Acts: Smyth and Helwys Bible Commentary Series

by Chance, J. Bradley

• ISBN13: 9781573120807
• ISBN10: 1573120804
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-12-01
• Publisher: Smyth & Helwys Pub

Summary

The Acts of the Apostles explores the story of the early church, from its inception in Jerusalem to the hub of the Roman Empire. The early church firmly believed that it was not a new religion, but the realization and fulfillment of Judaism and the Scriptures that Judaism revered. But as the church lived out its mission as "the fulfillment" of its own religious heritage, it had to learn to reach beyond the comfortable boundaries of its traditions. It had to learn that central to the fulfillment of the hopes of Scripture was the incorporation of all persons, Jews and non-Jews, into the people of God.

Author Biography

J. Bradley Chance completed all of his post-secondary education in the Tar Heel state, receiving an AB, with a major in religion, from UNC-Chapel Hill (1975), an MDiv from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (1978), and a Ph.D. from Duke University, focusing on Christian Origins (1984). While doing his work at Duke, Chance served as an Adjunctive Instructor of New Testament at Southeastern Seminary (1978-1982). He joined the faculty of William Jewell College, Liberty, MO, as an Instructor of Religion in 1982. Chance still continues to serve at William Jewell as Professor of Religion and Chair of the Department, in addition to other administrative responsibilities.Chance is the author of one monograph, Jerusalem, the Temple, and the New Age in Luke-Acts (Mercer University Press, 1988) and one textbook on biblical introduction, Rereading the Bible: An Introduction to the Biblical Story (Prentice-Hall, 1999), which he co-authored with Milton Horne, also a contributor to the Smyth-Helwys Commentary Series. Chance has contributed a number of articles dealing with the New Testament and matters of pedagogy to various journals, Bible dictionaries, and collections of essays.