2,267 research outputs found
A dynamic reading of the Holy Spirit in Luke-Acts.
No full textThis study examines the Holy Spirit in Luke-Acts through a new perspective: 'dynamic biblical narrative criticism'. Chapter I briefly surveys the past and present issues in the study of the Holy Spirit in Luke and Acts by focusing on three representative scholars: J. D. G. Dunn; R-P. Menzies; M. M. B. - Turner, while noting that their research (including that of other influential scholars) was almost always undertaken by 'historical critical methods', especially 'redaction criticism’. Then I set out my methodology and procedure for the present work. Chapter 2 provides the literary repertoire of the Lukan Holy Spirit by examining the use of ruach or pneuma in the Jewish Bible and concludes that the divine Spirit in the extra text is always characterized as God's own Spirit, revealing his will/purpose by representing his power, activity and presence through his human agents. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 explore the Holy Spirit in Luke-Acts as dynamic biblical narrative. Chapter 3 discusses the relationship between the narrator’s point of view and the Spirit and notes especially that this point of View focuses not only on God and Jesus, but also on the Holy Spirit. References to the Holy Spirit are used to suggest narrative reliability: both the Lukan narrator and reliable characters are positively associated with the 'divine frame of reference', particularly with the Holy Spirit. Chapters 4 and 5 elucidate the Holy Spirit as a literary character through narrative theories of 'character' and 'characterization'. So Chapter 4 analyses the Spirit ill terms of 'character-presentation' and concludes that the Holy Spirit is characterized as God's promised Holy Spirit giving God's power and insight for his ongoing plan to God's human agents and his people in general as anticipated in the literary repertoire. At the same time, however, the Spirit is also characterized in close relation to (the risen) Jesus the Messiah and Lord, and after Jesus’ ascension the Spirit is almost always presented in contexts in which Jesus' witnesses are said to bear witness to the risen Jesus, not only to Jews, but also to Gentiles. Chapter 5 further explores the characterization of the Holy Spirit ill terms of the narrative function of the Spirit in relation to the causal aspect of the plot. It is argued that the major narrative function of the Holy Spirit is to empower and guide individual characters as God's human agents and Jesus' witnesses to seek and save God's people in accordance with the plan of God, while the Spirit also functions as verifying group characters as incorporated into God's people and is employed in relation to the life- situations of believers in settled communities by granting them charismatic gifts or comforting and encouraging them or initiating forms of patriarchal leadership. Chapter 6 summarizes the conclusions of the earlier chapters and briefly draws out implications of the results. of this study: (1) the theological significance of the Lukan presentation of the Holy Spirit and (2) the relationship of the Holy Spirit to (a) the narrator or implied author, (b) the text and (c) the implied reader of Luke-Acts, with final remarks about the legitimacy of Lukan ideology, the power of modem readers and my reading
Luke’s use of the Old Testament in Luke 22-23
No full textWhile Luke understands Jesus' suffering and death as the fulfillment of OT prophecy, he does not use many OT quotations or allusions to express this fact in his passion narrative. The question arises: How does Luke use the OT in his passion narrative, especially to show prophetic fulfillment?This study seeks to answer this question through an identification and analysis of the OT quotations, allusions, ideas, and stylistic elements in Luke 22-23. The criteria for identification and critical analysis are gathered from studying the history of scholarship on the subject from the Reformation to 1972.Our findings are that Luke presents the fulfillment of the key OT prophecy in his passion narrative, Is. 53:12/Lk. 22:37, through a thematic development of various aspects of its message. Other OT quotes, allusions, ideas, and stylistic elements contribute to the development of this theme. Luke's approach to the OT is Christocentric both in the sense that all the quotations and most of the allusions occur in the reported words of Jesus, and in the sense that most of Luke's OT material refers to the OT promises of a suffering and glorified Messiah. OT ideas also occur mainly in the reported words of Jesus and the OT stylistic elements are best understood as examples of LXX style imitation. We found that Luke's lack of allusions and quotations was probably due to his desire to have his readers relive the fulfillment events of the Passion as they unfold in the narrative without being distracted by editorial fulfillment proof~texts. Yet, at the same time Luke, the Christian theologian to the Gentiles, did make extensive use of the OT. With a Christocentric interpretational approach to understanding OT prophecy and theological content within a salvation history framework, Luke shows how the OT was important to Gentile Christians
King and ruler takes his stand: ‘Herod’ as a composite character in Luke-Acts
No full textUsing a narrative-critical approach, this thesis argues that ‘Herod’ may be
construed as a composite character in Luke-Acts. Composite characters appear in
literary works as a conflation of two or more historic individuals into a single
character in a narrative. Scholars have often noted that Luke-Acts evidences a more
extensive interest in the Herodian rulers than do the gospels of Mark and Matthew
and that each of these rulers are depicted similarly to the others in his work.
However, no one has argued that those rulers named ‘Herod’ may be understood as a composite character.
In Luke-Acts, three Herodian rulers stand behind the composite ‘Herod’. The
thesis will show that when compared/contrasted with what is known about the
Herodian rulers from historical evidence, two unique features of the depiction of the
Herodian rulers named Herod in Luke-Acts emerge. First, at Luke 1:5 the author uses
the title ‘King of Judaea’ which is unattested elsewhere for any Herodian ruler.
Second, at Acts 12 the author uses the name ‘Herod’ for Agrippa I, a name that finds
no external corroboration for this particular King. While other occurrences of the
name ‘Herod’ refer to Herod Antipas (Luke 3—Acts 4), these two distinct features of
the narrative may be understood as conflation of the other ‘Herods’ with Antipas.
Following an interpretation of all the passages in which ‘Herod’ appears, it will be
evident that ‘Herod’ is portrayed consistently and as a single character not only
through repeated use of the name ‘Herod’, but as a recurring antagonist to the key
protagonists of the narrative (John the Baptist, Jesus, and the apostles/early church).
Finally, the thesis will consider as explanation of the depiction of ‘Herod’ how this
composite character embodies Satanic opposition from the political realm toward
those who proclaim the gospel in the Lukan narrative
From temple to house-church in Luke-Acts: a Lukan challenge to Korean Christianity
No full textThis dissertation examines the portrayals of the Temple, synagogue, and
house-churches in Luke-Acts to pose a Lukan challenge to the Korean church by using
a model of architectural space which is derived from social-scientific ideas originating
in anthropology, sociology and social psychology. The dissertation proposes the
relevance of the Lukan house-church to the Korean church today so as to transform
the latter's character in its architecture and use of space into the inclusive and
missionary one which is featured in Luke-Acts. The argument of the dissertation
begins with an exploration and defence of social-scientific method (Chapter 1).
Chapter 2 begins with a history and analysis of Korean Christianity which raises
problem surrounding its use of architectural space, before setting out a socialscientific
model of architectural space, which is then applied to contemporary Korean
church architecture. Challenging current understandings of a positive Lukan attitude
toward the Temple, this study proposes in Chapter 3 that Luke had a negative
understanding of the Temple in that it was an oppressive institution characterised by
segmented spaces which divided the people of God and thus showed its illegitimacy in
relation to the saving plan of God in Jesus. The dissertation next proposes in Chapter
4 that first-century synagogues were subsidiary Temple spaces which were extended
to most parts of Mediterranean world from the central sanctuary in Jerusalem, and that
Luke portrays the synagogues as similar to the Temple. Contrary to the Temple and
synagogue, the house in Luke-Acts expresses the inclusive salvation of the gospel
which incorporates a variety of people regardless of social status, gender, age and
ethnic origin (Chapter 5). In this interpretation, the house-church is represented as an
inclusive space accessible without institutional constraints. In the Gospel, it serves to
express the Kingdom of God into which sinners are invited to enter through meals and
to be incorporated into a fictive-kinship group created by Jesus. In Acts, the house is
not only a locus of Christian meetings in which the social relationships, characteristic
of family, are practised to enhance and legitimise the social identity of Jesus'
followers, but also the modus operandi of Christian mission through which the Christ-movement
spreads throughout the Mediterranean world. This study concludes with an
Epilogue containing brief suggestions for changes in Korean church architecture and
use of space based on these Lukan insights, which have the potential radically to
transform Korean Protestant Christianity
Daily Reflections (Meditations) on the Scriptures from the Roman Catholic Lectionary.
No full text|And so it begins. Welcome to the Gospel of Luke!|Those of you following the Church's daily lectionary will notice that today's gospel marks a new beginning. We have left the witness of Matthew, and we are now moving into the world of Luke. In so many ways today's readings encapsulate the "good news" of Luke's gospel. No evangelist takes Jesus' mission to the marginalized as seriously as Luke. In this vein, today's gospel sees Jesus announcing the Reign of God, embodied in blessings for the poor, liberty for the captives, and healing of the blind. Today we see Jesus inaugurating Isaiah's messianic promise, echoing Luke/Acts' focus on fulfillment. The Reign of God has begun. The people marvel at his "gracious words." Jesus is a rock star.|And then the rock star becomes the stone the builders rejected. It is difficult to imagine a crowd turning faster than the Nazareth crowd in Luke 4:16-30. Within minutes, amazement and wonder give way to fury and mob violence. What happened?|One line stands out to me: "Is this not the son of Joseph?" Jesus' neighbors ultimately cannot reconcile this new messianic prophet with the young man they thought they knew, the son of a lowly workman. Is this not a temptation that all of us face? So often we fail to see God's unfolding grace in front of our eyes, because we have already made up our minds. We put people in stereotypical boxes, and fail to appreciate their unique gifts. We remember friends as they used to be, and don't allow for them to mature, grow, or change. We think that God's blessing is only for "our people," and fail to accept that God is equally at work in the lives of the widow of Zarephath or Naaman the Syrian. In sum, we get locked into our "human wisdom," as St. Paul writes today, and fail to see the "power of God" at work all around us. As we keep walking with Luke in the weeks to come, may we also keep our eyes and hearts open to the surprising signs – and messengers – of the reign of God
The Ascension of Jesus Christ: A Critical and Exegetical Study of the Ascension in Luke-Acts and in the Jewish and Christian Contexts
No full textThe aim of the present dissertation is to analyse and interpret the Ascension of Jesus as described in Luke-Acts, and to examine both the Jewish rapture traditions and the early Christian reception and interpretation of the Lukan accounts. In my research, I tried to explain how the Ascension event was shaped by Luke and the impact it had within the Christian Church of the first centuries.
The first chapter tackles the history of research on the Ascension and the proposed methodology. Following this, the second section of the thesis analyses the Jewish assumption (rapture) traditions found in both canonical and pseudepigraphal writings. The common elements between these traditions and the Ascension of Christ are observed in order to establish a certain dependence of the Ascension narrative on Jewish rapture accounts.
In the third chapter, I examine the two Ascension accounts in Luke-Acts (Lk 24:50-53; Acts 1:9-11) and aim to explain the apparent inconsistencies between them. Certain aspects, such as redundancy and variations, are discussed in detail in the third section of this chapter.
The fourth chapter focuses on the reception and interpretation of the Lukan Ascension narratives within the early Christian Church (the pre-Nicene period). Finally, a summary of the entire thesis and some final remarks are drawn in the conclusion of the present study.
Two excursuses relevant to this research are included in the appendices: the first on the Jewish Hekhalot literature and Merkabah mysticism; and the second examining the Ascension in the Gospels according to Mark (16:19-20 of the ‘longer ending’) and John (20:17)
Daily Reflections (Meditations) on the Scriptures from the Roman Catholic Lectionary.
No full textHow do you get yourself nearly lynched by your own neighbors?|This is the question that confronts us in today's gospel from Luke. How does Jesus spark such animosity in a synagogue crowd that had just "spoken highly of him" and was "amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth" (Luke 4:22)? Within seven verses, this very same home crowd was not only booing Jesus…they were "filled with fury," "drove him out of the town," and intended to "hurl him down headlong" from the top of the town's hill (4:28-29). Jesus doesn't just encounter indifference or skepticism…he is nearly the victim of a popular lynching. Why? |For me, the question comes down to identity. The townspeople of Nazareth were surely happy to welcome home the local-boy-made-good, drawing praise across the synagogues of Galilee (Luke 4:14-15). It seems that Jesus made a good initial impression in his Sabbath address. No one protested his fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecies to "bring glad tidings to the poor," "proclaim liberty to the captives," "let the oppressed go free," or announce a jubilee year (4:18-21). But they still can't get the image of "local boy Jesus" out of their head, and some seem skeptical that this average Joe (or, better yet, "son of Joe") is claiming such an exalted mission.|After questions arise about his own identity, Jesus "crosses the Rubicon" (or better yet, the Jordan), challenging his audience's sense of entitlement and privilege. Not only does he refuse to deliver any prophetic pork barrel benefits to his native place, but he reminds them that God appears to have a "preferential option for the other"…namely Gentiles like the widow of Zarephath or Naaman the Syrian.|It is easy to betray a kind of smug condescension toward Jesus's townspeople (and the Pharisees, Sadducees, and anyone else in the gospel who seems "intolerant"). Perhaps a better approach is to ask ourselves, "which identities are sacralized in our own cultures today?" Which identities cut to the core of us…to the point that a perceived threat produces deep wellsprings of anger, resentment, and hatred? For example, if we substituted the word "America" for "Israel" in Luke 4:25 and 4:27, how would most local USA congregations react? What about the American presidential candidates who purport to love Jesus?|As Naaman the Syrian demonstrates in today's first reading, it is not easy to overcome ethnic and national prejudice, even if this is in our direct self-interest. In fact, the classification of "insider and outsider" is one of the fundamental tensions that cuts through the Scriptures. This Lent, may we reflect on the "outsiders" in our lives and in our countries, remembering that our outsiders are often God's insiders
The voice of Jesus in six parables and their interpreters
No full text'Figures of speech' provide a suggestive key for approaching the question of Jesus' individual tone of voice. Apprehending a figure implies insight into an intention, and beyond intention to discern unconscious influences upon the speaker. This is the conceptual framework for a study of the 'voice of Jesus' in six parables peculiar to Luke (10:25-37; 15:11-32; 16:1-9; 16:19-31; 18:1-8; 18:9-14) and in commentaries upon them. In the premodern era commentators approached the parables with an immediacy of insight, seeking the divine intention behind the texts. Nevertheless we may hear the voice of Jesus echoing in their commentaries in morally specific tones. In the work of Jülicher 'insight', though repudiated, is still important, as he seeks the intention of Jesus through the figure of simile. Jülicher offers insight into Jesus as a passionate communicator, but goes beyond Jesus' intention in making him a propounder of generalities. More recently a concern with the intention of Jesus is replaced by a concern with how his voice was heard. The necessity of insight remains apparent in B.B. Scott's use of metaphor as an interpretative key. An impression is given of Jesus as a provocative subversive. In their context in Luke-Acts, the parables function as metonymies of the gospel, and yield an impression of the voice of Jesus as suggestively concerned with the life of this world. In the ministry of Jesus the parables function as synecdoches, offering hearers a realistic and hopeful 'part' of the world from which they must fashion a 'whole’. Against the background of Scripture the parables display a deep continuity with older forms of discourse, but also important tokens of newness. A stream of influence can be traced from the Old Testament, through Jesus and Luke, and on through their interpreters, though recently its course has been somewhat diverted
Daily Reflections (Meditations) on the Scriptures from the Roman Catholic Lectionary.
No full textToday's gospel parable comes in the middle of a series of Luke's teachings on wealth. This enigmatic narrative is sandwiched between two far more famous narratives – the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) and the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The lessons of today's parable are perhaps not as obvious. What can we learn from this dishonest steward?|Like the Prodigal Son, he has "squandered his property" and faces an imminent layoff. This middle manager is a proud man, neither willing to beg nor to sweat for his living. He is likely skimming his own cut in a dishonest economic system in which debtors owe 800-900 gallons of olive oil (!) and 1,000 bushels of wheat (!) to his master. Again like the Prodigal Son, the steward is repenting largely out of self-interest. Namely, he is hedging his bets that his act of restitution will inspire these debtors to treat him with hospitality when he too is out on the streets.|I have just returned from a Creighton immersion in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Here I found many of the same socioeconomic problems we see in today's parable, including extortionary loan interest, corrupt bribery, and an inequitable system in which management and consumers rake in profits and cheap products while factory and farm laborers struggle to eke out a living. Nor am I somehow an innocent bystander. My American government, my American corporations, and my Catholic church have all been key actors in the DR/Haiti drama. During a factory tour, I even realized that the Hanes t-shirt on my back was made in the Dominican Republic!|I was intellectually aware of all of these issues prior to this trip. But meeting people in the flesh sparked a new sense of urgency. Like the steward, I am a cog in a much bigger system that I do not control. But also like the steward, I am called to respond in tangible ways to the injustices that surround me. The steward made his decision. What will we do?
Generalizing curriculum policy across boarders : crossing boundaries
No full text"This essay is a critique of the scientific and policy rationales for transnational standardization. It analyzes two examples of policy export: early childhood standards in one of North America’s oldest Indigenous communities and the ongoing development of international standards for university teaching. It examines calls for American education to look to Finland, Canada, and Singapore for models of reform and innovation, focusing on the complex historical, cultural, and political settlements at work in these countries. The author addresses two affiliated challenges: first, the possibility of a principled understanding of evidence and policy in cultural and political-economic context, and second, the possibility of a mediative educational science that might guide policy formation." -- EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHER November 2011 vol. 40 no. 8 367-37
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