Perspectives On Luke Acts

This book begins by offering a reading of the theological views of Luke-Acts in terms of Peter J. Rabinowitz's authorial audience and closes with reflections on how one might assess the historical value of Acts.

"The gospel of Luke and the book of Acts provde researchers with new perspectives on some of the deepest longings of our time: the search for a transcendent perspective on the meaning of life, yearning for community, and other issues that resonate with contemporary concerns. In this book, Allen raises up common motifs that occur in Luke and Acts and shows how these motifs can be used for effective preaching." --

This volume is a product of the Luke-Acts Task Force of the Catholic Biblical Association. The intended readership of this collection of articles is threefold. The introductory essays address the relative beginner in Biblical studies as well as those who do not specialize in Luke and Acts. These are provided with an overview of Luke, the early Christian writer. The principal reader of this collection, however, is the Biblical student and teacher who requires a relatively comprehensive survey of Lukan studies in terms of content and methodology. Both teacher and student will find in these essays an excellent companion to the actual text of Luke and Acts. At the same time, a number of these essays break new ground and offer a challenge to other New Testament scholars.

John the Baptist as a Rewritten Figure in Luke-Acts compares the Gospel of Luke’s account of John’s ministry with those of Matthew, Mark, and John to make the case for the hypertextual relationship between the synoptic gospels. The book is divided into three parts. Part I situates the Gospel of Luke within the broader context of biblical rewritings and makes the general case that a rewriting strategy can be detected in Luke, while Parts II and III combined offer a more detailed and specific argument for Luke’s refiguring of the public ministry of John the Baptist through the use of omitted, new, adapted, and reserved material. While the "two source hypothesis" typically presupposes the independence of Luke and Matthew in their rewritings of Mark and Q, Chauchot argues that Luke was heavily reliant on Matthew as suggested by the "L/M hypothesis". Approaching the Baptist figure in the synoptic gospels from a literary-critical perspective, Chauchot examines "test cases" of detailed comparative analysis between them to argue that the Gospel of Luke makes thematic changes upon John the Baptist and is best characterized as a highly creative reshaping of Matthew and Mark. Making a contribution to current research in the field of New Testament exegesis, the book is key reading for students, scholars, and clergy interested in New Testament hermeneutics and Gospel writing.

By Jews and turning to Gentiles : the pattern of Paul's mission in Acts / Robert C. Tannehill -- The mission to the Jews in Acts : unraveling Luke's "Myth of the 'myriads'" / Michael J. Cook -- The problem of Jewish rejection in Acts / Joseph B. Tyson.

"The contributors represent varying outlooks in New Testament study so that the book offers a continuation of the current debate rather than a set of agreed conclusions. The editors of this symposium deserve our thanks for bringing together this series of useful essays which no student of the social teaching in the New Testament and of Luke's writings in particular ought to miss." --I. Howard Marshall, Professor of New Testament Exegesis, University of Aberdeen "Various phases of Luke's challenge (to the powers of his day) are discussed in some detail by the contributors to this symposium; and, in consequence, much light is thrown on Luke's purpose in writing. I am happy to commend this new volume of studies to the serious attention of students and teachers of the New Testament and early Christian history." --F. F. Bruce, Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis, University of Manchester "These lively, provocative, and well-informed essays center around the thesis of Dr. Richard J. Cassidy in his Jesus, Politics, and Society, in which he challenges the notion that Luke-Acts was written as a political apologetic. The result is a stimulating debate, as though one were participating in a discussion, at once learned and relevant, on the exegetical issue of Lukan redaction, and of course, on the moral question of Jesus' attitude toward civil authority." -Howard Clark Kee, William Goodwin Aurelio Professor of Biblical Studies, Boston University "Here we have ten studies which sharply probe aspects of the political Luke and/or Luke's political Jesus, including a study by Cassidy himself as well as studies which take him to task on various counts. All told, Political Issues in Luke-Acts is an extremely valuable showcase of the most current research in Luke-Acts and its societal concerns." --Edward C. Hobbs, Professor of Religion, Wellesley College, Visiting Professor of New Testament, Harvard University