September 1
(Acts 17:22-23 NIV) “Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. {23} For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.”
(John 14:6 NIV) ““Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.””
(Deuteronomy 4:23-24 NIV) “Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. {24} For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”
In the minds of the highly educated philosophers of Athens, it was wise to embrace every idea and every god. They celebrated the diversity of their culture and built altars to all the gods. Everybody’s god was seen as equally valuable. The Athenians were so concerned about being inclusive that they even had an altar to the “UKNOWN GOD”. They didn’t want to risk leaving anyone out. This is called pluralism and it is still popular among the sophisticated and enlightened of our day. The inclusiveness of the Athenians would have been lauded by our contemporary culture. But Paul knew it was wrong. His Judaism told him that there was but one God, and his newfound faith in Christ had convinced him that there is but one Messiah and one way to salvation. His wisdom holds true today. There is but one covering for all of the bases. His name is Jesus. Let Him cover you. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day
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