Eric C. Moore. Claiming Places: Reading Acts through the Lens of Ancient Colonization

Abstract

In this revised dissertation completed at Emory University under the supervision of Carl R. Holladay, Eric Moore notes that numerous scholars label Acts a story of origins or foundations that emphasizes community replication but that very few seek to situate this aspect of the story within its ancient Mediterranean context. Thus, Moore argues, simply and convincingly, that Acts is illuminated when it is read “in light of a specific topos in Mediterranean antiquity: civic or community origins” (p. 2). Moore uses the term and concept “colonization” to refer to community replication and the variety of standard features found in these ancient stories.Moore argues that while “the subject matter of Acts is the foundation and replication of the Christian community” (p. 12), this insight is not one that can be used to determine the specific genre of Acts given that stories of colonization pervade a variety of different types of texts and nonliterary media. Moore unpacks his primary argument in four lengthy chapters (chs. 2–5). Moore first establishes a framework for understanding Acts and colonization through a detailed study of Greek and Roman stories of community/civic replication (ch. 2, “Colonization—An Analytic Framework”). The chapter is divided into two major sections: the first section examines three major colonization motifs. Most colonization stories, for example, emphasize the origins of the new community and often as a result of a crisis such as civic conflict, droughts, plagues, and threats from foreign countries. New communities are often replicated by means of divine sanction whether that be through oracles or the involvement of the gods. The stories also frequently refer to the founder of the new community as one who often has a divine calling to form and establish the colony’s identity. The second section of the chapter is a thorough examination of a variety of colonization stories from Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman sources and successfully shows how origins, divine sanction, and founders/leaders pervade the stories.In chs. 3–5, Moore tests his thesis with respect to Acts. Moore argues that the early chapters of Acts function “like a foundation account” (p. 88), which traces how the “mother community” of the Jerusalem church is replicated in other locations—especially Antioch (ch. 3, “The Origins of the Cult Community in Jerusalem [Acts 1–5]”). Acts 1–2 contains the colonization motifs of the founding figures (Jesus and the 12 apostles), origins (Jerusalem is specified as the site of divine activity), and divine sanction (the emphasis on the Holy Spirit). Intriguing here is the way in which the geographical list in Acts 2:9–11 previews the text’s emphasis on community replication.Chapter 4 (“Antioch of Syria—Colony and Mother Community”) examines how the Jerusalem church is replicated in Syrian Antioch due to the crisis of the persecution of the Jerusalem church. Luke shows that members of the Jerusalem community within Antioch results in Antioch maintaining its close ties with Jerusalem. Divine sanction for the new community is evident by means of the note that “the hand of the Lord was with them” (Acts 11:21) and “he [Barnabas] was full of the Holy Spirit” (11:24). The transfer of the worshiping community to Antioch leads to a mixed community of both Jews and Gentiles—mixed communities being another common motif among colonization stories. But Antioch of Syria is also a mother community as it sponsors colonizing missions, and these stories contain the same colonizing motifs (see Acts 13:1–4).The final chapter (ch. 5, “Pisidian Antioch and the Rhetoric of Second-Generation Colonization”) shows how Paul (and Barnabas) is depicted as replicating a Christian community in the Roman colony of Pisidian Antioch. The chapter offers an insightful analysis of Paul’s lengthy sermon (Acts 13:17–41) by showing how it resonates with familiar colonizing themes.Moore’s book is an excellent example of the profitability of reading Acts within a robust analysis of its broader ancient Mediterranean world. His third chapter on ancient colonizing motifs is a rich resource for others interested in cult transfer stories in antiquity. His argument that Acts is an example of ancient colonizing rhetoric enables him to give historical substance to the fairly obvious claim that Acts is a foundation document, which emphasizes community replication. Ancient colonization stories do not explain everything related to the origins of the church, of course (and Moore notes this), and so this study is one very useful supplement to our understanding of Acts 1–5 (and the emphasis on community replication).