The Hermeneutics of Social Identity in Luke-Acts - Hardcover

by Nickolas A. Fox (Author), Thorsten Moritz (Preface by)

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.

Author Biography

Nickolas A. Fox is an adjunct professor of New Testament at several colleges around the Twin Cities, Minnesota. He has also worked in addiction recovery in Minneapolis for over a decade. He has contributed to the Expository Dictionary of Old Testament and New Testament Words and the Dictionary of Pauline Letters (2nd ed.).