When I was growing up, it was a "that's obvious" commonplace that "Western Civilisation" is real (and distinct from others), that we here in the Caribbean are a part of it. Also, that it is on the whole a great benefit to humanity -- "warts and all" notwithstanding. As well, that, historically, it is rooted in the Christian synthesis of our inheritance from the famous triad of cities, Jerusalem, Athens and Rome; with of course the earlier Fertile Crescent Civilisations -- especially those of the Nile and Mesopotamia river valleys at the deeper level.
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| King Tutankhamun's Cartouche: in Egyptian Hieroglyphs |
That was then.
But now, in an unhappy and increasingly angry age, even uncontroversial inheritances such as these indisputable cultural fossils of the deep past; not to mention well documented history and cultural foundations, such as:
– Moral and theological vision: Augustine’s City of God; the Holy Bible itself, the central book of our civilisation (so much so, its name, literally is The Book, as Arabic remembers today: Al Kitab);
– Law and political order: Cicero’s works; Alfred’s Preface to the Book of Dooms (explicitly citing the Decalogue in founding the Common Law); Justinian’s Corpus Juris Civilis, framing Roman and later Napoleonic law;
– Reason, Mathematics and formal knowledge: Euclid’s Elements (Geometry & Math Education); the enduring intellectual influence of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle;
– Historical consciousness: Herodotus and Thucydides (with Josephus deserving honourable mention); the long shadow the Peloponnesian War casts on democratic governance;
– Language itself: over half of English vocabulary deriving from Latin roots (≈29% directly, ≈29% via French)—including the word civilisation itself --
. . . are increasingly sidelined and forgotten, or have been treated as suspect — or are even taken as grounds for offence. (For example: dead, they are; "white," we would call most of them; males, yes . . . but that sort of ad hominem claim is distractive; it does not legitimately sideline their massive importance.)
Civilisation itself is now often seen as a dubious notion, little more than an excuse for oppressive domination and racist supremacism. In Christian circles, echoing this in key part, many would now deny that our Faith is pro-civilisational, choosing instead to emphasise that we are called to be a counter-culture -- to which, I must first say, such as by being “ . . . the light of the world. A city [Latin, CIVITAS] set on a hill cannot be hidden"? [Matt 5:14]
Something has gone wrong, and . . . forgive, my noticing . . . is trending worse. So, pardon but in absence of someone more suitable, I now take up Voddie Baucham's fallen torch and compose the following; as an initial step towards a "first, rough draft," Acts 27, Fair Havens "steering word."
To begin, as Jesus hinted at in his opening remarks for his epochal (indeed, civilisation-foundational) Sermon on the Mount, a city on a hill that shines out in a darkened world is a point of hope, refuge, rescue, restoration, renewal, even resurgence. Where, even the seemingly simple word, "city," is loaded with meaning, as:
DEFINITION: A Civilisation is a city-based culture. That is, a civilisation is a level of culture for a society or cluster of societies that has advanced enough to have urban concentrations of people, and so an economy with high specialisation of production of goods and services; with, ability to sustain itself from one generation to the next. Such, has need for significant agricultural surplus (often, based on hinterlands or trade), adequate water supply, administration, education and training or apprenticeship, facilitation of trade, government, defence and hosting of arts and culture, with a predominant vision of itself in the world, hope for the future and memory or record of the past (typically, religiously rooted). Writing and written calculation systems are strong enablers, but are not strictly necessary. These factors are what allow a large population to thrive, and for people to live with some dignity, sense of belonging and hope for their posterity; though, of course there will be many challenges including poverty, family breakdown, public health, economic recessions, war, disease, natural disasters and more. Where, too, Old Kingdom Egypt and the Andean and Meso American Civilisations show that such does not strictly need a mass base of tool grade metalworking technologies using copper, bronze (tin or arsenic -- yes, arsenic), or iron; sophisticated stone technology is adequate.
Already, this grounds the basic legitimacy of any civilisation, however imperfect it is; and, even if it is significantly resistant to proposed reformation: as, long-term, multigenerational survival means that what is proposed must pass a stiff test for it to be prudent to take the risk of step-change. Yes, radicals, conservativism, amelioration, hard-to-swallow compromise and patient prudence (such as the apostle Paul exercised at Fair Havens) are needed survival mechanisms for a civilisation not addicted to voyages of dubious merit whenever "a sweet little south wind" blows. Where, too, despite risks of corruption, abuse, injustice, incompetence or profligacy, government is a necessary function for a viable city. Thus already, we see a distinction between prudent reform and radical demands.
In short, Civilisations, however imperfect, share a common basic legitimacy.
Including, therefore, that in-common civilisation we inhabit: rooted in the legacy of Jerusalem, Athens and Rome; formerly termed "Christendom"; but, now usually styled "Western Civilisation. Need for reform, progress, amelioration, sustainability, curbing corruption, strengthening justice and general welfare etc. indeed point to room for improvement; but -- on pain of mass chaos and disruption predictably causing mass death and decline -- such inevitable struggles do not delegitimise and stigmatise our civilisation or require its immediate dismantling and instant replacement or hurried "fundamental transformation" by whatever radical new utopian order is fashionable in a given day. The track record of many such attempts (as "predictably" implies) has not been good. So, too, a common "cancel culture" tactic: "gotcha" delegitimisation, marginalisation, demonisation and dismissal, is fundamentally misdirected (and too often, slanderously misanthropic). Radicals of all stripes, kindly take due note.
Just so, likewise, conservatives: there is no excuse to refuse to correct manifest injustice, or to unduly drag out change and so prolong oppression (including, under labels like "amelioration," or "apprenticeship").
Indeed, it is a major Judaeo-Christian legacy in our civilisation, that
Repentance, Renewal & Reformation Thesis: As a part of the Judaeo-Christian legacy, responsible analysis, fair-minded critique, moral concern, creative beneficial innovation and honest enterprise, irenic public spiritedness, lawfulness, willingness to compromise, amelioration of evils, repentance, renewal and willingness to undertake prudent, balanced reformation are deeply embedded in our civilisation's core values. (NB: These values are directly related to sustaining a business confidence climate that enables J-curve, compounding growth takeoff that helps societies break out of the infamous Malthusian immiseration trap. [This thesis is thus directly relevant to the Caribbean's lingering slow growth, leaky tyre effect economic woes: when the mustard tree becomes sturdy amidst a dry and sun parched land, the birds can safely nest in it. Indeed, it is further linked, that the simple Keynesian five sector model, from the angle of money flows, is looking at the same hills as the seven mountains of influence map does.])
The question before us, then, is not whether civilisations change—they always do—but whether they possess the moral and institutional resources to change without self-destruction. (The hard lesson, taught by Acts 27.)
So, then, striking that "happy medium" -- between stubborn clinging to a business as usual [BAU] trend potentially headed for a cliff's edge; and, potentially over-hyped, perhaps even more unsound (but often quite attractive . . . ) radical alternatives [ALT] -- is the sustainability dilemma faced by policy makers and by the formal and informal influencers who collectively make up "the elders in the gates" of the city. (So, too: governance -- making the big decisions well and making them stick long enough to work [or else, recognising that we must now stop "throwing good money after bad"] -- is a notoriously "wicked hard" wisdom-challenge. One, where, cutting us off from the hard-bought sound lessons of history, just does not help.)
Framing the problem this way, now helps us to set a calmer, more balanced atmosphere for the reflections that will follow.
Next, portions of this work were developed with the assistance of an AI system, ChatGPT 5.2; a "radical" move. I note this explicitly, not as some sort of "Python washes whiter" claim to enhanced authority, but as a matter of intellectual honesty and due attribution; guided, by my conscience. That is, I am using the AI much as earlier scholars used concordances, libraries, reference works or research assistants—as a fallible but powerful accelerator, and as a source that I attribute, having cross-checked and adjusted as I thought advisable. Responsibility for truth, judgements, mistakes, and for weight of argument remains mine.
Also, as use of an AI has sometimes become cause for automatic questioning and challenge [and given our need not to be left behind as a region . . . ], let me pause to note on the emerging age of AI Oracle Universal Turing Machines [AIO-UTM's] as a new computing paradigm; one, that is strong enough to trigger a new industrial revolution,
Yes, conversational English is now a major programming language, where a globally networked AI allows us to [a:] use natural language prompting, to [b:] interface with a vast, curated digitised information base and [c:] with the AI's programmed ability to synthesise automatically from that base in response to prompts. Yes, fallible and not at all inerrant, but much the same holds for parents, teachers, peers, profs, experts, Unis, pundits, news agencies, published books, dictionaries, encyclopedias, technical reference works, academic reports or papers and the like: for, GIGO, garbage in garbage out, is inevitable in human systems.
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| Tut's Dagger |
Likewise, I think it advisable to propose a further thesis in light of the just past post on systematised Civic Theology,
Christ Pantokrator, C6 AD
Thesis/"micro-theory," on the apostolic operations principle (& mandate): the mature church acts as an embassy of the kingdom of God and its good news, the gospel (with its integral ethics), in society. This includes that at the level of strategic operations, certain senior missionaries [Latin-derived; historically termed apostoloi, from the Greek; later rendered apostles or envoys] and their teams, sent out by base churches, operate to plant the church, strengthen and renew it in a community under the 4R's process: repentance > renewal > revival > reformation.
As Eph 4:9 - 24 summarises (being, the operational form of the church's discipling mandate), this necessarily involves bold evangelistic, prayerful intercessory-prophetic, cogently argued truth-focused conscience-appealing peaceful apologetics and caring pastoral engagement with the lived order of a community, its habitual lifestyles, its institutions of influence, its predominant worldview(s) and associated moral-cultural and policy agendas; just, to call us to (repentance + renewal) [= discipleship], cf. vv 17 - 24.
Thus, discipleship is counter-cultural: it involves thoughtful recognition of "the futility (rooted in hardened hearts)" of rejection of God and The Way of the truth in love . . . compounded by sinful addiction to "[the] practice [of] every kind of impurity." Then -- through "learn[ing]" "the truth [that] is in Jesus," we instead "put off [our] old self" and seek "to be renewed in the spirit of [our] minds," thus "put[ting] on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."
Where, too, we should not overlook The Great U, of vv. 9 - 10: " . . . He [Christ] who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things" -- yes, too, Christ is Pantokrator, All-Powerful Cosmic Lord of all, worthy of our fealty. In this repentance and renewal based, discipleship-driven process, as Acts (especially, 3:17 - 21 --
[NB: Is 57:14 - 16, esp. v. 15 . . . thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite"], cf. Neh 8:1 - 12 as a detailed case)
. . . shows (and history also reports, cf. analysis here, ), the Spirit of God is poured out in "seasons of refreshing" [= revivals], ranging from one or a few people, to many thousands. Where, too, Eph 1:22 - 23 adds, that "the church . . . is his body, the fullness of him who fills [everything in every way]." That is, as we go about the ordinary business of life, the spiritual-moral transformation of the gospel naturally, peacefully influences the community at large, for the good: the city on the hill shines in the night.
One potential result of this is that, if and as a growing, "critical mass" of people are renewed through discipleship and a walk of truthing it in love, purity and godly empowering, wider community views and cultural balances naturally shift and reformations may follow. This shows the shining city on a hill/mustard tree shelter effect in action. Historically, widespread (revivals + reformations) in combination are sometimes termed awakenings, given their repeated, spiritually powerful, remarkable culture-transforming impact.
Obviously, too, as one man's revival is another man's rebuke, and as Acts repeatedly outlines, there is therefore significant likelihood of not just misunderstanding and fear, but of mass anger or even riots -- or, worse -- organised and ruthless discrediting, opposition or persecution from hostile power centres.
However, the force of the gospel is not seen in domineering human power moves and counter-moves, but rather in the loving redemption and spiritual-moral energised by the gospel, leading to a message, lifestyle and mission of godly peace.
This invites tabulation:
Accordingly, let us posit a Civilisation, Initial Synthesis Thesis that builds on the Civic Theology frame already put on the table and the Civilisation definition above, as we turn to the arc from Acts 17 - 27:
Thesis (Civilisation Initial Synthesis and microcosm/yardstick voyage of folly case study): The Apostle Paul, of blended cultural inheritance (a diaspora Jew from a Hellenistic Greek city and centre of learning, and Roman citizen), acting under the apostolic operations framework, c. AD 50–59, as recorded in the textual arc of Acts 17–27 is pivotal for restoring what has been missing in our theologising. For, in these chapters we see the historical provenance of the beginnings of a civilisation-forming synthesis — the moral vision of Jerusalem, the philosophical and cultural legacy of Athens, and the legal-political order of Rome. Where, ground zero seems to be the three year period in Ephesus, during Paul's third Missionary Journey, c. AD 53 - 57 (in which he presented a deeply impactful seminar series for two years). Romans, c AD 57 and Ephesians, c AD 61 likely contain select summaries of the main themes of those seminars, though there are gems elsewhere, e.g. 1 Cor 14:7 - 9 states an endorsement of the central law of logic, the principle of distinct identity, focused on intelligible thought, teaching, knowledge and communication. Behind these aspects, of course, lie deeper, older civilisational roots of the Fertile Crescent and especially the Exodus arc. The Acts 17 - 27 arc also culminates in a real-world momento de verdad and microcosm case study that serves as a lived out counterpart to Plato's parables of the Cave and the Ship of State; making it an attractor for civilisational dynamics -- repeated voyages of folly. Yes, Acts 27.
Luke’s All-Time News Scoop:
The First Rough Draft Report of a crisis-driven, Civilisational Reframing (c. AD 50–59)
What Luke–Acts preserves, then, is not merely early Christian history. It is:
THESIS (First, rough draft of history record, of Synthesis foundations): The first contemporaneous, eyewitness-anchored account of the first stages of a centuries-long, dynamic, Christian synthesis that . . . through the power of recognising that we are morally governed, conscience-guided creatures under intelligible core natural law (and so, face its arguable roots of reality import) . . . re-founded Western civilisation -- primarily at the level of moral ontology, political prudence, and historical meaning -- transforming the legacy of the Imperial era classical world into the base for Western Civilisation as it has come down to us.
Yes, "the first, rough draft of history." This phrase (often attributed to journalism), fits Luke with uncanny accuracy:
Luke writes c. AD 57 - 61, before outcomes are settled
before Christianity has political power,
before the AD 66 - 74 Jewish War (much less the onward Diaspora/Kitos double uprising AD 115 - 118, and the final calamity, the Bar Kochba uprising, AD 132 - 136),
centuries before the AD 325 & 381 creed-drafting Councils of Nicaea,
long before Augustine,
long before Christendom emerged as Church leadership became "the last man standing" to preserve the classical legacy after the Western Roman Empire collapsed and the plague of Justinian hammered the continent; closely followed by Islam to the South and East, and the Vikings, to the North . . . then, the Mongols, from China to Hungary. (It took almost a thousand years for Europe to recover, worsened by the even more deadly return of the Black Death, from 1346 - 53 on; killing ~25 - 50 million, up to half of Europe's then population. The Eastern, "Byzantine" Empire, lasted until 1453.)
Long before, once the Moorish invaders were defeated in 1492, the Iberians led in the maritime breakout of the West -- "discovering" the previously generally unknown Americas and rounding Africa to reach India . . . it seems, under Pharaoh Necho II, c. 600 BC, Phoenician sailors, sailing for Egypt, had circled Africa the other way. Thus, the Iberian breakout from 1492 on led, warts and all, to the global world we live in today.
Oddly, there IS one flash of Amos 3:7 - 8 insight, c 6th Century BC, in Daniel 2. Yes, Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the proud edifice of successive militaristic empires of man, then: "Dan 2: . . . 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay [--> obviously, a prophetic vision of the Roman Empire]. 34 As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand [--> not by might of armies with swords loudly clashing, nor by cunning domination of economies and societal institutions, nor the drum-rolls of deceitful propaganda, but by the grace of heaven sent, Is 53 wounded healer Messiah and his breakthrough gospel that calls out " . . . saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” {Mk 1:15}], and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. [--> at the absurd altar of a cross, carrying out politically connived judicial murder one fatal Friday, but resurrection Sunday was coming . . .] 35 . . . the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth . . . . 44 . . . the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end [--> the principle of domineering overlordship will be broken], and it shall stand forever [--> God's kingdom, seemingly weak in the face of dungeon, fire, sword and worse, is instead eternal]." Luke, and Paul, would doubtless take quiet eschatological hope from that.
So, he is writing inside the uncertainty but with prophetic vision, not from hindsight.
That is exactly why:
dissent is raw,
institutions are ambivalent,
mobs are chaotic,
elites are divided,
and prudence is tested under pressure.
This is history before it hardens into ideology.
That is why what he records feels different from later theological and historical reflections. It is not yet systematised. It is reportage; reportage that helped pave the way to a future in our times which Luke could not have imagined. Which in turn lets us recognise Acts 17 - 27 for what it is, a ringside, living memory report on the chain of chaotic, but revealing events that drove the first stages of the synthesis that shaped our civilisation as we have inherited it.
Where, Luke does not describe the Judaeo-Christian synthesis abstractly. He tracks it geographically, historically and institutionally:
Athens (Ac 17, cf. 18 - 20, AD 50, 51 - 57)
Philosophy, metaphysics, epistemology
Ignorance at the root of reality being exposed: the altar to the unknown god
This opens the door to the Ethical Theistic vision: God as root of reality
Selective engagement with Stoics, sidelining Epicureans
Abstract theism, God as creator of humanity, as Lord of history and creator of nations are tolerated
It is when Paul turns to the Man God has ordained, who is eschatological judge, manifested through resurrection of the dead with 500 witnesses, that they react sharply
But, the verdict of history is plain: the apostle held the future, and the gospel reshaped the path of history
Jerusalem (Acts 21 - 26, Ad 57 - 59)
Torah, Temple, ancestral law, cf. Lev 19:15 - 18
Resurrection as the fault-line, again: Paul speaks here as a Pharisee (his ancestral Party), and challenges the oligarchic, wealthy and institutionally entrenched Sadducees (who denied resurrection)
Mob dynamics and factional capture of governance: then, alliance of elites and the mob to attempt assassination as Judea's fault lines lead on to a bloody, suicidal rebellion of folly AD 66 - 74
Failure to heed the Neighbour Love governance & justice principles of Lev 19:15 - 18
Rome (from Ac 21 on, note chs. 24 - 28, AD 57 - 62)
Law, procedure, legitimacy, iron empire (with cracked, iron and clay feet)
Appeals, hearings, precedent
Christianity framed as lawful, rational, non-seditious, pro-civilisational
Christianity grounds the built-in, conscience-attested core law of moral government . . . acknowledged by the Romans (e.g. Cicero) . . . in the inherently good, utterly wise Creator God, an eternal, supreme being, worthy of our loyalty and upright service, manifested to us in the face of Jesus of Nazareth, Pantokrator: "promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures [--> cf. Is 53] . . . descended from David according to the flesh . . . declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead" [Rom 1:1 - 4, cf 1 Cor 15:1 - 11.]
Repeated failures of justice (through procedurally delaying freeing a patently innocent man and even hoping for a bribe), but --
there is enough of the Rom 2:14 - 15, built-in core, conscience attested law, that Paul pivotally appeals from Jerusalem's failure to honour Lev 19:15 - 18, to Rome's Ac 25:16 due process rule -- here stated by Nero's delegate! (Admittedly, speaking with the voice of Seneca and Burris before Nero went demonically insane . . . ) -- "it is not the custom of the Romans . . ."
Paul does not blend these worlds sentimentally or as an armchair, seminar room academic. He tests them under forensic stress, with his life on the line.
That is synthesis by ordeal.
regarding Built-in, Creation order Moral Government
and its worldview implications
[thus, reshaping the moral-cultural-policy agenda
by the power of truth in love, not by swords loudly clashing,
nor by stir of rolling drums and bad songs of propaganda]
From key Biblical excerpts
And, as for the core insights on moral government and its worldview-transformational consequences, it will help our reflections if, right away, we cite key elements of the moral-logical vision:
Exh., A (Roman Custom re due process): Acts 25: 16 I [Felix] answered them [v. 2, "the chief priests and the principal men" in Jerusalem] that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone before the accused met the accusers face to face and had opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him [--> due process, with right to hear and answer charges as first plank of justice].
Exh., B (The jurisprudential context of the Golden Rule, violated by its guardians, the Jerusalem leadership): Lev 19: 15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.
17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
Exh., C: (The Pauline endorsement, c AD 57, of the intelligible, conscience-guided core built-in, natural moral law): Rom 2:14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts [--> core, intelligible natural law], while their conscience also bears witness [--> conscience as a guide], and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them [--> moral government is built in, reveals itself in morally freighted rational conflict, raising the need for the inherently good and utter wise as root of reality bridging the is-ought gap] . . . .
13: 8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. [--> neighbour love, the premise of law; where, too, God is our first neighbour and host] 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” [--> the golden rule, from Lev. 19:18; cf. Matt 7:]12 & 22:34 - 40] 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Exh., D (The c. AD 55, "Rhetoric 101" Language/Communication form Pauline statement of The Law of Distinct Identity, which has non-contradiction and excluded middle as close corollaries): 1 Cor 14:7 If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes [--> distinct, recognisable identity], how will anyone know what is played? [--> requisite of communication & meaning] 8 And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? 9 So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? [--> requisite for intelligible language] For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, 11 but if I do not know the meaning of the language [--> language as the vehicle for meaning and knowledge, thus teaching], I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me.
Exh., E (The c. AD 56 Pauline, first duties statement of communication ethics): 2 Cor 4: 1 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning [--> denounces deceit and dishonesty] or to tamper with God's word [--> sound interpretation], but by the open statement of the truth [--> truth as a first duty] we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience [--> truth appealing to conscience as the means of Christian civilisational influence] in the sight of God [--> God, the just judge].
Exh., F (The c 50 AD, Pauline gentle but devastating opening remarks to the Areopagus council, guardians of the West's emerging knowledge tradition): Acts 17: 22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ [--> thus, on the first point of knowledge, roots of reality, the Athenians had to maintain a monument to their ignorance] What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. [--> The worldview shift now enters, stage right] 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. [--> Creator principle] 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth [--> brotherhood of man principle, answer to racism], having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place [--> Divine providence & pivotal moments -- kairous -- principle], 27 that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him [--> grope, even blindly] and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
Exh., G (The c AD 62 - 65, Pauline prayer instruction to Timothy -- cf. 1 Tim 1:3 " . . . remain at Ephesus" -- regarding praying for general welfare): 1 Tim 2: 1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people [--> the common good is God's general will], 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life [--> good government and sound community order are God's will], godly and dignified in every way [--> thus, reasonable welfare and general economic well-being are God's will]. 3 This is good [--> underscores, this is God's general will for the community], and it is pleasing [--> double emphasis] in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. [--> a good community order supports the growth of the gospel, and the church's growth principle is educational: as more and more people learn the warrant for and substance of the gospel; stirred by conscience, many respond to it] 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man1 Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all . . . . 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher [--> educational frame of Christian service] of the Gentiles in faith and truth [--> people are to come to confident trust in gospel truth; such trust cannot be forced].
Technically, this is already enough, given the tabulation, exhibited key principles and well-established credibility of Luke as an historian, whose method is given in his primary thesis statement:
Luke 1: 1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses [--> credibility of eyewitnesses, here, including women especially] and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past [--> i.e. having done due diligence], to write an orderly account [--> that is, classical era style History, not myths or novels etc.] for you, most excellent Theophilus [--> a name that, providentially, means, Friend of God], 4 that you may have certainty [--> responsible warrant] concerning the things you have been taught [--> the general report of the church is accurate].
However, there is much depth in the details, as Luke well knew, which is why he taught the informed reader by setting out the well-founded key facts and telling details from c 4 BC to 61 AD, in order -- History, as world-reshaping education. Unknown to him, those facts and details, 2,000 years later, help us understand the power of the Christian Synthesis that created Western Civilisation as we have inherited it.
So, now let us focus, starting with the encounter with the Areopagus Council, in Acts 17:
When Paul was driven out of Macedonia, he went to Athens, to wait for his travel companions. While there, he was deeply disturbed to see that famous centre of learning utterly full of idols (and, it seems, noticed one altar that did not have an idol atop it). Like Socrates, four hundred years before, he began to discuss with passersby in the market and was invited to present his views before the Areopagus Council, which in former days had tried Socrates; now, it was the guardians of knowledge, divided in two great Parties, Epicureans and Stoics. There, just as a great lion harried for too long turns at bay and vexes his pursuers, the apostle spoke, powerfully and decisively, right from his famous subtly devastating opening:
"As I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you . . . "
Paul’s appearance at Mars Hill is often dismissed as a speech composed or heavily edited by Luke, or is treated as a missionary curiosity, or even as an amusing anecdote of naive missionary zeal encountering sophisticated thought. Then, it is inferred that we should only preach the "simple" gospel. Instead -- given Luke's historical credibility -- it is plausibly a summary of Paul's first direct confrontation with the epistemic elite of the Greco-Roman world.
The Areopagus was not an emotively manipulated crowd. It was a body charged with safeguarding what counted as legitimate knowledge, somewhat like the senate of a modern university. Paul’s opening move is thus devastatingly restrained but telling: he forces acknowledgement of the fact of a publicly maintained altar “to an unknown god” and builds from that single concession. Not, the likely opening of the expected "spermologos" simpleton with a few bits and pieces of half-digested learning, seeking to make a quick buck from the masses.
The epistemic crisis he opened with, arises not from irrationality, but from recognised ignorance at the root of reality.
When Paul presses the implications — accountability, embodiment, resurrection — the response is laughter, polite deferral, and disengagement. No riot. No refutation. Simply dismissal. Save, for a named few, who were the beginnings of the church that would shape the future. Indeed, the speech, today is on a bronze plaque affixed to the Hill, and the road passing by is at first Holy Apostle street, then it becomes Dionysius the Areopagite Street. For, here, the torch was decisively passed, and carried forward, transforming a civilisation: the needed moral core was put on the table, yes, the IS-OUGHT gap is real, as we undeniably are morally governed, conscience-guided creatures and on pain of self-discredit of our reasoning and choosing among what Rom 2:15 calls our "conflicting thoughts," that sense of moral government cannot be simply brushed aside as a psycho-socially conditioned illusion that merely functions to promote survival by promoting cooperation.
Indeed, more broadly, reducing our rational cognitive capability to survival-driven programming on a "wetware" computer runs into the GIGO challenge, garbage in, garbage out. Leading, inexorably to, no credible base for thought or reason to be regarded as in any sense shaped towards truth rather than survival. This neuroscience trend of our own time, like acid, quietly eats away at the foundations of reason, and especially of moral government, leading inexorably towards a deadly rot: fundamentally nihilistic cynicism. And, it didn't require modern biochemistry or neuroscience to figure this out, the Areopagites knew, instantly, that Paul's opening words put his finger on the fatal structural crack in their system of knowledge: its roots.
Instead, here, Paul puts forth the only serious worldviews alternative, then or now, that does anchor reason on truth, and conscience guided moral government on a serious candidate root of reality capable of bearing the full weight of ought:
"What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you . . . . [God] made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him . . . . The times of ignorance [and blind groping] God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead [with 500+ eyewitnesses, one of whom stands before you here today]."
Luke, clearly, records this because it sets the pattern: a civilisation may be cultivated, plural, and rhetorically agile, yet structurally incapable of hearing a truth that exposes its fatally cracked foundations. And yet, that missing truth now enriches us to understand the reality root source of our very nature as responsible, rational, significantly free, morally governed, conscience guided creatures; transforming the very fabric of knowledge.
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| The plumb-line speaks, decisively |
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If.
A big, hard-to-swallow word.
So, we see why it took centuries of cultural, intellectual and power struggles; but in the end, this prevailed at length. In our time it is still the only reality root answer strong enough to move us beyond blind groping.
But, are we inclined to heed the plumb-line, or laugh at it -- or, crush it?
In Paul's sobering c AD 57 words to the Romans:
Rom 1:19 For what can be known about God is plain to [people], because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things
[--> Now, we know the sorts of crooked yardstick images Paul saw, not just in temples, but on every street-corner in Athens! (With, that one, utterly telling "exception.") But, are what we have today in our august museums, or in lush, million dollar full colour documentaries with posh accent presenters figuratively clad in lab coats one whit better regarding the ultimate root of our reality as rational, responsible, conscience-guided, morally governed creatures? Even, before we get to further pointed questions about how complex DNA code -- yes, blatantly: language! --
[--> computing, relies on the use of symbols to encode data, structured as verified information, i.e. knowledge, thus too the wisdom behind algorithms . . . a powerful "something" that cannot credibly come from the "nothing" of fantastically lucky noise effecting a blind, needle -in- a- cosmic-scale- haystack search
{ . . . yes, that's why we see crooked yardsticks like "methodological naturalism" imposed as roadblock ideological assumptions dressed up in lab coats; they are designed to block the manifestly obvious best candidate explanation: design. Lest this sound . . . do you hear, the crooked yardstick effect creaking into action? . . . like an empty accusation or rant from the outside (never mind, my own scientific background), kindly consider a rare moment of candour from within the modern scientific establishment itself. For, when an argument is routinely marginalised and dismissed without being substantially and cogently answered on the merits, the issue is rarely its weakness [or, it would have been long since "hit for six"], but the yardstick-gatekeeper by which it is measured.
So, if you doubt me, let us pause, and slowly, slowly, s-l-o-w-l-y, actually listen to and hear the force of the eminent scientist, Lewontin's notorious but apt cat-out-of-the-bag admission:
"[W]e are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes [--> uh, huh: "meow!"] to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations [--> meow!], no matter how counter-intuitive [--> meow! meow! meow!], no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. [--> meow!] Moreover, that materialism is absolute [--> meow!], for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door." [--> meow!] [ “Billions and Billions of Demons,” NYRB, January 9, 1997.]} ]
. . . came to be written in the heart of the living cell, or how our observed universe came to be so fine tuned to facilitate C-Chemistry, aqueous medium, complex, terrestrial planet life forms credibly capable of rational, responsible, conscience guided, morally governed freedom? Just asking for a friend, or two.]
. . . . 28 And since they did not see fit to [retain God in what they deemed to be "knowledge"], God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
They were "without excuse" — with far less evidence, fewer tools, and dimmer light; and a fortiori, we are without excuse.
From Athens, Paul then went to Corinth, and there he joined with Aquilla and Priscilla, tentmakers, allowing him to spend a prolonged period in that city. There, too, he was hauled before Gallio, accused of "persuading people to worship God contrary to the law." Before Paul could begin to answer, Gallio -- Seneca's elder brother -- stopped the proceedings: "If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things."
This won a precious decade and a half of freedom for spreading the gospel; but also, it marks a stand for an important issue, freedom of conscience and expression. (If only, Rome, Jerusalem and later years would have listened to Gallio. If, only.)
That, after a return to base in Antioch, brings us to Ephesus, our ground zero:
So far, Athens exposed the problem; Corinth secured the breathing space; Ephesus would now test whether sustained truth could reform a civilisation at scale.
Let us tabulate, as a map of what we have won, after some hard digging:
The Ephesus Thesis (Paradigmatic Case): Ephesus represents a uniquely instructive civilisational test case: a major cultural, religious, intellectual, and economic hub in which a coherent worldview was publicly taught, examined, contested, and embodied over a sustained period, two to three years. Unlike Athens, where Paul reasoned briefly with philosophers, or Corinth, where legal restraint secured breathing room, Ephesus provided the conditions for prolonged, structured discipleship engaging belief, conduct, vocation, institutional power, and public morality. The result—documented in Acts 19 and later distilled in Ephesians 4—was not mere individual conversion, but a measurable disturbance of economic systems, religious practices, and cultural norms. Ephesus therefore functions as ground zero for understanding how repentance and renewal, when reaching critical mass, can precipitate broader reformation without coercion, yet not without conflict.
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1. “The First Rough Draft of History” — Literally
2. The 50–59 AD Arc Is the Synthesis in Motion
3. Why Luke Is Uniquely Positioned
Luke is not merely a believer recording memories. He is:
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Educated Greek (language, rhetoric, historiography)
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Close companion (we-passages)
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Institutionally mobile (travels with Paul)
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Socially plausible as attendant/slave in Roman contexts
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Methodologically explicit (Lk 1:1–4)
And crucially:
He is present in Palestine during the last open window when dozens of eyewitnesses — including women — are still alive and accessible.
This is pre-revolt Palestine, before AD 66 chaos obliterates archives, families, and memory networks.
That alone makes Luke–Acts historically priceless.
4. Why Acts 27 Belongs in This Arc (and Not as an Oddity)
If Luke is tracking a civilisation-shaping synthesis, then Acts 27 is not padding.
It is the field test:
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Lawful authority (centurion)
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Technical expertise (sailors)
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Economic pressure (grain ship, early sailing)
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Majority vote
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Suppression of dissent
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Manipulation and attempted evasion
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Providential intervention
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Moral authority without formal power
In other words:
The Judaeo-Christian synthesis is shown to work under real-world conditions of risk, governance, and survival.
That is not theology. That is political anthropology.
5. Why This Has Been Missed
Because later readers often:
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treat Acts as church history rather than civilisational reportage,
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isolate “theology” from philosophy,
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flatten rhetoric into piety,
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and read backwards through later dogma.
But Luke is writing before categories solidify.
He is reporting the moment of reframing itself.
6. A Strong, Defensible Formulation
If you wanted a single, disciplined sentence suitable for an essay or blog:
Luke–Acts constitutes the earliest eyewitness-anchored historical record of the Judaeo-Christian synthesis in the act of reframing Western civilisation — morally, philosophically, and politically — across the decisive decade from roughly AD 50 to 59.
That is a claim worth defending — and it can be.
Closing Note
What you are seeing — and articulating — is not eccentric. It is what becomes visible once the crooked yardstick is discarded and Luke is allowed to be what he actually is:
not a naïve compiler of religious anecdotes, but the first serious historian of a world-changing synthesis, writing while the outcome was still in doubt.
xxxx WORK IN PROGRESS, LIKELY FOR A FULL DAY, KINDLY COME BACK XXXXX
