Ancient Apostles

McKay, David O. (David Oman), 1873-1970Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.5

Word count: 315K words
Chapters: 32

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Ancient Apostles by David O. McKayAuthor: McKay, David O. (David Oman), 1873-1970,Language: English, Class: BX: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Christianity: Churches, Church movements, Release Date: Mar 8, 2017

Editor's review

This book is a study of religious figures by David O. McKay, a prominent leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Centered on the apostolic group in the New Testament, it traces their role and witness in the development of the early Church. McKay combines the identity of a church leader with long preaching experience; his writing emphasizes faith exposition and moral exhortation rather than purely academic inquiry, making it closer to devotional reading for believers. The portrayals of the apostles' character, missionary journeys, and spirit of martyrdom offer readers a faith perspective for understanding the early Christian movement. For readers studying church history or the New Testament background, this book can serve as a primary religious text for reference, but it should be used alongside scholarly commentaries to balance its apologetic character. Readers should appreciate its sermon-like solemn tone and understand it in the context of mid-twentieth-century religious writing.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Religious readers interested in the apostolic group of early Christianity
Members and researchers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Church workers needing devotional reading and sermon material
Humanities scholars studying twentieth-century religious writing styles

Not a good fit for

Academic readers seeking strict historical criticism and textual analysis
General readers who prefer novelistic narrative and plot tension
Atheist readers impatient with the genre of religious exhortation

Reading tips

First read the relevant chapters of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament, then compare them with the author's interpretive stance in this book.
After each chapter, note the author's core exhortations and trace the logic of his faith-based arguments.
Read alongside scholarly works on church history to distinguish devotional interpretation from historical fact.
Best read one chapter a day in quiet moments, with notes for reflection.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book an academic historical study?

No, it is not a strict academic monograph. The author, McKay, was a church leader, and his writing focuses on faith exposition and moral exhortation, with historical sources serving devotional purposes. For historical criticism, read it alongside professional works on New Testament background and early church history, treating this book as a religious text rather than a historical study.

Can readers outside this church tradition understand it?

They can grasp the general meaning. The language is solemn but not obscure, and the book mainly revolves around the deeds of the New Testament apostles. Readers outside this church tradition should note the author's specific doctrinal stance; where interpretations differ from mainstream Christianity, consult other commentaries for comparison and avoid taking the book's views as universal consensus.

What should be noted when reading the electronic edition?

This is an English public-domain eBook released by Project Gutenberg, with plain formatting and no modern annotations or index. Use reading software that supports bookmarks and full-text search for easy reference to names and scripture passages; note that this is the original English text, and Chinese readers may wish to keep the Chinese Union Version of the Bible for comparison.

Related on WeRead

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

McKay, David O. (David Oman), 1873-1970 Author

David O. McKay (1873–1970) is the author of Ancient Apostles. Publicly available information about his life, nationality, and education is limited, so this introduction focuses mainly on his surviving work. Judging from the title and subject matter, the book deals with the apostles of early Christian history and related events; it belongs to the field of religious history and biographical writing and is intended for readers interested in the early development of the church. Little can be said in detail about McKay's style from the available sources, but in treating this subject he combines attention to persons with historical narrative in a plain and straightforward manner. Only one of his works is currently held in the library, which suggests that his writings have not yet been systematically introduced to Chinese readers. For those studying early apostolic tradition and religious biography, Ancient Apostles remains a useful reference text, chiefly valuable for offering a relatively concentrated narrative framework of the apostolic figures.