Luke Acts And The Rhetoric Of History

Revised thesis (Ph.D.)- -University of Chicago, Chicago, 2003.

In this book, Samson Uytanlet states his observation that there is an unnecessary disjunction between Luke's theology and literature in previous studies on Luke-Acts: Luke's theology is typically studied in light of Jewish writings while Luke's literature is studied in relation with Greco-Roman works. The author shows that there are theological, literary, and ideological elements that ancient Greco-Roman and Jewish writings share which are also present in Luke's work. In areas where they diverge, however, Luke-Acts shows closer affinity to Jewish writings.

A detailed comparative analysis of speaker-audience interactions in Greek historiography, Josephus, and Acts that examines historians’ use of speeches as a means of instructing/persuading their readers and highlights Luke’s distinctive depiction of the apostles as adaptable yet frequently alienating orators.

Most studies of the genre of Luke-Acts underestimate the role of literary divergence in genre analysis. This monograph will show how attention to literary divergence may bring resolution to the increasingly complex discussions of the genre(s) of Luke-Acts.

Addressing a topic of perennial interest in Christian theology, this volume offers a constructive account of the doctrine of providence. Mark Elliott shows that, contrary to received opinion, the Bible has a lot to say about providence as a distinct doctrine within the wider scope of God's acts of salvation. This book by a leading scholar of Christian theology and exegesis is a capstone of years of research on the history and theology of the doctrine of providence.

Luke/Acts and the End of History investigates how understandings of history in diverse texts of the Graeco-Roman period illuminate Lukan eschatology. In addition to Luke/Acts, it considers ten comparison texts as detailed case studies throughout the monograph: Polybius's Histories, Diodorus Siculus's Library of History, Virgil's Aeneid, Valerius Maximus's Memorable Doings and Sayings, Tacitus’s Histories, 2 Maccabees, the Qumran War Scroll, Josephus's Jewish War, 4 Ezra, and 2 Baruch. The study makes a contribution both in its method and in the questions it asks. By placing Luke/Acts alongside a broad range of texts from Luke's wider cultural setting, it overcomes two methodological shortfalls frequently evident in recent research: limiting comparisons of key themes to texts of similar genre, and separating non-Jewish from Jewish parallels. Further, by posing fresh questions designed to reveal writers' underlying conceptions of history—such as beliefs about the shape and end of history or divine and human agency in history—this monograph challenges the enduring tendency to underestimate the centrality of eschatology for Luke's account. Influential post-war scholarship reflected powerful concerns about "salvation history" arising from its particular historical setting, and criticised Luke for focusing on history instead of eschatology due to the parousia’s delay. Though some elements of this thesis have been challenged, Luke continues to be associated with concerns about the delayed parousia, affecting contemporary interpretation. By contrast, this study suggests that viewing Luke/Acts within a broader range of texts from Luke's literary context highlights his underlying teleological conception of history. It demonstrates not only that Luke retains a sense of eschatological urgency seen in other New Testament texts, but a structuring of history more akin to the literature of late Second Temple Judaism than the non-Jewish Graeco-Roman historiographies with which Luke/Acts is more commonly compared. The results clarify not only Lukan eschatology, but related concerns or effects of his eschatology, such as Luke’s politics and approach to suffering. This monograph thereby offers an important corrective to readings of Luke/Acts based on established exegetical habits, and will help to inform interpretation for scholars and students of Luke/Acts as well as classicists and theologians interested in these key questions.

An investigation in to where, how and why Luke interacts with Isaiah; focusing on the importance of the servant motif for Luke, in supplying the job description for Jesus' messianic mission and that of his followers.