Foreword -- Abbreviations of Periodicals and Reference Works -- Chapter 1: Tis a Strange World -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Ancient Literary Styles -- 3. The strange acts and scholarship -- 4. The strange god of the Christians -- 5. Some Greek and Roman attitudes towards the miraculous -- 6. The purpose of the strange acts -- Chapter 2: Up, Up, and Away? -- 1. The ascension (Acts 1.9-11) -- 2. The ascension as vision -- 3. The vision of angels (Acts 1.10) -- 4. Ascensions in other literature -- 5. The ascension narrative and its worship setting -- Chapter 3: Spirit Matters -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Non-Jewish understandings of spirit -- 3. Spirit as overwhelming power -- 4. Spirit as angel and person -- 5. Wind, fire and holy spirit (Acts 2.1-13) -- 6. The swaying temple (Acts 4.24-31) -- 7. Snatched by the Spirit (Acts 8.39) -- 8. Prevented by the spirit (Acts 16.6-7) -- 9. Spirit contradictions (Acts 20.22-23 -- 21.4-15) -- 10. Healing those with evil and unclean spirits -- 11. Peter and the unclean spirits (Acts 5.16) -- 12. Philip and the unclean spirits (Acts 8.7) -- 13. Paul and the evil spirits (Acts 19.12) -- 14. The exorcists and the evil spirits (Acts 19.13-17) -- 15. Paul and Python (Acts 16.16-18) -- Chapter 4: On the Side of the Angels -- 1. Angels in the ancient literature -- 2. Angel-faced Stephen (Acts 6.15) -- Chapter 5: Seeing Things -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Visions in the wider literature -- 3. The first visions (Acts 1.1-11) -- 4. Stephen's vision (Acts 7.54-56) -- 5. Ananias's vision (Acts 9.10-16) -- 6. Cornelius's vision (Acts 10.1-8) -- 7. Peter's ecstasic vision (Acts 10.9-16) -- 8. Paul's visions -- 8.1. The vision near Damascus (Acts 9.3-9 -- 22. 6-11 -- 26.12-18) -- 8.2. The vision in the temple (Acts 22.17-21) -- 8.3. The Vision at Troas (Acts 16.9-10) -- 8.4. The vision in Corinth (Acts 18.9-10).

8.5. Another vision in Jerusalem (Acts 23.11) -- 8.6. Paul's last vision (Acts 27.23) -- Chapter 6: The Power of Bodies and Words -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Peter's shadow (Acts 5.15) -- 3. Paul's kerchiefs and belts (Acts 19.11) -- 4. The curses of Peter and Paul -- 4.1. The curse on Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5.1-11) -- 4.2. The curse on Simon (Acts 8.9-24) -- 4.3. The curse on Bar Jesus (Acts 13.6-12) -- 5. Shaving heads, shaking clothes, and making vows (Acts 18.18 -- 21.23-24 -- 18.6) -- Chapter 7: Raising the Dead -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Death among the holy ones (Acts 9.36-42) -- 3. Paul stoned (Acts 14.19) -- 4. Death of a youth (Acts 20.7-12) -- Chapter 8: Great Prison Escapes -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The first escape (Acts 5.19) -- 3. Peter's second escape (Acts 12.1-17) -- 4. Paul at Midnight (Acts 16.25-34) -- 5. The heat on Paul in Malta (Acts 28.1-6) -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- 1. Ancient Greek and Latin Texts -- 2. Reference Texts -- 3. Commentaries on the Acts of the Apostles -- 4. Secondary Literature -- Index of References -- 1. Old Testament -- 2. Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha -- 3. New Testament -- 4. Dead Sea Scrolls -- 5. Rabbinic and Other Jewish Literature -- 6. Early Christian Literature -- 7. Ancient Greek Writers -- 8. Ancient Latin Writers -- 9. Papyri -- Index of Modem Authors.