This study of the Third Gospel is based on two main ideas: first, that it is 'Pauline' and bears the imprint of the association between Paul and its writer, assumed to be Luke, and secondly, that it is a narrative, a written account that takes the form of a story. As a narrative, it is quite different from the argumentative, conceptual style of Paul's letters. This study illustrates how Pauline themes are 'translated' into the deceptive simplicity of narrative, giving particular attention to the parables.

The book defends and develops the argument for a non-Markan basis for the Gospel of Luke.

Ravens argues that Luke's belief in God's restoration of Israel provides the key context for understanding Luke-Acts. His attitudes to Jews, his surveys of Israel's history and his interest in the Samaritans combine to suggest his wider, pre-Davidic, view of Israel-a view that becomes the pattern for the restored Israel under its Davidic king. Luke's belief leads him to present Christology and atonement in ways that cohere with Jewish hopes and to correct apparently anti-Jewish elements in Paul's letters and Matthew's Gospel. This theme also determines his account of the gentile mission and his pastoral concern for unity.

Pentecostal churches have grown over the last century but only a limited amount has been written about their ecclesiology. Much of the existing work focuses on congregational models and contemporary practice. This book argues the need for a pentecostal systematic approach to ecclesiology. Utilising the method of Amos Yong a pentecostal ecclesiology based on a network church structure is developed. Systematic issues of catholicity are addressed through mission insights on partnership, and a hospitable approach to contextualisation is developed. This book, therefore, suggests new ways forward in pentecostal studies and ecclesiology.

Did Luke interview eyewitnesses to write his Gospel? Living Footnotes in the Gospel of Luke provides a careful, thorough examination of Luke’s claims (Luke 1:1–4), demonstrating that he not only claims to use living sources but also did so. It builds a corroborative evidence case towards this end, not merely by accumulating unrelated strands of evidence, but by showing the interconnectedness of independent lines of subtle clues in Luke’s text. These historically rich, unintentional features weave together to generate a robust impression upon the reader: Luke not only relied on living informants but in fact sifted his sources in preference of eyewitness testimony.

These seminal essays introduce the reader to the interdisciplinary approach of New Testament scholarship which is affecting the way the Book of Acts is studied and interpreted. Insights from the social sciences, narratological studies, Greek and Roman rhetoric and history, and classics, set the Acts of the Apostles in its original historical, literary and social context; these methods of interpretation have not always been applied to biblical study in a systematic way. The discussions from a shared general perspective range over genre and method, historical and theological problems, and issues of literary criticism. History, Literature and Society in the Book of Acts is an interesting and valuable overview of some of the chief preoccupations of biblical studies with contributions from leading scholars in the Old and New Testaments and the history of antiquity.