Acts 17 – The mocking of the resurrection

Acts 17:32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, We will hear you again about this. 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

This is Christianity on the Internet.

This here innerweb is largely a collection of western thought, people who think western thought, and people who post and converse in western thought. Western thought and philosophy is commonly understood to be based on ancient Greek culture. Our schools and universities are based on this, as are our government. It has even influenced the way Christians go about ministry.

Think about this….how many little-g gods are there on the internet? How much philosophy and open air discussion? How much top of the mountain blogging goes on? The ‘Net is the Areopagus for modern times. It has no real set agenda or purpose, yet it facilitates lots of ‘stuff’ in the mode of Greek thinking.

Thus, Paul talking with the Greeks is a huge study. Intellectually, we are far, far more like the greeks in this passage than we are to Paul. Paul learned like a Hebrew, not a Greek (which makes his speech so incredible).

So I start with the last passage because it is so typical on the Internet. It goes like this:

* Christian brings something up
* Non-Christians mock using terms like “praise Jeebus” and the like.

When Christians go online and talk about their faith, there will be no shortage of mockers. It’s part of the culture.

But some will join and believe.