If man were merely a product of evolution, answering to no one except the society of which he was a part as to how he conducted himself, then criticism of the Bible’s standards and promises would have some weight. That is the point that the apostle Paul is making in writing to Christians at Corinth: “If the dead are not to be raised up, ‘let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we are to die.’”

 4. (a) What was the philosophy of the Epicureans? (b) How did Abraham and other faithful men show they did not have this attitude toward life and the future?

⁴ While in Greece, Paul came up against this philosophy of the Epicureans, who believed that one should live in such a way as to get the greatest amount of pleasure out of life, yet doing so with some moderation in order to avoid the suffering that comes with overindulgence. They did not concern themselves with the future except to keep on enjoying pleasure until death.

Christians cannot let the subtle Epicurean philosophy of this world deceive them and, before they know it, begin to live for the pleasures of today, for fear that tomorrow they might die.