Athanasius contra mundum!

On Friday I was teaching through Galatians 1:1-10, in which Paul courageously defends truths at the heart of Christianity. He wasn't saying popular things--in fact, he was inviting persecution (Galatians 5:11, 6:12)!  The sections ends with a great verse (v. 10) that explains why Paul was so willing to be so bold:

"For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10)

By way of illustration, I mentioned Athanasius, who is one of my heroes for also standing up for truths at the heart of Christianity. Because he was also a servant of Christ, Athanasius stood up for truth at a time when it was extremely unpopular.  In fact, that's why we have the famous phrase, "Athanasius contra mundum," which means "Athanasius against the world"--he stood up for Jesus when the whole world had turned against him.

He's my hero.  He can be your hero, too!  By the way, you can read really cool stories about him!  For example, what would you do if your enemies framed you for murder?  Find out what Athanasius did (see "The First Exile of Athanasius (336-338)!