The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-01-31
THE CROSS ON MARS HILL
The international Sunday School Les
son for Feb. 1-"PauI at Athens"
Acts xviii, 2234(Study Verses
1884.

Americans count Independence hall
ancient; yet how young we are as
nation we may perceive when we re-
call the age Of the city of Athens, to
which the Apostle Paul fled when driv
en- from Thessalonica and Berea.
Mars HILL or the AreOpagus, where he
delivered the address which is the text
of today's lesson, had 1900 years Of
history behind it when he stood in its
center. Once it had been the tribunal
where crimes were tried, but now its
judicial functions, if any remained at
all, appear to have been restricted to
determining religious questions. For
in Athens it was a capital OtTenSe to
preach anything contrary to the state
religion, and either Paul had been car
ried before this court to justify him.
self and the doctrines he had been
proclaiming in the market place, or
else he had seized the, occasion to set
forth the gospel before the wisest men
of the worlds wisest city. The zeal
Gus campaigner had a period of wait
ing to spend in Athens, pending the
arrival of Silas and Timothy. One
might think him warranted in resting,
after his recent stirring experiences,
but not he; every new city was but a
fresh opportunity to proclaim the good
news.
The Spectacle of City.
The sight of city moves every
thinking man. One cannot watch its
passing throngs without something OF
a feeling of sadness MultitudeS al
ways excite the pity of a great heart.
1t was characteristic of the worlds
greatest Man that He should weep over
the capital Of His nation as He contem-
plated it's walls and thought upon the
multitudes which they inclosed. Paul,
so like his Master in many respects.
L. aIe 11n
moved to and fro amid the splendOfs OF
Athens, beholding the hollowness of its
culture and the emptiness of its Wor~
ship, his great heart was touched with
pity and he longed to show the people
a better way. He knew that 1t takes
more than splendid architecture and
beautiful statueS-Which Athens had in
a surprising degree-to make a city
great. He was too wise a man to be
deceived by mere outward show.
Doubtless he realized the aching, hum
CRY hearts that so often hide beneath
costly robes. So he sought to speak
forth the message which means purity,
peace. power and moral health to all
who receive it. Then, as now, the Cos
pei of Jesus was the only sufficient
remedy for the ills of a city.
Open-Air Preaching.
Not satisfied with telling his mes
sage in the synagogues, Paul preached
also in the market place. He was not
the sort of preacher to be satisfied
with talking to empty benches; he was
bound to reach the people, and there
fore he went where the people were
to be found. The spirit of the churches
of today is tending the same way. AT
least one of the ablest and most prom
inent ministers in New York breaches
on the street corner every Sunday that
weather permits. So do many other
preachers in other places. The mes
sage which every representative OF
Jesus bears IS so inSiStent that, by
some means or other, it must be made
to reach men. Ii he had not preached
in the market place, Paul would not
have had opportunity to preach before
the AreOpa CITES.
Wisdom Gone to Seed.
When knowledge is not vitalized by
a high purpose it becomes futile and
frivolous, and merely one form of sens
uaIity. Culture is not primarily an end
in itself, but a means to.an end. These
ancient Athenians had got into the
superciliouS state of mind which is not
unknown among educated Americans
today. All knowledge was but toy
to be trifled with, and nothing was sa-
cred from their self esteeming criti-
cisrn They even spoke patronizingly
of their own gods. They suffered badly
from ennui; they were altogether bldse,
and constantly on the search for a new
sensation. Even religion was only a
diversion to them. The record runs of
them that "All the Athenians and the
strangers sojourning there spent their
time in nothing else, but either to tell
or to hear some new things And this
was the center Of wisdom of the known
world! When knowledge ceases to be
employed for high ends it degenerates
into mere dilettanteism.
An Orator Among Philosophers.
It is the occasion that reveals the
orator. An ordinary preacher might
| have gone into his barrel and got
| out his best old sermon, probably
horatory one, to deliver before that
assembly of Areopagites, who were
representatives of Athens highest
| scholarship. This little Jew who stood
M in the presence of the cynical wis
| dom of the East was an orator and
| better philosopher than any of his
! hearers. So, with an orators quickness
| in utilizing an occasion, and with
philosophers understanding OF the be-
! liefs and the weaknesses of his hearers,
Paul proceeded, with consummate skill.
| on the plane of Athenian philosophy, to
! set forth the reasonable basis for the
| worship of the one supreme God. He