The Function Of The Speeches In The Acts Of The Apostles

In The Function of the Speeches in the Acts of the Apostles, interrelations of the speeches are analyzed in two major groups: the group of topic speeches, and the group of structural speeches.

Acts is the sequel to Luke's gospel and tells the story of Jesus's followers during the 30 years after his death. It describes how the 12 apostles, formerly Jesus's disciples, spread the message of Christianity throughout the Mediterranean against a background of persecution. With an introduction by P.D. James

In The Function of the Speeches in the Acts of the Apostles, interrelations of the speeches are analyzed in two major groups: the group of topic speeches, and the group of structural speeches.

A distinguished group of scholars here provides a comprehensive survey of the theology of the early church as it is presented by the author of Acts. The twenty-five articles show the current state of scholarship and the main themes of theology in Acts.

This historical reappraisal of the Acts of the Apostles, written in narrative form, allows the reader to understand the biblical author's worldview, historical and ideological assumptions, and purposes as they were communicated through portions of this work. Marion Soards analyzes the speech texts by comparing them to writings from ancient history, rhetoric, and midrashic interpretation of scripture. He points out the interesting features in the speeches and highlights the thematic similarities. Soards provides a clear picture of the manner of writings in Acts, the theology, and the encompassing history of the early Christian period, and he supplies a sound basis for contemporary Jewish-Christian relations.

The good news of Jesus spread like wildfire through the Roman Empire in the decades between his death and the writing of the first gospels—but how? What exactly did the first Christians say about Jesus? In From Good News to Gospels David Wenham delves into the gospels, the book of Acts, and the writings of Paul to uncover evidence of a strong and substantial oral tradition in the early church. This book will inform, engage, and challenge readers, inspiring them to better understand and appreciate the earliest gospel message.

This book is developed from a doctoral dissertation entitled A Literary and Redactional study of Acts 7,2-53; that dissertation and this book have this in common, that they try to explain how vv 2-16 of Stephen's speech are integrally related to vv 17-53 of the same speech. This explanation, or exegesis, is the core of this book, and the subject of Part Two of these pages; from the exegesis offered there it is clear that vv 2-16 are essential to the meaning and impact of Stephen's speech. Not only, however, is our goal in the exegetical section to explain the function of Stephen's verses 2-16; we give an interpretation of the entire speech and og a number of problems of comprehension which still disturb exegetes today. Preceding this section of exegesis is a history of exegetical opinion about the meaning of Stephen's speech, about its sources, its relationship to the accusations against the Saint, about the significance of vv 2 - 16 within the total speech. Following our exegesis is an Appendix in which we offer data of varying value to show not only that one man's style is evident throughout Stephen's speech, but that this style is the style of the rest of the Acts of the Apostles and very close to that of the Gospel of Luke.