Body and Character in Luke and Acts by Parsons, Mikeal C.;

Short description:

Early Christianity developed in a world where moral significance was often judged based upon physical appearance alone. Exploring the manifestations of this ancient “science” of physiognomy, Parsons rightly shows how Greco-Roman society, and by consequence the author of Luke and Acts, was steeped in this tradition.

Long description:

"Early Christianity developed in a world where moral significance was often judged based upon physical appearance alone. Exploring the manifestations of this ancient """"science"""" of physiognomy, Parsons rightly shows how Greco-Roman society, and by consequence the author of Luke and Acts, was steeped in this tradition. Luke, however, employs these principles in his writings in order to subvert the paradigm. Using as examples the bent woman (Luke 13), Zacchaeus (Luke 18), the lame man (Acts 3-4), and the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8), Parsons shows that the Christian community - both early and present-day - is established only in the image of Jesus Christ."

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• 1 Soul and Body React on Each Other: Body and Character in Greek and Roman Literature
• 2 The Movement of the Body Is a Voice of the Soul: Body and Character in Early Jewish and Christian Literature
• 3 Your Eye Is the Lamp of Your Body: Luke and the Body-Soul Relationship
• 4 Ought Not This Daughter of Abraham Be Set Free?: Getting the Story of the Bent Woman Straight
• 5 Short in Stature, Son of Abraham: The Height of Hospitality in the Story of Zacchaeus
• 6 His Feet and Ankles Were Made Strong: Signs of Character in the Man Lame from Birth
• 7 What Is to Prevent Me?: Ambiguity, Acceptance, and the Ethiopian Eunuch
• Epilogue
• Appendix: Abbreviations from the Progymnasmata

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