Acts 17:33,34

"Thus Paul went out from among them. But certain men clave unto him, and believed: among whom also was Dionysius the Areopagite, and. woman named Damaris, and others with them"But certain men clave unto him, and believed" Various writers have suggested that Paul's efforts in Athens virtually amounted to failure. "Ramsay popularized the notion in his day that Paul 'was disappointed and perhaps disillusioned by his experience in Athens', since the results were negligible" (Stott p. 289). Yet we must reject such. theory: First, it overlooks the type of people converted and mentioned in the above verse. Paul actually converted one of the judges who heard him,. very prominent woman and others who are not mentioned. When the gospel is preached, and it was on this day, the only failure is found among those who do not respond. Paul did not fail this day rather, he presented God's truth clearly, boldly and in simplicity. Some say Paul failed, because we never hear about. "church" in Athens, but let it quickly be noted and we never read about the "church" in Berea either! (Acts 17:11). "Dionysius" (die oh NISS. us). "Areopagite" (air. OP uh ghyte). That is,. member of the Areopagus. "In order to become an Areopagite, one had to serve in. high magisterial function. Another qualification was age. To be eligible, one had to have passed his 60th birthday" (Reese p. 636). "A woman named Damaris" (DAM uh riss). "The fact that she was singled out along with Dionysius the Areopagite, one of the court judges, may indicate she was. woman of distinction" (Nelsons p. 273).