Have you been to Athens?

Have you been to Athens? I was reading Acts 17, and how Paul went to preach in Athens. Some background info, the Athens were Greeks. Anyway Paul went into Athens to preach the gospel, and got a fairly positive result. But most of positive result was because the Athenians were into the “new thing”. It says it right in the scripture that the Athenians spent their time talking about the latest ideas. Religion to them is more of a fashion statement than a lifestyle. Paul walks through the city amazed that they have so many idols. I’ve seen many people of various faiths like this. They call themselves one thing and act in a different way. God wants Christianity to not be a dry religion, or the latest fashion, but to be a lifestyle that is to be experienced. Before I got serious about my faith, to be a Christian was to be stuck in a never ending ritual, church on Sunday, pray in the morning and at night. Then I realized, that was not Christianity, that was religion. When I became a Christian I realized that there are the same “rituals”, I’ve got the same schedule, but there is new life in it. When I used to look at the Bible it was a big book, now it’s a living history and God’s love letter. Paul was shocked, not at the fact that the Athenians were pagans, but at the fact that to them, religion was external and would fade when something new rolls by. They treated religion like the cell phone that got replaced by the IPhone. Christianity is not meant to be endured, but experienced.