THE INTERPRETATION OF CONFLICTIN ACTS

NEW TESTAMENT SURVEY (BOOK OF ACTS)

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 CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................1

PROCLAMATION OF CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT ...............................................................1

CHRISTOLOGY IDENTITY....................................................................................................2

JEWISH-CHRISTIAN RELATIONS .......................................................................................3

LUKAN COMMUNICATION..................................................................................................4

THE SPEECHES WITH NARRATIVE OR SOCIAL-SCIENTIFIC APPROACHES ............5

CHRISTOLOGICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL REALITIES ...................................................6

RESOLVE CONFLICTS IN CURRRENT CHURCH CONTEXT ..........................................6

CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................................................7

BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................8

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 INTRODUCTION

The topic of this view is the study of Conflict in Acts between the early Christian
movement and full Judaism and the Gentiles. I will investigate this theme by looking at those
speech divisions in Acts where there is a conflict between Christian speakers and non-
Christian Jewish hearers, using both narrative criticism and social-scientific criticism.
Generally, the Christian speaker is a characteristic of the Christian movement, and the non-
Christian audience has represented full Judaism since, in the first-century Mediterranean
world, individuals' values and status tightly tied to the groups to which they belong. Thus,
any conflict between the speaker and the audience illuminates the conflict between the groups
they represent.

The events in Acts with Christians speaking to non-Christian Jews play a major part
in demonstrating the conflict between these groups of characters. All the Christian speakers
in these parts are Jews. Therefore, strictly speaking, the conflict that studied in this paper is a
conflict between Christian Jews and non-Christian Jews. I do not reject that there are other
conflicts described in Acts, including Conflict between Christians and the Conflict between
Christians and non-Jews. The purpose of this paper, nevertheless, is restricted to those speech
scenes concerning Christian Jews and non-Christian Jews. Thus, that a full-scale study of
conflict in Acts must await a more extensive survey.

PROCLAMATION OF CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT

The scenes investigated here contain various instances of the declaration's action of
the Christian movement, which is one of the foremost themes of Luke's second narrative. The
narrative shows that Jesus' followers commissioned by Jesus and are empowered by the Holy
Spirit to declare Jesus from Jerusalem to all Judea and Samaria and Rome. A great amount of
material portrays their evangelistic and apologetic struggles among their fellow Jews. Their
proclamation, which understands the scriptures through the lens of Jesus' crucifixion and
resurrection, provokes conflict with non-believing Jews. Some of these Jews respond to the
conflict formed by the Christian proclamation by placing their faith in Jesus and becoming
Christians. Others reject the message, and some even struggle to stop the declaration of the
word, including bringing up false accusations against Christian speakers. Because of this
relationship of parts to the whole, I presume that Luke's depiction of the Conflict between

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Christian Jews and non-Christian Jews are secondary to his main intention of depicting the
proclamation of Jesus. However, the investigation of the conflict shows how Luke perceives
the impact of proclamation activities on non-Christian Jews and how Christian leaders react
to those impacts.

Moreover, within Acts, public speaking is closely related to the proclamation of the
Christian message in that it is an essential and useful channel to convey the message to an
audience. Conveying the message that proclaimed is so crucial for Luke that he combines his
narrative in a way that speeches take up a huge part of it. Based on my research presented
here, I, convinced that through speech content, Luke makes known how he perceives the
conflict that occurred when the Christian message initially proclaimed to Jews. At the same
time, the narrative contexts in which Luke presents his speech content indicate his
understanding of both the reasons for the speeches and, in at least some cases, the responses
they received. In a word, both speech content and speech contexts work together to convey
Luke's perspective on the conflict that is the focus of my analysis.

CHRISTOLOGY IDENTITY

In the relevant speech scenes of Conflict, Luke acknowledges that many different
factors are involved in disputes between Christian and non-Christian Jews. Similarly, he
constantly addresses the matter of Christo logy through the speech of his Christian speakers
during the narrative. This characteristic prompts me to differentiate Jesus' identity from other
factors. With both the story and social-scientific research, I will argue in this thesis that Luke
intentionally composed the scenes in Acts. He conveys the idea that disagreements and
decisions regarding Jesus' identity are more important than all of the other factors which
provoked, escalated, Christian, and non- Christian early day movement. Some, example is the
scenes showing from the view of non-Christian Jews, the law or the temple or some other
factor inflames conflict with Christians. Luke, thus, shows his alertness of the worries of
these Jews. But he uses various approaches to encounter away their claims, such as
identifying them as false claims or proving that the Roman authorities have a different
viewpoint. In the same time, he repeatedly points out that Christian leaders, amid the conflict,
determinedly proclaim Jesus. In this way, Luke indicates in these parts that Christology is a
more vital source of friction than the other sources identified by non-Christian Jews.

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 JEWISH-CHRISTIAN RELATIONS

Earlier Studies of Jewish-Christian Relations in Acts the conflict theme in Acts is

substantial and has gained interest from various scholars over the years. "Many scholars

today think that the caricatures of Jewish people in Luke-Acts reflect tensions between Luke's

congregation and some Jewish leaders of Luke's own time. What prompted this conflict? It

was likely not a conflict between legalistic Judaism and liberating Christianity, but was a

conflict regarding what it meant to be faithfully Jewish." 1 However, the method most scholars

adopt is to research this theme in the New Testament or early church history rather than Acts

alone. These scholars search for proofs in the abundant ancient literature to support their

hypothesis, and Acts has been just one resource for them.

Nevertheless, Acts is such an essential piece of writing and signifying the social life

of the early Christian movement that it justifies more attention to studying how Luke handles

conflict. Some scholars focus on observing one specific aspect of the Conflict in Acts, and

their argument may not be in accord with the necessary textual evidence. Another example,

conflict begins almost immediately. “When Peter and John heal a lame man at the gate of the

temple and bring him inside the temple authorities, try to stop them."2 The text shows that

Luke perceives that the attitude of the Jews is mixed, and he does not emphasize that the Jews

try to prohibit Paul's proclamation. "Because certain groups were opposed to the gospel, Paul

had enemies from within the Jewish community as well as among non-Jews. Opposition to

the gospel is a well-known theme that through Paul's ministry." 3 These claims that Acts

1 “Acts of the Apostles,” 3607, accessed July 25, 2020,

http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzU1OTIyMF9fQU41?sid=ff24a5f0 -06ef-
420c-8580-50d663daef9c@pdc-v-sessmgr03&vid=15&format=EK&rid=2.
2 Joseph Crisp, “Dramatic Conflict in the Book of Acts,” Restoration Quarterly 60, no. 1 (2018): 39.
3 “Mission in Acts : Ancient Narratives in Contemporary Context,” 275, accessed July 25, 2020,
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzE3NjEyMDRfX0FO0?sid=de19b1eb -88ff-
44c4-af73-d7cba79ba339@sdc-v-sessmgr01&vid=0&format=EK&rid=1.

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contains a consistently negative portrayal of the Jews, however, do not match the whole

picture of the Lukan narrative.

LUKAN COMMUNICATION

My paper on Lukan's speech content, the attempt to understand how Luke perceives a

conflict between Judaism and early Christianity. It is necessary and helpful for adequately

understanding the issue of anti-Semitism related to Luke's text. "The Church has infected

with the real anti-Semitism she called to battle. The history of the Church's complicity in anti-

Semitism and crimes against the Jewish people is one of the great tragedies of history." 4

Regarding the attitude of two groups shown toward others, the narrative demonstrates that

instead of merely opposing accusations against them, as in Stephen's scene, Christian

speakers also persuade the audience to believe, as in the views at Pentecost and in Antioch of

Pisidia. At the same time, Luke's plot also reveals that some Jewish people and leaders

respond positively to the message of the Christian speakers, including several characters who

do not subsequently become believers themselves. "The speech, as usual, is a fine Lukan

cameo; it would take little more than a minute to deliver, suggests, and states explicitly that

the speech had hardly started when the Spirit intervened."5

Of course, some works focus on the Jews' negative attitude and reaction to Christians,

without taking it as Luke's exclusive depiction of the Jewish attitude toward Christians. Due

to the limited space of my research, I can only focus on the representation of conflict in Acts.

Still, I hope that this will provide useful insights for those who want to search further into the

relationship between Acts and other Christian literature regarding this theme, and how it

contributes to the early Christian community.

4 David J. Rudolph and Joel Willitts, eds., Introduction to Messianic Judaism: Its Ecclesial Context and

Biblical Foundations (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013), 279.

5James D. G Dunn, The Acts of the Apostles (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 2016), 232.

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 One of the aims I have chosen to analyze speech content and speech contexts is that

few scholars pay exclusive attention to these matters when they work for the Conflict in Acts.

Weatherly's work, Jewish Responsibility for the Death of Jesus in Luke-Acts, does examine

the speech context that implicates the Jews in Jesus' death. Still, it is only one of his methods

to answer the question of whether or not Luke holds the Jews as people guilty for the death of

Jesus. Weatherly's research shows that the detailed picture of the characters in various scenes

can help avoid making generalizations, which is also one of the strengths of exploiting

historical criticism in my study. I hope my exclusive focus on speech content and speech

contexts will contribute distinctive insights to research on the theme of conflict.

There are some works on the function of speeches, even though they are not directly

related to the conflict. For example, I understand that different discourses function in

different ways. He classifies speeches into four categories-missionary, deliberative, hortatory,

and apologetic-which serve different functions. Even though sorting these speeches may not

be significant to my study, the different categories indicate the relationship between the

speakers and the audience, which is beneficial for my analysis.

THE SPEECHES WITH NARRATIVE OR SOCIAL-SCIENTIFIC APPROACHES

My research also involves the conflict between the two parties in each speech. The

interaction of two parties, including their action and speech content as well as the setting and

gradual development, communication, are the primary data for my analysis. I am going to use

a narrative approach as my primary method to analyze these facts because conflict is a mainly

social phenomenon; it is beneficial for me to apply a social-scientific approach as well. This

is because, when Luke presents the conflict in his narrative, he not only shows his awareness

of the relevant social background, but also demonstrates an understanding that outsiders to

the Christian movement may have different interpretations of the conflict. What is more, he

tries to use his narrative to make his perspective known to his implied readers. When his

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earliest readers read the text, they would have interpreted this literary ef fort in connection

with the social realities of the ancient Greco-Roman world. Today's readers need the aid of

social-scientific criticism to understand how the implied readers of Acts meant to perceive

what Luke is doing. Tannehill states that "an understanding of first-century society and of

historical events within it may be important for understanding Acts as a narrative," 6 He also

believes that the study of first-century Mediterranean society may "illuminate unspoken

assumptions behind the narrative." 7 In this way, I have explored conflict using both a

narrative and a social-scientific approach.

CHRISTOLOGICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL REALITIES

In summary, a large body of literature, related to narrative criticism, social-scientific

criticism, and the speech content and speech contexts in Acts, can contribute to my research.

Still, the different contribution of my study is that I try to employ both narrative and social-

scientific analysis to analyze the Luke's depiction of Conflict between Christians and Jews in

and around his speeches. This contribution is helpful because it indicates that while Luke

composes his narrative with Christological biases and motives, he is still sensitive to

historical and sociological realities.

RESOLVE CONFLICTS IN CURRRENT CHURCH CONTEXT

Christians living in love and peace with one another, but they do not live up to such a

goal often. They knowingly and unknowingly hurt others through actions and words. Many

churches split over various reasons, such as the selections of pastors, the use of Church funds,

the moveable property such as piano within the sanctuary, even the color of wall paint , and

replacing of carpets. Why must Churches, as this kind of community, of Christ conflicts
6 Robert C. Tannehill, Luke, Abingdon New Testament Commentaries (Nashville: Abin gdon Press,
1996), 27.
7 Tannehill, Luke.

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among them? How can they be responsive and develop? Can Churches within themselves

solve such an issue? Or can we as one body of Christ, as pastors and staff -members avoid

such a conflict in the Church?

CONCLUSION

Christian is to be united in the body of Christ. If we understand the calling of God to

all humans being to be harmony and peace, we will be happy and joyful in Him. Concerning

the above points, we as an individual faces many conflicts, but endure for the sake of Christ

shed blood and work as a body in Christ. If, as a Church, we understand the creator and His

creation, we will, in any circumstance, be a fruitful community to serve Him in the fullest.

Genesis Three “shows exactly what God felt when Adam and Eve disobeyed: sadness over

the broken relationship; anger at their denials, and an emotion surprisingly like an alarm."8

Church conflicts are investigated in two ways. First, church conflict always Consists of

theological, cultural, spiritual, structural, and emotional factors. Second, Church conflict still

revolves around leadership. Specifically, this project observed five Causes of Conflict in

contemporary churches concerning most churches. Furthermore, it was needed to study the

conflict theory.

I believe that the above research has clarified a person with a perfect understanding of

God, and his qualities can ultimately end up leading someone to God with our attitude and

God’s called qualification, which, in the end, is the purpose of life for everyone on earth.

8Philip Yancey and Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew ; Disappointment with God (Grand
Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2007), 350.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

“Acts of the Apostles.” Accessed July 25, 2020.

http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzU1OTIyMF9fQU
41?sid=ff24a5f0-06ef-420c-8580-50d663daef9c@pdc-v-
sessmgr03&vid=15&format=EK&rid=2.

Crisp, Joseph. “Dramatic Conflict in the Book of Acts.” Restoration Quarterly 60, no. 1
(2018): 49–54.

Dunn, James D. G. The Acts of the Apostles. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 2016.

“Mission in Acts : Ancient Narratives in Contemporary Context.” Accessed July 25, 2020.
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzE3NjEyMDRfX0
FO0?sid=de19b1eb-88ff-44c4-af73-d7cba79ba339@sdc-v-
sessmgr01&vid=0&format=EK&rid=1.

Rudolph, David J., and Joel Willitts, eds. Introduction to Messianic Judaism: Its Ecclesial
Context and Biblical Foundations. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013.

Tannehill, Robert C. Luke. Abingdon New Testament Commentaries. Nashville: Abingdon

Press, 1996.

Yancey, Philip, and Philip Yancey. The Jesus I Never Knew ; Disappointment with God.
Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2007.