In addition to my nutshell summaries of each book of the New Testament, I have been providing a post that gives additional materials I present in my New Testament textbook.  These are (a) rapid fire summaries of each book that I call “At a Glance” and (b) a set of study questions that challenge students to take a position on key aspects of the book, that I call “Take a Stand.”

Here they are now for the book of Acts.  I hope the summary “at a glance” makes sense, and that you can nail the questions.

BOX 17.8 The Book of Acts

1. The book of Acts is the second of a two-volume work by the author of Luke. Like the first volume, it is dedicated to an otherwise unknown “Theophilus.”
2. These books have been traditionally ascribed to Luke, the traveling companion of Paul; there are, however, reasons to suspect this tradition.
3. Like the Gospel of Luke, the book was probably written around 80–85 c.e.
4. A thematic approach to the book reveals several prominent themes:
   •  The Jewish origins of Christianity, its fulfillment of the Jewish Scriptures, and its continuity with Judaism.
   • The portrayal of Jesus as a Jewish prophet, rejected by his own people.
   • The consequent movement of the religion from the Jews to the Gentiles and a concomitant geographical shift from the holy city of Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.
   • The proclamation to Jew and Gentile alike of salvation through the repentance of sins and the forgiveness of God, with Gentiles who accept this offer of salvation not needing to adopt the ways of Judaism.
   • The delay of the time of the end to make this Christian mission a possibility.
   • The “rightness” of this religion in both the divine sense (it came from God in fulfillment of the Scriptures) and the human one (it did nothing to violate Jewish custom or imperial law).
   • The complete unity and harmony of the church as guided by the apostles, who agree on every issue and resolve every problem through the direction of the Spirit.
   • Ultimately, the hand of God directing the course of Christian history behind the scenes, from Jesus’ own life and death to the life and ministry of the apostles he left behind.

TAKE A STAND

1. List five similarities that strike you as interesting between Peter (in Acts 1–12) and Paul (in Acts 13–28). What similar things do they do, say, and experience? Is that simply coincidence, or do you think Luke is going out of his way to make their missions reflect each other? If the latter, why is he doing that?
2. Suppose we did not have any information about Paul other than what can be found in the book of Acts. What does he say to non-Christians to get them to convert?
3. Suppose you wanted to sum up the major points that Luke is trying to make about the spread of Christianity in the book of Acts. What would you say?