Please review your notes on elements helpful to the spread of a religious movement and read this summary of former class discussions elements helpful to the survival and spread of a religious movement. Then read Chapters 13-28 of Acts. Choose a verse or an incident from this section that seems to you particularly important in explaining one of those factors the class agreed might be helpful in the success of a religious movement. Explain your choice.
This might be a good time to choose your FAC I, II, III, and IV potential ID's. Remember that this is a "choose your own" ID exercise. Identify your favorite acts characters, and be ready to explain how these figures help understanding the growth of the church.
Acts 13:9 “Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him.” This verse fits in the category of charismatic and bright leaders in two ways. One Paul is filled with the Holy Ghost, also known as according to Dr. Marmorstein, charismatic and two he is a bright leader. Paul, originally named Saul, was a very Jewish man who persecuted many Christians. He eventually changed his ways when he met the Lord on the way to Damascus. He then became filled with the Holy Ghost and preached all over the place. He was one of the main leaders of the early church. He spread the word of Christ wherever he traveled and he wrote many different letters to people, which became about half of the New Testament. He was also a very educated man; he went through some of the best education of the time. From reading the other books of the New Testament he studied the word of Christ a lot. Paul was a great leader and he was what the early church needed; that is probably why Jesus made him into a Christian. -Kelly Longden
ReplyDeleteAfter Paul is arrested, Acts 21:39 states that "Paul answered, 'I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.'" It then goes onto say that Paul gave his testimony of how he became a disciple of God. This goes along with the element of persecution. In amongst all of the persecution and hate he felt from the people, his first thought was to spread the word of God. It goes to show that, if you have God in your life, nothing else is necessary or really matters. -Melinda Quade
ReplyDelete6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” Acts 14:6-11 is a very important part of the Apostles acts, because this shows strength of a real leader. Peter is showing real zeal when he speaks about letting people into the church. This is what being a true leader of the church is about, it’s about letting people into the faith without prejudice. That is what being a true leader of the faith is all about.
ReplyDelete-Liz Matson
One of the reasons for the success of the Church is the credibility of what the Disciples were teaching and the miracles that were performed in the name of the Lord. When Paul heals the lame man in Lystra it has the opposite effect on the people that were listening at the time but Paul was able to leave elders in charge of the ministry in Lystra and the church withstood. The people at the time thought that Paul was Zeus incarnate but when he tried to tell them otherwise they stoned him and left him for dead. Later the disciples talked about how they were going to face hard time but they had to keep the faith. It is easy to see why the Church lived on when it had such determined leaders. -Thomas Geyer
ReplyDeleteActs 18:24-28 tells us of a man named Apollos. Apollos is described as an "eloquent speaker", though slightly unaware of much of scripture. After being informed by Priscilla and Aquila he becomes an avid supporter to the Way of God and becomes very vocal. This is a perfect example of seeing the bright leadership of the early Christians correct Apollos as well as ensuring that he could pass that message on perhaps even more effectively then they could because of his tremendous speaking ability.
ReplyDelete-Zack Krage
Acts 16:25-34 tells of an earthquake that frees Paul and Silas from prison. they had been singing hymns and praising God before this, so when the jailer saw these events he knew that their God must be credible. after seeing this miracle for himself he asks how he can be saved. Paul and Silas turn on the charismatic leader role and preach God's word to him and all his household. -Seam M.
ReplyDeleteActs 14:19-21- "But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch..."
ReplyDeletePaul and Barnabas are two of those leaders who spread the word of Christ from the beginning. Paul gets stoned to the point where he looks dead, and the very next day he goes back to preach some more. He even returns to the places where the Jews had come from that incited the crowds to stone him. Bold, charismatic, filled with the Holy Spirit.
In reading these chapters I found the most effective attribute Paul and the others used to spread the word was their credibility. There were many instances where Paul and Barnabas would be in a city for some time preforming miracles and preaching with boldness. Some people would hear what they said and take it to heart, and others did not, but there always was someone who listened. "At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders." Acts 14:1-3
ReplyDeleteThe Lord used Paul and Barnabas as advocates who he found accredited to spread his gospel!
-Greg
The Jerusalem Council I believe was huge. This is the church saying that these new gentiles that may possibly be joining the movement that is christianity do NOT have to follow full jewish law in order to join. Not only did this make christianity accessible to the Roman Empire, but also made the entry to Christianity much easier and took down some of the previous barriers set up.
ReplyDeleteRight now i think my FAC would probably be Paul due to his conversion to persecuter to missionary
I think that Paul at the Areopagus In Acts 17 was very important. This is about how Paul addresses highly educated audience in Athens and instead of quoting Hebrew scripture he quotes some Greek writers and refers to bible versus that they would understand. This is important in the spread of the church because he is showing that the church can be adaptable and still keep their core values and identity together but still get the same message out.
ReplyDeleteHaving talked about Paul here and reading most about him I would have to say that Paul is my favorite and would be the first one i would write about.
In class we discussed that the idea of personal appeal or relatability within a religion would be very important for its growth. Acts 17:22-34, where Paul addresses the Areopagus demonstrates this appeal very well. He talks about a statue the Athenians have that is inscribed with "To the unknown god." Paul uses this to tell them that the Triune Almighty God is this "unknown god." Then Paul describes who God is, and a particularly important verse says this:
ReplyDelete'that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for "In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, "For we are indeed his offspring."' 17:27,28
Paul tells the people how close God really is to them, so close that without him they would not have their being. He also appeals to writings the Athenians already knew, relating to their need for comfort and understanding with the first, and their own logos in the latter. That being said, I would have to pick Paul as my favorite Acts character at this point in time. The way God speaks through him is truly incredible.
In Acts 17 Paul and Barnabas traveled to Berea. While they started in the synagogue preaching the gospel message. It describes the Bereans searching the Scriptures daily. For a religion to grow it sure helps if there is fulfilled prophecy attached to the message. That brings credibility to what Paul and Barnabas are saying. They story proves that as well because people decided to follow after they had searched day and night to see if what they were saying was true.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Acts character is Philip because I love the story of the Ethiopian eunuch. It is a model for evangelism and what it looks like to share your faith with knowledge and boldness.
After preaching in Pisidian Antioch, Paul and Barnabas continue on to Iconium. Just like at Pisidian Antioch, they started preaching in the Jewish synagogue first. This is interesting because it shows how Paul and Barnabas back up what they say in Acts 13:46-47 by saying, "We had to speak God's word to you first," they said. "But you don't accept it. You don't think you are good enough for eternal life. So now we are turning to those who aren't Jews" Even in the context of them speaking to both groups at once, they direct their first message to the God's chosen people. For Paul and Barnabas, this is an interesting part I always seem to think about.
ReplyDeleteLuke might be my favorite character here. He makes this writing feel very systematic in a way. This methodical writing is very easy to follow and reads so smoothly. This is why I like Luke as a character. He sits behind the scenes documenting the historical accounts in the best possible ways.
One that I found that was interesting was Acts 16- 25-34. In this, there was an earthquake, and all jail cells were open. If any prisoners escaped, the jailer would be killed. None of them escaped. I think this is important because in class we talked about the ability to care for others. In this, I think it shows that the people in the jail who care about others. I think this is important in religion.
ReplyDeleteThe event I choose to look at was the Jerusalem Council. Basically, some jewish Christians that Luke remarks were among the Pharisees (15:5) told the apostles that it was necessary to circumcise the new gentile Christians. Many apostles and elders, including Paul and Barnabas, went up to Jerusalem and debated about the issue. Eventually they decided they should try to abstain from issues of the heart, and not care about external things, like circumcision. I think that this represents well the structure of the Church. The young Church was faced with disagreement, but instead of splitting off, they met and talked about the issue, coming to an agreement. This is something that any organization needs, including a new religion.
ReplyDeleteInstead of focusing on one event, I choose to search for people. One thing that is truly unique about Acts is conversions. I want to take notice of two individuals in particular: Saul/Paul and Cornelius. There is much to be said about ALL of the thousands of conversion stories, but these have a special place for me. The invitation is clear. Let the broken come to see Jesus's face and find fulfillment in life. The broken included everyone. Saul was converted from a Christian-hating man to one of the greatest leaders known in the bible. This shows how God uses unexpected paths to fulfill his work. We also have non-Jewish figures, such as Cornelius. He was a turning point from a solely Jewish religion to an EVERYONE religion. As the community became more inclusive, the word spread and Christianity was set ablaze.
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