Despite the striking frequency with which the Greek word kyrios, Lord, occurs in Luke's Gospel, this study is the first comprehensive analysis of Luke's use of this word. The analysis follows the use of kyrios in the Gospel from beginning to end in order to trace narratively the complex and deliberate development of Jesus' identity as Lord. Detailed attention to Luke's narrative artistry and his use of Mark demonstrates that Luke has a nuanced and sophisticated christology centered on Jesus' identity as Lord.

For almost 300 years, the dominant trend in New Testament interpretation has been to read the Acts of the Apostles as a document that argues for the political possibility of harmonious co-existence between 'Rome' and the early Christian movement. Kavin Rowe argues that the time is long overdue for a sophisticated, critically constructive reappraisal. For Luke (the author of Acts), he says, politics is the embodied and concrete shape of God's apocalypse, or revelation, to the world. To understand Luke's political vision, therefore, we must examine how the narration of God's identity shapes ecclesiology: theological truth claims and the core practices of Christian communities are bound together in the very nature of things. Recognizing this interconnection requires a radical reassessment and rereading of Acts. No longer can Acts be seen as a simple apologia that articulates Christianity's harmlessness vis-a-vis Rome. Rather, in its attempt to form communities that witness to God's apocalypse, Luke's second volume is a highly charged and theologically sophisticated political document. Indeed, argues Rowe, Luke aims at nothing less than the construction of a new culture - a total pattern of life - that inherently runs counter to the constitutive aspects of Graeco-Roman society.

For almost 300 years, the dominant trend in New Testament interpretation has been to read the Acts of the Apostles as a document that argues for the political possibility of harmonious co-existence between 'Rome' and the early Christian movement. Kavin Rowe argues that the time is long overdue for a sophisticated, critically constructive reappraisal.
"A brilliant piece of work by a young scholar of considerable promise."
--First Things
"This well-written, well-argued book is a must read for New Testament scholars."
-- Review of Biblical Literature
"This sophisticated argument offers a comprehensive vision of Acts and deserves a wide readership."
-- Religious Studies Review
"There is so much happening in these pages that a slow and careful read will provoke sustained thoughts on a variety of subjects of ecclesial interest ranging from Christianity and culture to issues of tolerance and political theology."
-- Themelios

In this groundbreaking, cross-disciplinary work of philosophy and biblical studies, New Testament scholar C. Kavin Rowe explores the promise and problems inherent in engaging rival philosophical claims to what is true. Juxtaposing the Roman Stoics Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius with the Christian saints Paul, Luke, and Justin Martyr, and incorporating the contemporary views of Jeffrey Stout, Alasdair McIntyre, Charles Taylor, Martha Nussbaum, Pierre Hadot, and others, the author suggests that in a world of religious pluralism there is negligible gain in sampling from separate belief systems. This thought-provoking volume reconceives the relationship between ancient philosophy and emergent Christianity as a rivalry between strong traditions of life and offers powerful arguments for the exclusive commitment to a community of belief and a particular form of philosophical life as the path to existential truth.