Demononlogy in Acts (original) (raw)
Related papers
Out of Mind, Out of Voice: Slave-Girls and Prophetic Daughters in Luke-Acts
Biblical Interpretation, 1999
The promise in Acts 2 (disclosed in Peter's programmatic citation of Joel at Pentecost) that women in general and female slaves in particular will become Spirit-inspired prophets is never fully realized and is even resisted to some degree within the wider Lukan narrative. An examination of three cases involving direct speech by slave-girls (paidiskai) in Luke-Acts, set within diverse literary and social contexts (Lk. 22.54-62; Acts 12.12-17; 16.16-18), uncovers a consistent pattern of truthful proclamation on the part of each slave-girl followed, however, by some form of repudiation-even stigmatization-of her and her message. Despite its more inclusive and receptive ideals, ultimately Luke-Acts more mirrors than challenges conventional first-century Mediterranean society in its suppression of lower-class female voices.
Dismantling Socio-Sacred Hierarchy: Gender and Gentiles in Luke-Acts
Without question, women are more prominent in Luke's writings than in any of the other three Gospel writers. The interpretation of their presence, however, is contested. In recent years, significant attention has been given to the role the women play in the narratives of Luke and Acts. The silence of their voices after the first few chapters of Luke makes one commentator label it, "an extremely dangerous text, perhaps the most dangerous in the Bible." 1 Can we read Luke as promoting the participation of women in the newly inaugurated Christian community? Or are women present but, after the Gospel prologue, relegated increasingly to silent supportive roles through the rest of Luke's Gospel and Acts? While Mary sings solo, must Priscilla and others be drowned out by a male choir? Luke's gospel bursts into action with God-obedient, Spirit-filled women, exuberantly prophesying the coming of God's Anointed One. 2 With the other Gospel writers, he records those women who come to Jesus, and the presence of women around Jesus during the passion narrative, and as crucial (even if not credited) witnesses to the resurrection. 3 In Luke and Acts, women continue to receive considerable space in the text. One prominent occupier of this space is Luke's male-female pairs. But what role do the women play in Luke's narrative? After the first chapter, as the kingdom of God is inaugurated and unfolds through the pages of the gospel and Acts, are the women confined to traditional roles of prayer and service? Do the male-female pairs disappear in Acts, where the central place is taken by male preachers and apostles while women's voices are silenced? Does Luke show women in the early Jesus community involved in roles that stand in contrast to the surrounding society? Or does Luke's account suppress leadership roles of women to those commonly assumed by women within Roman Empire norms? What are the implications for women and men in different cultural contexts, even as Luke and Acts are read today?
Lora Angeline B. Embudo - Women Vis-À-Vis Prophecy in Luke-Acts: Part 2 (pp. 131-146)
Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies and APTS Press, 2017
In Part 1, we surveyed the modern scholarship on Luke’s treatment of women in relation to prophecy. We specifically studied key passages in the evangelist’s Gospel, with the goal of ascertaining his purview on women in prophetic ministry. In Part 2, we shall discuss key passages in the Book of Acts using a more textual critical approach. The findings will then be synthesized and unified under a pervading theological motif. It is this paper’s aim to reveal a timeless Lucan message not only for the first century church, but also for the Filipino church today.
Lora Angeline Embudo - Women Vis-À-Vis Prophecy in Luke-Acts: Part 1 (pp. 111-130)
Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies and APTS Press, 2017
A recent storm in Lucan scholarship is the polar discussion on Luke’s view of women in prophetic ministry. The scholars on one side of the debate posit that Luke validated the prophethood of women, while their polar opposites assert that Luke purposely distanced women from the prophetic ministry. The minorities who don’t accede to either side prefer to identify Luke’s stance as ambiguous. In light of this quandary, this paper, which is divided into two parts, aims at identifying Luke’s stance on women vis-à-vis prophecy with the use of a biblical theological method. This first part will summarize the current discussions on said topic then deal with specific Lucan Gospel passages that demonstrate his treatment of women in prophetic ministry.
Women in the Acts of the Apostles : a feminist liberation perspective
1995
The many colorful women in the biblical book of Acts are brought to life in this book from a feminist liberation perspective: Sapphira, whose property in marriage is explained; Lydia, the seller of purple dye; Candace, the queen of Ethiopia; the disciple Tabitha; Priscilla, the co-apostle with her husband, Aquilla; and many others.
A Dynamic Reading of the Holy Spirit in Luke–Acts
Bulletin for Biblical Research
A DYNAMIC READING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN LUKE-ACTS JU HUR This 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 'rFdaction criticism. Then I set out my methodology and procedure for the present work. Chapter 2 provides the litermy repertoire of the Lukan Holy Spirit by examining the use of ruach or pnezand ill the Jeivish Bible and concludes that the divine Spirit in the extratext 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 beAveen the narrators point of vieiv 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 Jesu §' 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 finiction of the Spirit in relation to the causal aspect of the plot. It is argued that the major narrative finiction 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 fiinctions as verifying group characters as incorporated into God's people and is employed in relation to the lifesituations 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.
The Role of Women in the New Testament and Canonical Gospels.
Women played a vital role in the spread of Christianity in the first and second century CE. This paper will assess their contribution by examining the various functions and responsibilities held by women as described in the New Testament and Canonical Gospels. The assessment will commence with a brief description of the lives of women in the Greco-Roman world. This description of the cultural setting will serve as an introduction to Jesus’ attitude towards and interaction with women, who were among his first followers. Women continued to function in the early church in a variety of roles such as apostles, evangelists, prophets, teachers and house church leaders, using their skills to spread the message and further the impact of the fledgling religion. A close examination of these multifarious roles, drawing on the Canonical Gospels as primary source, will demonstrate the integral part women played in the dissemination of Christianity.
Looking Both Ways At the Intersection of the Academy and the Church, 2021
For much of the last two millennia, the woman at the well has been depicted as an ignorant, sexually deviant Samaritan woman who Jesus uses as a tool to reach the Samaritans despite her “sinfulness.”2 Her sexual depravity becomes the central focus of the passage. However, some recent interpreters have begun to question why she is viewed this way and if it is a fair interpretation.3 This essay examines the Samaritan woman with an emphasis on her race, gender and sexuality, and unfree status. The traditional interpretation of this story is riddled with cracks and is an opportunity to expand this passage to better address this vulnerable woman. Interpretations that foreground female experience, both ancient and modern, open new hermeneutical possibilities that are otherwise barred by traditional interpretations. Instead of a morally corrupt character, the Samaritan woman is depicted as a theologically competent disciple who becomes the first to preach the good news of the Messiah to outsiders.