This new book shows how the reception of Acts of the Apostles illuminates not just the biblical text itself but also the attitudes of those interpreting it. The authors journey far beyond their analysis of the exegesis of Acts, tracing its influence on art and music, and charting the ways in which Luke's volume has guided the evangelism, worship practices, and institutions of ecclesiastical communities across the centuries. The potent influence exerted by Acts affirms its place as perhaps the most significant of the New Testament books outside the Gospels themselves. With its accounts of the Ascension and the Pentecost, and its narrative of Paul's conversion and journeys, Acts inspired transcendent works of religious art and acted as a blueprint for the Christian church's commitment to evangelism. The volume analyses the extent of that influence at key turning points in the religious--and political--history of Christianity. This rich volume brings together an impressive array of representations and interpretations demonstrating the myriad ways in which Acts has inspired artists, writers, musicians, and clerics to create cultural treasures as well as to justify the stratagems of powerful vested interests. - back of book.