The Speeches in Acts and the Ideological Agenda of the Work

Abstract

Abstract:It is widely recognised that the speeches of Acts play a significant part in its composition. In this article, I argue that the speeches of Acts are a key to understanding the ideological agenda of the book of Acts and its construction of the spread and development of early Christianity. Acts uses a rhetoric from below, arguing that Christianity is a religion for regular people rather than the elite. In this regard, the rhetoric of Acts is populist.