Stories of Early Christianity

In Stories of Early Christianity, author vanThanh Nguyen brings to life the struggles and adventures of the less-familiar characters found in Acts of the Apostles: Mary from Nazareth, Matthias, Rhoda, John Mark, Cornelius, Barnabas, Dionysius the Areopagite, Lydia, Priscilla and Aquila, and Luke.

Each chapter includes a creative retelling of a biblical event, a reflection drawn from the biblical story, helpful sidebars, and points for personal meditation or group sharing. These narratives of faith and history reveal the miraculous and unpredictable workings of the Holy Spirit in the lives of real people who were saints as well as sinners—and who mirror the lives of all Christians. vanThanh Nguyen, SVD, is associate professor of New Testament studies and the director of the master of divinity program at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois. He is also the author of Peter and Cornelius: A Story of Conversion and Mission (Pickwick, 2012).