Living Stones – Friday, February 9, 2018
Babblers
Acts 17:18
Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?”
Philosophers seek to answer the age-old questions, the questions of our time, and also to pose new questions that each generation is asking about the future. To understand the struggles or needs of a generation you must listen to their philosophers.
The philosophers are often very formal high-sounding academics on university campuses who have the weight of their degrees, their research, and their publications to demand serious consideration of their observations, commentaries, and, sometimes, “prophesies.”
But, as we have observed, the philosophers of our time are often the less formal and less ostentatious than those on university campuses. The real philosophers of our time tend to be found in the marketplace of life and in the work of our poets, songwriters, playwrights, storytellers, and other celebrities and public figures. We ignore them at our peril.
After I quoted from Tanya Stephens this week and referred to her as one of my favourite Caribbean philosophers of this time, someone messaged to ask me “how do you know Tanya?” We, as ministers of reconciliation, 2 Corinthians 5:18, have a responsibility to listen to the “babblers” who are expressing the issues of the age, in order that we might respond to them appropriately. As we like to pray, “to meet them at the point of their need.”
The all-time movie classic, Fiddler on the roof, opens with a stirring musical number cum prologue titled, Tradition. Tevye says, “Because of our traditions, we’ve kept our balance for many, many years.” That piece also captures the very essence of patriarchal society with these words “And who does mama teach / To mend and tend and fix / Preparing her to marry / Whoever papa picks?” As you know, if you have already watched the movie, Tevye and his generation missed the winds of change that upended those traditions.
In the Caribbean, Dave Martins, one of my favourite storytellers, who is also a songwriter and singer, had a piece with his old band the Tradewinds that is titled Traditional. Traditional is intended to be more descriptive and entertaining than it is philosophy, but it captures essential aspects of the Caribbean worldview at a particular time.
Paul, the Apostle, always recognised this need to be in touch with the philosophers of his time, not just the formal one in the Areopagus, but also the poets and writers whose works were well known and provided a description of their condition and sometimes, prescription.
Here is Paul, in the midst of his arguments with the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, quoting two of their poets to make his point that God has revealed Himself and therefore He could be known. Paul first quotes from a poem by Epimenides, a Greek poet from Crete who had written, in a poem titled Cretica, “In Him we live and move and have our being.” Then, in the same verse, Acts 17:28, Paul quotes from another Greek poet, this time it was the Cilician Stoic poet named Aratus who in a poem titled Phaenomena wrote, “We are also His offspring.” Researchers think that this last quote also appears in a work called a Hymn to Zeus written by a poet named Cleanthes.
The quoting from the poet contributed to Paul’s preaching in Athens because it showed his understanding of their worldview and of their condition, but more than commentary and diagnosis, it facilitated his prescription for their healing and transformation.
Mars Hill, the place where the court known as the Areopagus met, was not the only place and time where Paul used his familiarity with the poets of the time and place to present the Gospel of Jesus. There are a few more examples in his letters.
In 1 Corinthians 15:33 he wrote, “Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” This is a quote from a Greek comedy titled Thias that was written by the poet Menander. And then in Titus 1:12 he wrote, describing the condition of the people to whom Titus was ministering, he again quoted from Epimenides “One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”
Often the writers, singers, and others of our time set out to entertain but their material is drawn, naturally, from their experiences and their environment. This can be merely descriptive, but invariably it shows their engagement with that environment and many times these engagements are not idiosyncratic, these pieces become popular because the experiences are shared and understood by so many.
Like this piece, “These Streets,” from my favourite Tanya. It’s her experience with her man, but many a young woman in our time (in many societies) has had the same experience. These young women could identify, but many mothers could too. And in some cases, even men could identify.
“You know / I can still remember when it was just me and you / Suddenly it turn you and your crew / Forget everything bout your boo” (I have to skip a few lines here because the readers are good church people) then, “Now the Feds have them case / And they gavel up pound / Me a look fi a familiar face, me nah see none around / When ya call me collect and give me errands fi do / Mi nah see nah hot gal, me nah see none of your crew …”
If we are going to be able to do like David, “ For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, Acts 13:36, we will have to be familiar with the writings of our time. Maybe it is time to go out and purchase some other music and books. Or maybe you could just download.
Listen to the babblers.
Think on these things:
- Who is your favourite philosopher of the age?
- If you’re a Christian, are you reading or listening to anything other than Christian stuff?
- How well do you understand the needs of our time?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that we would connect better with this generation.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex