Of all the gospels, Luke is in many ways the most suited for an attempt to win over th hearts and minds of educated gentiles. Cite an idea from Luke 1, 16, and 24 that might have been useful to later apologists in their attempts to defend Christian faith.
In the Gospel of Luke, Luke uses logic to convince his readers that Jesus is the Messiah. He emphasizes many times, especially in Ch. 24, that both Jesus and the Prophets who wrote the Old Testament books predicted specifics about the life of the Messiah that match up perfectly with Jesus' life. Luke makes the point that logically, reasonably, there can be no other reason for how perfectly they align. The process of reasoning it out appeals to the educated nature of his audience. Claire DeMilia
ReplyDeleteThe readings used prophecy similar to, but not from the Old Testament to foretell the birth of John, who will play an important role late in the scriptures.
ReplyDeleteThere is a use of story, or parable, to teach lessons in ethics and proper living. This is common in Judaism not a unique element for the early Christian movement.
Jerry Taylor
Luke 24:7: "The Son of Man must be ... crucified, and third day rise again." Two angels spoke those words to followers of Jesus who came to His grave, only to find His body gone. Later, when Jesus appeared before His disciples, He referenced Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, saying things like, "it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day." I think educated gentiles would've been aided by the knowledge that was prophesied did in fact happen.
ReplyDeleteThe book of Luke is a great book for people. It gives many believers hope of Jesus and the good he did throughout his life. Luke was a Gentile too. Gentiles during those times were persecuted for their faith especially with the Romans. In the book Luke uses many Parables or stories that Jesus has told to his followers. One that i enjoy is The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. This story is about a rich man who didn't show pity and let Lazarus who was dying food or anything, and once they both died Lazarus was with Abraham and the Rich Man was burning in hell. This story basically is showing us as Christians that we need to be kind and offer our food as well as taking care of others. Many people who are against this religion say that you shouldn't have to give your stuff to the less fortunate because they must of deserved it or even a criminal who had nothing but stole from people. Luke gives this Story so that Christan's are able to combat this with the everlasting love God has for us and that we are to give that love to others.
ReplyDeleteAn example from Luke chapter 1 is when Mary went to visit Elizabeth. "In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." This example would be useful for later apologists in their attempts to defend the Christian faith because it tells of phenomena that hasn't happened since that day. This would be a good encounter to have on your side.
ReplyDeleteThe second example from Chapter 16 would be, "And the Lord said, "If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." This example would be good to have to defend Christianity because it would encourage people to focus on their faith and make them better Christians.
The third example from chapter 24 is, "Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen clothes by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened." This example would be good because it shows the aftermath of the resurrection of Jesus. It also would be good because it is connected to the story of resurrection.
For mine, I chose to write on Luke chapter 1; however, to properly get to where I wish, I will use Luke 1-3. For background information, Luke would have been acting as a reporter and trying to gather information and details about the life and origin of Christ to give the Gentiles what they desired and looked for in their leaders. That is indeed a God; even in their rulers, they were expected to be of inherited decent from Gods of pagan myths. That is why in these chapters, I would argue that Luke lays the scene of showing a birth from a non-pagan God to give Jesus Christ his authority and kingdom ship.
ReplyDeleteThe gentiles of this time would have found this information to be of the utmost importance. Some details include the prophecy of Jesus to come and the immaculate birth of Christ. From there, the storytelling and narrative only strengthen. Explaining all the elements that show Christ is the same as God. I stop at the end of Luke 3 because here would have been one of the most crucial pieces the lineage, which can be traced from God to Adam, the first man to Jesus Christ. He was of man origin but placed immaculately inside of Marry, giving Jesus the blood of man but having been one with God from the beginning. This would have allowed Gentiles to accept Jesus as Christ, which means the anointed or chosen one in Hebrew.
Tanner Simon
"Since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus..." (Luke 1:3)
ReplyDeleteLuke begins this book by giving a nice thorough introduction simply explaining how everything that follows in his writing has been, "carefully investigated". He also states after that he has decided to make this passage an "orderly account".
In my eyes, Luke is laying down a great foundation for Christian apologetics in the sense that he gives the book a scientific feel and is presenting Christianity not as a myth, but as a historically documented and grounded faith. As Luke was a physician, you can feel how his writing is very well put out and very specific in detail. This lines up with how a doctor would be thinking. Because Luke lines up this gospel as something intellectually respectable and reliable, its influence spread to the educated Gentiles who were influenced by Greek philosophy and Roman rationality.
Luke Reierson
Throughout Luke, we are shown different areas of Jesus's life - and even before it.
ReplyDeleteFrom the conception of Jesus with the Virgin Mary, 'strange' things occur that hint at his future as the son of God. His very conception, after all, was strange and divine.
It wasn't just Jesus, either, but his family, such as his aunt being pregnant with one of his future disciples at the time of his conception and the reaction to Mary's voice.
Chapter 16 went on to expand on the teachings of Jesus, showing that he was doing his best to share the word of the Lord. Either directly or indirectly, I'm not entirely sure, he was pointing out flaws within the modern society and calling out to those listening to focus on and fix these issues.
Then later, he is able to rise from the dead, speak and bless and interact with people, then is brought to Heaven.
Now, of all of these, the best argument for the Christian faith for those who are 'educated' would have been Chapter 16. It is rooted far more in 'realism', and we all know how people love realism when it comes to being convinced of something. People want tangible proof, not fairytales.
In this case, having a man teach others to be kind to their neighbor, not not divorce you wife, all of these lessons may be the best argument. It is rooted in the daily lives of those listening, it is something they can connect with and feel comfortable talking about or sharing an opinion on it.
You cannot do the same with the story of Jesus being raised back to Heaven or the strange events surrounding Jesus's conception.
To be an apologist of the Christian faith is to not only defend the logic, but also the merit of the religion. A common reoccurrence in life is suffering and death, and as such, many wish to overcome this unfortunate reality. In Luke 16: verse 25, the rich man who treated Lazarus like a second class citizen would eventually be punished in an afterlife. This story could frighten an educated gentile in treating the poor in a more respectable fashion full of compassion to escape this inevitable future. Fear is a primordial faculty of the human mind, like reason, and could be used to come to the same conclusions; in this case, the beneficial utility of Christianity.
ReplyDeleteDaxton Harmon
DeleteI can see why Luke’s Gospel would be really helpful for reaching educated Gentiles. In Luke 1, Mary’s song talks about how God brings down the proud and lifts up the humble. That message about justice and caring for the lowly could really connect with people who valued fairness and morality, like many Greek and Roman thinkers.In Luke 16, the story of the rich man and Lazarus shows how serious Jesus was about helping the poor and not just living for wealth. That could have made Christianity stand out from other religions of the time, especially for people who were looking for a belief system that encouraged compassion and responsibility.
ReplyDeleteAnd in Luke 24, after Jesus rises from the dead, He explains how everything that happened was part of God’s plan and had already been written in Scripture. That kind of thoughtful explanation would have appealed to educated people who liked ideas to be backed up with reason and evidence.