Body and Character in Luke and Acts: The Subversion of Physiognomy in Early Christianity - Softcover

Parsons, Mikeal

Softcover

ISBN 10: 080102885X ISBN 13: 9780801028854

Publisher: Baker Academic, 2006

Synopsis

In the ancient world, it was commonly believed that outward appearance provided clues to inner character. The "science" relating physical appearance to moral character is called physiognomy. Mikeal Parsons shows how a number of interesting episodes in Luke and Acts draw upon physiognomy only to subvert it. For example, short physical stature was an indicator of small-mindedness. After his encounter with Jesus, Zacchaeus is still short physically; however, his small-mindedness has been healed, and he repays fourfold those he has defrauded. Thus Luke ultimately denies that any direct line can be drawn between physical appearance and moral character. This pioneering study of the bearing of physiognomy on New Testament interpretation will interest advanced scholars but is also accessible and enlightening for pastors and other students of the Bible.

About this title

About the Author

Mikeal C. Parsons (Ph.D., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) holds the Kidd L. and Buna Hitchcock Macon Chair in Religion at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He is the author of The Departure of Jesus in Luke and Acts and coauthor of Illuminating Luke, Acts: A Handbook on the Greek Text, and Rethinking the Unity of Luke and Acts.

From the Back Cover

"Mikeal Parsons trains his eagle eye on details in the text of Luke and Acts missed by most scholars. The results of his careful and learned study are fascinating and unexpected. Dr. Parsons throws fresh light on attitudes to bodily characteristics in Luke's day before bringing us back to our world with a theological jolt."--Graham Stanton, Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity, University of Cambridge

"Not many books really break new ground. This one does. The ancient texts on physiognomy--the pseudoscience of interpreting a person's character on the basis of his or her physical characteristics--have been overlooked by New Testament scholarship, but after reviewing these texts Parsons explores the use and subversion of physiognomy by Luke. The results are intriguing and cast Luke's descriptions of the bent woman, Zacchaeus, the lame man, and the Ethiopian eunuch in a new light. In yet another way, Parsons shows how the gospel radically challenges cultural conventions and speaks a word of grace."--R. Alan Culpepper, dean, McAfee School of Theology

"With a stunning command of both ancient sources and contemporary scholarship, Parsons offers a trove of fresh insights on physically challenged figures in Luke and Acts. Readers of this carefully argued work will never look at the bent woman, the diminutive Zacchaeus, the lame man (Acts 3), and the Ethiopian eunuch the same way again. Deformed bodies (by conventional standards) pose no barriers to transformed character through dynamic encounters with the Lukan Jesus and his emissaries. Such experiences mount a poignant resistance to prejudicial and superficial profiling in Luke's day--and ours."--F. Scott Spencer, professor of New Testament, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond

Edition details

• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 080102885X
• ISBN 13: 9780801028854
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192