Includes bibliographical references (p. 160-165) and indexes.

Ch. 1. Acts 1-2 the journey begins : communal religious trance experiences (ASCs) -- Ch. 2. Acts 3-5 temple tours : God acts in the temple and a private home -- Ch. 3. Acts 6-12 the journey beyond Jerusalem : individuals and communal ASCs -- Ch. 4. Acts 13:1-21:36 journeys into non-Israelite territory -- Ch. 5. Acts 21:37-28:15 prisoner's progress -- Acts 28:16-31 the journey concludes -- App. 1. Outline of Acts -- App. 2. Rite and trance -- App. 3. A ceremonial rite for experiencing the realm of God in altered states of consciousness.

"This book examines religious ecstatic trance experiences and healing events reported in the Acts of the Apostles. It applies insights from the social sciences, namely: cultural anthropology, cognitive neuro-science, and medical anthropology to the interpretation of these events. It also presents Luke's continuous story-line in Acts from a literary and theological perspective. Whether or not one considers these events to be literally factual, fact-with-interpretation, or Lucan composition, the message makes plausible cultural sense to a first-century Mediterranean listener or reader."--BOOK JACKET.