“For in him we live, and move, and have our being.” Acts 17:28
A city full of statues, a marketplace full of ideas, and an altar to an unknown god. On a rocky hill, Paul tells the Athenians who God is, and that He is not far away.
While Paul waited in Athens for Silas and Timothy, his spirit was stirred to see a city full of idols. He taught in the synagogue and in the marketplace every day, and Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, curious about this “new doctrine,” brought him to Mars’ hill, where the city council met.
Paul began with an altar he had seen inscribed “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD” and declared that God. He taught that God made the world, does not live in temples made with hands, and is “not far from every one of us,” for “we are also his offspring.” He called them to repent and testified that God had raised Jesus from the dead. Some mocked, some wanted to hear more, and some believed, including Dionysius, a member of the council, and a woman named Damaris.
Who’s who
Paul: an Apostle and missionary
The Athenians: citizens and visitors who loved new ideas
Epicureans and Stoics: Greek philosophers
Dionysius and Damaris: two who believed
Where and when
Athens, Greece: its streets of statues, its marketplace, and Mars’ hill (the Areopagus).
Watch for the Savior
Watch how Paul starts with common ground and leads to the living God and the risen Christ.
Eight stops from the statues of Athens to two new believers. Scroll, or tap a number on the map.
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The story, plainly
Four scenes: the streets, the marketplace, the hill and the response. Look for the Savior in each one.
Read it plainly
The words that trip people up
Tap any dotted word for its meaning. The scripture stays exactly as written.1
Acts 17:16 “his spirit was Meaning: troubled, deeply moved. in him”
Acts 17:18 “What will this Meaning: someone who picks up scraps of ideas and chatters. say?”
Acts 17:22 “ye are too Meaning: very religious (see footnote a).”
Acts 17:27 “if Meaning: perhaps. they might feel after him”
Acts 17:34 “certain men Meaning: held close. unto him”
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Look closer
Small details tell the story. Some cards are details in the text; others share insights from prophets or Church resources. Each card says which.
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All nine. The statues, the market, the hill, the altar, the world, the temple, the family, the reaching hand and the empty tomb. Acts 17:16–34
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Where are you?
Searching, surrounded by opinions, still thinking, or ready to believe. Which feels most like you right now?
A next step for you
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The unknown God, made known
The Athenians had ideas about the gods. Paul answered each one with truth about our Heavenly Father and His Son. Tap each card to see what Paul taught.
“Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.” Acts 17:23
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Their world, their words
A little background helps us see Athens and its philosophers. Outside sources are labeled.
Church resource · Student manual
Epicureans
The student manual: they taught “the world came into existence by chance and was without purpose or design.”2
Paul taught a Creator with a purpose.
Church resource · Student manual
Stoics
Stoics “believed that man was endowed with a spark of reason and should seek harmony with the divine order of things.”2
Paul quoted their own poets.
Church resource · Student manual
Their own poets
“For we are also his offspring” came from Aratus. Paul was “establishing beliefs that he had in common with his listeners.”2
He started where they were.
Church resource · Student manual
Dionysius
He was “called ‘the Areopagite,’ probably meaning that he was a member of the Areopagus.”2
Paul said God is “not far from every one of us.” Ask Heavenly Father to help you notice one way He is near you this week, and write it down when you see it.
Try it today
One step each day. It saves on this device, one day at a time.
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This week:0 of 7 days
Seven days of seeking. Come again tomorrow.
A quiet moment
“Though he be not far from every one of us.”
Read Acts 17:24–28 slowly. Then sit quietly and thank Heavenly Father that you are His child, and that He is near. Acts 17:24–28
A verse to hold
Talk about it
Why was Paul’s spirit stirred when he walked through Athens?
How did Paul use the altar to the unknown god to teach?
What does it mean that we are God’s offspring?
Why do you think some people mocked the Resurrection?
Open
For adults and deeper study
Go deeper
Longer readings, harder questions, and where to study next. Each one says what it is before you click.
Church resource
New Testament Student Manual: Acts 16–20
Athens, the Epicureans and Stoics, the unknown god, our divine parentage and why some mocked the Resurrection.2
Paul began with what the Athenians already believed. How can you start with common ground when you share your faith?
What changes when you see yourself first as a child of God?
Why does it matter that Jesus Christ was raised with a body?
Sources
Every quotation, gloss, and piece of background on this page is listed here: scripture first, then Church sources, then outside scholarship (labeled).
Scripture
Acts 17:16–34: “For in him we live, and move, and have our being.”
Church leaders and Church resources
New Testament Student Manual, “Acts 16–20”, Gospel Library. Includes President Thomas S. Monson, President Dallin H. Oaks, Elder Bruce R. McConkie and Elder Kevin R. Duncan.
Everything on this page as a 11-page letter-size PDF: the map, scenes, cards, activity, word studies, tracker, Go deeper and sources. For home, class or a quiet Sunday.
Independent study notes from Weak Things, not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. The story is told in Acts 17:16–34; the insights in “Look closer” are labeled by source.
