Thoughts on the Mars Hill Speech Event

SUMMARY:

Mars hill speeches are focused on trying to turn everyday conversations into spiritual conversations (leading up to the point to where the apologetics questions are raised).  It is essentially a widespread study in symbolism from a Christian perspective.  We look at popular conversational topics (such as movies, books, video games, etc.) from the premise that our attraction to these forms of entertainment is not accidental, but instead an outward evidencing of the duality of human nature—our desire after God and His truth, and our fallen desire towards Satan’s corruptions of these truths.  We develop prepared speeches (that are memorized) that transition from a topic of everyday conversation to the underlying spiritual truths.  Throughout this study, we also place an emphasis on the fact that we do not have to expose ourselves to everything the world is drawn to in order to have intelligent, meaningful conversations with individuals about these topics.

NEED:

Society has told us that religion is a topic which should not be brought up in conversation.  Additionally, the recent societal focus on the virtue of tolerance has further discouraged the discussion of religious beliefs.  To a great degree we American Christians have, consciously or unconsciously, accepted this viewpoint, and discuss our religious convictions only in the presence of like-minded individuals or when asked directly about our beliefs.  Even individuals who haven’t consciously accepted this viewpoint still find it difficult to introduce the subject of scriptural truths in the hostile environment our society has created. 

Additionally, the role of worldly “noise” in our culture has made conversations of a serious nature all the more uncommon.  Constant external stimuli have left little room for serious contemplation of the nature and condition of humanity, and our resulting spiritual needs.

INTENT:

The goal of the Mars Hill speech event is to proactively train ourselves to see God’s hand in everything, to recognize the spiritual battles waging around us every day, and then allow that perception to change the topic and goals of the communications we engage in.  A successfully executed Mars Hill speech should take an every-day, culturally popular topic and transition the focus of the conversation to the underlying biblical truth (or corruption of a truth) that is motivating our initial attraction to that topic, ultimately resulting in a shift of the conversation to a spiritual focus and creating an environment in which questions regarding our beliefs (such as are prepared for by our studies of apologetics) can be both raised and responded to. 

STRUCTURE:

The basic foundation for Mars Hill is that there is an underlying reason for mankind’s attraction to the venues in the world around us that we recognize as appealing.  Any and every desire or attraction, whether to a movie, an individual, a book, etc., is motivated by one of the two aspects of human nature—either the fact that we are created in the image of God, or that we are fallen creatures.  It is that duality of human nature, our attraction both towards the truths of God and the corrupted truths of Satan, which subconsciously motivates our deepest passions towards the themes regarding human nature which we see repeatedly reflected throughout all aspects of society (such as reconciliation, salvation, and love).  In a Mars Hill speech we attempt to, both for our personal benefit as well as the benefit of our audience, identify the motivation for our passions and attractions, ultimately leading to a recognition of the very real spiritual war that is being waged between the two aspects of human nature.

There is flexibility as to how a Mars Hill speech can be structured, however the goals of the speech naturally create some parameters which should direct the construction of the speech.  Some of these parameters include:

• This speech is intended to be for a non-believing audience.  As such:

Ø  There should be a minimal amount of religious terminology.  Religious concepts should be fully explained in every-day, conversational language.

Ø  Familiarity with the scriptures should not be assumed.  Any biblically referenced stories, illustrations, or examples should be explained in enough depth to make the intended application understood by an individual with no prior knowledge of the Bible.

Ø  Sincerity, humility, and graciousness should be evidenced in the speech’s content and delivery.  A helpful way to ensure this is to consider a real-life, non-believing friend with whom you would like to have the opportunity to share your beliefs with.  How would you convey your message to that individual in order to help ensure it is well received in a way that does not damage your relationship and is given serious consideration?

Ø  Above all, both the content of the speech and the method of delivery should communicated in a Christ-like manner, by both recognizing the audience’s true needs and conveying (as much as possible) the depth of love the Father has for them.  The attitudes Christ demonstrated towards his audience should be studied and actively developed in our communication efforts.

• This speech is intended to mimic a real-life conversation that the speaker might engage in.  As such:

Ø  Conversational language should be used throughout the speech.

Ø  The initial topic should be of some issue expected to be found in an every-day conversation of the speaker’s peers.  This will vary with age and background, but should always be a topic of cultural significance.

Ø  The speech should gradually shift from talking about the cultural topic towards a discussion of the spiritual truths, recognizing the likelihood of some skepticism on the part of the audience and therefore wanting to build a report with the audience prior to blatantly introducing the (most likely) controversial religious themes.

While strict adherence is not mandatory, there is a general structure which is recommended (especially for newer speakers) to help facilitate these desired ends.  This structure consists of four parts:

1. HOOK

Ø  The goal of the Hook is to spark the audience’s interest in the speech, and then relate and/or prove the cultural impact of the subject.

1. FOCUS

Ø  In the focus the speaker identifies the essential themes embedded in the subject.

1. ANALYSIS

Ø  The speaker analyzes the themes (the lies and truths) with regard human nature, i.e. our hopes, desires, and dreams.

1. BRIDGE

Ø  In the bridge the speaker makes the connection between our attraction to these specific themes and the spiritual truths which motivate us to be particularly drawn to these themes.  The speaker may ask one or two leading questions that reveal what draws us to this idea or a truth regarding human nature—a question which forces an identification of what the source of this desire truly is. Here we create the bridge to our hope; we begin to make the link between human nature (reality) and the scriptural truths. 

1. HOPE

Ø  The hope completes the link or creates an ending point to the bridge. This end point shows that the desires, hopes, and fears that characterize our humanity are perfectly explained in the Bible and basic (mere) Christianity. Here we express the hope that is within us and man redeemed.

JUSTIFICATION:

Paul gave the address in Acts 17:16-34 at the Areopagus, a location called the “Hill of Ares,” (or Mar’s Hill), a place in Athens, Greece that was a meeting point for philosophers to discuss matters of religion and morals.

Paul addresses the people using references to well known places (objects of worship, statue TO THE UNKNOWN GOD), references to the creation and personal observation, references to current Greek writings and poets (verse 28), and appeals to logic.  Apparently Paul was familiar with the Greek culture, and called upon this familiarity to draw connections between points of reference that were familiar to the Greeks and spiritual truths.  Contrast this with Paul’s address to the Jews in the synagogue at Antioch in Acts 13:13-52, where he continually references the Old Testament promises, prophecies and writings.  In neither the case of the Greeks nor in the case of the Jews does Paul come out and immediately start quoting Christ.  Instead, he begins in areas familiar and trusted by his audience, and then draws the connection to Christ.

Christ is the ultimate example of this type of instruction.  Look at the example of the woman at the well in John 4.  Jesus took that woman’s present surroundings, her past, her culture, her beliefs, and turned the conversation to the conclusion that He desired from her: that He was the promised one.  Jesus did this throughout his “sermons,” and it is especially apparent in the parables.  He would take a conversation that everyone could relate to, and relate that to the conversation that everyone needed: salvation. 

In a similar fashion, we are going to be the most successful in our efforts to show our unbelieving neighbors Christ when we start the conversations at reference points that are common and familiar to them, not when we go about instantly quoting a host of scriptures that they don’t believe in.  This requires that we know something about them, about the world around us.

This interest in our neighbors and the world must be correctly motivated.  We must not be like Pharisees Jesus talked about in Matthew 23:13-15.  We must be motivated by the love that Jesus has for all.  Unless we have love, our efforts are in vain (1 Corinthians 13:1-8a).

WARNING:

This interest we have in understanding our neighbors and their background, of understanding the world, does not mean that we must sample what it is to be “of the world.”  Far from it!  I don’t have to jump off of a cliff to know that it will hurt.  True wisdom comes from being observant, from listening to the wisdom and advice of others and avoiding, whenever possible, having to learn a lesson from personal experience.  Also, if we ourselves did the same things as those in the world, how would we stand out?  Matthew 5:13-16 is very explicit about how we are to be the light, the salt, the hope of this world.  How can we stand out from the crowd if we are acting the same as the crowd?  In John 17, Christ prayed for all who would believe in him (vs. 20) that God “would not take them out of the world, but that you [the Father] would keep them from the evil one” (vs. 15).  We are in the world, but not of it, and while we are in it we must try to be lights in a dark place.

For example, one can read a review about the Harry Potter books and understand the impact they have on the culture and engage in meaningful conversations without reading the books or watching the movies. Book and movie reviews can be found on numerous web sites, such as www.PluggedIn.com and www.imdb.com.