by Allan McGregor

Created on: January 31, 2008   Last Updated: February 05, 2008

The way it has been popularly presented, the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Chapter 5 of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles is one of the most frightening and perplexing accounts of the New Testament. For those unfamiliar with it, Ananias and Sapphira were a husband and wife who were struck dead after the Apostle Peter accused them of lying to the Holy Spirit, following a deception perpetrated by them in which they sold a plot of land and pretended to present the whole of the proceeds to the church, while actually giving only part of the money.

For generations, Ananias and Sapphira have been presented as a dishonest Christian couple, who brought God's wrath upon themselves by their duplicity, and suffered the due penalty as a salutary lesson to all believers, to avoid following in their footsteps.

So, is this a true reflection of the biblical account, or quite another story that has been reinterpreted to reinforce a legalistic agenda? To put it bluntly, were Ananias and Sapphira Christian believers at all?

I submit that a close examination of the text, with reference to the "whole counsel of the word of God", sheds an entirely different light on the matter, which demonstrates that not only were Ananias and Sapphira most certainly not believers, but that their tragic fate has been used for centuries to support a legalistic paradigm, designed to control the church.

In its full context, the circumstances occur between Acts 4:32 and 5:11, which begins by telling us that the believers in the early church "were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that any of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common".

The passage further states that "great grace was upon them all", and "as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need".

Cited for special approval in this regard, is a Cypriot Levite called Joseph, who the apostles nick-named Barnabas (meaning, Son of Encouragement).

Chapter 5, then begins with the account of Ananias, with Sapphira, who appear to emulate Barnabas' generosity by selling a property, but who in fact, we are told, "kept back part of the price", while bringing the remainder to the apostles.

However, no doubt much to his surprise, far from receiving the same thanks and approval givewn to Barnabas, Ananias finds himself challenged by Peter who

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