Paul’s stay in Athens, a city with rich cultural and intellectual history, provides an occasion for him to preach directly to the Gentiles who are not affiliated with the Jewish synagogues (17:16–34). The theme of this major speech is introduced by a note that Paul “was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols” (17:16). In this city of cultural and historical significance, one finds Paul being confronted by “Epicurean and Stoic philosophers” (17:18). The Epicureans affirmed a thoroughly materialistic worldview and saw the acquisition of pleasure as the highest principle. The Stoics affirmed a pantheistic worldview and saw reason as the underlying principle of both society and the cosmos. While these two schools diverged in their understanding of the world and the place of…