Faithfully Yours

Neil Strohschein

religious beliefs with them and before long, temples and shrines to gods of all kinds could be found within the city’s walls.

One shrine caught Paul’s eye. It was dedicated to “An Unknown God.” The Athenians were very religious. They were also very superstitious. They knew what would happen if they offended a god whose name they knew. But they feared what might happen if they offended a god about whom they knew nothing. So they built a shrine and offered sacrifices to an unknown God; just to avoid offending it. That gave Paul the opening he needed to share the good news of Jesus Christ with these people.

He began by telling them what he had seen and then made this incredible statement. “I am going to tell you about this unknown God. He is the God who ‘from one ancestor, made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him-though indeed he is not far from each one of us.’” (Acts 14:26-27)

Whenever I read those words, I am moved by their significance. They reveal a truth that has been discussed, argued, disputed and despised through the centuries. But nothing can change the fact they convey– that every person on this earth can trace his or her ancestry to one common