The third volume in the four-volume commentary on the Book of Acts, this work presents a fresh look at the text of Codex Bezae and compares its message with that of the more familiar Alexandrian text of which Codex Vaticanus is taken as a representative. It deals with Acts 13.1-18.23, the chapters that cover the first two stages of the mission to the Gentiles, with the intervening meeting in Jerusalem (14.28-15.41). For each section, there is a side by side translation of the Bezan and Vaticanus manuscripts, followed by a full critical apparatus which deals with more technical matters, and finally, a commentary which explores in detail the differences in the message of the two texts. Of particular interest in this part of Acts are the person of Paul and the unfolding of his character and theology. It is found that in the Bezan text Luke portrays him as a fallible disciple of Jesus who, despite his powerful enthusiasm, is hindered by his traditional Jewish understanding from fully carrying out the mission entrusted to him in these first stages. The conclusion is drawn that the portrait of an exemplary hero in the Alexandrian text is a later modification of the flawed picture.

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'In my name, they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.'(Gospel of Mark) It's the summer of 1955. Merle, an itinerant preacher, sets out from his home church, Mountain Assembly Church of God with Signs Following, situated in the rolling hills of the Appalachians. But Merle isn't just any preacher, and his message isn't any plain ol' sermon. Reverend Merle James Hensley has experienced the power of Jesus Christ firsthand. Delivered from a poisonous snakebite, Merle requested of the Lord a double portion of Elisha's double portion. And so begins his revival tour, with trials predicted to test his faith and prove his double portion. But in Bloody Harlan County, Kentucky, he faces a trial he never counted on. Merle lands in the county jail, charged with the death of a young man who died in one of his revival services . . . of a snakebite. The author's first novel,They Shall Take up Serpents, is based on his Christian H. Moe Award-winning play,To Handle the Serpent. Experience the drama of Merle's physical and spiritual journey as he faces the trial that will determine his fate. Is this brash preacher responsible for the young man's death? Or are there other forces at work?

David Kimbrough explains the history and practice of serpent-handling believers from the pserspective of a respectful and scholarly participant-ovserver.

For Dennis Covington, what began as a journalistic assignment - covering the trial of an Alabama preacher convicted of attempting to murder his wife with poisonous snakes - would evolve into a headlong plunge into a bizarre, mysterious, and ultimately irresistible world of unshakable faith: the world of holiness snake handling, where people drink strychnine, speak in tongues, lay hands on the sick, and, some claim, raise the dead. Set in the heart of Appalachia, Salvation on Sand Mountain is Covington's unsurpassed and chillingly captivating exploration of the nature, power, and extremity of faith - an exploration that gradually turns inward, until Covington finds himself taking up the snakes. University.

The earliest of the four Gospels, the book portrays Jesus as an enigmatic figure, struggling with enemies, his inner and external demons, and with his devoted but disconcerted disciples. Unlike other gospels, his parables are obscure, to be explained secretly to his followers. With an introduction by Nick Cave