Discovering the First Century Church: The Acts of the Apostles, Letters of Paul and the Book of Revelation

What really happened at Pentecost? Could the apostles really speak languages they didn’t know before? Doesn’t Paul have a warped view of marriage? Why would he teach that it is ’well for a man not to touch a woman?’ Why are there only 144,000 redeemed from the earth? that doesn’t seem like very many. These are just some of the many questions which thoughtful people ask and that Dr. Ralph helps the reader answer. ’Discovering The First Century Church In Scripture’ tackles the many questions of scripture in a straightforward manner. This practical book provides readers with a thorough introduction to the content of the Acts of the Apostles, the letters of Paul, and the book of Revelation. It acquaints readers with the methodologies and conclusions of modern biblical scholarship, and challenges readers to integrate this knowledge into their own faith lives. It is an ideal text for juniors in high school, faith-sharing groups, adult education study, and introductory college courses.

Margaret Nutting Ralph received her doctorate in English literature, with a concentration on the Bible as literature, from the University of Kentucky. She has taught scripture to high school students, college students, and adult education groups for eighteen years. Dr. Ralph is author of both the book and video entitled, ’And God Said What?’, the children’s book, ’Willie of Church Street’, and ’Discovering the Gospels’ (Discovering the Living Word Series), Paulist Press.