- It occurs to me that I may not be the only person for whom “Mars Hill” are magic words. But beware!
The Areopagus or Areios Pagos (Ancient Greek: Ἄρειος Πάγος) is the “Rock of Ares”, north-west of the Acropolis, which in classical times functioned as the high Court of Appeal for criminal and civil cases in Athens. Ares was supposed to have been tried here by the gods for the murder of Poseidon’s son Alirrothios (a typical example of an aetiological myth).
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The origin of its name is not clear. In Greek, pagos means big piece of rock. Areios could have come from Ares or from the Erinyes, as on its foot was erected a temple dedicated to the Erinyes where murderers used to find shelter so as not to face the consequences of their actions. Later, the Romans referred to the rocky hill as “Mars Hill”, after Mars, the Roman God of War.
(Wikipedia, footnotes and hyperlinks omitted) On that site, the Apostle Paul preached a sermon that notably appealed to religious glimmerings of his audience:
And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus, and said, Ye men of Athens, in all things, I perceive that ye are very religious.
For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. What therefore ye worship in ignorance, this I set forth unto you.
In some Christian circles, the sermon is referred to as Paul’s Mars Hill oration, and is taken as a model for evangelistic engagement with the surrounding culture.
It no doubt was to this usage that Ken Myers, formerly of NPR, alluded in naming his priceless Mars Hill Audio Journal, the ne plus ultra of thoughtful engagement in America today. You really should subscribe, you know.
Maybe it was to this usage as well that religiopreneur Mark Driscoll alluded in naming Mars Hill Church, now a megachurch, in Seattle. Or maybe he named it after the Roman god of war.
I allowed the cachet of Paul’s Mars Hill oration and Ken Myers’ Mars Hill Audio Journal to spill over into tacit admiration of Drisoll. But he regrettably engages macho culture by appealing to the gods of SUVs and fellatio. I only wish this were The Onion.
I should have know better. Has anything spiritually healthy ever come out of the great ego-stroking, market-driven megachurch model? Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!
Let the prudent reader act accordingly.
Any questions? Glad I could help.
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“The remarks made in this essay do not represent scholarly research. They are intended as topical stimulations for conversation among intelligent and informed people.” (Gerhart Niemeyer)
Tipsy Teetotaler ن 
Sadly, Mark Driskoll’s catechisms are not from the Onion, although they would make great material. The real disappointment is that, however Driskoll developed his huge following when first starting Mars Hill, the size of his church now creates the sense among many that what he is saying must be true since his church is so big, so obviously a ton of people think he’s right. I’ve seen this too be true as countless mega churches, especially those that revolve around an incredibly charismatic central personality.
We put entirely too much emphasis on “success” at worthless projects (like building up numbers with heretical and/or salacious incitements) and too little on faithfully helping people become Christ-like.