`A Postcolonial Reading of Acts of the Apostles' reads Acts as an early Christian story
that accommodated and disrupted, almost simultaneously, both the Roman colonial and the
native Jewish nationalistic discourses of power. It shows how the early Christians created
a space for themselves in-between and beyond those two polar opposite spaces; and how they
grew, expanded and eventually erased those spaces of power.
This reading of the Acts has a greater relevance for the present day ecclesia in the
context of neocolonialism and religious fundamentalism. Thus, the implication part of the
research tries to develop a postcolonial ecclesiology to address the issues that the
schooling faces today. The research brings guidelines and practice for the third
millennium marginalized ecclesia in India, to be studied through theological education.
Contents
Foreword
Preface
Introduction
Part 1
Delineating the Method
1. Mapping a Viable Postcolonial Theory in Reading the Acts of the Apostles
Part 2
The Discursive World of Acts
2. A Brief History of Roman Imperialism and Colonialism in the East
3. The Jewish World and Its Cultural Nationalism
Part 3
Reading of Acts from a Postcolonial Perspective
4. The Narrative that Centers on the Early Christian Witness in the Roman World in and
Around Palestine (Acts 1-12)
5. The Narrative World that Centeres on the Early Christian Witness in the Greco-Roman
World Outside Palestine (Acts 13-28)
6. A Postcolonial Reading of the Acts of the Apostles : Implication for Theological
Education and Action in India
Conclusion
Appendices
Bibliography
Jose L., M.Th., D.Th. (New Testament), is Associate Professor of New
Testament and Dean of Postgraduate Studies at New Theological College, Dehradun. He is
also an ordained minister of Christian Evangelistic Assemblies, New Delhi.
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