Ancient Athens, Modern Minds: When Information Replaces Truth

04/01/2026 13 min

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Episode Synopsis

🎙️ Podcast Episode SummaryTitle: Ancient Athens, Modern Minds: When Information Replaces TruthIn this episode of The Deep Dive, we travel back 2,000 years to ancient Athens—the intellectual capital of the world—to confront a challenge that feels uncomfortably modern.Using Paul’s second missionary journey in Acts 17, we explore a culture obsessed with new ideas, endless debate, and surface-level knowledge. Athens was full of learning, yet empty of truth. And that tension mirrors our own age of information overload, constant novelty, and growing cultural apathy.We unpack: • The contrast between the Bereans, who verified truth against Scripture, and the Athenians, who chased whatever was new • The competing philosophies of Epicureanism (peace through apathy) and Stoicism (peace through self-mastery) • Why Paul was dismissed as a spermologos—a “seed picker” of ideas—and how that term perfectly describes modern headline culture • The “frog in the kettle” analogy and how slow cultural shifts dull our moral and spiritual awareness • Why intellectual curiosity without commitment can actually block transformationPaul’s message of resurrection and judgment cut straight through both ancient philosophies—and still challenges us today. Some mocked. Some delayed. A few believed. But Athens, a city devoted to hearing something new, failed to build anything lasting.This episode asks a hard but necessary question:Are we becoming a modern Athens—well-informed, endlessly curious, yet unwilling to be changed by truth?If you feel buried under information but hungry for meaning…If you value depth over novelty…If you’re wondering whether constant learning is actually grounding you or slowly numbing you…This deep dive is for you.SHC website: https://www.soulsharborag.org/  and https://linktr.ee/soulsharborplainfield. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SHCPlainfield.  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@shcplainfield. Church times:  Sunday 10:45AM - Family Worship in-person and Facebook & YouTube Live; Wednesday 6:30P in-person and online WED 6:30P Adults; SHC Kids; SHCWave Youth.