NOTES for Act 17:22-34

The Apostle Paul, addressing the Gentiles, affirms that although they do not know God, they nevertheless worship Him. It seems obvious that the altar bearing the inscription “To an Unknown God” was not intended for the God of Israel at all. Such altars were erected “just in case,” so as not to offend anyone—what if there were some other deity to whom no sacrifices had been offered, and it decided to punish everyone for such disrespect?... Did Paul understand this? Certainly. Then why does he say that his preaching concerns the One whom they worship? Perhaps because he does not reduce the worship of the true God to sacrifices at all. The Gentiles, of course, did not offer sacrifices to the God of Israel. But in the words of Saint Augustine, the human heart knows no rest until it rests in God. Every person seeks Him, even without knowing what they are seeking. And obeying the commandments not because they are written, but because doing so is right, is already a beginning of worshiping God. Perhaps this is precisely what Paul means: those relationships with God that cannot be seen from outside, but which every person nevertheless has in one way or another.