By What Power

The Book of Acts, Autocracy, and the Power of Resistance

Eric C. Smith

• Publisher: Chalice Press
• Year: 2026
• eBook ISBN:
  9780827203570
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

The political systems, economic forces, and cultural powers that shape modern life often seem too large to understand and too entrenched to challenge. It's easy to wonder where an individual fits within such overwhelming structures, or whether meaningful change is even possible. But this struggle is not new. In By What Power, Eric C. Smith serves as your guide through the book of Acts, helping you discover how a small movement found its voice under the shadow of the Roman Empire. Rather than treating Acts as a distant religious artifact, Smith reveals it as a powerful narrative about power itself. Through the stories and voices woven throughout Acts, you'll see how the early Jesus Movement survived, adapted, and challenged the assumptions of its age while living at the margins of empire. As you follow this journey, you'll gain a new lens for understanding the powers that shape our own world. The questions facing the earliest Christians remain strikingly familiar: How does resistance begin? How do communities endure under systems that seem immovable? Where can hope be found when power appears concentrated in the hands of a few? By What Power equips you to recognize the dynamics of power, understand how transformative movements emerge, and imagine your place in the pursuit of a more just and equitable community.

Table of contents

• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• PART I: The Conditions of Autocracy and Empire
• PART II: The Strategies of Autocracy and Empire
• PART III: Living under Autocracy
• CONCLUSION
• Postscript