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
The stories and contributions of the apostles provide an important entrée into church history. This comprehensive historical and literary introduction uncovers their lives and legacies, underscoring the apostles' impact on the growth of the early church. The author collects and distills the histories, legends, symbols, and iconography of the original twelve and locates figures such as Paul, Peter, and John in the broader context of the history of the apostles. He also explores the continuing story of the gospel mission and the twelve disciples beyond the New Testament.
The Book of Martyrs by John Foxe written in the 16th century has long been the go-to source for studying the lives and martyrdom of the apostles. Whilst other scholars have written individual treatments on the more prominent apostles such as Peter, Paul, John, and James, there is little published information on the other apostles. In The Fate of the Apostles, Sean McDowell offers a comprehensive, reasoned, historical analysis of the fate of the twelve disciples of Jesus along with the apostles Paul, and James. McDowell assesses the evidence for each apostle’s martyrdom as well as determining its significance to the reliability of their testimony. The question of the fate of the apostles also gets to the heart of the reliability of the kerygma: did the apostles really believe Jesus appeared to them after his death, or did they fabricate the entire story? How reliable are the resurrection accounts? The willingness of the apostles to die for their faith is a popular argument in resurrection studies and McDowell offers insightful scholarly analysis of this argument to break new ground within the spheres of New Testament studies, Church History, and apologetics.
Simon Peter, Andrew, James the son of Zebedee, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Jude, Simon, Judas, and Matthias—what happened to the men who answered Jesus' call to follow him? What impact did they have on the world? Where did they go and what did they do after Jesus' resurrection and ascension? In these fascinating profiles, Dr. McBirnie offers readers a snapshot of the lives of each apostle. His information was compiled by traveling to places where the apostles lived and visited, by studying the Scriptures and biblical history, by listening to local traditions, and by engaging in his own original research. Picking up where the book of Acts leaves off, McBirnie brings these men to life as he explores the legends, traditions, and real lives of the Twelve as they built the foundation of Christianity.
Father Stephen De Young, creator of the popular The Whole Counsel of God podcast and blog, traces the lineage of Orthodox Christianity back to the faith and witness of the apostles, which was rooted in a first-century Jewish worldview. The Religion of the Apostles presents the Orthodox Christian Church of today as a continuation of the religious life of the apostles, which in turn was a continuation of the life of the people of God since the beginning of creation.
In Apostles of Reason, Molly Worthen offers a sweeping history of modern American evangelicalism, arguing that the faith has been shaped not by shared beliefs but by battles over the relationship between faith and reason.
These studies on the character of the Apostles form a complete series on the lives, times, and ministries of those men chosen by God to declare his message to the world.
This book is a definitive history of the lives and deaths of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. It details the lives of twelve Jewish men who walked the earth with the Son of God and who changed the course of world history. Using scholarly sources, modern translations of the ancient texts, and the often-ignored concept of local tradition, the author follows each of the Twelve Apostles from their calling by the Lord, to the most likely geographical locations of their evangelical missions, and to the locations of their deaths by martyrdom. As well as it can be known, the author goes one step further and tells the reader the fascinating stories of the far-flung postmortem journey's of each apostle's earthly remains and informs us of where their tombs can be visited today. Along with all of this, Dr. Orzeck shares with us his firsthand account of his adventures involved in visiting the locations mentioned in the book. He does so first and most importantly because of what he feels is a huge responsibility to get the story of these great men correct as humanly possible. With the possible exception of the late Pope John Paul II, to the best of his knowledge, he (and his wife and traveling partner) are the only persons ever to have been in the physical presence of all Twelve Apostles of Jesus since the first Pentecost, an honor he doesn't take lightly.
"Through the Apostles, we come to Jesus himself." - Pope Benedict XVIIn this fascinating and inspirational journey with the chosen disciples of Jesus, Pope Benedict XVI demonstrates a profound, unbreakable continuity by which Christ is present today in his Church. In choosing the Apostles, Jesus brought them into communion with himself and involved them in his mission of proclaiming the Gospel. After Mary, the Mother of God, it is from the Apostles, through their word and witness, that we receive the truth of Christ. Delving into Sacred Scripture and writings from the early Church fathers, Benedict XVI highlights each of the Twelve, along with Saint Paul and select men and women who were coworkers of the Apostles. By studying the origins of the Church, we see that the Apostles are the foundation of the community of faith, hope, and charity that involves the entire people of God.
The name "Junia" appears in Romans 16:7, and Paul identifies her (along with Andronicus) as "prominent among the apostles." In this important work, Epp investigates the mysterious disappearance of Junia from the traditions of the church. Because later theologians and scribes could not believe (or wanted to suppress) that Paul had numbered a woman among the earliest churches' apostles, Junia's name was changed in Romans to a masculine form. Despite the fact that the earliest churches met in homes and that other women were clearly leaders in the churches (e.g., Prisca and Lydia), calling Junia an apostle seemed too much for the tradition. Epp tracks how this happened in New Testament manuscripts, scribal traditions, and translations of the Bible. In this thoroughgoing study, Epp restores Junia to her rightful place.