The Triumph of Christianity
“As for the triumph of Christianity, no student of civilization will ever underestimate its importance. Its victory over paganism was the purest ever won. For it was won by witnessing and enduring, by loving and suffering, by pouring out innocent blood. Conjecture loses itself in attempting to explain the 'why' and the 'how.' It was won by weak men and women, slaves often, and people of no social standing, but it was won against all the power and intellectual pride and prejudice of the civilized world.”
William Stearns Davis, Readings in Ancient History: Rome and the West
The Acts 2020 Project Mission
We want you to do more than read. We want you to engage.
The Acts 2020 Project is an investigative portal and tactical resource for making disciples—not just a website. It is designed to bridge the gap between early Christian events and 21st-century cultural engagement.
While traditional studies on the Book of Acts focus on the "What" of the early Church, this project examines the "Why" and the "How." We focus on specific evidence from Acts that equips us for productive conversations with 21st-century “neo-pagans.” By examining decades of exhaustive research from Dr. John MacArthur using modern “search and synthesis” technology, we provide a tactical manual for today’s Christian.
The Forensic Standard
To navigate in a culture of subjective "truths," we believe it is important to apply what we call a Forensic Standard to our study of the Word. While we realize “forensic” is not a biblical or theological word and can be somewhat jarring to scholars, we ask your indulgence in this website. We believe it helps explain our purpose through a modern term neophyte Christians (like me) can understand.
Forensic [fə-rĕn-sĭk]: Relating to the application of scientific methods and techniques to the investigation of facts for a court of law.
We do not treat the Book of Acts as merely ancient "religious literature" that has little application in our modern world. Instead, we treat it respectfully as a Forensic Record that should guide humanity today. When Peter and Paul (and the many believers who followed over Christianity’s first 3 centuries) confronted the Roman world, they didn’t offer "spiritual feelings"; they presented Infallible Proofs - tekmērion (τεκμήριον). They appealed to physical locations, forensic facts (like the Empty Tomb), and eyewitness testimony. Our methodology follows this same rigor: we examine (sometimes we use another non-biblical term “audit”) the historical evidence from the 1st Century to build a logical, evidence-based explanation of truth for application in our 21st Century increasingly-secular society.
The Current Landscape: The Neo-Pagan Shift
We operate on the premise that the Western world has moved into a "Neo-Pagan" era. This is not a "pre-Christian" world, but a "post-Christian" one that has intentionally abandoned its Christian memory.
The Parallel: Modern secular skepticism, naturalistic mockery, and pluralistic confusion are identical to the environment Peter, Paul and other evangelists faced in the Roman Empire.
The Opportunity: Because the landscape has returned to 1st-century conditions, the Apostolic strategies found in the Book of Acts are effective tools for engaging our secular friends, relatives, and colleagues. While we do not have the apostle’s ability to perform “signs, wonders and miracles”, we have an essential resource not available in Apostolic times - the written word of God.
The Investigative Methodology
The Project utilizes Seven Biblical Lenses to examine the text of Acts. Each portal page encourages you to "Ask John" for detailed answers in our Interactive Research Hub.
This specialized database contains only Dr. MacArthur’s decades of teaching through the Book of Acts. Using state-of-the-art search and synthesis technology and lessons from the Book of Acts, you will extract specific rebuttals to modern skepticism.
To learn how to effectively use our unique resources, go to The Practice Lab.