Portrayal of Early Christian Mission in Acts of Apostles and Eusebius History - Essay Example

Portrayal of Early Christian Mission in Acts of Apostles and Eusebius’ History Portrayal of Early Christian Mission in Acts of Apostles and Eusebius’ History Historians have applied myriad sources in an attempt to describe and explore the history of the early church before AD 301. The proliferation of Christianity and its pronounced status in the Roman Empire during the early periods led to the development of a unique historiography of Christianity, influenced by both the progression of Christian or Biblical canon and Christian theology. The main role of the Biblical canon in Christianity is mirrored in the preference and acceptance of Christian historians for authored sources, compared to the preference of the classical historians for sources that were oral and is also shown in the inclusion of people who were politically insignificant. This discussion focuses on Eusebius and Acts of the Apostles to highlight the similarities and differences regarding how they each mirrored early Christianity. Eusebius While Eusebius leaves much to be anticipated as an apologist or an exegete for Christianity, he had one characteristic that was missing in all other contemporaries and predecessors. Eusebius had a predisposition for historical research. His Ecclesiastical History offers readers access to a plethora of traditions and sources otherwise long since disappeared. The ancestor of Church History had at his access the library at Caesarea that was a result of Origen’s architecture and construction. Pamphilus, being a passionate supporter of Origen, sought and made supplements to the myriad volumes of the rich library as well as Eusebius’ work, taking over Eusebius when he died. The literary works of Eusebius can be categorized into four: the historical, Biblical, apologetic, and dogmatic. The Ecclesiastical History, also referred to as the chronology of the church from Christ’s time to Constantine’s time presents the historical aspect of the foundation of the Church. Eusebius also covers work that shows that Christians preferred Judaism as opposed to paganism. His elucidations also showed that Christianity, as a religion, is the Old Testaments fulfilment. In the above texts, the author is seen to have concentrated in various areas of the early church. His portray, therefore, comes from different angles as he looked at Christianity from historical as well as spiritual perspectives (Craig, n.d.). As a learned Bishop with most of his life lived in Caesarea in Palestine, Eusebius made bold moves to document the early Christianity. His portrayal of the early church is the only remaining record of the church in its initial three hundred years. His mode of writing included extensive research and stood as an example for all other ecclesiastical historians. The history presents the struggles of the Church during its tender ages and culminates in the Constantine’s conversion. Through this, Eusebius presents the Church as a perpetual body that pushed on during dark times that involved persecution and struggles with heretics. In fact, this appears to be the main purpose of Eusebius, to document the grapples and triumphs of the early church. Eusebius history does this well enough as it involves thorough research and personal inferences (Craig, n.d.). Eusebius makes several comments regarding prophecy and the early church. He appealed to the consciousness of freedom of his readers pointing out that different events were determined differently. Some events, he states, were bound to occur, while others resulted from the unpredictable coincidence of natural factors. However, he credits the human will as the actual cause of some of the things that take place. His position implies that God dictates the physical laws that govern the earth, but He also works with the free will of humans to implore us to take certain courses of action. Eusebius argues all these intelligently, but he does not remove the problems that Christian prophecy as well as God’s complete foreknowledge presents. The relatively open approach that Eusebius gathered from Origen soon became weak in the early church (Craig, n.d.). Acts of the Apostle Luke recorded the events of the early church in two books: his Gospel and Acts. The author dedicated both books to Theophilus. Just as Eusebius, Luke claimed to offer the correct historical account of the early church. In the introduction statement of his books, Luke states that many have attempted to make an accurate account of the happenings of the early church through first hand witnesses and the word’s servants. The introduction also cites that the Acts of the Apostles is from an in-depth investigation of myriad things from the beginning carefully authored so that the recipient, Theophilus, can know and learn (Cadbury, 1999). Luke implies several things through the things that he writes in the Acts of the Apostles. He begins by stating that the things that he is writing of have already been fulfilled. In saying so, Luke meant that the accounts that he was presenting in the Acts of the Apostles were not unexpected or random. Instead, the accounts were a fulfilment of the prophecy of the Old Testament. Next, the author talks of the apostles who had seen the historical Jesus and who passed on to others the things that they has heard and seen. The author also personally conducts research of the events, which is shown by his utterance that the Acts of the Apostles contains material that is a result of careful research of matters from the beginning. Finally, Luke put down an orderly account and directed the account to Theophilus as well as other readers. Luke was a well-educated and qualified presenter of the accounts of the early church. The Greek taught the author in matters concerning health – he was a doctor. His education also provided him with great observational power and a rich vocabulary. He also doubled up as Paul’s companion, which gave him first-hand opportunity to observe, hear, and absorb the teachings of Paul. This assisted him greatly in presenting the accounts of the early church as his writings contain several instances of personal travelogue of the traveling encounters. Just like Eusebius, Luke dwelled in Palestine for around two years and collected useful material through holding interviews (Cadbury, 1999). This material assisted him in putting down the accounts. His familiarity with the Jewish customs, festivals, and history as well as his visitation of myriad places with Jesus and the twelve disciples served him well during his authorship. One can conclude that Luke used both oral and written records to present the accounts of the early church from the prologue of his Gospel. As the prologue of his Gospel is meant to introduce both writings, it is logical to hold the assumption that some of the things that the information that Luke presented in the Acts of the Apostles came from first hand witnesses as well. This implies that by the time he wrote Luke and Acts, Luke must have assessed contacted several individuals living around Mediterranean region and read some sources regarding Christianity and the early church. Most of the contents in the Acts of the Apostle come from myriad sources. One understanding of the sections that Luke uses “we” is that he got the information from several sources while travelling with Paul. The rest of the accounts of the early church contain dramatic episodes, speeches, and travel narratives, which makeup a significant section of the book. The theological agenda of the writer serves as a significant factor in the arrangement, selection, and extend of the Acts of the Apostle’s material. It is much as the accounts in the writer’s Gospel. It is also evident that the Acts of the Apostle omits significant material from inclusion on the history of the early church (Cadbury, 1999). This leads to the conclusion that Luke made conscious and deliberate choosing of events, persons, locations, and speeches. Conclusion The two accounts of the early church: Eusebius and the Acts of the Apostle present myriad similarities and differences. The authors of both texts that present the history of the early church lived in Palestine for a while, conducted thorough research, and concentrated on providing an elaborate account of the events that took place after the departure of Jesus. However, Eusebius appears to be more of a historical analysis that a spiritual recount as he provides up to four different aspects of the events of the early church. Eusebius does not credit all the events to prophecy and implies that some of the occurrences are random, something that Luke does not agree with. On the other hand, Luke conducts careful research and uses personal accounts as well. In his writings, he fully acknowledges that the events were the fulfilment of prophecy. Reference List Cadbury, H.J., 1999. Making of Luke-Acts, The. Baker Publishing Group. Craig, R. (COR), Luciano Floridi, Edward, n.d. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Taylor & Francis. Read More