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| McDLT Moderator Joined May 14, 2004 1451 posts Location: Toronto |
 Acts 17: In Thessalonica, Berea and Athens |
Posted Jan 10, 2005; 8:52 am |
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Please do NOT feel like you have to answer these questions. You can answer one, all, or none of them. They are just there to help get you thinking. Feel free to share your thoughts and/or ask any questions you may have as you read this chapter.
Was there anything that stood out for you in this chapter?
How does Paul proclaim the gospel in Thessaloncia and Berea? What is his approach in Athens? How are they the same? Different?
What kind of philosphies have you come upon? How do they compare to Christianity?
How do you share the good news to people of different cultures? |
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| Sudsy Member Joined Sep 23, 2003 2833 posts |
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Posted Jan 24, 2005; 12:41 pm |
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I just find it interesting that we use the Bereans as examples of diligent Bible study folk and Paul did not send them a specific letter addressed to them. I wonder how much New Testament teaching as we know it today was known by churches such as those in Berea and Athens. Books like the book of John (80-95 A.D.) and the book of Romans (so far removed from these sites), we use today in our evangelism and doctrine pretty heavily, yet I doubt these churches had access to any of this.
Here is a 'what if'. What if archeology finds a letter someday to the Bereans written by Paul. Or any other new letter written by Paul. How willing do you think Christians will be to add to our current scriptures ?  . I thought I heard a KJV only just say - 'won't happen'.  |
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| Bro Member Joined May 4, 2004 912 posts Location: Richmond B.C. |
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Posted Jan 25, 2005; 7:47 pm |
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Those that determined what should be canonical scriptures have long since departed the scene.Others that are of devout standing would have to determine if such a book to the Berians was capable of being considered canonical or not. 
On another note maybe Paul had nothing to say to the Berians. |
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| Sudsy Member Joined Sep 23, 2003 2833 posts |
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Posted Jan 25, 2005; 9:13 pm |
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Bro, could you see us today agreeing on who should be on the committee to determine what is and what is not canononononononical ?  |
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| McDLT Moderator Joined May 14, 2004 1451 posts Location: Toronto |
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Posted Jan 26, 2005; 10:26 am |
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I think because the Bereans searched the Scriptures, they wouldn't need a letter (epistle) all to themselves, they would just read everyone else's and then search the Scriptures again to make sure everything was good.  Kind of what we do when we study. |
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| Sudsy Member Joined Sep 23, 2003 2833 posts |
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Posted Jan 26, 2005; 1:13 pm |
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| McDLT, do you think these churches actually shared these letters ? I suspect there may have been some sharing but I have my doubts on those addressed to individuals or the ones written so far away such as the letter to the Romans. It would be interesting to know just how long it took for these new churches to actually have something close to what we know today as our New Testament. |
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| vanislandwoman |
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Posted Jan 27, 2005; 7:26 pm |
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I can't find my reference materials about the timelines of Acts. But I'm wondering if any of the letters had actually been written at this time? I think that the only Scripture they had was the Old Testament- Septuagint? The Bereans were greek culture werent' they? Aaargh, I wish I could remember things! If they were constantly searching the scriptures, then might they have had some of the Jewish commentary writings as well?
They were searching the Scriptures to make sure that what Paul was telling them matched up- so I'm sure he had been telling them that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies about Messiah. Anything else they were told would have been the personal experiences- eg. Paul I'm sure would have told them about his personal history, and what he had seen happen as people heard the message about Jesus. It took a while for the letters and the written gospels to be accepted as Scripture, even if they were being shared around some of the churches. And there was a lot of other stuff being circulated that didn't make the eventual 'cut' to be canonical, but people would be reading and talking about it. |
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| Sudsy Member Joined Sep 23, 2003 2833 posts |
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Posted Feb 1, 2005; 10:33 am |
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As you say, Paul probably shared his experiences but when you see how little time he spent in some locations, it makes me wonder what sort of understanding they actually had. We can see in some of his letter that there understanding needed some fine tuning. On the other hand, if they really understood the guidance of the Holy Spirit in their lives, they could have received everything they needed with just the OT scriptures and the little they had been shown about Christ.
Today, I sometimes feel we have so many scriptures for use and yet we are less effective than they were in our evangelism. Many have fallen into the same trap as the Pharisees that diligently study and act out their beliefs on the surface when their hearts are far from God. Study of the scriptures is often but an exercise in reasoning and the use of intelligence when it cannot be understood this way.
I continue to have to remind myself of Proverbs 3:5&6 as it is so easy to fall back on the learning techniques we have used to learn man's wisdom and try to apply these to learning God's wisdom, yet it can't be done. And I am not a highly educated person, so this must be an awful battle for those who have had so much worldly success from using man's techniques. I sometimes wonder what I am doing talking about some of the stuff I do on this forum. O well, that's another topic. |
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