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The Acts of the Apostles

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130 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES<br />

It is also scarcely possible that <strong>the</strong> remaining<br />

speeches are <strong>the</strong> product <strong>of</strong> pure invention (if <strong>the</strong>y<br />

were so <strong>the</strong> highest praise would be due to <strong>the</strong> author's<br />

creative and yet astonishingly correct imagination).<br />

How distinctly <strong>the</strong> speech <strong>of</strong> St. Stephen stands out<br />

from all <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs ! <strong>The</strong> subject itself <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> speech<br />

is quite peculiar, and not according to <strong>the</strong> mind<br />

<strong>of</strong> St. Luke, who had great reverence for <strong>the</strong> religio<br />

antiqua <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Jews. In <strong>the</strong> parallel speeches <strong>of</strong> St.<br />

Peter (ii. 14 /. and iii. 12 /.) <strong>the</strong> eschatological im-<br />

plication <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> outpouring <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Spirit is strongly<br />

emphasised, while St. Luke himself seems to regard<br />

this outpouring only as <strong>the</strong> foundation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> mission,<br />

and facts <strong>the</strong>mselves had refuted <strong>the</strong> combination <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> outpouring <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Spirit with <strong>the</strong> Final Judg-<br />

ment. Again our Lord appears as avrjp oLTroSeSeiyfjLcvog<br />

OTTO Tov Ocov (ii. 22), whom God had first made<br />

Christ by <strong>the</strong> Resurrection from <strong>the</strong> dead (ii. 36), or<br />

again as Traig Oeou (iii. 13, cf. iii. 26 ; iv. 27 : o ayloi<br />

7rai9 (TOV ''lr](Tovg, ov €yoi(rav Koi iw/mevog . . . OTi 6 Ocog fjv /ulct airroi/,<br />

is unique in <strong>the</strong> whole non -evangelic literature. Here<br />

again <strong>the</strong> eschatological point <strong>of</strong> view is strongly<br />

emphasised (x. 42), and <strong>the</strong> words: acpecriv ajmapTioov<br />

Xafieiv Sia tov ovo/maTO^ avTOv ivavTa tov iricTTevovTa<br />

et? avTov (x. 43) are certainly not borrowed from<br />

Paulinism, but contain primitive doctrine. Again

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