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1After traveling through Circle Village (Amphipolis) and Village of Destroyer (Apollonia) , they came to a tribal gathering house at the village of False Victory (Thessalonica) .
2As was his custom, Small Man (Paul) went to the gathering house on the next three Days of Resting. He tried to convince them from the Sacred Teachings,
3explaining and proving to them that the Chosen One had to suffer and then rise again from the dead.
Then he said to them, “Creator Sets Free (Jesus) , the one I have been telling you about, is the Chosen One!”
4Some of them were won over and joined with Small Man (Paul) and Woods Man (Silas) , including a large number of Wisdom Seekers (Greeks) who had deep respect for Creator and also many of the local headwomen.
5But the Tribal Members became jealous. Banding together with some troublemakers from the trading post, they gathered a crowd and caused an uprising in the village. They broke into the house of a man named Healer (Jason) , looking for Small Man (Paul) and Woods Man (Silas) so they could bring them before the people.
6Not finding them there, they took hold of Healer (Jason) and some of the other sacred family members and dragged them before the village council.
“The ones who have turned the world upside down,” they shouted, “have also come here!
7And Healer (Jason) has welcomed them into his house. They are going against the laws of the Ruler of the People of Iron (Caesar) , by saying there is another ruler—Creator Sets Free (Jesus) .”
8This troubled the people and the village council,
9so after taking payment as a promise from Healer (Jason) and the others that there would be no more trouble , they let them go.
10Right away, under the cover of night, members of the sacred family sent Small Man (Paul) and Woods Man (Silas) to Much Water (Berea) . When they arrived, they went to the local tribal gathering house.
11The Tribal Members there were more honorable than the ones in False Victory (Thessalonica) , for they welcomed the message with glad hearts, and each day they searched the Sacred Teachings to see whether their message agreed.
12In this way many Tribal Members came to the faith, including honored women and men from the Wisdom Seekers (Greeks) .
13When the Tribal Members from False Victory (Thessalonica) found out that Small Man (Paul) was telling the Sacred Story in Much Water (Berea) , they also came there to stir up the crowds and make trouble for them.
14So right away the sacred family sent Small Man (Paul) away to the great sea, but Woods Man (Silas) and He Gives Honor (Timothy) remained behind.
15The ones who went with Small Man (Paul) took him to Wondering Place (Athens) . Small Man (Paul) told them to send Woods Man (Silas) and He Gives Honor (Timothy) to him right away, and so they went back to Much Water (Berea) .
16While Small Man (Paul) was waiting for them at Wondering Place (Athens) , he saw that this large village was filled with images of powerful spirit-beings.
17So every day at the tribal gathering house he would argue with the Tribal Members, and at the trading posts he would talk with any spiritual people who happened to be there.
18Some traditional wisdom seekers also argued with him.[#17:18 Epicureans and Stoics]
Others wondered, “What is this talking head saying?” while others said, “He seems to be talking about strange and powerful spirits.”
They said this because he was telling them the good story about Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his rising from the dead.
19So they took him to the council at Mars Hill (Areopagus) .
“Explain this new teaching to us,” they asked him,
20“for your message is strange to us, and we want to know its meaning.”
21The people who lived in Wondering Place (Athens) would spend all their time telling or hearing about some new thing.
22So Small Man (Paul) stood up in the center of Mars Hill (Areopagus) and said, “People of Wondering Place (Athens) , I can see that in all things you are a very spiritual people.
23As I walked around, I saw some of your sacred objects. One altar had this message carved into it:
“So then, the one you sacredly honor without knowing is the one I will make known to you.
24The Great Spirit is the one who created the universe and all things in it. Since he is the rightful ruler of the spirit-world above and the earth below, he does not live in lodges built by human hands.
25Creator does not really need human beings to do things for him, since he is the one who gives all people life and breath and everything we need.
26“Beginning with the first human being, he made all tribes and nations. He wanted people to live all over the face of the earth. He decided ahead of time when and where each tribe would live.
27He did this so that all people could look for him and find the trail that leads to him. Creator is not far away from any one of us.
28It is through him that we live, walk, and have our being.
“As some of your song makers have said, ‘We are children of the Great Spirit.’
29Since we are his children, we should not think that he is made of gold or silver or wood or stones. He is not like the carvings that people have thought up in their minds and made with their hands.
30“In times past Creator overlooked this empty way of thinking. But now he wants all people everywhere to return to the right way of thinking,
31because he has chosen a day when he will decide, for all people, who has done right and who has done wrong. He has chosen a man who will do this and has shown all people who he is by bringing him back to life again from the dead.”
32When they heard about the rising from the dead, some mocked him, but others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
33So Small Man (Paul) went on his way.
34Some of the people believed and joined with him, including one of the council members of Mars Hill (Areopagus) named Shining Tree (Dionysius) and a woman named Good Wife (Damaris) , along with a few others.