THE CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES:

THE BOOK OF ACTS

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The book of "Acts" is sometimes called the "Acts of the Apostles."

Author:

A consensus exists that the author of the Gospel of Luke also wrote the Book of Acts. This is one of those rare instances where conservative and liberal Christians agree. Both books were written  to Theophilus, an otherwise unknown Roman convert to Christianity. The two books have the same writing style and use similar terminology. The author "is very fond of using rare, very often classical and poetical words. In fact, we can hardly take a single paragraph without coming across some striking or peculiar word." ₁

The author was commonly believed to have been a physician. But recent analysis indicates that the writer's knowledge of medicine was no greater than that of a typical well educated person from the first century CE. One interesting feature in the Gospel of Luke is the use of duplicate parables: one involving a man and another a woman. This, along with the emphasis on Mary in the first two chapters of the gospel, and other internal evidence, has led one theologian to suggest that the author of Luke (and thus also of Acts) was a woman.

The author implies that he had first-hand knowledge of some of the events that he/she recorded. "Luke" switches from "they" to "we" in Acts 16:10, 20:5 and 27:1. Some theologians have suggested an alternative explanation: that the "'we sections' are a stylistic device ...to give his narrative vitality." Or, perhaps the material was copied from the diary of someone who accompanied Paul. One source demonstrates a number of discrepancies between accounts of  the same events as they are described both in Acts and in the Epistles of Paul. ₅ This would indicate that the author of Acts (and thus of the Gospel of Luke) was not a traveling companion of Paul, and had no first-hand knowledge of Paul's missionary journeys.

Date of Writing:

Estimates of the date of writing range from the late 50's to 100 CE. Most theologians assume that Acts was written shortly after the Gospel of Luke was finished.

Available Versions of Acts:

Two copies of Acts have been preserved. Most ancient manuscripts are of the shorter version, which is apparently close to the original writings of "Luke." At some later date, an unknown writer modified the text in a number of places. They made changes and additions to the original, in order to match the then current beliefs of the mainline Christians. For example, Acts 15:20 originally referred only to Jewish ritual demands concerning allowable foods. It was later changed to refer also to sexual immorality - an increasing concern of mainline Christians. The longer, adulterated version appears in modern-day western Bibles.

Purpose of Acts:

The book was written to record the development of two groups within the early Christian community after the execution of Jesus. It is an extremely valuable document, because it gives a glimpse into early Christian history. Unfortunately it was apparently written many decades after the events, so much may have been forgotten.

Acts describes only two groups within the Christian movement:

There were other groups within the Christian movement that Acts does not describe. Probably the most important of these were the Gnostic Christians. One of their leaders, Simon Magus, may have been Simon the sorcerer mentioned in Acts 8:9-24. (Simon believed in Jesus and was baptized with a group of other believers. But none had received the Holy Spirit until Peter and John placed their hands on the new converts. Simon asked for the laying on of the apostles' hands and even offered money. Peter refused, because he judged that Simon's heart was not right with God.) This passage might have been a disguised criticism of the Gnostic Christians.

References:

1. Rackman, "The Acts of the Apostles," Baker, Grand Rapids, MI, (1964), Page xix.
2. J.D. Douglas, Gen. Ed., "New Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Testament Volume.", Tyndale, Wheaton IL, (1990)
3. H.R. Willmington, "Bible Handbook", Tyndale, Wheaton IL, (1997)
4. P.N. Benware, "Survey of the New Testament," Moody Press, Chicago IL (1990)
5. W. Baird, "The Acts of the Apostles", essay in C.M. Laymon: "The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary on the Bible," Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN (1991).

Copyright © 1997, 1999 & 2001 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2001-MAY-28
Author: B.A. Robinson