Dec 30, 2008

Themes in Acts


A few years ago I taught a course entitled "Themes from the Book of Acts." In this course I developed the following eight themes.


1. The expansion of the Church
2. The Holy Spirit
3. The spread of the inclusive gospel
4. The sovereignty of God
5. Opposition to the spread of the gospel
6. The person and work of Christ
7. Prayer
8. The ministries of Peter and Paul

As I was reading through Puskas and Crump's An Introduction to the Gospels and Acts (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008), I noted that they identify the following as key themes in Luke-Acts (pp. 128-52). Although I did not include Luke in my listing of themes I thought that a comparison of themes might be interesting and/or helpful. The themes they identify are:

1. Salvation to the Gentiles
2. The progression of the gospel
3. The Holy Spirit
4. Prayer
5. Wealth, poverty, and the marginalized
6. Faithful Israel
7. Roman tolerance.

It is encouraging to note that there was significant overlap between the lists. But I wonder if there might be some other major themes. Suggestions anyone?

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