258: The Book of Acts and the birth of Christianity

Along with special guest Longinus, P&C drink and review a homebrewed brown ale, then discuss the Book of Acts, as part of their "shortcut to the classics" series.  What book is more classic than the Bible? The boys choose Acts as the most representative "shortcut" because it includes elements of law, history, prophets, the gospel, and the epistles.  A simple outline of Acts would be that the message of Jesus spreads from Jerusalem, into Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. But it's more complicated than that. There are questions about the role of Jew and Gentile, whether converts need to be circumcized, and how the church will view the on-going role of the law of Moses.  The book highlights the two main apostles of Christianity, starting with Peter's ministry to the Jews in Jerusalem, and ending with Paul's ministry to the Gentiles -- not only in his missionary journeys, but in his witness to the center of power in the first century -- Rome.  Acts is a historical narrative, which is fitting for a faith that is based in historical claims about particular acts and people who did real things in the real world.