Where Do We Go From Here

66 Question FifthMark of Mission Protect, care for and renew life on our planet. A Close Reading We only have two speeches recorded in Acts by Paul to an entirely Gentile audience, here and earlier in Lystra (14:15-17). Paul’s speech here is clearly intended to be persuasive, starting with a compliment: “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way!” (v 22). What he says next though is both surprising and insightful: “For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.” It’s clever because it is good pedagogy: I once had a Hebrew lecturer, Professor Bruce Waltke, who described his experience of studying Semitic The Bible doesn’t mention climate change so why should we care about it? Discuss. Do we need to repent of our exploitation of the natural world? What form might that repentance take? Might learning to love the creation, spending time in and with nature, and seeking the good of the whole created order, bring us closer to Yahweh, who, “gives to all mortals life and breath and all things”?