The First Two-Thirds of Acts

Why only two-thirds? In this episode we look at a specific aspect of the immensely complex literary work known as the Acts of the Apostles: namely, the Holy Spirit’s gathering in of all human communities that have been estranged from God. The story begins with the Spirit’s gathering of the Jews, moves on to Samaritans and proselytes, then Gentiles in the form of Cornelius the centurion… at which point you might think all the possibilities have been covered. But wait! There’s one more group. Any guesses? You’d have to read Luke-Acts pretty closely to figure it out. Or you could just listen and we’ll give away the answer for free.

Notes:

1. Ernst Haenchen, The Acts of the Apostles

2. “Wie es eigentlich gewesen ist” (or sometimes "wie es eigentlich geschehen ist"): Dad quoted this bit of German, which means “how it actually was/happened,” as the ideal to which the discipline of history aspires.

3. Oscar Cullmann, Christ and Time

4. Hans Conzelman, Acts of the Apostles

5. Krister Stendahl, Paul among Jews and Gentiles

6. Ernst Käsemann, Perspectives on Paul

7. Joseph Fitzmyer, The Acts of the Apostles

8. Cheryl Peterson, Who Is the Church?

9. Paul R. Hinlicky, Beloved Community (see especially pp. 348–355 where he talks about Peterson’s book)

10. The Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg undertakes scholarly and dialogue work with other Christian churches on behalf of the world’s Lutherans. I worked there for 7½ years and continue as a Visiting Professor. For resources specifically on Lutheran-Pentecostal dialogue, take a look here, or check out my book, A Guide to Pentecostal Movements for Lutherans.

11. We talked briefly about the difference between “apocalyptic” and “salvation history.” For more about this, see Lutheran and the Beloved Community, ch. 7.

12. Pentecost = Shavuot in the Jewish tradition.

13. Troy Troftgruben is my Acts guru and teaches at Wartburg Theological Seminary. He’s working on a book on Acts… we’ll let you know as soon as it’s out! In the meanwhile, check out his book Rooted and Renewing.

14. Sarah Ruden, Paul among the People

15. For more on this topic generally, see my articles “The Second Pentecost” and “The Acts of St. Alban’s in Strasbourg.”

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