Areopagus

What is "Areopagus" (Acts 17:19)?
Areopagus literally means the big rock - "pagus" - of "Ares," a figure from Greek mythology. Areopagus was and is a rocky hill below Parthenon, the large pagan temple whose ruins have become the symbol of Athens today. Areopagus was where Athens' intellectuals gathered to discuss religion and philosophy.

Why was Paul taken to Areopagus?
After faithfully preaching the Gospel in the marketplace, the Lord granted him an opportunity to attack the spiritual heart of this idolatrous city.

Why did Paul call the people at Areopagus "very religious" (Acts 17:22)?
δεισιδαιμονεστερους (deisidaimonesterous), the original Greek word translated "very religious," means "fearing the gods" and can carry either a positive (pious) or negative (superstitious) connotation. Paul used the word in the latter sense, while the audience is likely to have interpreted it in the former sense.

Did the Athenians really have an altar dedicated to an "UKNOWN GOD" (Acts 17:23)?
In the 6th century BC, Epimenides, a man from Crete, the southern-most island of Greece, was credited with saving Athens from a plague by praying to a deity unknown to the Athenians. Paul was talking about the altar that the Athenians had built to honor Epimenides' "god."

Why did Paul start by talking about this altar?
Since his audience wasn't Jewish and most likely unfamiliar with the Old Testament, he couldn't start by telling them that Jesus is the Messiah promised in the Old Testament. He needed to start his message somewhere and was starting with something that was familiar to his audience.

Was Paul twisting the Gospel to please his audience?
No, the way Paul starts his messages varies with his audiences but the content of his message - the Gospel - remains constant: "What is my reward then? That when I preach the Gospel, I may present the Gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the Gospel. For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the Gospel’s sake, that I may become a fellow partaker of it." (1 Corinthians 9:18-23)

Is this how pulpits preach today?
In order to please and retain their audiences, including the unsaved, many pulpits today replace the Gospel of Jesus Christ crucified for our sins with varying degrees of the false gospel of earthly wealthy and prosperity.

This isn't happening at your church, is it?