Stories of Early Christianity: Creative Retellings of Faith and History

In an engaging and imaginative style, Stories of Early Christianity recounts important events found in the book of Acts. vanThanh Nguyen brings to life the extraordinary events of various (mostly unknown) characters found in this scriptural text as they share their adventures and struggles as Christianity was beginning to take shape. The characters who narrate their own experience include Mary from Nazareth, Matthias, Rhoda, John Mark, Cornelius, Barnabas, Dionysius the Areopagite, Lydia, Priscilla and Aquila, and Luke. Though "imaginative retellings," this book remains true to the spirit of the person revealed in the Acts of the Apostles. These stories are actually narratives of faith and history. Each chapter contains a creative retelling of the biblical event, a reflection on a key trait of a healthy spirituality drawn from the biblical story, sidebars, and a list of points for personal meditation or group sharing. The book focuses on the miraculous and unpredictable working of the Holy Spirit in the lives of real people who are saints as well as sinners and mirror the lives of all Christians.