Where Do We Go From Here

68 Seeing the broader context of this quotation deepens our understanding of what Paul is arguing, for in effect Paul says, “Let us begin with God (and not Zeus!)”. Moreover, this is not his only allusion to ideas found in literature known to his listeners. Scholars have noted other possible allusions to Greco-Roman philosophers such as Cicero, Aeschylus, Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus. For example, in verse 25 Paul says God is in need of nothing, alluding to Euripides’ (c. 480-406 BCE) play Herakles : Dear friend, all these things you said are side issues. ...I don’t believe that the gods engage is such unholy relationships, nor have I ever believed this story about gods tying up their parents in chains and I won’t believe it now. Nor can I ever believe that one god is the lord of another. A god, if he is a real god, is in need of nothing (1345-1346). And similarly, Paul in verse 28 is probably quoting Epidemes’ work Cretica (c. 700-600 BCE), in which Minos the Cretan says to Zeus (yes, Zeus again!): They fashioned a tomb for you, holy and high one, Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies. But you are not dead: you live and abide forever, For in you we live and move and have our being.