At this point Festus interrupted Paul's defense. 'You are out of your mind, Paul!' he shouted. 'Your great learning is driving you insane!' - Festus's interruption ('you are out of your mind,' mainomai, mainomai-'you are mad, raving') reveals the limits of pagan reason when confronted with resurrection. The 'great learning' (mathēsis, mathēsis-'learning, study') Festus perceives, paradoxically, drives Paul to 'insanity' (paraphrosynē, paraphrosynē-'madness'). The resurrection claim, grounded in Scripture and experience, sounds like madness to Gentile ears. Festus cannot process resurrection, not because it is illogical but because it violates his materialist assumptions.

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