ACTS OF THE APOSTLES (74)

A valuable history of the early Christian Church, composed in Greek by the Evangelist Luke, whose Gospel concludes where Acts begins, namely, with Christ´s Ascension into heaven. Acts was apparently written in Rome, perhaps between AD 70-90, though some think a slightly earlier date is also likely. After an introductory account of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles at Pentecost (interpreted as the birth of the church), Luke pursues as a central theme the spread of Christianity to the Gentile world under the guiding  inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He also describes the church´s gradual drawing away from Jewish traditions. The missionary journeys of St. Paul are given a prominent place, because this close associate of the Luke was the pre-eminent Apostle to the Gentiles. Without Acts, an accurate picture of the primitive church would be impossible to reconstruct; with it, the New Testament letters of Paul are far more intelligible. Acts concludes rather abruptly after Paul has successfully preached the gospel in Rome, the acknowledged centre of the Gentile world.