Abstract
Interpretations of Pauls Areopagus discourse in Acts 17:16-34 are often rad ically incongruous. They range from seeing it as a placid pantheistic sermon on natural theology all the way to seeing it as a scathing demonization of Gentile reli gion.1 Interpreters who emphasize the speech's similarities to Greco-Roman phi losophy incline toward the former view, while those attuned to the Jewish context incline toward the latter. Both types have a significant amount of supporting evi dence and are able to provide strong readings for their argument, given that the speech does indeed utilize Hellenistic philosophical concepts and Jewish critiques of idolatry. I suggest, however, that matters are more complex than an either/or interpretation of the Areopagus discourse and that Luke's purposes are more sub tie than either accommodation or critique/resistance would allow.2
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