RELG 330 - History of Christianity
Course Notes
Chapter 2
Page 20 - evangelization of non-Jews - the textbook says that it was in Antioch (in Syria) that "the revolutionary step of evangelizing non-Jews was first taken". The author is referring to Acts 11:19-21, meaning that this was the first place that a policy of evangelization of Gentiles was adopted, as contrasted with isolated incidences of a Jewish Christian evangelizing a non-Jew. There had been earlier incidences of Gentiles becoming Christians and being baptized : Acts 8:20-40 recounts how Philip preached to and baptized an Ethiopian eunuch near Jerusalem, and Acts chapter 10 is the account of how Peter went to the house of the Roman centurion Cornelius, preached the Gospel, and baptized the members of the household upon whom the Holy Spirit had descended.
Page 20 - Paul - the description of Paul as a small man with eyebrows meeting is from the Acts of Paul and Thecla. The Acts of Paul and Thecla is part of a longer text, the Acts of Paul, an apocryphal book written in the later part of the second century. The writer treated Paul's life as an adventure story, with little regard for historical truth - Tertullian reported that the author of the Acts of Paul was deposed from his office of presbyter (probably because of his fiction).
The Acts of Paul and Thecla is a story of how Paul preached on chastity, and a young woman named Thecla decided to break her engagement to a non-Christian. As a result, Paul was brought before the civil authorities and beaten, and Thecla was condemned to be burned alive. They both escaped by means of various miraculous events (such as a cave closing its entrance). The book was popular reading among early Christians. Because of the early date of the story, it may be that the description of Paul does reflect some historical truth.
Copyright © 2005 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved
