Acts 17
"For in him we live and move and have our being." As some of your own poets have said, "We are his offspring." Acts 17:28
If you want to know what a nation believes about God, listen to their music, watch their movies and read their poetry. Their view of God will be revealed in these cultural art forms. Paul understood this principle and engaged it when he debated the scholars on Mars Hill. He recognized to reach the Athenians he had to use their culture, their language and their history. So he quotes one of their poets. This is absolutely brilliant. By boldly using this quote he shattered their philosophy that God was impersonal and distant from his creation. Paul reasons, that since we are his offspring, and since we are personal, then God must be a personal God. As a personal God every person on earth is ultimately subject to His rule and sovereignty.
The lesson for us in 2015 is that for us to effectively reach our post Christian generation we must use current cultural issues to open up conversations about Jesus. We must be familiar with current poems, songs, movies, TV shows, and newspaper articles to open the door to spiritual conversations. This requires us to do double the homework. We must study the Word of God as well as the cultural trends of our day.
I have a personal preference to ask questions to engage people in spiritual conversations. Here is a list of questions you can use to start conversations. You can also find all of these questions in current movies, songs, poetry and literature.
1. Is there good and evil in the universe?
2. How does one know what is good and evil?
3. How would you define what truth is?
4. Where does morality come from?
5. Do you believe there is such a thing as evil? If so, what is it?
6. What do you believe about the Bible?
7. How did you come to this conclusion?
8. Is there more to this universe than what meets the eye?
9. Do you believe in the existence of God?
10. What would constitute sufficient evidence for God's existence?
11. Who in your opinion is Jesus?
12. How did you arrive at this conclusion?
13. Why are you alive?
14. Does your life matter?
15. Does your life have purpose?
16. How do you view yourself?
17. What place does the cross have in your life?
18. What do you count as significant?
19. What are the three top priorities in your life?
20. What legacy will you leave in life?
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