Narrative Characterizations of Peter and Paul in Early Christianity

Abstract

haracterization in the book of Acts is interesting for several reasons. Scholars have long noted how the characterization of Paul and his message in Acts varies significantly from the image of Paul developed from his authentic letters. Although investigations into the theological differences between the Paul of Acts and the Paul of the letters has long interested scholars and has therefore generated a significant amount of research,1 I wish investigate two less traveled avenues of research. First, rather than comparing the Paul of Acts with the Paul of the letters, I want to broaden the inquiry to investigate the characterization of both Peter and Paul in a broader collection of early Christian narratives. I will compare the Peter and the Paul of the canonical Acts with the Peter and the Paul of the non-canonical, apocryphal Acts.2 Second, rather than investigating theological aspects of characterization in the canonical and apocryphal Acts, I wish to investigate economic aspects of the characterizations of Peter and Paul in these documents. As a result of this investigation, I hope to illustrate how a better understanding of Peter's and Paul's economic, social and temporal locations within Christian narratives is conducive to a better understanding of early Christianity itself. Peter and Paul in the Canonical ActsIn the canonical Acts of the Apostles, the characterizations of the eco nomic situations of Peter and of Paul are strikingly different. On the