Extreme Religion
In today’s scripture passage, we find Paul in Athens shortly after he’s been dropped off by his first-century Uber. He’s waiting for Silas and Timothy to arrive, and must have passed the time by strolling around town a bit.
Paul was steeped in Jewish tradition, and took pride in his standing as a Pharisee, even after he met Christ on the road to Damascus. Thus he believed in one God, and was versed in the Hebrew scriptures that warned against idol worship. What must he have thought, then, when he found himself surrounded by idols? The NRSV Bible translation says he was “distressed,” but I prefer the Message translation that says, “The longer Paul waited in Athens for Silas and Timothy, the angrier he got — all those idols! The city was a junkyard of idols.”
Shortly thereafter, Paul is asked to speak at the Areopagus, in front of “Athens’s elite administrative body.” (Dinkler, loc. 46047) In the crowd were folks who were well-versed in Greek philosophy, and included Epicureans, who didn’t believe in any higher power due to the suffering in the world. His listeners all existed in a very different context from Paul’s own.
Perhaps one of the biggest challenges Paul faced in addressing his audience was that they were elites, whereas the message he preached was usually targeted at those who were not. “Greek and Roman philosophers usually took the side of the ruling classes while the Hebrew prophets sided with working people.” (Rieger, 123) The Hebrew prophets were champions of the poor, and Jesus came to bring good news to the poor. Yet Paul was able to shape his message accordingly. As Michal Beth Dinkler writes, “Paul speaks in classical Greek oratorical style and addresses Epicurean and Stoic philosophies.” (Dinkler, loc. 46037)
He begins with a pseudo compliment of their many objects of worship, saying, “I see how extremely religious you are in every way.” In doing so, he creates some common ground: a value placed on piety and religious observance. He notes that theirs is so extreme they even have an altar to an unknown god, and he chooses that designation as an opportunity to elaborate on the God who made the world and everything in it, the Lord of heaven and earth. He says this God is not far away, perhaps as a counter to the Stoic concept of a distant God.
He goes on to reference other Greek thought, even quoting a poet, all the while building toward the introduction of Jesus, his purpose, and his resurrection.
Perhaps Paul knows that the beliefs of those in his audience are entrenched and unlikely to be changed in the near term; nonetheless, he respectfully acknowledges where they are, creates common ground, and shares his message without compromising it. As Willie James Jennings puts it, “Paul here extends himself into a Gentile world to offer a way into God’s beautiful new world. . . . Paul is reaching out to those Gentiles who could not be more removed from his world of covenantal faithfulness. The man who agreed to the stoning of Stephen [a follower of Jesus] now stands surrounded by stones that evoke his righteous fury, yet he must yield to the Spirit who now calls him to a new word.” (Jennings, 176)
Thankfully, we don’t live in such a junkyard of idols . . . or do we? What objects of worship exist in our society? We might be tempted to think of the ancient structures in Athens that surrounded and angered Paul as relics of the past, but I’d suggest we have at least as many idols today; we’re just more likely to declare our allegiance through bumper stickers, flags, clothing, and rituals than through carved stone.
Consider the last drive you took. How many idols representing companies, politics, or sports teams did you see on the way? How much messaging did you encounter to buy this or that product or service with the promise that it would make your life easier or better? Perhaps your path took you past one of the new car washes in town. Have you seen these popping up? Did you know you can get a subscription to the car wash now? We own vehicles to get us from here to there, but the image they project — and, I guess, their cleanliness — can overshadow their utility.
What other idols surround us and attempt to attract the sacrifice of our time and treasure? Brand names? Loyalty programs? Shopping experiences? Our yards? Our homes?
What idols sometimes call for the sacrifice of friendships, relationships, and even recognition of others as human beings? Political parties? Employers? Systems of government? Nationality? Economic systems? Fears?
What of ritual? As I was pondering these ideas last week, I thought of the ecosystems of which I’ve become part. I buy certain things at certain stores in certain ways at certain times because by doing so I earn points that allow me to pay less for things in certain circumstances. Or how about the ritual involved in attending a college football game. Some of us have spent significant money on tickets, driven great distances, spent time stuck in traffic, walked a long way to our seats, paid too much for snacks, sang and chanted in ritualistic fashion, worn branded apparel, and perhaps become very angry with those wearing opposing branded apparel . . . and it’s all related to watching 22 men and their interaction with a ball.
Is there anything wrong with savvy shopping or watching sports or political affiliation or hobbies or home maintenance? Of course not, in moderation. But they all have the potential to become idols, which Dr. Jennings describes as “a collective self-deception, a point of facilitation where human fantasy and wish, circulating around material realities, generate distorted hope.” (Jennings, 177)
If we allow a market-driven culture or a fear-driven culture or an image-driven culture to dictate how we live our lives, we will be assimilated accordingly. Our lives will look the same as those for whom top priorities are wealth or influence or image or safety or comfort, at the cost of community, faith, generosity, and true abundance.
Paul must have been tempted to point out the shortcomings in the idolatry and philosophies practiced by those in his audience, but he chose a different strategy: He went big. He directed attention toward the God of all things, a God who did not need those in his audience, but certainly wanted them. He recognized that at least some of the folks there were searching for something more — thus their altar to an unknown god.
The religion to which Paul and the Spirit called those in the Areopagus was itself extreme, but in different ways from what was practiced by the locals. Paul’s God did not desire the creation of monuments; rather, God’s desire was to draw the “Gentiles into the body of Jesus and into one Spirit with Israel. . . . God desires those who desire idols, [and Paul’s] speech is driven by the irrepressible longing of God to embrace wayward creatures by every means possible.” (Jennings, 176)
What are other characteristics of this extreme religion Paul was describing? We can look to today’s other scripture passages for guidance. In John 14, Jesus says to follow his commandments. This goes beyond what we often refer to as the ten commandments, to include loving your neighbor as yourself, as well as our enemies. As you know, that last bit can be extremely challenging. But Jesus goes on to say that we’ll be accompanied in our efforts by the Holy Spirit.
The 1 Peter 3 passage mentions baptism, a Christian sacrament indicating one’s will to have a clean heart. He also argues against being fearful of the things we’re told to fear. And Psalm 66 offers reminders of the importance of prayer, giving, and humility.
Adopting such extreme religion would have set the Athenians apart, and further reading in Acts suggests not many were willing to do so. This speaks to the danger of being part of the elite and affluent class: You can almost convince yourself that you have everything you need based on that status.
Do we see evidence of that fulfillment in our society, though? We live in the most affluent nation in the world, but what that affluence has bought us is higher rates of depression and loneliness and lower reported happiness than is experienced by those in many other countries. Our championing of individualism draws us away from compassion and weakens our sense of community. Our idolatries lead to economic inequities, ecological destruction, mass shootings, and injustice.
We know there is more out there than what is offered by our corporations, our employers, our government, and our culture. Faith offers an alternative, and while there are some who claim none, I’d assert that one’s religion is evidenced by the allocation of their attention and devotion. As Robert Wall writes,
“While we should admit that some skeptics reject out of hand the very idea of a spiritual reality, most do give expression to their spiritual yearning by their adherence to the values and core convictions of one or another “ism” — scientism, materialism, individualism, nationalism, naturalism, humanism, and so on. A commitment to any of these worldviews shapes loyalties and informs decisions. In this sense, all people are religious.” (Wall, 197–198)
That said, it’s understandable that some folks want to avoid organized religion. Any organization comprised of fallible humans is itself fallible, and the history of Christianity includes many grievous chapters. But the church, the body of Christ, is comprised of humans, and when it lives into its call it has great potential to bless those moved by the Spirit and those whose needs are met through the Spirit’s movement.
So here we are, amidst the idols of this world, engaging in ancient, imprudent practices that include talking to an unquantifiable God, giving away ten percent of our income, avoiding self-promotion, dripping water on our heads to symbolize our connection to the divine, and putting the needs of our neighbors ahead of our own. In a society that urges us to idolize ourselves, that is extremely foreign. Thus we are ultimately part of a diaspora, living in a world that offers only glimpses of the kin-dom that is to come.
Dr. Jennings says that
“this is the danger of diaspora living: you embody a claim that reaches to all those you encounter, even if they do not believe what you believe. . . . This way of repentance invites peoples and nations to see a future that is moving irrevocably toward this new human, the judge of the living and the dead. . . . All religious speech, no matter how carefully stated, no matter how ecumenical and affirming, no matter how polite, shatters at the resurrected body of Jesus. Because to speak of the resurrection of Jesus is no longer religious speech, but speech that challenges reality, reorients how we see earth and sky, water and dirt, land and animals, and even our own bodies.” (Jennings, 178)
Siblings in Christ, we are indeed surrounded by a junkyard of idols. We have a higher calling than their maintenance, however. I’m grateful to be part of a community that helps me see those idols for what they are, and helps draw my attention to kin-dom matters like the pursuit of justice and experience of extreme love.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
Works Referenced
Dinkler, Michal Beth. “Acts.” In Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The Old Testament and Apocrypha, edited by Gale A. Yee, Hugh R. Page, Jr., Matthew J. M. Coomber. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014. Kindle edition.
Jennings, Willie James. Acts. BELIEF: A Theological Commentary on the Bible series edited by Amy Plantinga Paul and William C. Placher. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2017.
Rieger, Joerg. Theology in the Capitalocene: Ecology, Identity, Class, and Solidarity. (Dispatches, edited by Ashley John Moyse and Scott A. Kirkland.) Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press, 2022, Kindle edition.
Walaskay, Paul W. Acts. Westminster Bible Companion series edited by Patrick D. Miller and David L. Bartlett. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998.
Wall, Robert W. “The Acts of the Apostles.” In New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume IX. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.
