God as Creator in Acts 17:24: An Historical-Exegetical Study - Paperback

by Jennifer Marie Creamer (Author)

The Areopagus speech of Acts provides a helpful study of how Paul both engaged and confronted the contemporary culture of his day to present the message of Christianity to his hearers in Athens. How does Paul, as a Jew, contextualize the message for his audience of Stoic and Epicurean philosophers in Athens on the topic of God as Creator in Acts 17:24? Paul touches on a subject of contentious debate between Stoics and Epicureans when he identifies God as Creator. Stoics believed in a creating deity, something akin to Plato's demiurge of the Timaeus. Epicureans ridiculed such an idea. By using the identification of God as Creator, Paul engages a common controversy between schools of philosophy.

Author Biography

Jennifer Marie Creamer is adjunct professor of New Testament at the Boston campus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. She has also taught biblical studies with the University of the Nations at various international campuses.