An Introduction to the Acts of the Apostles

What An Introduction to the Acts of the Apostles covers

An Introduction to the Acts of the Apostles is examined in AS 2, one of the two AS units chosen — area of study: Textual Studies. Worth 20% of the A level. A student may not take two units from the same area of study.. It covers the authorship of Acts and the 'we' passages, the date of Acts and challenges to its authorship and accuracy, the purpose, characteristics and context of Acts, the Ascension and the Day of Pentecost, Peter's speech at Pentecost and the reaction to it, the early church as a fellowship of believers, discipline in the church and the role of miracles in the spread of the Gospel, Peter and John: teaching, miracles and opposition, the seven helpers, Stephen's speech and martyrdom, Philip the evangelist and the mission to Samaria, Peter, Cornelius and the mission to the Gentiles, Peter's escape from prison and the Jerusalem church under Herod, Paul's conversion and the three missionary journeys, Paul's speeches at Pisidian Antioch and at Athens and mission, witness and religious experience in any age.

The 15 subtopics

Each one has its own page. CCEA AS Religious Studies students sit this topic in the first year.

• The authorship of Acts and the 'we' passagesThe common authorship of Luke and Acts, the first-person passages and what they are taken to show about the writer.Open →
• The date of Acts and challenges to its authorship and accuracyArgument for a second-century date and objection that Acts idealises the early church.Open →
• The purpose, characteristics and context of ActsApologetic purpose that many scholars find in Acts, summaries in Acts and parallels Luke draws between Peter and Paul.Open →
• The Ascension and the Day of PentecostCommission that Jesus gives, ascension itself as Acts records it and feast of Pentecost.Open →
• Peter's speech at Pentecost and the reaction to itConclusion of Peter's speech and numerical result of the speech.Open →
• The early church as a fellowship of believersTerm koinonia and one criticism of Luke's account of the common life.Open →
• Discipline in the church and the role of miracles in the spread of the GospelMoral difficulty the episode raises, healing at the Beautiful Gate and what happened in the prison at Philippi.Open →
• Peter and John: teaching, miracles and oppositionThe healing at the Beautiful Gate, the preaching in Solomon's Portico, and the arrests before the Sanhedrin.Open →
• The seven helpers, Stephen's speech and martyrdomNotable about the names of the seven, overall shape of Stephen's speech and how Stephen's speech can be read as a Hellenist defence.Open →
• Philip the evangelist and the mission to SamariaPhilip's preaching in Samaria, Simon Magus, and the encounter with the Ethiopian official on the Gaza road.Open →
• Peter, Cornelius and the mission to the GentilesCornelius told in his vision, peter's vision on the roof at Joppa and personal impact of the episode on Peter.Open →
• Peter's escape from prison and the Jerusalem church under HerodEscape itself, point of the way Luke tells the story of Rhoda and significance of the escape for the narrative of Acts.Open →
• Paul's conversion and the three missionary journeysSaul doing when he set out for Damascus, theological importance of the words Saul hears and saul's commission, as it is given to Ananias.Open →
• Paul's speeches at Pisidian Antioch and at AthensCultural significance of the Pisidian Antioch speech, response at Athens and cultural significance of the Areopagus speech.Open →
• Mission, witness and religious experience in any ageCase against religious mission in a plural society, charismatic movement and three criticisms made of the charismatic and Pentecostal movements.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take An Introduction to the Acts of the Apostles further

The same content, four other ways.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What internal evidence links Acts to the third gospel?

   Model answer

   Acts opens by addressing Theophilus and referring back to a first book about all that Jesus began to do and teach, and the two share vocabulary, sentence style and a single view of God's purpose unfolding in history.

2. 2

   Does the author of Acts name himself?

   Model answer

   The author never names himself anywhere in either volume, so the identification rests on inference from the text and on the testimony of later writers.

3. 3

   Where do the 'we' passages occur in Acts?

   Model answer

   The first person plural appears at the crossing from Troas to Philippi, again in the journey from Philippi to Jerusalem, and throughout the voyage and shipwreck on the way to Rome.

4. 4

   How is the traditional identification of the author reached from the 'we' passages?

   Model answer

   The narrator must be a companion present during those sections, and the companions named in the third person within them are excluded, which leaves a short list from which the tradition selected Luke.

5. 5

   What does Paul's correspondence say about the man named Luke?

   Model answer

   Paul's letters place Luke among his fellow workers, present with him during an imprisonment and still with him at the end, which fits the profile the 'we' passages require.

6. 6

   State the external evidence for the authorship of Acts.

   Model answer

   Irenaeus, the Muratorian Canon, the Anti-Marcionite Prologue, Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian all attribute the work to Luke. No rival name is ever proposed in antiquity.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

An Introduction to the Acts of the Apostles revision questions

Is An Introduction to the Acts of the Apostles examined at AS in CCEA Religious Studies?

Yes. It sits in AS, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.

What does An Introduction to the Acts of the Apostles cover in CCEA AS-Level Religious Studies?

15 subtopics: the authorship of acts and the 'we' passages, the date of acts and challenges to its authorship and accuracy, the purpose, characteristics and context of acts, the ascension and the day of pentecost, peter's speech at pentecost and the reaction to it, the early church as a fellowship of believers, discipline in the church and the role of miracles in the spread of the gospel, peter and john: teaching, miracles and opposition, the seven helpers, stephen's speech and martyrdom, philip the evangelist and the mission to samaria, peter, cornelius and the mission to the gentiles, peter's escape from prison and the jerusalem church under herod, paul's conversion and the three missionary journeys, paul's speeches at pisidian antioch and at athens and mission, witness and religious experience in any age. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is An Introduction to the Acts of the Apostles organised?

By the CCEA 4610 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.