The Formal Education of the Author of Luke-Acts

The Formal Education of the Author of Luke-Acts
Author: Steve Reece
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2022-06-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567705897

Steve Reece proposes that the author of Luke-Acts was trained as a youth in the primary and secondary Greek educational curriculum typical of the Eastern Mediterranean during the Roman Imperial period, where he gained familiarity with the Classical and Hellenistic authors whose works were the focus of study. He makes a case for Luke's knowledge of these authors internally by spotlighting the density of allusions to them in the narrative of Luke-Acts, and externally by illustrating from contemporary literary, papyrological, and artistic evidence that the works of these authors were indeed widely known in the Eastern Mediterranean at the time of the composition of Luke-Acts, not only in the schools but also among the general public. Reece begins with a thorough examination of the Greek educational system during the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial periods, emphasizing that the educational curriculum was very homogeneous, at least at the primary and secondary levels, and that children growing up anywhere in the Eastern Mediterranean could expect to receive quite similar educations. His close examination of the Greek text of Luke-Acts has turned up echoes, allusions, and quotations of several of the very authors that were most prominently featured in the school curriculum: Homer, Aesop, Euripides, Plato, and Aratus. This reinforces the view that Luke, along with other writers of the New Testament, lived in a cultural milieu that was influenced by Classical and Hellenistic Greek literature and that he was not averse to invoking that literature when it served his theological and literary purposes.

The Formal Education of the Author of Luke-Acts

The Formal Education of the Author of Luke-Acts
Author: Steve Reece
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2022-06-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567705919

Steve Reece proposes that the author of Luke-Acts was trained as a youth in the primary and secondary Greek educational curriculum typical of the Eastern Mediterranean during the Roman Imperial period, where he gained familiarity with the Classical and Hellenistic authors whose works were the focus of study. He makes a case for Luke's knowledge of these authors internally by spotlighting the density of allusions to them in the narrative of Luke-Acts, and externally by illustrating from contemporary literary, papyrological, and artistic evidence that the works of these authors were indeed widely known in the Eastern Mediterranean at the time of the composition of Luke-Acts, not only in the schools but also among the general public. Reece begins with a thorough examination of the Greek educational system during the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial periods, emphasizing that the educational curriculum was very homogeneous, at least at the primary and secondary levels, and that children growing up anywhere in the Eastern Mediterranean could expect to receive quite similar educations. His close examination of the Greek text of Luke-Acts has turned up echoes, allusions, and quotations of several of the very authors that were most prominently featured in the school curriculum: Homer, Aesop, Euripides, Plato, and Aratus. This reinforces the view that Luke, along with other writers of the New Testament, lived in a cultural milieu that was influenced by Classical and Hellenistic Greek literature and that he was not averse to invoking that literature when it served his theological and literary purposes.

Luke Was Not A Christian: Reading the Third Gospel and Acts within Judaism

Luke Was Not A Christian: Reading the Third Gospel and Acts within Judaism
Author: Joshua Paul Smith
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 358
Release: 2023-12-18
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004684727

In this volume Joshua Paul Smith challenges the long-held assumption that Luke and Acts were written by a gentile, arguing instead that the author of these texts was educated and enculturated within a Second-Temple Jewish context. Advancing from a consciously interdisciplinary perspective, Smith considers the question of Lukan authorship from multiple fronts, including reception history and social memory theory, literary criticism, and the emerging discipline of cognitive sociolinguistics. The result is an alternative portrait of Luke the Evangelist, one who sees the mission to the gentiles not as a supersession of Jewish law and tradition, but rather as a fulfillment and expansion of Israel’s own salvation history.

The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts

The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts
Author: Robert C. Tannehill
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 356
Release:
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781451417227

Tannehill shows how the narrative contributes to the impact of Luke's literary whole. The study further shows that Luke's use of recurring words, patterns of repetition and contrast, irony, pathos, and many other features of this narrative contribute to the total fabric of Luke's masterpiece.

The Acts of the Apostles

The Acts of the Apostles
Author: P.D. James
Publisher: Canongate Books
Total Pages: 93
Release: 1999-01-01
Genre: Bibles
ISBN: 0857861077

Acts is the sequel to Luke's gospel and tells the story of Jesus's followers during the 30 years after his death. It describes how the 12 apostles, formerly Jesus's disciples, spread the message of Christianity throughout the Mediterranean against a background of persecution. With an introduction by P.D. James

A Theology of James, Peter, and Jude

A Theology of James, Peter, and Jude
Author: Peter H. Davids
Publisher: Zondervan Academic
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2014-10-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0310519438

In this volume, Peter Davids offers a comprehensive study of the General or Catholic Epistles of James, 1-2 Peter, and Jude, which are often insufficiently covered in more general New Testament introductions, theologies, and surveys. Before discussing a theology of each of the four letters, Davids first deals with their common aspects—their shared background in the Greco-Roman world and a similar Christology, view of the source of sin, and eschatology—thus justifying their being treated together. In the chapters that follow, Davids embarks upon a theological reading of each letter informed by its social-rhetorical understanding—what they meant in the context of their original cultural settings—including: a survey of recent scholarship, a discussion of relevant introductory issues, a thematic commentary, a treatment of important theological themes, and a discussion of the place of the letter in the biblical canon and its contribution to New Testament theology. The Biblical Theology of the New Testament (BTNT) series provides upper college and seminary-level textbooks for students of New Testament theology, interpretation, and exegesis. Pastors and discerning theology readers alike will also benefit from this series. Written at the highest level of academic excellence by recognized experts in the field, the BTNT series not only offers a comprehensive exploration of the theology of every book of the New Testament, including introductory issues and major themes, but also shows how each book relates to the broad picture of New Testament theology.

Luke's Rhetorical Compositions

Luke's Rhetorical Compositions
Author: Paul Elbert
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2022-07-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1666702838

Luke’s Rhetorical Compositions offers new ideas in Lukan scholarship, especially in regard to Aelius Theon’s first-century rhetoric manual (Progymnasmata) and inter-textual, Lukan-Pauline, biblical studies. Two chapters deserve special mention: the material in chapter 3 is a groundbreaking discussion of Acts 2:38 in which its Greek verb tense speaks to the subsequent reception of the gift of the Holy Spirit following salvation, not coincident with salvation. In Acts 2:38 it is Luke’s intention to portray Peter as promising the gift of the Holy Spirit to hearers and to those beyond narrative time as a Pentecostal experience. Chapter 9 discusses Luke’s use of progymnasmatic examples in his descriptions of the salvation experience. It also discusses Luke’s clarification of Paul using narrative persuasion from Jesus tradition and history. Also, Luke’s use of basic soteriological vocabulary provides clarity and plausibility. His distinctive selection of examples from the Jesus tradition and his duplication of Paul’s soteriological vocabulary is very helpful.

The First Paul

The First Paul
Author: Marcus J. Borg
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2009-03-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0061430722

Bestselling authors of The Last Week and The First Christmas, Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan join once again to present a new understanding of early Christianity—this time to reveal a radical Paul who has been suppressed by the church. Paul is second only to Jesus as the most important person in the birth of Christianity, and yet he continues to be controversial, even among Christians. How could the letters of Paul be used both to inspire radical grace and to endorse systems of oppression—condoning slavery, subordinating women, condemning homosexual behavior? Borg and Crossan use the best of biblical and historical scholarship to explain the reasons for Paul's mixed reputation and reveal to us what scholars have known for decades: that the later letters of Paul were created by the early church to dilute Paul's egalitarian message and transform him into something more "acceptable." They argue there are actually "Three Pauls" in the New Testament: "The Radical Paul" (of the seven genuine letters), "The Conservative Paul" (of the three disputed epistles), and "The Reactionary Paul" (of the three inauthentic letters). By closely examining this progression of Paul's letters—from the authentic to the inauthentic—the authors show how the apostle was slowly but steadily "deradicalized" to fit Roman social norms in regards to slavery, patriarchy, and patronage. In truth, Paul was an appealing apostle of Jesus whose vision of life "in Christ"—one of his favored phrases—is remarkably faithful to the message of Jesus himself.

Wisdom's Feast

Wisdom's Feast
Author: Reid
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2016
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0802873510

Woman Wisdom in Proverbs 9 invites any who want to learn her ways to come and eat at her table--an image for the rich and satisfying teaching that she offers. In this book Barbara Reid invites readers to this feast, drawing on women's wisdom to offer fresh new interpretations of biblical texts in a way that promotes equal dignity and value for women and men alike. Reid begins by presenting feminist methods of biblical interpretation and explaining why they are important, giving attention not only to gender perspectives but also to race, class, and culture as determinative factors in how one understands the biblical text. She then presents fresh, readable feminist interpretations of selected Old and New Testament texts. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions for group or personal use. Making feminist interpretation of Scripture understandable, compelling, and usable, Wisdom's Feastwill be valuable to any readers hungry to learn from the rich insights of feminist biblical scholars.