A Strengthened Faith, Pt. 2

As Christianity spread throughout the Roman empire,
false religions and deities fell mightily.

A Strengthened Faith, Pt. 2

"Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling."

(Acts 16:16)

After we sailed back to Athens, we drove to Delphi where the famous Oracles of Delphi were located. As far back as 1400 BC, people would travel from all over to visit this site. It was believed that one could be given prophecies about their future from Pythia the temple priestess or other priestesses. Pythia was believed to have spoken for the Greek god Apollo. Our tour guide, Andy, did a great job explaining the significance of Delphi. I came across some research that summarizes what Andy taught us:

"Dating back to 1400 BC, the Oracle of Delphi was the most important shrine in all Greece, and in theory, all Greeks respected its independence. Built around a sacred spring, Delphi was considered to be the omphalos - the center (literally navel) of the world.

People came from all over Greece and beyond to have their questions about the future answered by the Pythia, the priestess of Apollo. And her answers, usually cryptic, could determine the course of everything from when a farmer planted his seedlings to when an empire declared war. Arguments over the correct interpretation of an oracle were common, but the oracle was always happy to give another prophecy if more gold was provided." (Source.)

Interestingly, while Paul was on his second missionary journey and visiting Philippi in Acts 16, he was met by a young slave girl possessed by a spirit of divination. In Greek, the text literally reads, a spirit of Pythonos, a reference to the priestess at Delphi, Pythia. One commentary explains: "The Greek speaks literally of a 'python spirit.' The python was the symbol of the famous Delphic oracle and represented the god Apollo, who was believed to render predictions of future events. The serpent had thus become a symbol of augury, and anyone who was seen to possess the gift of foretelling the future was described as led by the 'python.'" (Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 351). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)

Here are some pictures I took while at Delphi. You can see some of the remains of the old temple, a theater, and the last photo is a stadium on top of the hill where they held races.

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Do you know what put the Oracle of Delphi out of business? Christianity! As Paul demonstrated in Acts 16, this was the work of Satan and not of God. As Christianity spread throughout the Roman empire, false religions and deities fell mightily. A powerful example is that 300 years after Paul visited Athens, a Christian church met at the Parthenon!

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Podcast of the Week

Interview with Dr. Jenifer Wakefield, Pt. 2

Pastor Danny continues his conversation with Dr. Jenifer Wakefield, biblical counselor and head of the women's ministry at Great Hills Baptist Church, about the issues of same-sex attraction, gender dysphoria, and abortion and how Christians can effectively minister to people struggling with these issues, especially how parents can help their children if they are tangled up in these issues.

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