The writings of the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles are required reading for the student inquiring into the history, culture, and religious sensibilities of earliest Christianity. These writings can be found in the second volume of Wilhelm Schneemelcher’s New Testament Apocrypha: Writings Related to the Apostles, Apocalypses and Other Subjects (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1992). While it is understandable that these texts have been ignored due to the particular theological vision they propound (often in accord with Gnosticism and asceticism), the somewhat bizarre miracles that the apostles are said to have performed, and the overall critical stance that the mainstream church adopted toward these texts, these writings are an indispensable resource for the student of the NT and early Christianity and provide fascinating material for comparison with the canonical Acts of the Apostles. The serious study of these texts can helpfully demonstrate the canonical decisions made by the early church, the diverse and complex religious environment within which the early Christians participated, and the expression of theological sensibilities that the mainstream early Church considered outside the bounds of orthodoxy.

Hans-Josef Klauck’s book, therefore, fills an important lacuna in NT scholarship by providing a detailed introduction to the various writings that make up the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles, the most important being The Acts of John, The Acts of Paul, The Acts of Peter, The Acts of Andrew, The Acts of Thomas, and The Pseudo-Clementines. Klauck, a graduate of the University of Bonn and the University of Munich, now teaches New Testament and Early Christianity at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. Klauck is uniquely suited for this project given that much of his scholarly research has been devoted to situating the NT writings within the historical and religious environment of the Greco-Roman world.

Klauck structures each chapter, which is devoted to one of the particular Apocryphal Acts, into three parts: context, contents, and evaluation. He also provides helpful bibliographical sections throughout each chapter, which makes further inquiry much more manageable. In each “Context” section, Klauck examines the earliest external witnesses to each particular text. The significance of these texts is demonstrated by an examination of their reception in early Christianity. The reader learns, for example, that Augustine quoted portions of the “dance hymn” from the Acts of John (p. 16), that the figure of Thecla from the Acts of Paul and Thecla became the most popular female martyr in the early church, and that the Manichaean Psalter frequently quotes from the Acts of Andrew (p. 114). One of the frustrating difficulties involved in working with these texts is their complicated compositional history, and Klauck briefly summarizes the details involved therein. Questions of genre, date, and provenance are also discussed in this section.

The bulk of Klauck’s work is devoted to describing the “Contents” of each text. This section is not, however, a simple summary but is rather a highly engaging interpretation of the most important components of each work. Thus, Klauck argues that the passion narrative of the Acts of John attempts to correct the Synoptic and Johannine narratives by arguing that the Christ did not really suffer (pp. 33–37). Klauck suggests that the baptized lion (cf. 1 Cor. 15:32) in the Acts of Paul symbolically portrays, in Platonic language, the redemption and extinction of sexual desire (pp. 63–67). Klauck presents a balanced interpretation of “The Song of the Pearl” in the Acts of Thomas, noting its gnostic overtones as well as its allusion to Synoptic parables (pp. 165–67). And Klauck helpfully summarizes and interprets the Marcionite theology of Simon Magus in the Pseudo-Clementines (pp. 214–216).

Each chapter ends with a short section devoted to the “Evaluation” of each text. These sections enable Klauck to make some brief comments regarding the importance and purpose of each text. He suggests, for example, that the group behind the Acts of John comports well with the description of the opponents of the community behind 1 John (p. 41). The importance of the Christian family and the emphasis on the dangers inherent to pagan religion suggests, says Klauck, that for the author of the Pseudo-Clementines “the clash with the pagan world is obviously far from finished” (p. 228). The similarities between Tatian and the Acts of Thomas with respect to the renunciation of marriage and sexual activity, the emphasis on the reunification of the human soul with its heavenly spirit, and the reinterpretation of the rituals of baptism and the Eucharist suggest a common Syrian origin according to Klauck (pp. 177–78).

For most readers, the world of the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles is as fascinating as it is foreign. Klauck’s introduction to these texts is a helpful guide for all who would explore the world opened up by these texts. One aspect that makes this book so successful is Klauck’s ability to succinctly interpret complex material. Nevertheless, I had hoped that Klauck would address more directly, and in more detail, the complex relationship between these texts and the canonical Acts of the Apostles. For example, were these writings intended as replacements of, or supplements to Acts? Or were they written independently of Acts? Additionally, a discussion of the reason that the Acts of the Apostles was received into the NT canon whereas these texts were excluded would have been illuminating. These minor criticisms do not take anything anyway, however, from the value of this book. Students and scholars alike will benefit greatly by using this text as a starting point for research and study of the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles.

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