Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 17:18

"And certain also of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, What would this babbler say? others, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached Jesus and the resurrection." — Acts 17:18 (ASV)

Athens was the home of the rival Epicurean and Stoic schools of philosophy. Epicurus (342–270 B. C.) held that pleasure was the chief goal of life, with the pleasure most worth enjoying being a life of tranquillity free from pain, disturbing passions, superstitious fears, and anxiety about death. He did not deny the existence of gods but argued in deistic fashion that they took no interest in the lives of people. Zeno (340–265 B. C.) was the founder of Stoicism. His teaching centered on living harmoniously with nature and emphasized one’s rational abilities and individual self-sufficiency. Theologically, he was essentially pantheistic and thought of God as “the World-soul.” Epicureanism and Stoicism represented the popular Gentile alternatives for dealing with the plight of humanity and for coming to terms with life apart from the biblical revelation and God’s work in Jesus Christ. When the followers of Epicurus and Zeno heard Paul speaking in the agora, they began to dispute with him. Some in their pride declared him to be a “babbler” (i.e., a ne’er-do-well; GK 5066). Others, however, thought Paul was advocating foreign gods, probably mistaking Anastasis (“resurrection”; GK 414) as the goddess consort of a god named Jesus.