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Constitutional monarchy
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A constitutional monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the sovereign exercises authority in accordance with a written or unwritten constitution.[1] Constitutional monarchy differs from absolute monarchy (in which a monarch holds absolute power), in that constitutional monarchs are bound to exercise their powers and authorities within the limits prescribed within an established legal framework. Constitutional monarchies range from countries such as Morocco, where the constitution grants substantial discretionary powers to the sovereign, to countries such as Japan where the monarch retains no formal authorities.
Constitutional monarchy may refer to a system in which the monarch acts as a non-party political head of state under the constitution, whether written or unwritten.[2] While most monarchs may hold formal authority and the government may legally operate in the monarch's name, in the form typical in Europe the monarch no longer personally sets public policy or chooses political leaders. Political scientist Vernon Bogdanor paraphrasing Thomas Macaulay, has defined a constitutional monarch as "A sovereign who reigns but does not rule".[3]
In addition to acting as a visible symbol of national unity, a constitutional monarch may hold formal powers such as dissolving parliament or giving royal assent to legislation. However, the exercise of such powers is largely strictly in accordance with either written constitutional principles or unwritten constitutional conventions, rather than any personal political preference imposed by the sovereign. In The English Constitution, British political theorist Walter Bagehot identified three main political rights which a constitutional monarch may freely exercise: the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn. Many constitutional monarchies still retain significant authorities or political influence however, such as through certain reserve powers, and may also play an important political role.
The United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms are all constitutional monarchies in the Westminster tradition of constitutional governance. Two constitutional monarchies – Malaysia and Cambodia – are elective monarchies, wherein the ruler is periodically selected by a small electoral college.
Contents
1 History
2 Constitutional and absolute monarchy
2.1 England and the United Kingdom
2.2 Continental Europe
3 Modern constitutional monarchy
4 List of current constitutional monarchies
5 Former constitutional monarchies
6 Unique constitutional monarchies
7 See also
8 References
8.1 Citations
8.2 Sources
9 Further reading
History[edit]
The oldest constitutional monarchy dating back to ancient times was that of the Hittites. They were an ancient Anatolian people that lived during the Bronze Age whose king or queen had to share their authority with an assembly, called the Panku, which was the equivalent to a modern-day deliberative assembly or a legislature. Members of the Panku came from scattered noble families who worked as representatives of their subjects in an adjutant or subaltern federal-type landscape.[4][5]
The most recent[update] country to move from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy was Bhutan, between 2007 and 2008 (see Politics of Bhutan, Constitution of Bhutan and Bhutanese democracy).
Constitutional and absolute monarchy[edit]
England and the United Kingdom[edit]
In the Kingdom of England, the Glorious Revolution of 1688 led to a constitutional monarchy restricted by laws such as the Bill of Rights 1689 and the Act of Settlement 1701, although limits on the power of the monarch ('a limited monarchy') are much older than that (see Magna Carta). At the same time, in Scotland the Convention of Estates enacted the Claim of Right Act 1689, which placed similar limits on the Scottish monarchy.
Although Queen Anne was the last monarch to veto an Act of Parliament when on 11 March 1708 she blocked the Scottish Militia Bill, Hanoverian monarchs continued to selectively dictate government policies. For instance George III constantly blocked Catholic Emancipation, eventually precipitating the resignation of William Pitt the Younger as Prime Minister in 1801.[6] The sovereign's influence on the choice of Prime Minister gradually declined over this period, William IV being the last monarch to dismiss a Prime Minister, when in 1834 he removed Lord Melbourne as a result of Melbourne's choice of Lord John Russell as Leader of the House of Commons.[7][8] Queen Victoria was the last monarch to exercise real personal power but this diminished over the course of her reign. In 1839 she became the last sovereign to keep a Prime Minister in power against the will of Parliament when the Bedchamber crisis resulted in the retention of Lord Melbourne's administration.[9] By the end of her reign, however, she could do nothing to block the unacceptable (to her) premierships of William Gladstone, although she still exercised power in appointments to the Cabinet, for example in 1886 preventing Gladstone's choice of Hugh Childers as War Secretary in favor of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman.[10]
Today, the role of the British monarch is by convention effectively ceremonial.[11] Instead, the British Parliament and the Government – chiefly in the office of Prime Minister – exercise their powers under 'Royal (or Crown) Prerogative': on behalf of the monarch and through powers still formally possessed by the Monarch.[12][13]
No person may accept significant public office without swearing an oath of allegiance to the Queen.[14] With few exceptions, the monarch is bound by constitutional convention to act on the advice of the Government.
Continental Europe[edit]
Constitutional monarchy originated in continental Europe, with Poland developing the first constitution for a monarchy with the Constitution of May 3, 1791; it was the third constitution in the world just after the first republican Constitution of the United States. Constitutional monarchy also occurred briefly in the early years of the French Revolution, but much more widely afterwards. Napoleon Bonaparte is considered the first monarch proclaiming himself as an embodiment of the nation, rather than as a divinely-appointed ruler; this interpretation of monarchy is germane to continental constitutional monarchies. German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, in his work Elements of the Philosophy of Right (1820), gave the concept a philosophical justification that concurred with evolving contemporary political theory and the Protestant Christian view of natural law.[15] Hegel's forecast of a constitutional monarch with very limited powers whose function is to embody the national character and provide constitutional continuity in times of emergency was reflected in the development of constitutional monarchies in Europe and Japan.[15]
Modern constitutional monarchy[edit]
As originally conceived, a constitutional monarch was head of the executive branch and quite a powerful figure even though his or her power was limited by the constitution and the elected parliament. Some of the framers of the U.S. Constitution may have envisioned the president as an elected constitutional monarch, as the term was then understood, following Montesquieu's account of the separation of powers.[16]
The present-day concept of a constitutional monarchy developed in the United Kingdom, where the democratically elected parliaments, and their leader, the prime minister, exercise power, with the monarchs having ceded power and remaining as a titular position. In many cases the monarchs, while still at the very top of the political and social hierarchy, were given the status of "servants of the people" to reflect the new, egalitarian position. In the course of France's July Monarchy, Louis-Philippe I was styled "King of the French" rather than "King of France."
Following the Unification of Germany, Otto von Bismarck rejected the British model. In the constitutional monarchy established under the Constitution of the German Empire which Bismarck inspired, the Kaiser retained considerable actual executive power, while the Imperial Chancellor needed no parliamentary vote of confidence and ruled solely by the imperial mandate. However this model of constitutional monarchy was discredited and abolished following Germany's defeat in the First World War. Later, Fascist Italy could also be considered as a constitutional monarchy, in that there was a king as the titular head of state while actual power was held by Benito Mussolini under a constitution. This eventually discredited the Italian monarchy and led to its abolition in 1946. After the Second World War, surviving European monarchies almost invariably adopted some variant of the constitutional monarchy model originally developed in Britain.
Nowadays a parliamentary democracy that is a constitutional monarchy is considered to differ from one that is a republic only in detail rather than in substance. In both cases, the titular head of state—monarch or president—serves the traditional role of embodying and representing the nation, while the government is carried on by a cabinet composed predominantly of elected Members of Parliament.
However, three important factors distinguish monarchies such as the United Kingdom from systems where greater power might otherwise rest with Parliament. These are: the Royal Prerogative under which the monarch may exercise power under certain very limited circumstances; Sovereign Immunity under which the monarch may do no wrong under the law because the responsible government is instead deemed accountable; and the monarch may not be subject to the same taxation or property use restrictions as most citizens. Other privileges may be nominal or ceremonial (e.g., where the executive, judiciary, police or armed forces act on the authority of or owe allegiance to the Crown).
Today slightly more than a quarter of constitutional monarchies are Western European countries, including the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Luxembourg, Monaco, Liechtenstein and Sweden. However, the two most populous constitutional monarchies in the world are in Asia: Japan and Thailand. In these countries the prime minister holds the day-to-day powers of governance, while the monarch retains residual (but not always insignificant) powers. The powers of the monarch differ between countries. In Denmark and in Belgium, for example, the Monarch formally appoints a representative to preside over the creation of a coalition government following a parliamentary election, while in Norway the King chairs special meetings of the cabinet.
In nearly all cases, the monarch is still the nominal chief executive, but is bound by convention to act on the advice of the Cabinet. Only a few monarchies (most notably Japan and Sweden) have amended their constitutions so that the monarch is no longer even the nominal chief executive.
There are sixteen constitutional monarchies under Queen Elizabeth II, which are known as Commonwealth realms.[17] Unlike some of their continental European counterparts, the Monarch and her Governors-General in the Commonwealth realms hold significant "reserve" or "prerogative" powers, to be wielded in times of extreme emergency or constitutional crises, usually to uphold parliamentary government. An instance of a Governor-General exercising such power occurred during the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, when the Australian Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, was dismissed by the Governor-General. The Australian senate had threatened to block the Government's budget by refusing to pass the necessary appropriation bills. On November 11, 1975, Whitlam intended to call a half-Senate election in an attempt to break the deadlock. When he sought the Governor-General's approval of the election, the Governor-General instead dismissed him as Prime Minister, and shortly thereafter installed leader of the opposition Malcolm Fraser in his place. Acting quickly before all parliamentarians became aware of the change of government, Fraser and his allies secured passage of the appropriation bills, and the Governor-General dissolved Parliament for a double dissolution election. Fraser and his government were returned with a massive majority. This led to much speculation among Whitlam's supporters as to whether this use of the Governor-General's reserve powers was appropriate, and whether Australia should become a republic. Among supporters of constitutional monarchy, however, the experience confirmed the value of the monarchy as a source of checks and balances against elected politicians who might seek powers in excess of those conferred by the constitution, and ultimately as a safeguard against dictatorship.
In Thailand's constitutional monarchy, the monarch is recognized as the Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, Upholder of the Buddhist Religion, and Defender of the Faith. The former King, Bhumibol Adulyadej, was the longest reigning monarch in the world and in all of Thailand's history, prior to passing away on 13 October 2016.[18] Bhumibol has reigned through several political changes in the Thai government. He has played an influential role in each incident, often acting as mediator between disputing political opponents. (See Bhumibol's role in Thai Politics.) Among the powers retained by the monarch under the constitution, lèse majesté protects the image of the monarch and enables him to play a role in politics. It carries strict criminal penalties for violators. Generally, the Thai people are reverent of Bhumibol. Much of his social influence arises from this reverence and from the socio-economic improvement efforts undertaken by the royal family.
In the United Kingdom, a frequent debate centers on when it is appropriate for a monarch to act. When a monarch does act, political controversy can often ensue, partially because the neutrality of the crown is seen to be compromised in favor of a partisan goal, while some political scientists champion the idea of an "interventionist monarch" as a check against possible illegal action by politicians. For instance, the monarch of the United Kingdom can theoretically exercise an absolute veto over legislation by withholding royal assent. However, no monarch has done so since 1708, and it is widely believed that this and many of the monarch's other political powers are lapsed powers.
There are currently 43 monarchies worldwide.
List of current constitutional monarchies[edit]
See also: List of current monarchies
Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
Bahamas
Bahrain
Barbados
Belgium
Belize
Bhutan
Cambodia
Canada
Denmark
Grenada
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kuwait
Lesotho
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Monaco
Morocco
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Papua New Guinea
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Solomon Islands
Spain
Sweden
Thailand
Tonga
Tuvalu
United Kingdom
Former constitutional monarchies[edit]
This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
The Anglo-Corsican Kingdom was a brief period in the history of Corsica (1794–1796) when the island broke with Revolutionary France and sought military protection from Great Britain. Corsica became an independent kingdom under George III of the United Kingdom, but with its own elected parliament and a written constitution guaranteeing local autonomy and democratic rights.
Brazil from 1822, with the proclamation of independence and rise of the Empire of Brazil by Pedro I of Brazil to 1889, when Pedro II was deposed by a military coup.
Kingdom of Bulgaria until 1946 when Tsar Simeon was deposed by the communist assembly.
Many Commonwealth republics were constitutional monarchies for some period after their independence, including Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Fiji (1970–87), Gambia (1965–70), Ghana (1957–60), Guyana (1966–70), and Trinidad and Tobago (1962–76).
The Grand Principality of Finland was a constitutional monarchy though its ruler, Alexander I, was simultaneously an autocrat and absolute ruler in Russia.
France, several times during the 19th century. Napoléon Bonaparte proclaimed himself Emperor of the French in what was ostensibly a constitutional monarchy, though modern historians often call his reign as an absolute monarchy.[citation needed] The Bourbon Restoration (under Louis XVIII and Charles X), the July Monarchy (under Louis-Philippe), and the Second Empire (under Napoleon III) were also constitutional monarchies, although the power of the monarch varied considerably between them.
The German Empire from 1871 to 1918, (as well as earlier confederations, and the monarchies it consisted of) was also a constitutional monarchy—see Constitution of the German Empire.
Greece until 1973 when Constantine II was deposed by the military government. The decision was formalized by a plebiscite December 8, 1974.
Hawaii, which was an absolute monarchy from its founding in 1810, transitioned to a constitutional monarchy in 1840 when King Kamehameha III promulgated the kingdom's first constitution. This constitutional form of government continued until the monarchy was overthrown in an 1893 coup.
The Kingdom of Hungary. In 1848–1849 and 1867–1918 as part of Austria-Hungary. In the interwar period (1920–1944) Hungary remained a constitutional monarchy without a reigning monarch.
Iceland. The Act of Union, a December 1, 1918 agreement with Denmark, established Iceland as a sovereign kingdom united with Denmark under a common king. Iceland abolished the monarchy and became a republic on June 17, 1944 after the Icelandic constitutional referendum, May 24, 1944.
Iran under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was a constitutional monarchy, which had been originally established during the Persian Constitutional Revolution in 1906.
Italy until June 2, 1946, when a referendum proclaimed the end of the Kingdom and the beginning of the Republic.
Korean Empire[citation needed] proclaimed in October 1897 to the Annexation of Korea by Japan on August 20, 1910. It succeeded the Joseon Dynasty.
The Kingdom of Laos was a constitutional monarchy until 1975, when Sisavang Vatthana was forced to abdicate by the communist Pathet Lao.
Malta was a constitutional monarchy with Elizabeth II as Queen of Malta, represented by a Governor-General appointed by her, for the first ten years of independence from 21 September 1964 to the declaration of the Republic of Malta on 13 December 1974.
Mexico was twice an Empire. The First Mexican Empire was from July 21, 1822, to March 19, 1823, with Agustín de Iturbide serving as emperor. Then, with the help of the Austrian and Spanish crowns, Napoleon III of France installed Maximilian of Habsburg as Emperor of Mexico. This attempt to create a European-style monarchy lasted three years, from 1864 to 1867.
Montenegro until 1918 when it merged with Serbia and other areas to form Yugoslavia.
Nepal until May 28, 2008, when King Gyanendra was deposed, and the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal was declared.
Ottoman Empire from 1876 until 1878 and again from 1908 until the dissolution of the empire in 1922.
The Kingdom of Afghanistan was a constitutional monarchy under Mohammad Zahir Shah until 1973.
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formed after the Union of Lublin in 1569 and lasting until the final partition of the state in 1795, operated much like many modern European constitutional monarchies (into which it was officially changed by the establishment of the Constitution of May 3, 1791, which historian Norman Davies calls "the first constitution of its kind in Europe").[19] The legislators of the unified state truly did not see it as a monarchy at all, but as a republic under the presidency of the King. Poland–Lithuania also followed the principle of "Rex regnat et non gubernat", had a bicameral parliament, and a collection of entrenched legal documents amounting to a constitution along the lines of the modern United Kingdom. The King was elected, and had the duty of maintaining the people's rights.
Kingdom of Albania from 1928 until 1939, Albania was a Constitutional Monarchy ruled by the House of Zogu, King Zog I.
Portugal was a monarchy since 1139 and a constitutional monarchy from 1822 to 1828, and again from 1834 until 1910, when Manuel II was overthrown by a military coup. From 1815 to 1825 it was part of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves which was a constitutional monarchy for the years 1820–23.
Kingdom of Romania From its establishment in 1881 until 1947 when Michael I was forced to abdicate by the communists.
Kingdom of Serbia until 1918, when it merged with the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs into the unitary Yugoslav Kingdom, that was led by the Serbian Karadjordjevic dynasty.
Yugoslavia from 1918 (as Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes) until 1929 and from then (as Kingdom of Yugoslavia) until 1944 when under pressure from the Allies Peter II recognized the communist government.
Unique constitutional monarchies[edit]
This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Andorra is the only monarchy where the head of state is vested jointly in two individuals ("Co-Princes"): the Bishop of Urgell and the President of France.
Andorra, Monaco and Liechtenstein are the only countries with a reigning Prince.
Belgium is the only explicit popular monarchy, the formal title of its King being King of the Belgians rather than King of Belgium.
Luxembourg is the only country with a Grand Duke.
Malaysia is the only federal country with an elective monarchy, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, being selected from among nine state rulers who are also constitutional monarchs themselves.
See also[edit]
Australian Monarchist League
Monarchism
Figurehead
References[edit]
Citations[edit]
Jump up ^ Blum, Cameron & Barnes 1970, pp. 267–268.
Jump up ^ Kurian 2011, p. [page needed].
Jump up ^ Bogdanor 1996, pp. 407–422.
Jump up ^ "The Hittites", smie.co, September 12, 2008 [better source needed]
Jump up ^ Akurgal 2001, p. 118.
Jump up ^ Hague, William (2004). William Pitt the Younger (1st ed.). London: HarperCollins. pp. 469–72. ISBN 0007147198.
Jump up ^ Hurd, Douglas (2007). Robert Peel - a biography (1st ed.). London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. pp. 169–70. ISBN 9780297848448.
Jump up ^ Mitchell, L.G. (1997). Lord Melbourne 1779-1848 (1st ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 147. ISBN 0198205929.
Jump up ^ Mitchell, L.G. (1997). Lord Melbourne 1779-1848 (1st ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 241–2. ISBN 0198205929.
Jump up ^ Wilson, John (1973). CB - A life of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (1st ed.). London: Constable and Company Limited. pp. 161–2. ISBN 009458950X.
Jump up ^ Royal Household staff 2015a.
Jump up ^ Dunt 2015.
Jump up ^ Parliamentary staff 2010.
Jump up ^ Sear 2001, p. 3.
^ Jump up to: a b Hegel 1991, p. [page needed].
Jump up ^ Montesquieu 1924, p. [page needed].
Jump up ^ Royal Household staff 2015b.
Jump up ^ Dewan, Angela. "Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej dies at 88". CNN Regions+. CNN. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
Jump up ^ Davies 1996, p. 699.
Sources[edit]
Akurgal, Ekrem (2001), The Hattian and Hittite civilizations, Ankara: Turkish Ministry of Culture, p. 118, ISBN 975-17-2756-1
Blum, Jerome; Cameron, Rondo; Barnes, Thomas G. (1970), The European World, 1, Boston: Little, Brown, pp. 267–268, OCLC 76819
Bogdanor, Vernon (1996), "The Monarchy and the Constitution", Parliamentary Affairs, 49 (3): 407–422, doi:10.1093/pa/49.3.407 — excerpted from Bogdanor, Vernon (1995), The Monarchy and the Constitution, Oxford University Press
Boyce, Peter (2008), The Queen's Other Realms, Annandale: Federation Press, p. 1, ISBN 978-1-86287-700-9
Davies, Norman (1996), Europe: A History, Oxford University Press, p. 699, ISBN 0-19-820171-0
Dunt, Ian, ed. (2015), Monarchy - Background, politics.co.uk, retrieved September 13, 2011
Hegel, G. W. F. (1991) [1820], Wood, Allen W., ed., Elements of the Philosophy of Right, translated by Nisbet, H.B., Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-34438-7 — originally published as Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel, Philosophie des Rechts.
Kurian, George Thomas (2011), "Constitutional Monarchy", The Encyclopedia of Political Science, CQ Press, doi:10.4135/9781608712434, ISBN 9781933116440
McCannon, John (2006), Barron's how to Prepare for the AP World History Examination (2nd, illustrated ed.), Barron's Educational Serie, pp. 177–178, ISBN 9780764132711 — England and the Netherlands in the 17th and 18th centuries were parliamentary democracies.
Montesquieu, Charles-Louis, Baron de, (1924), The Spirit of Laws, Legal Classics Library
Orr, Campbell, ed. (2002), Queenship in Britain, 1660-1837: Royal Patronage, Court Culture, and Dynastic Politics (illustrated ed.), Manchester University Press, p. 3, ISBN 9780719057694
Crown Prerogative, Official website of the British Parliament, April 21, 2010, retrieved September 13, 2011
Patmore, Glenn (2009), Choosing the Republic, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Press, p. 105, ISBN 1-74223-015-6
What is constitutional monarchy?, Official website of the British Monarchy, December 12, 2015
What is a Commonwealth realm?, Official website of the British Monarchy, December 12, 2015, archived from the original on 2010-12-02
Schmitt, Carl (2008) [1928], Seitzer, Jeffrey (translator), ed., Constitutional Theory (illustrated ed.), Duke University Press, pp. 313–314, ISBN 9780822340119
Sear, Chris (2001), Research Paper 01/116 (PDF), Official website of the British Parliament
Further reading[edit]
Locke, John (2003) [1690], hapiro, Ian S, ed., Two Treatises of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration (with essays by John Dunn, Ruth W. Grant and Ian Shapiro ed.), New Haven: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-10017-5
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Acts of the Apostles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about the book in the Christian New Testament. For the literature genre, see Acts of the Apostles (genre). For the acronym, see ACTS (disambiguation).
"Acts" redirects here. For uses of Act, see Act.
Books of the
New Testament
Gospels
Matthew
Mark
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John
Acts
Acts of the Apostles
Epistles
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1 Corinthians · 2 Corinthians
Galatians · Ephesians
Philippians · Colossians
1 Thessalonians · 2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy · 2 Timothy
Titus · Philemon
Hebrews · James
1 Peter · 2 Peter
1 John · 2 John · 3 John
Jude
Apocalypse
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New Testament manuscripts
v
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Acts of the Apostles (Ancient Greek: Πράξεις τῶν Ἀποστόλων, Práxeis tôn Apostólōn; Latin: Actūs Apostolōrum), often referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian church and the spread of its message to the Roman Empire.[1]
Acts and the Gospel of Luke make up a two-part work, Luke–Acts, by the same anonymous author, usually dated to around 80–90 AD.[2][3] The first part, the Gospel of Luke, tells how God fulfilled his plan for the world's salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the promised Messiah. Acts continues the story of Christianity in the 1st century, beginning with Jesus's Ascension to Heaven and the central theme revolves around Holy Spirit confirming the message of salvation through Jesus Christ by displaying publicly and privately, mighty signs and wonders through ordinary believers as they preached the Gospel (the goods news you are set free through the name of Jesus). The early chapters, set in Jerusalem, describe the Day of Pentecost (the coming of the Holy Spirit) and the growth of the church in Jerusalem. From place to place, the salvation message (repent of your sins, believe Jesus as your savior to have died for your sins, be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit) was sent first through synagogues to the Jews. The responses varied from place to place, some readily accepted like Antioch of Pisidia, some like Berea studied extensively to verify it is truth before accepting, some, initially, were receptive to the Christian message, but repeatedly, a crowd would be stirred to turn against the followers of Jesus. Rejected by the Jews, as fulfilment to the Old Testament prophecies, the Apostles, like Apostle James, Apostle Peter took the message to the Gentiles, further fulfilling the prophecies that God will extend salvation to all mankind through the Jews. The mid chapters tell of Paul's conversion, the signs and miracles Holy Spirit worked through his missions in Asia Minor and the Aegean confirming the salvation message, and finally his foreseen destiny in Rome, where, as the book ends, he awaits trial.
Luke–Acts is an attempt to answer a theological problem, namely how the Messiah of the Jews came to have an overwhelmingly non-Jewish church; the answer it provides, and its central theme, is that the message of Christ was sent to the Gentiles because the Jews rejected it.[1] It answers further that the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was prophecied to reach beyond the walls of the Jewish Religion from the beginning of Abraham. This is rooted in the understanding that Christ came for the purpose of bringing the Kingdom of God from heaven into all people's heart, through extending salvation to Jews and Gentiles alike. Acts 26:23 explains that the ancient Old Testament prophetic truth of the suffering of Christ was to ensure that salvation was made available to those Jewish Israelites as well as others outside this special group.
Luke–Acts can be also seen as a defense of (or "apology" for) the Jesus movement addressed to the Jews: the bulk of the speeches and sermons in Acts are addressed to Jewish audiences, with the ruling Romans taking or abstaining from the role of arbiters, on disputes concerning Jewish customs and law.[4] On the one hand Luke portrays the Christians as a sect of the Jews, as a fulfillment of the Messiah Jews had been waiting for, and therefore entitled to legal protection as a recognised religion; on the other, the author repeatedly presented the the celebration of the Jewishness of Jesus and his immediate followers for the salvation message was the fulfillment of the Jews, then, rejected God's promised Messiah.[5]
Contents
[hide]
1 Composition and setting
1.1 Title, unity of Luke–Acts, authorship and date
1.2 Genre, sources and historicity of Acts
1.3 Audience and authorial intent
1.4 Manuscripts
2 Structure and content
2.1 Structure
2.2 Outline
2.3 Content
3 Theology
4 Comparison with other writings
4.1 Gospel of Luke
4.2 Pauline epistles
4.3 Genesis
5 See also
6 References
7 Bibliography
8 External links
Composition and setting[edit]
Main article: Authorship of Luke–Acts
Ministry of the Apostles: Russian icon by Fyodor Zubov, 1660
Title, unity of Luke–Acts, authorship and date[edit]
The title "Acts of the Apostles" (Greek Πράξεις ἀποστόλων Praxeis Apostolon) was first used by Irenaeus in the late 2nd century. It is not known whether this was an existing title or one invented by Irenaeus; it does seem clear, however, that it was not given by the author.[6]
The Gospel of Luke and Acts make up a two-volume work which scholars call Luke–Acts.[3] Together they account for 27.5% of the New Testament, the largest contribution attributed to a single author, providing the framework for both the Church's liturgical calendar and the historical outline into which later generations have fitted their idea of the story of Jesus and the early church.[7]
The author is not named in either volume.[8] According to Church tradition dating from the 2nd century, he was the "Luke" named as a companion of the apostle Paul in three of the letters attributed to Paul himself; this view is still sometimes advanced, but "a critical consensus emphasizes the countless contradictions between the account in Acts and the authentic Pauline letters."[9]) (An example can be seen by comparing Acts's accounts of Paul's conversion (Acts 9:1–31, 22:6–21, and 26:9–23) with Paul's own statement that he remained unknown to Christians in Judea after that event (Galatians 1:17–24).)[10][10] He admired Paul, but his theology was significantly different from Paul's on key points and he does not (in Acts) represent Paul's views accurately.[11] He was educated, a man of means, probably urban, and someone who respected manual work, although not a worker himself; this is significant, because more high-brow writers of the time looked down on the artisans and small business people who made up the early church of Paul and were presumably Luke's audience.[12]
The earliest possible date for the composition of Acts is set by the events with which it ends, Paul's imprisonment in Rome c.63 AD, but an early date is now rarely put forward.[13][9] The last possible date would be set by its first definite citation by another author, but there is no unanimity on this—some scholars find echoes of Acts in a work from c. 95 AD called I Clement, while others see no indisputable citation until the middle of the 2nd century.[13] The majority of scholars date Luke–Acts to 80–90 AD, on the grounds that it uses Mark as a source and looks back on the destruction of Jerusalem, and does not show any awareness of the letters of Paul (which began circulating late in the century); if, however, it does show awareness of Paul and also of Josephus, then a date early in the 2nd century is more likely.[13] In either case, there is evidence that it was still being substantially revised well into the 2nd century.[14]
Genre, sources and historicity of Acts[edit]
Luke (or more accurately the anonymous author of Luke–Acts) aligned his work, Luke–Acts, to the "narratives" (διήγησις, diēgēsis) which many others had written, and described his own work as an "orderly account" (ἀκριβῶς καθεξῆς).[15] Acts, the second part, is widely thought of as a history, but it lacks exact analogies in Hellenistic or Jewish literature.[16] The title "Acts of the Apostles" (Praxeis Apostolon) would seem to identify it with the genre telling of the deeds and achievements of great men (praxeis), but it was not the title given by the author.[6]
Luke seems to have taken as his model the works of two respected Classical authors, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, who wrote a well-known history of Rome, and the Jewish historian Josephus, author of a history of the Jews.[17] Like them, he anchors his history by dating the birth of the founder (Romulus for Dionysius, Moses for Josephus, Jesus for Luke) and like them he tells how the founder is born from God, taught authoritatively, and appeared to witnesses after death before ascending to heaven.[17] By and large the sources for Acts can only be guessed at,[18] but Luke would have had access to the Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Jewish scriptures), the gospel of Mark and the collection of "sayings of Jesus" called the Q source.[19] He transposed a few incidents from Mark's gospel to the time of the Apostles—for example, the material about "clean" and "unclean" foods in Mark 7 is used in Acts 10, and Mark's account of the accusation that Jesus has attacked the Temple (Mark 14:58) is used in a story about Stephen (Acts 6:14).)[20] There are also points of contacts (meaning suggestive parallels but something less than clear evidence) with 1 Peter, the Letter to the Hebrews, and 1 Clement.[21] Other sources can only be inferred from internal evidence—the traditional explanation of the three "we" passages, for example, is that they represent eye-witness accounts.[22] The search for such inferred sources was popular in the 19th century, but by the mid-20th it had largely been abandoned.[23]
Acts was read as a reliable history of the early church well into the post-Reformation era. By the 17th century, however, biblical scholars began to notice that it was incomplete and tendentious—its picture of a harmonious church is quite at odds with that given by Paul's letters, and it omits important events such as the deaths of both Peter and Paul. The mid-19th-century scholar Ferdinand Baur suggested that Luke had re-written history to present a united Peter and Paul and advance a single orthodoxy against the Marcionites. (Marcion was a 2nd-century heretic who wished to cut Christianity off entirely from the Jews). Baur continues to have enormous influence, but today there is less interest in determining Luke's historical accuracy (although this has never died out) than in understanding his theological program.[24] In How Jesus Became Christian[25] Canadian religious historian Barrie Wilson has renewed Baur's charge that Acts is a work of historical revisionism whose main purpose was to link Paul's new and separate Christ religion to Jesus and Judaism.
Audience and authorial intent[edit]
Luke was written to be read aloud to a group of Jesus-followers gathered in a house to share the Lord's supper.[17] The author assumes an educated Greek-speaking audience, but directs his attention to specifically Christian concerns rather than to the Greco-Roman world at large.[26] He begins his gospel with a preface addressed to Theophilus, informing him of his intention to provide an "ordered account" of events which will lead his reader to "certainty".[12] He did not write in order to provide Theophilus with historical justification—"did it happen?"—but to encourage faith—"what happened, and what does it all mean?"[27]
Acts (or Luke–Acts) is intended as a work of "edification."[28] Edification means "the empirical demonstration that virtue is superior to vice,"[29] but is not all of Luke's purpose. He also engages with the question of a Christian's proper relationship with the Roman Empire, the civil power of the day: could a Christian obey God and also Caesar? The answer is ambiguous.[4] The Romans never move against Jesus or his followers unless provoked by the Jews, in the trial scenes the Christian missionaries are always cleared of charges of violating Roman laws, and Acts ends with Paul in Rome proclaiming the Christian message under Roman protection; at the same time, Luke makes clear that the Romans, like all earthly rulers, receive their authority from Satan, while Christ is ruler of the kingdom of God.[30]
Manuscripts[edit]
There are two major textual variants of Acts, the Western text-type and the Alexandrian. Western texts of Acts are 6.2–8.4% longer than Alexandrian texts, the additions tending to enhance the Jewish rejection of the Messiah and the role of the Holy Spirit, in ways that are stylistically different from the rest of Acts.[31] These conflicts suggest that Acts was still being substantially revised well into the 2nd century.[14] The majority of scholars prefer the Alexandrian (shorter) text-type over the Western as the more authentic, but this same argument would favour the Western over the Alexandrian for the gospel of Luke, as in that case the, Western version is the shorter. The debate therefore continues.[31]
Structure and content[edit]
Acts 1:1–2a from the 14th century Minuscule 223
Structure[edit]
Acts has two key structural principles. The first is the geographic movement from Jerusalem, centre of God's Covenantal people, the Jews, to Rome, centre of the Gentile world. This structure reaches back to the author's preceding work, the Gospel of Luke, and is signaled by parallel scenes such as Paul's utterance in Acts 19:21, which echoes Jesus's words 9:51 (Paul has Rome as his destination, as Jesus had Jerusalem). The second key element is the roles of Peter and Paul, the first representing the Jewish Christian church, the second the mission to the Gentiles.[32]
Transition: reprise of the preface addressed to Theophilus and the closing events of the gospel (Acts 1–1:26)
Petrine Christianity: the Jewish church from Jerusalem to Antioch (Acts 2:1–12:25)
2:1–8:1 – beginnings in Jerusalem
8:2–40 – the church expands to Samaria and beyond
9:1–31 – conversion of Paul
9:32–12:25 – the conversion of Cornelius, and the formation of the Antioch church
Pauline Christianity: the Gentile mission from Antioch to Rome (Acts 13:1–28:21)
13:1–14:28 – the Gentile mission is promoted from Antioch
15:1–35 – the Gentile mission is confirmed in Jerusalem
15:36–28:31 – the Gentile mission, climaxing in Paul's passion story in Rome (21:17–28:31)
Outline[edit]
Dedication to Theophilus (1:1–2)
Resurrection appearances (1:3)
Great Commission (1:4–8)
Ascension (1:9)
Second Coming Prophecy (1:10–11)
Matthias replaced Judas (1:12–26)
the Upper Room (1:13)
Holy Spirit came at Pentecost (2), see also Paraclete
Peter healed a crippled beggar (3:1–10)
Peter's speech at the Temple (3:11–26)
Peter and John before the Sanhedrin (4:1–22)
Resurrection of the dead (4:2)
Believers' Prayer (4:23–31)
Everything is shared (4:32–37)
Ananias and Sapphira (5:1–11)
Signs and Wonders (5:12–16)
Apostles before the Sanhedrin (5:17–42)
Seven Deacons appointed (6:1–7)
Stephen before the Sanhedrin (6:8–7:60)
The "Cave of the Patriarchs" was located in Shechem (7:16)
"Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians" (7:22)
First mentioning of Saul (Paul the Apostle) in the Bible (7:58)
Paul the Apostle confesses his part in the martyrdom of Stephen (7:58–60)
Saul persecuted the Church of Jerusalem (8:1–3)
Philip the Evangelist (8:4–40)
Simon Magus (8:9–24)
Ethiopian eunuch (8:26–39)
Conversion of Paul the Apostle (9:1–31, 22:1–22, 26:9–24)
Paul the Apostle confesses his active part in the martyrdom of Stephen (22:20)
Peter healed Aeneas and raised Tabitha from the dead (9:32–43)
Conversion of Cornelius (10:1–8, 24–48)
Peter's vision of a sheet with animals (10:9–23, 11:1–18)
Church of Antioch founded (11:19–30)
term "Christian" first used (11:26)
James the Great executed (12:1–2)
Peter's rescue from prison (12:3–19)
Death of Herod Agrippa I [in 44] (12:20–25)
"the voice of a god" (12:22)
Mission of Barnabas and Saul (13–14)
"Saul, who was also known as Paul" (13:9)
called "gods ... in human form" (14:11)
Council of Jerusalem (15:1–35)
Paul separated from Barnabas (15:36–41)
2nd and 3rd missions (16–20)
Areopagus sermon (17:16–34)
"God...has set a day" (17:30–31)
Trial before Gallio c. 51–52 (18:12–17)
Trip to Jerusalem (21)
Before the people and the Sanhedrin (22–23)
Before Felix–Festus–Herod Agrippa II (24–26)
Trip to Rome (27–28)
called a god on Malta (28:6)
Content[edit]
See also: Early Christianity and Jewish Christians
The Gospel of Luke began with a prologue addressed to Theophilus; Acts likewise opens with an address to Theophilus and refers to "my earlier book", almost certainly the gospel.
The apostles and other followers of Jesus meet and elect Matthias to replace Judas as a member of The Twelve. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descends and confers God's power on them, and Peter, along with John, preaches to many in Jerusalem, and performs Christ-like healings, casting out of evil spirits, and raising of the dead. At first many Jews follow Christ and are baptized, but the Christians begin to be increasingly persecuted by the Jews. Stephen is arrested for blasphemy, and after a trial, is found guilty and stoned by the Jews. Stephen's death marks a major turning point: the Jews have rejected the message, and henceforth it will be taken to the Gentiles.[33]
The message is taken to the Samaritans, a people rejected by Jews, and to the Gentiles. Saul of Tarsus, one of the Jews who persecuted the Christians, is converted by a vision to become a follower of Christ (an event which Luke regards as so important that he relates it three times). Peter, directed by a series of visions, preaches to Cornelius the Centurion, a Gentile God-fearer, who becomes a follower of Christ. The Holy Spirit descends on Peter and Cornelius, thus confirming that the message of eternal life in Christ is for all mankind. The Gentile church is established in Antioch (north-western Syria, the third-largest city of the empire), and here Christ's followers are first called Christians.[34]
The mission to the Gentiles is promoted from Antioch and confirmed at meeting in Jerusalem between Paul and the leadership of the Jerusalem church. Paul spends the next few years traveling through western Asia Minor and the Aegean, preaching, converting Gentiles, and founding new churches. On a visit to Jerusalem he is set on by a Jewish mob. Saved by the Roman commander, he is accused by the Jews of being a revolutionary, the "ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes", and imprisoned. Paul asserts his right as a Roman citizen, to be tried in Rome and is sent by sea to Rome, where he spends another two years under house arrest, proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching the "Lord Jesus Christ". Acts ends abruptly without recording the outcome of Paul's legal troubles.[citation needed]
Theology[edit]
Paul's conversion, from Livre d'Heures d'Étienne Chevalier (c. 1450–1460), Jean Fouquet, in the Château de Chantilly.
Prior to the 1950s, Luke–Acts was seen as a historical work, written to defend Christianity before the Romans or Paul against his detractors; since then, however, the tendency has been to see the work as primarily theological.[35] Luke's theology is expressed primarily through his overarching plot, the way scenes, themes and characters combine to construct his specific worldview.[36] His "salvation history" stretches from the Creation to the present time of his readers, in three ages: first, the time of "the Law and the Prophets" (Luke 16:16), the period beginning with Genesis and ending with the appearance of John the Baptist (Luke 1:5–3:1); second, the epoch of Jesus, in which the Kingdom of God was preached (Luke 3:2–24:51); and finally the period of the Church, which began when the risen Christ was taken into Heaven, and would end with his second coming.[37]
Luke–Acts is an attempt to answer a theological problem, namely how the Messiah promised to the Jews came to have an overwhelmingly non-Jewish church; the answer it provides, and its central theme, is that the message of Christ was sent to the Gentiles because the Jews rejected it.[1] This theme is introduced at the opening of the gospel of Luke, when Jesus, rejected in Nazareth, recalls that the prophets were rejected by Israel and accepted by Gentiles; at the end of the gospel he commands his disciples to preach his message to all nations, "beginning from Jerusalem." He repeats the command in Acts, telling them to preach "in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the Earth." They then proceed to do so, in the order outlined: first Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, then the entire (Roman) world.[38]
For Luke, the Holy Spirit is the driving force behind the spread of the Christian message, and he places more emphasis on it than do any of the other evangelists. The Spirit is "poured out" at Pentecost, on the first Samaritan and Gentile believers, and on disciples who had been baptised only by John the Baptist, each time as a sign of God's approval. The Holy Spirit represents God's power (At his ascension, Jesus tells his followers, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you"): through it the disciples are given speech to convert thousands in Jerusalem, forming the first church (the term is used for the first time in Acts 5).[39]
One issue debated by scholars is Luke’s political vision regarding the relationship between the early church and the Roman Empire. On the one hand, Luke generally does not portray this interaction as one of direct conflict. Rather, there are ways in which each may have considered having a relationship with the other rather advantageous to its own cause. For example, early Christians may have appreciated hearing about the protection Paul received from Roman officials against Gentile rioters in Philippi (Acts 16:16-40) and Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41), and against Jewish rioters on two occasions (Acts 17:1-17; Acts 18:12-17). Meanwhile, Roman readers may have approved of Paul’s censure of the illegal practice of magic (Acts 19:17-19) as well as the amicability of his rapport with Roman officials such as Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:6-12) and Festus (Acts 26:30-32). Furthermore, Acts does not include any account of a struggle between Christians and the Roman government as a result of the latter’s imperial cult. Thus Paul is depicted as a moderating presence between the church and the Roman Empire.[40]
On the other hand, events such as the imprisonment of Paul at the hands of the empire (Acts 22-28) as well as several encounters that reflect negatively on Roman officials (for instance, Felix’s desire for a bribe from Paul in Acts 24:26) function as concrete points of conflict between Rome and the early church.[41] Perhaps the most significant point of tension between Roman imperial ideology and Luke’s political vision is reflected in Peter’s speech to the Roman centurion, Cornelius (Acts 10:36). Peter states that “this one” [οὗτος], i.e. Jesus, “is lord [κύριος] of all.” The title, κύριος, was often ascribed to the Roman emperor in antiquity, rendering its use by Luke as an appellation for Jesus an unsubtle challenge to the emperor’s authority.[42] Thus, while the overt relationship between Christianity and empire in the book of Acts can generally be characterized as irenic, Luke insinuates the inevitability of conflict between the two over the issue of ultimate allegiance.
Comparison with other writings[edit]
Saint Paul Writing His Epistles, ascribed to Valentin de Boulogne, 17th century
Gospel of Luke[edit]
As the second part of the two-part work Luke–Acts, Acts has significant links to the Gospel of Luke. Major turning points in the structure of Acts, for example, find parallels in Luke: the presentation of the child Jesus in the Temple parallels the opening of Acts in the Temple, Jesus's forty days of testing in the wilderness prior to his mission parallel the forty days prior to his Ascension in Acts, the mission of Jesus in Samaria and the Decapolis (the lands of the Samaritans and Gentiles) parallels the missions of the Apostles in Samaria and the Gentile lands, and so on (see Gospel of Luke). These parallels continue through both books.[citation needed]
There are also differences between Luke and Acts, amounting at times to outright contradiction. For example, the gospel seems to place the Ascension on Easter Sunday, immediately after the Resurrection, while Acts 1 puts it forty days later.[43] There are similar conflicts over the theology. While not seriously questioning the single authorship of Luke–Acts, these differences do suggest the need for caution in seeking too much consistency in books written in essence as popular literature.[44]
Pauline epistles[edit]
Acts agrees with Paul's letters on the major outline of Paul's career: as Saul he is converted and becomes Paul the Christian missionary and apostle, establishing new churches in Asia Minor and the Aegean and struggling to free Gentile Christians from the Jewish Law. There are also agreements on many incidents, such as Paul's escape from Damascus, where he is lowered down the walls in a basket. But details of these same incidents are frequently contradictory: for example, according to Paul it was a pagan king who was trying to arrest him in Damascus, but according to Luke it was, characteristically, the Jews (2 Corinthians 11:33 and Acts 9:24). Many of the disagreements are not so immediately obvious: Acts speaks of "Christians" and "disciples", but Paul never uses either term, and it is striking that Acts never brings Paul into conflict with the Jerusalem church and places Paul under the authority of the Jerusalem church and its leaders, especially James and Peter (Acts 15 vs. Galatians 2).[45] Acts omits much from the letters, notably Paul's problems with his congregations (internal difficulties are said to be the fault of the Jews instead), and his apparent final rejection by the church leaders in Jerusalem (Acts has Paul and Barnabas deliver an offering that is accepted, a trip that has no mention in the letters). There are also major differences between Acts and Paul on Christology (the understanding of Christ's nature), eschatology (understanding of the "last things"), and apostleship.[46]
Genesis[edit]
Many quotations of Old Testament texts can be found in the books of the New Testament. Many forms of comparisons have also been made between the related texts of these two main sections of the Bible. In an intertextual reading of Genesis 1-12 and Acts 1-7, one may find three parallels in the two narratives in terms of soteriological themes of creation, sin and its curse, and creation of God’s people.[47] The Genesis narrative starts with the creation story, then follows by repeated a sin-curse pattern of pre-ancestral narratives through Genesis 3 to 11. They include the sin and curses of Adam and Eve and the serpent in chapter 3, Cain in chapter 4, the whole of humankind and the flood in chapter 6. A renewed creation was given after the flood, but mankind began sinning again. The narrative continued with two more examples of sin-curse events (Genesis 6-11) that ended with God creating a people through Abraham who would “overcome the curse of sin with the blessing of God”[48] in chapter 12, thus begins the ancestral narratives. We find echoes of these themes in the Book of Acts, but they are presented in a different order. The Book of Acts begins with the ‘creation of a people’ theme. We find in chapter 1 the disciples asking the resurrected Jesus a question before his ascension to heaven. They asked him “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). Jesus told them not to worry about times, but they would receive power from the Holy Spirit and they would be his “witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). Jesus’ answer may look like an expansion of the defined ‘God’s people’, but it can also be a correction of a false perspective or a misleading emphasis as is articulated by the question asked. It serves as a correction because in the account of God creating a people in Genesis 12, God promises to bless Abraham and in Abraham, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3). The ‘new creation’ theme follows in Acts 2 with “a sound like the rush of a violent wind”. (Acts 2:2). It is interesting to compare this verse with “a wind from God swept over the face of the earth” (Genesis 1:2) of the story of the Creation, and “God made a wind blow over the earth” (Genesis 8:1) as the end of the rain that made the flood in the story of Noah and the Ark. It is also interesting to find that after the new creation of Acts, there is a reversal of sin and its curse compared to the sin-curse sequence of Genesis. After the post-flood recreation was the curse of multiplication of languages in the Babel episode in Genesis 11, where there was “confusion of tongues”. Acts reverses this curse in the event of the Pentecost with “gift of tongues”. We may also find other examples of these sin-curse reversals like that of the comparisons between Noah’s drunkenness and the disciples being sober when the observers thought of them to have been drunk, and that of death coming to Eve and Adam compared to salvation being promised after the new creation in the Book of Acts. The ‘sin and curse’ theme comes last in Acts in this comparison. It seems that humanity cannot be freed from sin at all. We find sin returned. Ananias and Sapphira lied to God (Acts 5) and reminds us of Eve believing in the serpent’s lie. The punishment was death. Before this Ananias event, the church was in perfect unity (Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-37). But after this event we see the church began to experience disunity and unclear communication (Acts 6:1). We are reminded of the Babel event.
See also[edit]
Book: Acts of the Apostles
Bible portal
Acts of the Apostles (genre)
List of Gospels
List of omitted Bible verses
The Lost Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, also known as the Sonnini Manuscript
Textual variants in the Acts of the Apostles
Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b c Burkett 2002, p. 263.
Jump up ^ Charlesworth 2008, p. no page numbers.
^ Jump up to: a b Burkett 2002, p. 195.
^ Jump up to: a b Pickett 2011, pp. 6–7.
Jump up ^ Boring 2012, p. 563.
^ Jump up to: a b Matthews 2011, p. 12.
Jump up ^ Boring 2012, p. 556.
Jump up ^ Burkett 2002, p. 196.
^ Jump up to: a b Theissen & Merz 1998, p. 32.
^ Jump up to: a b Perkins 1998, p. 253.
Jump up ^ Boring 2012, p. 590.
^ Jump up to: a b Green 1997, p. 35.
^ Jump up to: a b c Boring 2012, p. 587.
^ Jump up to: a b Perkins 2009, pp. 250–53.
Jump up ^ Luke 1:1,3
Jump up ^ Aune 1988, p. 77.
^ Jump up to: a b c Balch 2003, p. 1104.
Jump up ^ Bruce 1990, p. 40.
Jump up ^ Boring 2012, p. 577.
Jump up ^ Witherington 1998, p. 8.
Jump up ^ Boring 2012, p. 578.
Jump up ^ Bruce 1990, pp. 40–41.
Jump up ^ Boring 2012, p. 579.
Jump up ^ Holladay 2011, p. no page numbers.
Jump up ^ Barrie Wilson. How Jesus Became Christian. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008.
Jump up ^ Green 1995, pp. 16–17.
Jump up ^ Green 1997, p. 36.
Jump up ^ Fitzmyer 1998, pp. 55–65.
Jump up ^ Aune 1988, p. 80.
Jump up ^ Boring 2012, p. 562.
^ Jump up to: a b Thompson 2010, p. 332.
Jump up ^ Boring 2012, pp. 569–70.
Jump up ^ Burkett 2002, p. 265.
Jump up ^ Burkett 2002, p. 266.
Jump up ^ Buckwalter 1996, p. 6.
Jump up ^ Allen 2009, p. 326.
Jump up ^ Evans 2011, p. no page numbers.
Jump up ^ Burkett 2002, p. 264.
Jump up ^ Burkett 2002, pp. 268–70.
Jump up ^ Phillips 2009, pp. 119.
Jump up ^ Phillips 2009, pp. 119-21.
Jump up ^ Rowe 2005, pp. 291-8.
Jump up ^ Zwiep 2010, p. 39.
Jump up ^ Parsons 1993, pp. 17–18.
Jump up ^ Phillips, Thomas E. (January 1, 2010). Paul, His Letters, and Acts. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic. p. 196. ISBN 978-1-4412-5793-2.
Jump up ^ Boring 2012, pp. 581, 588–90.
Jump up ^ Phillips, Thomas E. (2009). Acts Within Diverse Frames of Reference. Mercer University Press. pp. 130–143.
Jump up ^ Phillips, Thomas E. (2009). Acts Within Diverse Frame of Reference. Mercer University Press. p. 132.
Bibliography[edit]
Allen, O. Wesley, Jr. (2009). "Luke". In Petersen, David L.; O'Day, Gail R. Theological Bible Commentary. Westminster John Knox Press.
Aune, David E. (1988). The New Testament in its literary environment. Westminster John Knox Press.
Balch, David L. (2003). "Luke". In Dunn, James D. G.; Rogerson, John William. Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Eerdmans.
Boring, M. Eugene (2012). An Introduction to the New Testament: History, Literature, Theology. Westminster John Knox Press.
Bruce, F.F. (1990). The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0802809667.
Buckwalter, Douglas (1996). The Character and Purpose of Luke's Christology. Cambridge University Press.
Burkett, Delbert (2002). An introduction to the New Testament and the origins of Christianity. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-00720-7.
Charlesworth, James H. (2008). The Historical Jesus: An Essential Guide. Abingdon Press.
Evans, Craig A. (2011). Luke. Baker Books.
Fitzmyer, Joseph A. (1998). The Anchor Bible: The Acts of the Apostles-A new Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0385490207.
Gooding, David (2013). True to the Faith: The Acts of the Apostles: Defining and Defending the Gospel. Myrtlefield House.
Green, Joel (1995). The Theology of the Gospel of Luke. Cambridge University Press.
Green, Joel (1997). The Gospel of Luke. Eerdmans.
Holladay, Carl R. (2011). A Critical Introduction to the New Testament: Interpreting the Message and Meaning of Jesus Christ. Abingdon Press.
Matthews, Christopher R. (2011). "Acts of the Apostles". In Coogan, Michael D. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Books of the Bible. Oxford University Press.
Parsons, Mikeal C. (1993). Rethinking the Unity of Luke and Acts. Fortress Press.
Perkins, Pheme (1998). "The Synoptic Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles: Telling the Christian Story". In Barton, John. The Cambridge companion to biblical interpretation. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-521-48593-7.
Perkins, Pheme (2009). Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-6553-3.
Phillips, Thomas E. (2009). Paul, His Letters, and Acts. Baker Academic.
Pickett, Raymond (2011). "Luke and Empire: An Introduction". In Rhoads, David; Esterline, David; Lee, Jae Won. Luke-Acts and Empire: Essays in Honor of Robert L. Brawley. Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Rowe, C. Kavin (2005). "Luke-Acts and the Imperial Cult: A Way through the Conundrum?". Journal for the Study of the New Testament. 27 (3): 279–300.
Theissen, Gerd; Merz, Annette (1998). The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide. Eerdmans.
Thompson, Richard P. (2010). "Luke-Acts: The Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles". In Aune, David E. The Blackwell Companion to The New Testament. Wiley–Blackwell.
Witherington, Ben (1998). The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-rhetorical Commentary. Eerdmans.
Zwiep, Arie W. (2010). Christ, the Spirit and the Community of God: Essays on the Acts of the Apostles. Mohr Siebeck.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Acts of the Apostles.
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Acts
Wikiversity has learning resources about Biblical Studies (NT) #Acts: The Birth and Growth of the Early Church
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Acts of the Apostles
A Brief Introduction to Luke–Acts is available online.
Book of Acts at Bible Gateway (NIV & KJV)
Tertullian.org: The Western Text of the Acts of the Apostles (1923) J. M. WILSON, D.D.
Texts on Wikisource:
Breen, Andrew Edward (1913). "Acts of the Apostles". Catholic Encyclopedia.
Aherene, C. (1913). "Gospel of Saint Luke". Catholic Encyclopedia. See Section VI: Saint Luke's Accuracy
"Acts of the Apostles". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
"Acts of the Apostles". The American Cyclopædia. 1879.
Bible: Acts public domain audiobook at LibriVox Various versions
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values: سفر أعمال الرسل – Arabic

values: ܦܪܟܣܝܣ ܕܫܠܝܚܐ – Aramaic

values: Дзеянні Святых Апосталаў – Belarusian

values: Дзеі Сьвятых Апосталаў – Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)

values: Πράξεις των Αποστόλων – Greek

values: اعمال رسولان – Persian

values: Hannelingen fan de Apostels – Western Frisian

values: धर्मदुतांचो इतिहास – Goan Konkani

values: Գործք առաքելոց – Armenian

values: מעשי השליחים – Hebrew

values: საქმე წმიდათა მოციქულთა – Georgian

values: Дела на светите апостоли – Macedonian

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values: திருத்தூதர் பணிகள் – Tamil

values: กิจการของอัครทูต – Thai

values: Дії апостолів – Ukrainian

values: رسولوں کے اعمال – Urdu

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