In chapters 13 and 14 of Acts, Luke begins to document an exciting new phase in Paul's life - his mission to the Gentiles. The drama, close-calls and poignant moments of his activities read like a modern-day movie. And like any good on-the-road adventure story, Luke keeps reintroducing a persistent opposing force to Paul and his fellow travelers. The ongoing struggle between the synagogue and these new Christians - Jew and Gentile - repeats again and again.

So many of the Gentiles we read about in scripture are "God-fearers" and synagogue hangers-on that it is easy to forget that the vast majority of the population was caught up in worshiping a pantheon of gods - some beneficent, some malevolent, all unpredictable. Their world view was so different than that of an observant Jew or new Chri…