The Craziest Stories That Didn't Make It Into The Bible

Most of the works in the genre of the apocryphal Acts of the Apostles focus on one or two apostles having adventures and usually getting killed at the end. The third-century text known as the Acts of Xanthippe, Polyxena, and Rebecca, however, focuses largely on two sisters (despite being named in the title, Rebecca is actually just a minor character) and their dramatic adventures which feature cameos from a pretty good number of the Twelve Apostles.

The work splits pretty cleanly into two parts, with each part focusing on one sister. Xanthippe's story sees her wishing to convert to Christianity after an account of Paul's preaching from a dying servant causes all the idols in her house to fall down. When her husband refuses to let her be baptized and locks her up, she escapes but is soon attacked by a horde of demons wielding fire and lightning. Paul shows up and rescues her, and she's finally baptized.

The second half is somehow crazier. Xanthippe's sister, Polyxena, receives a vision of being eaten by a dragon that causes her to want to convert, but she's kidnapped by pirates before she can be baptized. She's ultimately saved when the Apostle Philip shows up armed only with a cross and 30 servants but still manages to kill 5,000 trained soldiers. Don't worry, this story also features a cameo by the Apostle Andrew and a talking lion.

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