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After Acts: Exploring the Lives and Legends of the Apostles by Bryan Litfin is an academic look at what history says about the main characters of the New Testament. Litfin examines church history and tradition as well as other historical sources to prove or debunk common theories of what happened to the disciples, Paul, and Jesus' mother Mary after what is recorded in the pages of the New Testament.

Litfin does a good job of setting up the study of this topic. He discusses what he means when he uses certain terms. He also lays out the most common schools of thought within the study of early Christian history and identifies where he lands. He makes this easy to understand. His examination of each person is organized well and each chapter ends with a handy "report card" that grades the probability/reliability of each tradition discussed within the chapter.

The lack of concrete historical evidence makes this more of an examination of common thoughts or traditions than an actual account of what happened. It is an interesting read, though it doesn't have as much detail as I had hoped. This isn't the author's fault however. He does a good job with what is available.

I would recommend After Acts to anyone interested in the people in the Bible as historical characters, as it is accessible to any type of reader.

I received this book free from Moody Publishers as part of their Moody Publishers Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, See Part 255