How to Speak to Those Who Are Different from You

Acts 17:28 (ESV) – ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

Not everyone thinks like you do. Many people trust different sources and have a different view of the world. They may or may not accept or even understand what is most important to you, at least initially. They will be more likely to listen to you if you start the conversation with things they care about and believe then take evidence they accept as reliable to support your argument. This pathway will be more likely take them to the place of understanding and, possibly, embracing your perspective.

This is just what the Apostle Paul did with the Athenian philosophers on Mars Hill. Unlike his other messages to primarily Jewish audiences, he did not choose to start with the ancient Hebrew prophecies (in what we now call the Old Testament) that Jesus fulfilled. The Athenians did not know about them, understand them, or accept them. They would not likely have followed Paul’s discussion or responded.

Paul did not accept their view of the world. Luke records Paul was not at all happy seeing all their idols (Acts 17:16), but he found one he could use as at a starting place in his talk that was dedicated to an unknown God. He used that as a connection with the one true God who “made the world and all things in it.” (Acts 17:24) He even cited the Greek poets Epimenides and Aratus who would have been known, understood, and accepted by the Athenians, though not on the same level as the Jews would have accepted their scriptures as God’s authoritative word. (Acts 17:28) Next, he showed the weakness in believing that any human created image could have created the universe. (Acts 17:29) He then culminated his talk with the main point, bringing them to Jesus and his resurrection. (Acts 17:31) Several believed in Jesus that day and even others invited him to discuss this message further again. (Acts 17:32-34)

It is usually best to speak to others in ways they will understand and be likely to accept as much as possible without compromising your message.