Acts Luke: The Exceptionalness Of The Christian Church

In the book “The Unexpected Christian Century,” the author Scott Sunquist believes that the twentieth century is the most recent one in the Christian history. During the time of the geometric era, it was believed that the importance of gravity moved from the Christian nations of Europe and North America to the “Global South,” where Christians were done wrong minority. Simply in the third and the sixteenth centuries was when Christianity had experienced a change of comparable greatness.

There are many different components that make up the Christian religion and ideology. The chapters and stories that made it into the Bible are what people see as the foundation of the different denominations of Christianity. However, what a lot of people do not realize is that there are several stories that did not make it into the Bible as well as a few denominations that have become “forgotten.” Those lost stories and denominations are the focus of Bart Ehrman’s book, Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew. The book was split into three parts and then each part had between three and five chapters. Part one discussed different discoveries that were made throughout Christian history. The second part covered the different types of Christianity that were fighting for power and competing against each other to be the successful form of Christianity. Lastly, the third section shows which texts and beliefs gained popularity and formed the Christian religion that is practiced today.

The unique experience of the Jerusalem church at Pentecost in Acts 2 occurred in similarly public and significant ways for

For Paul warns in 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, "I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment." In my opinion, avoidable disjunctions over trivial matters harm the church and interrupt the fellowship of believers. For example, my former pastor caused worthless and unloving disunity in our church because he fervently adhered to his Reformed theology at the expense of others, despite no decisive evidence regarding this doctrine existing in the Bible. Sadly, several strong Christians left our Church and never returned. Nonsensical divisions such as this lead to the innumerable formations of denominations and alienation of believers. Instead of initiating these fruitless arguments, Christians need to focus on living lives holy and pleasing to

Paul in Romans 14 was not just reminding the Christians in Rome to be unified, but instead Paul was reminding the Christians in Rome that Jesus was their patron, their main source of honor and by being disunified they were shaming the one who had saved them from death and given them life. Thus the interpretation that is left for Christian’s today is not just to respect other Christian’s in maturity. But instead the interpretation is enriched through the knowledge of honor/shame cultures reminding Christians that Jesus is where all of a Christian’s self-worth comes from and when a Christian immaturely decides to quarrel with other Christians they are shaming the whole body of Christ, moreover they are shaming Christ who has given them eternal

The Book of Acts in the Holy Bible was a documentation of the actions of Jesus’ disciples in the continuation of the salvation ministry began by Jesus. The Book of Acts was written by Luke whose work goes a long way in bringing out the presence of the Holy Spirit manifesting through the Apostles; Luke was both a theologian and a historian as per his writings documented in the holy bible. Through the book of Acts Luke emphasizes about baptism through the Holy Spirit, it is through the Holy Spirit that God fills the people. According to Luke’s documentation of the work of Christ’s apostles in the Roman Empire, the Holy Spirit

Yes we are called to be unified, but unity does not mean that we can't openly wrestle and discuss our differences. We treat our political and social differences like they are only like "Pepsi and Coke" or the Bears and Packers. Sorry, people aren't going to war over their favorite sports teams, but on cultural and political issues. Its ok to be open in the Church and explore those differences. This way we can break down those barriers and achieve real unity. Listening to Paul and Patience, Bobby Dennis, and others have challenged me a lot. I don't see them as dangerous enemies but as brothers and sisters.

Luke’s Gospel specifically shows special concerns for those that are oppressed, looked-down upon, and outcasts of society. Jesus tends to reach out to those people. Why? Jesus is challenging attitudes that limit God’s care or blessings to any particular group or nation. And then proceeds to insist that the gospel proclaimed is a message of hope for all people.

By the 1830s, the Protestant denomination which I am personally familiar with, had begun a few violent attacks against the Catholic, because of their republican values. Later in the same decade, the Protestants again ignited fire into a convention, here in Massachusetts related to difference in views. Within these 35 diverse Christian denominations, 50,873,000 members are Roman Catholic (Catholic) hence the largest. Other equally functional denominations are Baptist, Pentecostal, and several others; says a recent American Religious Identification Survey. (35 Largest Christian Denominations in the United States). While there are numerous varieties of their divide, the onset of Christian community emphatically, traces to only one unified community. Since its establishment in the 1st century, the Christian community was founded on the doctrines of Jesus of Nazareth, which rather contributes to the wellbeing of communities, regardless of whether their views aligned with theirs or not. Starting with the apostle Paul, several

In this article Harold Attridge examines Luke’s background, the scriptures Luke wrote, Jesus’s values, the context and purpose of Luke’s gospel and the treatment of Christians at the time of Luke’s writings. The article expresses that Luke’s Gospel was written before the destruction of Jerusalem and at a time when Christians were being persecuted for practicing their faith so consequently the purpose of his Gospel was to show an ethical example and imply that Christians could be good citizens. This source is relevant to the topic as it suggests the purpose of Luke's Gospel and the treatment of Christians before the fall of Jerusalem. A limitation of the website is that it has not been recently published, it’s publish date is April 1998 so it may not be up to date with the latest, accurate information. Nonetheless, this source is very beneficial and appropriate to the task as it provides facts and research on the chosen sacred text. This source will not be the cornerstone of my research but will add a good understanding to the purpose of the sacred text.

The Christian religion finds its foundation on the Word of God and the work of Jesus Christ. Christianity finds its beginnings with Jesus Christ about 2,000 years ago. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came down to earth to teach, heal, and die for the sins of humanity. When God created man, he openly rebelled against God, causing a rift in their relationship. Since humans cannot save themselves, a perfect and completely innocent sacrifice was necessary in order to purify and restore mankind. Christianity is all about Jesus’ death and resurrection, as well as denying oneself and following Christ.

We shake our heads in disbelief at the conditions of our world today. But, is our world that much different today than it had been for the disciples? The problems may vary, but for the Christian, the challenges are much the same. Luke's words in Acts 4:12 are just as pertinent today as they were 2000+ years ago. Due to our society's views on Christianity, I have found myself back away from a potential conversation for fear of a confrontation especially since people have become more aggressive in defending their beliefs. Then I am reminded that we are "to speak the word with boldness" (Acts 4:31) as the disciples had done. "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished

The book of Acts begins as Jesus ascended into Heaven. The Holy Spirit has manifested into the hearts of the Twelve Apostles, therefore the word of God infinitely spread, and the number of disciples had grown immensely in Jerusalem. More and more believed in Jesus. As the church had grown problems had occurred between the Hellenistic Jews and the native Hebrews, Peter the leader of The Twelve was confronted with a challenging situation. The Hellenistic Jews who spoke Greek had tension with the Hebraic Jews who spoke Hebrew because they felt as if their widows were neglected.

Today, why are Christians divided in church? Are we not one family and one body in God? 1 Cor. 1: 12-13 says, "Now I mean this, that each of you says, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?" We are all baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, we are one family and one body. Different opinions are due to a shortage of Christ. We all have our own preferences and understanding in so many matters, but if we are insistent in our ways, we only cause trouble. For instance, regarding where to send donations for Kachin IDPs, there are many different opinions, and they have caused much trouble. They have led to divisions of churches from one community and have distanced relationships with one another. However, if we are full of Christ, we will not care for these things.

Unity has become the mantra of the church today. This can be seen in the downplaying of the importance of doctrine which is said to “divide” Christians from one another. Often times unity is pushed for with a complete abandonment of any sense of discernment claiming that love for all brothers ought to be the main concern of the church. More fundamentalist circles go too far the other direction by creating a legalistic set of rules in by which they judge the worthiness of other to fellowship with themselves. Both mindsets are in error as we are not to seek unity on the basis of “brotherly love” or “standards for fellowship” but Christians are to seek and find unity in Christ and in no one else. Proximity to Christ determines what proximity can be had between Christians.