Acts 1-2

(June 18, 2015)

                There are, of course, those who would discount the witness of the Apostles.  But what they consistently fail to answer for is the behavior (particularly the changes of behavior) of the Apostles after the Resurrection.  There is no doubt that the Apostles were scattered, in hiding, and utterly defeated.  Then, around a month later, those same Apostles were in the temple openly teaching Christ the Son of God.  These are truths that are documented from secular as well as religious sources, so they are hard to discount.

                To what does the non-believer attribute the change of behavior? Our behavior demonstrates our beliefs, and looking at my life and my actions tends to give a pretty good understanding (I imagine) to both what I believe and to the strength of the evidence for which I believe it.  So too with the Apostles – what could explain the change from them running and in hiding to openly accepting martyrdom other than what they say happened?

                The other thought was in the true demonstration of the Gift of Tongues.  Noticeably, those miraculously speaking in tongues were not speaking gibberish – they were speaking in an unknown tongue.  When those around came forward, they recognized their native languages as being spoken.  This, of course, makes sense – Gifts of the Spirit aren’t mere parlor tricks but a means of bringing the Gospel forth.