Rational worship

What sensible person, then, will not acknowledge that we are not atheists? We revere the Creator of this universe, saying, as we have been taught, that he has no need of blood, libations, or incense. Instead, to the best of our ability, we praise him with words of prayer and thanksgiving for everything we receive. We have learned that the only honor worthy of him is not to consume by fire the things he made for our nourishment, but to use them for ourselves and for those in need, and, being thankful to him, to send up through words solemn thanksgivings and hymns for our creation, for all the means of health, for the qualities of different kinds of things and the changes of the seasons, while sending petitions that through faith in him we may come again into incorruption. Who in his right mind would not acknowledge this? Jesus Christ, who became our teacher in these things and was born for this purpose, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, who was governor in Judea in the time of Tiberius Caesar. We have learned that he is the Son of the true God himself and hold him in the second place, and we will show that we honor the prophetic Spirit in the third rank in accordance with reason. Here they accuse us of madness, saying that we give second place after the unchangeable and eternal God, the begetter of all things, to a man who was crucified. They do not understand the mystery involved, and as we explain it we urge you to pay attention.