Bible study project Acts 1-2 Religion & Theology Case Study (Case Study Sample)

Running Head: BIBLE STUDY PROJECT: ACTS 1-2
Bible Study Project: Acts 1-2
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January 11, 2014
Bible Study Project: Acts 1-2
As C.S. Lewis wrote in A Preface to Paradise Lost, “The first qualification for judging any piece of workmanship from a corkscrew to a cathedral is to know what it is – what it was intended to do and how it is meant to be used” (1961, p. 1). Although Lewis was likely speaking to his would-be critics, his words are valuable advice for the project at hand which is to observe, interpret, and apply Acts 1-2. This Bible study project critically analyzes Acts 1-2; these two chapters demonstrate the author’s purpose of writing a historiography, while establishing the Christian church and its mission of missionary work.
It has been long established that Luke was the author of the Book of Acts, as well as the Gospel of Luke; in order to have a more thorough understanding of Acts, one needs to use Luke as a backdrop and a point of comparison. Luke’s purpose for writing Acts was to provide a historical narrative; more specifically, Acts is an ancient historiography; this is supported by many researchers and theologians including Sterling (1994), Soards (1994), and Price (2005). According to Sterling (1994), Luke’s narration in Acts was an attempt to “narrate the story of Christianity;” this is seen specifically in Acts 2:41-47 (p. 679). Even though some have argued that Luke was actually adding to scripture as way of bringing the Old Testament story full circle, this thesis still requires acknowledgment of the influence of ancient historiography. Therefore, a critical analysis of Acts 1 and 2 demonstrates that one of the primary purposes of Acts was to provide a historiography in which he details the acts of the Apostles which the supports his purpose of establishing the Christian Church and its missionary work.