The First Christian Historian

Abstract

As the first historian of Christianity, Luke's reliability is vigorously disputed among scholars. The author of the Acts is often accused of being a biased, imprecise, and anti-Jewish historian who created a distorted portrait of Paul. Daniel Marguerat tries to avoid being caught in this true/false quagmire when examining Luke's interpretation of history. Instead he combines different tools - reflection upon historiography, the rules of ancient historians and narrative criticism - to analyse the Acts and gauge the historiographical aims of their author. Marguerat examines the construction of the narrative, the framing of the plot and the characterization, and places his evaluation firmly in the framework of ancient historiography, where history reflects tradition and not documentation. This is a fresh and original approach to the classic themes of Lucan theology: Christianity between Jerusalem and Rome, the image of God, the work of the Spirit, the unity of Luke and the Acts.

Journeys without End: Narrative Endings and Implied Readers in Acts of the Apostles and Philostratus’ Life of Apollonius of Tyana

“…Answering that question is Acts' main purpose. I agree with Sterling and others, therefore, that Acts is primarily an exercise in identity-building and self-definition (e.g., Sterling 1992Sterling , 2023Marguerat 2004;Adams 2013b;Becker 2017).…”

Le football au Togo a l’époque coloniale : un exemple d’appropriation des valeurs occidentales (1914-1960)

“…Ce match, vit la victoire de l'équipe du Togo par un but à Zéro obtenu par des joueurs à pieds nus, sous la conduite de Lawson surnommé par L. Montagné ; « Bombardier » pour ses buts réalisés par des tirs lointains. Au retour, tous les joueurs reçurent 11 francs chacun comme prime 24 .…”

"‘Certainly this Man was Righteous’: Highlighting a Messianic Reading of the Centurion’s Confession in Luke 23:47

“…Marguerat reads the centurion's words in light of the suffering righteous one, but not christologically. 10 Likewise, Wolter finds a tradition of a suffering righteous one in δίκαιος in Luke 23:47, but he insists that no messianic title or attribute is in mind. 11 However, the Christ is clearly depicted as the sufferer in Luke-Acts (Luke 24:26, 46; Acts 3:18; 17:3; 26:23).…”