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“Paul…reasoned therefore in the synagogue with the Jews, and those who worshipped, and in the market-place every day with those he met with. But some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers attacked him. And some said, What would this chatterer say?” (Acts 17:16-18 JND).
When Paul saw all the idol worship in Athens, he felt that he had to say something. But when he preached about the Lord Jesus, and His resurrection, we find that the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers attacked him, while others dismissed Paul as a “chatterer.” Why would they do this, if they really wanted to hear something new?
They did not want to listen because Christianity makes nothing of man, and everything of Christ. The gospel tells man that he is a lost sinner, and needs a Savior. Those proud, educated Greeks did not want to hear that message. They wanted to hear news that would make them feel good about themselves, not news that told them they were sinners.
In natural things, the Epicureans and the Stoics were opposites, yet they worked together to oppose the gospel. See if you can find out what the Epicureans and Stoics believed. We have people today who fit into both categories.
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