The Acts of the Apostles is a frustrating book. It chronicles an awful lot in a short space, and in so doing, it leaves out much that I want to know. It could really have stood to have been a dozen or more books on its own. I might go so far as saying that I could do with fewer epistles and more Acts, but two things hold me back. First, my dad used to occasionally warn me against blasphemy and sacrilege. He died several years ago, but he's still warning me about that. The other thing is my own recognition that the early Church did not need history; it needed doctrine. There was no consensus on what it meant to be a Christian so the epistles outline the space within which Christianity can exist. Had Alexander not Hellenized Judea, this may not have been so important, but a culture infused with Plato and Aristotle could hardly be satisfied with John 3:17 as a core belief.
The Acts of the Apostles tells us that Philip was a deacon, one of the first seven chosen to take care of the poor while the Twelve evangelized. It's a little perplexing that Philip becomes such an evangelist, but I guess that's covered by Saul's harassment of the Church in Jerusalem driving the leaders like Philip elsewhere.
Three notable things happen to Philip in Acts 8. First, he performs many healings and miracles in Samaria, which is nice because in the parable, the Samaritan was the good one. Of course it was notable because the Samaritans were traditional enemies of the Jews, but that might have made them good prospects for conversion. None of this is covered, but the conversion of Simon Magus is described. Simon had been impressing locals with his claim of supernatural powers, but when he saw Philip's miracles, he admitted that this was the real deal. He converted on the spot, accepted baptism, and then offered mad cash in exchange for some of those divine powers. Peter, who happened to be there (?), gave him hell for this (literally, explaining that Simon was bound for Hell). The Power of God is a gift -- it cannot be bought, sold, or exchanged for store credit. As Jonah found out, it cannot even be returned, no backsies. Simon wisely asked the apostles to pray for his salvation, and then he exited the text until he and Peter meet in Rome for a wizard vs. apostle duel.
Philip is credited with founding the Church of Ethiopia (Irie!) [Yeah, I know that's not Ethiopian, but Rastafarian is as close as I can get today, with apologies to Yared, Ray-J, Nazra, and all other Ethiopians.] He didn't actually go there, but he met the Eunuch of Queen Candace, who had gone to the Temple in Jerusalem to pray. Remember, the Ethiopians had been monotheists since Solomon's time. The Eunuch was sitting in his chariot, reading Isaiah. Philip jumped up and offered a Christian explanation of the text. The Eunuch accepted baptism and then returned to Ethiopia to spread the Word. Still no word about how the poor were faring, but the evangelism was going great guns.
Philip eventually wound up at home with his four virgin daughters, all with the gift of prophecy. This is perhaps the most frustrating part of all for me. First, where was Mrs. Philip? Did he abandon his family to be a deacon? Were there any little ben-Philips or just daughters? Did the first century Christian practice support nuclear families, or was the language that Jesus used when demanding the abandonment of parents for Him a guiding practice?
I like the book, but a few more details would offer a lot clearer picture.
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