The Quest for the Good Life: Paul’s speech to the Areopagus as Confrontation between Gospel and Hellenism
This article examines Paul’s speech at the Areopagus (Acts 17:16-34) as a theologically grounded confrontation between the Gospel and Hellenistic conceptions of the good life. By analysing the concept of eudaimonia in Epicurean and Stoic philosophy, the study contends that Paul neither rejects nor assimilates the ancient pursuit of human flourishing. Instead, he reorients it by placing the question of a fulfilled life within an eschatological framework shaped by God’s salvific action. Through the call to repentance, the proclamation of judgment, and the announcement of resurrection, human fulfilment is redefined in terms of soteria rather than ethical or rational self-sufficiency. Considered within Luke’s narrative framework and in dialogue with authentic Pauline letters, the Areopagus speech reveals an early Christian reconfiguration of human flourishing grounded in the Gospel.