The Acts of the Apostles

Epworth Commentary

by James D.G. Dunn

This commentary by one of Britain's leading New Testament scholars takes the reader through questions of authorship, recipients, date and purpose, considers the literary structure, the nature of history writing and the teaching of Acts, and provides the information and perspective necessary for reading to best effect what Professor Dunn believes is the most exciting book in the New Testament.

357 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1997

About the author

James D. G. ("Jimmy") Dunn (born 1939) was for many years the Lightfoot Professor of Divinity in the Department of Theology at the University of Durham. Since his retirement he has been made Emeritus Lightfoot Professor. He is a leading British New Testament scholar, broadly in the Protestant tradition. Dunn is especially associated with the New Perspective on Paul, along with N. T. (Tom) Wright and E. P. Sanders. He is credited with coining this phrase during his 1982 Manson Memorial Lecture.

Dunn has an MA and BD from the University of Glasgow and a PhD and DD from the University of Cambridge. For 2002, Dunn was the President of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, the leading international body for New Testament study. Only three other British scholars had been made President in the preceding 25 years.

In 2005 a festschrift was published dedicated to Dunn, comprising articles by 27 New Testament scholars, examining early Christian communities and their beliefs about the Holy Spirit. (edited by Graham N. Stanton, Bruce W. Longenecker & Stephen Barton (2004). The Holy Spirit and Christian origins: essays in honor of James D. G. Dunn. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. ISBN 0-8028-2822-1.)

Dunn has taken up E. P. Sanders' project of redefining Palestinian Judaism in order to correct the Christian view of Judaism as a religion of works-righteousness. One of the most important differences to Sanders is that Dunn perceives a fundamental coherence and consistency to Paul's thought. He furthermore criticizes Sanders' understanding of the term "justification", arguing that Sanders' understanding suffers from an "individualizing exegesis".

Reviews

[Seth P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Approachable and insightful. Appreciated having this as a companion while reading through the book of Acts. Offers historical perspectives and context that would have been missed and also addresses many of the questions a reader today would have while reading Acts.

[Tyrone Harbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellant Scholarly Commentary on the Book of Acts from a pentecostal view. It is very in depth and exhaustive in its scholarly presentation.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1996 this is a straightforward, non-technical (without footnotes and bibliography) commentary on The Acts of the Apostles from one of the UK's leading NT scholars.