How did the Jesus movement grow from a few dozen frightened followers to a worldwide phenomenon in just a few decades--with no detailed strategy, no buildings, no budget, and every obstacle imaginable? To seek the truth, René Schlaepfer set out to retrace the journeys of the original apostles through the Mediterranean world as told in the biblical Book of Acts. As he visits ancient sites in Israel, Turkey, Greece, Italy and several Aegean Sea islands, René meets with archaeological experts--and encounters modern thieves, rioting mobs, and nests of serpents. His adventures are enlightening, entertaining, and inspiring. In Acts Odyssey: On the Trail of the Apostles, René strips away 21 centuries of accumulated debris--myths and traditions and legends--for a fresh glimpse of the original Jesus movement that changed the world. Your faith will be challenged. Your hope will be strengthened. Your vision will be increased. And you'll be convinced it can happen again. With 7-week web-based video small group curriculum.

This study focuses on the apocryphal "Acts of Andrew" (200 AD), which purport to tell the story of the travels, miracles and martyrdom of the apostle Andrew. Breaking with tradition that concludes the Acts came from scripture, the author investigates classical literature to find the sources.

This volume assembles sixteen authoritative articles on Homer's Odyssey that have appeared over the last thirty years. A wide variety of interpretative strategies are represented, including, in addition to traditional close readings, the approaches of comparative anthropology, narratology, feminism, and audience-oriented criticism. Papers have been selected for their clarity and accessibility, and each is informed by close attention to philological and textual detail. A full glossary and list of abbreviations have been included, and a specially written introduction puts the selections in a wider context by giving an overview of major strands in the interpretation of Homer in the second half of the twentieth century.

div In this provocative challenge to prevailing views of New Testament sources, Dennis R. MacDonald argues that the origins of passages in the book of Acts are to be found not in early Christian legends but in the epics of Homer. MacDonald focuses on four passages in the book of Acts, examines their potential parallels in the Iliad, and concludes that the author of Acts composed them using famous scenes in Homer’s work as a model. Tracing the influence of passages from the Iliad on subsequent ancient literature, MacDonald shows how the story generated a vibrant, mimetic literary tradition long before Luke composed the Acts. Luke could have expected educated readers to recognize his transformation of these tales and to see that the Christian God and heroes were superior to Homeric gods and heroes. Building upon and extending the analytic methods of his earlier book, The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark, MacDonald opens an original and promising appreciation not only of Acts but also of the composition of early Christian narrative in general. /DIV

This study presents a coherent interpretation of the Malta episode by arguing that Acts 28:1-10 narrates a theoxeny, that is, an account of unknowing hospitality to a god which results in the establishment of a fictive kinship relationship between the Maltese barbarians and Paul and his God. In light of the connection between hospitality and piety to the gods in the ancient Mediterranean, Luke ends his second volume in this manner to portray Gentile hospitality as the appropriate response to Paul’s message of God’s salvation -- a response that portrays them as hospitable exemplars within the Lukan narrative and contrasts them with the Roman Jews who reject Paul and his message.

The Odyssey's larger plot is composed of a number of distinct genres of myth, all of which are extant in various Near Eastern cultures (Mesopotamian, West Semitic, and Egyptian). Unexpectedly, the Near Eastern culture with which the Odyssey has the most parallels is the Old Testament. Consideration of how much of the Odyssey focuses on non-heroic episodes - hosts receiving guests, a king disguised as a beggar, recognition scenes between long-separated family members - reaffirms the Odyssey's parallels with the Bible. In particular the book argues that the Odyssey is in a dialogic relationship with Genesis, which features the same three types of myth that comprise the majority of the Odyssey: theoxeny, romance (Joseph in Egypt), and Argonautic myth (Jacob winning Rachel from Laban). The Odyssey also offers intriguing parallels to the Book of Jonah, and Odysseus' treatment by the suitors offers close parallels to the Gospels' depiction of Christ in Jerusalem.

"As a guest gift for the wonderful wine, I will eat you last," yawns Polyphemus the Cyclops, in Joanne Keegan's wonderous, phantasmagoric comedy based on Homer's epic poem, the Odyssey. Laying down a comedic play for school-age students on a classical substrate may seem ambitious for some, but for others, it is an opportunity to expand the imagination. The result is more than just a clever piece of drama--it is an inspired work of art in its own right, a wild ride to open up students' dramatic talents and expose them to an age-old classic. The Odyssey provides age-appropriate and accessible material, parts for over twenty students, and strong roles for both male and female actors, all while retaining the flavor of Homer's classic in the context of an original and imaginative play, with adventure, humor, and, of course, a cast of colorful characters