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Kuecker uses an artillery of social identity theory to demonstrate that in Luke''s narrative the Spirit is the central figure in the formation of a new social identity. In his argumenation Kuecker provides extended exegetical treatments of Luke 1-4 and Acts 1-15. He shows that Luke 1-4 establishes a foundation for Luke''s understanding of the relationship between human identity, the Spirit, and the ''other'' - especially as it relates to the distribution of in-group benefits beyond group boundaries. With regard to Acts 1-15, Kuecker shows that the Spirit acts whenever human identity is in question in order to transform communities and individuals via the formation of a new social identity.Kuecker argues that Luke depicts this Spirit-formed social identity as a different way of being human in community, relative to the normative identity processes of other groups in his narrative. This transformed identity produces profound expressions of interethnic reconciliation in Luke-Acts expressed through reformed economic practice, impressive intergroup hospitality, and a reoriented use of ethnic language.>
List of contents
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Index of Tables
1: The Holy Spirit in Luke-Acts: Tracing the History of Research
2: Social Identity and the 'Other': A Methodological and Historical Overview
3: Expanding the Ethnic Horizon: The Spirit and Allocentric Identity in Luke 1-2
4: Critiquing Defective Identities: Spirit-empowered figures and In-group Bias in Luke 3-4
5: Initiating a Scandal of Universal Particularity: The Spirit in Acts 1-2
6: Consumating a New Identity: The Community Summaries and the Identity-forming Power of a Group
7: Incorporating the 'Other': The Spirit and Superordinate Identity
8: Transcending Identity: The Spirit and Trans-Ethnic Identity in Acts 10-15
9: Conclusion
Bibliography
About the author
Aaron Kuecker is Provost and Professor of New Testament at Trinity Christian College, USA, and is an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America, USA.
