Luke, Gospel of St., by Dr. Stanton, and the biographical sketch of Luke, by Dr. Bartlett; and the paragraph on Luke’s additions to Mark’s narrative in Vol. 15, p. 356. This is the universal gospel, just as Mark’s was for extra-Palestinian use and Matthew’s particularly for the Jew, as is shown by the incidents of Zaccheus and of the Samaritan leper; and Renan’s characterization of the gospel of the one evangelist who was not a Jew, “the most beautiful book in the world,” is quoted twice in the Britannica.
John, Gospel of St., and John (the Apostle), both by Baron Friedrich von Hügel, author of The Mystical Element of Religion: the paragraph on the distinctive elements of John’s gospel (in Vol. 15, p. 357), such as the story of John the Baptist (see the article on this “forerunner,” by G. H. Box, late lecturer in theology, Oxford); the philosophical prologue (see the article Logos, by the late Rev. Dr. Stewart Dingwall Fordyce Salmon, professor of systematic theology, United Free Church College, Aberdeen, and the Rev. A. J. Grieve, professor of New Testament and church history, Yorkshire United Independent College, Bradford); the Judean scene as contrasted with the predominance of Galilee and Samaria in the other three (synoptic) gospels, and the prominence given to great abstract ideas and symbols—the Light of the World, the Living Bread, the Only-Begotten, the Re-Birth, Eternal Life, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Water and Wine, the Paraclete, and the refrain and variations on the theme of Love.
Before studying the articles dealing with the book of Acts, let the reader consult Dr. Garvie’s article Miracle, for a study of the supernatural and particularly for a development of the argument for miracles from “the congruity of the miracle with divine truth and grace”; the miracles of Jesus, and of the apostles, consist in “the relief of need, the removal of suffering, the recovery of health and strength.”
Acts
The article Acts of the Apostles, by Dr. J. Vernon Bartlett, should be supplemented by referring again to the article Luke, and the student should call to mind that the probable author was not a Jew, was a personal friend and traveling companion of both Paul and Peter, and was a physician, a trained scientific observer, as can be seen not only from his descriptions of disease, but from his accuracy in geographical, meteorological and other matters. The importance of the testimony of the physician to the miracles of the apostles is brought out (p. 164, top of column 2) in the article on the book. For the study of Acts, besides the article on the book, read the following separate articles:
Luke, Peter, John, Judas, Aceldama, Matthias, Pentecost, Tongues, Gift of; Ananias, Gamaliel, Stephen, Simon Magus, Philip, Paul, Joppa, Antioch, Herod, Barnabas, Iconium, Lycaonia, Mark, Timothy, Silas, Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens, Areopagus, Corinth, Aquila, Apollos, Ephesus, Felix, Ananias, Agrippa.
St. Paul
For a study of the book of Acts, which was probably written before any one of the Gospels, one will need constantly to refer in the Britannica to the article on Paul, the Apostle (Vol. 20, p. 938), by Dr. J. Vernon Bartlett. This article, equivalent to 55 pages in this Guide, is so important that it will be well to outline it here. After an introduction, in which Paul’s attitude toward Jewish legalism is made an explanation of the superficially obvious contrast between Jesus and Paul, there is a biographical sketch: Paul of Tarsus, a Roman citizen with Roman name, talking Latin and not a narrow, one-sided Jew; his Jewish training; in Jerusalem, under Gamaliel (see the article Gamaliel); first impressions as to Jesus, and Saul as persecutor; the vision at Damascus and its spiritual content; his new theory of the law and its universal value; Christology of Paul,—his deep insight into Jesus’s character; Paul’s theology rooted in experience; his early apostolate; his first missionary journey; the issue of Gentile Christianity raised; Paul’s conciliatory spirit; Peter’s visit to Antioch; Paul’s protest; the second mission tour; Paul in Europe—Athens, Corinth, etc.; first missionary letters; as an ethical teacher; Paul, the Law, the Spirit; later travels; later letters; Paulinism—its Christocentric character; apparent contrasts and contradictions between Paul’s gospel and Jesus’s gospel—one seen through the eyes of a conscious sinner, the other the sinless consciousness of the Saviour; Paul’s position between Judaeo-Christianity and Gnosticism—see also the article Gnosticism, by Wilhelm Bousset, professor of New Testament exegesis, Göttingen.
The Pauline Epistles
In general on the Pauline epistles the student should not only read this article Paul, but should turn again to the treatment of New Testament canon in the article Bible (Vol. 3, pp. 872–873), and should look over the first part of the article Jesus Christ which finds in 1st Thessalonians the earliest extant document of Christianity. Then let him read the articles: