The New Testament Along the Camino: Acts

Something I enjoyed about the Gospels was that they were more than just the miracles and story of Jesus. Taken together, they read like intelligence reports on developing events, each confirming each other and each providing something new about the life, death, and resurrection. That reporting continued with the next book, Acts, which provided an account of the early Church. This book was likely written by Luke the Evangelist, who was not one of the original disciples of Jesus. Luke's account is like that of an investigative reporter, in my hometown pastor's words, as he described the contents of secret meetings and simultaneous events, something that would not be possible for someone who simply wrote what he saw. While Luke was a doctor, his writings in Acts make for a great historical record.

Here are some of my main takeaways after reading Acts over the course of four days:

The Privileges of Citizenship. Several times throughout Luke's account of the early Church, disciples were seized and brought before the Roman authorities for questioning. Sometimes, this was by the Jews who claimed wrongdoing under Jewish law, while other times it was by Roman soldiers. On each account, the disciple asked the soldiers if this was how they treated Roman citizens, and on each account, the soldiers refrained from their punishment or "enhanced interrogation." Citizenship was viewed as sacred under the Roman law, and each Roman citizen was entitled to rights and privileges that non-Romans were not. Now, I am certainly not claiming this is an allegory for how modern immigration policy should view non-citizens; however, it is something I found of interest in the context of current immigration enforcement actions where American citizens are being caught in the dragnet. If even the Romans paused when confronted with their own unlawfully-detained citizens, regardless of their antagonistic and inflammatory preaching (in the public's eye), then we should certainly do the same.

Using the Word for Personal Gain. Just as the girl with the gift of divination was cast away for using a (supposed) divine gift for personal gain, so should we cast those away who use the Church for their own purposes. I have no problem with paying pastors, worship leaders, and other staff for their services to the Church, but when you see a full-time pastor driving a brand-new Mercedes while the Church is paying off a mortgage loan, this passage comes to mind.

Symbolism of Dionysius in Roman and Greek Mythology. Dionysius converted to Christianity and became an evangelist while part of the city council in Athens. While his story isn't entirely remarkable, I found his inclusion in Acts an excellent act of symbolism. In Greek mythology, Dionysus was the god of, among other things, wine-making, fertility, insanity, and religious ecstasy. I would not be surprised if Dionysius of Athens was named after Dionysus the Hellenistic god, as that was not (and is not to this day) an uncommon practice in religious circles. That someone sharing a name with the Greek god of religious ecstasy converted to Christianity surely was not lost on members of the early Church, especially given his role in spreading Christianity in Greece.

Closed Temples and Modern Comparisons. The Jews closed the temples to non-Jews, and when the disciples brought non-Jews into the temple to pray or heal, the Jews erupted with anger at the violation of Jewish law. Naturally, these protests were quickly dismissed, as the house of God belongs to all people. As someone who has travelled the Middle East and North Africa, I found this passage similar to my experiences with Islam's mosques. In only two countries was I allowed to freely visit a mosque and seek answers about Islam (Turkey and Iraq). In every other, I was forbidden to enter as a non-Muslim. If religious temples are closed to non-members, how are believers to grow in number? This also made me think about the situation in the modern United States, where churches are increasingly turned into security fortresses as a response to theft, vandalism, and custody disputes. Our churches are not closed to non-members, but visiting a church is also not easy outside of designated worship times. In my small-town community, that is not a major problem, but in others, it could easily be a turn-off for those who, in a moment of crisis or need, find themselves unable to enter the locked doors of their local church.

No Additional Requirements. Acts states in no uncertain terms: there are no further requirements to get to heaven than to believe in Jesus, His death, and the resurrection. No law, no doctrinal practice, no good works. We are explicitly unburdened "with anything but the following requirements...to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality." To impose an additional requirement, barrier, or hurdle is to directly contradict the Bible and the words of those whom Jesus entrusted to spread the message on Earth. Other practices, like confession to a priest or pastor and prayers at meal time, are great practices and reminders of faith, but they are not themselves requirements to be saved.

There is Only One Way to Heaven. Pope Francis, the last Pope, stated "all religions are a path to God...they are like different languages that express the divine." His view is clearly in direct opposition to the Word, which states that Jesus in the cornerstone of faith, "and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Yes, Allah means "God" in Arabic, but to believe that the God of Muhammed and the God of Abraham are the same as a Christian is to defy the Bible's teachings, as the Allah of Islam does not teach nor demand the same as the teachings of Jesus. Yes, the introspection, wisdom, and pacifism of Buddhism are virtuous and valuable traits, but they themselves are not paths to heaven.

I enjoyed the Book of Acts as a historical account of the years after Jesus's death, especially because I have personally seen some of the sites where the account takes place, like Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis. As a Church, we need books like this one to remember our history and the paths our faith has taken over the years.

Next up: the Epistles.