1 / 22

Acts

Acts. Contents. Outline of the Book of Acts Prologue: Foundations for the church and its mission (1:1–2:41) The church in Jerusalem (2:42–6:7) Wider horizons for the church: Stephen, Samaria, and Saul (6:8–9:31) Peter and the first Gentile convert (9:32–12:24)

aideen
Download Presentation

Acts

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Acts

  2. Contents Outline of the Book of Acts • Prologue: Foundations for the church and its mission (1:1–2:41) • The church in Jerusalem (2:42–6:7) • Wider horizons for the church: Stephen, Samaria, and Saul (6:8–9:31) • Peter and the first Gentile convert (9:32–12:24) • Paul turns to the Gentiles (12:25–16:5) • Further Penetration into the Gentile world (16:6–19:20) • On to Rome (19:21–28:31)

  3. Author The Traditional Case • Author is very familiar with the LXX • The “we” passages • Companion of Paul • There is no challenge in the ancient church that Luke was the author of Acts

  4. Author The Case Against the Tradition • The value of the testimony of the early church should not be seen as weighty since early Christians produced many fanciful theories about the origins of NT books • The “we” passages could have been from a source the author used, not from the author himself

  5. Author The Case Against the Tradition • The “we” passages could have simply been a stylistic device, intended to make only a rhetorical point • The evidence for such a use is not strong, so this is improbable

  6. Author The Case Against the Tradition • Paul’s epistles differ from Acts in the number of journeys to Jerusalem • Paul seems to make a case for a positive understanding of natural theology in Acts 17, whereas he only allows a negative purpose for it in Romans 1

  7. Author The Case Against the Tradition • Paul of Acts is utterly loyal to the Law, but seems to oppose it in the letters • Paul of Acts lacks all emphasis on union with Christ • Preaching of Paul is uneschatological in Acts

  8. Author In answer to these objections: • While the attitude toward natural revelation in Acts 17 and Romans 1 are different, they are not contradictory. Paul never claims in Acts 17 that knowledge of the “unknown god” saves a person

  9. Author In answer to these objections: • Paul’s view of the law in the epistles is often caricatured as more negative than it really is • Paul’s actions in regards to the Law in Acts are fully compatible with Paul’s letters—Paul acted in such a way that would allow him to carry out ministry without being a stumbling block to others

  10. Author In answer to these objections: • Paul’s preaching and teaching in Acts is almost entirely evangelistic, so it makes sense that there would be little said of certain Christological or eschatological motifs found elsewhere

  11. Author Conclusion • Acts was written by Luke • Very little is known about Luke’s background, so it is best not to place too much emphasis on where he was from

  12. Date Second-Century Date • Proposed by F. C. Baur and the Tübingen school • Few now ascribe to this view

  13. Date A.D. 80–95 • Shows signs of being written after Luke’s gospel, which is thought to be post-70 • The optimistic attitude in Acts toward Rome would seem to negate a post-95 date since Domitian persecuted Christians during this time • The author was not well-aware of Paul’s letters, so it could not have been written much later than A.D. 95

  14. Date A.D. 80–95—However… • The common dating of the gospel of Luke is open to criticism • The fact that the letters of Paul are not mentioned points to an earlier date rather than a later date • Optimism toward Rome could just as easily pre-date the persecutions of Christians by Nero in the 60’s

  15. Date Early to mid-60’s • It is almost certain that Paul was not executed after his two-year imprisonment in Rome at the end of Acts, so it would be hard to explain why Luke did not include anything about Paul’s ministry after the imprisonment

  16. Date Early to mid-60’s • Luke’s ignorance of Paul’s letters • Luke’s portrayal of Judaism better fits a pre-70 context • Luke’s omission of reference to Neronian persecution • Vivid detail of shipwreck voyage narrative suggests something in recent memory

  17. Genre, Addressees, and Purpose Genre • Should be put into the category of ancient historiography Addressees • Addressed to Theophilus, but, like Luke, should probably understand Luke to have had a broader audience in mind

  18. Genre, Addressees, and Purpose Purpose • Conciliation between Jewish and Gentile Christianity (Tübingen School) • Largely discredited by J. B. Lightfoot and Albrecht Ritschl • Evangelism/Apologetics • Theological Polemics • Edification

  19. Acts in Recent Study Historicity • Hengel’s and Hemer’s works defend the historicity of Acts Literary Approaches • Unity of Luke-Acts • Acts as historical novel?

  20. Acts in Recent Study Theological Themes • Delay of the parousia • Salvation history • Mosaic Law • The relationship between Israel and the Church

  21. The Contribution of Acts Historical • The only account of the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost • The martyrdom of Stephen • The life of the early Jerusalem church • How the gospel first came to Samaritans and Gentiles

  22. The Contribution of Acts Theological and Pastoral • The Plan of God • The Presence of the Future • Salvation • The Word of God • The Holy Spirit • The People of God

More Related