My Article on Acts Has Been Published on Peter Kirby's Site

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After three years, several drafts, plenty of late nights, and valuable feedback, my article, A Discussion of the Genre, Historicity, Authorship, and Date of Acts, is now available at Peter Kirby's Christian Origins.

Special thanks to the Cadre's own BK and Nomad for comments on earlier drafts, to Peter Kirby for his valuable comments and for placing the finished product on his website, to my Mom who is one of finest editors in the business (or out of it), and to my wife Jenny, who also provided excellent feedback as well as having a high tolerance level for my distractions and research budget. Thanks to the others who along the way have given feedback or encouragement regarding my thoughts and ideas regarding Acts.

I fully realize that in many ways my inquiry into Acts is still maturing. I hope that through additional research and by interacting with the inevitable and welcome comments and criticisms, I can continue learning about this fascinating piece of ancient literature.

Comments

Peter Kirby said…
Yay! Congratulations to Chris on this major piece. It is well worth your time to check out and study.
7/30/2005 08:21:00 PM
Master Apologist said…
It's worth your time to become a Christian, also. Virtually no New Testament scholars consider any of the arguments the Sec Web publishes on the empty tomb.
8/01/2005 02:37:00 PM
Peter Kirby said…
Why would that claim, if true, imply that it's worthwhile to become a Christian?
8/01/2005 06:50:00 PM
Anonymous said…
Dear Chris,
Great work on Acts! Read through most of it today.
I wonder was Theophilus a real person (patron) or was that representative of "lovers of God" as an audience? Your thoughts?
I agree that Acts was written before 90 AD. I liked your stressing the importance of the genre of Acts, and I think that all Christians can learn from this that it was entertaining because it was anecdotal/story form and yet it was historical and accurate.
8/12/2005 05:45:00 PM
Layman said…
Pastor Polus,

Thanks very much for taking the time to read the article. I realize its not easy reading.

I tend to think that Theophilus was a real person, though it would not bother me if it was a figurative address. I explained my reasons for my opinion in a previous post on the blog:

http://christiancadre.blogspot.com/2004/11/who-was-theophilus-thoughts-on-preface.html

Theophilus was not an uncommon name, and most names of the time were imbued with some extra meaning (as are ours though fewer people focus on them). The use of the phrase "msot excellent" is titular, suggesting a real person. But for me what is most important is the literary style of the preface. Prefaces were often used to address notable people to whom the work was directed, or who provided support of some form or the other. Josephus uses the same address in his preface in Against Apion ("I suppose that by my books of the Antiquity of the Jews, most excellent Epaphroditus, (2) have made it evident to those who peruse them, that our Jewish nation is of very great antiquity.").
8/12/2005 07:16:00 PM
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