For too long, Christians have taken an adversarial role with Muslims. We believe we must prove them wrong, and expose all the untruth and evil in their religion BEFORE we can share Jesus with them.
But consider Paul’s strategy in yet another city, Ephesus. In Acts 19, we read about how he goes there and raises up a core group of 12 believers. He then preaches in the Synagogues (where the Jews persecuted him and ran him out – 19:9), and then among the Gentiles in the Hall of Tyrannus. For two years, he preaches the Gospel to all the peoples in Ephesus.
And many people believe.
This cramps the style of the silversmiths, who make their entire living on forging and selling little silver statues and idols for worship of Artemis, the main God of Ephesus. Now, I’m not an expert on Artemis, but I have been to Ephesus. I went last summer, and got to see some of the silver idols that they have excavated…most of them connected to fertility. The female versions have about 15 breasts all over their abdomens, and the male versions – well, let’s just say they are very well-endowed! I mean, this stuff is gross! Further, there was quite a bit of sexual immorality connected to the worship of Artemis. One way to connect with her was to see a temple prostitute, for instance. So this whole Artemis cult, which was the main thing going in Ephesus while Paul was there, was way over the top.
And yet, we read in Acts 19:37 that the Town Clerk of Ephesus describes Paul and the other believers as men “who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess.” What?
Remember Zeus? You know, the king of the Greek gods, top dog on Mount Olympus. I was reading some Greek poetry today, and was surprised at what they had to say about our old buddy Zeus. Aratus of Cilicia waxed eloquent in his work called Phaenomena:
“Every path of life and every place of man,
all are full of Zeus,
seas and harbour are full of him.
From every direction they are related
To Zeus, because we are his offspring.”
And Epimenides said “In him (Zeus) we live and move and have our being.”
Wait a minute. This sounds strangely familiar. Aren’t those Bible quotes? Were Aratus and Epimenedes stealing from Paul??? Wait a second. They both lived centuries before Paul. If we’re talking plagiarism, it was going the other direction. Paul was stealing quotes from them.
In Acts 17:28, we find Paul preaching the Gospel to the Athenians, using the most unlikely of sources. Aratus and Epimenedes! Paul quotes the very Greek philosophers that his audience members would have grooved on. He identifies truth in the work of these guys, and he applies it to our God. He steals a quote about Zeus, and says, “Yes, you’re on the right track, but instead of being about Zeus, this is really about the living God.”
