What God?

Acts 17:22-25

Mom was stunned after trying to teach her first Sunday School class on the reservation. She had made a comment that God expected a certain thing and one of the pupils asked, “which God?” When she said there was only one God, believing what she had been told, that Indians believed in a great spirit, the boy told her, “No, there are many gods.”

It didn’t take long to find out that there was as much difference between the tribes as there is between the Germans and the French. None of our local tribes ever lived in teepees or built canoes. Each tribe had their own language, and religion. Navajos never had a chief or ruling council until after the white men appointed one. The things we had been taught were white men’s ideas about what Indians did and thought, based on their observations of a few small groups and did not apply tot the majority.

Before Mom could teach Navajo kids what the Bible taught about other things, she had to establish who God was. This required both sides establishing as common understanding of who we meant when we said “God.” Until that common understanding is established, and statement about god will be distorted by the differences in understanding. The Navajo “gods” or “holy people” were merely predecessors or people from a previous culture who had learned to do certain things such as building fire, weaving or growing corn and passed it on to the Navajo people, earning great respect. The Navajo religion was primarily concerned with getting the spirits of these holy people to advise about daily problems, and prevent interference by evil spirits.

The idea of a God who could actually intervene on our behalf and make some thing happen differently was completely foreign to their beliefs. It took a great deal of explaining before the kids understood what Mom meant when she said “God,” but it was crucial to in order to teach them what the Bible says. I believe much of the religious confusion we still see on the reservation is a result of people not taking the time to make it clear what they meant, but just assume the people knew.

In Athens Paul found a city totally given to idolatry. The Jewish community was viewed as backwards, and their ideas and teachings were largely ignored. Because Paul’s teaching had attracted some curiosity, and they had no idea what he meant, they asked Paul to speak publicly. During the time Paul had been in Athens, apparently several weeks, he had learned quite a bit about what the Athenians believed. He uses that knowledge of their religious faith to introduce his beliefs.

“Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.” (Acts 17:22-23)

Because they believed different individual spirits influenced different diseases, and the way animals and plants grew and behaved, the Navajo religion required giving an offering to each spirit whose blessing might be needed to gain their favor that day. A ritual offering of corn pollen was offered every morning and evening as well as prayers for their favor.

The Athenians had a similar practice, but even more gods. Fearing they might accidentally leave out one, they had even developed and altar to the unknown one just in case. As Paul said, they were excessively religious. The philosophers had thought, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods:” and wanted to hear him incase they had missed some. Knowing their desire to properly worship all the Gods, Paul was able to use their interest to present the Gospel, describing the God they were wondering about. He would have been unable to do so, had he not spent the time among the people, and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach him. He carefully describes God to them.

“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;” (Acts 17:24-25)

The God we serve doesn’t just influence some animal of germ or plant. He created the entire world. None of the temples to their many gods could possibly contain God, and nothing man can do will impress him. It is not necessary to bribe him to give us everyday things, because he has given everything we have including our very life already. There is nothing we can do for God that he couldn’t do better for himself.

The Holy Spirit has used Paul’s understanding of Athenian culture and religion to enable him to explain God’s existence, and power. It is a completely different approach than Paul or Peter used in any of the previous locations, because in every prior case, the foundation had been laid by Jewish teaching. In Athens, it had not. It is critical that we allow the Holy Spirit to guide in laying a proper foundation if the gospel is to be truly understood and accepted.