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Was Luke Written by Luke? And Why Should We Care?
Show notes
Episode Outline:
Who was Luke, and why was he credited with Luke and Acts?
Bart and Megan on home projects, built-in bookcases, and why Bart outsources everything
Do Luke and Acts actually claim to be written by Luke?
Why anonymous Christian books were later assigned named authors
Why Luke was chosen specifically as the supposed author
The “we” passages in Acts and why they mattered for later attribution
When Luke first starts being named as the author in early Christianity
Why that attribution stuck for so long
Was the author of Luke-Acts really a doctor?
Major problems with identifying Luke the physician as the author
Course promo: In the Beginning: History, Legend, and Myth in Genesis
Why scholars think Luke and Acts were written by the same author
What the author of Luke-Acts was trying to achieve with this two-volume work
What Luke and Acts themselves suggest about the real author
What the genres of Luke and Acts reveal about the author’s literary ambitions
Is Luke-Acts better literature than the rest of the New Testament?
Weekly Update: Jodi Magness and the archaeology course on Jesus’ world
Listener Q&A: Luke 9 and paradise, the meaning of stauros, Paul and “the Twelve,” ancient pantheons, and Ananias and Sapphira
Final summary: Luke-Acts probably has one highly educated Gentile author, but not Luke the companion of Paul
Episode Description
The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts were both allegedly written by a companion of Paul, Luke "the gentile physician." But the books never name their author. So why Luke? Are are there any good grounds for naming him in particular? Or any grounds at all? Were the books probably written by a doctor? Was he probably a gentile? Was there a Luke? If picking his name was just guesswork -- would it affect how we interpret the books or understand their reliability?
Also watch these episodes:
Is the New Testament Actually Filled with Forgeries?
Is the New Testament Actually *Filled* with Forgeries?
Who Really Wrote the Gospel of John?
Who Really Wrote the Gospel of John?
Why Did Paul Convert? Did He Convert?
Why Did Paul Convert? Did He Convert?
Megan asks about:
-Readers have long thought that the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts were written by the same person, Luke, a gentile physician who was a traveling companion of Paul. Do the books claim to be written by that person?
-Why would anonymous books later be named by Christian readers?
-Why would anyone choose Luke in particular to be the author of these books
-Why is Luke specifically identified, instead of another travelling companion?
-Who first identified Luke as the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts?
-Why has this attribution persisted?
-Is there any reason to think that the author actually was a medical doctor?
-What are some problems with this attribution?
-Why do scholars think that Luke and Acts were written by the same author?
-What was the author trying to achieve with these two books?
-If Luke is unlikely to be the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, do the books give us any insight into who may have written them?
-Do the genres of the books offer any insight into this question?
-Would you say that Luke and Acts are better works of literature than some of the other books of the canonical NT?
Who was Luke, and why was he credited with Luke and Acts?
Bart and Megan on home projects, built-in bookcases, and why Bart outsources everything
Do Luke and Acts actually claim to be written by Luke?
Why anonymous Christian books were later assigned named authors
Why Luke was chosen specifically as the supposed author
The “we” passages in Acts and why they mattered for later attribution
When Luke first starts being named as the author in early Christianity
Why that attribution stuck for so long
Was the author of Luke-Acts really a doctor?
Major problems with identifying Luke the physician as the author
Course promo: In the Beginning: History, Legend, and Myth in Genesis
Why scholars think Luke and Acts were written by the same author
What the author of Luke-Acts was trying to achieve with this two-volume work
What Luke and Acts themselves suggest about the real author
What the genres of Luke and Acts reveal about the author’s literary ambitions
Is Luke-Acts better literature than the rest of the New Testament?
Weekly Update: Jodi Magness and the archaeology course on Jesus’ world
Listener Q&A: Luke 9 and paradise, the meaning of stauros, Paul and “the Twelve,” ancient pantheons, and Ananias and Sapphira
Final summary: Luke-Acts probably has one highly educated Gentile author, but not Luke the companion of Paul
Episode Description
The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts were both allegedly written by a companion of Paul, Luke "the gentile physician." But the books never name their author. So why Luke? Are are there any good grounds for naming him in particular? Or any grounds at all? Were the books probably written by a doctor? Was he probably a gentile? Was there a Luke? If picking his name was just guesswork -- would it affect how we interpret the books or understand their reliability?
Also watch these episodes:
Is the New Testament Actually Filled with Forgeries?
Is the New Testament Actually *Filled* with Forgeries?
Who Really Wrote the Gospel of John?
Who Really Wrote the Gospel of John?
Why Did Paul Convert? Did He Convert?
Why Did Paul Convert? Did He Convert?
Megan asks about:
-Readers have long thought that the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts were written by the same person, Luke, a gentile physician who was a traveling companion of Paul. Do the books claim to be written by that person?
-Why would anonymous books later be named by Christian readers?
-Why would anyone choose Luke in particular to be the author of these books
-Why is Luke specifically identified, instead of another travelling companion?
-Who first identified Luke as the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts?
-Why has this attribution persisted?
-Is there any reason to think that the author actually was a medical doctor?
-What are some problems with this attribution?
-Why do scholars think that Luke and Acts were written by the same author?
-What was the author trying to achieve with these two books?
-If Luke is unlikely to be the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, do the books give us any insight into who may have written them?
-Do the genres of the books offer any insight into this question?
-Would you say that Luke and Acts are better works of literature than some of the other books of the canonical NT?
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