The Hermeneutics of Social Identity in Luke-Acts

Download or read book The Hermeneutics of Social Identity in Luke-Acts written by Nickolas A. Fox and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2021-03-15 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.