The Acts of the Apostles (Liguori Publications)

The Acts of the Apostles is another volume in the Liguori Catholic Bible Study series, written by Fr. William A. Anderson. Like other books in this series, it begins with an introduction to the series, a basics on Lectio Divina, and tips for how to use the book. There is then introductory material on Acts, which includes the author, audience, and themes found in this book of Scripture. There are then eight lessons, each with a segment for group study and individual study (with the exception of Lesson One). This is done to encourage you to study Scripture together, and also to expose you to all of the particular book of the Bible in a reasonable timeline. If you tried to study every chapter as a group, it would take a lot more than eight lessons. The lesson titles are:

1. Preparing for Mission
2. The Mission in Jerusalem
3. Persecutions in Jerusalem
4. The Mission in Samaria and Judea
5. The Gentile Mission
6. Paul's Missionary Journeys
7. Paul Imprisoned
8. Paul Brought to Rome

Each group lesson comes with questions to discuss and prayers. Each individual study spreads out your study over several days and focuses on important passages to meditate on using Lectio Divina. I appreciate this format as Lectio Divina has always been difficult for me. There are two things I would have placed emphasis on in this book that I didn't notice Fr. Anderson did. First, while Fr. Anderson did point out that Luke was the author, I think he should have made it clear that the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles are basically two parts of one book. You can't and shouldn't read one without reading the other. Secondly, what always helped me understand Acts was breaking it into two parts, the book of Peter and the book of Paul. Those complaints aside, this was still a useful study and I would recommend it to any group looking for a Bible study book on Acts. Four stars!

This book was provided to me for free by Liguori Publications in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

Jesus in the Gospels and Acts (Anselm Academic)

Jesus in the Gospels and Acts  is a 300 page textbook that doesn't read like one.  Dr. Scholz sets the stage by describing what life would have been like for Jesus and the Jewish people in His age. Topics discussed in this section included the divided Northern and Southern Kingdoms, the period of rebuilding following their exile, and the constant tension in the Jewish and Roman political landscape. We then dive into the heart of the book by walking through Mark, Matthew, Luke, Acts, and lastly John. They are arranged in this order, as this is the generally accepted chronological order of composition.

For each covered book of the Bible, Dr. Scholz provides key background information, such as authorship, audience, date of composition, and sources used in composition. One of the interesting things I learned from reading this book dealt with the sources and the source Q. I have always heard that Mark was the first Gospel written, so it is only natural that the other Gospels drew from Mark for inspiration. However, there is also belief in the scholarly world that there was another source of inspiration, Q, which, though it does not exist anymore, did contain sayings of Jesus. Many believe that Matthew and Luke drew inspiration from this source as well.

My favorite parts of this book were all the tables, timelines, and review questions. This kind of extra information is just what a textbook needs to keep it from being dry. One of my least favorite parts in this book was the final chapter, "Other Early Christian Gospels." In this section, Dr. Scholz mentions The Protoevangelium of James with two Gnostic works - The Gospel of Thomas and The Gospel of Judas. There is a section in this book, which briefly discusses Gnosticism, but mainly talks about how many modern scholars are trying to get the term discarded. I, for one, feel that more care should have been given in discussing Gnostic texts and a warning should have been given that these are in no way recommended reading by the Church. For that reason, I am giving this book 4 out of 5 stars.

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The Acts of the Apostles: Spreading the Word (Ancient Faith Publishing)

There is no book that I love more than the Bible. For this reason, I have always loved Bible commentaries, even back in my Protestant days. I want to know and understand God's Word to the best of my ability, and I can only do that with the help of minds greater than mine. Currently, I am collecting and reading two sets of Bible commentaries - one Catholic and the other Orthodox. Today, I will be reviewing the the latest Orthodox volume called The Acts of the Apostles: Spreading the Word.

The Acts of the Apostles: Spreading the Word is the twelfth volume in The Orthodox Bible Study Companion Series. The series is not intended to be an in-depth word-by-word study, but instead an approachable study you can use either solo or with a group. Fr. Farley begins by explaining that the Acts of the Apostles was written by St. Luke to explain to Theophilus four apologetic points - 1. The Church was not politically suspect; 2. The Church is a legal religion and the True Israel; 3. The Holy Spirit guides the Church; and 4. Gentiles are welcome in the Church as it is God's will. After this introduction, he then dives into the commentary for Acts of the Apostles.

Like every volume in this series, Fr. Farley gives the reader both Scripture and commentary. The commentary provided is scholarly yet approachable. With some passages, he takes time to highlight key words and give their Greek equivalent and meaning. This helps take the passage to a deeper level than one could obtain by just reading the Scripture alone. As helpful as this is, especially for someone like me who is trying to learn Greek, I found the excursuses (or expositions on topics) even more enlightening. A few of the topics addressed in these expositions were the Resurrection of Jesus, Ascension of Jesus, and Lessons from St. Paul's Aeropagus sermon. Each mini-essay gives the reader an extra level of depth, and, since they are asides, the reader has the option to go deeper or just stick with the commentary.

I have been waiting for this one to come out for a few years since one should read Luke and Acts together, and it did not disappoint. Fr. Farley is very astute when he refers to the Acts of the Apostles as both a door and a bridge. It is a door because it gives us a small glimpse of what the Church was like in the First Century, and it is a bridge because it connects the Gospels to the Epistles. If you want to understand Acts better, then this is the book for you. I wholeheartedly recommend it, but I recommend that you purchase it with The Gospel of Luke: Good News for the Poor. Stay tuned in 2014 for the final volume of the New Testament entitled The Epistle to the Hebrews: High Priest in Heaven.

This book was provided to me for free by Ancient Faith Publishing in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

Saint Benedict Press: The Gospel of the Holy Spirit: Meditation and Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles

When looking for some reading about the Early Church, most people look for the Early Church Fathers like Clement of Rome or Polycarp of Smyrna. However, I would recommend going a little further back and opening the Bible. You could read some of the Epistles Paul wrote to various churches and note how the issues afflicting those churches are still present today. I personally would recommend starting with the Acts of the Apostles and reading about historic events such as the Martyrdom of Stephen, the Conversion of Saul, and the Council of Jerusalem. When reading any book of the Bible, though, you should read it with the Church's guidance, perhaps with a commentary such as The Gospel of the Holy Spirit.

The Gospel of the Holy Spirit is written by Fr. Alfred McBride, a priest with about 60 years of service and a doctorate in religious education.  He is considered one of the most influential religious leaders of the 20th Century. In this commentary, Fr. McBride starts by dividing the Acts of the Apostles into two separate books - "The Book of Peter," which covers Acts 1 to 13 and "The Book of Paul," which covers Acts 14 to 28. Even though I have read Acts several times, I never noticed this natural division in the book.  Now that I have seen it explained on paper, it makes perfect sense. There are 29 chapters in this book, which means you could work through this book solely over the period of a month. You could also decide to use it in a group study.

I really like that each chapter is broken down into three parts - the commentary, reflection questions, and a concluding prayer that ties in elements of what you just learned. One should always pray when reading the Scriptures, and this helps reinforce that. I always like to try and find a favorite part in a book I review, but that's hard when it comes to commentaries. However, I did find the section on Pentecost (Acts 2:1-12) to be absolutely fascinating. The way Fr. McBride compared the events of that day to different Old Testament events, especially from the book of Exodus, was eye-opening and made me look at the birth of the Church in a whole new light.

If you have never read a book of the Bible before or want to read the Bible deeper, I would recommend reading a synoptic Gospel, preferably Luke first, and then picking up The Gospel of the Holy Spirit   Why Luke? Luke and Acts are essentially two volumes of a larger book, so you will get a fuller picture of the message Luke was trying to convey by reading both, rather than one or the other. I would love it if Fr. McBride would do a book like this one for the Gospel of Luke, because this was a 5-star book. If he doesn't though, one can always take his Catholic Course on The Christ, which covers all four Gospels.

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