1st Edition
Luke the Priest The Authority of the Author of the Third Gospel
This book focuses on the authority and status of the author of Luke-Acts. What authority did he have to write a Gospel, to interpret the Jewish Scriptures and traditions of Israel, to interpret the Jesus traditions, and to update the narrative with a second volume with its interpretation of Paul and the other apostles who appear in the Acts narrative? Rick Strelan constructs the author as a Jewish Priest, examining such issues as writing and orality, authority and tradition, and the status and role of priests. The analysis is set within the context of scholarly opinion about the author, the intended audience and other related issues.
Biography
Rick Strelan is an ordained Lutheran who, on the completion of his PhD dissertation on Paul, Artemis and Jews in Ephesus (1995), took up a lecturing position at the University of Queensland. In addition to the publication of his thesis (1996), he has published Crossing the Boundaries: A commentary on Mark (1991), and Strange Acts: Studies in the cultural world of the Acts of the Apostles (2004). He has also published in many of the leading New Testament journals. Rick is currently Head of the Studies in Religion department and Senior Lecturer in New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of Queensland, Australia.
"This book is a model of clarity in the shaping of its argument and its use of a wide range of early Christian texts.’ Journal for the Study of the New Testament ’This carefully researched and well-written study makes a provocative contribution to Lucan studies." Worship
"Strelan’s approach is at once unique and a return to older methods while still attentive to recent scholarly concerns. He argues that the combination of literacy, biblical knowledge, and, most importantly, the self- claimed authority to interpret not only scripture but recent events in light of scripture adds up to a likelihood that the author of Luke was a member of the Judean priesthood."
Margaret Froelich, Willamette University, Religious Studies Review
