I remember my first visit to the legendary city of Athens like it was yesterday. I arrived at night, and my first view of the Acropolis and the beautiful temple of Athena β the Parthenon β was unforgettable. Floodlights illuminated that magnificent structure against the night sky. The beauty and power of the Parthenon standing high above the city was overwhelming. But the impact of that scene went far beyond the beauty and mystique of the Acropolis and its famous Parthenon.
For me, a seminary student at the time, Athens represented the Greek worldview of Hellenism and the self-serving political, cultural, philosophical, and religious beliefs I had been taught to recognize and resist.
As the military genius Alexander the Great launched from the ports of Greece and conquered the known world, the human-centered philosophy and values born in Athens also conquered the ancient world through trade, music, language, theater, and lifestyle.
Long after the military power of the Greek Empire had been dissolved by the Romans, the power of the Hellenistic worldview lived on, conquering the minds and hearts of people throughout the Roman Empire. Being in the city that had molded the culture and people of the nations mentioned in the New Testament was a powerful experience.
Their God-given mission β an extension of the mission of Israel and Jesus that preceded them β was to live in such a way that their every word and action would make God known to those who did not know Him. I stood at the foot of the Acropolis amazed by how the early followers of Jesus, especially those who came from the family-and-faith-focused villages of Galilee on the fringe of the Roman Empire, had any influence on the minds and hearts of people who were sold out to such a powerful and dominant culture.
