Luke among the Ancient Historians

Luke among the Ancient Historians PDF Author: John J. Peters
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1666731889
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
For centuries scholars have analyzed the composition of Luke-Acts presupposing that the reference to “many” accounts in Luke’s Preface indicates the written texts which served as the author’s primary sources of information. To justify this portrait of Luke as a text-based author, scholars have appealed to analogies with the text-based authors Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Diodorus Siculus, Plutarch, and Arrian. Luke among the Ancient Historians challenges this portrait of Luke’s method through surveying the origins and development of ancient Greek historiography in chapters on Herodotus, Thucydides, Polybius, Josephus, and Luke. By focusing on the values and practices of ancient historians, Peters demonstrates not only that ancient authors following the model of Thucydides regarded the testimony of eyewitnesses, as opposed to texts, as the proper sources for historians but that Luke emulated the values, practices, and craft terminology of the contemporary historiographical tradition. Taking seriously the self-presentation of Luke as a reporter of contemporary events who claims to write on the basis of “eyewitnesses from the beginning,” and personal investigation, this book argues against analogies with text-based historians who wrote about non-contemporary events and instead situates Luke within a portrait of the values and practices of historians of contemporary events.

Luke among the Ancient Historians

Luke among the Ancient Historians PDF Author: John J. Peters
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1666731889
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Get Book Here

Book Description
For centuries scholars have analyzed the composition of Luke-Acts presupposing that the reference to “many” accounts in Luke’s Preface indicates the written texts which served as the author’s primary sources of information. To justify this portrait of Luke as a text-based author, scholars have appealed to analogies with the text-based authors Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Diodorus Siculus, Plutarch, and Arrian. Luke among the Ancient Historians challenges this portrait of Luke’s method through surveying the origins and development of ancient Greek historiography in chapters on Herodotus, Thucydides, Polybius, Josephus, and Luke. By focusing on the values and practices of ancient historians, Peters demonstrates not only that ancient authors following the model of Thucydides regarded the testimony of eyewitnesses, as opposed to texts, as the proper sources for historians but that Luke emulated the values, practices, and craft terminology of the contemporary historiographical tradition. Taking seriously the self-presentation of Luke as a reporter of contemporary events who claims to write on the basis of “eyewitnesses from the beginning,” and personal investigation, this book argues against analogies with text-based historians who wrote about non-contemporary events and instead situates Luke within a portrait of the values and practices of historians of contemporary events.

Writing Ancient History

Writing Ancient History PDF Author: Luke Pitcher
Publisher: I.B. Tauris
ISBN: 9781845119577
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Well organised and laid out with attractive features for students, this book covers the subject of writing about ancient history.

According to Luke

According to Luke PDF Author: David Gooding
Publisher: Myrtlefield House
ISBN: 1874584273
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 454

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Book Description
With a profound understanding of both the Scriptures and the classical world that influenced Luke, this exposition leads us through the artistry of Luke’s presentation. However familiar the terrain of this Gospel, we will find that having an experienced guide makes a difference. By bringing out the significance of the narrative as a whole, David Gooding’s analysis will help us to arrive at a confident understanding of Luke’s message and open up insightful lines of application at each step along they way. Right from the start of his Gospel Luke makes it clear that the story of Jesus is neither ancient myth nor contemporary fable. It is straightforward history. To emphasize this he provides us with historical co–ordinates. He informs us, for example, that when John began publicly to introduce Christ to His nation it was in the fifteenth year of Emperor Tiberius’ reign, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judaea, during the high–priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas. This is, then, an historical account. But what does Luke’s history of Jesus mean? And how can we be certain that we have understood the message that he has presented in his account of Christ’s life? David Gooding asks us to begin by recalling that Luke is an ancient and not a modern historian. A modern historian might compile a list of the things that Jesus did and taught, and then add his own explanations. But Luke has more in common with ancient historians such as Thucydides and writers of Old Testament books such as Judges and 1 and 2 Samuel. With minimal comment, he has grouped the material about Christ in a way that leads thoughtful readers to discover for themselves the point and purpose of each incident. Luke is, then, both historian and artist. It has often been lamented that Christ’s public ministry on earth was so short–lived, and His death at the hands of His enemies a tragedy. But Luke will not have it so. Following Christ’s own statements, he divides his Gospel into two parts: the coming of Christ from Glory into our world, and His going back to Glory. David Gooding shows that by arranging the events of each part into discreet stages and movements, Luke is proclaiming that Christ was carrying out a definite mission – His going, by way of His cross, resurrection and ascension was as deliberate as His coming.

The Writings of Luke and the Jewish Roots of the Christian Way

The Writings of Luke and the Jewish Roots of the Christian Way PDF Author: J. Andrew Cowan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567684016
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
J. Andrew Cowan challenges the popular theory that Luke sought to boost the cultural status of the early Christian movement by emphasising its Jewish roots – associating the new church with an ancient and therefore respected heritage. Cowan instead argues that Luke draws upon the traditions of the Old Testament and its supporting texts as a reassurance to Christians, promising that Jesus' life, his works and the church that follow legitimately provide fulfilment of God's salvific plan. Cowan's argument compares Luke's writings to two near-contemporaries, Dionysius of Halicarnassus and T. Flavius Josephus, both of whom emphasized the ancient heritage of a people with cultural or political aims in view, exploring how the writings of Luke do not reflect the same cultural values or pursue the same ends. Challenging assumptions on Luke's supposed attempts to assuage political concerns, capitalize on antiquity, and present Christianity as an inner-Jewish sect, Cowan counters with arguments for Luke being critical of over-valuing tradition and defining the Jewish people as resistant to God and His messages. Cowan concludes with the argument that the apostle does not strive for legitimisation of the new church by previous cultural standards, but instead provides theological reassurance to Christians that God's plan has been fulfilled, with implications for broader debate.

Readings in the Classical Historians

Readings in the Classical Historians PDF Author: Michael Grant
Publisher: Scribner
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 712

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Book Description
A comprehensive anthology of the classical historians--from the early Greeks through the late Romans, right up to the beginnings of the Christian era.

Historiography and Self-Definition

Historiography and Self-Definition PDF Author: Gregory Sterling
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004266941
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 516

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Book Description
For centuries scholars have recognized the apologetic character of the Hellenistic Jewish historians, Josephos, and Luke-Acts; they have not, however, adequately addressed their possible relationships to each other and to their wider cultures. In this first full systematic effort to set these authors within the framework of Greco-Roman traditions, Professor Sterling has used genre criticism as a method for locating a distinct tradition of historical writing, apologetic historiography. Apologetic historiography is the story of a subgroup of people which deliberately Hellenizes the traditions of the group in an effort to provide a self-definition within the context of the larger world. It arose as a result of a dialectic relationship with Greek ethnography. This work traces the evolution of this tradition through three major eras of eastern Mediterranean history spanning six hundred years: the Persian, the Greek, and the Roman.

The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament

The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament PDF Author: Sir William Mitchell Ramsay
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bible
Languages : en
Pages : 462

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Book Description


Acts: An Exegetical Commentary : Volume 1

Acts: An Exegetical Commentary : Volume 1 PDF Author: Craig S. Keener
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 144123621X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 2619

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Book Description
Highly respected New Testament scholar Craig Keener is known for his meticulous and comprehensive research. This commentary on Acts, his magnum opus, may be the largest and most thoroughly documented Acts commentary available. Useful not only for the study of Acts but also early Christianity, this work sets Acts in its first-century context. In this volume, the first of four, Keener introduces the book of Acts, particularly historical questions related to it, and provides detailed exegesis of its opening chapters. He utilizes an unparalleled range of ancient sources and offers a wealth of fresh insights. This magisterial commentary will be a valuable resource for New Testament professors and students, pastors, Acts scholars, and libraries.

The Preface to Luke's Gospel

The Preface to Luke's Gospel PDF Author: Loveday Alexander
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521018814
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
Completely re-evaluates the backgound to and provenance of the preface to Luke's Gospel.

How the Gospels Became History

How the Gospels Became History PDF Author: M. David Litwa
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300242638
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
A compelling comparison of the gospels and Greco-Roman mythology which shows that the gospels were not perceived as myths, but as historical records Did the early Christians believe their myths? Like most ancient--and modern--people, early Christians made efforts to present their myths in the most believable ways. In this eye-opening work, M. David Litwa explores how and why what later became the four canonical gospels take on a historical cast that remains vitally important for many Christians today. Offering an in-depth comparison with other Greco-Roman stories that have been shaped to seem like history, Litwa shows how the evangelists responded to the pressures of Greco-Roman literary culture by using well-known historiographical tropes such as the mention of famous rulers and kings, geographical notices, the introduction of eyewitnesses, vivid presentation, alternative reports, and so on. In this way, the evangelists deliberately shaped myths about Jesus into historical discourse to maximize their believability for ancient audiences.