PAUL’S ATHENS ADDRESS AS A CROSS-CULTURAL MISSIONS PARADIGM CONTAINING BOTH BRIDGE-BUILDING AND CRITIQUE by AARON JOHNSTONE A Thesis Submitted to the faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MAR at Reformed Theological Seminary Charlotte, North Carolina May 2017 Accepted: ___________________________________________ [Thesis Supervisor] ___________________________________________ [Second Reader] PAUL’S ATHENS ADDRESS AS A CROSS-CULTURAL MISSIONS PARADIGM CONTAINING BOTH BRIDGE-BUILDING AND CRITIQUE i ABSTRACT This thesis is a study of Luke’s account of Paul in Athens (Acts 17:16-34), as well as a comparative analysis of this text against three other key missions speeches in Acts (Pisidian Antioch; 13:13-41, Lystra; 14:8-20, Miletus; 20:17-38). The two key theses being argued are firstly that Paul uses a combination of bridge-building and critiquing in Athens, and secondly that this approach should be seen as paradigmatic for all cross-cultural mission. The first point is supported with an exegesis of Acts 17:16-34, the second with the comparative analysis. Historical studies concerning Paul’s missions approach in Athens are placed on a ‘contextualization spectrum’, containing ‘capitulation’ at the one end, and ‘pure critique’ at the other. While most commentators tend towards one side of the spectrum, the majority holds a middle ground called ‘contextualization’. It is found that the views at either end of the spectrum are untenable if a proper interpretative balance is sought between the narrative context and speech content of the Athens account. Exegesis of both the narrative context (Luke’s record of Paul’s activity in Athens while not speaking, except to introduce himself) and speech content of the Athens account demonstrate a combined missions approach including both bridge-building and critique. Commentators who emphasize one of these aspects over the other tend to emphasize an exegesis of either narrative context or speech content. A comparative analysis of the Athens account against exegesis of Paul’s missions speeches in Pisidian Antioch, Lystra and Miletus reveals a number of points of continuity and discontinuity, from which patterns regarding Paul’s missions approach are drawn. These points include Paul's knowledge of his audiences worldview, a misunderstanding/ignorance ii on the part of Paul’s audiences regarding the Christian worldview, Paul's use of his audience's sources (as both bridge-building and self-critique), Paul’s Christian worldview proclamation, and Paul’s audience’s polarized response to his proclamation. Further argument to support the paradigmatic nature of Paul’s combined missions approach is provided by comparing these points of continuity with a systematic view of missions, suggesting that Paul’s use of both bridge-building and critique in Athens represents a biblical view of cross-cultural mission in general. iii I would like to dedicate this work to my wife Laura and the people of the Presbyterian Church of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Laura, whose patience and understanding during the writing of this thesis has been much appreciated. The people of PCKS have been a tremendous support during my time studying for this degree, and will always be warmly remembered. iv CONTENTS CONTENTS ....................................................................................................................... V TABLES ........................................................................................................................... VI ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ VII 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 A. Cross-Cultural Mission, Bridge-building and Critique .................................. 1 B. Definitions ...................................................................................................... 2 C. Assumptions .................................................................................................... 3 D. Literature Review, Including Historical Study ............................................... 4 E. Luke’s Theology ........................................................................................... 15 2. PAUL AT ATHENS - ACTS 17:16-34 ................................................................. 20 A. Introductory Matters ..................................................................................... 21 B. Paul’s Pagan audience .................................................................................. 22 C. Speech Context ............................................................................................. 24 D. Paul’s Speech Proper, vv.24-31 .................................................................... 36 E. Conclusion - A Missions Approach Including Bridges and Critiques .......... 45 3. PAUL’S OTHER SPEECHES .............................................................................. 47 A. Introductory Matters, A Comparative Study. ............................................... 47 B. Paul At Pisidian Antioch – A Comparative Study With Acts 13:13-41, Paul’s Jewish Audience ................................................................................. 49 C. Paul At Lystra – A Comparative Study With Acts 14:8-20, Paul’s First Pagan Audience .............................................................................................. 55 v D. Paul At Miletus – A Comparative Study With Acts 20:17-38, Paul’s Christian Audience As Interpretational Control Text. ................................... 62 4 CONCLUSION - PAUL IN ATHENS AS A ‘BOTH/AND’ CROSS- CULTURAL MISSION APPROACH. ................................................................. 68 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................... I TABLES Table 1 – ‘Contextualization Spectrum’. ................................................................................... 6 Table 2 – Audience Misunderstanding .................................................................................... 56 Table 3 – Apostles Emotive Response .................................................................................... 56 Table 4 – Content / Theme Comparison .................................................................................. 58 Table 5 – God as Living (ζῶντα) and Creator (ἐποίησεν) ....................................................... 59 Table 6 – Parallel themes: History of Mercy, Common Grace Provision, Revelation to Creatures ............................................................................................................. 60 Table 7 – Points of Continuity between Pisidian Antioch and Lystra .................................... 62 Table 8 – Comparative Study Results ..................................................................................... 70 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my thanks to my thesis supervisor, Dr. Greg Lanier for his support during the writing of this thesis. vii Chapter 1. Introduction A. Cross-Cultural Mission, Bridge-building and Critique Much study has been devoted to exegesis and interpretation of Paul’s speech in Athens. Acts 17:16-34 has been championed by scholars, apologists, missiologists, and evangelists with competing views regarding the relationship of Paul’s address to the Athenian culture. On the one hand, scholars such as Dibelius view Paul’s Athens speech as a capitulation to culture, that Paul conceded to his audience, telling what they wanted to hear.1 On the other hand, scholars such as Yarnell reject this view, saying instead that Paul sought simply to proclaim the word evangelistically and critique their worldview.2 There are however a number of scholars who attempt to chart a middle path between those of Dibelius and Yarnell, such as Flemming and representatives of an emergent missiology who uphold Paul’s expertise in ‘contextualizing’ the gospel, 3 and his ‘building bridges’ to accommodate his audience. Research articulating the integration of Paul’s method of bridge-building and critiquing has tended to fall on one side or the other, whereas less has been said regarding the necessity for the two approaches to occur simultaneously. This thesis will argue that a false dichotomy 1 Martin Dibelius, Studies in the Acts of the Apostles (New York, Charles Scribner’s, 1956). 2 Malcolm B. Yarnell III, “Shall We ‘Build Bridges’ or ‘Pull Down Strongholds’?,” Southwestern Journal of Theology 49, (2007): 200–219. 3 Dean Flemming, “Contextualizing the Gospel in Athens: Paul’s Areopagus Address as a Paradigm for Missionary Communication,” Missiology 30, (2002): 199–214. 1 exists between the ‘bridge-building’ and ‘critiquing’ views of the passage, and that one necessitates the other. The argument will be made that Paul sought to faithfully proclaim God’s word through his attempt to build apologetic bridges with his audience, and that such an approach should be seen as paradigmatic for cross-cultural missional engagement. The argument will be demonstrated through a cumulative comparative study of Paul’s Athens speech with respect to other significant missions speeches in Acts.4 B. Definitions Terminology surrounding the interpretation and application of concepts in the passage are used in different ways. The term cross-cultural often has a particular connotation that will not be the emphasis in this study. Instead of the term being