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Luke's accurate use of official titles in the book of = Acts

The book of Acts covers the beginning of the Church, from about = AD 30=20 to AD 62. The author, Luke, describes in some detail the = travels of=20 the apostle Paul and his co-workers in present day Turkey and = Greece. In=20 describing the local officials Paul bumped up against, the author = uses a=20 range of different titles. For example, he talks about=20 praetors in Philippi, calls Publius the first = man of=20 Malta, refers to the Asiarchs who governed Ephesus, and = calls the=20 city council of Thessalonika politarchs. (Acts chapter 17 verse 6)

In the past, scholars 'knew' that Luke was an inaccurate and = unreliable=20 historian, who did not know what he was writing about, or perhaps = just=20 could not be bothered to be consistent in his use of official=20 titles. For example, there was absolutely no known use of = the word=20 'politarch' anywhere in Greek literature. Luke must have got it = wrong!

But recent discoveries have shown that a range of different = titles were=20 in use at the time for local government officials, and that - = wherever we=20 know what the title was - the author of Acts got it right.

For example, in 1835, a Greek inscription was discovered on an = arch at=20 Thessalonika, which contained the title 'politarch'. (The arch = itself was=20 destroyed in 1867, but the inscription is now in the British=20 Museum.) Since then, this term has been found in a large = number of=20 other inscriptions - several of them at Thessalonika.

Luke's use of different titles in other places has also been = confirmed=20 by archaeological discoveries. And the same careful and accurate = person=20 who wrote Acts also wrote Luke's gospel. In the introduction = to his=20 Gospel, he says this:

Many people have written accounts about the = events=20 that took place among us. They used as their source material the = reports=20 circulating among us from the early disciples and other = eyewitnesses of=20 what God has done in fulfillment of his promises. Having carefully = investigated all of these accounts from the beginning, I have = decided to=20 write a careful summary for you, to reassure you of the truth of = all you=20 were taught. (Gospel of Luke, chapter 1 verses 1-4)

So discoveries in archaeology have confirmed that Luke, the = author of=20 'Acts', was a careful and accurate historian, with first-hand = knowledge of=20 his subject, who was accurate in his use of titles for government=20 officials. This is yet more confirmation that the Bible is real = history:=20 real people, in real places.

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Luke's accurate use of official titles in the book of = Acts

What's new on the site?

'The Passion of the Christ'

Have scientists created life?