive plan includes the whole person—body and soul.
Although some dismissed Paul’s message, others believed. The mention of Dionysius the Areopagite, a member of the esteemed council, signifies that the Gospel had begun to penetrate even the highest levels of Greek society. Damaris, possibly a woman of high status or philosophical inclination, also becomes a believer. Their inclusion highlights that faith is not confined by gender, social class, or cultural background (cf. Gal. 3:28). The Gospel reaches every human heart willing to listen.
Almighty God, You are the Creator of all and the source of life. In a world that chases after many voices and many altars, help us to hear the one truth You have revealed through Jesus Christ. May we no longer live in ignorance, but in the light of the resurrection, turning to You with hearts full of repentance and hope. Strengthen us to proclaim the risen Lord with wisdom, clarity, and love. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Bless those who walk by faith and not by sight
Sources
- McSorley, Joseph. An Outline History of the Church by Centuries (From St. Peter to Pius XII). 2nd ed., B. Herder Book Co., 1944.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: The Pentateuch. Four Courts Press, 2017
- Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. Translated by John Bowden, 1981.
- Komonchak, Joseph, et al., editors. The New Dictionary of Theology.
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