Noticed the first pair of Canadian geese here recently, which I suppose means the time of the great big gobs of greasy green goose manure approacheth. I just like saying that, because I hate stepping around it.

Finished Acts on Monday; noticed that it's very much a book with a 3-element theme: 'Christians in the Empire of Rome'. It starts establishing who these people are, where they come from, why they're hated but really needn't be, and moves to how they spread into the Empire, from Jerusalem, Judea, among the Diaspora, into other cities, even down to Ethiopia, etc. (i.e., "the nations", the Gentiles). Major towns and various provinces make an appearance. Then the downslope of the book accelerates, and more and more proconsuls, governors, clients, centurions and their ilk get face time, while Luke talks about how Paul gets entangled with Rome's legal system. Nods to faithfulness to our fathers' religion, some highlighting of Paul among philosophers, and general hammering home that 'if I have done anything wrong, I do not refuse to die, but I am innocent of any real crime', and all that.

The end of the book is pretty much, "how the Christians got to Rome", and goes w/ Paul, qua citizen, as he is passed among Rome's representatives in Jerusalem/Judea like a hot potato. He's not threat, he just wants a fair shake; this leads up to his big apologia, the climax of the book, with the killer exchange w/ Agrippa:

And Agrippa replied to Paul, "In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian."

And Paul said, "I would to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains."