Acts 4:12: No Other Name Under Heaven

Abstract

This paper, given at the Edinburgh Christology Conference 2002, challenges the reading of Acts 4:12 that supports a restrictive attitude to the possibility of salvation for non-Christians. It first of all sets out what the text does and does not teach, and considers the problems posed by reading it with presuppositions as has frequently been the case. Instead it is proposed that the text be read within its wider context and a case is made for a less restrictive interpretation. The implications of this for a theology of missions are also examined.

[A version of this paper also appeared in Crockett and Sigountos, eds.: Through No Fault of Their Own?: The Fate of Those Who Have Never Heard (Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Book House, 1991).]