Athens and Jerusalem

Learning how the devil divides and Jesus joins

05/09/2018

Acts of the Apostles 17:15, 22—18:1 After Paul's escorts had taken him to Athens, they came away with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible. Then Paul stood up at the Areopagus and said: "You Athenians, I see that in every respect you are very religious. For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines, I even discovered an altar inscribed, 'To an Unknown God.' What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything. Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything. He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions, so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us.

Sooner or later in your studies you will come across a famous phrase uttered in the second century by the Church Father, Tertullian. He scoffed sarcastically: “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” Tertullian wasn’t just talking about two towns, but about two worlds and their fundamental incompatibility. Athens was the home of Greek philosophy and Jerusalem was the home of Christian faith. Tertullian believed Athens and Jerusalem were like two ships passing in the night, or more like two battleships trying to blow each other into oblivion. His famous dictum suggests that reason and religion, philosophy and faith, will never get along.

Even a quick and dirty survey of history reveals that Tertullian may have been right. In 1616, the Catholic Inquisition condemned Galileo for saying science proves the sun is at the center of the solar system instead of the earth (as people generally believed back then). That is, what does science have to do with the Scriptures; what does Athens have to do with Jerusalem? In 1925, the state of Tennessee was home to the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial. A high school teacher, John T. Scopes, was prosecuted (and found guilty) for teaching evolution in a public school. In those days in the Volunteer State, only creation was allowed to be taught, and evolution was illegal. That is, what does biology have to do with the Bible; what does Athens have to do with Jerusalem? Even today, controversies rage about monuments of the Ten Commandments in Courtrooms around the country. That is, what does the Constitution penned by men in Pennsylvania to have to do with the Covenant signed by God on Mt. Sinai; what does Athens have to do with Jerusalem? Are reason and religion forever doomed to be at war with one another?

In Acts 17, St. Paul gives an answer to Tertullian by going precisely to Athens. Paul, the former, fearless Pharisee, educated in Jerusalem, travels to Athens, the headquarters of human reason, not to condemn but to combine, not to tear asunder but to unite and join in Jesus. The Apostle to the Gentiles preached to the Greeks: “You Athenians, I see that in every respect you are very religious. For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines, I even discovered an altar inscribed, ‘To an unknown God.’ What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you.” Paul then proceeded to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ, who had come to save everyone, Jews and Gentiles. St. Paul was looking for common ground between Athens and Jerusalem, trying to build a bridge between two worlds. Why? So, that these two ships might not blow each other up, but turn their guns against their mutual enemies of ignorance and idolatry. St. Paul hoped that reason and religion, instead of arm-wrestling and trying to conquer each other, could walk arm-in-arm and raise humanity to new heights. St. Paul was convinced that the devil divides, but Jesus joins, and therefore, Athens and Jerusalem have a lot in common.  Indeed, they have everything in common because both reason and religion come ultimately from God.

Boys and girls, don’t be so foolish as to feel that Tertullian’s phrase has nothing to do with you. Athens and Jerusalem not only have a lot to do with each other, they have a lot to do with Fort Smith. Always remember what St. Paul argued: the devil divides, but Jesus joins. Have you experienced division in your life? I bet you have. This past weekend I heard about two groups of girls that were bitterly divided and resorted to name-calling. Some of those girls may have been tempted to think like Tertullian: “What does our group have to do with their group? Nothing!” We are tempted to try to destroy each other with a war of words. But St. Paul would answer: the devil divides, Jesus joins. Try to find a way to reconcile and be united, or at least respectful of your differences. Sometimes you form clicks or small groups based on where you live, or your ethnic heritage, or your primary language, or your physical appearance. You may be tempted to ask like Tertullian: “What do we have to do with them??” Cultural differences can tend to tear people apart. But St. Paul would answer: the devil divides, Jesus joins. Find common ground, like food and football, Sriracha and sports, to bring people together. Tertullian’s question also touches the heartbeat of Trinity Junior High, where we teach religion alongside science, the Bible next to biology, the Constitution right after a class on the Commandments, and why you come to Mass every Wednesday, even though not all students are Catholics or Christians?

Why do we keep pushing you together? We are convinced like St. Paul that Athens has everything to do with Jerusalem.  What unites us is far greater than what divides us, and what joins us is Jesus.  The Church will not fire her canons against the ship of science any more, but rather invite her to become part of the armada that wars against stupidity and segregation. In the end the devil divides and Jesus joins.

Praised be Jesus Christ!