The Hermeneutics of Social Identity in Luke-Acts

The Hermeneutics of Social Identity in Luke-Acts PDF Author: Nickolas A. Fox
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725278650
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
Luke-Acts presents a vision of the kingdom of God and the early church in a program of decentralization, that is, a movement away from the centralized power structures of Judaism. Decentralization of the temple, land, purity laws, and even the people that seem to possess the power early in Acts (i.e., Peter and the other apostles) makes room for a move of radical inclusion. Luke demonstrates the Holy Spirit as the prime initiator of outward expansion of the kingdom of God, radically including and welcoming God-fearers, gentiles, an Ethiopian eunuch, and more. Fox argues that Luke-Acts is purposed to create social identity in God-fearing readers using the rhetorical tools of the first century to communicate prescribed beliefs and norms, promise and fulfillment, and prototypes and exemplars. Each of these elements is examined and traced through Luke's two-volume work.

The Hermeneutics of Social Identity in Luke-Acts

The Hermeneutics of Social Identity in Luke-Acts PDF Author: Nickolas A. Fox
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725278650
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 243

Get Book

Book Description
Luke-Acts presents a vision of the kingdom of God and the early church in a program of decentralization, that is, a movement away from the centralized power structures of Judaism. Decentralization of the temple, land, purity laws, and even the people that seem to possess the power early in Acts (i.e., Peter and the other apostles) makes room for a move of radical inclusion. Luke demonstrates the Holy Spirit as the prime initiator of outward expansion of the kingdom of God, radically including and welcoming God-fearers, gentiles, an Ethiopian eunuch, and more. Fox argues that Luke-Acts is purposed to create social identity in God-fearing readers using the rhetorical tools of the first century to communicate prescribed beliefs and norms, promise and fulfillment, and prototypes and exemplars. Each of these elements is examined and traced through Luke's two-volume work.

The Social World of Luke-Acts

The Social World of Luke-Acts PDF Author: Jerome H. Neyrey
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 472

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Book Description
"Although the focus in this book is on Luke-Acts, the models and methods presented here can be employed with insight and profit for the interpretation of other New Testament documents. Focussed on Luke-Acts, this volume can serve as a handbook which covers both the interpretation of a specific text and the presentation of an adequately broad historical-critical method of interpretation." --

Luke: A Social Identity Commentary

Luke: A Social Identity Commentary PDF Author: Robert L. Brawley
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567669408
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
In this commentary, Robert L. Brawley provides comprehensive coverage of issues and concerns related to Luke from the perspective of social identity. He argues that the Gospel of Luke is strongly concerned with the formation of identity from the very start of the text, which aims at the creation of a socially responsible community in continuity with that community's collective past. Brawley establishes a theoretical framework that focuses his interpretation - ranging from the narrative world and sociological issues to postcolonialism and hierarchies of dominance - and uses these perspectives to provide a clear overview of historical and critical issues related to an understanding of Luke. He then provides a thorough outline of and commentary on the text of the Gospel. Brawley's engagement with the text serves as an invaluable resource for scholars, students, clergy, and others interested in their own discoveries of the resources of Luke.

Ritual and Religious Experience in Early Christianities

Ritual and Religious Experience in Early Christianities PDF Author: David John McCollough
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
ISBN: 3161618335
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description


The Spirit and the 'Other'

The Spirit and the 'Other' PDF Author: Aaron Kuecker
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567258076
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
In this title, Kuecker uses social identity theory to examine the interface between the Holy Spirit and ethnicity in Luke-Acts . Kuecker uses an artillery of social identity theory to demonstrate that in Luke 's narrative the Spirit is the central figure in the formation of a new social identity. In his argumenation, Kuecker provides extended exegetical treatments of Luke 1-4 and Acts 1-15. He shows that Luke 1-4 establishes a foundation for Luke's understanding of the relationship between human identity, the Spirit, and the 'other' - especially as it relates to the distribution of in-group benefits beyond group boundaries. With regard to Acts 1-15, Kuecker shows that the Spirit acts whenever human identity is in question in order to transform communities and individuals via the formation of a new social identity. Kuecker argues that Luke depicts this Spirit-formed social identity as a different way of being human in community, relative to the normative identity processes of other groups in his narrative. This transformed identity produces profound expressions of interethnic reconciliation in Luke-Acts expressed through reformed economic practice, impressive intergroup hospitality, and a reoriented use of ethnic language. Formerly the Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement, this is a book series that explores the many aspects of New Testament study including historical perspectives, social-scientific and literary theory, and theological, cultural and contextual approaches. The Early Christianity in Context series, a part of JSNTS, examines the birth and development of early Christianity up to the end of the third century CE. The series places Christianity in its social, cultural, political and economic context. European Seminar on Christian Origins and Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus Supplement are also part of JSNTS.

Identity and Ethics in the Book of Ruth

Identity and Ethics in the Book of Ruth PDF Author: Peter H. W. Lau
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110247607
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 247

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Book Description
This study demonstrates the importance of including narrative ethics in a construction of Old Testament ethics, as a correction for the current state of marginalisation of narrative in this discipline. To this end, the concept of identity is used as a lens through which to understand and derive ethics. Since self-conception in ancient Israel is generally held to be predominantly collectivist in orientation, social identity theory is used to understand ancient Israelite identity. Although collectivist sensitivities are important, a social identity approach also incorporates an understanding of individuality. This approach highlights the social emphases of a biblical text, and consequently assists in understanding a text's original ethical message. The book of Ruth is used as a test case, employing a social identity approach for understanding the narrative, but also to model the approach so that it can be implemented more widely in study of the Old Testament and narrative ethics. Each of the protagonists in the book of Ruth is examined in regards to their personal and social self-components. This study reveals that the narrative functions to shape or reinforce the identity of an ancient Israelite implied reader. Since behavioural norms are an aspect of identity, narrative also influences behaviour. A social identity approach can also highlight the social processes within a society. The social processes taking place in the two most commonly proposed provenances for the book of Ruth are discussed: the Monarchic and Persian Periods. It is found that the social emphases of the book of Ruth most closely correspond to the social undercurrents of the Persian Period. On this basis, a composition for the book of Ruth in the Restoration period is proposed.

Emerging Leadership in the Pauline Mission

Emerging Leadership in the Pauline Mission PDF Author: Jack Barentsen
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1630878138
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 421

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Book Description
Where did Paul find leaders for his new churches? How did he instruct and develop them? What processes took place to stabilize the churches and institute their new leadership? This book carves a fresh trail in leadership studies by looking at leadership development from a group-dynamic, social identity perspective. Paul engages the cultural leadership patterns of his key local leaders, publicly affirming, correcting, and improving those patterns to conform to a Christlike pattern of sacrificial service. Paul's own life and ministry offer a motivational and authoritative model for his followers, because he embodies the leadership style he teaches. As a practical theologian avant la lettre, Paul contextualizes key theological themes to strengthen community and leadership formation, and equips his church leaders as entrepreneurs of Christian identity. A careful comparison of the Corinthian and Ephesian churches demonstrates a similar overall pattern of development. This study engages Pauline scholarship on church office in depth and offers alternative readings of five Pauline epistles, generating new insights to enrich dogmatic and practical theological reflection. In a society where many churches reflect on their missional calling, such input from the NT for contemporary Christian leadership formation is direly needed.

Christ Identity

Christ Identity PDF Author: Sergio Rosell Nebreda
Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
ISBN: 3647532541
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 394

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Book Description
Sergio Rosell Nebreda focuses on how the Philippian Christ-followers received Paul's letter. The social, historical, literary, rhetorical, anthropological and theological elements are dealt with in order to understand the effect Paul wanted to achieve.The main thesis of the book is that the apostle Paul, who greatly suffered at Philippi, and writing from a prison, desires to affect the Philippians believers to acquire a Christ-orientation based on the values expressed in the Christ-hymn. Phlp 2, 5–11 forms the core of Paul's theological narrative that aims at constructing a sense of imitatio and conformatio in the Christ-following community. Paul uses a 'friendly' style in his letters in order to produce rapport and trust in the community, presenting himself as examplum ad imitando, after that of Christ. It is because Paul so fully identifies with Christ's orientation in life that the apostle presents himself as a slave of Jesus Christ.In the midst of a society ill with the desire for honour and power, the Christ narrative stands as a radical call for an alternative life-style, based on the exercise of humility which seeks the interest of others rather than focusing on one's own needs and desires. Paul insists on the basis of the Christ-hymn that such a life-style reveals God's character and it is therefore a life rewarded. Through the use of Social Identity Theory this book evaluates how ancient people constructed their group identity in daily life and how through a seemingly inferior model (that of Christ's kenosis in 2, 5–11) the community receives a re-definition of values which are according to God's values, and who has the last word in history. Paul thus presents an alternative and viable way of life in the midst of a society he knows well.

Contemporary Studies in Acts

Contemporary Studies in Acts PDF Author: Thomas E. Phillips
Publisher: Mercer University Press
ISBN: 9780881461459
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
The book of ""Acts"" contains the only biblical narrative of the events that occurred in the early church between the early first-century ministry of Jesus and the early to mid-second-century emergence of the Christian apologists. This title includes essays that reveal the best in contemporary thought about this one-of-a-kind book.

Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (2nd edn)

Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (2nd edn) PDF Author: J B GREEN
Publisher: Inter-Varsity Press
ISBN: 1789740266
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 1849

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Book Description
The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels is unique among reference books on the Bible, the first volume of its kind since James Hastings published his Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels in 1909. In the more than eight decades since Hastings, our understanding of Jesus, the Evangelists and their world has grown remarkably. New interpretive methods illumined the text, the ever-changing profile of modern culture has put new questions to the Gospels, and our understanding of the Judaism of Jesus's day has advanced in ways that could not have been predicted in Hastings's day. But for many readers of the Gospels the new outlook on the Gospels remains hidden within technical journals and academic monographs. The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels bridges the gap between scholars and those pastors, teachers, students and lay people desiring in-depth treatment of select topics in an accessible and summary format. The topics range from cross-sectional themes (such as faith, law, Sabbath) to methods of interpretation (such as form criticism, redaction criticism, sociological approaches), from key events (such as the birth, temptation and death of Jesus) to each of the four Gospels as a whole. Some articles - such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, rabbinic traditions and revolutionary movements at the time of Jesus - provide significant background information to the Gospels. Others reflect recent and less familiar issues in Jesus and Gospel studies, such as divine man, ancient rhetoric and the chreiai. Contemporary concerns of general interest are discusses in articles covering such topics as healing, the demonic and the historical reliability of the Gospels. And for those entrusted with communicating the message of the Gospels, there is an extensive article on preaching from the Gospels. The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels presents the fruit of evangelical New Testament scholarship at the end of the twentieth century - committed to the authority of Scripture, utilising the best of critical methods, and maintaining dialog with contemporary scholarship and challenges facing the church.