𝐔𝐧𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐘𝐞𝐭 𝐔𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞: 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝟒:𝟏𝟑

 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝟒:𝟏𝟑 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭-𝐋𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡

(Integrating Allen Hilton, Chris Keith, and Jeff Reed for a New Paradigm of Theological Education)

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” — Acts 4:13

This singular verse in Acts captures the tension between societal expectations of literacy and spiritual authority. It is a moment in which divine empowerment confounds cultural norms. Peter and John—untrained, ordinary men—speak with authority before the religious elite, leaving the Sanhedrin astonished. But the key to their influence was not education, but communion: “They had been with Jesus.”

Three pivotal works help reframe this reality: Allen Hilton’s Illiterate Apostles, Chris Keith’s Jesus’ Literacy, and Jeff Reed’s Uneducated Apostles (The Encyclicals, Chapter 7). Together, these voices expose the myth of credentialed superiority and articulate a theology of divine literacy—where the Spirit replaces scribal schooling and local churches become the classrooms of mission.

I. Hilton’s Illiterate Apostles: Transforming Illiteracy into Theological Boldness

Hilton provocatively asks: Why did early Christians highlight rather than hide the illiteracy of their leaders? In the Greco-Roman world, literacy conferred status, power, and public credibility. Yet Luke, in Acts 4:13, does the unthinkable: he affirms that the apostles’ authority arises not from their education but from their relationship with Jesus and the power of the Spirit.

The Greek term agrammatoi (ἀγράμματοι), meaning “unlettered,” is not a flaw to overcome but a badge of honor. In Luke’s narrative, Peter and John speak with parrhēsia—fearless boldness traditionally reserved for philosophers or statesmen. Hilton identifies this as a rhetorical and theological reversal. The apostles’ ignorance becomes a spiritual strategy: a boldness rooted in presence, not pedagogy.

This “holy ignorance” redefines wisdom. Against critics like Celsus and Galen who mocked Christian intellectual capacity, early believers didn’t apologize—they reimagined education itself. Wisdom was no longer a matter of dialectics or rhetoric but of faithfulness and divine communion. Acts 4:13 becomes a subversive apologetic: God uses the unlettered to shame the wise (cf. 1 Cor. 1:27).

II. Keith’s Jesus’ Literacy: Breaking the Literate-Illiterate Binary

Where Hilton defends the apostles' illiteracy, Chris Keith offers a nuanced examination of Jesus' own literacy. He critiques the simplistic binary between the “literate” and “illiterate” and suggests a spectrum within Second Temple Judaism that includes oral performers, hearing readers, and full scribes.

Jesus likely belonged to the “functionally literate”—a teacher able to read and engage Scripture publicly (e.g., Luke 4:16–20), but not part of the Temple scribal elite. Keith’s critical insight is that early Christians preserved both literate and oral portrayals of Jesus to emphasize not academic status, but spiritual authority rooted in relationship with God.

Thus, when Peter and John speak with parrhēsia, they echo their Master—not in scribal training, but in Spirit-led proclamation. The synagogue may have prized trained scribes, but the Church, remembering Jesus, prized teachers who spoke with divine conviction. Jesus’ literacy is reframed not by his ability to write, but by his power to transform hearts through speech.

III. Reed’s Uneducated Apostles: Recovering the Kerygma-Didache Model for Today’s Church

Jeff Reed builds upon these insights by directly addressing the 21st-century crisis in theological education. In his encyclical Uneducated Apostles (The Encyclicals, Chapter 7), he critiques the modern seminary model for replacing spiritual formation with academic accreditation. He asserts that theological education must be reclaimed by the local church—just as it was in Acts.

Reed identifies the kerygma–didache framework as the foundation of apostolic leadership development. First, the gospel is proclaimed (kerygma), then believers are established in the apostles’ teaching (didache). This formation happened not in ivory towers but in living communities—through mentoring, immersion, and Spirit-empowered practice.

He proposes a Church-Based Theological Education (C-BTE) model, which:

• Anchors learning in local churches
• Trains through apprenticeship, not abstraction
• Uses scalable curricula across literacy levels
• Recognizes leaders based on proven character and ability to teach—not degrees

The early church never waited for seminaries to train elders. They equipped leaders through communal life, oral teaching, and ongoing service. Reed's vision revitalizes this model in a global context, especially in oral-majority cultures.

IV. Acts 4:13 as a Philosophical Pivot in Christian Education

These three perspectives converge at Acts 4:13, not as an anomaly, but as a manifesto. It signals the collapse of elitist credentials and the rise of Spirit-shaped boldness. Consider the paradigm it reveals:

• Oral authority over written credentials
• Spiritual apprenticeship over academic degrees
• Boldness through encounter with Christ—not rhetorical finesse

Peter and John astonish the Sanhedrin not with syllabi but with Spirit. Their qualification is singular: “They had been with Jesus.” The implication for today is radical. The Church must shift its emphasis from the seminary to the sanctuary, from certification to commendation, from information to transformation.

This pivot is not merely educational but missional. It challenges the export of Western academic models into contexts where oral traditions thrive. As Reed notes, in the Global South, many leaders are “craftsman-literate” or oral learners—yet they are leading churches, evangelizing cities, and discipling nations. They need frameworks that affirm their calling, not undermine it.

V. Conclusion: Reimagining Theological Authority for a Global Church

Hilton, Keith, and Reed collectively declare: God does not call the credentialed; He credentials the called. The authority of the early church came not from scrolls but from surrender. Their theology was learned not in lecture halls but in households, marketplaces, and prisons. Their speech was bold not because of literacy, but because of Jesus.

In Acts 4:13, the astonishment of the Sanhedrin becomes the paradigm for leadership: those who have been with Jesus will speak with power, regardless of educational status.

As we reimagine theological education for the global church, we must:

• Value spiritual presence over paper qualifications
• Build community-centered learning models
• Train in the rhythms of local church life
• Equip both oral and literate learners
• Affirm that the Spirit makes teachers, not titles

Let the Church not replicate colonial academic systems. Let it raise a new generation of “uneducated apostles”—whose speech may lack polish, but whose lives shine with parrēsia. In them, the world will once again recognize that they have been with Jesus.

“They were amazed…and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”
In every generation, that is the credential that counts.